Chapter 49: Behold the Performance of Los Angeles Gordon!!

Driven by Li Rui's three-pointer, the Lakers continued to extend their lead.

After scoring, Li Rui turned his head and shouted at Wade, "How many points would you give that shot?"

Wade glared at Li Rui with murder in his eyes.

Kobe and Odom came over to high-five and celebrate with Li Rui.

At a time when the Lakers lacked field goals, it was Li Rui who stepped up and tore open the point gap with a very domineering three-pointer.

"Haha, is that shot really that badass? Pull-up transition three-pointer right in the face of two defenders."

"Truly accurate. After scanning and finding no one to pass to, he shot it himself, catching the defense completely off guard."

"Starting at the point guard position for the Lakers in his rookie season, and his shooting is such a huge threat—he's only 19 years old, his future is limitless."

"Awesome, completely undeniable. Those haters who said Chinese players don't know how to play guard, take a look at this. What do you call this?"

At the end of the third quarter, the score was fixed at 92 to 82.

The Lakers' lead reached double digits.

The fans at the AmericanAirlines Arena stared dead at the Lakers bench.

They couldn't fathom how this was their home court, and their roster depth was so much deeper than the Lakers'.

And yet.

After three quarters of play, they were still being suppressed by the Lakers.

Especially letting that rookie act so arrogant in Miami.

Tonight, he had already dropped 4 three-pointers in three quarters, along with a few interior cuts that shredded the Heat's defense.

"Damn it, Jason, you fucking piece of trash!"

"You don't deserve to wear the Heat jersey and start at point guard."

"3 points! After playing three quarters and you only get 3 points, I could go out there and play better than you."

Miami fans vented their anger on Jason Williams.

Jason Williams' performance tonight was abysmal. Not only did he fail to connect the Heat's offense, but he also got completely crushed by a rookie on the defensive end.

Too weak.

Standing on the sidelines, hearing the fans' complaints, Jason Williams felt like crying.

He never expected to encounter a freak rookie like Li Rui during tonight's Christmas Day battle.

"No way, even if I can't score, I have to find a way to pass the ball out." Jason Williams searched for the cause within himself, feeling that he had gone mental, focusing too much on individual offense and not considering the team. Then, his gaze toward Li Rui became resolute.

"Jason, you are the modern-day Magic Johnson."

"Jason, welcome to Miami, you're a genius."

"You should be in the All-Star game, we all love watching you play."

Jason Williams' ears echoed with the praises previously bestowed upon him by the Heat fans. All that praise seemed utterly ridiculous tonight.

This was the Miami crowd; they would cheer for you when you played well, but they would also turn on you with cold faces when you played poorly.

In the fourth quarter, Jason Williams completely abandoned his scoring mindset and focused entirely on facilitating.

This helped Wade and James Posey off the bench to erupt.

The Heat continued to show super resilience, continuously narrowing the score gap.

The Lakers' problem against the Heat was their lack of depth; not many players could match the Heat's intensity, and they tended to suffer during the second-unit rotation phase.

The Heat unleashed an 11-2 offensive run.

The Lakers' second unit, led by Odom, struggled to hold the line, and the situation only improved when Zen Master brought Kobe and Li Rui back in with 8 minutes remaining in the game.

At 6:21.

Kobe initiated a pick-and-roll with Bynum on the right wing.

Wade tried hard to navigate around Bynum's screen to chase Kobe, but Bynum had a massive frame, and Wade was blocked. Fortunately, Shaq's defensive enthusiasm against Kobe was very high, and he quickly stepped up to seal off Kobe's driving lane.

On the left side, Li Rui and Odom ran an off-ball action. Li Rui feigned a cut to the left corner, and Odom set a screen to delay Jason Williams.

Haslem should have switched onto Li Rui, but his attention was momentarily caught by Kobe, and he joined Shaq to trap Kobe.

"Lee, catch!"

Seeing Li Rui's cut, Kobe decisively whipped a pass out to him.

