I fell in love with Toutiao and became the GOAT.

Chapter 82 Touching Paul's Head

At the Oracle Center, Lin Bei merely glared at Paul in the distance as a warning: I still remember our grudge!

Then he looked away.

But Paul keenly sensed that another younger player in the same position on the Warriors, whose name he wasn't quite sure of, was staring intently at his head, scrutinizing him.

His gaze was direct and piercing, making him inexplicably angry and uncomfortable.

When the starting lineups of both teams take the field and are positioned on opposite sides of the pitch.

Paul finally lost his temper, looked at Curry across from him, and said with a hint of impatience, "Why are you staring at me?"

Curry, never one to back down, immediately raised an eyebrow and retorted, "How did you know I'd been watching you?"

Without a second thought, Paul blurted out, "Because I saw it with my own eyes!"

Curry scoffed, "Well, you're the same way, always staring at me, aren't you?"

Paul was stunned for a moment and didn't react.

Then Curry casually added, "How would you have known I'd been watching you the whole time if you weren't watching me?"

These words were like a thorn, instantly piercing Paul's heart.

His gaze instantly darkened, becoming frighteningly sinister. He glared at Curry with a vicious look, his eyes clearly saying: You little brat, just you wait!

While Paul and Curry were locked in a tense standoff, Lin Bei was chatting with DeAndre Jordan with great interest.

"Hey buddy, do you remember who won our last match? It's been so long, I can't quite remember—"

Upon hearing this, DeAndre Jordan's eyes instantly became confused. He scratched his head, looking bewildered, and said, "I—I've kind of forgotten too."

Standing to the side, Griffin couldn't help but remind him, "We won, Deandre, don't let him lead us astray."

DeAndre Jordan immediately nodded, his tone becoming more assertive: "Yes, that's right, we won!"

Lin Bei nodded calmly: "You did win the match, but statistically speaking, it seems like I won, right?"

DeAndre Jordan was stunned again, his face full of confusion: "You—you won?"

Lin Bei raised an eyebrow, his tone somewhat matter-of-fact: "Otherwise what?"

DeAndre Jordan scratched his head, his face full of confusion: "I really can't remember the specific stats."

Lin Bei laughed, his provocation undisguised: "That's quite a coincidence. I remember it clearly—I had 10 points, 14 rebounds, and 1 assist, while you only had 6 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 block. The difference is significant."

DeAndre Jordan instantly exploded: "You remember it so clearly, why are you asking me?!"

Griffin, listening from the side, shook his head: "Deandre, he's just deliberately trying to provoke you."

C

Soon, the jump ball game began.

Spurred on by Lin Bei, DeAndre Jordan, fueled by a surge of energy, leaped forward, overpowering Lin Bei, and preemptively tipped the basketball towards his own half of the court.

In terms of running and jumping ability, DeAndre Jordan is definitely a pro.

In the previous opening game, he was dominated on the boards by Lin Bei, mainly due to Lin Bei's unique rebounding skills, coupled with [talent:]

With his "rebounding instinct," DeAndre Jordan was no match for him.

However, if it's simply a matter of jumping ability, the two are actually evenly matched.

The Clippers started the game with a frustrated Paul dribbling the ball up the court, charging straight at Curry.

But Curry was very clever; he simply moved to the side and passed the responsibility of guarding Paul to Klay.

Indeed, Curry tasted the sweetness of victory after defeating the Knicks in the last game.

By assigning the opponent's key player to Klay's defense, he doesn't need to expend much energy on defense, allowing him to focus on offense.

Unleash your offensive talent without any reservations.

Although rookie Klay's defense still needs polishing, he is full of fighting spirit and his defensive attitude is uncompromising.

In this game, the Warriors' zone defense system was not officially activated, but judging from the matchups, David Lee was guarding Blake Griffin, who was the most threatening inside scorer on the opposing team.

Lin Bei was matched up against DeAndre Jordan, facing a blue-collar center with little offensive threat.

At the top of the key, Paul was forced back two steps by Klay Thompson, making it difficult for him to break through.

His anger flared up quickly but dissipated just as fast. He soon came to terms with reality, found an opening, and delivered a precise pass to Caron Butler on the sideline.

