Basketball miracles

Chapter 147 [Too Cruel]

During the Celtics' offense, Larry Bird lobbed a pass from the right side to McHale, who was cutting to the basket, but McHale committed a turnover.

McHale is a key scorer for the Celtics and can't afford to completely refrain from shooting. However, for a player to lob the ball over Xiao Tu's head requires extremely high accuracy.

Bird's pass was well-timed, but too high. McHale jumped 30cm, trying to defy gravity, but Earth wouldn't allow it. His left hand barely touched the ball but failed to catch it, and he landed sideways, staggering and frozen on the spot.

Xiao Tu retrieved the ball near McHale and sprinted forward, initiating a fast break. The Celtics players rushed back, and with no one guarding him, Xiao Tu was faster than Magic Johnson.

Parish couldn't cover Xiao Tu on the left side of the court, so Bird had to help defend him. Xiao Tu passed the ball from the right to the middle, where Johnson received it, squeezed past Dennis, took three steps, drew a foul, and made a left-handed layup.

Johnson made the free throw, completing a 2+1 play, making it 81-60.

Unbeknownst to many, Xiao Tu had already delivered 6 assists. This pass to Magic Johnson was a mismatch scoring opportunity, and Dennis La couldn't stop him.

McHale ran back as fast as he could but still couldn't keep up, and cold sweat began to pour down his forehead again, just like Fang Shiyu who was out picking up girls.

The Celtics are on offense. Dennis is on fire today, scoring again with a mid-range jumper from the left side. 81-62.

His opponent kept sinking mid-range shots, and Magic Johnson just stood there watching, refusing to jump, seemingly slow to react. Although the Lakers had a large lead, after seeing this kind of play so many times, everyone thought Johnson's defense was terrible.

Even if Johnson and Xiao Tu had similar stats, Johnson winning the Finals MVP would still be highly controversial. Xiao Tu's defensive performance was far superior; they were not even in the same league.

In a half-court offense, the Lakers made several passes to the left low post. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dribbled to the middle, turned, and hooked the ball, but missed. Xiao Tu then cut in from the right and outjumped McHale to grab the offensive rebound.

McHale didn't box out, but instead stood upright to try and steal the ball, and was knocked off balance. Xiao Tu landed, took a step forward, and leaped up, dunking with both hands! 83 to 62.

Xiao Tu scored his 38th point. McHale and Parish double-teamed him but couldn't block his shot, and there was no foul.

KC Jones was angrily yelling from the sidelines; if he weren't black, his face would be red right now.

But no matter how much he yelled, it was no use. McHale was just a 95-kilogram softie, nicknamed "The Gibbon," not "King Kong." He wasn't a power forward, and he never would be.

The Celtics were on offense when Dennis made a turnover, which was stolen by Byron Scott, who then drove the ball down the fast break, forcing a layup over Dennis. 85-62.

The Celtics were on offense. Bodwell received the ball beyond the three-point line, but still couldn't easily turn and execute his move. Xiao Tu's defensive approach was effective; his teammates knew this well. Johnson was unwilling to imitate this close-marking style, but Worthy was.

Worthy was tasked with guarding Bird and also had a strength advantage. Bird didn't get a direct shot opportunity and had to pass to his teammates. McHale, usually a key scorer, was rendered ineffective, forcing Worthy to move the ball around again.

The Celtics players still couldn't get to the basket, Ainge's mid-range shot missed, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar grabbed the rebound.

In a Lakers half-court set, Johnson passed the ball from the left to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the low post, who again turned and hooked the ball towards the middle. This time his movement was more fluid, and his position was closer to the basket, resulting in a clean swish. 87-62.

Xiao Tu drew the defense away from the three-point line, and no one double-teamed Jabbar near the paint, giving him a good opportunity to isolate Parish.

Coach Jones was at a loss on the sidelines, unable to come up with a solution or spare any players to double-team Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the low post.

Ultimately, the Celtics' defensive system collapsed because of Xiao Tu. Even if he was just standing outside the three-point line, a big man had to come out and guard him; leaving him even two steps away was dangerous.

The Celtics players passed the ball twice, and Dennis's mid-range jumper on the right side missed. Xiao Tu grabbed the rebound and passed it to Scott for a fast break. Scott dribbled to the left frontcourt, and just inside the 60-degree three-point line, he faced Parish and took a fast break shot. Parish jumped too slowly and couldn't block it, and the ball swished through the net. 89-62.

In a 3-on-3 situation in the frontcourt, Scott didn't pass because he figured even if he missed the shot, Xiao Tu could still grab the offensive rebound. Full of confidence in his teammates, Scott felt no pressure and his shooting rhythm was perfect.

