Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 456 - 310: Neither Friend nor Foe

Chapter 456: Chapter 310: Neither Friend nor Foe

“I’m sick to death of this big brother, little brother game. Let’s call it quits!”

The words of LeBron James, like a thunderclap, jolted Yu Fei.

Yu Fei fell silent.

It was as if a devilish voiceover in his little world had fully articulated his very thoughts.

Heartache, real heartache isn’t about making a scene, real disappointment isn’t about shedding tears…

“Fine.”

That’s all Yu Fei said before he stepped back.

But everyone could see LeBron James yelling at Yu Fei, his emotions running high.

In the eyes of many, this was the new phase of “clash of the titans.”

If the black and white titans of the ’80s transformed from adversaries to best friends, proving the beauty of competition, then the breakup of Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas proved that the nature of competition is ugly.

In terms of relationships, Magic and Thomas were way closer than today’s titans. When Magic lost to Bird in 1984 and everyone mocked him as a ‘tragic figure’, it was Thomas who got him through the toughest days. Who could deny that back then, they were confidants? But when competition kicked in, things changed. They could kiss each other’s cheeks at the start of a game, but when Magic fouled Thomas and Thomas, even playing on one leg, failed to win the championship despite playing the most magnificent final quarter in NBA history, what was friendship worth?

When dissatisfaction from unfulfilled desires surfaced, the closer the friendship, the more it turned into intense hatred.

So after Magic retired due to the HIV virus, Thomas was quick to distance himself, insinuating around that Magic was homosexual.

Yu Fei didn’t know this history, but he did know that if he wanted to stay true to himself on the court, if he wanted to show his competitive desire, then his relationships with anyone would be challenged.

He just didn’t expect that the first to crack under this pressure would be LeBron James, who seemed to have the highest endurance.

Back then, he and Iverson fought tooth and nail on the court over the title of Reebok’s top endorser, both red-faced with effort, yet off the court, weren’t they still good brothers?

How could it be that his relationship with LeBron was so fragile?

The third quarter ended, and Yu Fei’s score stayed at 60 points.

George Karl thought Yu Fei would rest, but to his surprise, he said, “Let’s see.”

Karl asked, “See what?”

“If LeBron keeps playing, so will I,” Yu Fei said.

Karl saw LeBron James shouting at Yu Fei and couldn’t help but ask, “What just happened?”

“Nothing, he’s just in a hurry,” Yu Fei replied. “I’ll calm him down.”

Calm him down… Hm…

Karl didn’t know how Yu Fei was going to calm LeBron down, but hearing that he wanted to continue playing in the fourth quarter, he actually sighed with relief.

This was a good thing. Big Fei could keep racking up the stats. With the Cavaliers’ lousy defense, breaking Michael Jordan’s playoff record for points in a single game seemed within easy reach.

However, Karl wasn’t sure whether Big Fei would really do it.

He had already made LeBron look pretty bad. If 60 points weren’t enough and he went on to break Jordan’s record, could their big brother, little brother relationship still hold up?

Thinking of this, Karl thought, Damn it, they never should have maintained it in the first place. Finish him off!

Yu Fei still understood LeBron. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers hadn’t “given up” yet. Even with a 30-point gap, they still intended to continue competing.

LeBron continued to play.

So, Yu Fei had to keep playing as well.

Mike Breen loudly reminded the audience to stay alert, not to miss a chance to witness history.

“Frye has already scored 60 points. He’s only three points away from breaking Michael Jordan’s playoff record for most points in a single game set against The Celtics in 1986. If you asked me to bet this month’s salary on whether Frye can break that record tonight, I’d make that bet without hesitation.”

And it wasn’t just Yu Fei on the Bucks, but their entire starting lineup, including Martin, Bell, Granger, and Brown, was on the floor.

LeBron took the ball to attack, and Yu Fei stepped forward to take the defense.

“LeBron, you said you didn’t want to play the big brother, little brother game anymore. What did you mean by that?”

Yu Fei aggressively closed in on LeBron.

LeBron didn’t answer, bypassed Yu Fei’s defense, and plunged into the Bucks’ team defense, but his excellent vision allowed him to find his teammates.

However, his teammates had already lost faith in the game.

A 30-point gap, in their mind, should be garbage time.

What’s the point in continuing to play?

“Bang!”

A robust block fell, and Brown grabbed the rebound, passing it to Yu Fei.

“Since you don’t want to speak, I’ll have to interpret that sentence in my own way.”

Yu Fei took the ball to the frontcourt, but LeBron didn’t face him.

Then he called for a pick-and-roll to force the Cavaliers to switch defenses.

The two faced each other again, but LeBron, already mentally collapsed, couldn’t make any valuable defense against Yu Fei’s offense.

Yu Fei dribbled between his legs continuously, then faked with his left hand, drew back with his right, stepped back, and scored with a jump shot.

That was his personal 62nd point.

Afterward, LeBron responded with a jump shot.

Even though it went in, it had no effect on the gap that Yu Fei had already created in their matchup.

No one would remember his scoring over Yu Fei.

But everyone would remember the 60 points Yu Fei scored over him in three quarters.

And that wasn’t even the most shameful thing.

The most shameful part was that he had angered Yu Fei with his furious reaction, so Yu Fei decided to score even more points.

You don’t want to be the little brother anymore?

Then become the enemy.

Or you can take it a step further and become my nemesis.

Yu Fei broke Michael Jordan’s scoring record with a ferocious dunk in the paint after blowing past LeBron James.

The Bradley Center erupted in cheers for nearly ten seconds, and if both teams had called a timeout for that moment, the celebration would have lasted even longer.

But there was no timeout.

Because Yu Fei didn’t want George Karl to call a timeout, and the Cavaliers wouldn’t specifically call one either, the game continued.

