บท 525: Chapter 525: The Eastern All-Stars' Hope for Victory
In the Eastern All-Stars' locker room,
Budenholzer was seriously explaining tactics to the players. Although it was an All-Star game, they would still play seriously in the fourth quarter.
After all, the All-Star Game MVP is awarded to players from the winning team.
No matter how well you perform, if your team loses, you can't win the MVP.
....
"Old Kobe, are you really not considering joining the Suns?"
As the second half was about to start, Wade Dong urged him, "Come over this summer, and I'll help you win another championship."
Kobe still refused, "I already have five championship rings; that's two more than you."
"Whatever~"
Wade Dong shrugged and stopped trying to persuade him.
He had good intentions in wanting to help Kobe shine again but ended up getting brushed off.
As the second half began, Wade Dong remained on the court. After sitting out for over ten minutes in the first half, the audience began to boo.
Gentry even worried that if Wade Dong didn't play soon, someone might throw a water bottle at his head.
For safety's sake,
Gentry decided to sacrifice Wade Dong and let him play the entire second half.
As the third quarter started, Durant stole the ball from Irving and quickly threw it forward. Wade Dong received the ball and launched a fast break.
Facing an empty basket!
The entire audience stood up; their minds were racing with possibilities:
A dunk from the free-throw line?
A 720-degree spin dunk?
A double dunk?
At the very least, it should be a windmill dunk...
However, Wade Dong disappointed everyone. Upon reaching the basket, he circled back out. Knowing that Wade and LeBron were chasing him down, Wade Dong tossed the ball high above the rim.
"Bang!!!"
LeBron flew in for an alley-oop dunk.
As Wade Dong threw the ball towards the rim, he casually walked up court... not at all worried that LeBron might miss the dunk.
85:74!!!
Although Wade Dong and LeBron's alley-oop connection was spectacular, the audience also noticed that he wasn't even attempting a shot; it seemed that Wade Dong had no intention of scoring today.
Next, Bosh missed a shot, and Wade Dong grabbed a defensive rebound.
Durant set a screen for Curry without the ball. Curry found himself wide open beyond the three-point line as the basketball naturally found its way into his hands.
"Swish!!!"
Curry launched another three-pointer and scored!
This was Curry's eighth three-point attempt; he had made all eight for a total of 24 points.
Then Wade Dong assisted LeBron in scoring multiple times.
With 5 minutes and 17 seconds left in the third quarter...
107:85!!!
The Eastern All-Stars were down by 22 points, and it looked like they were about to get blown out.
Gentry made some substitutions; besides Wade Dong and LeBron, everyone else was swapped out. After entering, everyone understood... The next four minutes would be a time for relaxation.
Letting the Eastern All-Stars catch up a bit before they all played seriously in the fourth quarter.
"Swish!!!"
"Swish!!!"
"Swish!!!"
Irving and Wade began scoring consecutively.
116:113!!!
The third quarter ended with the Eastern All-Stars trailing by only 3 points.
Westbrook had also given up... This year's All-Star Game MVP was no longer within his reach. If the West won, MVP would likely go to either LeBron, Curry, or Wade Dong; Curry already had 27 points while LeBron had contributed 29 points. As for Wade Dong, although he hadn't scored yet, he had already racked up 22 assists.
....
In the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, both teams had their bench players on the court. With just over 7 minutes left in the game, both teams brought their starters back in.
Western Conference: Wade Dong, LeBron James, Curry, Griffin, Aldridge
Eastern Conference: Irving, Wade, Anthony, Teague, Millsap
Each lineup had its reasoning behind it.
Gentry did not put Durant back in because two Suns players were already on the court. Plus Durant showed little desire to score today; he was out of contention for MVP. To avoid any criticism from others, Gentry simply replaced Durant with Griffin.
On the Eastern side, Budenholzer being familiar with his own players—Teague and Millsap—naturally wanted them on during critical moments.
123:119!!!
The Eastern All-Stars were down by 4 points; it was time for a fierce battle now.
The Eastern All-Stars went on offense.
Irving dribbled up court and weaved between Curry and Wade Dong before executing a reverse layup over Aldridge to score.
123:121!!!
This was the closest score since early in the first quarter between both teams.
Curry attempted another three-pointer but missed!
This was Curry's first missed three-pointer of the game. Aldridge grabbed an offensive rebound and passed it to Wade Dong.
With no stickiness to his hands!
As soon as the basketball arrived before him, Wade Dong tapped it backward into LeBron's hands.
"Swish!!!"
LeBron hit a pull-up three-pointer!
126:121!!!
Wade Dong's seemingly casual pass actually showcased an incredible synergy between player and ball; Phoenix's strength no longer required Wade Dong to unleash all his power.
However, after this All-Star game, everyone realized one thing: Wade Dong's skills seemed to have grown even more!
Speed, strength, shooting, dribbling, defense... all elite-level skills from Wade Dong continued to evolve—a terrifying prospect indeed!
Millsap went one-on-one against Aldridge in the post and scored with a hook shot!
Griffin received a pass from Wade Dong at mid-range and made his shot!
.....
Wade executed an Euro step layup!
143:140!!!
With just 1 minute and 37 seconds remaining in regulation time, the Eastern All-Stars trailed by 3 points.
Budenholzer called a timeout to set up a strategy!
It was now crunch time.
At this point in time, Dwyane Wade led scoring for the Eastern All-Stars with 37 points while LeBron led for West with 39 points. Traditionally speaking, MVP would go to whichever team's highest scorer emerged victorious.
"When Irving has possession at a 45-degree angle while Anthony and Teague run baseline routes to draw defenders away; Millsap will position himself near free-throw line for Irving's screen."
"When they are on defense..."
Budenholzer hesitated briefly before saying: "Let's gamble; Wade Dong won't shoot today so let's focus our defense on these other four players while giving him some space defensively—mainly watch out for his passing."
Up until now, Wade Dong had accumulated 29 assists without taking a single shot!
Budenholzer was betting that tonight Wade wouldn't shoot! If he didn't shoot at all then there would be a great chance for victory for the Eastern All-Stars.
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