Damn It, Rookie

"Clang!"

Washington Wizards backup point guard Antonio Daniels used a screen to get open for a shot, but his pull-up jumper from midrange missed.

Anderson Varejao secured the rebound.

As soon as both feet hit the floor, he quickly passed the ball to Damon Jones.

Damon Jones dribbled up the court at once.

As he moved, Damon Jones kept an eye on Su Yi's position.

Just past half court, Damon Jones flicked his wrist and pushed the ball toward the front left. It reached Su Yi, who had just arrived at the three-point line on the left.

Su Yi caught the ball and jumped immediately, without a moment's hesitation.

Everyone in the arena was stunned.

He was shooting already?

A three-pointer on the fast break?

Mike Brown, on the bench, couldn't help shaking his head. He had told Su Yi over and over not to take fast-break threes. They weren't the Phoenix Suns.

But no matter how many times he said it, Su Yi still went and did it again!

DeShawn Stevenson rushed over at once, but he was a step too late.

The ball left Su Yi's hand, sailed over DeShawn Stevenson, and headed straight for the basket.

All eyes in the arena followed the ball as it traced a graceful arc through the air.

"Swish."

The three-pointer went in.

The score was 33–30!

Su Yi had been on the court for less than a minute, but he had already hit two threes in a row, instantly putting his team ahead.

The fans were baffled by Su Yi's shot selection, but their team had taken the lead.

"Wooooo!"

The Quicken Loans Arena erupted in cheers.

"Su, that was a beautiful shot!"

Damon Jones immediately praised him.

In less than a minute, Damon Jones had already added two assists.

It felt great.

"Damon, that was a great pass."

Su Yi replied.

Another round of mutual back-patting.

The Washington Wizards set up their offense again.

"Ball!"

As soon as the ball crossed half court, DeShawn Stevenson held out his hand and called for it.

Antonio Daniels passed it over without hesitation.

The ball reached DeShawn Stevenson cleanly.

The moment DeShawn Stevenson got the ball, Su Yi quietly took half a step back, opening up some distance between them.

Su Yi had done his homework before the game.

DeShawn Stevenson had shot just 13.3 percent from three last season!

He relied more on driving to the basket to score.

So Su Yi needed to leave himself enough time to react.

The next second, DeShawn Stevenson attacked, driving off the floor with his right foot. He dribbled with his left hand and darted toward Su Yi's left side like a bolt of lightning.

Su Yi was glad he had taken that half-step back; otherwise, he might not have reacted in time.

The guy's first step really was explosive.

Su Yi lunged left to stop DeShawn Stevenson from getting past him.

But the next second, DeShawn Stevenson slapped the ball hard with his left hand. It hit the floor, then bounced over to his right.

DeShawn Stevenson quickly reached out with his right hand, took control of the ball, and changed direction!

He drove past Su Yi on the right.

His movement was smooth as silk, and Su Yi couldn't react in time.

Whoosh! DeShawn Stevenson blew past him.

After getting past Su Yi, DeShawn Stevenson charged into the Cleveland Cavaliers' paint and leaped high, looking to throw down a dunk that would bring the house down.

But the next second, Anderson Varejao rushed over in time and jumped, throwing his left hand out in midair to swat at DeShawn Stevenson.

Smack!

He hit DeShawn Stevenson's hand as it held the ball.

DeShawn Stevenson couldn't hold on to it.

"Clang!"

The dunk bounced off the rim, ending in failure.

"Beep! Beep!"

At the same time, the referee blew his whistle and called a defensive foul on Anderson Varejao.

DeShawn Stevenson was sent to the free-throw line.

"Fuck!"

After landing, DeShawn Stevenson looked at his stinging arm and glared angrily at Anderson Varejao.

Anderson Varejao wasn't bothered. He even looked completely innocent.

As if to say, I didn't do it on purpose.

Seeing Anderson Varejao's expression only made DeShawn Stevenson angrier. He shouted at him, "Why are you acting like a girl?"

Anderson Varejao let DeShawn Stevenson's words go in one ear and out the other. They didn't affect him at all.

He didn't even look at DeShawn Stevenson.

It was like DeShawn Stevenson had punched a pillow. The feeling was infuriating!

Just then, Su Yi walked over and apologized to Anderson Varejao. "Sorry, Anderson. I got you called for a foul."

"It's fine. Those two threes you hit were beautiful!"

Anderson Varejao patted Su Yi on the shoulder.

DeShawn Stevenson stepped up to take his free throws.

Over his career, DeShawn Stevenson had made only 69.3 percent of his free throws!

That was clearly not good enough for a perimeter player.

Sure enough, DeShawn Stevenson missed his first attempt.

"Clang!"

Anderson Varejao couldn't help applauding.

DeShawn Stevenson: (•́へ•́╬)

DeShawn Stevenson took a deep breath, then shot his second free throw.

"Swish." The ball dropped cleanly through the net.

He made the second shot.

One of two, giving him a point.

The score was now 33–31!

The Cleveland Cavaliers inbounded the ball to Damon Jones, who quickly dribbled past half court.

As soon as he crossed the line, Damon Jones immediately looked for Su Yi again.

Su Yi had used another screen from Anderson Varejao to shake off DeShawn Stevenson, who was chasing him. This time, he ran to the three-point line on the right, at a 60-degree angle.

The ball arrived right on time.

Here comes another assist!

Damon Jones passed it over immediately, and the ball landed neatly in Su Yi's hands.

Su Yi didn't need to adjust after catching the ball. He jumped at once, hung in the air, kicked out his legs, and released the three.

At the top of the arc, Damon Jones watched Su Yi's mechanical, textbook shooting form and started celebrating early.

The ball traced a graceful arc through the air.

"Swish." The ball seemed to have GPS, dropping right into the basket.

Su Yi had hit another three.

Su Yi had come off the bench and played less than two minutes, but he had made all three of his shots, racked up nine points, and instantly turned the game around.

The score was now 36–33!

The Cleveland Cavaliers were up by three.

"Wooooo!"

The entire Quicken Loans Arena erupted again, cheering as their rookie, Su Yi, hit his third three in a row.

"Su!" "Su!" "Su!"...

The few hundred fans in Xu Rui's section, all there to support Su Yi, were even louder, shouting his name like crazy.

"Timeout!"

The Washington Wizards' head coach had no choice but to call a timeout. He had no idea what was going on with this rookie. The moment he came on, the whole game had changed.

Damn it, rookie!