The longest river

Chapter 186 Who Ruined Jordan's Farewell Performance?
Yang Shuai: The lack of trust between people arises from repeated misunderstandings.

He gave Kobe a thumbs up because Kobe yelled at Malone, whom he disliked.

Incidentally, this is a way of acknowledging Kobe's commendable courage.

The first two possessions were a microcosm of the first half of the game tonight. Whenever Jordan got the ball, Kobe would put in ten or even twelve points of effort to defend him.

Those who know it's the All-Star Game might mistake it for the NBA Finals.

However, Kobe clearly overestimated his defensive ability. Even if a 70-point level defender finds the right approach and practices hard for two months, he can't possibly reach the 90 level.

For Jordan, the difference between wanting to score against defenders with a rating below 90 was simply whether he wanted to play seriously or not.

Jordan took a few shots at the beginning, but then stopped receiving the ball.

At the start of this season, Pippen was out of form, and Rodman was out of form. He put in a lot of effort to get the team back on track.

He is currently in a state of exhaustion, especially since he caught a cold before the competition.

If everyone cooperates with his performance, he wouldn't mind winning the MVP award, but he also doesn't want to expend too much energy here.

At halftime, the East team led the West team 70-65.

Both sides entered the halftime break.

In the Eastern Conference team's locker room, the players were chatting and laughing.

"Michael, is that kid causing you trouble?"

Miller then turned to look at Jordan.

"Who? Kobe?"

Jordan smiled when he heard this; he was peeling a piece of chewing gum.

"Yes, he seems to be trying to respond to the doubts about his selection in that way."

Jordan hadn't paid much attention at first, but Miller's comment suddenly reminded him of Yang Shuai.

If he doesn't teach Kobe a lesson, Yang Shuai will probably have more trash talk to say about him the next time they face off on the court.

"He only wants to go one-on-one with someone in the first half. I'll teach him a lesson in the second half."

Jordan made the decision.

Upon returning in the second half, Jordan noticeably increased his offensive attempts.

He doesn't have any fancy moves; he basically just catches the ball, backs down, turns, leans back, and then shoots to score.

This was his trump card after his second comeback, and he repeatedly succeeded against Kobe.

Kobe's defense was far inferior to Yang Shuai's; he couldn't put as much pressure on Jordan as Yang Shuai could.

The Eastern team began to pull away from the score.

At that moment, the fans on the sidelines started yelling at Yang Shuai to take more shots.

Because of last year's Eastern Conference Finals experience, a showdown between Yang Shuai and Jordan is what fans really want to see.

Yang Shuai did not disappoint the fans either; in pleasing the fans, he is just like Jordan.

He knew he was selected for the All-Star Game because the fans voted him in.

Yang Shuai's offensive ability is still not on par with Jordan's, but with improvements in his breakthroughs and mid-range shots this season, he is now stronger than most All-Stars.

Moreover, after being yelled at by Kobe in the first quarter, Malone took the initiative to ask the Western Conference head coach "Silver Fox" Harris to leave the court and not play with Kobe on the court.

Therefore, in the second half, the Western team started Garnett directly.

He was incredibly skilled at setting screens for Yang Shuai.

Thus, the game turned into a scoring duel between Yang Shuai and Jordan.

The score remained close throughout the match.

There was something interesting that happened during this time: during a dead ball situation, both Kobe and Jordan were standing on the outside.

Kobe was actually asking Jordan for tips on the technical details of post-up moves!
I'm going to do everything I can to mess up your performance, and hey, I still need to ask you for some tips.

This made Jordan laugh.

Only Kobe would do something like that.

Or, just like when he texted the injured Yang Shuai to arrange a one-on-one match, Kobe at this stage was a "basketball fanatic," with basketball on his mind all the time.

However, Jordan still shared his experience with him, such as using his feet to sense the defender's position when backing down.

Jordan really likes people who dare to challenge themselves.

Of course, more importantly, Jordan never felt that either Yang Shuai in the beginning or Kobe in the present could threaten him.

As for the fact that he was fouled by Yang Shuai last season and fell to the ground, that's another story.

With one minute left in the game, the score was 135-134, with the East team in the lead.

Garnett's drive to the basket drew a foul from Mutombo, putting the game into a dead ball situation.

Just then, a short whistle blew from the sidelines.

Richmond was substituted on, and surprisingly, he was replacing Yang Shuai!
This immediately caused a huge commotion at the scene.

Even Yang Shuai was somewhat taken aback.

Although he didn't have much interest in winning MVP, being substituted at such a crucial moment in the game still surprised him.

He smiled wryly and shook his head.

He empathized with Kobe's experience with the Lakers.

"come on."

He patted Kobe on the shoulder before leaving the court.

The camera focused on Harris on the sidelines.

A chorus of boos erupted from the crowd.

Fans simply couldn't understand or believe that Harris would do such a thing.

