Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 413 The Battle for the Imperial City (Part 4)

Death James has never appeared.

The biggest difference between this and James' other styles is his positional warfare.

Previously, James would not force a shot with the ball in a half-court situation, nor would he go to the basket to box out for the ball without it.

But today, in front of 20,000 fans at the United Center, and witnessed by legends and celebrities, such scenes were repeatedly staged.

"Wow! James backs down, a rare sight in history!" The commentators exclaimed as they watched James use his hand to block Butler, receive the ball, turn hard, and drive in, then bank the ball in with his left hand despite Giannis's interference.

"117 to 121, James scored 4 consecutive points, narrowing the gap."

"He's too tough. Right now, LeBron James has an unstoppable aura. Even Butler and Giannis couldn't withstand him."

"Not only that, on defense, James made full use of his help defense ability to disrupt Chen Wang's breakthrough and then dove to block Lowry's three-point jump shot."

"At this moment, LeBron James has become a reality!"

The commentators' frenzy reflected the opinions of many reporters present; no one would have guessed that James could deliver such a performance.

Looking at James's murderous expression, many people felt their hearts tremble.

"I want to see how long he can last!" Chen Fang patted Butler on the shoulder. His words and his smile immediately infected his teammates.

"Let's keep our pace and let him try to break through. I'll provide support."

The game continues, and both sides have reached their foul limit. Now, they not only need to be careful with their defensive intensity, but also time their attacks precisely to deliver the decisive blow.

James cut in diagonally, but this time, the East spread out instead, cutting off the passing lane between Harden and him.

After a fierce struggle, James realized he couldn't get the ball and had to retreat again. At this point, Butler had already moved in front of him to continue interfering.

Eastern Conference All-Star head coach Nick Nurse had already outlined his offensive and defensive strategies during the previous timeout.

Siakam, Butler, and Lowry formed a defensive axis.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Chen Fang were the main offensive force, while the defensive end focused on help defense and switching.

In the West, because James was so eager to win, he passively formed a situation of one star and four supports, and Vogel did not make many arrangements.

Firstly, Vogel has never proven himself, is inherently weak, and is self-aware enough not to interfere too much.

In addition, James has expressed a strong desire to win, so the best option is to help him.

This was also the idea of ​​others, so the Western All-Star team focused on James, using his presence to create more scoring opportunities for him.

Davis, Harden, Leonard, and Jokic all share this attitude.

This can also be discerned from the scene.

In the West, the ball possession will basically pass to James, who will decide whether to attack or pass.

The Eastern Conference, on the other hand, appears more like a team, with well-organized offense and defense.

Chen Fang, on the contrary, used himself more as bait, forcing Leonard, the best defender in the West, to not participate in too much team defense.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo taking on some of the offensive burden, and Jimmy Butler also contributing, the Eastern Conference's momentum actually feels quite stable.

James and Harden passed the ball to each other, creating a mismatch against Lowry.

He first dribbled the ball with his body slightly turned to the side, seemingly about to pass it to Davis who was cutting to the basket, then suddenly bent down to break through, forcefully shoving Lowry aside, and took a big step inside.

As we all know, James's footwork is notoriously difficult to explain, and this time was no exception.

After the first step, he took three more steps, the last of which was a jump step before landing and taking off again. This gave him enough time to adjust and, facing Giannis's rim protection, he scored a 2+1.

The iconic "Domineering Step" has returned. Facing the baseline fans, James roared to the sky, his face contorted as if possessed by an ape king.

No one complained about traveling. Giannis rubbed his aching chest and walked away dejectedly.

"Hey, that's already pretty good." Chen Fang came over to comfort him. He had wanted to make up for it earlier, but Leonard had kept him occupied.

Just because the players don't speak out doesn't mean others don't have objections.

“That footstep is really…!” Yu Jia deliberately paused, leaving a blank space.

Duan Ran replied, "That's why it's hard to get injured."

A back-and-forth exchange, that's all there is to crosstalk on Tianqiao Street.

Hearing this brings a knowing smile, and many of my questions are answered.

