I'm great, the team lost, but I didn't!

I'll do it myself?

Seeing the five-point gap, LeBron James felt a bit hesitant.

He didn't want to be the one blamed for the loss.

Next, LeBron James stood at the top of the arc, holding the ball and directing traffic, frantically waving his teammates around.

Larry Hughes and Big Z kept moving, setting screens!

But Su Yi just stood in the corner, quietly watching the show, almost wanting to grab some popcorn.

"Rookie, not running? You know you can't shake me, right? My defense is pretty good, huh?"

With the team in a great position, Josh Smith had just scored five straight points in overtime, pushing the lead to five.

He was in a fantastic mood.

Josh Smith couldn't help but chat with Su Yi.

"I'm done running, Josh. Your defense is really impressive—you've got a shot at DPOY!"

Su Yi praised him generously.

"Haha."

Hearing Su Yi's compliment, Josh Smith couldn't help but laugh.

Even though they'd only played one game against each other, Josh Smith had already acknowledged Su Yi's skill.

A sharp outside shooter, excellent off-ball movement—if you weren't careful, he'd slip away. As for defense, not bad—he could even lock down Joe Johnson a few times.

In Josh Smith's eyes, drafting Su Yi meant getting an instant contributor.

Plug and play!

Josh Smith couldn't help but wonder why his front office hadn't picked Su Yi.

In this summer's draft, the Atlanta Hawks had selected two big men.

They had potential, sure, but they'd need a long time to develop.

Whether they'd actually develop was anyone's guess—Josh Smith wasn't sure.

After all, nearly 60 players enter the NBA every year. The competition was fierce. One wrong move, and you might not even have room to grow.

But Josh Smith really liked instant contributors like Su Yi.

Too bad Su Yi wasn't his teammate. Josh Smith felt a pang of regret.

While Su Yi and Josh Smith were chatting in the corner, the Cleveland Cavaliers finished their possession.

LeBron James directed traffic at the top of the arc for over ten seconds, then passed to Larry Hughes, who had run out to receive the ball.

Seeing the shot clock winding down, Larry Hughes faked a move to create space.

He jumped, hung in the air, and released a three-pointer.

Clang!

It bounced off the rim—missed three.

Zaza Pachulia secured the rebound cleanly under the basket.

He then passed to Joe Johnson, who calmly dribbled the ball past half-court.

With the lead, they were in no rush, letting the full 24-second shot clock drain.

Clang!

Joe Johnson took a mid-range shot over Su Yi's defense but missed.

Drew Gooden leaped under the basket, trying to grab the defensive rebound.

But the next second, a figure came out of nowhere, jumping high and snatching the rebound right in front of Drew Gooden.

"Fuck, how did he get in here?"

Drew Gooden looked closely—Josh Smith!

Drew Gooden couldn't help but curse.

Su Yi shook his head from the perimeter, muttering to himself: "It's your GM LeBron who let him in."

Under the basket, Josh Smith grabbed the offensive rebound and jumped again.

Big Z quickly retreated to the paint, leaped, and swung his left hand hard, smacking Josh Smith.

Smack!

He hit his arm.

It disrupted Josh Smith's shot entirely.

"BEEP BEEP."

At the same time, the referee's whistle blew, calling a foul on Big Z and sending Josh Smith to the free-throw line.

Big Z walked toward the bench with a helpless look on his face.

With this foul, Big Z had already racked up six.

He was forced off the court.

With 1:06 left on the clock.

The game was slipping away—lost!

"Swish!" "Swish!"

Josh Smith sank both free throws, adding two points.

103 to 96.

The gap stretched to seven points.

Now came the part where our GM LeBron never gives up, never gets discouraged.

LeBron James drove to the basket on the next two consecutive possessions, scoring four points.

In an instant, his stat line jumped from 26-of-12 to 28-of-14.

His shooting percentage leaped from 46% to 50%!

His score climbed from 30 to 34.

LeBron Stans checked the box score—their king had dropped a monstrous 34 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal, conveniently ignoring the 5 turnovers.

A 50% field goal percentage, comparable to an interior player's efficiency.

LeBron's a beast—the team lost, but LeBron didn't!

"Bzzzz."

As the final buzzer sounded, the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 105 to 100 in overtime, handing the Cavaliers their first loss of the season.

The Cavaliers' overall record fell to 3 wins and 1 loss.

"Rookie, nice meeting you. Keep it up—I'm rooting for you!"

After the game ended, Josh Smith looked at Su Yi standing before him and said.

"Thanks. I hope we get to face off again next time. I'll be stronger then."

Su Yi replied with a smile, and the two shared a friendly hug.

Then Su Yi headed toward the player tunnel, but he'd only taken two steps when a group of media reporters blocked his path.

Su Yi: ??

Wasn't LeBron James usually the one scrambling for post-game interviews?

Why interview him? Coming for me?

Su Yi was utterly baffled.

He immediately looked left and right, searching for LeBron James, but didn't spot him.

Su Yi figured the guy had bolted straight for the tunnel after the game, putting on an act for the fans—a "I'm not giving up" vibe.

Not giving up my ass. If it weren't for you in overtime, would it have turned out like this?

"Su, congratulations on getting over 25 minutes of playing time. That proves your position on the team is becoming more and more important. What do you have to say about that?"

The blonde female reporter couldn't help but ask the first question.

Su Yi kept his eyes fixed on the audience seats behind the blonde reporter—he didn't dare look directly at her.

After all, she was wearing a low-cut dress.

With his height advantage looking down, he'd get an eyeful.

But Su Yi didn't want to leave behind any black-ops photo evidence.

If their positions were swapped, Su Yi wouldn't play the gentleman—why not look when you can?

"I'm very grateful to Coach Brown for trusting me and giving me this valuable playing time.

As a rookie, it's really lucky to meet a head coach like Coach Brown who's willing to give young players opportunities.

I'll keep repaying Coach Brown's trust with my performance on the court."

Su Yi replied.

"Su, how would you evaluate your own performance in this game?"

The blonde reporter continued.

"I didn't play that well. Josh locked me down on the court."

Su Yi answered honestly. In this game, Su Yi had only scored 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal.

After answering a few more questions, Su Yi wrapped up the post-game interview and headed toward the player tunnel.

On the other side of the court, Josh Smith, who had dropped 29 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks tonight, was being interviewed.

During the interview, he couldn't help but mention Su Yi:

"That rookie Su—man, he can really run. He nearly ran me out of breath."

"It looks like I need to go back and seriously train my stamina, or else I won't be able to outrun him next time!"

Josh Smith's tone carried a hint of teasing.

But as soon as he said this, it immediately caught the attention of many media reporters and fans.

Back in the locker room, Su Yi went straight to wash up and change clothes.

After changing, he was the first to head to the parking lot and board the team bus.

As time passed, his teammates filed onto the bus one by one.

The bus lacked its usual lively atmosphere.

After all, losing a game doesn't sit well with anyone.

Once everyone was on board, the bus started up and drove out of the parking lot, heading toward the hotel.