The Best Point Guard

Chapter 410: Chapter 134: Title Defended! Back-to-Back Champions

BEEP!

The whistle blew.

The game began.

During the timeout, the TNT cameras caught a dispute on the Pacers’ bench. Su Xi and Carlisle were each making their case over the playbook. Though no one knew what they were saying, the scene made it obvious that the Pacers were under an immense, unprecedented amount of pressure.

Just as Kenny Smith had said, it was very possible that the Pacers could lose the Finals despite being up three games to zero.

Although what the San Antonio Spurs were doing was disgusting, you had to admit that their actions were effective.

Su Xi walked onto the court.

The Pacers inbounded the ball.

Su Xi got the ball and drove inside, then posted up in the key.

The Pacers on the court with him were: Fred Jones, Artest, Stephen Jackson, and Foster.

Foster had insisted on checking in. His nose had stopped bleeding.

This was a small-ball lineup.

The lineup the San Antonio Spurs put out was: Tony Parker, Ginobili, Robert Horry, Tim Duncan, and Muhammad.

Su Xi didn’t drive all the way to the restricted area. He immediately singled out Tony Parker in the most crucial part of the key. He used a post-up to push Parker back, then turned and shot a fadeaway jumper.

The form was textbook.

SWISH!

The ball dropped through the net.

The Pacers scored.

A dull sound fell over the AT&T Center.

This was Su Xi’s rude awakening for the San Antonio Spurs fans.

Michael Jordan clenched his fist slightly. He liked this play from Su Xi.

In his eyes, a star player should score in the most difficult spot when the team is in trouble, striking at the very heart of the opponent’s defense.

With Su Xi making that shot, the San Antonio Spurs’ defense was now on the back foot. They had to find a replacement for Bowen to prevent Su Xi from doing even more damage.

The San Antonio Spurs’ defense wasn’t afraid of good drivers, but they feared players who could score from the linchpin of their defensive setup.

On the other end.

The ball went to Duncan, who went one-on-one against Stephen Jackson. He spun quickly, but Artest immediately came over to double-team him. The two locked Duncan down. Duncan passed out of instinct, and in the instant the ball left his hands, Su Xi shot out like a bolt of lightning.

He leaped and collided with Ginobili in mid-air, knocking Ginobili to the floor.

Su Xi grabbed the basketball and sprinted forward.

After landing, Ginobili couldn’t give chase. He had twisted his ankle.

He crouched on the floor, groaning in pain.

But Su Xi didn’t slow down for a second. He charged toward the basket like lightning, forcibly pushing past Tony Parker’s defense. Even with Parker yanking hard on his jersey, he still leaped like a raging bull and slammed the ball into the hoop.

Parker was completely unable to stop a rampaging Su Xi.

BEEP!

The whistle blew, and Su Xi walked to the free-throw line.

Popovich was protesting on the sideline, shouting loudly to pressure the head referee.

He argued that Su Xi had committed a flagrant foul and should be ejected because Ginobili was injured.

His furious yelling made no sense, though the home crowd supported him.

Most viewers watching on TV saw Popovich as a hypocrite.

The mid-air collision between Su Xi and Ginobili was a normal contest for the ball.

Ginobili got hurt because he wasn’t strong enough and lacked the stamina. In his condition, he shouldn’t have been on the court in the first place. The risk of injury was bound to increase, especially when going up against an explosive athlete like Su Xi in the air.

Popovich’s complaints at this moment only highlighted his hypocrisy and double standards.

When his player deliberately injured a Pacers player, he had even smirked.

Now that one of his players was accidentally injured, he was crying foul and screaming about unfairness.

Were the Pacers’ players not players too?

SWISH!

Su Xi made the and-one, further widening the gap.

Ginobili was helped off the court, replaced by Brent Barry.

The game continued.

Tony Parker began his assault against Fred Jones’s defense. He drove quickly toward the restricted area, used a spin move to shake off the helping defender, Foster, and then jumped up for the shot.

This was a classic move from the French Speedster, and it had a very high success rate.

But in the instant he completed his spin, just as he was going up for the layup, a figure flew in from the three-point line. The player leaped explosively, extending his right arm for a mid-air block, swooping in as sharply as an eagle catching a chick.

SMACK!

Su Xi’s right hand swatted the basketball, sending it slamming hard against the backboard before it ricocheted away.

After landing, Su Xi immediately ran back down the court. Foster conveniently grabbed the rebound. As Duncan came over to defend him, Foster flung the ball with all his might, launching it to the frontcourt.

But as Foster landed, Tony Parker, who was trying to slip past his side, ran head-on into his swinging elbow... BAM!

It hit him square on the bridge of his nose, and blood instantly started gushing.

Su Xi was already in the frontcourt receiving the pass. Facing Robert Horry’s pursuit, he showed no fear, treating him like he wasn’t even there. A single crossover was enough to shake him off. Driving into the paint... BOOM!

Su Xi threw down another monster dunk.

The Pacers’ momentum was overwhelming.

Blood streamed from Tony Parker’s nose.

The San Antonio Spurs had held a huge advantage, but now, with Ginobili and Tony Parker injured one after another, the point deficit widening, the morale was no longer on their side.

Popovich was on the sideline, cursing up a storm. He called Foster a butcher, a murderer.

But Foster didn’t get into a shouting match with him. He just pointed at his own nose.

The gesture said more than a thousand words ever could.

When Foster’s own nose had been bloodied, Popovich had said nothing. The head referee had said even less.

And Foster had been attacked from behind by Bruce Bowen after a layup.