basketball never sleeps

Chapter 344 The Cursed Nickname

A 17-point deficit in the final quarter was not an absolutely safe margin in Mo Wen's eyes.

Faster tempo, opponent on a hot streak, team's own shooting touch faltering, referee intervention...

You don't need all of these factors to come together; just two of them can create a miracle or a tragedy.

Mo Wen's experiences and creations in the dungeons alone could fill a whole season with some left over.

Although Mo Wen had few memories of LeBron James' long career where they had come back from a large deficit in the final quarter, out of respect for James, he chose to continue playing to bring the game to a close.

Seemingly understanding Mo Wen's gaze and facial expression, Old Hill, with perfect tacit understanding, called out to the few young men on the bench who were laughing and joking before Mo Wen could speak.

"Don't relax until the game is over. We won't experiment with any tactics today. In the final quarter, we need to maintain the same attitude we have towards the Finals... well, towards our playoff opponents. Got it?"

The laughing young people immediately stopped smiling, nodded, and returned to their seats to catch their breath and regain their strength.

"They're leading by 17 points, there shouldn't be any suspense, right?" Rookie Ramon Sessions whispered to Guy next to him. Tonight's game was being broadcast nationally, and he was hoping that with such a large lead, he would have a chance to shine. But now, judging from the coach's attitude, it seemed unlikely.

Guy shrugged: "Of course there's no suspense, especially since the opponent is LeBron."

"Why are the coach, Mo Ge, and Allen so serious? Is it because the playoffs are coming up and we need to start getting used to it early?" the newbie asked, seemingly confused.

"No, it's still because our opponent is LeBron." Seeing the rookie's naivety, Gay was reminded of himself last year, when he also thought the NBA was just about basketball...

"Huh?" Ramon Sessions' eyes revealed a clear confusion, like that of a recent college graduate.

Guy, not wanting to be the riddle teller, explained: "Did you see the paper this morning? The Seattle Times reprinted a report from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. That Cleveland reporter kept spouting some bullshit fair game theory, and even found some solid data to prove that LeBron has a chance to beat him today. Yeah, James has a 50% win rate against the SuperSonics."

"That's not right. I remember seeing it many times before, saying that LeBron lost more than twenty games against Mo Ge without winning a single one?" Ramon Sessions frowned.

“You’re right, but Moge only came to Seattle last season, and that reporter was talking about the SuperSonics, understand?” Gay tried to suppress his laughter, but couldn’t help it.

"Fuck, you can do that?"

“Go ahead and study journalism, kid!” Guy couldn’t help but grin as he thought of that report.

In that report, LeBron even claimed to have beaten Mobley several times. The main argument was that it was normal for LeBron to lose to the Big Three teams, so their careers should be compared in terms of individual statistics rather than wins and losses. As a result, they actually found a few instances where LeBron "won".

It seems that Moge has no intention of letting LeBron off the hook today.

But that's normal. The fair fight that the media has been calling for for half a year shouldn't end in such a mild and uneventful way.

However, the thought of facing a player like Mo Ge with a 23-0 record, 4 championships, and 3 Finals MVPs, and having to prove that he and LeBron James are not on the same level makes it hard for him to stay calm.

Even in Gay's eyes, LeBron James was pitiful. He heard that he had a good relationship with Moge, but he ended up getting into trouble with those media outlets that caused trouble, which made him win the MVP award he shouldn't have won and burdened him with expectations he couldn't bear. In the end, he could only be played with by Moge like a little girl.

At the same time, a tense atmosphere filled the Cavaliers' bench.

"The game isn't over yet. We have to keep going. I know it will be tough, but we must unite to overcome the difficulties. Don't think about falling behind; we'll catch up point by point..."

Mike Brown was still spouting motivational platitudes, but LeBron James kept his head down and remained silent, and the other players followed suit, keeping quiet as well.

Delonte West, who had only been traded a month ago, was experiencing this kind of situation for the first time. He noticed the root of the problem and instinctively patted LeBron James on the back to comfort him.

But instead of the exhilaration or forced exhilaration that Ajax should have shown, Delonte West was met with a pair of deathly eyes.

However, Ajax managed to control his emotions and didn't elbow him, but just shook his head to signal him to get out of the way.

Delonte West awkwardly withdrew his arm, turned his head to the side, and secretly grimaced.

"Damn it, we're about to lose the game, what are you pretending for?"

Gloria, sitting in the family section behind, felt sorry for A-Zhan and nodded as she watched the two interacting from behind. That young man is a good young man.

