Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 116 Like Ice

Anthony's face darkened further.

He felt that every shot he took was like struggling in a swamp, using all his strength but achieving little, while his opponents always managed to score points in front of him effortlessly or launch counterattacks by taking advantage of his mistakes.

This contrast made him increasingly anxious.

In the following rounds, it completely turned into Anthony's one-on-one mode.

He almost abandoned tactical positioning, and whenever the ball crossed half-court, he would reach out for it on the wing or in the midfield. Facing the defense of Xu Ling and Howard, he used every trick in the book.

He pulled up for a three-threat layup, made a strong drive to the basket, and even had a beautiful baseline spin move that brushed past Xu Ling.

However, the high altitude also seemed to affect his shooting touch.

"Melo, one-on-one against Eli again, turns and jumps but misses!"

"Cameron, a powerful drive, a difficult floater... it slid out of the rim!"

"Melo! Three-point attempt from the outside. Still missed!"

The basket at the Pepsi Center seemed to have a lid on Anthony.

Anthony's consecutive missed shots gradually turned the cheers of the home fans into sporadic encouragement and deeper anxiety.

In the commentary booth, Kevin Harlan and his partner Doug Collins expressed doubts about Anthony's reckless offensive choices.

"Anthony was ice cold tonight; he needs to find a better rhythm."

"Perhaps he should consider attacking the basket more often, or creating opportunities for his teammates."

In stark contrast to Anthony's struggles, Xu Ling displayed composure and efficiency. He didn't succumb to the same trap of individual heroism that Anthony's continued isolation plays presented itself to. When the opportunity presented itself, he seized it without hesitation.

In a classic "V-shaped cut," Xu Ling used Milicic's screen to circle from the baseline to the top of the arc, where Kidd's pass arrived in an instant.

Anthony was firmly blocked by Milicic, and his chase was a beat too slow.

Xu Ling received the ball, bent his knees, jumped, and shot, his movements as precise as a machine.

"Eli! Three-pointer! It's in! An assist from Jason Kidd! Memphis's play is executed perfectly!"

On the next offensive possession, Xu Ling had the ball on the wing. Facing Anthony's hostile and close defense, he did not force a one-on-one attack, but instead beckoned Milicic to set a high screen.

Using a screen, Xu Ling instantly shook off Anthony and charged into the paint.

Nuggets center Camby was forced to switch on defense. Xu Ling didn't try to score himself, but instead made a bounce pass, slipping the ball under Camby's arm to Milicic, who cut to the basket and easily dunked.

The boos from the audience overlapped with the praise from the commentator.

9 is better than 2
The Nuggets were forced to call a timeout.

Xu Ling glanced at the scoreboard, where the gap had widened, and at Anthony's increasingly impatient expression due to his repeated missed shots. Before Anthony left the court, he spoke again: "Hey, Melo, there's something I've never understood..."

Anthony didn't want to talk, he just glared at Xu Ling with dissatisfaction.

"You guys with your 'golden dual pistols'..." Xu Ling blinked, "Do you take turns firing? Is it AI's turn tonight?"

Well, although AI only fired one shot and scored the Nuggets' only basket of the game, it wasn't without reason.

Because Anthony took on all the subsequent offensive plays, yet missed a single shot.

However, these words were somewhat malicious. Anthony's chest heaved violently, and sweat streamed down his temples, whether from exhaustion or from being consumed by rage, it was hard to tell.

He felt like a clown performing energetically on stage but constantly making mistakes, while Eli Xu was commenting with great interest from the audience.

As Anthony stepped off the court, he took the towel. George Karl merely glanced at him dismissively. The two had a bad relationship, and it had always been bad. Although Karl had been Anthony's coach during his rookie season, it hadn't allowed their relationship to develop further.

Karl wanted Anthony to tone down his ego and focus more on defense, and he wanted him to play an important but not essential role on offense, like the German devil Schrempf. But to Anthony, who possessed offensive skills that many people could not master in their entire lives during his freshman year, this suggestion sounded like contempt, and from then on, he and Karl had nothing in common.

Now, Karl's eyes seemed to be mocking him: Didn't you like one-on-one matches? How come you can't beat that newbie?
"Now, we need to handle the attack more calmly!"

Carl slapped the tactical board and shouted.

Anthony threw the towel on the chair, stiffened his neck, and remained silent.

