Wang Yi got the ball and quickly began dribbling with his left hand, racing toward the frontcourt.
At the same time, a figure came hot on his heels.
That figure was Mad Dog Beverley.
He chased Wang Yi from behind like a rabid dog, refusing to let up.
Wang Yi's right hand was injured, so he could only dribble with his left.
That alone made him a little slower than usual.
By the time he crossed half court, Beverley had caught up with him.
He kept reaching in from the side, trying to disrupt Wang Yi's dribble.
He also kept jawing at him:
"You're not taking even one more point from me!"
Wang Yi glanced to the side and saw Caruso coming up behind him.
It should have been a great two-on-one opportunity.
But with Beverley pressuring him, it was hard to make a one-handed pass.
So Wang Yi steeled himself.
If that was the case, he wouldn't pass.
As he dribbled beyond the three-point line, he suddenly came to a stop.
He gathered the ball!
He jumped!
Mad Dog Beverley couldn't react in time and was faked out by a full five meters.
Wang Yi raised his arm!
Flicked his wrist!
And let it fly!
The shot was still as smooth as silk.
The ball left his fingertips, spinning backward as it soared toward the rim.
Swish!
Nothing but net!
The lead had shrunk to just six points!
Nearly twenty thousand fans erupted like a surging sea.
The crowd roared.
Their cheers swept in from every direction, rushing toward the court like a tidal wave.
Wang Yi listened to the ocean of noise.
His own heart surged with excitement.
He turned to look at Beverley.
Beverley's brow was tightly furrowed.
He looked at the East Asian player in front of him, finding him a complete mystery.
It wasn't as if he'd never played against people with yellow skin.
In his experience, they weren't very fast, couldn't jump very high, and played a relatively gentle style.
He'd never bothered to take players like that seriously on defense.
But how could this East Asian player be so tough?
He didn't say much on the court, but his game was explosive.
Each three-pointer was like a dagger, stabbing straight into the defender's heart.
Still, it wasn't enough to discourage him.
He'd been cut by NBA teams many times and had made the trip to Europe to play basketball again and again.
Some of the lower-tier leagues in Europe were chaotic.
Home fans would trade insults with the players and throw water bottles, beer bottles, even frozen-solid tuna onto the court.
Beverley had never backed down, not even in those circumstances.
A little setback like this was nothing to him.
Just then, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue quickly called another timeout.
Barely two minutes had passed since the last timeout.
The lead had gone from twelve points to six.
This was the Lakers' home court. If they let the Lakers catch up, the home team would gain a huge burst of momentum, and turning things around would become much harder.
When all the Clippers players gathered around, head coach Tyronn Lue pointed toward Wang Yi and told Leonard:
"You take him."
Beverley couldn't help feeling disappointed.
That East Asian player had fired him up, and he'd been looking forward to going at Number 1.
But now the coach had already lost faith in his defense.
Then again, it made sense. With Beverley guarding him, that guy had hit two more threes and added two steals.
In those two minutes, he'd completely outplayed Beverley.
If Beverley were the coach, he'd put someone else on him too.
Leonard glanced across at Wang Yi but said nothing, merely nodding.
He'd always been a man of few words.
Leonard stood a little over two meters tall, but his wingspan was an incredible 2.21 meters. Add in his enormous, almost alien hands, and he was a nightmare for anyone he guarded.
As long as his opponent was dribbling, Leonard's long arms and hands could easily pick their pocket.
That was why his defense was called "Deathly Embrace."
Many of the league's best offensive players had struggled against Leonard.
Even James had once found his defense maddening.
So whenever an opponent had a player who was especially dangerous on offense, Leonard was usually the one assigned to guard him.
Over on the Lakers' side,
head coach Kerr went over the plan with the players:
"We've hit several threes in a row, but that doesn't mean we've all found our shooting touch. In fact, Wang's the only one who's got his three-pointer going. So they'll keep using a four-man zone defense. They'll also keep having one man chase Wang. So Wang, you can't stop moving."
Wang Yi nodded. "I'll run around screens to get open."
Kerr pointed at Wang Yi.
"You don't have to run around a teammate to use a screen. You can cut through the area where their four-man zone is set up to shake the guy chasing you."
Wang Yi's eyes lit up.
"So I can use the Clippers' own players as screens!"
Kerr smiled and nodded. "That'll make their defense look disorganized. Once their defense falls apart, we'll get our chance."
Wang Yi smiled too. "Got it, Coach."
James gave Wang Yi a pat on the shoulder.
"Whether we can come back depends on you, brother."
Thick Eyebrows also patted Wang Yi on the butt, encouraging him. "I hope you can lead us to victory!"
Meanwhile, Tucker, whom Wang Yi had subbed out, looked a little downcast.
If Wang Yi kept playing this well, he might take Tucker's spot in the rotation.
But Tucker knew that was the harsh reality of competitive sports.
Play well, and everyone will adore you.
Play poorly, and no one will want you around.
Soon, play resumed after the timeout.
The Clippers went on offense, and Wang Yi continued to apply his Deathly Embrace to Leonard.
Then the Clippers' George stepped up.
He hit a two-pointer.
The lead was back up to eight.
It was the Lakers' turn to attack.
As expected, the Clippers kept their four-man zone defense.
Leonard, left to guard Wang Yi, kept his eyes locked on him and wouldn't let him get the ball.
The commentators noticed right away.
"Oh, look! Leonard's guarding Wang now."
"A ten-day contract player being guarded by Leonard. That's an honor in itself."
"Wonder if he can still hit those threes with Leonard on him."
"That'll be tough. Leonard's taller and stronger than Beverley. It'll be difficult for him to keep hitting threes over Leonard."
Across the ocean,
in the Tencent NBA Live Broadcast Room,
Wang Meng was surprised too.
"Having Leonard guard Wang Yi is both an honor and a test for him."
Su Qun nodded in agreement.
"That's right. If he can still play at a high level with Leonard guarding him, it'll do a lot to boost his confidence. But Leonard's Deathly Embrace is no joke."
In the comments, many of the trolls who'd gone quiet after Wang Yi's performance now came back to life.
"Beverley was just too short. Now that Leonard's guarding him, this guy's probably done for."
"Deathly Embrace is no joke."
"If he can hit two threes over Leonard, I'll eat shit on livestream."
That guy who called himself Brother Xiang showed up again.
Before you continue