That moment quickly lost its meaning, as Big Fei scored his 66th point just half a minute later.

Each of his scores would set a new record.

But did this record really mean anything to Fei?

The Bucks’ small-ball was a dimension-reducing attack against the traditional defensive teams like the Cavaliers, and against other teams, their defense might be good, but facing the Bucks, they were just a mess.

From position one to five, Yu Fei could score on anyone he chose, scoring was too easy.

Larry Hughes’s three-pointer missed.

Yu Fei leapt up for the long rebound, sprinted to the frontcourt like a madman hungering for points, and nailed a chase-down three-pointer, prompting the Cavaliers to call a timeout.

With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Yu Fei had scored 69 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists.

The Cavaliers already realized that Yu Fei was going to battle it out with LeBron to the end.

So, the way to put an end to this already embarrassingly difficult game was to take out all of their starters, letting the game enter garbage time.

LeBron took a seat, with Mims beside him unsure whether to be happy or sad.

He was glad that LeBron had taken this step, but this was not the situation he wanted.

Yu Fei had scored 69 points, LeBron only 39, the Cavaliers were losing by nearly 40 points, and it might get even worse by the end.

This was not what they wanted.

In their plan, LeBron was supposed to fully demonstrate his power and then let Yu Fei, the pretentious fool, be unable to keep pretending he was the boss, leading to a falling out with LeBron.

But now…

Yu Fei had bloodbathed the Cavaliers in a way that was painfully impressive.

Just like he said in his Sports Illustrated article, “I will stain my crown with his blood.”

This hypocritical piece of trash… actually did what he said!

The timeout ended, and the Bucks were already aware that the Cavaliers had taken out all their starters.

But…

“Frye is still on the court?”

“Damn, hasn’t he had enough?”

Many on the Cavaliers team were furious.

Then Yu Fei grabbed a defensive rebound, followed by an offensive rebound, pushing his total rebound count up to 15, and finally drove to the basket, drawing a foul from the Cavaliers, and went to the free throw line, intentionally making one of two.

It was like an obsession, or an extreme pursuit of numbers, as he left behind a staggering stat line of 70 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists before sitting out the final six minutes of the game.

The usually reticent LeBron James, who had been silent since leaving the court, suddenly said, “Michael was right.”

What? Mims didn’t catch on.

“Michael was right from the start,” James said with the air of someone who had seen through the ways of the world, “It was I who was mistaken.”

In the final half quarter, the Bucks showed no mercy, with their impressive bench depth allowing them to widen the lead even in garbage time.

Tonight’s Bucks seemed to channel their captain’s fury, showing no hesitation in clobbering the Cavaliers.

Ultimately, the first game of the semifinals turned into the massacre of the year.

134 to 84

The Bucks trounced the Cavaliers by 50 points on their home court, but that wasn’t the headline of the day, because Yu Fei’s 70 points and 15 rebounds would dominate the sports headlines.

Post-game interview

“This game proved that Big Fei is Big Fei, LeBron is LeBron, even the greatest King must be ruled by The Chosen One, right now, immediately, stop the dual hegemony discussion!” George Karl roared at the media after the game.

“Big Fei scored 70 points, what do you want me to say? I think the Cavaliers lack self-respect, none of them fouled out trying to stop Big Fei, LeBron is just an over-marketed flop, give me 30 shots and I could score 39 points easily,” Kwame Brown sharply criticized the Cavaliers and LeBron James.

“From the first quarter on, Frye was guarding LeBron every play, while LeBron seldom did the same, you can see the difference there. So I’m not surprised by this outcome,” Raja Bell discussed the showdown between the two stars.

“The fourth quarter was already meaningless, and Frye choosing to play at that time is not only disrespectful to us but also a desecration of the sport; he lacks sportsmanship,” Mike Brown accused Yu Fei of stat-padding during garbage time.

“You really need to watch the game, LeBron’s performance was actually on par with Frye’s, the difference they showed on the surface was personal ability, but in fact, it was the disparity between the overall team strength, I’m proud of LeBron tonight,” Mike Brown fully supported LeBron James.

“He played a great game,” LeBron James said about Yu Fei’s 70-point performance.

“I hope our teams can one day become real rivals,” LeBron James discussed the gap between himself and Yu Fei.

“You know, these kinds of things happen often, Frye has also lost his temper at people before,” LeBron James talked about his shouting at Yu Fei.

When Yu Fei entered the media room, even he found the scene overwhelming.

The room was packed, and many had to stand, as a room the size of a classroom was filled with hundreds of people, all equipped for interviews.

“Frye, you set a new personal record for points in a single game tonight and broke Michael Jordan’s playoff single-game scoring record, how do you feel?”

“Honestly, I don’t feel much of anything,” he said.

“LeBron yelled at you during the third quarter, what happened between you two?”

“At that time, I had 60 points, that might have been his way of congratulating me,” he replied.

“LeBron thinks that kind of thing happens often, um, he said you also tend to lose your temper at opponents, what are your thoughts on that?”

“When someone scores 60 points in front of me, I’ll share my thoughts with you,” he answered.

In the end, a reporter from LeBron’s camp asked a question with a clear emotional charge, “After the Cavaliers benched their starters, you stayed on the court and ultimately scored 70 points, as a player beloved by fans, don’t you think doing so lacks sportsmanship and competitive spirit?”

“Oh, those two things you mentioned…” Yu Fei stood up, just like Tony Stark revealed his Iron Man identity in the first movie. “I don’t have either of those.”

Then, a Bucks press officer stepped forward and shouted, “Okay, thank you, everyone, that’s it for today’s interview…”

COMMENT

0 comment

Vote

Foll𝑜w current novℯls on ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm.

3 left

SEND GIFT