Chapter 146: The New King of Los Angeles, the Storm Approaches
That power symbolized absolute control!
Lin Feng could feel it; it was like a dormant seed deep within his body, which had quietly cracked open a fissure because of the extreme strangulation of G7.
A trace—no, a surge—of an unprecedented, strange sensation was beginning to sprout.
However, the receding tide of adrenaline left his brain unable to think deeply.
Enormous fatigue, like a tidal wave, completely submerged him.
Meanwhile, the outside world had already gone completely mad over this great 'eighth seed' miracle!
The entire city of Los Angeles was plunged into a purple and gold carnival!
The next day, the front pages of all sports newspapers were occupied by the photo of Lin Feng kneeling on the ground, roaring at the sky.
The Los Angeles Times ran a massive headline: "The New King of Los Angeles! One Man's Eighth-Seed Miracle!"
ESPN columnists were even more generous with their praise.
"He inherited Kobe's obsession and possesses Magic Johnson's creativity! He is the greatest performer of individual heroism in this era!"
"After waiting for so long, Los Angeles has finally found its new heir to the throne!"
In every corner of the city—bars, restaurants, and the big screens in plazas—that miraculous goal from G7, featuring the Dual-Domain Switch, was being replayed frantically over and over again!
Lin Feng's name became the new faith of this city!
However, beneath this city-wide carnival...
Inside the Lakers' tactical meeting room, the atmosphere was as heavy as the final minute of G7.
There was no joy of victory on Kobe's face.
His expression was incredibly serious.
He pressed the play button on the remote control.
The huge screen above the tactical board lit up, beginning to play a game recording.
It was a highlight reel of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
On the screen...
A lanky figure used completely illogical height and wingspan to hit a pull-up jumper from the mid-range!
The basketball swished through the net!
The scene shifted.
Another figure, like a cannonball fired from its barrel, used the most brutal physique to knock aside defenders and charge into the paint, completing a world-shaking tomahawk dunk!
Kevin Durant!
Russell Westbrook!
This 'King and Ace' duo, with talent overflowing from the screen, were devastating their opponents' defenses in the most unreasonable ways.
Kobe pressed the pause button.
The frame froze on Westbrook's face, which was distorted from roaring.
He looked around the meeting room at his teammates, who were still immersed in the joy of the 'eighth-seed' victory.
Kobe's voice was cold and sharp.
"Throw all those thoughts about the 'eighth-seed' miracle out of your heads!"
"Look at them!"
He pointed at Durant and Westbrook on the screen.
"This is not the San Antonio Spurs!"
"The San Antonio Spurs are a precision machine; we can use tactics and experience to dismantle them."
"But they are not!"
Kobe's tone became incredibly solemn.
"They are pure talent! They are monsters of athleticism! They are beasts who can crush you directly using the simplest, most brutal methods!"
"In the upcoming series, this isn't an opponent that can be solved by tactics alone!"
"This is a war of talent!"
Kobe's words were like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone's heads.
The carnival atmosphere vanished.
It was replaced by a deep apprehension for the terrifying storm that was about to arrive.
Lin Feng sat in the corner, listening quietly.
Inside his locker, on his phone screen, there were still those two distinct messages.
"I'm waiting for you in Los Angeles."
"I'm waiting for you in Oklahoma."
He didn't reply.
He didn't even think about it anymore.
Kobe was right.
All off-court issues and emotional entanglements seemed insignificant in the face of this impending war of talent.
The only thing he needed to do now was recover his physical strength.
Then, he would pour all his energy into preparing for the Thunder.
Because he knew better than anyone...
Victory on the court is the only prerequisite for solving all problems.
Two days later.
The entire Lakers team arrived in Oklahoma.
The moment they stepped out of the airport terminal, a wave of hostile heat hit them in the face.
Outside the Chesapeake Energy Arena was a vast ocean of blue.
Thousands upon thousands of Thunder fans had crowded the area until it was impassable.
They didn't hurl insults.
They simply looked at every member of the Lakers with eyes full of contempt and hatred.
In the eyes of these die-hard Thunder fans...
The Lakers were shameless thieves who had stolen the fruits of victory from their arch-rivals, the San Antonio Spurs.
And Lin Feng was the leader of those thieves.
The deafening boos hadn't stopped from the first second they stepped onto this land.
The media before the game had hyped the atmosphere of this matchup to the extreme.
Major sports headlines were all discussing the same topic:
"Individual Hero vs. King-Ace Duo! Can Lin Feng's magic continue in Oklahoma?"
At the commentary desk, Charles Barkley gave his prediction.
"I admit Lin Feng played like a god in the series against the San Antonio Spurs."
"But!"
Barkley shook his head, his tone certain.
"The Thunder are different!"
"He is miraculous, but he cannot take on two future Hall of Famers by himself!"
"He will be completely torn apart by that King-Ace duo!"
In this atmosphere where 'the mountain rain is coming and the wind fills the building,'
Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals officially began!
When the stadium DJ announced the names of the Lakersplayers with the most passionate voice,
They were greeted by frantic boos loud enough to flip the roof off the arena!
"Beat LA!"
"Beat LA!"
The unified chants were like sonic weapons, battering the eardrums of every Lakers player.
The game officially started.
The Thunder won the opening possession.
The ball was handed to Russell Westbrook.
And then...
A scene that made the hearts of all Lakers fans stop occurred.
Westbrook didn't make any extra moves.
He didn't even glance at his teammates.
The moment he caught the ball at the top of the arc, his entire being was like a rocket being ignited!
He used a crossover that was so simple and brutal it was almost unreasonable!
One step!
It only took one step!
He blew past the aging Steve Nash standing in front of him like he was shaking off a training pylon!
The defensive line was instantly pierced!
Westbrook charged into the paint, his whole body soaring high!
His body stretched in the air like a fully drawn bow!
Against the undefended basket, he completed a powerful tomahawk dunk!
"Bang!"
The rim let out a groan of pain!
The entire Chesapeake Energy Arena was completely ignited at that moment!
The ocean of blue boiled over!
Westbrook landed.
He didn't immediately run back on defense.
He pounded his chest fiercely!
He turned around and let out a beastly, frantic roar at the Lakers' backcourt that he had just blown past!
"Roar!!!"
It was a declaration!
A declaration of whose territory this was!
A declaration of who would dominate this war of talent!
On the Lakers' bench...
Kobe watched this scene with a grim expression.
He knew.
The thing he worried about most had happened.
The Lakers' aging lineup, with its high average age, in the face of the Thunder's extreme and unreasonable athleticism...
Was a fatal flaw!
The Lakers went on the offensive.
The ball, as a matter of course, was handed to Lin Feng.
He had just dribbled across half-court...
When an unprecedented, suffocating defensive pressure enveloped him!
The Thunder's defensive strategy was simple and clear.
Use endless, toughest physical confrontation!
Use non-stop, top-tier athleticism!
To wear you down!
To exhaust you—the Lakers' only, and final, strong point!
Chapter 147: A Torrent of Talent!
The Thunder's defensive strategy was simple and clear.
Use endless, toughest physical confrontation!
Use never-ending, top-tier athleticism!
To wear you down!
To wear down the Lakers' only, and final, strong point!
Thabo Sefolosha, the Thunder's best perimeter defender, stuck to him like glue.
His arms were constantly making subtle, hidden moves against Lin Feng's waist and back.
Pushing, shoving, bumping.
The referee's whistle wouldn't blow.
But every contact was tangibly draining Lin Feng's stamina.
Lin Feng knew that conventional play wouldn't work anymore.
Comparing stamina and team rotation with these young beasts, the Los Angeles Lakers' veterans—with an average age of over thirty—would be run to death.
The only way.
Was to respond with the strongest individual offense!
Lin Feng's gaze changed.
In those eyes that originally held a hint of calm, a black, violent flame suddenly ignited!
[Aomine ZONE]!
Activate!
The next second.
Lin Feng's body turned into a black afterimage that was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye!
Sefolosha only felt a blur before his eyes!
That aura, like a ferocious beast, flashed past him!
He didn't even have the chance to reach out and pull him!
"Too fast!"
At the commentary desk, Kenny Smith exclaimed!
The defensive line was torn apart!
