"Kang Mang, we need to crank the intensity up another level!"
At Soldier Field, North Carolina head coach Dean Smith was unhappy with his team's opening performance.
He blamed their deficit on not making things difficult enough for Li Fei on offense.
If they wanted to win, they had to raise the intensity first.
"Don't worry, Coach!"
From the bench, Sheed practically roared back at his head coach:
"I'll show him what championship-level intensity feels like!"
The timeout ended.
Stackhouse hit a driving floater to stop the bleeding.
But when they came back down the court, they were right back to North Carolina's biggest headache.
How could they stop Li Fei?
Kidd lobbed the ball once more to Muscle Man, who was having his way in the paint.
The instant Li Fei caught the ball, Rasheed Wallace drove an elbow into his waist.
"Oh, ho! Rasheed clearly fouled Li Fei while defending him, but the referee didn't call it!"
Down by the court, Bill Walton was getting excited too. "This seems like a signal. The refs are letting both teams turn up the intensity!"
With this level of physicality, a game in the future would have been stopped by a string of whistles.
But in the '90s, in an important game, the refs tended to turn a blind eye to plays like that.
The next moment—
Bam!
Li Fei struck back without hesitation. He used Dreamy Footsteps to drive into the paint, then smashed an elbow into Wallace's head right in front of everyone.
He then collided head-on with Montross, who had come over to help defend in the paint.
The 2.13-meter, 105-kilogram white center was sent flying by Muscle Man, who powered through for the layup.
The commentators at the game couldn't help swallowing hard.
That collision was brutally physical!
It was a battle to decide not just who was better, but who lived and who died.
And Li Fei seemed even more fired up in this ancient Roman gladiator arena.
"Coming all this way was definitely worth it."
On the sideline, Karl Malone eagerly rubbed his elbow. "If this guy inherits my legacy..."
"He'll definitely become the new leader of the Iron Elbow Sect!"
Beside him, Stockton could only shake his head at Malone's brutality.
I'm no saint either, but couldn't you teach him something better?
To be honest, Stockton really wanted to team up with Li Fei too.
He believed his passes were better than Jason Kidd's.
Karl Malone and Li Fei inside, paired with the assists leader and a defensive anchor on the perimeter.
Salt Lake City could take the Western Conference by storm without breaking a sweat!
As they spoke, the tension on the court remained high.
Rasheed Wallace had been knocked down by the elbow. He got back to his feet and unleashed on the referee:
"Are your eyes in your ass or something?"
"How is that elbow not obvious?"
"Is this guy the league's son, or are you his daddy?"
Rasheed Wallace's furious triple-question barrage.
His voice was so loud that even the fans courtside heard every word.
No wonder he'd later earn the nickname Sheed.
But his shouting didn't make the referee hesitate before blowing the whistle. Instead, he got himself into trouble.
He picked up a technical foul!
He made both free throws, making it 10–2.
Li Fei still couldn't resist firing off a few words at Rasheed Wallace. "Can you do anything besides complain at the top of your lungs?"
"You're only this tall to me."
After speaking, Li Fei bent over and stretched out his long arm, holding it below his knee.
Too small!
"Oh, ho!"
Courtside commentator Marv Albert's eyes lit up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, did you see that? Li Fei just taunted Rasheed after shooting his free throws!"
"It's a taunt we've never seen before. Does it mean... Rasheed's game is only this low?"
Let's put the taunt aside for the moment.
The intensity between the two teams had reached its peak.
Rasheed Wallace used all kinds of martial arts moves on Li Fei.
Li Fei wasn't going to take it lying down either. His brawling moves had the fans screaming nonstop.
UFC had only been around for a year, having been founded in 1994, and plenty of sports fans still didn't know much about it.
That didn't matter.
They could watch this game instead.
As the game went on, Dean Smith began to regret his decision.
After the intensity went up, North Carolina was the one suffering.
Li Fei was like a masochist, loving the full-contact play and even enjoying every second of it.
He charged into the paint again and again, launching himself into the air. Even with two players guarding the paint, he elbowed them both aside. His body was like an alloy; he wasn't afraid of getting hurt.
He was literally flying across the court, while his soul chased after him!
Bam!
Li Fei raced back on defense and swatted Stackhouse's shot into the stands with a massive block.
Then he jumped right back up after the block. When the other team tried to push the ball up with a quick pass, he dove in and intercepted it.
He dribbled downcourt on the counterattack, elbowed Wallace out of the way, raised his left hand, and hammered home a one-handed dunk over a defender, scoring four points in quick succession!
"Sixty points!!"
"Sixty points!!"
"MVP!!"
"MVP!!"
The crowd was already chanting all kinds of things.
After making that basket, Li Fei had raised his stats to 61 points, 25 rebounds, and 12 blocks.
He had also helped his team build an 18-point lead.
"I don't think there'll be another miracle."
"The lead is up to 18, and there are only three minutes left. This game will end with Li Fei's monstrous 60-point triple-double!"
Just as the commentator had said, the North Carolina fans were already starting to lose hope.
But the one having the worst night on the court was Rasheed Wallace.
Not only was he about to miss out on a second straight championship, but Li Fei had beaten him black and blue.
Even his spirit was under attack from Li Fei's endless trash talk.
"You don't actually think you can beat me, do you?"
After landing from his dunk, Li Fei made sure to offer a friendly word:
"I could bring my grandma to play against you and still win the championship."
Then Li Fei tipped the ball toward Wallace, who was lying on the ground, questioning his life choices.
The falling ball hit Wallace right on the forehead.
"WHAT THE FUCK!!"
If Li Fei's constant trash talk had left cracks all over the walls around his heart,
then the ball to the forehead was the flood that swept those walls away.
The next moment—
Wallace swatted the ball away, his anger surging as he raised the fist he had spent twenty years training.
He charged at Li Fei!
"OH!! MY!! GOD!!"
The sudden scene left the commentators stunned.
"What's going on? Why is Rasheed suddenly charging at Li Fei? Is he trying to imitate Glenn Robinson and Chris Webber?"
"He's obviously been pushed over the edge by Li Fei!"
In the blink of an eye, Wallace was right in front of Li Fei.
Li Fei seemed to have anticipated it. He turned, gathered his strength, and swung a powerful right punch.
With the other guy already in his face, how could Li Fei back down?
BOOM!!
The moment Li Fei and Wallace exchanged punches had the same impact as the battle at Naruto-Sasuke Valley, where Hashirama fought Uchiha Madara.
It became a masterpiece for the ages!
Before you continue