226. The Olympic Gold Medal Showdown

When the timeout ended and the game resumed, Li Chen's stamina had almost fully recovered. That's how awesome a man with cheat codes is.

When Kobe saw Li Chen jumping around on the court again, he was dumbfounded. What was this guy? His recovery was too fast!

Even the usually confident Coach K was dumbfounded. He thought Kobe's recovery ability was already amazing, but he didn't expect Li Chen to be even more incredible.

With one minute remaining, the USA Team has possession.

Kobe tried to stall for time, but Li Chen clung to him like glue, making Kobe very uncomfortable.

He could accept all of that, but what he couldn't accept was that Li Chen always managed to find the perfect opportunity to steal the ball. Although he was alert and prevented Li Chen from succeeding, he had learned a saying from Yao Ming: "It's not the thief you should fear, but the one who's eyeing you!" And another saying, "If you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet."

So Kobe stopped wasting time and pulled up for a jump shot over Li Chen's defense.

Bang! Kobe that shot.

Although Kobe missed that shot, the USA Team's interior defense was significantly stronger than the National Team's.

Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi, the two key centers for the National Team, were already exhausted.

Yao Ming, in particular, did not leave the court.

Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, Howard, James battled for rebounds under the basket.

Finally, Howard successfully grabbed the rebound and used his physical advantages to continuously attack Yao Ming's defense.

Yao Ming tried his best to stop the decline, but he felt helpless, as if he had the will but not the power.

Just as Howard was feeling smug, a hand appeared from behind Yao Ming.

The basketball in Howard's hands, like a mischievous child, suddenly slipped out of his control.

In an instant, a figure appeared; it was none other than Li Chen.

Seeing that it was Li Chen who had stolen the ball from him, he flew into a rage and, in a fit of rage, pulled Li Chen to the ground.

The referee blew his whistle, and Li Chen was awarded two free throws.

First free throw, swish! The basketball goes through the net cleanly.

97 to 98.

Domestic fans shouted loudly, "Go China! Go China!"

If they make their second free throw, they will be USA Team.

As he took his second free throw, Li Chen let out a long breath and stared at the backboard in the distance.

At that moment, the whistle blew, and Li Chen slowly raised his arm.

On the other side, James looked at Li Chen with frustration. Now he really regretted it. It seemed like this game was going to be a disaster!

I can't believe Kobe anymore; he's such a rip-off.

But at that moment he was slightly stunned, because he noticed that Li Chen's free throw motion was a little different from before.

In the instant he was stunned, there was a loud "bang".

The basketball slammed hard onto the top of the backboard. Although both teams were prepared to grab the rebound, they had no intention of doing so because Li Chen's free throws were too accurate.

So, before any of the players could react, Li Chen leaped high, grabbed the basketball, and immediately charged towards the right corner.

James realized what was happening and immediately rushed towards Li Chen.

Although Kobe was also somewhat surprised, he acted quickly, blocking Li Chen's path almost simultaneously.

At this moment, Li Chen Pull-up Jumper, and his powerful hang time made Li Chen appear to be suspended in mid-air.

However, Kobe and James also had impressive hang time.

In a split second, Li Chen suddenly withdrew his hand and the basketball to his chest, making a layup pass motion.

His pass was aimed at Sun Yue was standing outside the three-point line.

Everyone knows that players are positioned in the paint during free throws. And standing at the 45-degree angle on the right wing was Sun Yue.

Sun Yue was somewhat surprised to receive Li Chen's pass, but he still managed to put the ball in the net.

Thump! The basketball hit the rim, bounced up, and then fell into the Nets.

The National Team has taken the lead, 100-98.

There are 35 seconds left.

"You dare to pass it?" Kobe joked.

He shrugged, feigning nonchalance, and said, "If we don't go in, we don't go in. It's just a one-point loss anyway. If we win, we'll make two points for free."

Kobe and James were speechless.

At this moment, all the other teammates from the National Team rushed towards Li Chen, and they started talking all at once.

Yao Ming has an urge to pick Li Chen up right now, but he really can't do it.

This unexpected turn of events left the fans somewhat bewildered, but then a deafening roar of cheers erupted throughout the Wukesong Arena.

The USA Team's offense was driven by Li Chen's persistence, and Kobe also had his reasons for needing to win.

James set a screen for Kobe drove to the basket and dribbled past Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi to score, drawing Yao Ming's fourth foul in the process.

Kobe went to the free-throw line, and swish! Kobe made the free throw.

The USA Team leads by one point, 100-101.

There are 20 seconds left on the clock. This is the National Team's final attack, meaning that if they succeed, they will win the game.

