Called to Duty in a Crisis

Thick Eyebrows was injured, and James requested to play.

Head coach Vogel considered it for a moment before finally nodding, "Alright."

His gaze then fell on Wang Yi beside him. "Wang, it's your turn to shine."

In this game, Wang Yi's three-point shooting was the most accurate.

Since James was playing, it was natural to pair him with Wang Yi.

At the same time, Vogel spoke to Drummond.

"Drummond, focus on rebounding, especially offensive rebounds."

Drummond nodded. "Understood."

Since joining the Lakers, he had often been a clown, and only occasionally Drummond.

So he was also eager to prove himself.

Originally, he and James were incompatible.

James's playstyle required all five players on the court to spread the floor.

But Drummond had no mid-range or long-range shooting, so he couldn't spread the floor.

However, this game was different.

Wang Yi's long-range shooting could be trusted.

If the opponent shrunk down to the paint and didn't come out, Wang Yi could punish them with his long shots.

And if they chased him out, James would have space to drive.

Soon, the three of them were subbed onto the court.

At this point, the Lakers' starting five were: James, Drummond, Caruso, Pope, and Wang Yi.

Except for Drummond's slightly slower movement speed, this lineup had almost no weaknesses on defense.

When Wang Yi had come off the court earlier, the duration of his Deathly Embrace experience had stopped.

Now that he was back on, the time for Deathly Embrace started ticking again.

He had two minutes of Deathly Embrace experience left.

The Lakers were on offense.

Wang Yi continued to move constantly, looking for opportunities.

His defender was now Paul George.

George's defense was also top-tier.

Although he was called the "essence of human billboards," this precisely explained his strong defense.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to guard the opponent's most crucial player at the most critical moments.

Drummond was large and set high-quality screens.

Wang Yi ran around his screen, temporarily shaking off Paul George.

James had excellent court vision.

Seeing Wang Yi run into open space, he immediately passed him the ball.

Wang Yi received the ball at the 45-degree angle on the left.

Without any adjustments, he rose up and shot.

Bang—Swish!

He hit the backboard and sank the three-pointer!

The deficit was narrowed to 6 points.

The game continued.

On the other end, Wang Yi continued to apply Deathly Embrace to Leonard.

Meanwhile, James was tightly guarding Paul George—although James was older and couldn't guard for extended periods, his defensive pressure in crucial possessions was still quite terrifying.

Caruso went to pester Rondo.

Rondo drove and looked to pass.

Seeing George defended tightly and Leonard entangled, he could only pass to Beverley on the other side.

Beverley attempted a shot.

But intimidated by Pope's close defense, he dared not shoot.

He could only dribble and pass back to Rondo.

Rondo organized the offense again.

But seeing everyone else shut down, he had no choice but to force up a three-pointer as the shot clock wound down.

Bang!

The three-pointer clanged off the rim.

The Lakers continued their offense!

LeBron grabbed the rebound and immediately passed it to Pope, who had snuck down the court for a fast break.

Pope slammed home a dunk.

The deficit was cut to 4 points.

Over the next minute or so...

The Lakers' intense defense shut out the Clippers, preventing them from scoring a single point.

The Lakers then scored on two fast breaks, plus a free throw from LeBron and a three-pointer from Wang Yi.

They had erased the deficit once again.

The Clippers were forced to call a timeout.

The atmosphere in the arena reached a fever pitch once more.

As LeBron left the court, he slammed a high-five with Wang Yi!

Wang Yi's left hand stung from the impact.

After all, LeBron was a freak of nature with muscles even in his palms.

With that kind of force, how could Wang Yi's small frame handle it?

He winced, his teeth gritting, and whispered, "LeBron, do you want my left hand to get injured too?"

LeBron burst into laughter and said, "Don't worry, if I injure it, we have Kallen."

In the Tencent NBA Live Broadcast Room...

With the score tied, Meina was all smiles again.

Wang Meng chuckled and asked, "Are you happy now, Sister Na?"

Meina placed a hand over her chest and said, "I was terrified when Davis got injured, I was so afraid the Lakers couldn't hold on. Fortunately, it seems the Lakers have weathered the pressure."

Wang Meng nodded and said, "Injuries are the biggest enemy for athletes. I hope Davis is okay. Let's get back to the game. In the last two minutes, the Lakers have once again scored 9 unanswered points. Why were the Lakers able to tie the score without Davis? Teacher Su, please break it down for us."

Su Qun pushed his glasses up his nose and said, "Over these past two minutes, the defensive intensity shown by the Lakers was terrifying. They shut out the Clippers completely. LeBron entered 'clutch mode' early, and Caruso and Pope both maxed out their defensive ratings. Drummond, while a bit slow on his feet, still provided strong deterrence in the paint."

"What surprised me the most was Wang Yi. His defense reached an absolutely top-tier level. To many, Wang Yi might not seem to have contributed much on defense during these two minutes. No steals, no blocks, no rebounds."

"But if you look closely at Leonard, whom he was primarily defending, Leonard didn't have a single successful offensive play in those two minutes."

"Also, look at his plus-minus, +29. This means that when he was on the court, the Lakers outscored their opponents by 29 points! This stat was the highest on the team."

"At this point in the game, I think even if the Lakers lose, it was worth it. Because they've discovered a high-quality 3D Player like Wang Yi. This is exactly what the Lakers need right now."

"Of course, that's assuming Wang Yi can maintain this level of stability."

On the bullet screen, most of the haters had disappeared.

Especially that "Xiang Ge," who had vanished without a trace.

Of course, some haters always found bizarre points to criticize.

"Shooting with his left hand? Looks awkward!"

"Just blowing smoke. Prove it by winning this game first."

"Just a stat-padder."

"The NBA is a place to express individuality, and he still has such a plain haircut. So tacky!"

At the Staples Center.

On the Lakers' bench.

Wang Yi took a swig of the terrible-tasting Gatorade.

While the Lakers players were high on adrenaline, his expression grew solemn.

The "Deathly Embrace" experience card had expired.

From now on, his defense would return to its ordinary level.

Could he still defend Leonard at this level?

Clearly not.

But he had to prove himself in this game.

He wanted to seize this rare opportunity and earn enough playing time for himself.

So, no matter what, he had to defend Leonard!

Moreover, he didn't want to be a good-for-nothing who only relied on the system.

Even if the system disappeared from now on, he would still give his all and put on a performance that would amaze everyone.

Head coach Vogel keenly captured that Wang Yi's mindset seemed to have undergone some changes.

He asked, "Wang, is there a problem?"

Wang Yi shook his head. His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally firm:

"No."