Thick Eyebrows Injured

Under Leonard's pursuit, Wang Yi made a three-pointer and drew a foul on Leonard.

One free throw awarded.

Wang Yi made the free throw.

The score is tied 86-86!

From twenty points down to a tie, it only took half a quarter.

This comeback speed can only be described as terrifying.

And all of this stemmed from Wang Yi's Deathly Embrace shutting down the opponent's main attacker.

At the same time, his steals and multiple three-pointers opened up the game for the Lakers.

The decibel level in the arena had reached its peak.

Nearly twenty thousand spectators cheered incessantly.

For a moment, the Lakers' momentum had reached its zenith.

Wang Yi looked up at Leonard.

Leonard, as always, was expressionless.

Not a hint of urgency could be seen;

Not a trace of anger from being shut down;

Nor any sign of dejection from having several three-pointers sunk over his head consecutively.

He was like a robot devoid of emotion.

All that existed was mechanical defense and mechanically precise shooting.

At this moment, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, despite seeing the twenty-point deficit instantly erased, Felt anxious.

But he did not call another timeout.

He had already used two timeouts in the last five minutes.

If he used any more, he wouldn't have any left for the crucial moments in the fourth quarter.

He could only shout from the sidelines:

"Leonard, George..."

Both players turned to look at their coach.

But Tyronn Lue said nothing.

He simply gazed at them affectionately with his eyes.

They naturally understood their coach's intention: figure it out yourselves.

This was Tyronn Lue's usual coaching style.

When he coached James on the Cavaliers, he would ask LeBron for internal matters and James for external matters.

There was even an instance in the fourth quarter where James, exhausted and on the verge of collapse, was granted two timeouts.

Not to set up tactics, but simply to give James a breather.

Only he could pull off such a maneuver.

So now, facing Wang Yi's sudden defense and three-pointers, he was also at a loss.

He could only turn to his team's two core players.

However, these two core players, while capable of individual play, still lacked the ability to devise solutions in times of crisis.

In desperation, he turned his attention back to Rondo.

Rondo had been in the league for so many years, he was an old hand.

Experienced and possessing extremely high basketball IQ.

His guidance to Cousins on how to defend air was a testament to his IQ.

Therefore, calling Rondo the coach on the court was no exaggeration.

During a dead ball, he said to Rondo:

"Whether we win this game today depends entirely on you."

Rondo felt an undeniable responsibility.

Without saying much, he nodded and walked onto the court.

In the next few minutes, with Rondo orchestrating the offense, the Clippers' attack also got going.

On the Lakers' side, Wang Yi's three-pointers had broken the opponent's zone defense.

They could no longer defend the Lakers either.

The lead changed hands multiple times.

The third quarter ended with the two teams separated by only 2 points.

Intermission.

Almost all of the Lakers' players came over to high-five Wang Yi.

Wang Yi felt a slight surge of excitement.

He had drifted around the NBA for two years before, and had never experienced anything like this.

Let alone high-fiving him, some players hadn't even bothered to look him in the eye.

And now, after just two games, almost every player on the team had come to high-five him.

How could this not make him feel emotional?

At this moment, James grabbed a tablet.

He patted Wang Yi's shoulder mysteriously.

"Guess your current stats," he asked.

Wang Yi shook his head and said, "I can't guess."

He had focused all his attention on the court just now, concentrating on playing each possession well.

He really hadn't kept track of how many points he'd scored or how many three-pointers he'd made.

James handed the tablet to Wang Yi.

Wang Yi looked at the stats on it.

19 points!

19 points in just eight minutes!

6 of 9 from three-point range.

1 of 1 from the free-throw line.

19 points, 2 steals, 2 assists, 1 block!

Plus/minus of +20!

This was Wang Yi's terrifying efficiency in those short 8 minutes.

19 points in a single quarter wasn't much compared to superstars, of course.

But his plus/minus was truly terrifying.

When he was on the court, the team won by 20 points!

Looking at this string of stats, Wang Yi felt it was a bit unreal.

How many times had he dreamed of putting up such an outstanding performance?

But reality had given him a heavy blow time and time again.

Until today, he had finally delivered the performance he had dreamed of.

Of course, this was only the beginning.

His ambitions were much greater than this.

At this moment, Wang Yi looked towards the Clippers' bench.

His gaze fixed on Leonard.

He had always heard about Deathly Embrace before, but experiencing it firsthand today, he finally understood the terror of Leonard's Deathly Embrace.

The reason he had completely outplayed Leonard in the third quarter wasn't that Leonard's Deathly Embrace wasn't strong enough.

It was just because he had found a loophole.

Leonard's Deathly Embrace exerted immense pressure on the ball-handler.

And Wang Yi happened to be playing off-ball.

If he were to handle the ball and go one-on-one with Leonard, with his current strength, he would definitely be defended to the point of utter misery.

He looked forward to the day when Deathly Embrace would no longer be a buff from the System, but would become an ability he possessed himself.

Only then could he maintain Deathly Embrace for an extended period.

Instead of a ten-minute trial card.

Soon, the fourth quarter began.

The Lakers let James rest.

Wang Yi also did not play.

Although it seemed like he only played for eight minutes just now, it had severely depleted his stamina.

On defense, he had to use Deathly Embrace against the robotic Leonard;

On offense, he had to constantly run, use screens, and shoot three-pointers.

Even iron couldn't withstand such consumption.

So at this moment, the coach had not sent him onto the court.

Furthermore, Coach Vogel had his own considerations.

As it looked now, through these two games, Wang Yi had already proven he was a quality 3D Player.

This kind of player was most suited to partner James.

So he planned to send Wang Yi onto the court at the same time when James entered the game.

Without James, Thick Eyebrows led a group of reserves on the court to hold on.

However, the Clippers, with Coach Long's guidance, had a smooth offense.

The Lakers' reserves, on the other hand, continued their streak of being blacksmiths.

Finally, with 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Clippers gradually widened the point difference to 9 points.

And at this moment, the most critical scene occurred.

After a block, Thick Eyebrows suddenly clutched his crotch and limped.

Everyone's hearts suddenly tightened.

The entire stadium fell silent.

The team doctor rushed forward to help Thick Eyebrows move his left leg.

A moment later, he helped Thick Eyebrows to the locker room.

Soon, a message came from the locker room.

Thick Eyebrows would not return for this game.

James's expression turned grim.

He walked over to Vogel, his tone carrying a hint of determination:

"Coach, I want to go on the court!"

According to the normal rotation, this was supposed to be his rest time.

But he couldn't rest anymore.

Although this was just a regular season game.

The two teams were originally city rivals.

And the Clippers were the Lakers' biggest hypothetical enemy in the Western Conference playoffs.

Therefore, he had to win this game!