manynovel Chapter 595 What is an Olympic Champion? One Sentence Makes the Referee Tremble
Chapter 595 What is an Olympic Champion? One Sentence Makes the Referee Tremble
"Fantastic! A perfect first half!" Kenny shouted excitedly after the first half ended. "Although neither side's tactics were particularly sophisticated, and there weren't any complex runs or mechanically functioning systems."
"But this kind of high-octane, star-studded duel and ultra-fast offensive and defensive transitions are truly the kind of games that easily send adrenaline levels soaring!"
"I love this kind of competition!"
"Me too!" Barkley exclaimed excitedly. "This game was like a top-notch popcorn movie—simple, direct, and exhilarating! You might not learn any profound knowledge, principles, or life lessons from it, but it was just so much fun!"
"Why should I listen to lectures when I watch movies? Why should I watch those art films, romance films, and ethical dramas that I don't understand? I watch movies to enjoy myself! It's the same with basketball!"
"Of course, we're not saying that highbrow, sophisticated movies or mechanically precise basketball are bad!" Kenny quickly added after Barkley finished speaking. "It's purely a matter of taste; neither is inherently superior to the other!"
"Let's take a look at the data for both sides." Seeing that Barkley wanted to continue with the topic that was offensive and likely to attract complaints, Kenny quickly changed the subject.
Just kidding, if you get a complaint, I'll be fined too! We'll talk about that later!
"Alright." Barkley, knowing the gravity of the situation, could only sigh and say, "Both teams played flawlessly in the first half tonight! Lin scored a game-high 31 points, along with 6 assists and 5 rebounds!"
"Tonight, he will most likely get a triple-double again. Stoudemire will also score 11 points, and Anthony will score 13 points. The Knicks' Big Three will combine to score 100 points again tonight."
"The Wizards' three sharpshooters are equally formidable!" Kenny continued, "Arenas' performance was second only to Lin. He scored 20 points in the first quarter, and although he only scored 8 points in the second quarter, he always stepped up to save the team whenever they encountered difficulties, hitting the crucial shots!"
"In addition to his 28 points, he also dished out 6 assists! Arenas had another career-best first half tonight!"
"Furthermore, Butler scored the team's second-highest 15 points, Jamison had 12 points and 7 rebounds, and the musketeers here are also ready to combine for 100 points!"
"The Wizards' problem is still with their bench. Tonight, only Daniels scored 4 points off the bench, and all the other players didn't score a single point! Of course, this is largely due to Arenas playing the entire first half, and Jamison and Butler both playing 20 minutes."
"When the starters play longer, the role players naturally get fewer opportunities, and the Knicks are no exception!"
Barkley looked at the stats and nodded, saying, "But the difference is that you'll believe the Knicks' bench players will step up and help the team at some point, just like they have done throughout the regular season."
"But the Wizards' bench really doesn't have anyone who can step up. They're genuinely short-handed; they can only rely on their three musketeers!"
"If Arenas and the other two lose their touch and start missing shots, the Wizards will be in trouble!"
"Therefore, the biggest question in the second half is how long the Wizards' three players can hold on, and whether they can persevere until the end of the game and secure a victory for their team!"
Let's wait and see!
During halftime, neither coach made any tactical arrangements, as they were quite satisfied with their players' performance.
They played everything they were supposed to, but failed to take the lead because their opponents played too well. Both teams are known for their strong offense and weak defense, so should they strengthen their defense in the second half?
Both coaches thought it would be better to let them rest and then continue shooting in the second half!
That's much more reliable than cramming for defense at the last minute.
The 15-minute halftime break passed in the blink of an eye, and the starting players from both sides took to the field again.
The game continued for the final 24 minutes!
At the start of the third quarter, both teams seemed to have had too much rest and couldn't find their rhythm immediately, with a series of loud 'bang bang bang' sounds coming from the court.
The score remained tied until three minutes into the third quarter when Arenas finally broke the deadlock!