The whistle blew, and the game restarted.

Gibson immediately pressed Mo Wen closely, trying to catch him off guard, but Mo Wen didn't give him the chance. He flicked the ball behind his back with his left hand, took a big step forward with his right foot, and with a graceful back turn, he got rid of the smaller player's entanglement.

Gibson dribbled the ball to the three-point line in two quick steps, but was unable to get back to the front of the defense in time because of Mo Wen's broad arms and powerful lower body. Reed had to leave Ray Allen behind and come over to help defend.

Ray Allen caught the ball and shot with the ease he showed on the practice court.

Swish!

The point difference widened to 20 points, and the fans in the stadium cheered enthusiastically.

Although garbage time is not very nutritious, it's like junk food—it's all about the enjoyment.

In the Cavaliers' possession, LeBron James called for a pick-and-roll at the top of the key again. This time, it was Zydrunas Ilgauskas who came up. Tyson switched onto him without hesitation. LeBron James, who hadn't created any space, didn't want to play one-on-one with Tyson. Centers who have earned the title of "Beast" generally have the ability to defend smaller players, so he did a handoff with Reed, who was on the baseline.

But before LeBron James could pass the ball, Tyson, who had just switched onto the defense, didn't immediately follow Zydrunas Ilgauskas back to the basket. Instead, he chased after them to double-team him.

With a three-on-two formation, a pass out would be a wide-open opportunity, but Tyson timed it perfectly. Reed didn't expect to have the chance to be double-teamed outside the three-point line and almost lost possession of the ball. In his panic, he tried to jump and pass, but because the inside and side lanes were blocked, he could only pass to Gibson, who had moved to the top of the arc according to the play.

However, Mo Wen was prepared and jumped up first, intercepting the pass in mid-air. Knowing that he couldn't stop Mo Wen once he started advancing, Gibson had no choice but to foul, allowing the SuperSonics to take the throw-in.

The ball passed through Ray Allen's hands once, and then to Morey at the top of the arc.

To Mo Wen's surprise, the Cavaliers even had Gibson defend him in the half-court. Although Reed had been outmatched when defending him earlier, Gibson's physique made him easy prey.

Mo Wen originally wanted to rely on his talent to overwhelm his way in, but after glancing inside, he saw that Da Z and Da Ben's positions were quite ambiguous.

A trap under the basket?

Mo Wen blinked, too lazy to think, and without even taking a probing step, suddenly accelerated, used his assist hand to push away Gibson's pull, then immediately stopped and pulled back, took a big step to the side, and smoothly caught the basketball bouncing in the air with his left hand. Without even making a fake move, he immediately jumped up and released a jump shot with a slight backward lean.

Gibson lost his balance when Mo Wen broke through, and in the end he only had time to straighten his body and raise his hands in a gesture of respect.

Swish!

LeBron's face darkened further. He had given up hope of winning the game and just wanted to rack up some stats and leave with dignity, but it felt like a disaster was about to happen.

Reed patted Azkaban on the back, looking at him with expectant eyes. Gibson was unstoppable, and I was done for. The only option now was...

Ajahn's eyes darted around, and he pursed his lips, seemingly not understanding Reed's meaning. He simply nodded at him and said...

"Go for it, Mike." Reed's eyes dimmed, his heart filled with the same sorrow as a wife who had been tormented by blond hair for half a month and finally waited for her husband to return from his business trip, only to hear him say "I'm tired."

A-Zhan felt little remorse.

The Cavaliers and SuperSonics have similar rosters, and the Cavaliers even pay a higher luxury tax. If Mo Wen's teammates can limit him well, then his teammates should also put in the corresponding effort.

Moreover, he has already lost the "fair battle" at the team level. If he gets completely dominated in a matchup, how can he continue to hold his position?

At this moment, Ajax's belief was as firm as that of a certain Nagakage who thought that as long as he was alive, Konoha still had hope—as long as he didn't lose, the Knights still had hope of winning back.

Lost in thought, he called for a pick-and-roll again. Perhaps because his attention was diverted, this time he called for a pick-and-roll on Reed.

Then a familiar face appeared in front of him.

Hello Kitty ·jpg

Even before the panic arrived, it was those evil hands that came.

No, no!

Hey, you deadly hand, hurry up and move!

Dead Elbow, hurry up and make your move!

You dead leg, run!

A-Zhan's subconscious was screaming, but his body was ultimately a step too slow.

