The Referee's Highlight Reel

In the TNT broadcast booth.

"Oh! God, Stockton must be questioning his life after being stripped by Chen," Barkley said sympathetically.

Kenny Smith nodded helplessly. "Yeah! Charles, as a point guard, that feeling is really bad. I can really understand Stockton's mood right now."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Barkley chimed in.

"This Eastern Kid, Chen, has grasped Stockton's thoughts to the extreme. If it were you, how would you feel?"

Barkley thought for a moment and said seriously, "Hmm... beat him up."

Kenny Smith froze for a moment, looked at Barkley, and then they both burst into laughter.

After laughing for a while, Smith continued his analysis. "Jazz head coach Sloan will probably substitute Stockton out to let him adjust his mentality."

Barkley nodded in agreement and continued where Smith left off. "If Stockton isn't taken out, with his current mindset, he'll only increase turnovers, and the Jazz will definitely collapse in this game because of him."

After the timeout, the Jazz were just as Kenny Smith and Barkley predicted. Jazz head coach Sloan temporarily took Stockton off the court, and Karl Malone returned.

Karl Malone was worthy of being someone who wrestled with the Basketball God Jordan back in the day. Although he was old now, his strength was still there.

Even though Stockton was not on the court, he was still the Jazz's absolute scoring point.

For the rest of the second quarter, his elbows were swung repeatedly, leaving Elton Brand somewhat questioning his life.

When the second quarter ended, the Utah Jazz had actually overtaken the Clippers by two points, with a score of 50 to 48.

In the Clippers' locker room, Coach Alvin Gentry's brow was deeply furrowed.

Elton Brand couldn't defend Karl Malone at all. He had become a black hole for the team, which was somewhat helpless.

Should he let Odom defend Karl Malone in the second half?

He immediately shook his head. Elton Brand and Odom's defensive abilities were about the same. Even if he went in, it wouldn't make a qualitative difference.

At the same time, Elton Brand was still rubbing his chest. Those big elbows really hurt!

Just as Alvin Gentry was in a dilemma, a voice with not-so-fluent English rang out.

"Coach, let me defend Karl Malone."

Hearing this, everyone, from the coach to the players, looked at Li Chen.

Everyone knew that Li Chen's defense was notoriously garbage on the Clippers, and it was basically a fact.

Now he was going to defend Karl Malone, wasn't that asking for trouble?

Among them, Wang Zhizhi understood Li Chen's defensive level the best. He opened his mouth as if to say something but ultimately did not speak.

Elton Brand was a little touched. He knew Li Chen wanted to help him.

So, "Chen, no need, I can hold on."

Li Chen ignored Elton Brand and muttered to himself, I can foul bait on defense, but you defending is pure selfless devotion.

Thinking of this, Li Chen felt a little depressed. His "foul baiting" skill in this game had not yet played its intended role.

His luck was a bit bad! Thinking of this, he felt a pain in his balls.

As his thoughts returned, Li Chen saw that Alvin Gentry remained silent, so he continued, "Coach, there's no other way. Why not let me try?"

"This..."

"Hmph! Your paper-thin defense, and you want to defend Karl Malone? This is an NBA game, not a talk show."

At this moment, Odom, who had seized the opportunity, sarcastically chimed in.

No one spoke. Although Odom's words were a bit excessive, the logic was still there. Li Chen's offense was undeniable, they all had to admit it, but his defense really couldn't be complimented.

Li Chen glanced at Odom playfully.

Odom returned a cold sneer.

Alvin Gentry pondered for a moment before nodding. He decided to let Li Chen try.

After all, this disciple had never disappointed him.

Damn it, so annoying! Odom roared inwardly.

After the halftime break, the whistle for the third quarter blew.

Andre Miller dribbled the ball past midcourt and then passed it to Li Chen.

Michael Olowokandi was about to set a screen for Li Chen and cut to the basket. But Li Chen waved his hand and refused.

Michael Olowokandi was stunned, not knowing what Li Chen was up to.

At the same time, Li Chen suddenly accelerated and charged towards Karl Malone, who was not far from the free-throw line.

This scene made the two famous commentators from China somewhat bewildered.

Sun Zhengping frowned in confusion. "Xiao Chen, this move is a bit unreasonable!"

Zhang Weiping thought the same, but of course, he couldn't say it like that, so he forcibly explained, "Chen is going for the and-one. This play is very reasonable."

Sun Zhengping: "..."

At the same time, Li Chen's actions also surprised Karl Malone. It was obvious that this Easterner was targeting him.

He sneered inwardly. This was Utah, Salt Lake City, a place where the referees would call home-court fouls even for rookies.

So he charged at Li Chen.

Li Chen half-turned and executed a dream shake.

Karl Malone didn't expect Li Chen to have this move. Caught off guard, he was bypassed by Li Chen, who then leaped high into the air.

Remember, Karl Malone was a defensive master. How could such a player not be adept at exploiting referees' blind spots? There's a saying: "If the referee doesn't see it, it's good defense."

So he used his body to block the referee's view and then subtly, lightly, pulled Li Chen.

Li Chen's shot missed.

Seeing Li Chen land, Karl Malone initially thought Li Chen would glare at him and then argue with the referee, claiming he was fouled.

But Li Chen's reaction completely surprised him. Li Chen grinned, baring his teeth.

This smile left Karl Malone somewhat bewildered.

Just then, the referee's whistle blew, signaling a foul on Karl Malone for pulling Li Chen.

Karl Malone was stunned. What's going on? The referee couldn't possibly have seen that subtle move!

Meanwhile, in the domestic broadcast booth, Coach Zhang nodded calmly. "That was a great play by Chen. Although he didn't get the and-one, the strategy was sound."

In the TNT broadcast booth.

"Did Karl Malone foul?" Barkley asked his old partner Kenny Smith, looking confused.

"From the referee's perspective, Karl Malone completely blocked his view. It's hard to say about that call."

Karl Malone was confident. He was sure the referee couldn't have seen him foul.

So he went to argue with the referee, indicating he hadn't fouled.

However, the referee today was in a foul mood. Hearing this, he immediately gave Karl Malone a technical foul without a word.

This left Malone, who had played basketball for most of his life, feeling completely lost. Is this still the home court of Salt Lake City?

At the same time, a slow-motion replay from one of the cameras was displayed on the big screen.

When they saw this, the fans were stunned, and Barkley and the others were also shocked.

They all thought, What the hell? Does your eye have radar? How could you spot such a subtle little move?

In that moment, the veteran Karl Malone was left questioning his entire life by this referee's performance.