章 11: Chapter 10 This is My Horse
"I don't have a comeback, but my desire to retaliate is even stronger."
Leading by 12 points, if they were to be overtaken now, it wouldn't just be a matter of embarrassment; it would be a disgrace that followed them for their entire rookie season.
They absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen.
But in basketball, many things can't be achieved merely by willing them.
Just like how Little Nelson tried to break through Su Wan's solo defense, using every trick in his "arsenal" and still failing to shake him off, eventually resorting to a desperate "Pig Rooting" drive inside.
Su Wan was honestly worried about breaking the guy's neck and didn't dare to make a move.
Besides, his defensive coverage was enough to handle all of Little Nelson's shooting options under the basket, and in terms of body control, he was superior to Little Nelson, fully capable of rewarding him with a Block under the basket.
So he wasn't in a rush to make a move.
Little Nelson showed his mature side.
He charged under the basket and instantly tossed the ball to Howard.
Howard caught the ball, intent on dunking. However, his minor movements during the catch—first failing to secure the ball, then a clear pause, followed by adjusting his direction with small steps before finally jumping.
But before he could jump, just as the ball lifted over his head, it met with Su Wan's brutal Block.
"Don't bring that amateur stuff you use in school to fool professional players, it won't work!"
The ball landed out of bounds. The Cavaliers' teammates couldn't save it, and the possession remained with the Magic Team. Su Wan nearly shook his finger in mockery. Stimulated, Howard soon headed under the basket to engage in an intense "positioning battle" with the Cavaliers' inside players.
Little Nelson, smelling Su Wan's armpit as he rushed under the basket, completely missed this.
After Howard had just secured a good position, there was a loud "clang" above, and the Cavaliers' inside man he had pinned managed to twist around and grab the rebound before him.
He shook his head impatiently, wanting to argue with Little Nelson:
"Didn't you see how hard I was fighting for position in there?"
But before he could even gesture, the Cavaliers, led by Su Wan, switched to "fast attack mode." Five players formed a ">" shape and charged toward the Magic Team's basket.
Leading the charge, Su Wan feigned a pass, easily deceiving the Magic Team players defending him—his previous two assists to Calderon for three-pointers had made them wary of ignoring his passing.
"Bang!"
Su Wan, easily under the basket, leaped high and slammed the Dunk.
Howard, rushing back for the serve, met Su Wan's mocking gaze just as he caught the ball, his head buried lower than ever, like a troublemaking child, lower even than the unwitting girls he was meant to rescue at work. Just as he caught the ball, Little Nelson blurted out a request:
"Dwight, can we do a screen?"
After several attempts, he hated to admit it but had to:
Just by himself, he struggled to break through that Huaxia player's defense.
"Just give me that damn ball!"
Howard cursed internally, rejecting the screen suggestion. Crossed half-court, directly asking for the ball high up. Little Nelson, sensing Howard's mood change, knew the immature high-schooler was getting temperamental again and didn't argue, passing him the ball.
High post position, he guarded the ball, observing his teammates' positions as well as the Cavaliers' defensive arrangement. The scene was reminiscent of Kevin Garnett. But Su Wan knew Howard's limits.
High post playmaking?
He doesn't have that skill, got it?
At his signal, Calderon swiftly double-teamed.
He wasn't a steal expert, lacking defensive pressure. But as soon as Howard saw someone approach, his seemingly calm demeanor panicked, and he hastily tried to throw the ball.
That was what Su Wan was waiting for.
The moment the ball flew from Young Beast's hands, Su Wan leaned forward, extended his arm, and successfully intercepted the pass.
Another fast break opportunity.
Su Wan launched himself into the air, fully showcasing his talent.
It was a "two-handed reverse dunk."
"Only 2 points away, OMG, LeBron, your teammate playing in the summer league is really bringing dimensionality reduction!"
Wade was dumbfounded. Little Nelson and Howard's skills, visible in the first half, were certainly top-notch in the summer league.
But with Su Wan on the court, they seemed to forget how to play altogether.
Either embarrassingly blocked or plagued with turnovers.
And the summer league wasn't usually a place where "fast break counters" came so easily.
The stark contrast boiled down to one explanation: they were simply outclassed by Su Wan.
"So, Dwight, how many points for that dunk?"
As the score closed to a 2-point difference, the cheering grew thunderous, like a torrential downpour. As the focus of everyone's attention, Su Wan, while retreating, suddenly interacted with Wade at the sideline.
LeBron pursed his lips, tempted to bite his nails.
Wade was surprised—why would Su Wan start a conversation with him out of the blue? They hadn't even met, but he responded without hesitation, "9 points—I hold back one point fearing you might become too arrogant, bro, you're truly insane!"
Always the "9-point guy," right?
That "9 point" response came naturally.
"Let's do a screen, Dwight!" Little Nelson, observing the perilous 2-point difference, proposed again.
Even at that moment, he was still rationally thinking about ways to turn the game around.
But he had forgotten—his partner was a high-schooler.
And one who had just become the "No.1 Pick" high-schooler following LeBron James. The Magic Team, for his sake, was even prepared to trade two-time Scoring King Tracy McGrady. Being the center of attention, he was in a period where he cared immensely about his own image.
