Kobe and Durant remained silent. If this were their team, they would definitely be the ones taking the game-winning shot.
Even the players on the bench, like Paul and Aldridge, were all team leaders.
However, with a 100% success rate on game-winning shots, they had to admit that giving the last shot to Wade Dong was the most reasonable choice.
...
In the Chinese broadcast booth:
Zhang, the commentator, said, "The West is down by one point, and 13 seconds is still a relatively long time for an attack."
Yu Jia, the co-commentator, asked, "Zhang, who do you think Popovich will assign to execute the final attack?"
Zhang replied, "Kobe and Durant are both clutch players, and since the West is only down by one point, the East won't dare to foul recklessly. So, having Duncan take the ball and go one-on-one is also a good option."
"So..." Yu Jia asked, "Zhang, do you think the final attack will be executed by one of these three players?"
"Of course not!" Zhang shook his head firmly, "If it's Wade Dong, choose Wade Dong!"
...
Spoelstra also set up the defensive strategy.
After the timeout, Duncan threw the inbound pass. The East continued with one-on-one defense, but this time, the player guarding Wade Dong was switched from Rose to James.
Before going on the court, Wade Dong walked over to Howard and reminded him, "Be careful, don't get fouled."
"Got it, I'll be careful," Howard nodded.
Basketball games can change in an instant, and with all superstars on the court, no one could predict who would end up with the final shot. But if Howard got the ball, the opposing team might choose to foul him.
After all, one could never rely on Howard's unreliable free throws.
Wade Dong, Kobe, and Durant all started moving. James stuck closely to Wade Dong on defense, and Duncan passed the ball to Durant.
Durant, after receiving the ball, made a large crossover move, which caught everyone off guard. Everyone thought Durant would shoot immediately, so he drew a lot of attention.
At this moment, Wade Dong also shook off James's defense and suddenly rushed to the paint. Durant passed the ball to Wade Dong.
"Wade Dong is open!" Spoelstra anxiously shouted, "Wade Dong is going to dunk! Quick, stop him!"
"Huh?" Wade Dong was momentarily stunned when he received the ball, realizing that Spoelstra had seen through his plan.
Because Kobe and Durant's presence was so strong, and the game was only down by one point, driving to the basket for a dunk was the best choice. In a one-on-one situation, if the defense didn't dare to foul, no one could stop Wade Dong.
Wade Dong didn't even use his 'lucky potion.'
James stuck close to Wade Dong, "Wade Dong, this time I will definitely stop you."
"Stopping me is really difficult," Wade Dong replied to James. With 5 seconds left in the game, Wade Dong pushed against James and drove to the basket for a dunk.
"Slam!" James and Wade Dong both jumped at the same time, and James also had his hand on the ball.
At this moment, all the players on the court widened their eyes. Wade Dong jumped with both hands on the ball, and James tried to swat it away with one hand, but it was impossible to knock the ball away. This was a pure contest of strength.
"Boom!!!" Clearly, in terms of strength, Wade Dong was not inferior to James. He dunked the ball into the basket, and James fell to the ground.
"Beep!!!" At this moment, the referee's whistle also sounded, indicating a defensive foul by James. This call was not controversial because James came in from the side and invaded Wade Dong's cylinder.
With 1.3 seconds left in the game, "Old James~"
Wade Dong extended his hand to help James up from the ground.
James patted Wade Dong's shoulder, "You don't look strong, but you're so powerful!"
Wade Dong smiled, "I eat well. During the off-season, I'll take you to China to try some Chinese food."
"Okay!" James agreed with a smile. He wasn't upset about being dunked on by Wade Dong in a direct confrontation, but he was a bit unhappy about the referee calling a foul on him, which cost the East the chance to win the game.
"MVP! MVP! MVP!" As Wade Dong stepped up to the free-throw line, the fans in the arena were already chanting "MVP!"
"Clang!!!" As expected, Wade Dong's free throw hit the rim and bounced high. By the time Bosh grabbed the rebound, the 1.3 seconds had already expired.
140:139!!! The West won the game with Wade Dong's dunk in the final 13 seconds.
All-Star Game stats:
Wade Dong: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 23 assists, 3 steals, 1 block.
Durant: 39 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks.
Kobe: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.
James: 39 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks.
...
In the Chinese broadcast booth:
Zhang, the commentator, said, "This year's All-Star Game can be said to be the most exciting one in the past ten years."
Yu Jia, the co-commentator, said, "Wade Dong's dunk won the game! Although Wade Dong didn't shoot much, every shot he made was spectacular."
Zhang replied, "This year's All-Star MVP should go to Wade Dong."
Yu Jia said, "Let's wait for the result."
...
After the game, the fans did not leave the arena.
The officials were confirming the All-Star MVP. This year, three players stood out: James, who got a triple-double, Durant, who scored the most points for the West, and Wade Dong, who got a double-double.
According to tradition, the All-Star MVP goes to the player with the most points on the winning team.
However, Wade Dong's performance was too eye-catching. Although he only scored 23 points, he won the game with a dunk and broke the All-Star assist record.
Compared to the anxious fans, the players were quite relaxed.
Kobe and the others didn't care much about the All-Star MVP, and this year's MVP would be between Durant and Wade Dong. They were just waiting to congratulate the winner.
About ten minutes later, Stern walked to the center of the court.
Stern held a script in one hand and a microphone in the other, "You are the strongest players in the world. Thank you for giving the fans around the world a wonderful game..."
"Blah blah blah..."
After a speech, Stern finally announced, "The winner of this year's All-Star MVP is... Wade Dong from the Suns! Let's congratulate Wade Dong~"
"Wade Dong! Wade Dong! Wade Dong!" The fans in the arena immediately started cheering.
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
Even more excited were the Chinese fans watching on TV. Wade Dong became the first Chinese player to win the NBA All-Star Game MVP.