Step-back

"Swish! Swish! Swish!" The basketball passed through the net and dropped to the ground.

Seeing another clean, crisp long-range shot go in, Fang Wei, who had already rushed beneath the basket to fight for the rebound, immediately stopped and gave Zhu Zhan a thumbs-up. Grinning broadly, he said, "Brother, beautifully done!"

This time, Xiao Ke did not say anything. He merely snorted coldly with an ugly expression and turned to stride quickly beyond the half-court line.

Old Ma under the basket tossed the ball to Xiao Ke, who was already at midcourt, then quickly ran up to support him. After Xiao Ke inbounded the ball to Old Ma, Old Ma swiftly passed it back into Xiao Ke's hands.

Old Ma himself ran toward the top of the three-point arc, toward Zhu Zhan's position.

This time, Zhu Zhan did not stand behind Old Ma to defend him. Instead, he chose to stand parallel to him.

Based on his observations, with Old Ma's speed and physical condition, even from this position, Zhu Zhan could still keep up and quickly close in to defend even if Old Ma moved first.

Moreover, this positioning had another advantage: it could prevent Old Ma and Xiao Ke from running another pick-and-roll.

If they tried to set another screen, Zhu Zhan could go around in front of Old Ma and quickly body up Xiao Ke before the screen was established.

Seeing Old Ma come out from beneath the basket, Xiao Ke immediately dribbled toward him, making it look as though the two were about to run another pick-and-roll. Yuan'er's first-step speed was clearly nowhere near Xiao Ke's level, so Xiao Ke shook Yuan'er off with a burst of acceleration.

Just as their screen was about to form, Zhu Zhan suddenly stepped forward first, instantly cutting in front of Old Ma, who had already set his screen. He directly pressed up against Xiao Ke, who was dribbling toward him. Xiao Ke's brows immediately furrowed. He knew it was no longer possible to use Old Ma's screen, so he hurriedly created some distance and gave up on it.

Xiao Ke's reaction had to be said to be extremely quick. When he saw Zhu Zhan move in front of Old Ma, Xiao Ke took two short steps backward, then immediately headed toward the left corner.

Zhu Zhan hurriedly stepped forward again to catch up with Xiao Ke and stayed tight on him, giving Xiao Ke no room at all to shoot.

Xiao Ke switched the ball to his left hand and took two huge strides toward the corner. Seeing Zhu Zhan immediately stick to him from the corner of his eye, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he sneered inwardly.

One step, two steps.

His stride was wide, and he was fast. After two strides, he was already very close to the left corner. But at that moment, he stopped moving toward the corner and abruptly pulled up again.

After stopping short, his feet did not pause. He quickly shifted his center of gravity and took a large step backward.

Still his signature move: the step-back jumper!

But this time, he moved faster than before, his step was larger, and his feint was even more convincing.

After taking that big step back, a confident smile appeared on his face. He grabbed the ball with both hands, naturally bent his knees, and with a "swish," the basketball flew from his hands.

Xiao Ke had tremendous confidence in his step-back jumper. As long as he completed the entire sequence in one smooth motion, the odds of him making the shot were extremely high.

He believed there would be no exception this time either.

So what if this guy named Zhu Zhan had made two straight shots? He could do the same.

Besides, the first time, he had used a step-back jumper and made the shot right in front of his opponent's eyes. This second time, he would still use a step-back jumper and make it again.

What better way was there than humiliating his opponent twice with the same move?

The moment the ball left his hands, Xiao Ke came back down. With intense confidence at the corner of his mouth, he looked up at the ball in the air, waiting for it to swish through the net again.

But at that moment, while the basketball was still rising after leaving his hand, Xiao Ke suddenly saw a tall, slender figure appear in his field of vision.

That figure leaped into the air and actually intercepted his already-released shot right there in midair. The height he reached was so shocking it was frightening.

"Bang!"

With a muffled bang, the basketball sailing through the air seemed to turn into a volleyball, violently slapped away by the outstretched hand of that soaring figure.

Then, that tall figure drifted lightly back down to the ground.

Looking at Zhu Zhan standing right in front of him, Xiao Ke's expression instantly turned incomparably ugly. His eyes were filled with stunned disbelief, and even his breathing became rapid.

"You... How is that possible..."

Xiao Ke's eyes were wide as he stared fixedly at Zhu Zhan before him. No matter what, he could not believe that Zhu Zhan had given him such a monstrous block.

He had clearly seen Zhu Zhan following him. His sudden stop should have made Zhu Zhan lose defensive position, and combined with that huge step-back, it should have created plenty of room for him to shoot.

And he had performed that entire sequence without the slightest hesitation.

Yet in the end, how had his shot still been blocked?

The distance between Zhu Zhan and himself after Zhu Zhan landed was less than a meter. What did that mean? It meant that his sudden stop and huge step-back had not truly created enough separation from this guy. Then, relying on his astonishing vertical leap, this guy had forcibly blocked the shot Xiao Ke had been certain would go in.

How was that possible?

Fang Wei and the other three, who had witnessed the scene as well, stood frozen in place, their eyes filled with utter shock.

If Xiao Ke had not seen the full process of what had just happened, then the three of them, who had been farther away the entire time, had seen everything clearly.

At the instant Xiao Ke stopped short, Zhu Zhan, who was chasing him, had not used a normal movement pattern. Instead, he had used a slide step. This meant that when Xiao Ke stopped, Zhu Zhan did not immediately lose defensive position, while also quickly adjusting his center of gravity.

Thus, when Xiao Ke quickly stepped back, Zhu Zhan did not waste any time adjusting his balance again. Nor was he thrown off by his body's momentum. Instead, the moment he saw Xiao Ke step back, Zhu Zhan reacted immediately, stepped forward, and stayed within one meter of Xiao Ke.

If Xiao Ke had used a shooting feint at that point, there was a ninety percent chance Zhu Zhan would have been faked into jumping, perhaps giving Xiao Ke a better shooting opportunity.

But Xiao Ke did not. He was too confident in his sudden stop and step-back. He was certain Zhu Zhan would not keep up with his move and would definitely be shaken off, so at the very instant he stepped back, he went straight into his shooting motion.

And in the end, he gifted Zhu Zhan with a thunderous, sky-high block!