Li Rui, positioned at the 60-degree mark on the left wing, leaped high to catch the pass.

At this moment, Wade on the other side scrambled over to help defense.

However, Li Rui had found his rhythm. He caught the ball and immediately rose into a jump shot from a standstill.

Wade arrived just a bit too late to jump and contest, so he could only wave a hand in token protest.

Too short.

As Li Rui reached his apex, he flicked his wrist and released the shot.

The three-pointer traced a rainbow through the air.

At the end of the rainbow was the basket.

"Swish!!"

After scoring, Li Rui shouted at Wade, "Why are you holding your hand up so high? Are you asking me for an autograph?"

Wade didn't even want to bother with Li Rui—too much nonsense.

"Whoo, beast!"

"Way to go!"

"Just keep shooting like that over him, that's the fifth three-pointer tonight."

"So cool."

This crisp three-pointer stirred the emotions of the fans watching online.

The Heat fans at the AmericanAirlines Arena had a massive headache; they simply couldn't guard him.

"Rotate faster!" Pat Riley shouted angrily.

Despite the tactical preparation tonight, Li Rui kept sinking three-pointers over and over again, which was driving him to the verge of a mental breakdown.

They definitely grew lax after winning the championship.

Pat Riley decided that after this game, training volume would be ramped up even further.

Especially that fat bastard Shaq; the training intensity had to be raised.

On the court, Wade called for his teammates to inbound the ball quickly. He dribbled straight to the frontcourt and immediately initiated a pick-and-roll with Shaq.

This time, Wade gave up his own shot and whipped a bounce pass to Shaq.

However, Shaq's efficiency was even lower in the fourth quarter. After catching the ball, he didn't make an immediate move, hesitating for a split second, which led to him being swarmed by three defenders.

Kobe, Odom, and Bynum converged for a triple-team.

Under these circumstances, a past-his-prime Shaq could do nothing and turned the ball over.

Kobe stripped the ball away, then quickly pushed the pace in transition.

At this moment, Li Rui accelerated down the right side like an arrow released from a bow.

Li Rui had the positional advantage, and Kobe immediately fired a straight-line lead pass up the court.

It was a pass thrown ahead of the runner, and Jason Williams pedaled the floor with all his might to accelerate.

Fortunately, Li Rui's absolute top speed wasn't terrifyingly fast.

At least, when both accelerated and ran together, Li Rui couldn't completely shake him off, and they ran almost stride for stride.

Just as the ball arrived, Li Rui used his longer wingspan to secure it.

After catching the ball, Li Rui suddenly decelerated, forcing Jason Williams to drop his speed as well. But taking advantage of the moment before Jason Williams could recover his balance, Li Rui tapped the ball to his right and exploded with a secondary burst of speed to shake off the defense.

After all, Jason Williams was the defender, caught in a passive position.

He couldn't keep up.

Panic set in for Jason Williams at that moment, as the Heat's backcourt was completely empty.

Li Rui didn't choose a transition three-pointer on this possession because after consecutive accelerations, his core strength wasn't sufficient to control his body for a sudden stop.

Li Rui chose to charge inside the three-point line and gather into a two-step move.

He gripped the ball in one hand.

"Hah!"

Li Rui's eyes were filled with excitement; he was going to dunk it!

Triggered by Gordon's state, he instinctively wanted to execute a 360-degree windmill.

Pumping all his strength into the floor.

Planting and lifting off.

Jumping high into the air.

Displaying his full hang-time capability.

Li Rui was stunned by his own vertical leap height.

So low.

Damn it.

Is this the height of his maximum effort jump?

Is this basket not regulation?

Why is it so high?

Sigh, no windmill.

Sigh, a 360-degree spin is out of the question too.

....

Fortunately, relying on his absolute height of 2.01 meters, the basketball bounced awkwardly against the rim before Li Rui barely managed to slam it down.

"Bang!"

An earth-shattering, barely-made dunk.