"Hit him, just punch him—hit him hard! Kai Chen, well done!"
On the live stream, NBA Insider once again fell into a frenzy. "This guy, Deandre Ayton—you're still a number one pick?"
"You dare defend Kai Chen one-on-one?"
"he'll spank you, he'll be the daddy you never had!!!"
On the court—
"Give me that damn basketball!"
Back on offense, Ayton demanded the ball again in the low post. Facing Lopez's defense, he spun sharply under the rim and went up for a layup!
"Clang!"
This time Ayton shook off Lopez, but the ball rolled off the rim!
Carmelo secured the rebound and passed to Beverley.
Clippers' possession.
Beverley fed the ball to Kai again.
Beyond the three-point line, Kai completely ignored Booker in front of him, called for a screen, and once again hunted Ayton on the switch.
"Here he comes again—Kai Chen is calling for another one-on-one against Ayton."
"Last possession, Kai Chen nearly faked Ayton into giving up his bank card password."
"I wonder how he'll finish this one."
The two on-site commentators were brimming with anticipation.
Kai Chen's fearless targeting of the opponent's core player was simply thrilling.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
As the commentators spoke, Kai used consecutive crossovers to burst past Ayton's left side.
Just as Ayton reached in for a steal, Kai spun lightly.
Not only did he evade the swipe, he created separation and drove straight to the rim.
Under the basket, Phoenix big man Johnson wore a fierce expression. If Kai came in, he would knock him to the floor!
"Boom!"
Facing the 2.10-meter big man, Kai showed no hesitation. One step, then he exploded upward!
He hammered the ball through the hoop with his left hand!
"Roar!"
The violent dunk over a defender made the rim shriek.
"Beep!"
At the same time, the referee's whistle sounded from the sideline.
"The third overall pick blew past the number one pick, drove into the paint, dunked over Johnson, and drew the foul!"
"On that play, Kai Chen fully displayed his elite athleticism."
After the call was confirmed, the two commentators swallowed hard.
"Swish!"
At the free-throw line, Kai calmly knocked down the shot, completing the and-one.
"It's hard to imagine a talent like Kai Chen wasn't the number one pick."
The commentator was still replaying the dunk in his mind.
From the dribble move to the poster finish, it was stunning from start to finish.
The entire Footprint Center was ignited, the cheers growing louder and louder.
Suns possession.
After Booker brought the ball up, he struggled against Kai's suffocating defense and finally passed to Ayton.
"Deandre Ayton is going one-on-one with Lopez again!"
"The number one pick absolutely won't allow himself to lose to the same man three times!"
The commentators locked in as Ayton began backing down.!"
With a smooth half-spin, he shook Lopez and went up for an underhand layup.
"Slap!"
But just as Ayton slipped past Lopez, Kai—who had been lurking on the weak side—flew in from the wing and sent the layup away with a monstrous block!
At the same time, the 24-second shot clock lit up.
Phoenix committed a shot-clock violation under the Clippers' defense!
"He's still a goddamn number one pick!?"
Lopez, fired up, pointed at Ayton and complained to Kai, "Why was he drafted ahead of you?"
"I've never seen such a soft player!"
Lopez said it casually, but Kai couldn't help finding it funny.
To be fair, Ayton's dominance in college had made him impossible to pass up.
But who would've thought that after entering the NBA, he'd develop a fear of contact?
Transition—Clippers ball.
Beverley crossed half-court and quickly found Kai, who had come off a screen on the left wing.
Phoenix's defense was nowhere close. Wide open, Kai rose and fired.
"Swish!"
The ball traced a perfect arc and splashed through again!
11-0!
"Kai Chen is treating this like an All-Star Game!"
Almost simultaneously with the three, Suns fans inside the Footprint Center stood up and erupted.
"See that? That's the player we didn't even give a workout to!"
"Unstoppable threes, violent poster dunks—Ayton won't pull off moves like that in his entire career!"
"Trade Ayton while he's still young!"
On the sideline, Phoenix's head coach sensed the danger. "Deandre, stop forcing one-on-ones. Move the ball!"
If Ayton kept challenging Kai, the deficit would only grow.
Unfortunately—
Ayton didn't listen.
On the next possession, he caught it in the low post again. Without letting the offense develop, he attacked Lopez one-on-one.
"Swish!"
A smooth spin move beat Lopez. He accelerated toward the rim and went up for a dunk!
Just when it looked like he was finally going to toughen up—
"Boom!"
Jeff Green rotated over and exploded upward, blocking the dunk head-on!
"Ahhh!!!"
After the rejection, Jeff Green roared at Ayton with authority.
"Deandre Ayton's sure dunk was stuffed by Green!"
"That's his second block of the game!"
The live commentator sighed helplessly. "He's proving with his play just how questionable Phoenix's summer decision was."
On the court—
Beverley grabbed the loose ball and tried to push in transition, but Ayton yanked him down from behind.
"Beep!"
The referee immediately called the foul.
"What the hell was that!?"
Beverley, furious after being dragged down, marched up and shoved Ayton hard.
"Ah—oh!"
Whether Beverley pushed too hard or Ayton lost his footing, Ayton fell to the floor.
Kai Chen and Carmelo quickly stepped in between them.
Unexpectedly, the Phoenix players didn't even rush over. They didn't seem interested in defending Ayton.
After review, the referee assessed Beverley a technical foul.
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