This guy made several fake moves outside the three-point line but couldn't fool Lin Tian, so he had no choice but to force his way through.
Without shaking off Lin Tian at all, this guy brute-forced his way to the basket and then jumped up.
On the other side, Lin Tian was perfectly positioned, raising both hands to take up the defensive position. In fact, relying on his superior physical qualities and strength, Lin Tian knocked Arenas off balance during the aerial confrontation. Before the ball even left his hand, Arenas looked like he was about to fall.
Left with no other option, Arenas could only rely on his instincts and casually toss the ball toward the basket.
"Whoosh!"
After a crisp sound, Arenas' shot finally went in!
This was the first point for both sides in the second half!
After hitting that shot, Arenas was absolutely ecstatic!
He yelled at Lin Tian, "Come on! Stop me! Come on! Nobody can stop me! I'm the best in the world!"
Hearing Arenas' provocation, Lin Tian was not about to let it go. He brought the ball to the frontcourt and signaled everyone to spread out.
He actually missed two shots in a row in the third quarter, so this time, Lin Tian drove the ball directly into the Wizards' three-second zone!
After the Knicks missed several shots, the Wizards decisively collapsed their defense, with all four players clustered around the three-second zone.
Just as Lin Tian rushed in, Haywood, Jeffries, and Jamison came running towards him, with Arenas following closely behind.
Faced with four players surrounding him, Lin Tian did not choose to pass the ball. Instead, he jumped up and pretended to shoot, but the basketball did not go towards the rim. Instead, it hit the backboard directly.
With a muffled thud, the basketball returned almost the same way it came.
Before the four Wizards players could react to what Lin Tian was about to do, Lin Tian had already rushed to the basket, jumped again, tapped the basketball with one hand, and successfully put the ball in!
"Four people aren't enough, bring on the others!" After managing to score two points with great difficulty, Lin Tian was now really determined. He gritted his teeth and launched a group taunt at the Wizards players!
"How about I send two more of you, seven against one?"
After successfully taking on four opponents at once, Lin Tian got really into the game.
With both leaders getting a little carried away, the other players will naturally be inspired to fight back as well!
So the third quarter of the game turned out to be quite bloody!
The intensity of the physical confrontation between the two sides was immediately maximized, and the movements on both sides became increasingly aggressive!
The problem is that neither of these teams are defensive teams; they are not good at defense.
When a team that isn't good at defense goes all out on defense, it can be terrifying!
It wasn't the intensity of the defense that was terrifying, but rather the sheer scale of the physical confrontation!
As the fighting continued, scoring became the primary objective for both sides!
You just hit me twice in the back, so this time I'm going to hit you three times!
You just elbowed me, now I'm going to knee you in the thigh!
The two sides have already started hand-to-hand combat!
It's still the purest, least technically demanding kind of hand-to-hand combat, purely for the sake of physical fighting!
The referee's whistle blew incessantly during this quarter, and the number of fouls on both sides increased rapidly!
At the same time, because both sides focused too much on the physical competition, their scoring efficiency also began to decline. Whether it was Lin Tian, Arenas, or anyone else, everyone's shooting percentage dropped significantly.
In this quarter, both sides only scored 25 points!
They tied 25-25!
While this efficiency is still good compared to most teams in the league, given the pace and style of these two teams, 35 points would be their normal score!
93: 93!
At the end of the third quarter, the score was still tied!
In the fourth quarter, the two teams continued to fight fiercely, maintaining their competitive edge.
However, the difference is that, on the Knicks' side, besides keeping Lin Tian to target Arenas and stabilize the rhythm and situation at least, Nelson allowed the other four players to rotate and rest constantly. This way, when the game came to the final moments, the Knicks would have an absolute advantage in terms of physical strength.
On the Wizards' side, Eddie Jordan would never dare to take any more players off the court, not even for a second. He knew how big the gap was between his starters and bench players, and he only dared to make minor adjustments, such as replacing Haywood with Don Thomas or replacing Jeffries with Daniels.
