Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 144 He looked so happy
The roar of the away crowd tried to erode the rationality of every away player.

Jerry West sat in the shadows, like a statue. When Kidd lost his temper and took Pargo down with a foolish, near-self-destructive slam, West's fingers tightened silently on his knees.

We're doomed!
These words roared in West's mind.

It wasn't just anger, but something deeper—a familiarity with the "inevitable failure" that West had struggled with his entire life.

Memphis, this team, this city—there always seems to be a gravitational pull that drags everything toward the abyss of chaos.

Then, Xu Ling made his move.

Steal, sprint, and three-pointer.

Next, there's that gesture.

Xu Ling turned around, facing the boiling, malicious audience, raised his index finger, and put it to his lips.

"Shhh."

The noise in the entire arena reached its physical peak at that moment, but West felt the world go quiet for a moment.

Kidd sought respect, but lost his mind. Xu Ling created fear, and ended up taking control of the situation.

"Maybe we're not finished yet."

West began to have doubts.

Perhaps Memphis doesn't deserve such a grand stage, but God doesn't care whether they do or not; He just needs a stage, even if it's in hell.

It's the Hornets' turn to attack.

Pargo was clearly enraged by the steal earlier, as well as Xu Ling's subsequent three-pointer and shushing gesture. He reached out for the ball again, his intention clear—he had to get back at this arrogant rookie.

Paul doubted whether he could do it, but he had been in good form, so the ball was still passed to him.

When Pargo faced Xu Ling, the latter's contempt for him was undisguised.

This made Pargo deeply resentful.

He had clearly defeated Kidd, but in front of this infamous rookie, he remained indifferent, and the rookie even paid more attention to Paul than to him, his direct opponent.

What is there for him to be proud of?
Pargo was furious and determined to teach Xu Ling a lesson.

Then, Pargo accelerated again, which was his most ferocious weapon on the offensive end, but Xu Ling relied not on speed to deal with him, but on judgment. As long as the reaction was timely, the rest was not difficult to handle.

Pargo's attempt to break through failed; Xu Ling's sliding steps were as if they had been precisely calculated, always keeping him half a foot in front of Pargo.

Pargo rushed to the right side, was forced to stop abruptly, and was about to finish with a fadeaway jumper just inside the three-point line.

However, just as he was gathering the ball and jumping, Xu Ling leaped up in sync as if he had foreseen the future, his long arms fully extended, his fingertips seemingly touching the sky. A desperate, forceful attack never yields any good results.

"Snapped!!!"

That was a solid frontal block!

The basketball was swatted away by Xu Ling with one hand, flying straight towards the stands.

"Wow!!! Eli Xu blocked Giannilo Pargo!" Kevin Harlan exclaimed in amazement. "A clean block! Pargo was helpless against him!"

This scene not only left the entire audience speechless, but also made Kidd clench his fists involuntarily.

Pargo landed, staggering a step. He couldn't understand how a rookie like Eli Xu could have such solid defense. His attempt to outmaneuver Xu had ended in utter failure, and he was filled with shame and anger. He glared at Xu Ling through gritted teeth, yelling, "That son of a bitch!!!"

But Xu Ling completely ignored his behavior, treating him like an ant that had been casually crushed, and even had the leisure to remind his teammates to pay attention to Paul's movements.

This feeling of being ignored made Pargo more emotionally unstable than being trash-talked.

The Hornets inbounded the ball, and with little time left on the shot clock, Paul simply took a three-pointer from the outside.

Still no luck.

Clearly, the winning streak that started the second quarter was no longer there.

Giannilo Pargo almost single-handedly buried the Grizzlies with a great opportunity, but beating Kidd wasn't enough, because Kidd's role was merely to serve Xu Ling.

But now, Xu Ling has been forced to his best form by Pargo's various actions.

He played his best game on both offense and defense since the start of the series.

With the offensive and defensive roles reversed, Lowry may not be able to support the team's system like Kidd, but his best quality is that he can carry out Xu Ling's orders without compromise.