After receiving the ball, Butler exerted force, blew past Dorell Wright in one step, and headed straight for the basket, then raised his hand to prepare for a floater.

Just as the basketball was about to be released, a figure suddenly rushed out from the side—

It's Lin Bei!

He leaped up and slapped the basketball hard with his hand. With a crisp "smack," the basketball flew backward instantly!

The Oracle Arena erupted in cheers the moment the basketball flew backwards!

This is the Warriors' home arena, completely different from Madison Square Garden.

The home fans had only seen Lin Bei's visually striking blocks on television before, and now that they had witnessed them in person, they were instantly ignited with passion. Cheers and shouts resounded throughout the entire Bay Area, deafeningly loud.

"Wow! Dalin delivered an incredible block right from the start! In these two games, he's practically become a shot-blocking machine, he's amazing!"

In the CCTV live broadcast room, Yu Jiahao finally stopped hiding his excitement and started praising the game enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, Hupu's hotline was also in an uproar—

"Is Da Lin putting all his talent into blue-collar work? First he was grabbing rebounds, and now he's blocking shots like crazy, it's outrageous!"

"Does the person upstairs even know anything about basketball? A blue-collar worker averaging 17.0 points per game since February? Don't throw accusations around!"

"Forget about blue-collar or not, just talk about how cool Da Lin's block was!"

"That was so cool! Honestly, that kind of straight-up, frontal block is incredibly visually appealing; it gave me goosebumps!"

'

""

Amid cheers from the Oracle Center, Lin Bei landed and lightly patted his chest twice as a simple celebration.

He hadn't intended to be too flamboyant, but with the home fans so enthusiastic, he couldn't remain indifferent.

But in Paul's eyes, Lin Bei's pat on the chest was clearly a provocation—even if it wasn't his partner who got the hated.

3.

Lin Bei's slap sent the basketball out of bounds. The Clippers still had possession, but they only had 7 seconds left on their shot clock, which was very tight.

Paul went around to receive the ball again. After receiving the basketball, he turned to face the basket and found that Klay was still guarding him.

He tried to break through, but Clay wouldn't budge an inch, giving him absolutely no space.

With two seconds left, Paul had no choice but to forcefully pull up —

The moment he made the shot, DeAndre Jordan didn't try to box out; instead, his eyes were fixed on Lin Bei.

He finally remembered how he had lost to Lin Bei in their last matchup, and now he was on guard against Lin Bei's attempts to grab rebounds.

But to his utter surprise, Lin Bei changed his style this time.

Just as the basketball was halfway through its flight, Lin Bei suddenly turned around and landed squarely on his backside, firmly blocking Jordan's position.

Positioning?

DeAndre Jordan was completely stunned. He never expected Lin Bei to suddenly use a boxing move, and he didn't react for a moment.

By the time he came to his senses and tried to exert his strength, it was already too late.

With a loud thud, Paul's hasty pull-up three-pointer missed the rim.

Lin Bei, who had DeAndre Jordan in the back, easily pocketed the rebound.

Curry had already turned and sprinted before Lin Bei even grabbed the rebound.

However, the Clippers were prepared, with Paul closely following Curry and relentlessly entangled him, preventing Lin Bei from delivering a long pass immediately.

Only after confirming that Curry could receive the pass securely did Lin Bei swing his long arm and accurately pass the basketball to him.

But by then, the best opportunity for a counterattack had passed, and Curry could only slow down the pace, facing Paul at the top of the key.

Curry, whose registered height is 1.91 meters, protected the basketball firmly while glancing at the top of Paul's head, who is registered as 1.83 meters tall, and muttered to himself, "It really is round, isn't it?"

Paul was baffled by his gaze, and his anger flared up again, making his face grow increasingly grim.

Soon, Lin Bei ran over, stood sideways, and solidly blocked Paul's path, immediately setting a screen for the offense.

The Clippers were already familiar with the Warriors' simple pick-and-roll offense, and DeAndre Jordan immediately stepped out to defend, decisively delaying and blocking Curry's driving route.

Curry was blocked halfway through his drive, but he immediately flicked his wrist and passed the ball to Lin Bei, who had just been blocking him from the side.

After receiving the ball, Lin Bei faced the 183cm tall man in front of him and, without hesitation, leaped up and decisively took a three-pointer!