"AI!" Karl stopped looking at Anthony and turned to Iverson, who was silently wiping his sweat. "You take the lead in the offense. We need your experience and penetration!"

Iverson looked up, wiped the sweat from his face with a towel, and replied briefly, "Got it."

The Grizzlies' adjustments were quite simple.

Marc Jaffaroni no longer wants to get bogged down in the so-called system; he has grasped the most important thing for a coach: to make his best players happy.

Although their strongest players are too young and sometimes get carried away, they still have veterans like Kidd to keep them in check.

Moreover, Kidd is a coach-like player on the field. With him in control, Jaffaroni doesn't need to make too many tactical adjustments; he only needs to make substitutions.

With Xu Ling in good form, the Grizzlies don't need Josh Howard's mid-range isolation plays, so they let Ariza replace Howard to enhance the wing's athleticism.

After the timeout, the Nuggets indeed changed their playing style.

Moreover, the way this playing style is switched is somewhat frustrating.

It's just a shift from Anthony's endless isolation plays to Iverson's endless isolation plays.

However, Iverson still had enough speed to overtake Kidd's defense.

Iverson, like an unquenchable lightning bolt, began to attack the Grizzlies' defense in his signature style. Time and again, he drove into the paint, twisting his body in mid-air to toss the ball toward the rim, or drawing the defense and then passing it to the outside.

Passing the ball is what sets him apart from Anthony.

While both are high-ball-dominating stars, the key to Allen Iverson's ability to lead his team to the NBA Finals during his prime was his ability to create opportunities.

Although Iverson's efficiency was also not high, he could get his teammates involved, while Anthony and Xu Ling felt that apart from their mature offensive skills—but particularly inaccurate tonight—their rebounding ability was only passable.

Moreover, Xu Ling also discovered a major flaw in Anthony.

His personality, or rather, his understanding of the game. If Kobe went 0-for-5 at the start of the game, he wouldn't be discouraged, nor would he be frustrated by Phil Jackson trying to find openings from other positions. He would play defense with all his might and continue to ask for the ball, just like those athletes who pursue extreme sports. On the other hand, Anthony would go into a slump.

Iverson is exploding.

With his own efforts, Iverson stopped the Nuggets' losing streak and prevented the point difference from widening further.

But Anthony showed no excitement; he became lethargic and detached from the game, even Ariza was able to dribble past him. However, the Nuggets were not yet defeated; they played with the intensity of Western Conference playoff contenders at this crucial moment.

The point difference was kept at around 8 points. After Xu Ling scored the opening goal for the Grizzlies, their offensive momentum gradually spread to other positions.

Ariza scored 5 points against Anthony, who was pretending to be a defender, and Kidd also hit a long-range shot from the outside. With the perimeter open, Milicic and other inside players had plenty of space to attack the paint.

Although Iverson was an exceptional ball-handling creator, it was impossible for him to turn the tide on his own when Anthony wasn't contributing.

The balance of power between star players was broken in the last five minutes of the first half.

What broke the deadlock wasn't some earth-shattering move, but rather the Nuggets' already riddled defensive system behind their golden duo, and Anthony's increasingly heavy heart that ultimately crushed the team.

This is the Grizzlies' offensive possession.

Kidd dribbled steadily across half-court. He didn't even rush to call a play; he simply extended one finger and made a simple circle in the air.

The gesture was like a silent command, and the Grizzlies players immediately understood and began to weave in and out of the area.

Xu Ling started from the baseline, first feigning a move towards the top line to trick the unsettled Anthony into shifting his center of gravity upwards, then making a swift reverse run and cutting straight to the basket.

Kidd's pass was like a precision-guided missile, bypassing the defenders and landing perfectly in Xu Ling's hands.

Anthony reacted quickly and tried to chase back, but he was already a beat too late. He could only watch helplessly as Xu Ling received the ball, started his run, and used a deft switch of hands in mid-air to avoid Camby's block, placing the ball steadily into the basket.

The score was 60 to 50, bringing the difference back to 10 points.

At this point, the fans at the Pepsi Center were too exhausted to even boo.

Anthony, on whom they had placed high hopes, suffered a complete defeat to Xu Ling tonight.

In the transition, Iverson tried to repeat the same tactic, but the Grizzlies made a slight adjustment to their defensive strategy. Kidd no longer gave him easy space to get going, sticking to him tightly and driving him towards the sideline.

