Chapter 60: Epiphany, The Dreamy Footwork!

"Best LA!"
"Best LA!"
"Best LA!"

The home crowd began applying pressure, leaving the Zen Master with no choice but to shake his head. If they were playing at home, the deafening roar of the supporters would help the team chase the deficit, and the home side might seize the opportunity to launch a scoring run.

"Contest his mid-range jumper! Do not let that rookie shoot again," Mike Brown yelled during the timeout, staring directly at Gibson.

"Got it," Gibson wiped away a bead of sweat. There were simply too many defensive assignments he needed to keep track of, and the pressure was immense.

*F***, you're both rookies, so why are you such a pain in the neck?* Gibson muttered internally, filled with grievance.

When play resumed after the timeout, LeBron did not allow Hughes to receive the ball again, choosing instead to initiate the offense with a pick-and-roll alongside Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

LeBron utilized a lateral crossover followed by an explosive burst of acceleration, continuously charging forward.

As LeBron penetrated deep into the paint, the Lakers' defense collapsed inward rapidly, completely sealing off his driving lane.

LeBron delivered a look-ahead bounce pass right into the pocket between the free-throw line and the restricted area for Ilgauskas, who easily laid the ball in while on the move.

The situation LeBron faced was quite similar to Kobe's; his secondary playmaker was somewhat unreliable. Ilgauskas was passable, but he couldn't elevate the Cavaliers to the next level.

The Lakers transitioned to offense. Li Rui's cuts were heavily guarded, prompting Kobe to initiate from the left wing, backing down Hughes.

Bump after bump!

Kobe's strength ranked among the absolute elite for shooting guards, leaving Hughes in a completely passive defensive stance.

After physically forcing his way to the left low block, Kobe executed a fadeaway ball-fake. Both Hughes and Ilgauskas bit on the fake and left their feet. Kobe then spun back into the paint, adjusting his rhythm with an up-and-under before laying the ball up and in.

"Tsk tsk, look at those interior footwork," Li Rui murmured, watching the sequence with intense admiration.

Kobe's low-post footwork felt practically no different from Hakeem Olajuwon's.

[Dream Shake Masterclass witnessed, Hand-Eye Coordination attribute +1]

His Hand-Eye Coordination attribute rose from 85 to 86.

Li Rui knew this improvement wasn't triggered merely by watching Kobe execute a single Dream Shake just now, but rather the result of accumulated experience over time.

Kobe had previously given him pointers on footwork techniques during practice sessions, and this moment served as a sudden, profound epiphany...

Cavaliers' possession.

LeBron called for another pick-and-roll with Ilgauskas.

Following the screen, he delivered a bounce pass back to Ilgauskas, who lofted another long-range floater.

"Clang!"

No good this time.

Odom pulled down the rebound, and both Kobe and Li Rui burst forward from either wing simultaneously.

Kobe on the right, Li Rui on the left.

Li Rui was in a better position to receive the ball, so Odom zipped the pass to him.

Li Rui sprinted up the court with the ball, crossing half-court as Gibson chased him down to defend.

Kobe cut into the paint on the opposite side, drawing the Cavaliers' defensive attention. Just as everyone anticipated Li Rui would dish the ball off to Kobe...

Li Rui pulled up for a sudden transition three-pointer a step beyond the left arc.

He had found his rhythm.

Gibson lunged forward desperately to contest, managing a slight partial interference, but he failed to get a block on the shot.

The basketball traced a rainbow arc through the air.

"Swish!"

It pierced clean through the net.

Amidst the fast-break transition, Li Rui finally carved out an opening for a three-pointer and decisively buried it.

...

For a stretch that followed, Kobe and LeBron traded blows, carrying their respective teams on both ends of the floor.

The Cavaliers failed to extend their lead any further.

The defensive intensity from both squads was fierce, and the Cavaliers' sheer length profoundly impacted the Lakers. Whenever either Kobe or Li Rui penetrated into the paint, they constantly worried about being contested or blocked.

While the Lakers' main weapon was Kobe, the Cavaliers' ideal defender to lock down Kobe was actually LeBron, yet LeBron fundamentally disliked taking on the assignment of guarding Kobe directly.

He seemed somewhat hesitant to embrace a "king-versus-king" showdown.

This hesitation allowed Kobe to exploit the opportunity, aggressively targeting Hughes and Gibson.

Kobe repeatedly earned trips to the free-throw line while also orchestrating plays for his teammates to finish.

Li Rui's primary responsibility was to stretch the floor, making the Cavaliers wary of sending reckless double-teams at Kobe, with his secondary duty being the primary containment of LeBron.

Through guarding LeBron, Li Rui gradually figured out a few tricks—for instance, as long as he denied LeBron the space to build up speed and forced him to operate in a half-court set, defending him became noticeably more manageable.

However, if LeBron was granted an opportunity in transition? There was no need to overthink it; just get out of the way, and the Zen Master wouldn't even yell at you.

Right now, when that guy got a head of steam going, he was on par with the Greek Freak.

With six seconds remaining in the third quarter, Kobe rested on the bench.

Odom brought the ball upcourt and flipped it to Li Rui stationed at the left high post.