Lin Feng, like a sharp blade, cut into the Thunder's paint!
Greeting him was the Thunder's interior anchor, Serge Ibaka!
Ibaka leaped high, those long arms blotting out the sun!
However.
Reaching the basket, Lin Feng's body forcibly twisted in mid-air at an angle that completely defied human mechanics!
From behind the hoop, he casually tossed the ball!
The basketball traced a bizarre arc.
Off the backboard!
Into the net!
Formless Shot!
The boos in the entire Chesapeake Energy Arena paused for half a second.
But soon, they were drowned out by an even more frantic wave of sound!
Because the Thunder's counterattack had come!
Westbrook caught the ball and didn't look at his teammates at all!
Like an enraged bull, he lowered his head and launched a deadly charge toward the Los Angeles Lakers' half!
Fast!
Extremely fast!
Before the Lakers' defense could even get into position, he single-handedly tore them to pieces!
Westbrook drove into the paint and forcibly jumped against Howard's help defense!
In the air, the two had a violent physical collision!
Westbrook let out a roar and slammed the ball into the basket with sheer force!
And-one!
After scoring, Westbrook pounded his chest and let out a provocative roar at Lin Feng!
The court had completely turned into a back-and-forth battlefield between the two!
On one side, Lin Feng had just used an extreme crossover to shake Sefolosha and hit a mid-range jumper!
On the other, Kevin Durant pulled up for a three right over Artest's head, using his completely unstoppable height and wingspan!
The basketball swished through the net!
"My God!"
Barkley clutched his bald head and shouted excitedly!
"Is this the Western Conference Finals?! This is practically the All-Star Game!"
"A battle of the gods! This is a true battle of the gods!"
The score on the court was rising alternately.
The scene was magnificent to the extreme.
The fans were watching with boiling blood and surging adrenaline!
But.
On the sidelines, Kobe and head coach D'Antoni's faces looked worse and worse.
They could all see.
Lin Feng was playing too hard.
For every attack, he had to face the pursuit and interception of at least two Thunder players.
Every point he scored was completed amidst extreme physical confrontation.
While on the Thunder's side.
Durant and Westbrook could take turns firing.
When Westbrook got tired of charging, he'd give the ball to Durant to solve the problem with his unstoppable shooting.
When Durant was tied up, he'd give the ball to Westbrook to crash the basket with his unreasonable physicality.
The two of them shared almost all the team's offensive pressure.
While Lin Feng was carrying the entire Lakers team forward alone.
"Beep—!"
The whistle for the end of the first quarter sounded.
The big screen showed the stats.
30:28.
The Lakers trailed by 2 points.
In the individual stats column, after Lin Feng's name, was a glaring number.
18 points!
He alone accounted for more than half of the team's scoring!
The second quarter began.
The Thunder increased the physical confrontation against Lin Feng.
Their defense became even more rugged.
Various invisible small movements constantly harassed Lin Feng.
They were trying to provoke him.
They wanted this beast to completely lose his mind!
During a breakthrough, Lin Feng had already shaken off his defender.
Under the basket, Ibaka gave up on blocking and instead used his body like a wall to slam hard into Lin Feng!
"Bang!"
A dull thud!
Lin Feng lost his balance in the air and fell heavily onto the floor!
The referee's whistle did not blow!
The Thunder fans in the arena let out gloating cheers!
Ibaka walked past Lin Feng, looked down at him, and spat out trash talk.
Lin Feng lay on the ground, a sharp pain in his chest.
He looked up at the referee who hadn't made any indication.
Then, he slowly climbed up from the ground.
He wasn't angry, nor did he complain.
Only in those eyes, the black flames burned even more vigorously.
The wildness within him was completely triggered by this!
The next possession.
Lin Feng used an even more violent breakthrough to knock Sefolosha, who was defending him, aside by a body length!
He charged into the paint and leaped high against the helping Ibaka!
He didn't choose a layup!
Instead, he held the basketball over his head!
Over Ibaka's startled face, he slammed the ball into the basket with a vengeance!
"Roar!!!"
After the basket, Lin Feng hung on the rim and let out a beastly roar at Ibaka below him!
This was the most direct and toughest response!
The whistle for the end of the half finally sounded.
The score: 60:55.
The Lakers trailed by 5 points.
Lin Feng had exploded for 32 points in the half!
He walked off the court and slumped onto the bench.
His chest was heaving violently, like an old bellows.
Sweat had completely soaked his jersey, making it cling tightly to his body.
He gasped for air, feeling as if there was a fire burning in his lungs.
Kobe silently walked over.
He didn't speak, just handed a bottle of water to Lin Feng.
Then, he leaned down and whispered in Lin Feng's ear in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Kid, save some energy."
"You can't play 48 minutes against those two like this."
Lin Feng didn't answer.
His gaze crossed the noisy court and landed on the Thunder's bench opposite them.
Durant and Westbrook were laughing and high-fiving their teammates.
Their faces didn't even show much fatigue.
Lin Feng turned his head again and looked around him.
Nash, Gasol, Artest... these veterans who had fought for many years were all leaning on their knees, panting heavily.
At that moment.
An unprecedented, deep sense of powerlessness welled up in Lin Feng's heart for the first time.
Chapter 148: A Lonely Hero!
For the first time, he felt so clearly what it meant to be outnumbered and outmatched.
Kobe's words, like a cold chisel, carved the cruelest reality onto his heart, which was burning after scoring 32 points.
"You can't play 48 minutes against the two of them like this."
Yeah.
Impossible.
Lin Feng looked up at the veterans around him, who were leaning on their knees and gasping for air.
Gasol's face was written with exhaustion.
Nash's elegant long hair was completely soaked with sweat, messily plastered to his forehead.
Even Artest, who was known for being a tough guy, had a somewhat vacant look in his eyes now.
And on the other side of the court.
Durant and Westbrook were still like two young beasts who didn't know fatigue, pounding their chests and laughing with their teammates.
This gap in talent was so intuitive and so despair-inducing.
The second half of the game began quickly.
The Thunder's strategy became simpler and more brutal.
They completely left the Lakers' other players open.
Using an almost crazy, cost-ignoring way to besiege Lin Feng!
Sefolosha stuck to him like a piece of dog-skin plaster.
Ibaka was ready to step up from the paint at any time to delay him.
Even Durant was watching like a tiger from a help-defense position.
They were going to use three, or even four people, to lock you down!
They told Lin Feng through their actions.
"If you're so capable, kill us all by yourself!"
Soon.
The Lakers' opportunity came.
Amidst a triple-team, Lin Feng used an extremely difficult behind-the-back pass to get the ball to Nick Young, who was completely open outside the three-point line!
A huge, wide-open shot that would make any shooter feel comfortable!
Nick Young caught the ball, adjusted, and shot!
His signature, confident shooting form was incredibly stylish!
The entire Lakers bench was ready to stand up and cheer!
However.
"Clang!"
A crisp sound of the basketball hitting the front of the rim!
The basketball bounced high!
The Thunder fans in the arena erupted in a huge, mocking cheer!
Nick Young shook his hand in frustration.
D'Antoni, on the sidelines, shook his head helplessly.
Lin Feng watched this scene without saying a word.
He just silently ran back to the backcourt to participate in the defense.
A few minutes later.
The same opportunity appeared again.
Lin Feng attracted the defensive attention of everyone on the Thunder under the basket.
With a bounce pass as if he had eyes in the back of his head, he found the unguarded Gasol under the basket!
The Spaniard caught the ball, facing an open basket.
A little hook shot that he had repeated tens of thousands of times in his career.
Under the high-pressure environment of the Western Conference Finals.
His hand stiffened.
The basketball limply slipped out of the rim.
Ibaka, under the basket, easily grabbed the rebound.
Chesapeake Energy Arena once again erupted in a landslide of cheers!
Every missed shot.
Every missed opportunity.
Was like a heavy hammer, smashing hard against the Lakers' already fragile morale.
Gasol clutched his head in pain.
He knew he shouldn't have missed that shot.
Lin Feng was forced to enter an even more difficult and tragic solo mode.
He stopped passing.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he couldn't.
He knew that these veterans had no gas left in their tanks.
He could only rely on himself.
Every one of his attacks was like dancing on the edge of a knife.
