Kobe's Invitation

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Clippers displayed a fierce offensive momentum.

Under Li Chen's leadership, the Clippers became more cohesive. Li Chen's excellent vision destined him to be a top point guard. He continuously delivered exquisite passes, and then his teammates put the basketballs into the Mavericks' baskets one by one.

Every Clippers offensive possession put immense pressure on the Mavericks, who are not known for their defense.

The Clippers players displayed their team spirit against the Mavericks in the fourth quarter, demonstrating what it means to be a fourth-quarter champion.

With the game entering its crucial final moments, the Clippers led the Mavericks 121-119, turning a 16-point deficit into a 2-point lead.

They could feel the call of victory; just 10 more seconds and they would secure two wins on the road, which would be crucial for the Clippers' upcoming games.

They did everything they could to stop the Mavericks' offense and try to maintain their lead.

However, the goddess of victory seemed to play a cruel joke on them, showing no favoritism towards the Clippers, Clippers ultimately failed to hold onto their victory.

With 10 seconds left in the game, the Mavericks launched a final sprint.

As the leader and core player of the Mavericks, Nowitzki demonstrated a calm and composed mindset.

Facing the Clippers' tight defense, he cleverly found a breakthrough and successfully made a three-pointer, drawing a foul from Odom. This left Odom feeling guilty.

This foul sent the entire Space Center arena into a frenzy of celebration.

This left the Clippers players feeling quite uncomfortable, especially Odom, who was directly involved.

Nowitzki held his nerve and made all three free throws.

The Clippers ultimately lost to the Mavericks 121-122, a narrow defeat by one point.

After the game, seeing Odom's remorseful expression, Li Chen patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "Lamar, you don't need to be like this. You made the right choice. Dirk made all four of his three-point attempts today. Even without fouling, there was a 90% chance of a game-winning shot. So fouling was the best option."

"That's right, Chen, you're right, Lamar, you don't need to blame yourself." The other teammates also chimed in, trying to comfort Li Chen.

Li Chen and his teammates' words made Odom feel a little better.

At this moment, Odom sighed slightly and said, "What a pity, losing means we can't treat Chen to a barbecue."

Li Chen: "..."

The other teammates burst into laughter.

At the same time, Alvin Gentry was relieved to see that his players were not discouraged or demoralized by the loss.

At this moment, he turned his gaze to Li Chen. "You really are a remarkable kid."

Despite the Clippers' excellent performance in the game, the final result was not as expected.

However, as a professional basketball team, winning and losing are common occurrences; the key is who can recover from defeat first. Clearly, the Clippers did just that.

During the handshake ceremony, Li Chen couldn't help but exclaim, "Dirk, your performance tonight was fantastic!"

"Chen, you're not bad either. Your passing is just as good as Steve's."

After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled.

In this game, Nowitzki played 35 minutes, shooting 8-for-14, scoring 27 points, 1 assist, and 12 rebounds, including 4-for-5 from three-point range and 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.

Finley played 40 minutes, shooting 8-for-22, scoring 3 points, 3 assists, and 7 rebounds. He made 5 of 12 three-pointers and 3 of 4 free throws.

Nash played 25 minutes, shooting 8-for-11, scoring 19 points and dishing out 7 assists, including 2-for-2 from three-point range and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line.

Odom played 38 minutes, shooting 8-for-15, scoring 20 points and dishing out 1 assist, including 3-for-6 from three-point range and 0-for-2 from the free-throw line.

Corey Maggette, 7-for-12 shooting, 15 points, 1 assist, 3 rebounds, 1-for-2 from three-point range.

Wang Zhizhi, 3-for-10 shooting, 11 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds, 1-for-2 from three-point range, 4-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Li Chen played 45 minutes, shooting 8-for-19, scoring 22 points, 15 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block, including 2-for-5 from three-point range and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Elton Brand also came on as a substitute, playing 15 minutes and scoring 8 points.

It's worth mentioning that Van Exel of the Mavericks only scored 16 points after being targeted by Li Chen. Keep in mind, this guy historically scores 25+ points in the Playoffs!

Post-match press conference.

"Mr. Li Chen, what is your opinion of your performance tonight?"

The reporter's implication was that if he had played better, the Clippers wouldn't have lost.

But...

"I am very satisfied with my performance tonight," Li Chen replied truthfully.

He wasn't lying; he was genuinely satisfied, because he was certainly pleased that he could achieve a double-double without a system.

But these words made the reporters secretly curse Li Chen for being cunning.

A moment later, the reporter asked Li Chen about his feelings on winning the Rookie of the Year.

Li Chen thought for a moment and then said truthfully, "To be honest, I really don't feel anything."

Li Chen wasn't lying; isn't it normal for this to happen with a system?

"Why don't you feel anything? Is it because you don't care about this award?" the reporter asked sharply.

"No, I do care about this award. But I don't think it's my most important focus. For me, what's more important is to continue improving my skills and abilities and making a greater contribution to the team."

This statement disappointed the reporter, who then continued, "So, what are your expectations for your future development?"

"My goal is to become a better player and achieve more in my career. I will continue to train hard, constantly improve myself, and strive to achieve these goals."

Thank you for your answer. I wish you even greater success in the future!

"Thank you! I will try my best!"

At this point, a reporter asked with a smile, "Mr. Li Chen, what is your opinion on the referee's decisions today?"

Li Chen was speechless at the reporter's gloating expression, but he still calmly spouted nonsense. "The ruling was without any problem."

But the reporter persisted, "But we saw them make two misjudgments."

Li Chen felt a pang of liver pain and secretly vowed that if the referee was shameless in the next game, he would drink it all and ruin his image to give the referee a good scolding.

Lost in thought, Li Chen smiled and said, "You said it yourself, it was a misjudgment. After all, referees are human, and humans make mistakes. If it's twice, our Clippers won't mind."

The next day.

Kobe's call came as expected.

"It was a real pity about yesterday's game," Kobe said calmly.

But now, Li Chen could already picture Kobe holding the phone, his annoying face trying to suppress a smile.

"It's okay, losing is normal, isn't it? At least we only lost by one point." Li Chen emphasized the word "one point."

Upon hearing this, Kobe, who was smiling on the other end of the phone, immediately froze on his face.

Even Kobe could tell that Li Chen was referring to their Lakers.

"I'm coming to watch the game tonight."

Clearly, Kobe was showing off his muscles.

Li Chen pouted and said, "I'm not going."

"What do you mean?" Bi asked, puzzled.

I can watch it at home just the same way, and it saves money.

Kobe "..."

Kobe Bryant was certain that Li Chen was the stingiest player in NBA history, bar none.

Sketchers has already announced that they've signed a lifetime contract with Li Chen. Although Sketchers can't compare to Nike or Adidas, it's still a lifetime contract!

Kobe had envied this lifetime contract for a long time, and even so, Li Chen's stinginess was unbelievable.

In a flash, Kobe gritted his teeth and said, "I'll give you the tickets."

"Boss Bryant is very generous," Li Chen quickly said.

Kobe was taken aback at first, then felt like he had been tricked.