Gibson pressured him tightly, denying Li Rui any opportunity to pull up for a jumper.

During this stretch, Gibson had figured out Li Rui's offensive repertoire: Li Rui was a pure marksman.

Though listed as a point guard, he didn't run the offense at all, and his drives to the basket were practically nonexistent.

His defensive strategy was simple: just deny Li Rui any open space or backdoor cutting lanes.

Li Rui assumed a triple-threat stance, mixing in jabs with his lead foot.

Bynum and Vujacic dragged the Cavaliers' defense toward the opposite side of the floor, leaving plenty of space specifically for Li Rui.

"Thump!"

Li Rui leaned his shoulder into Gibson to create separation, immediately exploding into a side-step dribble to his right, instantly carving out a sliver of daylight.

The basketball spun steadily in his palm.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Rui gathered the ball and pulled up sharply.

Driving forcefully off both feet into the floor, Gibson was left helpless to contest.

Reaching the apex of his jump, he flicked his wrist and released the shot.

The basketball traced a gorgeous arc.

"Whoosh!"

"Swish!"

The crisp sound of the ball brushing against the netting echoed through the arena.

He beat the buzzer.

Immediately after releasing the shot, Li Rui quickly dropped into a half-squat, resting both forearms on his knees as he raised his head to watch the flight of the ball.

"Click, click, click!!"

Courtside photographers frantically snapped pictures of the flamboyant rookie.

This kind of media buzz had to be seized tightly; the fans loved seeing it.

Whether they would get their performance bonuses this month depended entirely on this wave of hype.

Throughout the entire third quarter, although Li Rui hadn't managed to completely shut down LeBron defensively, he showcased his own distinct offensive skill set, sparking for a brief scoring burst to help his team tenaciously stay within striking distance.

...

Entering the fourth quarter, both teams found themselves locked in a tight, grueling battle once again.

Kobe Bryant, Li Rui's vanguard general, gradually rediscovered his perimeter touch, draining a succession of contested, tough three-pointers to keep the Lakers clinging desperately to the scoreline.

The clock ticked down rapidly to the 3-minute and 35-second mark of the fourth quarter.

The score on the board was deadlocked at 102-102.

With the game once again entering crunch time, the Zen Master proactively called a timeout.

"Li Rui hasn't looked quite as sharp tonight. Aside from that flurry of mid-range jumpers in the middle of the third quarter, his scoring has been completely fragmented the rest of the time. So far, he's only hit two three-pointers, and his interior cuts have been few and far between."

"Earlier, opposing teams didn't pay much mind to Li Rui's shooting, but the Cavaliers clearly take him very seriously. They refuse to grant him any daylight for open looks, and given the Cavaliers' terrifying size inside, driving the lane is practically a death sentence."

"Li Rui's had two of his interior cuts blocked tonight; his raw athletic ability is still such a glaring disadvantage."

"He's played nearly 40 minutes and only has 14 points to his name. Scoring is genuinely difficult for him tonight."

Countless stat-crunchers on the Hupu forums were biting their nails over Li Rui's numbers for the night.

On the sidelines, the Zen Master swiftly mapped out the next play.

In clutch moments, the ball belonged exclusively to Kobe, stripping even Li Rui of his usual privilege to receive the ball in the backcourt.

Li Rui didn't mind in the slightest; he felt the ball was too hot to handle anyway.

Play resumed.

Lakers ball.

Kobe received the inbound pass in the backcourt and brought it across half-time.

Li Rui cut toward the left flank.

As Kobe reached the top of the key, the Cavaliers' defense shifted abruptly, with Hughes and LeBron converging to trap him.

Cleveland clearly had no intention of allowing a rhythm-finding Kobe to continue operating unchecked.

If it were a game-winner, Kobe wouldn't trust his teammates, choosing instead to find a way to dribble through the double-team himself; but it wasn't the final possession yet, so he needed to make the smart, basketball play.

Kobe swiftly whipped a pass to Odom waiting behind the three-point line on the right wing.

Odom's three-point shooting was notoriously inconsistent—hovering at a meager 29.7% for the season—so even when he was open, he lacked the confidence to pull the trigger in this situation.

"Pass it here! Pass it here!"

Li Rui scanned the floor while sprinting toward the right corner, yelling out as he ran.

Hearing Li Rui's call, Odom immediately locked eyes with him to deliver the pass.

Down in the paint, Bynum set an off-ball screen, bodying up the chasing Gibson to allow Li Rui to successfully spot up in the right corner.

Right place, right time.

Odom's pass zipped through the air.

"Oh no!"

Realizing Li Rui was wide open, LeBron scrambled back frantically to contest.

Upon receiving the pass, Li Rui didn't panic at all upon seeing LeBron charging furiously toward him; he simply raised his arms into a shot fake.

LeBron bit hook, line, and sinker, flying right past him.

Calmly and composedly, Li Rui took one single dribble along the baseline before pulling up for a short jumper.

The basketball rolled off his fingertips with a smooth, soft touch.

"Swish!"

Another clean, clinical mid-range jumper.

104-102.

The shot was executed with absolute swagger and cool-headed poise.