Paul tried his best, stretching out his arm to block the shot, but the height difference between the two was too great, and he couldn't reach Lin Bei at all.

More importantly, Lin Bei's three-pointer was released extremely quickly, and even if Paul could reach it, he wouldn't have had time to block it.

With a "whoosh" sound!

The white netting rippled, and the basketball swished steadily into the net!

Lin Bei opened the scoring for the Warriors with a precise three-pointer!

Oracle Arena erupted in cheers once again, even more enthusiastic than before. Some fans even stood up, repeatedly chanting, "Best! Best! Best!"

After taking a 3-0 lead, it was the Clippers' turn to attack.

Paul is still the primary ball-handler. He and Jeremy Lin play the same style of play; they need the ball in their hands, and they are almost useless when they are off the ball.

He dribbled the ball for a moment and called for a screen. DeAndre Jordan's screen was quite good and blocked Klay Thompson.

Klay didn't even bother to go around the screen; he just stood there, watching as Lin Bei switched onto Paul.

Paul strode briskly towards Linbei, one step, two steps, three steps—

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through Lin Bei's defense; it was like hitting a wall.

Paul looked puzzled, a question forming in his mind: Shouldn't this be an advantage for a smaller player against a larger one? Why can't he break through?

He immediately stopped and pulled back, trying to shake off Lin Bei.

But Lin Bei reacted extremely quickly, stopping abruptly and maintaining a half-body distance, his long arm always blocking Paul's view, giving him no space to make a move.

Paul then restarted his game, changing direction and driving to the basket again, his movements fluid and swift.

This is where Paul is better than Jeremy Lin: even when faced with a dead end, he can find new opportunities by changing his approach and restarting.

But he still underestimated Lin Bei's defensive ability.

After changing direction, Lin Bei remained firmly entangled with him, showing no sign of being shaken off.

Helpless, Paul could only stop abruptly again, raise his hand as if to shoot, and try to trick Lin Bei into jumping.

Lin Bei pressed forward, his long arms blocking out the sky and completely shutting down the shooting route.

Paul had no choice but to pass the ball.

But after this back and forth, the nearly 20 seconds of attack time had been used up, and his pass was no different from passing the buck.

The one who took the blame was Blake Griffin, who had run to the top of the arc.

After receiving the ball, Griffin had no room to adjust and could only hastily shoot a three-pointer with two seconds left.

Paul, still under the basket, immediately turned around to try and grab the rebound, but the height difference between him and Lin Bei made the scene look particularly comical.

Lin Bei looked at him, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes: You little guy, you think you can block my spot?

He immediately returned to his old ways and rushed out.

With a "clang," Griffin's three-pointer missed, and Lin Bei leaped up and easily grabbed the rebound again.

"Another rebound! So far this season, Dahlin is averaging 14.8 rebounds per game, 0.3 more than Howard, temporarily leading the rebounding list and currently holding the title of season's rebounding leader!"

Yu Jia's voice rang out again, stating the facts while actually praising.

On the field, Lin Bei was immediately subjected to relentless pressure from Paul after landing.

Lin Bei raised his hand to send a long pass, but Paul slapped it on his arm.

"Whoosh—" The referee immediately blew his whistle, calling a foul on Paul.

Paul seemed to be completely enraged. Even after the whistle blew, he still refused to give up and forcibly snatched the basketball from Lin Bei's hands.

Lin Bei frowned, feeling utterly bewildered. He immediately shoved Paul, his tone laced with anger: "What the hell are you trying to do? Are we still going to fight?"

Instantly, teammates from both teams rushed forward and surrounded each other, plunging the scene into chaos and bringing the conflict to the brink of eruption.

"Beep beep beep—" The referee quickly blew a long whistle and stepped forward, stopping the already insincere conflict in time.

In the chaos, Curry, who stood in front of Lin Bei and faced Paul directly, hugged Paul, pretending to comfort him, while secretly patting Paul's head when no one was looking.

"Fuck! What are you doing? Who the hell gave you permission to touch my head?"

Paul instantly lost his temper, broke free from Curry's restraint, glared at him with wide eyes, and spoke with a tone full of rage and humiliation.