章 361: Chapter 361: The 2014 All-Star Game Begins
If the camera had frozen the moment of Wade Dong's dunk, only three people would have been in the frame.
George and Durant had moved away, but Griffin and James had just rushed to the basket, so they were also in the shot.
"So envious..."
Griffin looked on with envy. He was a dunk king too, and in theory, he could also perform such a rim-rattling dunk, but it wouldn't have the same aesthetic appeal as Wade Dong's.
After Wade Dong won the dunk contest last year, James publicly stated that he would participate in the following year's dunk contest. However, Griffin, the 2011 dunk contest champion, didn't express any interest.
Wade Dong landed lightly and patted Griffin on the shoulder, "If I had known you were rushing to the basket, I would have let you take the dunk."
"Haha..."
Griffin laughed, "My dunks aren't as explosive as yours."
"You shouldn't say that about yourself."
Wade Dong said seriously, "It's just that your arms are a little shorter, but you jump high."
Griffin: |??ω?` )
Griffin was confused. He couldn't tell if Wade Dong was consoling him, and he also knew that fans often teased him about his short arms, even creating funny pictures. But Griffin felt misunderstood by the fans. He believed his shoulders were broad, and his arms weren't short.
The score was 16-7!!!
After Wade Dong's dunk, the West trailed the East by 9 points.
The East team attacked.
Irving dribbled to the frontcourt and, facing Harden, took a three-point shot.
"Swish!!!"
The ball swished through the net.
The score was 19-7!!!
Seeing the widening gap, Wade Dong and Durant exchanged glances, knowing they had to play more seriously.
However, with Harden on the court, Wade Dong didn't play the point guard position. He let Harden stay back to receive the inbound pass and then dribble to the frontcourt.
Wade defended Harden.
Harden waved his hand, signaling Howard to come up for a pick-and-roll. Howard understood and blocked Wade, allowing Harden to drive to the basket. After the drive, Howard retreated to the three-point line.
"Whoosh~~~"
Harden flicked his wrist, passing the ball to Howard at the three-point line.
Howard caught the ball and hesitated for a moment. All the other players stopped and looked at Howard, and the arena fell silent for a second.
Wade Dong shouted, "Howard, shoot!"
"Hmm..."
Howard hesitated for a moment and, amidst the attention of the entire arena, attempted a three-pointer!
"Whoosh~~~"
Howard's three-point shooting form was somewhat stiff, and he ended up with an air ball.
"Haha..."
The players sitting on the sidelines were about to burst into laughter when they suddenly saw Wade Dong rush to the basket and use a 'fishing the moon' move to grab the ball before it hit the ground, then slam it with one arm!
"Bang!!!"
Wade Dong slammed the wild three-point attempt into the basket.
After the dunk, Wade Dong pounded his chest and pointed at Howard, "Good pass!"
This assist was credited to Howard, so Howard immediately put his hands on his hips and smiled, "Yes, only Dong understands me!"
Everyone also understood Wade Dong's joke, and Howard took the opportunity to defuse the awkwardness of his air ball.
The score was 19-9!!!
For the next three minutes, the West began to close the gap under the leadership of Wade Dong and Durant.
With eight minutes left in the first quarter.
The score was 29-24!!!
The West trailed the East by 5 points. Both teams substituted their reserves, and the new lineups were:
West: Curry, Lillard, Davis, Howard, and Aldridge.
...
East: Paul, DeRozan, Johnson, Bosh, and Millsap.
Although these were the reserve lineups, any team with players of this caliber could directly book their championship rings. Even the Suns would struggle to beat such a team.
The West attacked.
Curry was also participating in his first All-Star Game and was eager to perform. He dribbled to the midcourt area.
At this moment, the other players hadn't yet positioned themselves, so Curry took a half-court three-pointer!
"Swish!!!"
The ball swished through the net!
"Holy shit~"
Several players were still running to the frontcourt when they saw the ball slide through the basket. Turning around, they saw Curry swaggering with his shoulders swaying.
The score was 29-27!!!
When Curry made the half-court three-pointer, the West attacked again, and Lillard also took a three-pointer from the half-court line!
"Swish!!!"
The ball also swished through the net.
It seemed that although Lillard lost the three-point contest to Curry yesterday, his three-point shooting was still impressive.
Lillard was substituted out three minutes after coming on, just like Davis, who played for only four or five minutes before being replaced by D'Antoni.
After all, it was the All-Star Game, and the coach needed to give playing time to every player, ensuring everyone had a chance to play. The more popular players would stay on the court a bit longer, while second-year rookies like Lillard and Davis would be lucky to play for seven or eight minutes in the entire game.
The score was 37-37!!!
At the end of the first quarter, the game was tied.
Wade Dong played for seven minutes in the first quarter, scoring 6 points with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and no blocks. The most eye-catching play was his rim-rattling dunk.
In the second quarter, D'Antoni wanted Wade Dong to continue playing, but Wade Dong pushed Curry forward, indicating that Curry should replace him. This made Lillard, who was standing nearby, envious.
This was the All-Star Weekend... It was rare for any player to have such influence over the coach's substitution decisions. Perhaps there were only a handful of players in the entire league who could do this.
Wade Dong wanted Curry to stay on the court, and D'Antoni didn't object, arranging for Curry, Durant, Griffin, Harden, and Love to play.
The second quarter began.
James held the ball under the basket and, without looking, bounced a pass to George.
Anthony slipped to the basket, received James' pass, and executed a reverse slam!
"This kind of cooperation..."
Wade Dong silently noted this play. It wasn't a brilliant move but rather a result of their growing chemistry.
It seemed that the Miami Heat's Big Five were becoming more cohesive, and if they faced the Heat in the Finals again this year, it might be a tough challenge.
The West attacked.
Durant also received a pass from Curry and made a mid-range jump shot.
Both teams were playing relaxed defense, so as long as they didn't throw up wild shots, they could generally score.
The second quarter continued for seven minutes.
D'Antoni was struggling to withstand the pressure from the audience, so he put Wade Dong back in the game.
If Wade Dong didn't play, the audience would blame the coach's decision, and D'Antoni didn't want to take the blame like Gentry.
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
As soon as Wade Dong appeared, the arena erupted with 'MVP' chants, a sound that hadn't been heard since Wade Dong left the court in the first quarter.
There were 4 minutes and 51 seconds left in the first half.
The score was 63-57!!!
The West still trailed the East by 6 points.
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