Firstly, to test whether the new players can adapt to the physicality, and secondly, to allow the role players to rest as much as possible, while also avoiding the trouble caused by the following fouls!
Yes, both teams have committed a lot of fouls right now.
However, at the same time, the number of free throws on both sides was not very high.
There is only one reason for this situation.
There were too many non-shooting fouls on both sides during off-ball contact.
Only foul, don't go to the free throw line.
It's not that either side is deliberately pulling off this high-level maneuver; neither team's players have that kind of skill.
This situation occurs purely because the defensive movements on both sides are too large. When the opponent moves and they can't keep up, they subconsciously reach out to pull or tug at them.
The increase in off-ball fouls can indicate both a high level of defensive intensity on both sides and a lack of exceptional defensive capabilities on both sides!
After both sides fell into this competitive trap, their scoring efficiency remained low, and neither side was able to widen the score gap.
This entanglement continued until the last minute of the fourth quarter!
The score is still tied!
111: 111!
So far in this quarter, both sides have only scored 18 points each!
Their offensive efficiency decreased from one quarter to the next!
But I dare not say anything, the game has reached its most critical moment!
The final minute, the ultimate battle!
Just then, Eddie Jordan called a timeout. The Wizards inbounded the ball from the sideline, and Arenas received the ball near the center line. Lin Tian quickly moved forward, giving Arenas no chance to receive the ball.
Arenas didn't force it. He quickly passed the ball to Butler, who was coming up to receive it, and at the same time, he took off charging towards the inside, yelling, "Ball! Damn ball!"
Even if Butler isn't good at passing, he knows he should pass the ball to his leader at this moment. He hands the ball to Arenas and at the same time turns his body to block Lin Tian from below!
"FUXX!" This obvious moving screen hit Lin Tian hard, but he didn't have time to complain to the referee. Instead, he sped up to chase Arenas who was rushing towards the basket!
Arenas didn't have time to see where Lin Tian was chasing behind him. He only knew to accelerate to the maximum, get to the basket as quickly as possible, and then jump and shoot a layup!
"Snapped!"
In that instant, Arenas felt a dark shadow fall from the sky, and then he could only watch as the basketball was slapped out of bounds!
Only Lin Tian can do this!
But Lin Tian, having just completed the block, didn't even have time to be happy.
Because the referee blew the whistle!
"Beep! Hand foul! Two free throws!" With 45 seconds left in the game, the referee gave Arenas two free throw opportunities!
"The referee's gone mad!" Barkley exclaimed. "I've never seen a cleaner block! He hit my hand? How could he hit my hand? Arenas' fingernails are two meters long, or is the basketball Arenas' hand?"
"That call was really stupid!" Kenny added. "Butler's screen was clearly a moving screen, but I think it's normal that it wasn't called! At times like this, the players should have the final say in deciding the game!"
"But that foul call on the enforcer was absolutely stupid!"
With the commentators' words and the replay on the big screen, everyone could see that it was a misjudgment!
But in today's world without challenges, the rule on the basketball court has always been: if the referee doesn't call it, it's a good play; if the referee does call it, the call can't be overturned!
Humans are not machines; misjudgments and omissions are common occurrences!
"Josh, go find out where this referee's wife and daughter live, and find me a few Mafia or gangsters to wipe them all out!" Old Nelson sat on the bench, cursing and pulling Smith over to give him instructions.
"Okay, shall we go now? We need to go back to the locker room first, I didn't get my phone." Smith got excited as soon as he heard this, and stood up to go back to the locker room.
"Sit down, you son of a bitch!" Old Nelson was so angry his stomach hurt.
Damn it, they're really going!
On the court, Anthony, Stoudemire, and others spread their hands in dissatisfaction, demanding to know why the referee made that call. They didn't understand, and couldn't understand.
Such a great block, and you're just giving me a thumbs-up?
On the contrary, Lin Tian, the person involved, was quite relaxed. He stepped forward and stopped Stoudemire and Anthony, telling them to shut up, and then blocked them behind him.