Facing a triple-team, he made a shot with an extreme fadeaway jumper!
At the moment he was knocked off balance, he threw the ball toward the basket and drew a foul!
He was like a lonely hero, covered in blood.
Using his own flesh and blood to forcibly keep this tottering Los Angeles Lakers team alive.
The whistle for the end of the third quarter sounded.
The numbers on the scoreboard made everyone feel incredulous.
85:85!
A tie!
Relying on his own strength, Lin Feng scored a staggering 20 points in the third quarter alone, forcibly catching up the score!
When he walked off the court, all the Thunder fans went silent.
They looked at the figure wearing number 24 as if they were looking at a monster.
48 points in three quarters!
This man was really going to kill them all by himself!
But the cost was also enormous.
Lin Feng sat on the chair, feeling as if his lungs no longer belonged to him.
Every breath brought a burning pain.
His legs were like lead, so heavy he could barely lift them.
The Team Doctor rushed over and massaged his calves, which had already started to cramp.
The final battle of the fourth quarter finally arrived.
Lin Feng's physical stamina experienced a cliff-like decline.
His drives were no longer filled with the destructive explosive power they once had.
His shooting also began to become unstable due to the lack of leg strength.
During one drive.
He used all his strength just to barely squeeze past Sefolosha's defense.
But his jumping height was clearly insufficient.
The basketball he shot hit the front of the rim.
The Thunder seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
The ball was passed into Kevin Durant's hands.
The Reaper began to take over the game!
Facing Artest's defense, Durant had no extra movements at all.
A simple crossover, and then, a pull-up jumper!
The basketball traced an arc in the air that made all Los Angeles Lakers fans feel despair.
Swish!
Nothing but net!
The next possession.
Durant, in the same position and in the same way, hit another unreasonable three-pointer!
The point difference was instantly widened to 6 points!
The entire arena fell into complete madness!
"MVP!"
"MVP!"
The cheers for Durant resounded through the clouds!
The game entered the final minute.
The Lakers trailed by 4 points.
Possession was still in Lin Feng's hands.
Dragging that leg that had almost lost all sensation, he launched a charge once again.
Everyone knew he was going to shoot.
The Thunder's defense also collapsed to the extreme.
Lin Feng forcibly jumped from a step away from the three-point line!
His body twisted in the air due to exhaustion.
He pushed the ball out almost entirely based on muscle memory!
Under everyone's gaze.
The basketball rattled around and rolled into the basket!
The gap was narrowed to 2 points!
This goal exhausted his last bit of strength.
After landing, he couldn't even stand steadily and stumbled a few steps to avoid falling.
The Thunder on the offensive.
Westbrook's eyes were bloodshot; he wanted to use a drive to completely kill the game!
But he was too rushed!
Under the combined defense of Howard and Gasol, his layup missed the rim!
Kobe firmly boxed out Durant behind him and secured this crucial defensive rebound!
He immediately called a timeout!
Only 8 seconds remained!
The Lakers had obtained one last life-or-death offensive opportunity!
The timeout ended.
The eyes of the whole world were focused on the man who was leaning on his knees and gasping for air.
Lin Feng.
The ball was inbounded from the sideline.
Without a doubt, it was given to him.
He caught the ball and, using the last of the strength in his body, advanced rapidly toward the Los Angeles Lakers' half like a bolt of lightning!
The Thunder's defense instantly collapsed into a bunch!
Ibaka!
Durant!
Sefolosha!
The three of them, like three moving city walls, frantically converged on Lin Feng!
They would rather leave every player on the perimeter open!
Than let Lin Feng finish this final shot!
They were going to completely strangle this lonely hero in the most brutal way!
At the exact tenth of a second before those three walls were about to close!
Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Feng saw it.
In the right corner of the court.
A familiar figure was standing there.
Nick Young.
He was completely open.
Within five meters of him, there was no one!
In that moment, the words Kobe had said to him during halftime flashed through Lin Feng's mind.
And the golden rules written countless times in basketball textbooks also flashed by.
Trust your teammates.
Make the most correct choice.
Lin Feng made the most reasonable and correct passing choice on the basketball court!
Chapter 149: The Fatal Pass!
The basketball left Lin Feng's fingertips.
At that moment, the sounds of the entire world seemed to be drained away.
Within Lin Feng's body, the last trace of strength was completely wrung out along with this pass.
He watched the basketball flying through the air, heading toward that corner forgotten by everyone.
Nick Young.
He stood there, with no one around him.
All the Thunder defenders had swarmed toward Lin Fenglike moths to a flame.
They gave Nick Young a wide-open space, large enough for him to leisurely drink a cup of coffee.
This was the most logical choice.
This was the most correct decision on the basketball court.
Trust your teammates.
That phrase flashed through Lin Feng's mind.
He looked at Nick Young.
Nick Young caught the ball.
A hint of astonishment flashed across his face, which was immediately replaced by immense ecstasy!
He knew what this shot meant.
If it went in, he would be a hero!
He would be the clutch player who ended Game 1 of the series and saved the team from the brink!
He had even already thought of the most stylish and classic celebration move to perform after making the shot!
He adjusted his breathing.
He jumped.
He released the shot!
The motion was incredibly smooth!
The form was incredibly standard!
The basketball traced a high, seemingly wonderful arc through the air!
On the Lakers' bench, everyone stood up!
Kobe's fist was clenched tightly!
An expectant smile appeared on Nash's face!
Chesapeake Energy Arena, that sea of blue, fell into a dead silence.
Every Thunder fan held their breath, their hearts in their throats, staring fixedly at that fate-deciding basketball!
Time became incredibly slow at this moment.
Under everyone's gaze, the orange ball flew leisurely toward the hoop.
It was close.
Closer!
In Lin Feng's eyes, the image of the basketball about to swish through the net was already reflected!
However.
"Clang!"
A cold sound of metal clashing that made the hearts of all the Lakers players stop!
The basketball hit the front of the rim!
It bounced high into the air!
"Beep—!!!"
The final buzzer sounded sharply throughout the arena at the same time!
The game was over.
The bouncing basketball tumbled feebly in the air.
Finally, it landed on the floor.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
It was like heavy hammers striking the heart of every Lakers player.
They lost.
The Lakers had lost.
"Roar!!!"
After a brief silence, Chesapeake Energy Arena erupted in a mountain-collapsing, tsunami-like explosion of wild cheering!
The Thunder players rushed onto the court from the bench like a pack of madmen!
Westbrook slammed his mouthguard onto the floor, then jumped onto the scorer's table, pounding his chest and letting out a beastly roar!
Durant opened his long arms and embraced every teammate around him!
They won!
In this incredibly brutal battle of attrition, they had the last laugh!
And on the other end of the court...
...was hell.
Nick Young stared blankly at his hands, the ones that had missed the game-winning shot.
The expression on his face went from ecstasy to astonishment, and finally to complete collapse.
He suddenly buried his head deep inside his jersey.
The oversized jersey covered his already distorted face.
Gasol shook his head helplessly, then walked over and patted him on the shoulder, not knowing what to say.
The veterans' faces were filled with disappointment and exhaustion.
And Lin Feng.
He just stood there, blankly, outside the three-point line.
He watched the high-bouncing basketball, the wildly celebrating Thunder players, and the deeply regretful Nick Young.
His gaze was hollow.
The frantic fighting spirit that had sustained him for a full 48 minutes was completely extinguished the moment the final buzzer sounded.
All that remained was an endless, bone-deep exhaustion.
And a hint of bewilderment.
Did I... do something wrong?
...The post-game press conference.
The atmosphere was terrifyingly oppressive.
The reporters' questions were like knives, stabbing into every Lakers player.
Especially Nick Young.
He kept his head down and didn't say a word, like a child who had done something wrong.
Meanwhile, the Thunder's press conference was a sea of jubilation.
An ESPN reporter handed the microphone to Westbrook.
"Russell, you guys contained Lin tonight and made it very difficult for him, but even so, he still scored 51 points. What are your thoughts on that?"
Westbrook grinned, revealing a flamboyant smile full of a winner's posture.
He took the microphone and looked at the camera.
Then, in a nonchalant yet lethal tone, he uttered the famous quote that would later be frantically cited by countless media outlets.
"He's very strong."
