The course of the subsequent game completely confirmed Barkley's judgment.
As the second-year team intensified their defense, the technological gap between the two sides in the halftime offensive battle was magnified.
The freshman team's offense was almost stuck in a fixed cycle: LeBron James would receive the ball at the top of the arc and try to organize the offense, but due to the lack of threat from outside shooting, the sophomore team's defenders all stayed just inside the three-point line. LeBron James couldn't penetrate, and could only pass the ball to Anthony on the wing or Hinrich in the corner when the 24-second shot clock was about to expire, hoping that his teammates would rely on their individual abilities to take those difficult shots.
Throughout the latter part of the first half, Anthony became the most exhausted player. He had to repeatedly pull up for jump shots with only three or four seconds left on the shot clock, facing tight defense from Prince or Butler in the midfield. Although Anthony managed to sink three difficult mid-range shots thanks to his solid jab steps and soft touch, he mostly missed shots under double-team pressure.
With three minutes remaining in the second quarter, LeBron James, after his drive was thwarted once again, passed the blame for the final four seconds to Anthony in the right corner. Anthony hastily took a shot that missed, and while retreating on defense, he finally couldn't help but shrug at LeBron James: " LeBron, if there's no opportunity over there, pass the ball to me earlier, don't wait until the clock is about to go off!"
LeBron James looked a little embarrassed and could only purse his lips and pat his chest to indicate that he was wrong.
At the other end of the court, Wade demonstrated to the American audience what true "hard-solving ability" really means.
Facing the relentless defense of the first-year team's Hinrich and Josh Howard, and even Bosh's double-team delay, they were outmatched.
In the final two minutes of the second quarter, Hinrich and Bosh double-teamed Wade at the top of the key, trying to force him to stop and pass the ball. However, the instant the two closed in, Wade executed an extremely low and quick crossover dribble with his right hand, followed by a behind-the-back dribble, shifting his weight almost to the floor and squeezing through the less than half-meter-wide gap between Hinrich and Bosh!
After breaking through the double team, Wade drove straight to the free-throw line. Facing Anthony's help defense and Chris Kaman under the basket, Wade pushed off the ground with both feet and Crash, bracing himself against Anthony's body in mid-air. He pulled the ball from his waist to the other side with his right hand, and as he was falling almost off balance, he made a reverse layup!
"Beep!!!"
The referee blows the whistle, the goal stands, but a penalty kick is added!
A gasp erupted from the 20,000 spectators at Staples Center. Garnett, sitting on the sidelines, jumped up from his seat, waving a towel and yelling at the crowd.
"This is the toughness he developed in Boston," Barkley exclaimed from the commentary booth, shaking his head repeatedly. "Look at Dwyane's drives. When the play can't be executed and the defender is right in his face, he can use his first step, his crossover, and his aerial prowess to force his way through and score, or draw three defenders and then feed the ball to Yao Ming. And look at LeBron on the other side. As long as Wade and Prince block his driving lanes, he can't do anything against the second-year team's defense except for passing on the perimeter."
After halftime, the first-year team attempted a comeback in the second half.
The highly competitive LeBron James volunteered to switch onto Wade midway through the third quarter, hoping to use his height and weight advantage to regain the upper hand in one-on-one defense.
All the cameras immediately focused on the two people at the top of the arc.
Wade stopped the ball outside the three-point line, looked at LeBron James who had lowered his center of gravity, and slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
LeBron James stared at Wade's shoulders, spreading his arms to block both sides.
Wade took two probing steps to the right with his right foot.
LeBron James, wary of Wade's speed, shifted his weight back slightly by half an inch.
In that instant, Wade's forward-leaning body suddenly swayed slightly to change direction, and then he pushed off the ground with his right foot. His first step, like a black lightning bolt, swept past LeBron James ' left hip! LeBron James quickly turned and moved sideways, trying to bump Wade with his chest, but Wade suddenly stopped and stepped back while moving at high speed, his shoes making a crisp swishing sound on the floor.
LeBron James's momentum was so strong that he slid two steps forward and completely lost his defensive position.
Wade stood firmly in the right elbow area, unguarded, and calmly jumped to shoot.
"Whoosh!"
Hollow core into the net.
Before the rookie team could even catch their breath, in the next possession, LeBron James attempted to retaliate by one-on-one against Wade at the top of the arc in the same manner.
LeBron James drove hard to the right, pressing down on Wade. Just as James took his second step and was about to unleash his power, Wade suddenly anticipated James's habitual movement of pulling the ball back to his waist with his right hand. James extended his right hand half a beat in advance, his fingers precisely slicing the bottom of the basketball!
"Smack!"
Wade sliced the basketball away!
Wade scooped up the bouncing ball and surged ahead towards the empty frontcourt. Facing LeBron James chasing him with all his might, Wade took a step inside the free-throw line, jumped on one foot, stretched out his body in the air, and slammed the ball into the basket with his right hand, drawing a large windmill trajectory in the air!
"Boom!"
The score was changed to 112-90, with the difference widening to 22 points.
This steal and subsequent one-handed windmill dunk completely drained the freshman team's last bit of spirit. In the following ten minutes, Wade not only scored at will but also delivered four consecutive alley-oop passes to Stoudamire cutting to the basket and Yao Ming under the rim, turning Staples Center into a dunking showcase for the sophomores.
When the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard showed 142 to 118.
The sophomore team, with a massive 24-point advantage, utterly crushed the arrogant Class of 2003 in front of nationally televised cameras.
Throughout the game, LeBron James scored 18 points, but only made 7 of 19 shots, along with a team-high 6 turnovers. Carmelo Anthony scored 17 points on 8 of 20 shots.
Dwyane Wade played only 30 minutes, shooting 14-for-18 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, scoring a game-high 32 points, along with 9 assists and 4 steals.
When David Stern walked to the center of the court and handed the Rookie Challenge MVP crystal trophy to Wade, Wade deliberately bent down, patted his silver and black Converse sneakers, and flashed a bright smile at the long line of cameras on the sidelines.
On the sidelines not far away, several Nike marketing executives left early with grim faces.
Lin Qi, who was sitting in the center of the first row, stood up with a smile and gave a light round of applause for his own point guard in the center of the court.