The sheer force of Wang Yi's dunk that had shattered the backboard, along with the terrifying momentum of him charging straight at Stone, made Stone feel like Wang Yi wasn't trying to dunk at all—he was trying to kill him.
Under that pressure, Stone did jump, but not very high.
Wang Yi crashed straight into Stone.
Stone felt as though a lion had slammed into his chest. His whole body went flying backward.
As he soared through the air, he saw Wang Yi hammer the ball into the basket with both hands. A tremendous roar accompanied the dunk, and in Stone's mind, that roar became the furious bellow of a lion on the African savanna.
The next moment, Stone crashed to the floor, and the referee's whistle rang out.
With the whistle, Wang Yi slammed the ball through the basket.
Then he turned and glared at the referee, who signaled a shooting foul.
Only then did Wang Yi turn and walk away.
The referees had already made plenty of calls against the Kings today.
As for this play, the call was honestly a judgment call.
Stone had jumped straight up, and Wang Yi had charged right into him. That clearly looked like it could have been an offensive foul.
But Stone had also instinctively pressed down with both hands as he jumped, hitting Wang Yi's arm. That counted as a shooting foul.
So the officials could have called it either way.
But after several calls had gone the Heat's way, they chose to lean toward the Kings this time.
The Heat complained, but the officials had expected that and paid no attention.
Wang Yi looked down at Stone, who was sprawled on the floor, and felt a little puzzled.
Wasn't this guy supposed to be a great defender?
That was