Little Nelson's remark was essentially saying his high post playmaking was inadequate!
That was unbearable for him.
That Huaxia guy mocking me is one thing, but you, being ranked where in the Magic Team, how dare you talk to me like that!
"Give me the ball, I can solve the problem!"
When Howard said this, a trace of helplessness flashed across Little Nelson's face. He knew that, under Su Wan's feet, there would be two more "stepping stones." One marked "Dwyane Howard" and the other "Jamaal Nelson."
He knew Howard's skills very well, and he absolutely couldn't be the key to breaking the situation.
In this game, if the Magic Team wanted to stabilize their footing and widen the score gap again, it could only be him and Howard doing pick-and-rolls, using breakthroughs to attract double teams, and then passing the ball to Howard to let his talent shine in a variety of "Dunk Shows."
But he couldn't stop Howard and could only watch as the Cavaliers grabbed the rebound after Howard's frantic missed shots under the basket.
The ball got to Su Wan's hands.
He actually raised both hands, stirring up all the fans in the stadium to stand up, witnessing the moment he tied the score.
"LeBron, your teammate really doesn't know how to be low-key!" Wade stood up with the restless crowd, criticising, but from his excitement, he seemed to wish to replace Su Wan and enjoy such moments himself.
He realized that Su Wan and he were "like-minded," both aficionados of "show-off culture."
And he had mastered it deeply.
The atmosphere in the stadium became even more fervent.
However, such cheers sounded like heavy blows to the Magic Team players' ears.
It made them panic, even Little Nelson, who had spent four years honing himself in "March Madness" and was considered an "Old Rookie," felt his heartbeat speed up involuntarily, and his thoughts became chaotic.
He felt like he was playing an away game.
A small figure on his shoulder kept advising him: Give up, Little Ni, outside it's all Su Wan's people!
In such a state, it was naturally impossible to interfere with Su Wan.
Breakthroughs to the basket felt lighter than ever before.
As Howard was powering up to retaliate with a Block against Su Wan, and Little Nelson stepped forward, Howard was waiting under the basket, ready to jump out at any time. But Little Nelson slipped past far too quickly, and by the time he realized, Su Wan had already jumped up in front of him.
The aggressive offensive made Howard instinctively back away.
He...
Hesitated!
Thud!
Another Slam Dunk succeeded.
Just like that, Su Wan wiped out a 12-point difference.
"No.1 Pick, is that it?"
This was unequivocally the most ego-bruising moment in Howard's life; Su Wan's contemptuous tone trampled ruthlessly on his dignity. He felt ashamed of his initial retreat, and then…
He became even more irrational.
He desperately wanted to prove his nickname, "Little Garnett."
This resulted in giving the Cavaliers opportunities for counterattacks, time and again.
Before the third quarter had even ended, the Cavaliers had not only erased a 12-point halftime deficit but had overtaken by 6 points. That meant, during this period, the Cavaliers had grabbed 18 points more than the Magic Team.
This was no longer a game; it was entirely a one-sided "slaughter show."
Howard became numb, and Little Nelson's eyes dimmed.
Yet the noise in the arena only grew louder; the spectator seats turned into a nightclub's "stomping pool."
Three minutes before the game ended, Su Wan made a breakthrough layup, scoring and pushing his own game score to 24 points, also widening the gap between the teams to more than 15 points—an unequivocal one-stroke decision.
At that moment, the system's notification sound echoed in his mind, and his "The Zone" mode was about to automatically exit.
Su Wan caught a glimpse of Dwyane Wade yelling at him, suddenly curling the corners of his mouth, rushed towards the sidelines, jumped onto the technician's table, and shouted at the crowd:
"This is my house!"
Boom—
The arena was silent for a second and then, like a nuclear explosion, a tidal wave of sound swept through the entire stadium, the vibrations so strong it seemed even the floor was trembling a bit.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!"
On the Cavaliers' bench, Su Wan's two teammates tightly hugged each other, as Su Wan's leap gave them goosebumps.
So imposing!
Way too imposing!
Wade was stunned.
His scalp tingled because this was something he wanted to do but never dared to!
After all, his agent had set his persona as one of humility and low profile.
Unexpectedly, Su Wan had done it ahead of him, even using the exact same lines.
Behind came the referee's whistle.
The game wasn't over yet, but making such a celebratory gesture during the game was bound to result in a technical foul. But Su Wan didn't care anymore, he didn't plan to continue playing anyway, completely ignoring the referee and walked over to Ma Long.
Ma Long was already familiar with his antics, needless to say, felt the game had become boring too, didn't want to continue.
Without even needing Su Wan to say anything, he took the initiative to call a timeout for substitutions.
"Uncle!"
"Uncle!"
"Uncle!"
…
The unified chant resounded once again, and Erin, watching Su Wan once again idly lying on the bench, wrote in her notebook:
"Whether you admit it or not, Su Wan is the most influential player in the Summer League. No rookie has ever affected the fans of the Summer League like he has. Just like he said, this, is his domain!"
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