Westbrook paused, enjoying the focus of all the cameras.
"But he's only one person."
The corner of his mouth curled into a slightly mocking smile.
"And we have two."
These words spread across the world in just a few seconds via the live broadcast signal!
It was like a virus, instantly detonating the entire social network!
The headlines of major sports media were immediately changed to this quote from Westbrook!
[Yahoo Sports: Westbrook: He's only one, and we have two!]
[TMZ: The Victory of Talent! The thunder duo ends individual heroism in the cruelest way possible!]
The public discourse surrounding Lin Feng, which had just peaked because of the "Black Eight Miracle," quickly cooled down!
The tide had turned once again!
Those experts who were just recently praising Lin Feng's individual heroism had now changed their tune.
"I've said it before, basketball is a five-man game!"
"Lin Feng's style of play is too selfish! He overextended his stamina and hurt the team!"
"That last pass of his seemed logical, but in reality, he was just passing the buck!"
Doubts and mockery came flooding in.
The hero who had just been placed on a pedestal seemed to turn back overnight into that reckless man who only relied on individual ability... In the player tunnel leading back to the locker room.
The lights were somewhat dim.
Lin Feng dragged his exhausted body, walking silently at the very back alone.
A television was hanging on the wall of the tunnel.
The television was broadcasting the post-game press conference live.
Westbrook's face, full of defiance, appeared on the screen.
"...But he's only one person."
"And we have two."
Lin Feng's footsteps stopped.
He looked up at the man on the screen who was laughing so flamboyantly.
Listening to that sentence full of mockery.
The surrounding clamor and his teammates' sighs seemed to drift away from him at that moment.
In his world, only that face on the screen and those words constantly echoing in his ears remained.
One person... two... In his eyes, which were somewhat dim from exhaustion, something was quietly changing.
It was something deeper and colder than the violence of [Aomine ZONE].
This provocative sentence was like a needle, stabbing deeply into Lin Feng's pride.
Chapter 150: The King's Sting!
That sentence was like a steel needle dipped in poison.
It fiercely stabbed into Lin Feng's heart.
One person.
We have two.
Lin Feng's steps halted in the middle of the player tunnel.
He raised his head and looked expressionlessly at Westbrook's extremely arrogant face on the television screen.
The sighs and footsteps of his teammates around him seemed muffled, as if separated by a thick pane of glass.
In his world,
only that constantly replaying, mocking sentence remained.
In those eyes, dimmed slightly due to exhaustion, something was quietly shattering.
Then, reassembling.
It was something deeper than the ferocity of the Aomine ZONE.
Something colder than the precision of the Midorimas Full-Court Three-Pointer.
He slowly turned around and walked into the Lakers' locker room without a word.
"Bang!"
The door was shut.
Sealing off all the external clamor.
In the locker room, there was a deathly silence.
No one spoke.
The air was filled only with the pungent smell of sweat mixed with ointment.
And the heavy, ragged sounds of breathing, as if forcibly dragged out of their chests.
Nick Young sat in front of his locker, burying his head deep in his arms, his shoulders shaking slightly.
Gasol leaned against the wall, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Nash was slowly unwrapping the bandages on his ankles, moving like an eighty-year-old man.
The gloom of defeat pressed down on everyone's heart like a huge block of lead.
head coach D'Antoni opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something to boost morale.
"Guys, lift your heads..."
His voice was dry and powerless.
"This is just one game, we..."
He couldn't continue.
Because even he lacked confidence.
The huge gap in talent was like an insurmountable chasm lying before everyone.
Any tactic, any encouragement, seemed pale and ridiculous in the face of absolute talent dominance.
No one in the locker room responded to him.
Only suffocating silence.
Just then.
Kobe stood up from his chair.
He remained silent.
His resolute face showed no expression.
He walked through the silent crowd and directly toward the technical statistics desk by the door.
On it lay a freshly printed sheet of technical statistics recording all the data from the game.
"Swish."
A light sound.
Kobe picked up the paper.
Then, he turned around and walked step by step back in front of Lin Feng.
All eyes in the locker room were involuntarily drawn over.
They looked at Kobe, and then at Lin Feng, who hadn't said a word since entering, just sitting there with his head bowed.
Lin Feng did not move.
He didn't even look up.
He just quietly stared at the floor in front of him, soaked with sweat.
Kobe stood before him like a black statue.
The next second.
"Slap!"
A crisp, loud sound of paper hitting the table!
That thin statistical sheet was slammed hard by Kobeonto the table in front of Lin Feng!
Everyone's heart twitched violently with that impact!
Nick Young also looked up, his reddened eyes filled with confusion.
Lin Feng's body trembled slightly.
His gaze finally moved slowly up from the floor.
Finally landing on that cold sheet filled with numbers.
His stats line was clearly printed in black ink.
[Lin Feng: 48 minutes played, 51 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists.]
A super stat that would make any player proud.
However.
Lin Feng's gaze continued downward.
He saw the total line recording the team's stats.
Another number, like a red-hot iron spike, fiercely seared into his pupils.
[Team Total Assists: 13.]
Thirteen.
Lin Feng's mind went blank for that instant.
He subconsciously performed a simple subtraction.
Thirteen minus eight.
Equals... five.
This meant.
Besides him.
The entire Lakers team, throughout the entire forty-eight minutes of brutal dogfight,
only managed to register a mere five assists!
This number was like an invisible, razor-sharp knife.
More damaging than Westbrook's taunting trash talk.
More despair-inducing than Nick Young's missed game-winner.
It nakedly and mercilessly revealed the cruelest truth.
When he, Lin Feng, fell into that reckless, one-man heroic frenzy,
this team, this offensive system built upon last season's championship core,
had completely stalled.
Paralyzed.
Just then.
Kobe's voice finally rang out.
Hoarse.
Low.
Like two pieces of rusted metal grinding against each other.
"In Game 7 against the Spurs, you had 15 assists."
Kobe looked at Lin Feng, his eyes holding a complex expression Lin Feng had never seen before.
There was disappointment.
There was anger.
But mostly, there was a kind of instruction born from disappointment in his potential.
"Today,"
Every word Kobe spoke was like a nail driven deep into Lin Feng's soul.
"You only thought about killing those two with your own strength."
"But you forgot."
"Behind you, there are four teammates wearing the same jersey."
"Boom!"
It was as if a bomb detonated inside Lin Feng's mind!
He suddenly looked up!
He looked into Kobe's eyes, which were as sharp as a hawk's.
He looked at that face etched with fatigue and disappointment.
He instantly understood.
Completely understood.
The root of this loss
was not the game-winning shot Nick Young missed at the end.
It wasn't even the despairing gap in talent.
It was himself!
It was the most foolish and arrogant way to win the game he chose right from the start!
He wanted to be the hero.
He wanted to use a solo performance to answer the world's doubts and shatter the pride of that King-and-Ace duo.
The result.
He put up god-like stats.
And then, lost the entire game.
He wasn't a hero.
He was the sinner.
"Buzz..."
Just then, the cell phone lying on the table suddenly vibrated.
The screen lit up.
Lin Feng didn't look at it.
The sharp sting and regret surging from the depths of his heart almost made it impossible for him to breathe.
He knew.
If he didn't change.
If he remained immersed in that damned, solitary hero dream.
Then this series would have no suspense.
The Lakers would be completely engulfed and crushed by that blue torrent of talent.
He had to evolve.
He had to transform from a 'hero' who only knew how to solve problems with brute force,
into a true... leader who could make everyone better and control the entire court!
Chapter 151: The Cheetah's Cage!
That box score felt like a red-hot branding iron searing itself onto Lin Feng's retina.
Kobe's words, every single one, struck his soul like a heavy hammer.
"Behind you, there are four teammates wearing the same jersey."
"Boom!"
Lin Feng's mind was filled with a deafening roar!
He suddenly looked up, staring at Kobe's face, which was etched with exhaustion and disappointment.
In an instant, he finally understood everything.
The root of this loss was not Nick Young's missed shot, nor was it the despairing gap in talent.
It was him!
It was because he chose the most foolish and arrogant way to try and win from the very beginning of the game!
He wanted to be the hero.
He wanted to shatter the pride of that pair of Aces with a one-man performance.