When James drives to the basket, he rarely jumps with one foot. Under pressure in the paint, he uses both feet, which is the right offensive choice because it protects him better.

However, his tendency to use a three-step layup followed by a jump step to finish the attack becomes a problem.

Its frequent use today inevitably draws criticism.

The referees, fans, and coaches all remained silent, pretending not to know anything.

The penalty kick went in, bringing the score to 120-121.

James' score reached 43 points, which can be considered his peak scoring performance.

Chen Fang was the only one who remained calm. He felt that it was about time. During this period, he was constantly locked down by Leonard, and with Harden's help defense, he had no impact on the offensive end.

It's not that I'm unwilling, but because of the rules.

Since he scored 157 points, what will James do next?

Let him see hope, then despair again. The key to catching a big fish is to pull it ashore; otherwise, how can you pull a fish taller than a person onto the shore?

To truly destroy James's confidence is to utterly crush his spirit.

Chen Fang's thoughts were unknown to anyone. Yu Jia was anxious: "Chen Wang is stuck with Leonard and hasn't received the ball for four rounds."

"Leonard abandoned his offense and focused all his energy and attention on defending Chen Wang, which is a very bad trend."

"The East needs to solve this problem. Without Chen Wang, their offensive momentum has lost its direction."

As they were talking, Duan Ran saw Chen Fang head towards the inside.

"Prince Chen is positioning himself."

Giannis set up the ball for Chen Fang, first setting a center screen for Chen Fang, then cutting to the corner and taking Davis away.

Siakam made the same move, but Jokic didn't follow up, and James switched to defend.

At that moment, Chen Fang cut in smoothly from the free-throw line. Leonard immediately reacted and began to front him to contest the pass.

But Lowry had already passed the ball from the top of the key to the wing, and Butler on the wing then passed the ball to Giannis Antetokounmpo in the corner.

With Giannis' height, he easily passed the ball into the paint.

The pass came in almost right at the baseline, and Chen Fang kept that side blocked the entire time. Even Leonard couldn't stop it.

Catching the ball with one hand, Chen Fang began to feel Leonard's physical contact with his back.

Last year, Chen Fang wouldn't have been able to remain so calm and composed in front of Leonard. He would have relied more on quickly turning to face the basket after receiving the ball, because if they were to engage in a stalemate, he would be pushed further away and even entangled in a deadly situation.

Things are different now. Chen Fang, who has gained weight to 207 pounds, is now able to stand firmly in front of Leonard with composure.

Using his left foot as a pivot, he first made a baseline swipe to get Leonard to move, then took a big step back with his right foot, making his body perpendicular to the backboard at a 90° angle, forming a standard back-to-the-basket post-up position.

All eyes turned to him. James wanted to come over to help defend, as double-teaming him at that position would be a death sentence, but it wasn't the right time yet. He was slowly adjusting, preparing to make his move.

Chen Fang quickly glanced to the side, noting down the positions of both sides. He then placed the ball towards the top line, where Leonard met it head-on.

The collision of their shoulders and chests caused them to bounce back slightly, but they quickly pressed against each other again.

The second blow was surprisingly light, sending Chen Fang flying half a meter away, while Leonard, still carrying the momentum from pulling out the chair, lost control and stumbled forward half a step.

Chen Fang maintained control of the ball throughout. On his second dribble, he successfully shifted Leonard's weight. On his third dribble, he shrugged and cut inside, positioning himself shoulder-width apart from Leonard.

Leonard reacted quickly, immediately adjusting his position to face Chen Fang back to back, and the next second, his vision blurred.

Chen Fang pulled the ball back, turned, and returned to his starting position.

"Wow!" came a gasp from the stands.

Fans saw Chen Wang successfully shake off Leonard and then jump up.

Leonard tried his best to reach out and interfere, but it was pointless against Chen Fang.

James, halfway through his run, knew there was no hope and could only wait to see the result of his shot.

"Beautiful! Chen Wang backed down Leonard, that's the real back-to-the-basket jump shot!" Duan Ran shouted.

"120 to 123, Chen Wang's score is still increasing, 33 points now!"

James comforted Leonard, saying that there was really nothing that could be done about that kind of play.

