Don't Let Them Live!

During the timeout, in the Tencent NBA Live Broadcast Room, Duan Ran turned to Zhu Fangyu beside him and asked with a smile:

"Mr. Zhu, what do you say now?"

Earlier, Zhu Fangyu had said that if Wang Yi managed to score two or three baskets in these crucial closing minutes, that would already be pretty good.

But Wang Yi had now made two three-pointers and four two-pointers.

Six shots, six makes!

Zhu Fangyu burst into laughter again, masking his embarrassment.

"Hahahaha..."

"Well... all I can say is, Wang Yi exceeded my expectations."

"The coach trusts him, and James trusts him too. They've given him the ball to handle for six possessions in a row. Looks like I spoke too soon."

"But I'm sure it's not just me. Fans all over the world didn't expect Wang Yi to explode at this crucial moment either."

Duan Ran laughed too and replied:

"I certainly didn't expect it. Mr. Zhu, let's make another bold prediction. What do you think Wang Yi will do in the little over two minutes remaining?"

Zhu Fangyu replied:

"Wang Yi's shooting touch is hot right now. I'm sure the Wizards will step up their defense against him, and they may even double-team him. So I'm afraid he won't put on another performance as dazzling as the last one during these final two minutes."

Duan Ran said:

"Mr. Zhu, you shouldn't be so sure."

Zhu Fangyu thought it over and hedged a little:

"Well... all right, let me rephrase that. Wang Yi might not put on another performance as dazzling as the last one. How's that?"

On the court.

Lakers head coach Vogel put an arm around Wang Yi's waist and said:

"Wang, the Wizards are going to keep a close eye on you now. They may even double-team you. If they do, pass the ball to an open teammate right away. Got it?"

Wang Yi had no intention of listening to the coach.

With his 100% mid-range shooting percentage on the line, how could he possibly give the ball to someone else?

But he couldn't just say that to the coach.

He paused briefly, then asked:

"Coach, do you believe in me?"

"Of course I do!"

As a coach, Vogel couldn't tell a player to his face, "I don't believe in you."

Wang Yi said:

"Then give me the ball. I'll get you a win."

At those words, all the teammates around him looked at Wang Yi in surprise.

Why was he so confident?

The game could change in an instant.

No one could claim they were guaranteed to beat their opponent.

Even a powerhouse could lose to a bottom-tier team.

So how could Wang Yi be so confident?

James looked Wang Yi up and down, his gaze full of surprise.

How could this guy be so confident?

He was even more confident than James had been at his age.

The coach was just as surprised. He looked toward James.

James gave the coach a subtle nod.

It wasn't that he truly believed what Wang Yi had said.

He just thought it was worth a try.

He was getting older, and often felt he couldn't do as much as he once could.

Thick Eyebrows was getting injured every other week.

The Lakers needed to develop a reliable scoring option.

If Wang Yi really could grow into one, the Lakers would have a much easier time in their games.

The coach thought the same way James did.

He said to the Lakers players:

"Then give the ball to Wang. Maybe we're about to witness an incredible scoring show."

The players all looked at the coach in surprise.

One of them really dared to say it, and the other really dared to do it.

The coach actually believed in Wang Yi?

After the timeout.

The Wizards went on offense.

Westbrook assisted Beal, who scored.

At the other end, James dribbled across half court.

Wang Yi continued running around screens.

But this time, the Wizards no longer assigned just one player to chase him.

Whenever Wang Yi ran past a Wizards player, if that player couldn't keep up, another would quickly take over.

That meant he couldn't shake his defender just by running around Wizards players.

He also had to work around his teammates' screens.

He ran for a full 18 seconds before finally getting open.

He received the ball beyond the three-point line at a 45-degree angle on the left and feinted a shot.

Westbrook and Beal rushed toward him almost simultaneously.

But just like before, Wang Yi was only faking.

He took a step inside the three-point line.

He didn't shoot right away.

Instead, he faked a pass to Caruso in the left corner.

He fooled another defender.

Now Hachimura Rui was the only player left inside the Wizards' paint.

Facing Hachimura Rui, Wang Yi still didn't shoot right away.

Instead, he made a tiny gesture—so subtle the referee couldn't spot it, but Hachimura Rui could—beckoning him over.

As if to say, "Come on, then."

The Wizards' head coach had told Hachimura Rui earlier not to get matched up against Wang Yi.

But now Wang Yi stood in front of him, with no one else around.

He had no choice but to rush at Wang Yi again and try to block the shot.

He was already moving fast;

he was jumping as high as he could, too.

Under normal circumstances, he was sure he could block that shot.

But Wang Yi leaned back as he jumped.

The ball just grazed Hachimura Rui's fingertips.

So this was what it meant to be out of reach.

Hachimura Rui watched helplessly as the ball brushed past his fingers and sailed over his head.

Swish!

Once again, he heard that hateful sound behind him.

The commentators couldn't stop exclaiming.

The crowd couldn't stop exclaiming either.

Wang Yi's performance over the past few minutes was simply spectacular.

But to Hachimura Rui, it felt like mockery, like ridicule.

"Since the Lakers fell behind by four with five minutes left, he's now made seven shots in a row!"

"Is this guy even human? He's not human!"

"He's so accurate, unbelievably accurate!"

Even the Wizards' home crowd couldn't help marveling at Wang Yi's terrifying shooting percentage.

Next, the Wizards scored another two points thanks to Westbrook's ability to drive to the basket.

At the other end, Wang Yi kept running around screens.

This time, the Wizards tightened their defense even further.

The moment he looked like he might get the ball, two Wizards players rushed at him.

But Wang Yi wasn't the least bit intimidated.

After receiving the ball in the right corner, he faked out two Wizards players.

He still didn't shoot.

Instead, he dribbled once and moved in front of Hachimura Rui.

Then he calmly made a floater.

Hachimura Rui could see what was happening now. This guy refused to shoot in front of anyone else; he had to shoot right in front of him.

Was Wang Yi humiliating him?

The problem was, Wang Yi could humiliate him all he wanted, and there was nothing he could do about it.

On offense, he couldn't get the ball.

Even when he did get it, Wang Yi would desperately block his shot.

On defense, Wang Yi kept picking on him.

And he couldn't stop Wang Yi's mid-range shots.

In his eyes, Wang Yi's mid-range shooting was practically machine-like.

It was absurd.

Under this relentless onslaught, Hachimura Rui's anger had already faded.

Instead, he was growing more and more desperate.

He even had the illusion that Wang Yi was impossible to beat.

Seeing this, the Wizards' head coach felt his heart sink.

Hachimura Rui was about to fall apart again.