Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Fearless King

From the start of the final period, Nelson did not send Lin Fei back onto the court. On the bench, Lin Fei buried his head in his hands. Clearly, he was truly in pain, and it was impossible to tell whether it came from torment in his heart or from the pain in his head.

The game went on. The Warriors’ strength was not due to Lin Fei alone. In truth, the first game had only been a period of adjustment, a chance to learn how to play without him. By the second game, the team’s approach in his absence had become much clearer, and their offense naturally flowed more smoothly than it had in the opener.

Lin Fei found himself remembering many things.

As a true superstar, you have to believe this: even if you miss ninety-nine shots, you must still believe the hundredth one will go in.

The fourth quarter remained brutally close, with the biggest lead being no more than four points.

Throughout the fourth, Lin Fei stayed firmly glued to the bench. He tried to comfort himself, thinking perhaps this was better for the team anyway. He himself still did not know whether he could stand steadily on the court.

Looking at the scoreboard, it was hard to believe this was a playoff game. With less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, the score was already tied at 120-120. Only the Warriors could produce such astonishing numbers. Their pace was fast, their possessions came in waves, and in these playoffs where defense was worshiped above all else, scoring so many points was truly no easy feat.

In the final minute, Nelson still did not put Lin Fei in. Lin Fei figured his chances in this game were probably gone. Yet for some reason, after learning he would not play, he felt a strange sense of relief. All that mattered now was helping his team win however he could.

At that moment, Durant of the Thunder showed once again why he was a superstar in the clutch, sinking a critical two-pointer. The Thunder led by two, and the balance of the game tilted back toward them.

The Warriors did not call a timeout, because there were still more than twenty seconds left, enough time for one more possession. Curry brought the ball up. With Lin Fei gone, the team had returned to its wing-centered style. The ball was given to Jobs, who turned to go one-on-one, then passed it back out to Curry on the perimeter. Curry caught it and shot decisively, but the ball did not drop. Although Curry’s three-point shooting was excellent by league standards, his ability to deliver in the clutch was still on a different level from Lin Fei’s. His miss in the previous game had only made everyone yearn even more for that steady killer, and at this moment what each person in their heart imagined needed no words.

The Thunder took possession. Westbrook held the ball at midcourt, draining the clock. Curry stayed glued to him, allowing not even the slightest lapse. If the Thunder scored here, it would almost be a death sentence for the Warriors. If they missed, the Warriors would still have one last chance either to win it or to tie.

Westbrook drove for a layup. Curry did not stop him, but Keynes came over to help after the drive. As Westbrook rose, Keynes used his height and wingspan to crowd his space. It was a heavy contact play, very much the sort that might have been called a foul, but since this was the Warriors’ home court, the officials did not blow the whistle. Westbrook’s layup missed, and Claudson secured the rebound firmly.

Nelson hurriedly called his final timeout.

Yet after the timeout, it felt as if Nelson had arranged no real play at all. He simply said a few words to his players.

Still, when the players returned to the floor, everyone saw that the familiar figure from the game’s final moments had appeared once again.

Lin Fei.

Yes, it was Lin Fei.

Nelson even took Claudson out and brought in Curry. On the floor now were Lin Fei, Jobs, X, Curry, and Keynes. Every one of them could shoot from long range, greatly extending the spacing and increasing the chances of a clean look.

Jobs inbounded the ball. Lin Fei stood almost motionless on the court, while Curry and Keynes darted furiously to shake free of their defenders. Perkins was out on the perimeter, harassing the inbound.

Only one second remained.

Down two to nothing, the Thunder would head home with the clear advantage. If they won this one, the series would begin all over again.

In the nearly silent arena, everyone wished they had some kind of superpower, a way to know what would happen in the next second.

Many people did not believe in Lin Fei, and from a professional standpoint, that skepticism made sense. When Lin Fei delivered a buzzer-beater, it was usually because he had enough time to control the ball himself. But now there was only one second left. He was sure to be the key focus of the defense. Simply catching the pass would be difficult, and even if he did catch it, it would be hard for him to create enough space to shoot. Taken as a whole, a catch-and-shoot winner was not Lin Fei’s specialty.

His stillness only deepened a strange sense of panic in Scott Brooks. This was not how the league’s most accurate shooter and most lethal clutch scorer should look in a moment like this.

The Warriors kept moving, but the Thunder’s five men on the floor defended with suffocating discipline. Many people had also begun to question Nelson’s decision-making. With no big man on the floor at the end, the opponent’s defensive range was enormous. They could almost cover all four of the smaller players at once. Could this possibly work?

Westbrook stood dead in front of Lin Fei, cutting off the passing lane, not relaxing for even a single second.

Lin Fei still did not move.

The inbound was about to become a five-second violation.

Jobs still could not find anyone to pass to.

Victory was leaning more and more toward the Thunder.

Then Lin Fei suddenly moved, cutting toward the backcourt near midcourt. Because he had been motionless for so long, Westbrook’s instincts lagged just a moment.

Westbrook’s first impression was wrong.

It was over.

Jobs passed to Lin Fei.

Lin Fei caught the ball with his back still to the basket. By the time he had it, there were only 0.3 seconds left.

He jumped, spun in the air, and released in one fluid motion. It was not a high leap, nor was there much fadeaway to it. But he had already shaken free of his defender, so neither was necessary. The only thing that showed the difficulty was that Lin Fei had made a turn of only a fraction of a second before releasing the shot. The ball left his fingertips just as the clock on the backboard hit zero.

Expectation.

The arc of the ball in flight.

Everyone watched as it drew closer and closer to the rim. Nearer and nearer. The trajectory seemed to become straighter and straighter.

Oh! A 180-degree turn in the air, an incredibly difficult shot. There was truly nothing like it in the league.

Buzzer-beater! Buzzer-beater! Buzzer-beater!

Everyone surged toward Lin Fei. The frail boy was instantly crushed flat in the crowd.

Perhaps he had been trapped in the middle too long. Before long, Lin Fei actually fainted.

Everyone understood at last what Lin Fei had borne in that final moment. They could only marvel at Nelson’s masterpiece, sending Lin Fei onto the floor in the very last second. Perhaps Lin Fei’s stamina had been enough to support only that one second. One could only say: a king fears nothing.

He scored only three points in the whole game. And yet everyone knew who the biggest hero of this battle was.

A brilliant glow. That shot was very likely to be selected as one of the most iconic buzzer-beaters in league history. Lin Fei had once again added a line to the record books.

But bad news came right after. Lin Fei had played six minutes in the second game. There was a slight bruise in his brain. It would not affect anything seriously, but it would be best if he did not play in the next game.

Nelson did not know whether to laugh or cry. Neither did anyone else. Lin Fei, however, merely smiled faintly.

This was his first playoff victory, and he would remember it forever.