Block Marbury

Li Chen stepped to the line. Swish! The ball went straight through the net. 28–20. The Clippers led the Suns by eight.

And the Clippers still had possession, leaving Joe Johnson utterly devastated. His mistake had cost his team twice over.

The Clippers inbounded the ball, and Andre Miller passed it to Elton Brand.

Brand drove, but couldn't get past his defender, so he kicked it out to Corey Maggette.

Maggette caught the ball and took a long jumper, but missed.

Li Chen flew in and grabbed the rebound. Joe Johnson and Stoudemire double-teamed him, denying him any room to shoot.

Li Chen passed behind his back to Elton Brand, who had followed up.

Elton Brand's short floater missed.

Li Chen leaped again and tipped the ball to Wang Zhizhi.

Wang Zhizhi took Li Chen's pass and showed off his reliable shooting touch, putting the ball in.

30–20. The Clippers extended their lead.

The teams switched ends.

Marbury drove in for a layup and drew a foul from Andre Miller.

Marbury made both free throws.

30–22.

Both teams were shooting efficiently in the second quarter. When it ended, the Clippers led 65–59.

At the start of the third quarter, the Clippers' offense went cold, and the Suns went on a 6–0 run to tie the score at 65–65.

Alvin Gentry hurriedly called a timeout to break their momentum.

Then he laid out a play: they were going to give the ball to Li Chen and let him take over.

The timeout ended.

Li Chen received Andre Miller's inbound pass.

Joe Johnson quickly closed in on him.

At the same time, Wang Zhizhi and Elton Brand set a double screen for Li Chen.

Li Chen didn't drive. He just adjusted his shooting form slightly, then released the ball. It traced a beautiful arc toward the basket.

68–65. The Clippers reclaimed the lead.

Seeing Li Chen score, Alvin Gentry nodded, pleased with the play he'd drawn up. Sure enough, when it mattered, you had to count on Li Chen!

The teams switched ends.

Marbury drove hard past Andre Miller again, but this time he couldn't get by him, so he passed to Stoudemire under the basket.

Stoudemire held the ball with his back to the basket, then spun suddenly, got past Wang Zhizhi, and rose for a jumper.

Li Chen came over to help and leaped to block the shot, swatting the ball out of bounds and ruining what had looked like a sure score.

The Suns inbounded the ball.

Marion passed it to Marbury.

Marbury's one-man-show instincts kicked in again. He drove hard to the basket and tried a floater, but missed.

Stoudemire grabbed the rebound. Li Chen and Corey Maggette double-teamed him, leaving him no room to shoot.

Stoudemire had no choice but to pass to Joe Johnson, who was calling for the ball beyond the three-point line.

As soon as Johnson caught it, Elton Brand closed in on him.

But Joe Johnson, nicknamed "Iso Joe," feared nothing more than an isolation play.

He held the ball with his back to the basket and drove his backside into Elton Brand's lower body.

Elton Brand stumbled backward.

Joe Johnson was nearly in tears. At last, he'd found his confidence again. Iso Joe was back!

That earlier, completely undeserved foul had really messed with Joe Johnson's head. He'd been playing cautiously on both ends of the court.

As Elton Brand stumbled back, Joe Johnson spun and rose for a jumper.

His turnaround wasn't as graceful as Jordan's or Kobe's, as beautiful as a painting, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that the shot went in.

The score was tied again at 68–68.

The Clippers went on offense.

Andre Miller made a bad pass, and Marbury stole the ball.

Marbury charged downcourt like a wild horse.

Just then, a deafening roar erupted inside Staples Center.

A figure shot toward Marbury like lightning, closing the gap at an unbelievable speed.

Marbury suddenly sensed someone beside him.

He turned his head, his pupils contracting. How was that possible? How could he be running so fast?

He had no time to think about it. He was already under the basket.

Marbury leaped high.

Li Chen leaped just as high.

Then Marbury suddenly pulled the ball back to his chest, arched his body, and leaned to one side... a double-clutch layup.

Li Chen's left hand shot up on instinct, swiping at the ball held against Marbury's chest.

In the broadcast booth, Zhang Weiping cried out, "Marbury's double-clutch!"

But the next instant, a miracle happened: Li Chen knocked the ball out of Marbury's hands and out of bounds.

Just then, the whistle blew.

At the same time, the big screen began replaying the split-second play.

When the crowd saw the slow-motion replay, a wave of cheers crashed through Staples Center like a tsunami.

They couldn't believe Li Chen had disrupted a double-clutch layup.

They roared, "MVP! MVP!"

In the domestic broadcast booth,

"My God! What did I just see? Chen actually disrupted a double-clutch layup! What kind of reaction speed does that take?" Zhang Weiping exclaimed, nearly jumping out of his seat.

Sun Zhengping was stunned, too. A double-clutch layup was incredibly difficult to disrupt. This was the first time he'd ever seen one blocked.

It took an almost superhuman reaction.

In a private box at Staples Center, Li Chen's performance had even stunned the cheapskate Donald Sterling.

Then Donald Sterling grew excited. This Eastern Kid really was his cash cow! The cheapskate could probably grin himself awake in his sleep.

Elgin Baylor was dumbfounded, too.

The cheers inside Staples Center kept rising, wave after wave.

But Li Chen knew it wasn't because he was that good. Marbury just wasn't very skilled. Honestly, it had been a fluke. Even if it happened again, he might not be able to pull it off.

Marbury was staring at Li Chen in disbelief, too.

Then he gritted his teeth. He'd wanted Li Chen to be his highlight-reel victim and get himself trending, but who could've guessed he'd end up as Li Chen's victim instead?

He'd still managed to trend, but not in such an embarrassing way.

Damn Eastern Kid. Marbury clenched his fists.

Just then, Elton Brand rushed over and vigorously ruffled Li Chen's short black hair.

"Fuck, Chen, how'd you do that? That was so cool!"

"Yeah, Chen! You're amazing!"

His teammates all started talking at once.

Li Chen scratched his head. "You guys don't have to make a big deal out of it. It was just a fluke. Besides, the Suns' possession isn't over yet. We can't let our guard down."

His teammates all nodded.

When Marbury heard the word "fluke," it hit him like a million points of damage.

Fuck, am I really that unlucky?

Marion inbounded the ball to Joe Johnson.

As soon as Johnson caught it, Li Chen closed in on him.

Having just regained his confidence, Joe Johnson tried to back Li Chen down again, hoping to shove him away with his backside, but he failed once more.

He thought it over and decided to stop trying to overpower Li Chen. He was afraid the refs might get annoyed and call another foul on him.

With that in mind, he quickly passed the ball to Marbury, who was calling for it.