The result?
He put up god-like statistics.
And then, he lost the entire game.
He wasn't a hero.
He was the sinner.
The air in the locker room was so heavy it felt like it could drip water.
Everyone was looking at him, their gazes complex.
Lin Feng slowly stood up.
His gaze swept over the face of every teammate.
It swept over Nick Young, whose shoulders trembled with self-blame.
It swept over the exhausted faces of Gasol and Nash.
Finally, it rested on Kobe's face.
He took a deep breath.
Then, facing everyone, he bowed deeply.
"I'm sorry."
His voice was hoarse, yet clear.
"The responsibility for the G1 loss rests on me."
"I promise everyone that in G2, I will trust every single one of you."
The locker room remained quiet.
But the suffocating pressure had quietly dissipated a bit.
Nick Young looked up, a flicker of astonishment crossing his red eyes.
He thought Lin Feng would blame him.
But he didn't.
Kobe looked at Lin Feng, and a barely perceptible hint of approval finally appeared on his resolute face... The next day.
In the Lakers' tactical meeting room.
On the giant screen, the game footage from G1 was being replayed repeatedly.
Every savage collision by Westbrook.
Every unstoppable pull-up jumper by Durant.
It was all a reminder of the painful defeat they had suffered yesterday.
Kobe stood in front of the screen, his expression incredibly serious.
He pressed the pause button.
The image froze at the moment Westbrook and Durantslapped hands in celebration.
"Look closely."
Kobe's voice was cold and sharp.
"They are young and full of drive; they want to crush us in the fastest way possible."
"If we follow their pace, we will die a terrible death."
He pointed at the chaotic defensive formation of the Lakers on the screen.
"In G2, we cannot play like this anymore."
"We need to slow down!"
"Use ball movement, use team offense, drag them into our rhythm!"
"Use experience to defeat their talent!"
Everyone listened intently.
Lin Feng sat in the corner, silent.
But he was more focused than ever before.
He committed every word Kobe said to memory.
He knew this was their only chance... Western Conference Finals G2 officially tipped off.
The Chesapeake Energy Arena was still that hostile, blue ocean.
The deafening boos had not stopped since the first second of the game.
The Lakers won the first possession.
The ball was placed in Lin Feng's hands once again.
He dribbled the ball slowly across half-court.
His eyes were no longer filled with the aggression and destructive desire of G1.
Instead, they had become calm and focused.
He observed his teammates' cuts, searching for passing lanes.
The Thunder's defense had indeed changed.
The defensive scheme that Lin Feng had blown up in G1 was gone.
head coach Brooks had made new adjustments.
No double teams.
Not even help defense.
Defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha stuck to him like glue.
That was all.
Lin Feng felt something strange.
Just Sefolosha alone is supposed to stop me?
He didn't overthink it; following the plan, he prepared for a simple drive and kick.
He took a hesitant step to the right.
Then, he suddenly accelerated to the left!
He exploded!
The moment he accelerated!
A sudden change occurred!
A blue figure, like a Cheetah that had been lying in wait, suddenly pounced from his flank!
It was Russell Westbrook!
His position was at least two meters further up the court than in G1!
He was like a safety in American football, lurking on Lin Feng's driving lane, waiting for the killing blow!
Lin Feng's pupils contracted!
It was too late to change direction!
"Bang!"
A dull sound of muscle colliding!
Westbrook's iron-like shoulder slammed violently into Lin Feng's chest!
A massive force came through!
Lin Feng felt a sharp pain in his chest; his whole body staggered, nearly falling over!
The basketball in his hand was almost lost too!
The referee's whistle was right there.
But it didn't blow!
The referee made a gesture indicating legal body contact!
The entire Thunder crowd erupted in wild cheers!
Lin Feng stabilized himself, looking at Westbrook, who was retreating as if nothing had happened, flashing a provocative smile at him.
His brain worked rapidly.
He instantly understood the Thunder's new strategy!
This wasn't the Spurs' 'cage' that restricted space with formations.
This was a 'hunting ground' that used endless, savage physical collisions to wear you down and punish you!
They gave up on double teams.
They just wanted Sefolosha to harass him.
Then, they let the most explosive athlete, Westbrook, act as the hunter executing the collision!
Every time he tried to drive,
he had to be ready to meet a savage, football-style collision!
This wasn't basketball anymore!
This was war!
Lakers offense, 24-second violation.
Lin Feng rubbed his aching chest, his expression becoming extremely grave.
In the next few possessions,
this nightmarish scene kept replaying.
Every time Lin Feng caught the ball, Sefolosha's harassment followed him like a shadow.
And whenever he showed any intention to drive, Westbrook, that Cheetah, would ferociously leap out from some corner!
On another possession,
Lin Feng used Gasol's screen to shake off Sefolosha by half a step.
He was just about to accelerate!
Westbrook was back!
This time, he rammed into Lin Feng's ribs!
Lin Feng grunted, and before losing his balance, he managed to pass the ball out.
But the force and angle of the pass were off.
Nick Young couldn't control it, and the ball slipped out of his hands, going out of bounds!
Another turnover!
Throughout the entire first quarter,
Lin Feng felt like he had fallen into a cage made up of a Cheetah and hyenas.
Every time he held the ball, every time he moved, every time he tried to initiate offense,
he had to endure at least one such collision, a collision carrying the weight of punishment.
His offensive rhythm was cut into pieces.
His stamina was rapidly draining under this relentless, high-intensity physical confrontation.
He wanted to pass.
But he couldn't even find comfortable space to release the ball!
"Beep--!"
The final whistle for the end of the first quarter finally sounded.
Lin Feng walked off the court, feeling like his skeletal frame was about to fall apart from the hits.
He glanced at the stats on the big screen.
6 points, 3 turnovers.
This was the most frustrating and embarrassing quarter he had played since entering the playoffs.
He collapsed onto the chair, rubbing his painfully bruised ribs.
He looked up towards the Thunder's bench across the court.
Westbrook was full of energy, high-fiving and laughing with Durant, showing the arrogance of a victor on his face.
That look seemed to say: How was it? Did the taste of the prey feel good?
Two intensely suppressed flames of rage ignited in Lin Feng's eyes.
Chapter 152: The King's Trial!
In Lin Feng's eyes, two flames of suppressed, extreme rage ignited.
The whistle for the second quarter soon sounded.
The Lakers players returned to the court.
D'Antoni stood on the sidelines, his face full of anxiety.
He looked at Lin Feng, wanting to say something, but didn't know where to start.
The Thunder's unreasonable defense, built purely on top-tier talent, was almost unsolvable.
Any tactic seemed pale and weak in the face of such barbaric physical contact.
Lin Feng walked onto the court.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm the surging blood in his chest caused by pain and anger.
He knew.
He couldn't keep meeting force with force.
He had to make a change.
Lakers possession.
The ball was still in Lin Feng's hands.
Sefolosha stuck to him immediately like a piece of inescapable flypaper.
Westbrook, like a cheetah ready to strike, prowled on his flank, watching intently.
That deadly cage was prepared to close once again.
However.
This time, Lin Feng didn't choose to drive.
He passed the ball to Gasol at the high post.
Then, he began his off-ball movement!
He wanted to use his movement to tear through the Thunder's defense and escape this suffocating encirclement!
He circled around Gasol's screen and ran toward the corner.
But this played right into the Thunder's hands!
Sefolosha's footsteps followed him closely, like a ghost.
Meanwhile, Westbrook directly abandoned his defense on Nash, cutting across like a bolt of blue lightning to block Lin Feng's receiving lane!
The passing lane was cut off!
Gasol had no choice but to pass the ball back to Nash on the perimeter.
A failed off-ball run.
The next possession.
Lin Feng continued to run.
He used Howard's massive frame to perform a back-cut.
He looped around the baseline and ran toward the forty-five-degree angle on the other side.
This time, he created an opportunity!
He shook off Sefolosha by half a body length!
Nash's pass was delivered precisely into his hands!
An opportunity!
Lin Feng caught the ball and, without the slightest hesitation, pulled up for a jump shot!
He finally gained a sliver of breathing room!
However.
The moment he reached the peak of his jump and was about to release the ball.
A black figure full of explosive power lunged from his diagonal rear like a phantom!