At this moment, the National Team players online were extremely excited. Although it wasn't the first time they had defeated the Team USA, the Answer was that the BJ Olympics were extraordinary, as it was happening on their home turf!

The USA Team called a timeout.

After the timeout, Li Chen dribbled the ball up the court. The USA Team pressed him tightly with full-court pressure, Kobe defended him very closely. Li Chen then drove hard past Kobe.

After breaking through to the frontcourt, Li Chen was double-teamed by Kobe and Wade.

Li Chen had no chance to shoot, so he had no choice but to pass the ball to Yao Ming and then walk towards the basket himself.

After Yao Ming received the ball, he was immediately marked by Howard.

Yao Ming was under immense pressure after receiving the pass from Li Chen, especially given his depleted stamina.

He secretly vowed to himself, "I must get in!"

He held the ball with his back to the basket, then nimbly spun around to shake off Howard.

He was overjoyed, but just as he released the ball, James rushed over and slapped the basketball that Yao Ming had just thrown away.

However, by sheer coincidence, the basketball flew right towards Li Chen.

Li Chen instinctively caught the pass from his international friend LeBron James, and then launched a Pull-up Jumper over the onrushing Anthony.

Swish! The basketball goes through the net cleanly.

102 to 101.

At the same time, the countdown to the game also reached zero.

James was dumbfounded. What? This is possible? Did he really have to be so unlucky?

That wasn't what frustrated James the most. What frustrated him the most was that Li Chen gave him a thumbs up, as if to say, "Thank you, my good teammate."

Coach K was also frustrated. He could only shake his head helplessly. Fortunately, it was just bad luck for them this time, and it was only a group stage match.

As long as they can keep winning the remaining matches and eventually take home the gold medal at this Olympics, that will be enough. Thinking of this, his initial displeasure vanished.

After the game, during the handshake ceremony, Kobe coolly said, "You got lucky this time. We won't lose next time."

Kobe's words might not have meant anything to others, but coming from LeBron James, they just didn't sit well with him.

This made him regret participating in the Olympics even more.

Li Chen smiled faintly and said, "Kobe, luck is also a form of skill."

Li Chen's words clearly implied that he was just lucky, and asked if Li Chen was angry.

Kobe "..."

Kobe led the USA Team in this game with 25 points. The other players all scored around 10 points.

For the National Team, Li Chen scored 35 points, Yao Ming 20 points, Wang Zhizhi 18 points, and Yi Jianlian 13 points.

Don't worry about scoring; it's all thanks to these three players. The other players barely contributed in the second half. It's not that they're not good enough; it's that their stamina just isn't up to par.

In the following matches, the United States dominated, winning every game by a large margin.

As for the National Team, although they also won all their matches, they were not quite as good as the USA Team.

This is normal. After all, the National Team only achieved such results because Li Chen was on fire, so inconsistency is to be expected.

It's worth mentioning, however, that the United States almost suffered an upset against Spain National Team in the semifinals. If it weren't for Kobe's game-winning shot against Spain National Team, the Dream Team would have been eliminated once again.

On August 24, 2008, the Olympic basketball NBA Finals kicked off at the Wukesong Arena.

The Dream Team, spurred by their defeat, fought bravely and overcame all their opponents.

In contrast, the National Team's performance at home was less than satisfactory. When Li Chen played well, their victories were exhilarating, and vice versa.

In the first half, both teams performed admirably, especially the National Team, which played very smoothly and led the USA Team by as much as 8 points in the first quarter.

However, after the start of the second quarter, the USA Team gradually found their rhythm.

They steadily recovered the score they lost in the first quarter, and not only that, they also overtook the National Team.

At the end of the first half, the National Team trailed the USA Team by two points, 50-52.

In the second half, at the start of the third quarter, Li Chen displayed extreme aggression, immediately stealing the ball from his former Knicks teammate, Kidd.

Then, he launched a fast break, first shaking off Kobe, then making a short pass with Wang Zhizhi to get past James, and finally drawing Howard's third foul with a layup. He then completed a three-point play.

Swish! Li Chen made the free throw.

The score was 53-52, but the National Team turned the tide at the start of the second half.

The USA Team is on offense, Carmelo Anthony's three-pointer bounces off the rim.

Yao Ming grabbed the rebound in the backcourt, putting immense pressure on him from Howard.

James is Yao Ming's nemesis; he successfully stole the ball from Yao Ming again by fronting him.

The USA Team reorganized their offense, Kobe made a fancy spin move and passed the ball to James, but unfortunately James failed to capitalize on the opportunity and lost the ball.

As luck would have it, Li Chen picked up the ball again. Li Chen gave James a thumbs up once more.

James "..."

