Li Fei turned off the television and gently set the coffee cup in his hand on the dark reddish walnut desk.
Outside the window, Manhattan sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling glass, falling across his sharply defined, almost unrealistically handsome face.
There was not the slightest ripple in his eyes, as though the bloodshed and chaos of the Western Conference had nothing to do with him, the ruler of the Eastern Conference.
Yet just twenty-four hours later, the Eastern Conference landscape, which had seemed relatively clear, was instantly thrown into a tense standoff by the mad performance of a short man.
Philadelphia, Wachovia Center.
Game 4 of the series between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Charlotte Hornets was underway here.
The 76ers had previously taken a 2–1 lead. As long as they won this game, they would return to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The air throughout the game was thick with something called suffocation.
Eddie Jones and Anthony Mason of the Hornets were like two tireless beasts, savagely tearing at Philadelphia's defense.
But tonight, Philadelphia had only one god.
That was Allen Iverson.
Wearing the "Answer 1" sneakers meticulously designed for him by Li Fei Brand, the streak of white-and-red light became the deadliest lightning on the court.
With three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the score was tied at 92.
Iverson dribbled across half court and, facing Eddie Jones's close pressure defense, made two consecutive wide crossover dribbles in front of his body.
His center of gravity was so low and his movements so fast that the arena cameras even caught wisps of smoke rising from the floor due to the violent friction.
Jones's balance had already been completely shattered by the feint.
Iverson accelerated straight into the paint, rose against the Hornets' 6-foot-10 center Elden Campbell, and completed