Chapter 18: Driving to the Basket

Chapter 24: Driving to the Basket

"Really well done! That was beautiful! I knew you wouldn't let me down!" After the players left, Stevens pulled Sufeng to his side and hugged him warmly. Sufeng had proven himself not only in the training camp but also in his matchup with the college star, Harlan Gaudy.

"He's not that strong." Unexpectedly, Sufeng wasn't excited about it. He simply spread his arms as if blowing past Harlan Gaudy was only natural.

"Alright, next game you’ll get some rest. Nord, this is your chance. I want you to keep the pressure on Harlan Gaudy. When he’s tired, I’ll send you in. At that point, your job isn’t to blow him up—it’s to rack up points. Understood?" Stevens explained his first substitution, something he didn’t even do with his core player, Gordon Hayward.

Sufeng didn’t say much, just nodded lightly and wiped his face with a towel handed to him by a teammate. Having grown up surrounded by danger and crime, he seemed reluctant to get close to anyone.

But Stevens wasn't worried. As long as the Bulldogs kept playing like this, Sufeng would eventually become part of the team, no doubt about it!

"Luke! Calm down! Keep your cool! You’ve been playing into that newcomer’s hands. Don’t get angry! That’ll just cloud your judgment!" On the other side, Hillbillies coach Tom Crean had to remind his star that the team was now trailing by ten.

Although Indiana University’s golden days were behind them, Butler University would never tolerate being bullied. Tom Crean needed his players to regain their rhythm and confidence, or the game would slip further away.

"I know, Coach, I know… It was my fault just now. I was too eager to teach that kid a lesson. I promise, I won’t let him have another chance!" Luke Harlan Gaudy admitted his mistake, his face dark and clouded. Every veteran relishes putting rookies in their place, but being humiliated by one is a memory best forgotten.

Afterward, Kobe Bryant devised a series of defensive tactics tailored to Sufeng’s style. He knew how to handle guards who loved to drive—keep them out, and their game would fall apart!

Soon, the game resumed. Kobe Bryant was confident his players would quickly close the gap.

That Asian rookie, no matter how strong, was just a newcomer. Harlan Gaudy lost to him because nobody knew what to expect from that guy. But now, with Tom Crean’s promise, the Asian’s reign as the top guard was about to end!

Yet when the Bulldogs returned to the court, Tom Crean was at a loss. Matt Howard, Willie Wesley, Gordon Hayward, and Shelvin Mack were all present, but the first standout was now Ronald Nord!

What did that mean? It meant the defensive arrangements Tom Crean had just made were now useless. Stevens wasn’t allowing Sufeng on the court at all, rendering those plans pointless.

Ronald Nord was a defensive specialist, but his style was completely different from Sufeng’s. He wasn’t as agile, but he shot better from the outside. The tactics for Sufeng didn’t apply to Nord.

Stevens glanced at Kobe Bryant’s bewildered face, and his satisfaction grew. In a few minutes, when Harlan Gaudy came back in, Bryant’s face would only look worse!

"The Bulldogs made an adjustment—Coach Stevens replaced his standout player, who had just been performing so well. In fact, that kid was playing with real fire and Stevens probably should’ve kept him in. But the young manager has been with his team for years, and his decisions always have their reasons."

After the substitutions, the Hillbillies’ offense finally got back on track.

Harlan Gaudy hit a three-pointer from outside, then scored one-on-one in the backcourt against Nord.

The Bulldogs answered back, with Shelvin Mack and Hayward taking it to their opponents. Although the Hillbillies finally put points on the board, the Bulldogs, who had always been leading, remained more aggressive.

Off the court, Sufeng did nothing but quietly observe the unfolding events. Stevens deeply appreciated this quality—only a guard who could read the game truly deserved the point guard spot.

By the fifteenth minute of the first half, Tom Crean had no choice but to substitute the sweat-drenched Harlan Gaudy. Stevens’ eyes lit up and his large hand signaled, "Now, get in!"

"With five minutes left in the first half, the Hillbillies are trailing by eight."

Kobe Bryant barely had time to line up his shot, but still fired instinctively. As soon as the ball left his hand, Sufeng spun around, arms wide, boxing Bryant out to prevent him from grabbing the rebound.

Yet, even with perfect defense, Bryant’s shot found the basket!

"Boom!" The eruption from the Rockets fans nearly knocked Sufeng off his feet.

Bryant swung his arms with force. In that moment, he was king of the world! The entire arena belonged to him alone!

"Incredible, incredible, incredible!" Charles Barkley was left breathless, finding no better word than to repeat “incredible” again and again.

Sufeng’s timely reaction and flawless defense were astonishing. Even more astonishing was that Bryant had managed to get the shot off at all, let alone make it.

With twenty-three seconds left, Carlisle used his final timeout to draw up a play for the team’s last possession. Both sides were under immense pressure; whoever could withstand it would emerge the winner.

"Do you think this game will have a winner?" Kenny Smith was trembling, his heart pounding faster than usual.

"I don’t know if there’ll be a kill shot, but after this is over, both of us might need to go to the hospital for a heart check!" Barkley’s joke lightened the tense atmosphere.

"Two points, not three, that’s the priority! One possession—one basket—we win the game! I don’t care if they erased a twenty-three point lead, or if Brandon Bryant wants to return to his peak! All I care about is that in this last possession, we put the damn ball in the basket! Everyone, run the play! Move without the ball—Jet, Tyson, you set an off-ball screen for Dirk! After the inbound, control the clock and pace, and get the ball to Dirk in the closing seconds. Don’t give the Rockets even a second! They’ll call timeout too, and if they get the ball, they’ll still have a shot from half court. So use up every last second! Let’s seize the win in these forty-eight minutes!"

Carlisle finished, placing his palm in the center. The players, one by one, pressed their hands together in understanding.

"One, two, three…" Gudjohnsen led the shout.