It was Westbrook!
His terrifying leaping ability was on full display at this moment!
His entire body was like a cannonball, jumping from a step inside the three-point line and flying over!
That large, outstretched hand blocked all of Lin Feng's shooting vision!
In mid-air, Lin Feng could only rely on instinct to forcefully increase the arc of his shot!
The basketball flew off his fingertips.
And then.
"Thud!"
The dull sound of the basketball hitting the front of the rim!
The ball bounced off the rim!
Lin Feng's shooting percentage began to plummet!
His signature, nearly unstoppable fadeaway jumper...
...began to lose its form under the massive physical exertion and the omnipresent defensive interference!
"Great defense!"
After Westbrook landed, he excitedly pounded his chest and roared at the crowd!
The entire Chesapeake Energy Arena was once again completely ignited!
The Lakers' offense stalled once more.
Meanwhile, the Thunder's counterattacks came in waves, one after another.
Durant took over the offense.
Using his unstoppable height and wingspan, he hit two consecutive unreasonable mid-range pull-up jumpers over Artest's head!
The point difference was quickly pushed into double digits!
Ten points!
Twelve points!
Fifteen points!
D'Antoni was sweating profusely on the sidelines, pacing back and forth incessantly.
He called a timeout.
He subbed in Jordan Hill for the exhausted Gasol.
He tried to find a solution through lineup rotation.
But against the Thunder's pure talent suppression...
...any tactical adjustment seemed so futile.
Back from the timeout.
The situation didn't improve at all.
Every off-ball run Lin Feng made was frantically burning through his already low stamina.
And the opportunities he finally managed to create were completely destroyed by Westbrook's ghost-like help defense.
He was struggling immensely.
The Lakers' offense had completely turned into a mess of loose sand.
"Beep—!"
The buzzer for the end of the first half finally sounded.
It felt like a release.
The big screen showed a score that made all Lakers fans feel despair.
65:50!
The Lakers were already trailing by a full 15 points!
Lin Feng's individual stats also stayed at that somewhat glaring number.
12 points.
He dragged his heavy steps off the court.
His jersey was completely soaked with sweat.
On his exposed arms and neck were glaring bruises from the barbaric collisions.
In the locker room.
The atmosphere was even more oppressive than after the loss in G1.
Everyone kept their heads down, silent.
The Team Doctor rushed over with ice packs to perform emergency cold compresses on Lin Feng's swollen ribs and shoulders.
The moment the ice pack touched his skin, a bone-chilling cold made him gasp.
His stamina was flashing the most dangerous red light!
Kobe sat right next to him.
He looked at the young figure gritting his teeth while enduring the pain and the ice, his gaze becoming incredibly solemn.
He knew better than anyone.
How cruel this style of play from the Thunder was as a dual devastation of a player's body and will.
It wasn't just physical exhaustion.
It was a mental torture that crushed your pride and confidence bit by bit!
Kobe didn't say any words of comfort.
He only spoke slowly after the Team Doctor had temporarily left.
His voice was low and deep.
"Kid."
Lin Feng looked up at him.
Kobe's gaze was as sharp as a blade.
"This is championship-level intensity."
Every word from Kobe seemed squeezed out from between his teeth.
"Anyone who wants to wear the crown must crawl through a hell like this."
His eyes were fixed deathly on Lin Feng's eyes.
"Make it through, and you are a king."
"If you don't..."
Kobe paused, his tone becoming ice-cold.
"...everything you've done before will be forgotten."
"Your so-called Black Eight Miracle, your so-called G7 Miracle, will all just become a joke."
"There is no second path."
Kobe's words were like the sharpest daggers, mercilessly stabbing into Lin Feng's heart!
Pain!
A pain more intense than any bruise on his body!
But it was also this pain that made his brain, somewhat muddled from fatigue, instantly become incredibly clear!
King!
Or, a joke!
Lin Feng's chest heaved violently.
In his dimmed eyes, an extinguished flame was ignited once again!
And it burned more frantically than ever before!
He clenched his teeth.
A grinding sound came from between his teeth.
He reached out and pushed away the Team Doctor who was about to continue the icing.
He knew that in the second half, he had to respond in a tougher, more barbaric, and even more frantic way!
Chapter 153: The Last Bit of Fuel!
Kobe's words were like the sharpest blade, ruthlessly stabbing into Lin Feng's heart!
A King!
Or, a joke!
In his eyes, which had dimmed from exhaustion, an extinguished flame was once again ignited!
And it burned more fiercely than ever before!
He gritted his teeth, pushed the Team Doctor aside, and walked toward the player tunnel with a look of absolute determination.
Halftime ended.
The third quarter officially began.
The moment Lin Feng stepped back onto the court, his entire aura had changed.
That suppressed, wretched, and frustrated air from the first half had vanished.
In its place was a bloody sense of finality!
Lakers' possession.
The ball was still handed to Lin Feng.
The "Cheetah Cage" formed by Sefolosha and Russell Westbrook closed in on him once again!
Sefolosha pressed up against him, his arms habitually starting those subtle, hidden little movements.
But this time.
Lin Feng did not choose to evade or pass.
He suddenly dropped his shoulder!
Using his own shoulder, he fiercely and proactively met Sefolosha's body!
Bang!
A dull thud sounded!
Sefolosha felt a violent force, far exceeding anything from the first half, surge from Lin Feng's body!
Caught off guard, he was knocked back half a step!
Just that half step was enough!
Lin Feng, like a mad Chicago Bulls, carved out a bloody path!
He drove into the paint!
In the Thunder's interior, Serge Ibaka immediately rotated over to help, his long arms blotting out the sun!
Lin Feng didn't slow down!
He went up strong against Serge Ibaka!
In mid-air, his body and Serge Ibaka's wall of flesh collided in a violent, even tragic, impact!
Lin Feng felt as if his ribs had been struck hard by a sledgehammer!
Sharp pain shot through him!
But through sheer unyielding will, an instant before losing his balance, he tossed the basketball toward the rim!
Beep—!
The referee's whistle blew!
The basketball stumbled through the air, hit the backboard, and then dropped into the net!
The basket counts!
And one!
An "and-one" wrenched through the Thunder's meat-grinder defense with sheer flesh and blood!
Roar!!!
Lin Feng scrambled up from the floor, not even looking at the stunned Serge Ibaka.
He tilted his head back and let out a manic roar toward the blue sea of the Chesapeake Energy Arena, a roar he had suppressed for the entire first half!
He stepped to the free-throw line.
And calmly sank the free throw!
The deficit was cut to 12 points!
On the Thunder's bench, head coach Brooks' brow furrowed.
He could feel it.
Lin Feng's playstyle had changed.
It had become tougher, more reckless, and more... manic!
The smell of gunpowder in the game was thoroughly ignited at this moment!
Thunder's possession.
Russell Westbrook was completely enraged by Lin Feng's basket!
Like a frenzied beast, he used the simplest, most brutal burst of speed to blow past Nash's defense!
He drove into the paint and, facing Howard's help defense, chose the same approach!
Power against power!
The two collided savagely in the air!
Russell Westbrook let out a roar and slammed the ball into the rim with pure force!
After landing, he glared fiercely at Lin Feng!
That look was full of provocation!
Come on!
Keep it coming!
Let's see who falls first!
The court had completely turned into a gladiator's arena where flesh and blood flew!
Lin Feng gave his response in the next possession!
Once again, he used a brutal collision to knock Sefoloshaaside!
He drove into the paint, met the double-team of two Thunder players, and finished with an extreme double-clutch layup!
But the price was that upon landing, he crashed heavily past the baseline!
Every point felt like a journey through a mountain of knives and a sea of fire.
Every basket was traded for agonizing physical pain.
And the Thunder did not back down an inch!
Westbrook used even more violent, suicidal drives to repeatedly assault the Los Angeles Lakers' already fragile interior!
Both sides were locked in a primitive and tragic war of attrition!
The score continued to climb back and forth.
But the Lakers were consistently unable to close that double-digit gap any further.
Time was flying by.
The third quarter entered its final minute.
A Lakers possession ended with a missed three-pointer from Nick Young.
The Thunder seized the opportunity!
Kevin Durant grabbed the rebound and immediately launched a long pass to start the fast break!
