The Mavericks Strike Back

The Clippers continued their offense.

Li Chen made another successful run, then swiftly brought the ball in.

The Clippers trailed by only one point, 53-52.

Barkley clicked his tongue and said, "That three-pointer is a real weapon for closing the gap. In less than three minutes, the Clippers are about to erase the eight-point lead that the Mavericks worked so hard to build in the first two quarters."

Kenny Smith nodded, then analyzed, "If Chen can maintain this momentum in the third quarter, the Clippers really have a chance to win this game."

"Kenny, you know, this is unrealistic."

Kenny Smith did not refute this.

On the court, the Clippers players felt guilty seeing Li Chen fight so hard for victory.

Li Chen was more than just a teammate; he was like a friend. This made them feel even worse.

At this moment, their expressions gradually changed. Since they couldn't find their shooting touch, they decided to focus on defense.

At this moment, the Clippers' momentum reached a new level.

Just then, Odom intercepted Nash's pass.

On the other side, Li Chen reacted quickly and immediately ran down.

Odom made a long pass to Li Chen.

After catching the basketball, Li Chen entered the three-point line in the blink of an eye.

As he stepped inside the three-point line and was about to reach the free-throw line, he suddenly felt an impulse, a desire that came from the depths of his soul.

What would it feel like to dunk from this position?

Previously, his most common dunk was from a position one step past the free-throw line.

At this moment, Li Chen felt excited, his adrenaline surged, and a voice in his mind urged him to slam the basketball into the basket from the free-throw line.

This emotion was like a surging river, unstoppable, and instantly overwhelmed Li Chen.

The moment Li Chen stepped onto the free-throw line, time seemed to stand still; only the rhythmic pounding of his powerful heartbeat reached his ears.

He took a deep breath, his muscles tensing, and stared intently at the basketball hoop in front of him.

In an instant, he slammed his powerful thigh down on the floor with all his might, and then he sprang into the air like a spring.

In an instant, he could feel his body getting farther and farther away from the ground, as if he were flying in the sky.

The feeling of flying filled him with excitement and exhilaration.

His body, suspended in mid-air, unleashed a powerful burst of energy. He could feel the tension and power in his muscles spreading throughout his body, like a prehistoric beast.

This intense motivation immersed him in a wellspring of strength, inspiring him to keep moving forward.

In the instant he soared through the air, he felt as light as a feather, as if he had been freed from constraints and completely liberated.

Is this what freedom feels like? Li Chen asked himself.

He then danced smoothly in the air, experiencing a wonderful feeling of levitation, as if time had stopped.

At that moment, Li Chen slammed the basketball into the hoop with one hand.

The Clippers have taken the lead, 53-54.

"Fuck, what an annoying Eastern Kid," Nelson muttered.

At the same time, Coach Nelson keenly sensed that the Clippers were gaining momentum, and he immediately called a timeout.

The fans in the Aviation Center Stadium couldn't help but cheer.

But then they realized what was happening and stopped talking immediately. Some even booed loudly, though they were genuinely upset.

It felt like raising a son for over ten years and then suddenly discovering that he wasn't your biological child.

"Fuck, how did this kid do that?" Barkley exclaimed in astonishment, even swearing.

It's no wonder he was surprised; this kind of scene usually only happens in Slam Dunk Contest, and rarely in official competitions. That's why Barkley was so excited.

Kenny Smith also exclaimed, "No wonder he's Jordan's most favored successor; his explosiveness and jumping ability are unmatched by Michael."

"No, no, no, there's one area where he's definitely not as good as Michael."

Barkley's confident tone surprised Kenny Smith.

So he asked, "Charles, do you not know what it is?"

"Gambling, I, Barkley, can guarantee it."

Kenny Smith "..."

On the court, the Clippers players rushed over in unison.

"You're awesome, kid." As they said this, the players ruffled Li Chen's hair again.

"Damn it! You bunch of bastards, are you trying to force me to shave my head?"

A moment later, everyone ran away in a panic, leaving only Wang Zhizhi behind.

Li Chen questioned with dissatisfaction, "Brother Zhizhi, you've changed."

Wang Zhizhi was taken aback, thinking to himself, "I only touched it once, and you noticed?"

However, Wang Zhizhi will not admit it; Li Chen, you've misjudged him.

"I don't."

You're really mistaken.

Li Chen: "..."

Meanwhile, Nelson was somewhat frustrated. He suddenly realized that without a good defensive player to control Li Chen, if this guy went on a shooting spree, he could really kill the game.

In this game, for example, this kid has already taken seven three-pointers, and his three-point shooting percentage is terrifyingly high, reaching a staggering 70%! That's incredible.

Nelson had always wanted to coach Li Chen. He had done a detailed analysis of Li Chen, so he knew Li Chen very well. Li Chen was the kind of player who became stronger under pressure.

Therefore, we cannot put too much pressure on him now, and we cannot push the Clippers too hard in the upcoming games.

When the timeout ended and the game resumed, the Mavericks' offensive pace slowed down.

This made Li Chen frown, wondering what the Clippers were up to.

At the same time, the tension in Li Chen's heart also relaxed.

However, Li Chen's accuracy also dropped.

Li Chen was unaware that Nelson had already thoroughly investigated and understood him.

Of course, Li Chen would not acknowledge Nelson's research. In his view, it was a law of probability, and after the outbreak, it would naturally fall into a calm phase.

Although Li Chen's shooting percentage dropped, his dunk boosted the Clippers' confidence.

At the end of the third quarter, the Clippers led the Mavericks 83-82 by one point.

In the fourth quarter, the Clippers players had a hot shooting streak.

With 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Clippers led the Mavericks 95-90 by 5 points.

Li Chen thought to himself, as long as they hold onto this five-point lead, victory will be theirs Clippers.

The thought of making it to the Eastern Conference Finals filled Li Chen with anticipation.

The current lineups for the two teams on the field are:

Clippers, Li Chen, Andre Miller, Corey Maggette, Elton Brand, Odom.

For the Mavericks, the lineup includes Nash, Nowitzki, Finley, Van Exel, Galarbel.

Nash then slowly dribbled the ball across the frontcourt.

Li Chen composed himself, thought for a moment, and then moved two steps to the left of where the other person was, since Nowitzki was in that direction.

Just then, Nash suddenly started his attack, breaking through to Li Chen's right flank.

However, Nash greatly underestimated Li Chen's lateral movement speed.

In an instant, Li Chen blocked Nash's path to break through.

Nash was helpless against Li Chen's defense, so he chose to pass the ball to Finley on the baseline.

Finley drove to the basket for a layup, but the experienced Corey Maggette interfered and the ball missed.

However, Nowitzki, who was temporarily filling in at center, grabbed the rebound.

The Dallas Mavericks' offense was not over.