Then Lin Tian looked at the referee and said, "I hope it's an accident and that it won't happen again."
After saying that, Lin Tian patted his two younger brothers, signaling them to leave. As for Lin Tian himself, he stood under the basket, ready to grab a rebound.
Lin Tian's indifference and tone just now really made the baseline referee's entire back drenched in sweat.
The scariest thing is when someone only says half of what they mean!
Why did you only say "don't let it happen again"?
Tell me, what will you do if there's a next time?
Next time, are you going to beat me up or wipe out my whole family? Next time, are you going to keep tolerating this or are you going to file a complaint with the league?
Explain yourself!
Hanging someone like that will give them nightmares!
What's even more upsetting is that Lin Tian came to persuade his teammates to leave. He only said one sentence, without any profanity, threats, or disrespect.
Given Lin Tian's status, after a clear misjudgment, why would he let the referee give him a technical foul just to vent his anger?
Anyway, the referees tonight don't dare to do it; they're afraid too.
Lin Tian obviously couldn't hear the referee's inner screams at this moment.
But Lin Tian was absolutely confident in his intimidation power, and he was certain that the Knicks would receive preferential treatment in the rest of tonight's game!
Do you even know what the intimidation power of an Olympic champion is?
Arenas secured the ball and calmly made both free throws, giving the Wizards a two-point lead.
"Come on, Lin! Come on!" Having taken the lead this time, Arenas regained his courage and yelled at Lin Tian, "I want to see how you beat me!"
But this time, Lin Tian ignored him.
He quickly went to the baseline to get the basketball, then accelerated and dribbled to the frontcourt in the first instant.
At a 45-degree angle on the left, Lin Tian paused slightly. After a brief pause in his right hand, Lin Tian suddenly changed direction and once again easily passed Arenas, who was defending him seriously!
He swiftly drove into the paint, and facing Haywood's help defense, Lin Tian leaped up, raising the ball high behind his head with one hand, while boldly pressing down on Haywood's shoulder with the other. Then, with a sudden burst of power and a roar, Lin Tian fiercely pinned Haywood to the ground!
Then, with his left hand holding the ball, he slammed the basketball into the basket like he was throwing a bomb!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, Lin Tian completed a stunning dunk, tying the score once again!
"Come on! Come on!" This time it was Lin Tian's turn to roar at the entire Wizards team. His grimacing appearance was just like an invincible ancient demon god. At this moment, not only Arenas, but the entire Wizards team obediently chose to be quiet.
Fortunately, Eddie Jordan called a timeout, and the group of players fled back to the bench as quickly as they could.
Lin Tian's eyes and aura were terrifying!
Some people even felt that their basketball shorts were a little wet.
But regardless, with only 28 seconds left in the game, the Wizards still have possession of the ball!
They have a chance to kill the game! Even if they make a mistake on their next possession, as long as they run down the clock, the Knicks will only have 3-4 seconds left.
The Wizards have now truly taken control of the game!
Even if it's just a tiny bit, it's still a grasp, isn't it?
Eddie Jordan quickly devised a strategy, aiming to have Arenas deliver the decisive blow.
"Lin's play was potentially an offensive foul!" Kenny said, watching the replay on the big screen. "But the referee was right not to call it."
"They already called a good block as a foul on the last play. If they call Lin's dunk on the next possession, I think these referees will be spat on when they go to New York, and no business in New York will serve them."
Barkley said, "But in the end, the Wizards benefited more! They had an offensive turnover, and the Knicks had possession to take the lead, but a wrong call gave them an undeserved lead."
"And even now, they still have a chance to kill the game. If I were Stern, I would fine that referee a hefty sum! This wrong call was absolutely outrageous, and I hope that such a basic mistake won't happen again in the upcoming matches!"
With the two players analyzing and studying the situation, the match pause ended, and all ten players from both sides returned to the field.
Coincidentally, both coaches were quite in sync at this moment, fielding their own starting lineups!
The real life-or-death moment has arrived! (End of Chapter)