Russell Westbrook caught the ball like a fully loaded, out-of-control heavy truck, barreling toward the Lakers' half with insane momentum!
The Lakers' defense was left completely in the dust!
In the vast half-court.
There was no one in front of Russell Westbrook!
Except for a single purple-and-gold figure desperately retreating on defense!
Lin Feng!
In that instant, the eyes of the entire arena were focused on these two!
This was a crucial showdown that would determine the momentum of the game!
Westbrook looked at the final barrier standing in his way.
A cruel smile appeared on his face.
He was going to use the most humiliating, most complete steamrolling to end this damn war of attrition!
He was going to completely trample this man who dared to resist!
On the other side.
Lin Feng watched the beast charging toward him.
His chest was heaving violently.
His lungs felt like they were on fire.
His stamina was nearing its limit.
But his eyes, at this moment, became incredibly calm!
Just as Russell Westbrook was about to enter his defensive range!
Lin Feng felt that third power, the one representing "Control" that had been dormant deep within his body!
It quietly awakened!
Eye of the Heavenly Emperor!
Activate!
The world before Lin Feng's eyes changed!
Time seemed to have been put in slow motion!
He saw it clearly!
He saw Russell Westbrook's next move—every single one, down to the most minute detail!
A between-the-legs dribble!
Followed by a "Shammgod" fake that was almost indistinguishable from the real thing!
Then, he would drive hard to the right, using his freakish explosiveness to accelerate!
Finally, he would end it all with a thunderous tomahawk dunk!
The future became crystal clear in Lin Feng's eyes!
Having predicted the future, Lin Feng didn't hesitate for a second!
His body reacted even faster than his brain!
He moved ahead of time!
Ignoring all of Russell Westbrook's flashy fakes!
He stepped directly onto Westbrook's predetermined drive path!
He planted his feet!
He squared his chest!
He was going to use a perfect, textbook defensive position to draw an offensive foul that could turn the tide of the game!
Russell Westbrook did exactly as the Eye of the Heavenly Emperor predicted!
He finished all his fakes and then launched his final charge from the right side!
The moment he saw that figure appear like a ghost on his drive path!
His pupils contracted sharply!
He wanted to change direction!
But it was already too late!
His out-of-control "truck" could only crash into him in the most brutal fashion!
However.
What happened next exceeded all of Lin Feng's expectations!
He had predicted every one of Russell Westbrook's moves.
But he had severely underestimated the pure physical power generated by Russell Westbrook's natural talent!
Bang!!!
A terrifying sound of impact made the hearts of the entire audience skip a beat!
Russell Westbrook's shoulder, like a truly out-of-control truck, slammed hard into Lin Feng's chest!
In that instant.
Lin Feng felt as if he had been hit head-on by a high-speed city wall falling from the sky!
All the defensive positioning he had prepared was, in the face of that terrifying explosive power that transcended human limits,
As fragile as a thin sheet of paper!
His entire person was sent flying backward by that irresistible, massive force!
Amid the gasps of the crowd, Russell Westbrook rolled over Lin Feng's mid-air body, leaped high, and completed a thunderous tomahawk dunk!
Bang!
The rim let out a pained wail!
Lying on the floor, Lin Feng looked at Westbrooks nickname roaring on the rim and, for the first time, felt the despair of his body being completely crushed by raw talent.
Chapter 154: Crushed by Talent!
Lying on the floor, Lin Feng watched Westbrook roaring wildly on the rim. For the first time, he felt the despair of his body being completely crushed by pure talent.
The referee's whistle finally blew, belatedly, after Westbrook landed.
The whistle was loud.
But the ruling was like salt being ruthlessly rubbed into Lin Feng's bloody wounds.
The basket counts!
And one!
This posterizing dunk of the century, a crushing display of dominance over another person that would go down in history, was actually a three-point play!
Humiliation!
This was the most naked, most thorough humiliation!
The Lakers' bench was deathly silent.
Kobe's resolute face turned pale for the first time.
Standing on the sidelines, D'Antoni opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound. Finally, he could only let his hands drop powerlessly.
It's over.
These words surfaced in everyone's hearts.
The backbone of this team, the team's last and only hope—
In that world-shattering collision just now—
Had been completely snapped.
Lin Feng slowly climbed up from the cold floor.
A series of tearing pains came from his chest.
Every breath felt like pulling a tattered pair of bellows.
But he couldn't feel it.
Physical pain, in the face of that immense sense of powerlessness that could completely freeze the soul—
Seemed so insignificant.
He lifted his head.
He watched Westbrook walk to the free-throw line and steadily sink the extra shot amidst a mountain-shaking, tsunami-like roar of "MVP" cheers.
He looked at the scoreboard, where the gap had instantly widened to a shocking 18 points.
His eyes were hollow.
The frenzied fighting spirit that had been reignited in the locker room by Kobe's words—
At that moment just now—
Had been completely extinguished.
The rest of the game entered a period of one-sided slaughter.
The Lakers' morale had completely collapsed.
Their defense was non-existent.
Their offense was chaotic.
One of Gasol's shots at the rim missed the basket entirely.
Nash's pass went straight into Durant's hands.
The point difference snowballed, growing wider and wider.
Twenty points!
Twenty-two points!
Twenty-five points!
D'Antoni finally called a timeout.
He looked at the figure wearing number 24 on the court, running back and forth like a walking corpse.
He knew he couldn't let him stay on the court anymore.
That wasn't a game.
That was a public execution.
The timeout ended.
D'Antoni subbed out all the starters, including Lin Feng.
The game officially entered garbage time.
Lin Feng walked off the court.
Welcoming him were the complex gazes of the Thunderfans, filled with mockery and pity.
He ignored them.
He walked straight to the end of the bench, grabbed a towel, and abruptly threw it over his head.
He didn't want anyone to see the expression on his face at this moment.
Beneath the towel was darkness.
Just like his mood at this moment.
Finally.
The harsh final buzzer sounded throughout the arena.
115:85.
The Los Angeles Lakers had lost the second game of the Western Conference Finals in a manner akin to a slaughter.
They trailed 0:2 in the series.
After the game, the Lakers didn't even hold a press conference.
Media outlets around the world were using the most excited and exaggerated headlines to pronounce the death sentence for this series.
[ESPN: Victory of Talent! thunder duo's 2:0 Sweep Imminent!]
[Yahoo Sports: The Miracle Ends! Individual Heroism Is Vulnerable Before the King-Bomb Duo!]
[Los Angeles Times: The End of an Era? The LakersDynasty May Completely Collapse!]
The new King of LA, who had been elevated to the altar just two days ago—
At this moment, he had become the world's biggest joke... On the bus back to the hotel, the atmosphere was so oppressive it felt like the air was solidifying.
No one spoke.
Only the unfamiliar, hostile lights of Oklahoma Cityoutside the window were rapidly receding.
Lin Feng leaned against the window, saying nothing.
His mind was like a broken movie projector.
Over and over again, it frantically played that scene on a loop.
He had activated the Eye of the Heavenly Emperor.
He had predicted everything Westbrook would do.
He had stood in the most perfect defensive position.
And then.
He had been sent flying like a piece of paper.
That sense of powerlessness.
The powerlessness of using all your wisdom and all your skills, only to be completely crushed by the purest, most unreasonable strength.
It was like a cold venomous snake, tightly coiled around his heart.
Constantly gnawing at his pride and his self-confidence.
Back at the hotel.
Lin Feng ignored everyone and walked straight back to his room.
Bang!
He slammed the door and locked it.
He completely isolated himself from this world filled with failure and mockery.
He didn't turn on the lights.
In the darkness, he walked to the bed and picked up the tablet specifically used for watching game footage.
He clicked on the highlight reel that the media had already dubbed the "Dunk of the Century."
He looked at the screen.
At his wretched self being knocked backward.
Once.
And again.
He wanted to find the reason.
He wanted to know exactly where he had gone wrong.
But there was no answer.
It wasn't a technical error.
It wasn't even a tactical mistake.
It was just... pure talent, crushing him.
Buzz...
Just as he was sinking into a massive vortex of self-doubt.
The phone thrown on the bed suddenly vibrated slightly.
The screen lit up.
Lin Feng ignored it.
