Basketball miracles

Chapter 123 [Let him hit me as he pleases]

Richardson isolated Magic Johnson and scored with a pull-up jumper on the left side, stabilizing the situation. 12-6.

In the Lakers' half-court offense, Buck Williams started to have a headache and was somewhat afraid of Xiao Tu. Although the Nets lost the last time the two teams played each other, Xiao Tu wasn't this good then; he mainly relied on cutting to the basket.

He was unbelievably strong today, scoring continuously.

Xiao Tu first screened for Johnson outside the three-point line. Johnson dribbled to the right but did not break through, waiting for Xiao Tu to make a run before passing the ball to the right corner.

Xiao Tu feinted with the ball in both hands. Williams didn't jump, but he was fooled and stretched his arms forward. Xiao Tu guessed that Williams would defend against the shot this time. He faked the ball, dropped it, and changed direction to the left to get past Williams in one smooth motion. Then he gathered the ball and drove towards the paint.

Center Gominsky was helping to defend under the basket when Xiao Tu made an unexpected move, jumping up and doing a 360-degree clockwise spin in the air to get past Gominsky and pass the ball to his teammate on the left baseline.

Xiao Tu's spectacular turn drew everyone's attention. McAdu was completely open, caught the ball, leaped up, and slammed it in with one hand. 14-6.

Hearn said, "Shaw drove to the basket and delivered a beautiful assist. He was just playing around with Williams, and this play was a bit like Magic Johnson's style."

Alan laughed and said, "Even Magic Johnson can't pass the ball like that. He can't do a 360-degree spin in the air."

Even knowing his shooting touch had improved, Xiao Tu still passed the ball when he was supposed to. He had always wanted to perfect his drive-and-kick shooting style, and refusing to receive the ball meant ending the offense, which would develop into a bad habit.

In this possession, Xiao Tu made things incredibly difficult for his opponents, starting with a triple threat. If Williams didn't close in, he would pull up for a jump shot; if he did close in, he could choose to drive, drawing help defense and then passing to his teammates for an easy score.

Reading the game and being flexible and adaptable—that's the strongest playing style.

The Nets attacked, passing the ball a few times before it reached Williams. He powered past McAdoo on the left side, turned, and shot from close range, banking the ball in for a score. 14-8.

Williams did not celebrate after scoring; containing Xiao Tu was the top priority today.

In the Lakers' half-court offense, Xiao Tu set a screen and then ran off-ball to the right corner, receiving the ball and pulling up for a jump shot. Magic Johnson drew one defender and passed the ball to Williams, who wasn't close enough and only stepped forward to block Xiao Tu's shot after seeing him jump.

Xiao Tu was particularly confident today, daring to shoot from any position. He was as focused as in training, with perfect shooting rhythm, and scored again over the defense! 17 to 8.

Xiao Tu knew his shot would go in, and upon landing, he immediately raised his right fist in celebration. Some home fans even applauded him, switching sides right from the start.

When Williams turned around and saw the ball go in, his eyes widened in disbelief, as if he were dreaming.

Hearn exclaimed, "Another three-pointer! Shaw is 3-for-3 from beyond the arc! The game has only just begun, and he's already scored 13 points."

Alan said, "It's crazy, he's unstoppable."

Hearn said, "After the last game, Shaw said in an interview that if he took as many shots as Bird, he could be the scoring champion. Today he seemed to want to prove that. With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar out, he was the Lakers' number one scorer."

Nets head coach Stein gasped on the sidelines, unable to believe it was real.

He knew before the game that it would be difficult to defend Xiao Tu, but he didn't expect it to be this difficult. Xiao Tu looks much better than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

He wanted to call a timeout but didn't because he didn't know how to adjust the game. Buck Williams is the Nets' best defensive center; if someone else were matched up against him, they definitely wouldn't be able to defend him as well.

Xiao Tu felt that Williams was very weak.

My jump shot is this accurate, and you're not even guarding me closely? Are you stupid?

Or maybe everyone in this era is an idiot. The regular season is almost over, and I haven't seen many people closely guarding the perimeter.

Defensive habits are not so easy to change; the common strategy for players defending the perimeter is to allow two steps of space.

Bilderson's jump shot against Scott on the right side missed, and Xiao Tu grabbed the defensive rebound with a one-handed shot. Williams tried to grab the offensive rebound, but his jumping ability was too great, and he failed.

Williams was a rebounding expert from the moment he entered the league, averaging double figures and 4+ offensive rebounds per game for three consecutive seasons. Today, facing Xiao Tu, it will be difficult for him to utilize this strength.

Xiao Tu landed and passed to Johnson, then quickly followed up with a run.

