Basketball miracles

Chapter 141 [He's simply inhuman!]

After the timeout, the Celtics executed a successful play, with Dennis Johnson receiving the ball on the left baseline and hitting a mid-range jumper. 13-4.

The Lakers executed a pick-and-roll, Magic Johnson dribbled past Dennis, and pulled up for a jump shot from the right 60-degree angle, just inside the three-point line, making it 15-4.

The Lakers' style of play is simple and effective; many of Johnson's points come from mid-range jumpers on the right side. Opposing power forwards don't defend pick-and-rolls, and even if the guards get into position, they can't block Johnson, creating mismatch opportunities.

McHale wouldn't dare leave the center, as Xiao Tu would immediately cut inside. The guards couldn't defend Xiao Tu; their bodies couldn't keep up, leaving them with no choice but to foul.

In a half-court offense, Larry Bird received the ball on the left high post, faked a move, drove towards the inside, and forced a shot that missed under Xiao Tu's help defense.

The Lakers' paint was packed with players. McHale tipped the ball out with one hand, unfortunately passing it to Magic Johnson. Johnson caught the ball, turned, and got past Dennis. He quickly crossed half-court on the left and forced a layup against Ainge's defense, but missed.

The Finals were crucial, and several players on both sides started somewhat hesitantly. Ainge grabbed a rebound and quickly advanced the ball up the court, then faced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the middle and forced a layup. 15-6.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a head taller than his opponent and could defend even when standing still. However, he didn't raise his hand to block the shot; instead, he bent down as if afraid of hurting Ainge. It's unclear what he was thinking.

The Lakers continued their pick-and-roll offense in a half-court game. This time, Johnson went to the right to create space but didn't shoot. Xiao Tu cut inside to the right 50-degree angle, received the ball with his foot on the paint line, and, using McHale as cover, took a step towards the baseline, turned, and shot a fadeaway jumper.

With no one coming up to double-team on the weak side, Xiao Tu jumped very high, gracefully dodging McHale's block and scoring off the backboard. 17-6.

He scored his 9th point, and the fans in the stadium kept applauding.

Stockton said, "Shaw's fadeaway jumper is here! He's been scoring like this all the time since the playoffs, it's unstoppable. McHale can't jump, his hands are too far from the ball."

Heinson sighed, "Unless it's someone much taller than Shaw on defense, jumping to block him doesn't make much sense. His talent is truly amazing; he completely dominated McHale one-on-one."

Stockton said, "Shaw is an undisputed superstar in the paint. He is not only excellent on both offense and defense, but also one of the most entertaining players to watch. His jump shot is even more beautiful than others."

In a half-court offense, Dennis passed the ball on the perimeter, Bird ran to receive it and attempted a long two-pointer from the left 60-degree angle, but missed due to Worthy's interference.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar let his man through to the basket, and Xiao Tu leaped with all his might on the right side, towering over Parish and grabbing the rebound with one hand. Even just grabbing the rebound drew gasps from the spectators, because this time his head was level with the rim.

With physical attributes like Xiao Tu's, he would have become a superstar in any era; in the 80s, he was so strong it seemed otherworldly.

Magic Johnson dribbled the ball up the court but failed to break through, passing it to Scott who was making a cut. Shaw screened him at the free-throw line in the middle of the court, giving Scott a good mid-range shot opportunity, but he missed.

The ball bounced very high, and Bird in the middle didn't get into position. Xiao Tu jumped up and grabbed the offensive rebound.

He dribbled one step into the paint, drawing Parish's help defense, and then passed the ball with one hand from Parish's side to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the left baseline, who easily scored with a bank shot. 19-6.

KC Jones shook his head helplessly on the sidelines. If things continued like this, Xiao Tu might put up a double-double in the first quarter. He couldn't figure out how to adjust the game; no one on the Celtics could match Xiao Tu's physicality.

Why is there such a big difference in physical fitness between two tall, white men?

The Celtics executed a brilliant play. McHale received the ball outside the right three-point line, then passed it wide to the right side of the basket, where Bird cut to the basket, received the ball, and scored with a reverse layup over Worthy's defense. 19-8.

This is a goal that will excite Bird fans immensely, and it will frequently appear in Bird's highlight reels in the future, making it a shoo-in for the top ten goals of his career.

Xiao Tu secretly admired Bird's "ultimate layup"; it felt like Bird hadn't even jumped, yet he still made that layup motion. If Xiao Tu had been even slightly slower, he would have landed and been called for a traveling violation.

In the Lakers' half-court offense, Xiao Tu set a screen and ran to the right corner, drawing the attention of McHale and Bird. The Celtics players were terrified; Xiao Tu could shoot threes from the corner.

Johnson seized the opportunity and passed the ball to Worthy, who was cutting inside from the right 45-degree angle. Worthy leaped up to dunk with one hand, but Bird fouled him from behind.

