Wizards head coach Brooks, of course, wasn't actually going to keep Hachimura Rui on the bench forever.
Hachimura Rui had made considerable progress this season.
His scoring average had risen from 13 points last season to 17.
Even the dumbest coach wouldn't permanently bench a scorer like that.
He'd said it to put pressure on Hachimura Rui and spur him into action, so he could pull himself together as soon as possible.
For the rest of the third quarter, Hachimura Rui didn't get back on the court.
The Wizards were missing a reliable third scoring option.
But instead of letting the gap widen, they quickly erased it.
Because Westbrook went off.
Out of nowhere.
In just five minutes, he drove to the basket and knocked down shots from outside, scoring 15 straight points.
The DJ's booming voice rang out again and again:
"Three-pointer, from Russell Westbrook—"
"Two-pointer, from Russell Westbrook—"
"Dunk, two points, from Russell Westbrook—"
Westbrook's performance set the entire arena ablaze.
More than 22,000 fans erupted into deafening cheers once again.
"Brodie!"
"Brodie!"
"Brodie!"
Brodie was one of Westbrook's several nicknames in America.
It was also the nickname he liked best.
Westbrook wasn't just scoring; he also racked up four assists.
As a result, the Wizards completed their comeback and led 93–85 at the end of the third quarter.
The Tencent NBA Live Broadcast Room chat was already flooded with praise for Westbrook.
"Megatron, Megatron, Megatron!"
"Westbrook, you're a beast, 666! My baby!"
"Westbrook's about to take over the world!"
"Honey, come look at God!"
The players were on the sidelines during the break between quarters.
The Lakers players were all a little down.
They played 82 games almost every year, and had been through so many deficits, comebacks, and blowouts.
Going from a 10-point lead to an 8-point deficit wasn't going to change their mood much.
Still, they were down by eight, so it was hard not to feel a little subdued.
During Westbrook's crazy five-minute stretch, Wang Yi had played only the final two minutes.
He'd witnessed firsthand the kind of explosion a player like Westbrook was capable of.
Some players, when they got hot, were impossible to stop.
Just then, head coach Vogel was reminding the Lakers players:
"We can't let Westbrook keep going off like this. We need to double-team him! We have to double-team him! Force him to pass the ball. Understood?"
The players nodded one after another.
James agreed, of course.
James was excellent at man-to-man defense, but he was getting older.
He also had to run the offense and get his teammates involved.
To preserve his stamina, the team couldn't have him guarding Westbrook one-on-one too early.
Even so, the coach wasn't entirely confident about the plan.
If they doubled Westbrook and he passed out of it, the other Lakers would be left defending a numerical disadvantage.
It would be all right if he passed to someone else, but if he passed to Beal, who had plenty of individual skill, wouldn't Beal go off too?
It would be much better if someone could guard Westbrook one-on-one.
But who could guard Westbrook now that he'd turned into Megatron?
Caruso?
No.
Pope?
No, either.
As Vogel considered it, his gaze fell on Wang Yi.
He remembered Wang Yi's terrifying lateral quickness.
He also remembered Wang Yi shutting down Schroder.
Westbrook and Schroder were both extremely fast when driving to the basket.
Maybe...
Just then, Wang Yi's eyes met the coach's.
They were full of excitement and anticipation.
Vogel's heart stirred.
Wang Yi was looking forward to it!
He was looking forward to facing off against Westbrook!
A lot of players got excited when they faced someone stronger than themselves.
But Vogel had never seen anyone as excited, as eager for the battle, as Wang Yi.
The hunger for competition practically spilled from his eyes.
"Wang, you're guarding Westbrook in the fourth!"
Vogel gave the order.
Wang Yi felt a rush of excitement course through his whole body, like he was about to charge into battle.
"Okay! Leave it to me!"
As it happened, Vogel had read him right.
Wang Yi had loved all kinds of competition since childhood.
Whether it was playing marbles or taking part in a city basketball tournament, he was always game.
And what he liked most was challenging people who were stronger than him.
It filled him with excitement!
He seemed born for battle.
And in those battles, he always did everything he could to win.
His competitive drive was no weaker than Jordan's, Kobe Bryant's, or Paul's.
At the start of the fourth quarter, James would normally have rested.
But with the Lakers down eight, Vogel had no choice but to keep him on the court.
On the Wizards' side, Westbrook was still playing, while Beal sat down to rest for a while.
The Wizards went on offense.
Westbrook dribbled across half court.
Wang Yi walked right up to him, spread his legs, and stretched out his arms.
Seeing this, the commentators at the arena joked:
"What's this? The Lakers' number one wants to guard Westbrook one-on-one?"
"Has Vogel gone senile? Instead of doubling him here, he's sent an average-built Asian player to guard Westbrook. Does he have any idea how explosive Westbrook is?"
"Sure, Westbrook isn't as athletic as he used to be after that major injury. But he's still in a completely different league from this Asian player."
"Vogel will pay for this, and the Lakers will pay for it too. As for this Asian player, he might pay with his life, hahaha..."
Both commentators burst out laughing.
As they were speaking, Westbrook began his drive.
He'd watched footage of Wang Yi shutting down Booker in the previous game and had even studied Wang Yi's defense.
So he wasn't about to take Wang Yi's defense lightly like everyone else.
He dribbled slowly, staring straight at Wang Yi.
Then, in an instant, he crossed his legs back and forth—the signature scissor step!
As he crossed, he drove hard off his right foot and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Only someone with Westbrook's explosive athleticism could execute the scissor step with such devastating speed.
Against such a sharp drive, that extra 20% lateral quickness alone wasn't enough.
He also needed to anticipate the move.
But Wang Yi had studied Westbrook too. Westbrook was one of the many opponents he'd imagined facing, and Wang Yi had watched him dozens, even hundreds, of times.
The instant Westbrook launched his scissor step, Wang Yi saw him glance to the right as he always did and predicted he'd attack that side.
So almost as soon as Westbrook took off, Wang Yi had already slid a step to his right.
Westbrook's scissor step was devastating when he drove.
But it had one weakness: if anything unexpected happened in the middle of the move, there wasn't enough time to adjust.
So when he saw Wang Yi already in his path, he couldn't stop and crashed straight into him.
Thud!
Wang Yi was knocked backward by the impact.
Westbrook fell to the floor too.
"Tweet! Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!—"
The referee's whistle shrilled urgently.
Before you continue