In the Western Conference possession, James resorted to his old trick, attempting a Spanish pick-and-roll with Davis, but was surrounded and Davis could only respond with a mid-range jump shot.

The ball didn't go in, and everyone is exhausted. 23 minutes have already been played in the fourth quarter, which is essentially the end of a second overtime.

Lowry grabbed the rebound and ran forward. The best opportunity now was to score in transition and conserve energy, but the West was retreating quickly, so he had to slow down.

In the middle, Butler received the ball and dribbled it to the right side.

Chen Fang came up to set a screen for Leonard, but it was a fake screen, fooling Leonard into moving away by a step. Chen Fang then ran towards the short corner again.

Lowry's pass arrived in a flash, and Chen Fang made his decision the instant he received the ball.

He turned to face the basket, raised the basketball, and tapped Davis, who was guarding the basket, and Jokic, who was on the side. He gathered the ball, turned around, took a step, and half-sided to face the basket, raising the ball again.

Davis jumped quickly after landing and lunged forward, only to see Chen Fang gather the ball again and step forward.

Chen Fang held the basketball high in his left hand, easily leaped up, licked the rim, and sent the ball into the hoop.

These moves were so fast that the fans had barely exclaimed in surprise before Chen Fang had already made his next feint.

The moment the sound faded, the basketball had already gone in, and even more fans roared again, this time with deafening cheers.

"With his superb footwork, Chen Wang outmaneuvered the entire Western Conference frontcourt and played Davis with ease."

"Just as James scored 7 points, Chen Wang scored 4 points in a row, widening the gap to 5 points. Today's matchup was too brutal. Chen Wang also brought out his signature back-to-the-basket move. Both sides gave it their all!"

Even James was annoyed, but Chen Fang surprised everyone with a Curry-esque three-pointer.

This was an inexplicable shot. Chen Fang received the ball from Lowry in midcourt, took a step to the side and suddenly accelerated. Leonard, who was already feeling tired, was a half-beat slower. By the time he caught up, he saw Chen Fang dribble the ball to the side and take a shot from three meters away from the three-point line.

The crowd gasped in shock, and were even more horrified when they saw the ball swish through the net. Chen Wang walked to a camera position on the sidelines, shrugged in celebration, and shouted into the camera, "Hey, Steve, this goal is for you!"

Curry, far away in Golden State, laughed heartily and clapped his hands in approval.

"A desperate three-pointer. Chen Wang's historic scoring ability was on full display today. Facing Leonard, he shot with such confidence. You can tell from his Curry-style celebration after the basket that he had a plan in mind."

"Chen Wang has now scored 7 more points, bringing his total to 38!"

"Only James and Chen Wang are scoring in the East and West. It's like an epic one-on-one duel. It's not that others can't score, but that the stage has been handed over to the protagonists."

"The score is now 120-128, with 29 points remaining until the final score."

"This may not seem like much, but you can expect the process to be very long."

"27 minutes have been played in the fourth quarter, and both teams' key players are exhausted. It is now unknown whether the two head coaches will consider making substitutions in preparation for the final battle."

While Yu Jia was speculating, Nass had already taken action.

Siakam down, Middleton up.

Butler off, Tatum on.

Giannis Antetokounmpo out, Bam Adebayo in.

Only Lowry and Chen Fang remained.

Vogel did not hesitate and did it with great skill.

Davis down, Sabonis up.

Paul goes up, Harden goes down.

Jokic down, Simmons up.

Only James and Leonard remained.

In this obvious showdown, both sides seemed to be either exhausted on the field and forced to concede defeat, or they would win this damn match.

James had no objection, and Chen Fang smiled.

Both men were drenched in sweat, standing with their hands on their hips on opposite sides. The long shot clearly conveyed this scene to fans around the world.

A. Smith spoke up: "I saw James' courage and responsibility, and I must apologize for the previous misunderstanding."

"The 37-year-old James has played nearly 50 minutes and scored 43 points. His performance is impeccable. He is like a young lion in a pride, challenging his position."

"He must either defeat King Chen or leave the pride and become a wanderer."