A pair of ruthless iron hands gripped the basketball, the force bursting from between the knuckles seemingly capable of tearing his soul away with them.

Whoosh—

"Mob just steals the ball from LeBron. God, what is LeBron doing? He just... just takes the ball right out of his hands!"

"From Mo's signature fast break three-pointer, BANG! It's in again!"

"The SuperSonics started the fourth quarter with three three-pointers and two steals, going on a 9-0 run!"

The commentators on the sidelines were so excited they almost jumped for joy, while Barkley in the TNT commentary booth was so amused by the sight that he couldn't help but laugh.

"What the hell? Is LeBron still asleep? I bet you could let a three-year-old hold a toy ball tighter than him!"

With an expression like someone who had drunk a cup of civet coffee that contained neither cat nor coffee, Mike Brown had no other choice but to call a timeout once again.

Hearing the laughter of the fans in the stadium and feeling the strange looks from his teammates, LeBron James inevitably felt the heat of the moment.

He was just careless. Damn it, Mo, why can't you play properly?

At this point, he didn't even want to maintain a superficial friendship anymore.

But besides feeling angry and ashamed, he didn't know what he could do.

He had to maintain his emperor persona and act like a successful man, even if he was completely undignified and became the laughing stock of the entire audience. He still had to continue this constructed role-playing game.

The 40-second timeout allowed LeBron James to recover from the emotional impact of that play.

He's already endured a 4-0 defeat in the finals, so what else could truly trouble him?

Life goes on. He only scored 24 points today. He needs at least 30 points to have a relatively decent excuse to leave the game.

Seeing that LeBron wanted to continue playing, Reed opened his mouth in surprise. The score difference between the two teams had reached 27 points. According to Mo Wen's style of handling things, if LeBron were to leave the game now, Mo Wen would also leave. If LeBron wanted to continue...

Six minutes later, LeBron James finally scored his 32nd point of the game with a successful layup after driving into the paint, before fouling out and heading straight for the player tunnel.

But the score between the two teams at this point...

"How's the game between the SuperSonics and the Cavaliers going?" Kobe, who had just come out of the shower, saw Paul watching TV in the locker room and asked him.

"42 points." Paul's voice was blank, with a hint of disbelief.

"Who scored 40 points? Mo? Or LeBron?"

I was referring to the point difference.

On the court, amidst cheers of "MVP" from the crowd, Mo Wen walked back to the bench.

Mo Wen had already toned down his seriousness and put on that gentle and sunny smile that had been carefully trained by his image consultant. The close-up shot caused another round of screams from his female fans.

The large screen above also displayed Mo Wen's match statistics at the right time.

47分12助攻10篮板3抢断1盖帽。

If Mo Wen makes another three-pointer, he might be able to achieve a 50+ triple-double.

But Mo Wen felt it was unnecessary.

His career is still long, and so is Ajax's; there will be many more opportunities like this.

A few minutes later, the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the match, 138-102.

The fair fight that Cleveland media had been promoting for months has finally come to an indisputable and irrefutable verdict.

Faced with a crushing defeat of nearly 40 points, Cleveland fans watching on TV were already in tears.

They could find no more reason to defend LeBron James. The referees gave the Cavaliers five extra free throws today, and James himself took 13 free throws. At least most fans are watching the game, and they are unlikely to feel that their team was unfairly treated by the officiating just because they didn't have a 20-point lead.

On social media platforms that are not yet well-developed, those netizens who advocated for a so-called fair fight were already facing reckoning after the start of the final quarter.

Unfortunately, there weren't many replies from the original poster, and quite a few people even deleted their accounts.

Bill Simmons also updated his social media:

"It has to be said that 'Basketball Emperor' is a cursed nickname. Wilt Chamberlain had to face Russell, and LeBron also has his own Moratti... But LeBron is still lucky. At least the Celtics' Big Three prevented him from facing Moratti again in the Finals. Otherwise, I firmly believe that Moratti might one day surpass Russell in the number of rings (Phew, thank God, the league still has my Celtics!)"

"Of course, Cavaliers fans don't need to be discouraged. You still have one more game at home, and LeBron might still have a chance to win. If any Cavaliers fan is willing to give me $5, well, I'll give you a free suggestion that could greatly increase the Cavaliers' chances of winning the next game—have Gilbert bail out Donaghy, then give him a set of referee attire, a wig and a fake mustache, and have him officiate the Cavaliers' game against the SuperSonics."

...(End of this chapter)