Seeing the possession go nowhere, Li Chen regretted it.
But when he saw that the ball hadn't gone out of bounds, he tensed the muscles in his legs, pushed off hard, and charged toward it without hesitation.
Li Chen's effort wasn't wasted. Just as the ball was about to go out, he scooped it back and hurled it toward Corey Maggette, who was closest to him.
At the same time, Li Chen crashed hard into the crowd, knocking a Lakers fan's eyes nearly out of their sockets.
Li Chen got back to his feet and repeatedly apologized to everyone.
Meanwhile, Corey Maggette caught Li Chen's pass without hesitation. He rose and fired a three-pointer.
Swish! The ball went straight through the net.
30–31. The Clippers had taken the lead over the Lakers.
A round of boos rang out through the arena.
Kobe silently watched the score: 30–31.
Then he called for the ball again.
Fisher let out a faint sigh and could only pass it to Kobe.
Li Chen once again stood in front of Kobe.
Kobe treated Li Chen as if he weren't there and immediately jumped into another fadeaway.
Swish!
This time, the ball went through the net without a hitch.
Li Chen's heart sank at the sight. Kobe's touch had finally returned. The rest of the game was going to be tough for them.
What happened next made the fans in the arena feel a rush of exhilaration.
Kobe scored, and Li Chen answered with a basket. Kobe missed, and Li Chen missed too.
The entire second quarter became a one-on-one showdown between them.
Li Chen was a little frustrated. The odds of making these miracle shots were such bullshit! Couldn't he make just one more shot than Kobe?
Kobe was even more frustrated. His defense hadn't slipped once since the game began. Every time, he'd forced Li Chen to take a contested shot.
And yet, the damn ball still went in. Kobe was sure that if he didn't have nerves of steel, he'd have lost it by now.
Forget anyone else—even Shaq, that fat bastard, would've lost his mind guarding this Eastern Kid.
The fans were riveted, but the other eight players on the court were getting drowsy. They were all wondering whether they should just sit down and watch those two go at it.
The second quarter ended with the score at 50–51. The Clippers still led the Lakers by one point.
Kobe looked up at the score, deeply displeased. Then he watched Li Chen's back as he headed toward the bench and cursed inwardly. Fuck you. I hate lucky bastards.
The third quarter began, and Li Chen kept trading baskets with Kobe. But after a few shots, Li Chen realized his luck seemed to have fallen into a rut. No matter how he shot, nothing went in.
Li Chen decisively gave up trying to trade baskets with Kobe and chose to pass the ball instead.
But Kobe didn't care. He kept turning into fadeaways right over Li Chen.
Kobe's accuracy was still decent in the first half of the third quarter, but as he tired, his shooting percentage plummeted.
After all, Kobe relied on skill, and fatigue had a major effect on his shooting.
Li Chen was different. Stamina was secondary for him. He relied on luck. As long as he could get the ball toward the hoop, he had a 70 percent chance of making it.
By the fourth quarter, the Lakers were trailing the Clippers by eight, 88–80.
Phil Jackson had no choice but to take Kobe out and let him rest. More accurately, he needed to cool off on the bench for a while.
Meanwhile, after O'Neal got the ball back, the Lakers gradually narrowed the gap.
Seeing this, Li Chen could only try driving to the basket again.
And so Li Chen began relentlessly driving at O'Neal.
Li Chen's utterly unreasonable baskets had O'Neal questioning his whole life. His damn composure was about to shatter.
There was no way to play this game. Unless you could swat the ball away with perfect accuracy, this guy would score—and then draw a foul to get a three-point play.
On the Lakers' bench, Phil Jackson also felt helpless.
With luck like that, even Jordan would be helpless!
Meanwhile, Jordan, who had no game that day, finished training and turned on the TV to watch the performance of the successor he valued most.
But when he saw Li Chen making one impossible shot after another, pulling off all kinds of high-difficulty moves and scoring every time, even he was unsettled.
What the hell is going on with this kid? He made that too?
Now he was worried. What would he do if he had to face this kid?
But then he thought it over and shook his head with an amused smile. Luck couldn't last forever. Basketball still came down to skill.
Phil Jackson called another timeout. It was the only way he could try to control Li Chen's hot streak—or, more accurately, his luck.
But once play resumed, Li Chen's touch hadn't faded. One miracle shot after another went in, all with O'Neal right in front of him.
O'Neal already had five fouls, but he didn't care.
He swung his massive hand hard and swatted Li Chen's shot away again.
Li Chen got back up, grimacing, just as the referee blew the whistle again and called a foul on O'Neal. Shaq had fouled out.
Li Chen made the free throw.
The score was now 91–80. The Clippers led by eleven.
Phil Jackson rubbed his forehead at the sight, his face full of helplessness.
Then he looked at Kobe, who was staring intently at the court, and thought, Looks like I have no choice but to put Kobe back in.
And so...
When Kobe returned to the court, his killer instinct was on full display.
He opened with a three-pointer from the top of the arc.
91–83.
Li Chen looked up at the game clock. Two minutes remained.
The Clippers were up by eight. They could win by running down the clock.
As they prepared to inbound from the sideline, Li Chen pointed at the clock. Andre Miller immediately understood what he meant and nodded.
Li Chen didn't order Andre Miller around. That would've annoyed him.
After passing the ball to Andre Miller, Li Chen ran upcourt.
But just then, a figure darted past him.
Li Chen froze for a moment, then shouted a warning. "Watch out!"
The figure was none other than the Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant, whose desire to win burned fiercely.
Andre Miller felt a little helpless. Come on, man. This isn't the Playoffs, just a regular-season game. Do you really have to take it this seriously?
Andre Miller hurriedly tried to pass the ball to Li Chen, who was coming to help.
But before Andre Miller could release the ball—
The referee blew the whistle and called a foul on Kobe.
Andre Miller was sent to the free-throw line.
Li Chen stared in surprise, then grumbled inwardly. What, you think you can still turn this around?
But Kobe showed Li Chen through his actions that he did intend to turn the game around.
In the end, though, Kobe missed a three-pointer, and the Clippers won the Los Angeles Derby 102–99.
The fans had thoroughly enjoyed the game. The only thing that spoiled it was the Lakers' loss, which left them feeling bitter.
Kobe also scored a game-high 42 points, with 0 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 0 blocks.
O'Neal had 25 points, 0 assists, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 0 steals.
Clearly, the Lakers' OK Combination had both decided to keep the passing button switched off.
For the Clippers, Andre Miller, Corey Maggette, Elton Brand, and Michael Olowokandi all scored in double figures.
Li Chen finished with 39 points, 10 assists, 2 steals, and 5 rebounds—a double-double.
Although Li Chen scored three points fewer than the Black Mamba, he put up a double-double, so he was named the player of the game.
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