Fighting Evil with Evil

The exchange of waist-pinching between Wang Yi and Crowder involved only small movements.

So even the other eight Players on the court had no idea what the two had done.

Let alone the Referee.

Crowder was boiling with anger.

He had originally wanted to pinch this Easterner's waist and provoke him.

This Easterner had already picked up one T.

If he could anger him into throwing a punch or even cursing at him, he would get another T and be ejected.

But not only did this Easterner not get angry, he pinched him right back.

The pain was excruciating.

And he had hit three-pointer after three-pointer over his head.

That really got under his skin.

He watched Wang Yi retreat on defense, already forming a plan in his mind.

I only wanted to teach you a lesson and make you back off.

Since you insist on being stubborn, don't blame me.

So when the Lakers attacked again and Wang Yi came off a screen to catch the ball at the Top of the Arc and rose for a shot—

Crowder clearly had no chance of blocking the ball, yet he still lunged at Wang Yi.

His right hand rose high as though he were trying to block the shot, but in reality, it came crashing down hard at Wang Yi's face.

And not just his face.

Crowder put too much force into it, knocking Wang Yi straight out of the air.

He slammed hard toward the floor.

At last, Crowder had vented the anger in his heart.

But before he could celebrate, a piercing pain shot up from between his legs.

In that instant, it felt as though his entire world had vanished.

Or rather, everything else in his world had disappeared.

The only thing left was pain!

Pain that pierced his bones!

Pain that tore through his heart!

Wang Yi had known Crowder's bad habits.

He knew that when Crowder could not defend him, he would inevitably become more physical, even resorting to dirty fouls.

So Wang Yi had been prepared for this.

When Crowder swatted him down, his upper body leaned back as he fell toward the floor.

But his Right Foot seized the moment and kicked Crowder between the legs.

Was that a dirty move?

Extremely dirty.

But when someone else had already resorted to moves outside of basketball, was he supposed to remain polite, greet them with a smile, and act like some refined gentleman?

Besides, for Players like that, the Referee could at most eject them and fine them.

Yet they would still do it again next time.

Sometimes, one move like that could very well ruin a Player's entire career.

Did people like that deserve courtesy?

It was simply giving him a taste of his own medicine.

At that moment, the excruciating pain from his lower body made Crowder clutch himself with both hands and collapse straight to the floor.

He rolled around the hardwood in agony.

Since Wang Yi had been prepared, the fall looked brutal, but when he landed, his left hand protected him.

So it only hurt a little.

But he did not get up right away.

Crowder, the one who had started it, was still down.

If he, the victim, got up now, wouldn't that make the Referee sympathize with Crowder even more?

Fine, he might as well put on an Oscar-worthy performance for once.

With that thought, Wang Yi clutched his waist with his right hand, baring his teeth in pain.

His left hand kept pounding the floor.

The surrounding Teammates hurried over, asking how badly Wang Yi was hurt.

Naturally, Wang Yi did not answer, as if he were in too much pain to even speak.

Many spectators at courtside fell silent.

At the sideline, seeing this, Dudley was about to step onto the court to stand up for Wang Yi.

That was what he did for the Lakers.

But the Assistant Coach beside him held him back tightly.

At a time like this, any off-court personnel entering the floor would result in a Technical Foul.

Caruso, on the court, had also wanted to stand up for Wang Yi.

But when he saw Crowder rolling around on the floor in agony, he was puzzled.

This guy was faking it, right?

He was the one who swatted Wang Yi out of the air. What was he hurting for?

At that moment, the Big Screen showed the replay.

When all the spectators saw Crowder going straight for Wang Yi's face, the crowd immediately erupted.

"Damn it! He's a killer!"

"A killer can play in a game? He should be thrown in prison!"

"He was clearly targeting the man! Throw him out!"

But when everyone saw Wang Yi's Right Foot strike Crowder in the groin as he came down, they all cried out in unison:

"Oh—"

Especially the experienced male spectators.

They all felt Crowder's pain for him.

Then the spectators began cheering one after another.

"Well done!"

"If I were Wang, I'd do the same!"

"Crowder brought this on himself!"

At that moment, on the court.

The Teammates from both sides came over to check on the injured players.

A Teammate asked, "Wang, where does it hurt?"

Wang Yi's pain seemed to ease a little.

Clutching his waist, he said, "I think it's my waist, but I'm not sure. Anyway, everything hurts."

His Teammate asked a few more questions, then finally asked, "Can you stand up?"

Wang Yi secretly glanced at Crowder and saw that Crowder had already been helped up by his Teammates and was sitting on the bench.

He said, "Help me up. I think I can still go."

So his Teammates helped him to his feet.

Under the team doctor's guidance, Wang Yi slowly moved his body.

Gradually, his pain seemed to ease considerably.

At the sideline, the Referee watched the replay again and again.

First, it was certain that Crowder had committed a flagrant foul, because he had gone straight for Wang Yi's face.

What the Referee was now reviewing was whether Wang Yi's kick at Crowder had been intentional or accidental.

This time, the Referee did not review it for long.

He quickly made the call and signaled to the scorer's table:

"Crowder, Flagrant 1, one Technical Foul."

"Wang was fouled on a three-pointer. Three free throws. Plus the free throw for the Technical Foul, four free throws in total. The Lakers retain possession."

Four free throws and possession!

When the Suns Players and coaching staff heard the ruling, they all spread their hands in disbelief.

"How is that possible?"

"How did it turn out like this?"

"Our Player was injured too! That kick was obviously intentional!"

Paul in particular looked as if he wanted to devour the Referee alive, chasing after him to complain.

Pointing at Wang Yi, he said to the Referee:

"Didn't you see that move? He was too dirty! Someone like him shouldn't be allowed to stay on the court!"

However, not only did the Referee ignore their complaints, he even gave them a warning.

If they complained again, the entire team would be assessed a technical foul.

Meanwhile, in the replay room, renowned NBA referee Javie explained:

"Judging from the motion, Wang Yi had been taking a fadeaway jumper. When fading away, one foot naturally extended forward. When Crowder rushed in and knocked Wang Yi to the floor, Wang Yi's extended Right Foot lifted a little higher. That was merely an instinctive reaction from his body to maintain balance. So although he objectively injured Crowder, he had no subjective intent to do so."

"Moreover, Crowder had invaded Wang's cylinder in the first place. Although Wang extended his leg, it remained within his own cylinder."

"Therefore, we believe Wang committed no foul."