"22-year-old Chen Wang played for 42 minutes. His eyes were firm and he had a smile on his face. Perhaps at this moment he had already figured out how to defeat James."

"It may be cruel, but that's the charm of competitive sports!"

"The young King James also came this way. Now, it's time for a new dynasty to rise."

With possession in the East, Chen Fang was positioned on the wing, reading the game and waiting for his opportunity.

Beside him was Leonard, and Kawhi was also panting heavily.

"Do you know what I'm going to do? I will win!"

"And this era is destined to be mine!"

Kohuai remained silent, but grabbed Chen Fang's hand and used even more force.

Chen Fang shook off Leonard's hand and slowly moved towards the top of the court. He continued, "If it weren't for you, we would have won a long time ago."

"I understand why you went to the Lakers; maybe you should thank me."

Kawhi didn't take it seriously; he was used to this tactic of distracting the defender by chatting before.

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have gone to the Lakers; you would have come to the Clippers."

"But it is precisely because of me that you are able to take over James's rights and enjoy the Lakers' powerhouse team all to yourself."

Tatum took the shot, but it missed; the Western Conference is in transition.

Chen Fang started to retreat on defense; now it's his turn to defend Leonard.

But he still didn't stop talking.

"Hey, you'll find out later."

"Without me, you would never have had a chance to succeed with the Lakers. Today, I'm going to let you witness the turning point when LeBron James will retire."

Before he finished speaking, Chen Fang suddenly abandoned guarding Leonard and rushed into the paint. There, James took a shot, a fadeaway jumper, and faced with Tatum's close defense, James did his best to shoot backward.

This allowed James to avoid Tatum's block and interference, but also forced him into a longer shot window.

While trying to win over Leonard, Chen Fang kept a close eye on James's actions.

He'd been waiting since he saw James drive into the paint, and now was the perfect time.

Noon has arrived!

Star-Slaying Platform!
Chen Fang leaped high from behind and slapped the opponent horizontally with his right hand!

"Snapped!"

The loud sound echoed throughout the Joint Center!

James, who was leaning back, completely lost his balance, fell to the floor, flew several meters, and crashed into an advertising space before coming to a stop.

The first thing he saw when he looked up was Prince Chen.

Standing there, Chen Fang was so tall and imposing, like an insurmountable mountain!
The players on the Western Conference bench ran over to help James up, but James was too tired and wanted to rest, so he lay back down.

“The hat that Prince Chen wore has given me a lot to think about!” Yu Jia suddenly said.

Duan Ran looked at him, as if he had guessed something.

"There was a time when James built his dominance with these chase-down blocks, and one after another, the stars whose names you can name fell to his invincible chase-down blocks."

"Today, Chen Wang used the same deadly chase-down block to knock down James."

"In this situation, I can't help but feel a sense of emotion, a sense of honor to witness history!"

In just a few seconds, James thought about a lot of things.

He considered using the opportunity to retire due to injury, since he had the highest score in the game and perhaps he could regroup and seek revenge next time.

He also considered continuing to persevere, thinking that he might not necessarily lose.

In his moment of confusion, he heard Vogel's voice.

Hey, LeBron!

James opened his eyes and saw Vogel.

"What's up?"

Vogel's gaze held an indescribable meaning, which sent a shiver down the spine of the perceptive James.

He sat up, saw Davis, and shouted, "Of course I'm fine, I'm LeBron, I'm the King!"

When James stood up again, unharmed, the entire arena erupted in applause.

Chen Fang was also clapping, and to James, his smile was no different from that of a demon.

The devil's smile!
Damn it, how did I end up running into him!

Oh, God!
Over there, Chen Fang turned to Tatum and said, "Being an emperor is really tough; you're so concerned with saving face that you suffer for it!"

Tatum was taken aback. He leaned closer and whispered his confusion, "Can't LeBron James earn respect today?"

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered!

He was fine today, but I know that after today, he'll be the same again!

"So, let me see him off on his way."

"The world is already fed up with LeBron!"

"Believe me, everyone will love the NBA without LeBron James! I guarantee it!"

(End of this chapter)