In the transition between offense and defense, Li Chen made a quick pass to Zhu Fangyu, whose three-pointer bounced off the rim.

Yao Ming successfully put back the ball over Howard under the basket.

55 to 52.

Kobe saw that the team's offense was struggling to get going.

Kobe turned off the pass button, put on the Black Mamba vest, and drove hard against Li Chen, scoring a basket, but it was a travel and the goal was disallowed.

Li Chen gave a thumbs-up and said gloatingly, "You've mastered the essence of Old Zhan's four-step layup."

James: "..." Why am I involved again? My three-step layup was perfect, okay?

In the next possession, Li Chen lobbed the ball to Yao Ming under the basket.

Yao Ming used his Dream Footwork to shake off Howard and calmly put the ball into the basket.

57 to 52, the USA Team was down by five points in the blink of an eye.

In the next possession, Kobe attempted another turnaround jump shot, but Kobe touch was really off at this stage, and the ball bounced off the rim again.

However, the USA Team wasn't just Kobe; Anthony's tough putback under the basket showcased his true colors.

57 to 54.

But Li Chen then scored two points with a short layup, making it 59-54, a five-point difference.

Seeing that his long-range shooting was off, Kobe found a way to break through by attacking the paint.

His beautiful layup drew a foul from Wang Zhizhi, resulting in a clean 2+1 play.

However, Kobe's free throw bounced off the rim, and Li Chen grabbed the rebound.

The National Team is on the attack, Li Chen is back again, scoring once more with his mounted archery throw. His prowess in this match has made Li Chen even more formidable.

With six minutes remaining in the third quarter, Jonas, seeing that the National Team was temporarily leading 75-67, substituted Yao Ming.

However, just after Yao Ming was substituted, Yi Jianlian was stripped of the ball by James.

James made a long pass to Anthony, who was cutting to the basket, Melo easily scored two points.

75 to 69.

Yi Jianlian somewhat guilty, but Li Chen pressed his head down and then roughly messed up his Yi Jianlian before saying, "Kid, stop feeling guilty, just pay it back."

Yi Jianlian looked at Li Chen, then nodded firmly.

During the National Team's attack, Li Chen made a quick pass to Yi Jianlian, who scored to redeem himself.

77 to 69

Immediately afterwards, the USA Team staged a connection between James and Kobe, with Kobe making a brilliant pass to James, James then completed an alley-oop layup.

77 to 71.

At this point, Coach K substituted Howard and Kidd for Wade and Bosh.

When Wade came off the bench, he immediately injected fierce defense into the Dream Team. His aggressive defense almost forced the National Team into a mistake, but fortunately Li Chen arrived in time.

Li Chen drives to the basket for a layup.

The three superstars in the paint James, Kobe, and Wade, jumped together to block Li Chen's shot. Although it was a foul, it showed their strong desire to win.

Li Chen met the gazes of the three men, and their eyes, filled with a burning desire for victory, inspired awe.

However, the desire for victory in Li Chen's eyes rivaled that of the three.

Li Chen pointed to the English letters on his National Team jersey and said firmly, "This is China, and I will not allow myself to lose this game."

"Then let's wait and see!" the three said in unison.

A moment later, Li Chen made both free throws.

79 to 71.

Bosh received the Bosh and stole it, drawing Wang Zhizhi's fourth foul.

Bosh made his first free throw, but his second bounced off the rim. However, Kobe grabbed the rebound.

Wade reached out for the ball, Kobe understood and passed it to Wade. Wade turned and went straight for a layup, but was fouled by Zhu Fangyu.

Wade stepped up to the free-throw line.

Both free throws were made.

79 to 74.

In the transition between offense and defense, Li Chen once again demonstrated his unreasonable three-point shot, Pull-up Jumper from three steps beyond the mid-range line.

Thump! The basketball hit the rim, triggering the [Miracle Shot] skill, and bounced into the net.

82 to 74.

Coach K was also anxiously directing the game from the sidelines. The third quarter was almost over, but the USA Team still hadn't turned the tide. How could he not be worried?

Wade's shooting touch was completely on point; he executed a big spin move followed by a step-back jumper, which went in cleanly into the basket.

82 to 76.

James passed to Bosh, Bosh passed to Kobe, Kobe made a fadeaway jump shot that swished through the net.

Li Chen continued to carry the National Team forward, scoring consecutive baskets with layups and drawing a foul from Bosh.

Li Chen made another free throw.

85 to 78.

In these head-to-head moments, Anthony would never hold back, sinking another three-pointer from beyond the arc.

85 to 81.

With less than three seconds left in the game, Li Chen made a buzzer-beating floater, showcasing his incredible speed and skill.

87 to 81. Li Chen's actions demonstrated his determination.