The on-site fans were whipped into a frenzy.
That would obviously help the judges score.
Dr. J and the others laughed as they held up their scores.
LaVine's score for that dunk was quickly revealed.
49 points.
Not a perfect score, and the one who had not given him a perfect score was O'Neal.
Boos erupted throughout the arena.
O'Neal's score was certainly unusual.
The camera lens turned to O'Neal.
O'Neal had already spread his hands and was shaking his head, repeatedly saying that LaVine had failed.
Clearly, he believed LaVine deserved points deducted for missing his first attempt.
In an ordinary Slam Dunk Contest, that might have been overlooked.
But in a showdown at this level, no matter the reason, contestants had to take responsibility for their mistakes.
The fans on the hotline immediately began blasting O'Neal.
"This is obviously unfair! Shaq is a Tang Tian fan, and he was even Tang's assistant earlier. This is unfair!"
"I heard Shaq insisted on being a judge himself. He clearly wants to protect Tang Tian's Dunk King title!" said a jokic fan.
"Is that strange? Tang is the Number One Player in the League. He entered the Slam Dunk Contest—if they don't give him the championship, do you think Tang would accept that?" said a Diop fan.
"But haven't Xiao Hua and Tang always been at odds?"
"This is the NBA, buddy! It's a business league. Do you really think there are permanent enemies? Look at LeBron and Wade!"
"Yeah, and Westbrook and Durant. If they hadn't communicated beforehand, LeBron would never have picked them for the same team!"
"Sigh, what a disappointment!"
All kinds of conspiracy theories on the hotline hit their peak in an instant.
But when Tang Tian took the court, everyone shifted their attention back to