Xu Ling said he would pass the ball to him at halftime and demonstrate how to avenge Kidd.
There is no easier job than this, my Lord.

Xu Ling received a pass from Lowry as soon as he reached the frontcourt, but the persistent Pargo blocked him again, yelling, "You damn bastard, you were just lucky!"

luck?

This must be the most ridiculous trash talk Xu Ling has heard in recent times.

Pargo's mentality is clearly out of balance. Players who make a name for themselves in the league as undrafted players often have extreme personalities, either extremely steady or extremely extreme. There are always teams that need this kind of extreme personality.

Pargo is undoubtedly the latter. This personality makes him fearless against star players and often allows him to pull off underdog victories. However, if an opponent does defeat him, his inability to accept defeat will only make him more and more extreme.

Xu Ling didn't make any fancy feints, just a simple triple threat stance, his eyes sweeping over the basket.

Pargo crouched slightly, nervously bracing for his drive or shot.

The instant Pargo's center of gravity shifted, Xu Ling moved—not a breakthrough, not various deceptive body movements, but a pull-up jump shot that came out in an instant!
Xu Ling's jump height and release speed rendered Pargo's attempt to block the shot futile and slow.

"Shh!"

Hit again!

29 is better than 31
The two teams are only 2 points apart.

"Another three-pointer! Eli scores 6 points in the second quarter!"

"Gianniro Pargo, who has been extremely active in these two games, is no match for him!"

Pargo's lips trembled slightly.

Xu Ling finally spoke to him: "I like the way you're speechless. Hang in there."

Byron Scott simply didn't believe it was a lucky shot, because Xu Ling had been playing well since the first quarter, and this was just a continuation of the offensive momentum. What could be more unsettling than this?
The series’ top scorer is in top form in the crucial Game 5?
Scott prepared Maurice Peterson to replace Pargo, while simultaneously preparing Paul to switch on defense, with Paul guarding Xu Ling before Peterson entered the game.

But Xu Ling's offensive was far from over. A minute later, Xu Ling received the ball again in the same position.

Xu Ling faked out Paul with a simple shooting move, then dribbled sideways to get an open shot and calmly took the shot again.

This was his third consecutive three-pointer since he came on in the second quarter.

"Shh!"

Hit again!
"Woo!!!"

A wave of helpless and disappointed groans echoed through the stadium.

Jerry West, sitting in the VIP box, couldn't help but stand up and growl, "That's how you play! Damn it, that's how you should play!"

This worried Laura Grankole, the assistant who had just delivered the drinks to the private room. She thought, "This old man might just kick the bucket while watching the game away from home. Take it easy, you have a heart condition."

The Hornets were forced to call a timeout.

Scott finally lost his temper—not only could he not stop Xu Ling, but the team's offense had fallen into chaos. Pargo's double-edged sword nature was fully exposed.

He can inspire the team with his outstanding performance, or he can spread negative emotions to the whole team with his poor performance.

At this moment, the wasp seemed to have returned to square one, even more passive than ever before.

Xu Ling is like an erupting volcano, his shooting touch is frighteningly hot. In the first quarter, he only scored 11 points despite his all-out attack, but in just a few minutes, he has already racked up 9 points.

“Chris!” Scott yelled from the sidelines, “Stop letting that number 1 run rampant in our home arena! We have to respond!”

Paul wasn't as excited or nervous as his coach—in his view, the situation was still under control. But he understood Scott's concerns; Xu Ling's performance in those few minutes had indeed been too explosive.

“Don’t worry, Coach.” Paul replied, then turned to Peterson and said, “Stick close to Eli, don’t give him any three-point opportunities. Switch decisively when he encounters a screen. Don’t worry about his drives, he can’t succeed—we have Tyson guarding the paint.”

As the calmest player on the court, Paul remained clear-headed throughout. Despite the escalating tension between the two teams, it had nothing to do with him.