Bird was unhappy with the referee's call, but his shouting was useless. He did make a clear foul, but it wasn't hard enough, and Worthy still dunked the ball on the rim.

Worthy made one of two free throws, making it 20-8.

McHale made a long pass from the baseline to midcourt, where Dennis dribbled to the three-point line and passed to Bird on the left baseline. The Celtics wanted to create a time difference before Worthy could get back on the free-throw line, and they succeeded.

Bird easily made a layup, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had retreated early into the paint, positioned himself to guard Parish, but was too slow to turn and help. 20-10. People felt that Xiao Tu was better than Abdul-Jabbar, mainly due to his defensive performance, besides his playing style. Abdul-Jabbar's defense was getting worse; he couldn't grab rebounds and often left his man open. Once Xiao Tu left the paint, the opponent could easily score inside.

In a parallel world, the Lakers were eliminated by the Rockets in the 1986 playoffs, mainly because Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's defense was poor.

The Lakers were on offense. Johnson dribbled down the right flank and passed to Xiao Tu, who was positioned beyond the three-point line in the middle. The Celtics players all retreated to the vicinity of the paint, with McHale about two steps away from him.

Xiao Tu received the ball and pulled up for a three-pointer. McHale only jumped to contest the shot when he saw Xiao Tu was about to shoot, which was practically the same as not jumping at all.

Swish! The ball goes into the net cleanly! 23-10.

After scoring, Xiao Tu raised his arms in celebration, enjoying the cheers and applause of the fans.

This was his 12th point, and he made all his shots.

Stockton shouted, "Three-pointer! Shaw hit another three-pointer! It reminds me of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, when his hand was on fire and unstoppable!"

Heinson said helplessly, "McHale hasn't scored yet, the gap between the two is too big."

KC Jones grew increasingly anxious, wishing he could call another timeout. But he had already called one; the Celtics' bench players were clearly outmatched by the starters, making substitutions impossible.

McHale was dumbfounded. He simply pulled out to the three-point line, received the ball, moved it around, but didn't actually shoot. Xiao Tu, on the other hand, received the ball beyond the three-point line and dared to shoot—and he made it!
Celtics fans were also in despair; Xiao Tu's jump shot was high enough to dunk! He's simply inhuman!

Xiao Tu began to underestimate McHale; he was too reliable in a one-on-one fight.

If McHale's wingspan were truly 244cm, he could yell "Rubber Gun!" and swing his arm across the basketball to make a block. Unfortunately, this is just wishful thinking for future fans; Xiao Tu only faced slight interference.

McHale's teammates couldn't help defend Xiao Tu; there's no precedent in the NBA for double-teaming someone beyond the three-point line. The same thing happened in that regular season game with the Nets; even though they were about to be overwhelmed by Xiao Tu's shooting, the coach and players still believed they couldn't double-team him on the perimeter.

In a half-court set, Bird drew a double team in the low post and passed the ball to Ainge, who received it on the right side at a 60-degree angle and made a mid-range jumper. 23-12.

The Lakers were on offense. Johnson, after a screen, went down the left flank but failed to break through, so he lobbed the ball to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the low post. Abdul-Jabbar took a step at the 45-degree angle to draw a double team, then passed the ball back to Johnson.

If Johnson practiced his three-point shooting normally, he could have taken an open jump shot from the left 60-degree angle. But instead, he received the ball one step inside the three-point line, and instead of shooting at Ainge, who was two steps away and half a head shorter, he passed the ball to Xiao Tu outside the three-point line in the middle.

Xiao Tu feinted with the ball, and McHale quickly rushed out to pounce.

He was scared, afraid that Xiao Tu would shoot another three-pointer.

Although the coach said that three-point shooting is an evil method, it increases the score too quickly, and even people who can't do math can see it just by looking at the score.

Xiao Tu was waiting for his opponent to rush out. He dropped the ball with his left hand, changed direction to the right, and got past McHale in one step. Then he took another step, gathered the ball, and launched a three-step attack on the basket.

He was pulled down by Parish as soon as he took off, stumbled and fell to the ground, and the ball was not released.

Parish's move was quite aggressive, drawing boos from Lakers fans. If he hadn't fouled, Xiao Tu would definitely have dunked again.

Xiao Tu stepped to the free-throw line, dribbled the ball a few times to find his rhythm, and calmly made both free throws. 25-12.

Stockton said, "Shaw scored 14 points in half a quarter. After his 60+ triple-double against the Nets, he seems to have found the secret to scoring and evolved into a super scorer."

Heinson said, "Shaw is too fast. He's the fastest player on both teams. He just one step past McHale. The Celtics can't stop him unless they double-team him."

Stockton chuckled, "I wonder if Jones will still pair Bird and Shaw together today. Bird has been selected to the All-Defensive Second Team three times, so his defensive ability should be better than McHale's."

Not only fans, but commentators also want to see Xiao Tu and Bird face off, which is the biggest draw of the Finals.

(End of this chapter)