The Celtics players were agitated. Ainge made a long pass from the backcourt to Bird, who was being guarded, but Worthy touched the ball out of bounds. The ball went dead, and the game went into official timeout.

An official timeout occurs when neither team calls a timeout for a certain period, specifically when the ball is dead. The NBA is a commercial organization; if timeouts are delayed, there won't be time for commercials, and therefore no advertising revenue. These timeouts are specifically designed to allow time for commercials during live broadcasts.

After the timeout, the Celtics fielded their strongest lineup, and the starters played for a long time. The players spread out, and Bird, a step inside the three-point line, took a one-on-one shot against Worthy, but it missed. Xiao Tu grabbed the defensive rebound, his 16th of the game. He boxed out, and McHale, behind him, was helpless, unable to jump.

Xiao Tu's jump height surpassed everyone else's with a single effort, and he went on a rebounding spree today.

The Lakers set up a half-court offense, and Johnson lobbed the ball to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the low post on the left. This time, Bird came around from the baseline and successfully stole the ball, launching a counterattack.

Bird dribbled across half-court and passed to Ainge, the Celtics' fastest player. Ainge attempted a layup on the right side, but after jumping, he collided with Scott, who wasn't jumping, causing him to lose his balance and pass the ball to the left with one hand.

Xiao Tu intercepted the pass with both hands, turned, and launched a fast break, easily shaking off McHale. Johnson drew one defender in the middle, and Xiao Tu dribbled forward, attracting Parish's attention from the right edge of the penalty area before passing to Jabbar in the middle. The latter leaped up and slammed the ball in with his right hand! 91-62.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar didn't rush up to join the fast break; rather, the Celtics were playing too fast and he hadn't been able to get back on defense. When he saw his teammate steal the ball, he immediately joined the fast break from midcourt.

Heinson sighed, "Shaw has already dished out 7 assists and looks like he's about to get another triple-double. The gap between the two sides has widened to 29 points, and the outcome is no longer in doubt."

Stockton said, "The Celtics were too eager to close the gap and played too easily. They just limited Shaw's scoring, but he was also able to rebound and assist his teammates."

Heinson asked, "What happened? Are the players fighting in the backfield?"

During a Lakers fast break, two players from both teams got into an argument in the backcourt. Instead of getting back on defense, Ainge angrily confronted Scott, and the two began shoving each other.

Angie believes that Scott's deliberate failure to jump and collide with him when he jumped for a layup was a dangerous move.

The referee, however, didn't consider it a foul and simply separated the two players. The referee's reasoning was perfectly valid: why would you pass the ball if you think it was a foul?
The Celtics continued inbounding the ball from the baseline. This is the treatment role players get; the referees don't even bother to review the video replay at the scorer's table. And today is the Lakers' home game, who cares about Ainge?

In a positional play, Dennis passed the ball to Bird, who drew Xiao Tu's double team at the left corner and then made a no-look hook pass to McHale on the left baseline – a beautiful play.

McHale had an open look and leaped up to dunk with both hands, but unfortunately underestimated Xiao Tu's turning speed and spring speed.

Upon seeing Bird pass the ball, Xiao Tu immediately turned and took off. He jumped high and far, landing precisely on the basketball with his right hand.

With one hand against two, Xiao Tu forcefully pushed McHale down from mid-air, knocking the basketball away. McHale bent down to pick up the ball, his head spinning, and jumped towards the basket again, forcing a shot.

Xiao Tu, who was jumping, realized that this person's maximum jump was probably 30cm. He gritted his teeth and seemed to be using all his strength.

This time, McHale took a close-range shot, but the result was even worse. He was blocked by Xiao Tu behind him with his left hand, and the shot bounced off the backboard and went far away.

Stockton exclaimed, "Shaw's consecutive jumps to block McHale are absolutely brutal!"

Heinson said helplessly, "McHale couldn't defend anymore. He was completely dominated by Shaw on both offense and defense today."

Worthy retrieved the basketball and passed it to Johnson to initiate a fast break. The rest of the Celtics quickly retreated on defense but failed to score.

After a few passes in the half-court set, Worthy lobbed the ball to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the right low post, who turned and drove to the basket for a close-range floater. 93-62.

Parish seemed to be distracted, and was easily beaten by Jabbar, completely demoralizing the Celtics.

Xiao Tu didn't score during this period, and the Celtics players' attention was all on him, so he got overwhelmed.

The Celtics' offense was also very simple. Dennis' mid-range shot from the right side missed, the ball bounced far and was grabbed by Ainge on the left side. He took a step and shot again, but missed. Xiao Tu grabbed the rebound.

Xiao Tu has already grabbed 17 rebounds, and the Celtics' two hottest shooters have gone cold.

(End of this chapter)