Whenever people see Xiao Tu sprinting straight down the backcourt, they think he's not an inside player, but a big guard. He's so fast that he not only shakes off Williams, who was also on the defensive, but also catches up with Gominsky, who was already on the defensive, at the three-point line.

Johnson drew Richardson's defense and passed the ball to Xiao Tu in the middle. Upon seeing Xiao Tu receive the ball, Gominsky was immediately at a loss, unsure how to defend, and could only instinctively continue retreating.

Xiao Tu took a step and pulled the ball up, using the joystick to create a feint. He took a small step to the left with his left foot while simultaneously turning his upper body in the opposite direction, creating synchronized movement between his body and the ball. Then, he took a large step to the right with his right foot to break through. Gominsky was stunned by the fake and couldn't even reach him to foul. Xiao Tu leaped high and slammed the ball in with his right hand! 19-8.

Amid applause from the home crowd, Stan called a timeout, sensing that something big was about to happen in the game.

The applause was mostly from female fans. They didn't care about the home team or the away team; they just felt sorry for Giegie.

Hearn exclaimed, "Shaw started the game with 6 of 6 shots, including 3 three-pointers, and scored 15 points. I feel like he's going to set a new career high in scoring today."

Alan said, "His talent is amazing. Opponents can't block his jump shot. Whether it goes in or not depends on his touch."

Hearn laughed, "He's blown Bird out twice in a row, and today was a back-to-back game. He's proven himself to be an MVP-caliber player!"

Magic Johnson dished out seven assists to start the game, potentially breaking the single-game assist record. However, neither commentator mentioned Johnson; Xiao Tu's explosive performance stole the spotlight.

After Xiao Tu left the court, he high-fived his teammates to celebrate. Riley, without much tactical maneuvering, immediately instructed Magic Johnson to continue passing the ball to Xiao Tu.

Just pass the ball to Xiao Tu and let him play however he wants.

Riley has seen star players have hand twitches before, both as a player and a coach. Xiao Tu is invincible today, even better than peak Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Xiao Tu was more certain than others that he had a knack for it; it was his "talent."

If I score 60+ points today, I can directly replace Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the team's primary scorer.

If I get more shot attempts, I can put up amazing numbers in the playoffs and I should get even higher rewards.

Buck, this isn't a personal grudge, you're just unlucky.

After the timeout, the Nets didn't make any substitutions. Coach Stan mainly emphasized that players near Xiao Tu should help defend him as soon as possible. Whenever Xiao Tu received the ball in the low post, they should immediately double-team him. If Xiao Tu received the ball in the mid-range or longer, especially on the weak side, then Williams would have to defend him one-on-one, and he had to stay close.

In addition, Stan emphasized offensive tactics, instructing players to bypass Xiao Tu's attacks.

The game continued, and the Nets' offense got going, but they still couldn't stop it.

McAdu's defense has always been terrible, and at only 33 years old, it's already deteriorated to an extreme degree. He was traded from the Pistons to the Nets in the 1980-81 season, where he played briefly for 10 games, averaging only 15 minutes per game.

Since joining the Lakers, McAdu has only started two games; this was his second. He was in excellent form today. Xiao Tu drove to the basket, drawing a double team and passing to him, who then made two mid-range jumpers.

Williams started to close out, and with the quick double-teaming, it became much harder for Xiao Tu to get a chance to shoot.

This defensive approach was very effective against Xiao Tu in the first half of the season, keeping him in double digits in several games. But it's not working now; his passing awareness has improved, and he can spot open teammates.

Magic Johnson also started scoring, facing much less defensive pressure.

After Xiao Tu sets a screen, the opposing interior players don't defend the pick-and-roll, giving Johnson many easy mid-range shooting opportunities, and he can also drive to the basket for a layup or pass.

Six minutes later, Riley substituted white center Mitch Kupchak for McAdu. Xiao Tu then took over guarding Williams, who immediately became unable to score.

Xiao Tu not only has a high scoring efficiency, but also plays a very reasonable style of play, and he doesn't force shots when double-teamed.

If the double team comes in a little too slowly, he won't hold back. In the latter part of the game, he had two more low-post back-to-the-basket moves, and scored twice on the left side by turning and fading away to the middle for a jump shot.

Xiao Tu also performed well in the counterattack, rushing up for a layup but being stopped by Williams, and made both free throws.

Near the end of the game, Xiao Tu grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with a two-handed putback.

首节肖途只投失了一个三分，10投9中，三分球4中3，罚球2中2，狂砍23分5篮板3助攻1盖帽。

The Lakers lead 39-28, a relatively small margin.

Xiao Tu started to slack off on defense in the first quarter; his biggest enemy today is garbage time.

(End of this chapter)