He and Xu Ling are good friends, and this is purely a competitive match. Both sides are eager for victory, and as the recognized favorite and a potential MVP, he has a responsibility to translate that advantage into a real win.

New Orleans has waited too long.

Scott silently let Paul give instructions like a coach. After Paul finished, he looked back at the coach with his bright eyes, as if asking: "Do you think this is okay, Coach?"

Scott felt a sense of déjà vu about what he was seeing, just like what Kidd had done in New Jersey. However, Scott was absolutely certain that his relationship with Paul would never go that far.

Paul—no, St. Paul, the king who saved professional basketball in New Orleans—possessed a character far superior to that of Kidd, a control freak who became an instability factor on every team.

With that thought in mind, Byron Scott exchanged a knowing smile: "That's it. Let's go up there and regain the lead!"

After the timeout, Paul immediately took control of the rhythm.

He immediately called for a pick-and-roll, used a change of pace to penetrate the paint, drew a double team, and then made a no-look bounce pass to West, who was cutting to the basket and easily scored a layup.

Then, the moment Xu Ling received the ball, the Hornets immediately formed a double team.

It seems the New Orleans team has decided to stop giving him the opportunity to launch attacks at will.

Xu Ling also assisted Josh Howard in scoring a jump shot amidst the chaos.

"A brilliant assist! Eli responded to Chris Paul in his own way!"

The second quarter then turned into a duet between the two rising stars on the perimeter.

Paul frequently ran pick-and-rolls with David West, and this most lethal pick-and-roll combination in the West was consistently accurate, quickly regaining the game's rhythm.

Xu Ling was closely guarded by the opponents, but the direct consequence of the Hornets focusing a lot of defense on him was that Lowry, Howard, and others got more offensive opportunities.

Lowry's straight-line drives and Howard's weak-side isolation plays allowed the Grizzlies to have more players step up to continue their offensive momentum after Xu Ling.

With one minute left in the first half, the score was 44-42, with the Hornets leading by 2 points.

Xu Ling has already scored 22 points and 5 assists, while Paul has also contributed 15 points and 8 assists.

In the Grizzlies' final possession, Xu Ling received the ball at the top of the key. Facing Peterson's defense, he took a strong step forward, and his sudden stop and dribble motion caught Peterson off guard.

"Eli, attack the penalty area directly!"

Kevin Harlan's high notes then rang out.

Xu Ling jumped from the left side of the paint, gliding through Tyson Chandler's defense before sinking a wide-angle layup off the backboard, scoring his 24th point of the first half and tying the game for the Grizzlies.

"What a spectacular move!" Harlan shouted. "Eli was like Michael Jordan tonight!"

“That’s right!” Collins, who frequently compared Xu Ling to Jordan, chimed in, “He is the Michael Jordan of our time!”

This statement clearly contains an element of flattery, but during the game, few people care about what the commentators are saying, unless you see Durant wailing and howling with emotion after being defeated by a buzzer-beater like Xu Jingyu. Otherwise, the words spoken by the commentators are usually hard to remember.

Then, Paul controlled the tempo and launched the final attack.

Xu Ling suddenly closed in on him, a change that disrupted Paul's rhythm and ultimately caused him to lack touch when he took a buzzer-beater, ending the first half with a missed shot.

44 is better than 44
In this crucial battle, both teams achieved scores that Xu Ling considered ominous.

The fans at the scene roared loudly, believing that Xu Ling had fouled Paul.

However, assistant referee Scott Foster, who was watching from the sidelines, said everything was normal and it was a defense that couldn't be cleaner.

Hornets fans could only express their dissatisfaction with boos.

They are not Paul; they cannot be so carefree.

"Good defense, Eli," the guy who's about to become the youngest MVP in history said softly. "See you in the second half."

Xu Ling simply smiled and nodded.

“He seems really happy,” Lowry said. “Eli, have we been letting him have too much fun?”

That really hits the nail on the head.

To beat the Hornets, you can't let Paul have too much fun.

However, that's a matter for the second half.

(End of this chapter)