章 444: Chapter 444: Carmelo Anthony's Fifth Foul
"Go! Go! Go!"
The Suns' momentum was overwhelming as they headed into the second half.
When facing off against James, Wade Dong could still see the fatigue in James' eyes... This was a bad sign for the Heat.
James held the ball and assumed a triple threat position, but Wade Dong remained unmoved!
The home crowd was unsure who to cheer for... James was the Heat's star player, but Wade Dong had already won them over; he was the league's top player.
"Swish!"
The ball hit the ground, and James patted it, turned his back to Wade Dong, spun, and created space for a half-step jump shot, attempting a three-pointer.
"G~~~"
This shot bounced off the rim.
Wade Dong reminded James, "You need to adjust your state; you can't keep forcing it."
"If you can do it, why can't I?!"
James retorted, clearly forcing himself, but he refused to admit defeat.
Down in the paint, Green and Anthony were jostling for position, fighting for the rebound. Green secretly tugged at Anthony's jersey before jumping, securing the defensive rebound.
Green's subtle move went unnoticed by the referee, but it hindered Anthony's jump.
Before Green could pass the ball to Wade Dong, Anthony pushed him in the chest, "I've had enough of you! Even going for the rebound is a foul?!"
The referee didn't blow the whistle, and Green was still smirking.
Caught off guard by Anthony's push, Green stumbled and fell to the ground!
Green got up and headbutted Anthony in the chest. Anthony took a step back, and it looked like they were about to get into a fight. Their teammates and the referee rushed over to separate them.
James hugged Anthony, while Wade Dong stood protectively in front of Green.
The scuffle subsided, but the battle wasn't over. Anthony and Green, separated by five or six people, continued to exchange trash talk:
"F*** you!"
"F*** you..."
"F*** you!"
"F*** you..."
"That's enough, keep it down!"
Wade Dong pulled Green aside and whispered in his ear, "Well done!"
"Beep!!!"
The conflict finally came to an end, and the referee gave each player a technical foul.
Green was replaced by Carter.
Anthony wanted to protest to the referee; Green had clearly pulled his jersey when going for the rebound. Was the referee blind?
This was the Heat's home court; how could they not get the benefit of the doubt?
It wasn't the referee's fault; Green's move was indeed subtle. He had tugged at Anthony's collar as he jumped, giving Anthony the feeling of being shouldered, which also hindered his jump.
Paul and Wade Dong each took their technical foul shots.
The score was 64:58!
The Heat were still trailing by 6 points.
As the defensive moves became more aggressive, the players' tempers flared, and their actions became more intense.
With 7 minutes left in the third quarter—
"Bang~~~"
James drove to the basket and collided with Whiteside.
Whiteside, a towering figure over 2 meters tall and weighing over 200 kilograms, was sent flying into the stands by James.
"Beep!!!"
The referee blew the whistle and called a blocking foul on Whiteside.
"Are you f***ing blind? He's been standing there for a second!"
Gentry pointed at the spot where Whiteside was knocked down and yelled at the referee.
The referee turned away without even glancing at Gentry, making his rage seem somewhat futile.
Wade Dong's eyes narrowed with anger. The Suns' defense was indeed aggressive, but objectively speaking, Whiteside had already established his position under the basket, and James had charged into him.
From any angle, this should have been an offensive foul, not a defensive one.
"Swish!!!"
"Swish!!!"
James stepped up to the free-throw line and made both shots.
The score was tied at 73:73!
The Heat had caught up.
"Defense!"
"Defense!"
"Defense!"
As the Suns attacked, the home crowd began cheering for the Heat again.
Wade Dong dribbled into the frontcourt, facing Anthony's defense. Wade Dong suddenly stopped, faked a shot, and Anthony lunged forward...
"Heh..."
Wade Dong's lips curled slightly. He jumped a second later than Anthony, leaning into Anthony before shooting.
...
Iverson smiled, "I really don't understand Wade Dong. He has the blood of players from our era, but he occasionally likes to play dirty."
"His basketball IQ is off the charts."
Kobe smacked his lips, "This isn't dirty play; it's all for the win. After this foul, Anthony has five fouls, and the Heat are in trouble."
Nash exclaimed, "Oh my, and the ball went in!"
...
Wade Dong's three-pointer hit the rim and bounced straight up before falling back into the basket.
It was a 3+1!
Anthony's face was filled with frustration, but he had to take a break.
He wasn't calm; after being provoked by Green, Anthony's defensive moves were often directed at the man instead of the ball. Wade Dong took advantage of this, knowing that Anthony already had four fouls, and intentionally drew a foul from him.
"Swish!!!"
Wade Dong made the free throw.
The score was 77:73!
Wade Dong had regained the lead for the Suns with just one shot.
Beasley replaced Anthony. As the Heat attacked, Beasley cut to the basket, and Paul made a bounce pass to him.
This was a great scoring opportunity.
Beasley dribbled once and drove to the basket! Wade Dong appeared beside Beasley, reaching out...
"Huh?!"
Beasley hesitated during his layup attempt.
He had been dribbling, and his layup motion was still in progress, but the ball was gone!
Wade Dong had stolen the ball from Beasley, turned, and evaded Wade's pressure.
Dribbling to the paint, James and Bosh were already waiting under the basket for Wade Dong, who jumped and performed a pull-up dunk, avoiding their blocks.
"Clang!!!"
The pull-up dunk!
This was almost Wade Dong's signature move in the league.
Almost no player could execute this practical pull-up dunk like Wade Dong. Whenever he did it, there was always at least one defender under the basket, sometimes two, and sometimes three.
"MVP!"
"MVP!"
"MVP!"
The American Airlines Arena erupted in cheers once more.
The fans were conflicted; Wade Dong's steal and pull-up dunk had put the Heat 6 points behind, but his dunk was so spectacular that they couldn't help but cheer.
The score was 79:73!
The Suns' players had returned to defense, but Beasley still couldn't figure out how Wade Dong had stolen the ball from him.
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