I made all five of my shots right from the start, and the whole league was stunned.

2009年2月2日，晚9:30。

Madison Square Garden, New York.

Knicks vs. Lakers.

The tide turned in the third quarter.

Phil Jackson, the legendary coach known as "The Zen Master".

During a dead ball situation, he simply made a gesture towards Gasol and Bynum on the court—pointing to the top of the basket.

The Lakers no longer hesitated to retreat on defense as they had in the first half, fearing the Knicks' fast breaks.

Instead, they used the height advantage of their twin towers in the paint to aggressively grab every offensive rebound in the Knicks' paint.

"Bang!"

Kobe's mid-range shot bounced off the rim.

Just as Randolph was about to jump and grab the rebound, Bynum appeared to be frantically positioning himself, pushing him out of position.

Gasol stretched out his long arm and easily took the board.

No jumping, just a putback. Misses? Steal it again!

"Beep—!" Randolph was fouled, resulting in two free throws.

This is why the Lakers were able to sweep the league this season.

The Knicks' fast break has completely stalled.

Without a defensive rebound, there's no first pass. No matter how fast Li Xiangbei runs, it's useless.

"Those damn giraffes!"

Li Xiangbei was panting heavily as he looked at the scoreboard.

Knicks 88: 100 Lakers.

The point difference widened to 12 points.

The Knicks' lifeline—speed—has been completely severed.

……

There are 8 minutes left in the game.

Li Xiangbei retreated to the backcourt, received the inbound pass, and faced Kobe's defense.

"Since a quick attack won't work, then we'll dig a trench."

Li Xiangbei glanced at the system panel.

It's a big gamble.

Without fast breaks, it becomes quite difficult once you've used up all your sure-hit chances.

First shot:

Li Xiangbei took advantage of David Lee's cover and moved sideways.

Ariza reacted incredibly quickly, his long arm almost completely blocking Ariza's face.

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Without any hesitation, Li Xiangbei pulled up for a three-pointer!

"brush!"

Second shot:

Two minutes later.

Facing the Lakers' collapsed defense, Li Xiangbei forced a shot against Ariza's defense.

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"beep--!"

The whistle blows, and the ball goes in!

3+1!

The free throw was made!

With this unreasonable personal ability, Li Xiangbei managed to narrow the gap to just 6 points.

Third shot:

Kobe was getting tired. The all-night battle and high-intensity offense had caused his ball-handling to become a little lax.

Li Xiangbei reacted quickly and slashed the ball out of Kobe's hands!

Intercept!

Li Xiangbei sprinted forward. This time, there was no one to defend him.

He stopped abruptly outside the three-point line.

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A three-pointer in pursuit!

"brush!"

The difference is only 3 points!

The entire stadium erupted! The chants for "MVP" were deafening.

……

The last 1 minutes of the fourth quarter.

Knicks 108: 112 Lakers.

Trailing by 4 points.

Despite Li Xiangbei closing the gap, the Lakers maintained their lead thanks to their inside advantage.

Gasol dominated the paint and scored again with a putback.

The point difference has returned to 6 points.

Knicks ball.

This was a decisive attack that would determine life or death.

Li Xiangbei holds the ball.

The entire Lakers team knew he was going to shoot a three-pointer, so they double-teamed him relentlessly.

Kobe and Ariza surrounded him in the bottom corner.

This is a blind spot.

There were no passing lanes and no shooting space.

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He was in the bottom corner, at a negative angle, his body drifting backward.

This is an angle from which it is almost impossible to score.

But under the law of certainty, a miracle occurred.

The basketball soared over the top edge of the backboard, tracing a strange arc.

"brush!!!"

Hollow into the network!

111:114.

Only 3 points away!

At this point, Li Xiangbei's personal score had reached 50 points.

Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant on the other side also racked up 48 points.

This was an epic duel.

……

The last 32 seconds.

Lakers on offense.

If they can defend it, the Knicks still have a chance to tie the game.

Kobe holds the ball to run down the clock.

With 12 seconds left, Kobe started his drive, broke through and passed the ball to Gasol in the paint.

Gasol receives the ball, turns, and hooks it.

"when!"

It didn't go in!

The Knicks' chance has arrived!

Randolph fought tooth and nail to get the rebound.

But at that moment...

Bynum!

This young shark, taking advantage of his absolute height, flicked the ball over Randolph's head.

The basketball bounced off the rim and fell, but Gasol tipped it back into the basket!

The putback went in!

111:116.

That shot completely sealed the game.

Li Xiangbei stood outside the three-point line, looking at the despairing twin towers in the paint, and shook his head helplessly.

He did his best.

I really tried my best.

……

The last 8 seconds.

The Knicks inbounded the ball, and Li Xiangbei quickly advanced and scored two points.

113:116.

Final score: Knicks 113 : Lakers 116.

The instant before the whistle blows.

Kobe held the ball and glanced at the scoreboard: 48 points. He wanted to shoot a long three-pointer to make it 50.

He jumped and made his move.

But just the instant the ball left his hand.

A hand slammed down on the ball!

It's Li Xiangbei!

Even with the game already decided, he still rushed in and blocked Kobe's last shot!

"Snapped!"

The basketball was swatted away.

"beep--!"

The final whistle blew.

Kobe paused for a moment, looking at Li Xiangbei, who was panting heavily in front of him.

"The game is over, Lee," Kobe said.

"I know."

Li Xiangbei straightened up.

"You can win, Kobe."

"But don't even think about getting 50 points in front of me. That's my bottom line."

Kobe looked at this kid who was more than ten years younger than him and suddenly laughed. He laughed heartily.

He stepped forward and hugged Li Xiangbei.

"You're an asshole. But I like it."

……

Post-match interview.

Li Xiangbei sat at the press conference.

The reporter asked, "Li, you scored 52 points, more than Kobe. But the team lost. Was it because of rebounds?"

Li Xiangbei glanced at the technical statistics sheet.

Lakers rebounds: 55 (18 offensive rebounds).

Knicks rebounds: 30.

This was a game where the team was completely dominated in the paint.

"If you ask me why I lost..."

Li Xiangbei put down the statistics sheet, faced the camera, and spoke frankly.

"I would say that basketball is more than just a game about putting the ball in the basket."

"It's also a game about catching a ball from the air."

"Tonight, we only achieved the former."

He stood up, ready to leave.

"But don't forget, this is just the regular season. Wait until the playoffs..."

"I'll find a way. For example... make Zach gain another ten pounds."

The entire audience of reporters burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, in an interview, Kobe gave Li Xiangbei the highest praise:

"He's a tireless Ferrari. His speed, his projection, his fighting spirit are all top-notch."

"fortunately."

Kobe pointed to Gasol and Bynum behind him.

"We're driving an SUV tonight. On muddy roads, SUVs are still better than Ferraris."