When Iverson used his explosive power to force his way past half a body length and penetrate into the paint, he was met with a twin-tower barrier formed by Warrick and Milicic.

His passing lanes were blocked, and his difficult floater missed under heavy interference. Milicic secured the rebound and immediately passed it to Kidd.

Kidd received the ball and, without pausing or even glancing at his teammates, flicked his wrist and launched a long pass that spanned the entire court.

Meanwhile, Xu Ling had already started his run in the frontcourt. Like a blue lightning bolt, he overtook all the Nuggets players near the midcourt line and received the timeless pass perfectly, with a vast, uncharted territory in front of him.

Instead of dunking, he stopped abruptly beyond the three-point line, adjusted his position, and calmly released the shot, under the desperate gaze of the entire arena.

"Uh-huh!!!"

63 is better than 50
Hollow into the network!

This was a clean and decisive fast break three-pointer!
The Pepsi Center fell into a deathly silence, with only a few scattered cheers from Grizzlies fans sounding particularly jarring. Nuggets head coach George Karl was furious on the sidelines, roaring at the crowd, but his voice was drowned out by the complex cacophony of noise.

This shot dealt a heavy blow to the Nuggets' morale and completely ignited Xu Ling's shooting touch.

In the next possession, Anthony seemed to want to respond. He called for the ball in the low post and backed down Xu Ling. His movements were still flashy, with a shoulder fake and a turnaround fadeaway. The execution of the movements was fine; the problem was his touch.

"boom!"

Another clanging sound.

Anthony's shots tonight seemed to be mercilessly rejected by the Denver high-altitude rim.

Xu Ling grabbed the rebound and dribbled the ball up the court. After crossing half-court, facing a somewhat bewildered Anthony on the defensive end, he didn't call for a screen. Instead, he made two quick crossover dribbles at the top of the arc, combined with slight pauses, instantly shifting Anthony's center of gravity.

Just as Anthony faltered slightly, Xu Ling did not hesitate for a moment and leaped into the air.

Anthony jumped to contest the shot, but it was too late.

Hit again!

66 is better than 50
He scored 8 consecutive points! The point difference reached 16 points!
"Beep~~~!"

The Nuggets were forced to call another timeout. Anthony, head down, walked straight to the bench, ignoring his teammates who reached out to give him a high-five. He grabbed a towel and covered his head, shutting himself off from the world.

"Well done, Eli!"

Kidd believed he had seen great offensive players—including the greatest of all time—and everything Xu Ling did on the court was like the second arrival of that greatest offensive player.

It could be said that it was precisely because Xu Ling was in Memphis that he agreed to be traded to this damn place by the Nets.

The longer he spent as Xu Ling's teammate, the more convinced he became that this man possessed great potential.

Seeing that he had completely messed up Anthony's mentality, I couldn't help but admire him.

Xu Ling, however, looked at Kidd without changing his expression: "Don't get too excited, old man. This is just one of the opponents we have to defeat."

"Our goal is the playoffs."

And an icy calmness.

Kidd felt that the most suitable nickname for Xu Ling was "Iceman," but unfortunately, Memphis called him "Lord," and the outside world believed that he was LeBron James's biggest rival in life, the Kingslayer.

However, ice is the correct answer.

This person doesn't show much emotion on the field; everything he does is aimed at dismantling his opponent.

“That’s right, we’re going to make the playoffs!” Kidd nodded emphatically.

Almost every Grizzlies player paid tribute to Xu Ling, excited by his feat of dominating Carmelo Anthony.

Iverson watched this scene with a complicated expression, then silently picked up his water bottle and took a sip.

The so-called golden duo has two weapons: one overheated and jammed, while the other, though still sharp, is no longer able to hold its own.

After the timeout, the Nuggets' morale was clearly dampened. Although Iverson continued to attack desperately, barely keeping the team afloat with free throws, the Grizzlies had completely gained momentum.

In the final possession of the first half, the Grizzlies had possession of the ball.

Kidd controlled the clock, pressing it to the very last moment. Facing Iverson's defense, he stood up and performed a seemingly simple crossover, but with his strong body, he squeezed out half a body length and pulled up for a jump shot near the free-throw line.

As the buzzer sounded, Kidd hit a frustrating buzzer-beater, giving the Grizzlies a commanding 68-53 lead going into halftime.

(End of this chapter)