However, it's clear that Harris, as an opponent, is well aware of Yang Shuai's clutch ability. He's genuinely afraid that Yang Shuai will mess up Jordan's last All-Star game, and if that happens, he'll have to take the blame as well.

Perhaps knowing that his actions were somewhat disrespectful to Yang Shuai, Harris turned around and reached out to give Yang Shuai a high-five as Yang Shuai came down, as if to say something.

However, Yang Shuai completely ignored him and even bumped into his shoulder.

This scene was captured by reporters on the sidelines and will likely become a major news story after the game. Harris turned around, trying to save face, but Yang Shuai had already turned to chat with Duncan next to her, clearly not wanting to talk to him.

Garnett's free throw was met with a chorus of noise from the crowd.

Garnett's first free throw missed the rim; he still needs to work on his mental fortitude.

However, he made the second free throw, and the two teams tied at 135.

Both teams then missed one more attack, and with 30 seconds left in the game, the crowd began to erupt in a huge commotion.

Because the Eastern team now has the opportunity to kill the game.

Once they reached the frontcourt, Jordan began to establish position with his back to Kobe.

He knew the fans wanted to see him kill the game.

After Jordan received the ball, Kobe did everything he could to stop Jordan.

And Garnett also double-teamed Jordan at that moment.

Jordan opted for a spin drive to the baseline, using Garnett's body to slow Kobe's pursuit, before stopping abruptly near the baseline and turning back.

Garnett lunged forward with all his might, but he was still a beat too slow.

"Shh!"

In front of more than 20,000 fans, Jordan made the game-winning shot in the All-Star Game!

This basket brought Jordan's total to 23 points, the most of any player on the East team. If the East team wins, he will win the All-Star MVP award.

He brought the performance to a perfect close!

The entire venue erupted in cheers.

This is the best story and the best ending.

However, the game is not really over yet, with the Western team having 10 seconds left to attack.

Payton dribbled the ball up the court; it seemed he wasn't going to play anymore.

However, Kobe was desperately asking for the ball at that moment, and eventually even ran over to Payton to steal it.

Payton had no choice but to hand the ball to him.

After receiving the ball, Kobe made a move as if he was about to drive to the basket.

Hardaway quickly closed in on the defense; he wouldn't let Kobe, that hothead, ruin Jordan's performance.

However, Kobe demonstrated his instantaneous reaction ability on this play. After seeing Hardaway rushing towards him, he quickly gathered the ball and jumped, drawing a three-point defensive foul from Hardaway with 2 seconds left.

Hadaway was incredulous when he heard the whistle.

This dramatic scene caused a stir among the audience.

Harris couldn't help but cover his head with his hands.

He substituted Yang Shuai, but forgot to substitute this guy from his own team.

Yang Shuai laughed when he saw this.

It has to be you, Ah Dou!

Kobe went to the free-throw line and had three free throw opportunities. He made two to send the game into overtime, and made all three to win the game.

Garnett made one of two free throws earlier; now it all depends on Kobe's mental fortitude.

Of course, if Kobe had high enough emotional intelligence and didn't want to be attacked by the media and fans after the game, making 1 of 3 free throws would have been the best outcome.

Kobe begins his free throws.

Interference noises were heard at the scene.

Kobe adjusted his breathing and made the first free throw with ease.

Kobe's defensive ability is relatively poor now, and he also lacks experience, but his mental fortitude is definitely up to par.

Of course, his emotional intelligence is also definitely lacking.

Kobe made the second free throw as well.

Then came the third penalty.

"Shh!"

Kobe made all three free throws, adding a big exclamation mark to what was already a closed game.

Phil Jackson called a timeout on the East side.

After the timeout, he gave Jordan a Starburst play.

However, the All-Stars' teamwork was clearly not as good as the Bulls', and more importantly, Kobe's play was a replica of Yang Shuai's steal in the Eastern Conference Finals, using his dog-like footwork to get around the screen and slap the ball away when Jordan received it.

Although Hardaway got the ball, he lacked both three-point shooting ability and passing time, so he attempted a buzzer-beating three-pointer that didn't even touch the rim.

The Western Army has won!

Kobe excitedly tore his jersey and roared in celebration after seeing Hardaway's shot miss the target.

He was excited about what he had accomplished.

However, the expressions of the other people on the field were somewhat awkward at this moment.

"Well done."

Yang Shuai then walked over to Kobe, bumped fists with him, and praised him.

The Western team won, and Yang Shuai was ultimately elected AMVP.

In his acceptance speech, Yang Shuai directly stated that Kobe deserves half the credit for this trophy.

He can't take the blame all by himself.

Ultimately, the performance, which involved the cooperation of most people, was ruined.

However, there was no shortage of post-game reports about this All-Star game.

Unexpected events always draw more attention and are more memorable.

Perhaps ten or twenty years from now, people may not remember that Yang Shuai stole the AMVP this year, but they will definitely remember that Kobe ruined the performance.

The All-Star Weekend ended unexpectedly, and what follows is the annual trade deadline.

(End of this chapter)