He didn't want to see anyone's messages right now.
Whether it was comfort or encouragement.
To him, it all felt like cheap pity.
Buzz...
The phone vibrated again.
Feeling somewhat irritable, Lin Feng picked up the phone.
He was prepared to turn it off.
But before turning it off, his finger subconsciously swiped the screen open.
It was a text message from an unknown number.
Frowning, he irritably clicked on the message.
The content of the text was very short.
Just one sentence.
But it was this one sentence that caused Lin Feng's pupils to suddenly contract into dangerous pinpoints!
"I see a lion being attacked by two Cheetahs."
"Though in a wretched state, the look in its eyes is very interesting."
—S.J.
S.J.!
At that moment, Lin Feng's mind went blank!
In this world, there was only one woman who would use this abbreviation so casually and as a matter of course!
Scarlett Johansson!
She... she was actually following this game?!
Lin Feng's heart began to pound uncontrollably!
He stared fixedly at the text message, reading it again word by word.
There was no comfort in this message.
There wasn't even a shred of sympathy.
It was a tone that was slightly condescending, observant, and even... playful.
What she saw was not a defeated player who had lost a game.
But a lion... being attacked by two Cheetahs in a desperate situation!
Though in a wretched state.
The look in its eyes was very interesting!
This unique, even somewhat cold perspective was like a blinding bolt of lightning, suddenly tearing through the thick dark clouds of "despair" in Lin Feng's heart!
He understood instantly!
A "Queen" of Scarlett Johansson's level!
The truly interesting "prey" in their eyes!
Were never those victors who had smooth sailing all the way!
But rather those!
Who could shred their cages in the deepest of desperate straits, be reborn through blood, and turn the tables on the hunters... true conquerors!
Chapter 155: The Lion's Hunting Ground! The Queen's Trial
Scarlett Johansson!
S.J.!
This name was like an electric current, instantly surging through Lin Feng's entire body!
His body, which had become somewhat stiff due to a massive sense of powerlessness, suddenly tensed up!
She... why would she send him a text message?!
And she was actually watching this game, where he was being beaten like a dog?!
Lin Feng's heart began to pound uncontrollably!
The hand holding his phone even began to tremble slightly.
He stared intently at that short sentence on the screen.
He read it again, word by word.
"I see a lion being besieged by two Cheetahs."
"Though in a sorry state, the look in its eyes is very interesting."
In this sentence, there was no comfort.
No sympathy.
There wasn't even a hint of encouragement.
It was a tone that was scrutinizing, calm, and even... playful.
Lin Feng's brain worked rapidly.
He repeatedly mulled over every word in that sentence.
Lion.
Instead of a loser who lost the game.
Cheetahs.
Instead of the victors who won the game.
Besieged.
Instead of defeated.
A sorry state.
But, the look in its eyes is very interesting!
These words were like keys, suddenly unlocking the door in Lin Feng's heart that had been tightly sealed by 'despair' and'self-doubt'!
He understood instantly!
He understood completely!
A woman of Scarlett Johansson's caliber!
The way she viewed things was completely different from ordinary people!
In her world, there were no simple wins or losses, no cheap sympathy!
What she saw was something deeper, the most essential aspects of power, conquest, and will!
She didn't see a pathetic wretch who had been blown out by his opponents.
But a King of Beasts who had temporarily fallen into a predicament!
She didn't care if this lion was covered in blood or in a sorry state.
What she cared about was whether, while being besieged by two top-tier hunters, the unyielding flames of a king still burned in that lion's eyes!
"The look in its eyes... is very interesting..."
Lin Feng repeated these words in a low voice.
That massive sense of powerlessness from being crushed by talent, which had been weighing on his heart and making it almost impossible to breathe.
At this moment, it quietly dissipated.
Replacing it was a more dangerous, more aggressive, and unfamiliar emotion!
He realized.
Scarlett Johansson was sending him a signal through this text message.
A trial!
A cruel yet fascinating trial from the Queen!
What she wanted to see wasn't how he could put up flashy stats like in G1 and then lose the game.
Nor did she want to see how he would be smashed to pieces by his opponents' savage collisions in G2.
What she wanted to see was how this besieged lion would use its wisdom and claws to tear apart this damn cage that had put him in such a sorry state!
What she wanted to see was how he would take control of and destroy this 'hunting ground' belonging to the Cheetahs!
"Hunting ground..."
A flash of inspiration struck Lin Feng's mind!
This term happened to resonate most strongly with that third, most mysterious power sleeping within him, symbolizing 'Absolute Control'!
The Eye of the Heavenly Emperor!
In that instant, the image of being posterized by Russell Westbrook surfaced clearly before his eyes once again.
He had activated the Eye of the Heavenly Emperor.
He had predicted everything Russell Westbrook would do.
But he was still sent flying.
Why?
Where exactly did I go wrong?
Before, he couldn't find the answer, thinking it was purely a matter of being crushed by talent.
But now.
Under the guidance of Scarlett's unique, queen-like perspective.
He found the root of the problem!
He was wrong!
From the very beginning, he had been using the Eye of the Heavenly Emperor incorrectly!
The core of the Eye of the Heavenly Emperor's ability wasn't 'prediction' at all!
It was 'control'!
It was to look down upon the entire chess match like an emperor, and then dominate every piece on the board!
His previous thought process was to predict the opponent's actions and then use his own body to block them.
That was a defender's mindset!
That was the mindset of someone passively taking hits!
What would a true emperor do?
He wouldn't personally take the field to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the opposing soldiers.
He would use his eyes to see through the entire battlefield.
Then, he would mobilize his vast armies to set traps, to divide and encircle, to let the enemy walk into a tailor-made dead end themselves!
Lin Feng's breathing became rapid!
He realized that to defeat irrational, pure collections of talent like the Thunder's duo.
What was needed wasn't a stronger spear!
Aomine Daiki's Unrestricted Shot was a spear!
What was needed wasn't a more accurate arrow either!
Shintaro Midorima's Full-Court Three-Pointer was an arrow!
When the opponent was a mobile wall cast from the hardest granite.
No matter how sharp the spear or how precise the arrow, they all seemed so powerless!
What he needed was a pair of emperor's eyes that could see through the entire chess match and dominate all the pieces!
What he needed was the true evolution of the Eye of the Heavenly Emperor!
What he needed was to evolve himself from a general charging into battle into an emperor who controlled the whole court!
But... how could he make the Eye of the Heavenly Emperor evolve?
How could he obtain that kind of absolute control belonging to an emperor?
Lin Feng's gaze fell upon that text message once more.
He looked at the initials representing Scarlett Johansson.
S.J.
A thought, like a bolt of lightning, pierced through the fog in his mind!
He understood!
The key to unlocking this power!
It lay with the woman who had sent him the text!
It was she who, with her unique perspective, had awakened him!
It was she who had allowed him to see the direction forward clearly!
This trial wasn't just about basketball.
It was even more about whether he, Lin Feng, was qualified to enter her world and become that 'interesting' conqueror in her eyes!
The corners of Lin Feng's mouth slowly curled into a smile full of ambition and desire.
Upon the ruins in his heart named failure.
A brand new palace named 'Emperor' was rising from the ground!
He no longer paid attention to that damn 0-2 scoreline.
Nor did he care about the overwhelming mockery and doubt from the outside world.
His gaze had already pierced through the Oklahomanight.
It was cast toward the upcoming home court in Los Angeles.
Staples Center.
That was his true hunting ground!
Lin Feng picked up his phone, his slender fingers quickly tapping on the screen.
He found that unknown number from Scarlett Johansson.
He didn't hesitate for a moment.
He drafted a reply.
"A lion needs a larger hunting ground."
Message sent successfully.
Lin Feng turned off the phone and casually tossed it aside.
He stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window of the hotel room.
Outside was the unfamiliar night view of Oklahoma City.
His gaze became calmer and deeper than ever before.
The anxiety and unwillingness caused by being crushed by talent had vanished without a trace.
In its place was an absolute confidence that controlled everything.
He knew.
The key to winning or losing this Western Conference Finals was no longer in Oklahoma.
G3.
Los Angeles.
Staples Center.
Another confrontation outside the court had already begun.
And the outcome of that confrontation would determine the final direction of this series.