Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 1129 Have you forgotten that I'm not dead yet?

It wasn't until this point that everyone realized that Lin Tian wasn't the only member of the Chinese team experiencing physical problems.

Xu Yong wasn't much better off!

Although he rested for a long time at the end of the third quarter, and although Lin Tian tried his best to reduce his burden, and he himself paid close attention to the distribution of his physical strength, Xu Yong was still the player with the second most playing time for the Chinese team tonight.

And as long as he's on the court, he'll have to face off against James, Durant, or Anthony—three of the most famous and offensively potent forwards on this year's US team.

Whether on offense or defense, Xu Yong was almost always operating at full power or even above power.

It's just that Lin Tian's goal was too big, so many people overlooked Xu Yong's comeback and the exhaustion he suffered. Even Xu Yong himself forgot that when he went to rest in the third quarter, he was so tired that he couldn't straighten his back.

Therefore, when facing the full-court press and Anthony's intense physical play, Xu Yong forgot that he was also at his limit.

Then, he fell and almost made a mistake.

"It's alright." Lin Tian's hand appeared in front of Xu Yong, and he pulled him up. "As long as you got it back, it's fine. Even if you couldn't get it back, it's okay. You did a great job."

"I can do even better!" Xu Yong, who had been pulled up, said to Lin Tian, ​​"I can perform even better."

"I believe in you." Lin Tian ruffled the guy's hair and said, "Let's start by winning the jump ball?"

"It starts with winning the face-off!"

Xu Yong nodded heavily, then stopped talking. After catching his breath, he stepped onto the free-throw line, where the contest for the ball would take place.

Anthony and Xu Yong stood on opposite sides of the free-throw line, both focused on the basketball in the referee's hands, without exchanging trash talk. They both knew how important this possession was.

"beep!"

As soon as the referee blew his whistle, the two players shot up like rockets, reaching for the basketball to grab it.

The two players touched the basketball at almost the same time, indicating that they are roughly equal in terms of jumping ability and speed.

But then, after Anthony had reached the highest point he could jump and started to fall, Xu Yong pulled himself up a few centimeters into the air.

He could jump higher than Anthony, and the result of that was that he ultimately controlled the basketball. After he pushed it a few centimeters into the air, Anthony, who hadn't even had a chance to exert his strength, could no longer touch the basketball.

With a "snap," the basketball was passed by Xu Yong to Sun Yue behind him.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Even though Xu Yong was exhausted, he still had his signature skill: he could jump!

After receiving the ball, Sun Yue paused to steady himself, still not in a hurry. The entire Chinese team had now reached a consensus: to play slowly!

Sun Yue held the ball and waited for a moment, then suddenly made an inside pass, passing the ball to Yi Jianlian under the basket.

After making a series of fakes to the left and right while facing Love, Yi Jianlian suddenly dribbled, turned around, and created distance before launching a mid-range jump shot.

"Whoosh!"

It's in!

"Great shot! Tough! This is exactly the kind of tough play China needs right now! That goal was really inspiring!" Zhang Weiping shouted. "Keep chasing! And Lin Tian didn't even touch the ball this time."

"I think this was intentional on the part of the Chinese team. They wanted to let Lin Tian rest on the court and minimize his physical exertion, so that even if he was playing, he could still recover some of his energy."

"Especially since this is Lin Tian!" Yu Jia added, "Even if our lads openly tell the American team that Lin Tian isn't attacking and is just resting here, would the American team dare to let him go? Would the American team dare to leave Lin Tian here alone and unattended?"

"Not only would they not dare, they would also have to send their strongest defensive player to stand in the corner with Lin Tian and stand there dumbfounded."

「打过篮球的人都知道，4打4和5打5，在难度上是完全不同的！4打4要容易得多！野球场如此，世界最顶级的职业赛场也是一样的。」

"That's right!" Zhang Weiping said, "And Lin Tian can't actually go down to rest. If Lin Tian goes down to rest at this time, then whether it's Wang Shipeng or Zhou Peng standing in the corner, the American team can ignore him under certain circumstances and free up manpower to put pressure on the ball handler."

"Then the current slight balance in the Chinese team will disappear! So Lin Tian must be on the field now, and he must also rest. These two seemingly contradictory facts are now happening right before our eyes."

"Not only did it happen right before our eyes, but our lads did both of those things! Absolutely fantastic! Regardless of the outcome tonight, I'm incredibly proud of our lads!"

"Now let's see how long the Chinese team can hold out without Lin Tian, ​​and see if they can withstand the American team's onslaught until Lin Tian recovers his strength."

In the following period, the Chinese team almost played exceptionally well. They withstood the terrifying offensive and defensive intensity of the American team, watching as the American team made substitutions and adjustments time and time again. In the end, the American team gradually switched back to their best lineup of the night.

LeBron James, Allen, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard!

With six minutes remaining in the game, the five players finally stepped onto the field together once again.

After resting for almost a whole quarter, Allen seems to have regained his previous form, and he immediately clung to Lin Tian as soon as he stepped onto the court, full of energy.

Tonight, he truly only did this one thing, ignoring almost everything else.

Meanwhile, Sun Yue was carefully advancing the ball forward for the Chinese team, and the gap between the two sides was still 9 points!

In the past four minutes, even though Lin Tian barely touched the ball and didn't make a single shot, the Chinese team held on!

They didn't let the American team widen the gap, nor were they left behind by the American team. They accomplished their mission quite well!

But anyone with eyes can see it.

They've almost reached their limit.

Xu Yong had almost no strength left to dribble, and the task of advancing the ball had long been handed over to Sun Yue.

Sun Yue's playing style is quite sneaky; he almost always turns his back as soon as he gets the ball, sticking his butt out and inching forward little by little.

This method of advancing is slow, unsightly, and obstructs the player's vision, making it difficult for him to spot his teammates' runs and provide a comfortable pass in a timely manner.

However, this approach is also suitable for the current situation of the Chinese team.

Don't rush to catch up; the most important thing is to avoid mistakes and prevent the US team from launching counterattacks.

From this perspective, Sun Yue's choice was absolutely correct.

But this time, the US team fielded its strongest lineup, and they certainly wouldn't let Sun Yue play like that again.

Always in the lead, yet never able to pull away—that feeling of having someone constantly following you, always ready to be kicked in the backside at any moment, is awful.

So after this substitution, the American team got motivated!

Suddenly, their strength increased again!

When defending Sun Yue, Durant suddenly increased his strength, suddenly accelerating before Sun Yue crossed the mid-court line, blocking Sun Yue in the backcourt and preventing him from passing.

Sun Yue's pace was already slow, and now Durant blocked him, which looked like an eight-second violation.

Left with no other option, Sun Yue quickly moved the ball, sending it towards Xu Yong on the wing.

Although Xu Yong was still on the court, he had almost completely taken over Lin Tian's tasks and responsibilities for the first three quarters in the past few minutes. His physical exertion was terrifying, and his mind was almost completely empty. He simply couldn't muster any energy.

He had passed his limit and was completely unable to muster any strength, let alone match up against James.

So James easily dodged the opportunity, stepped in front of Xu Yong, and caught Sun Yue's pass in his arms.

It was as if Sun Yue had passed the ball directly to him.

After getting the ball, James ignored his teammates and trash talk, and strode forward towards the frontcourt.

As James sprinted forward, he noticed someone chasing him from behind. So the clever guy immediately changed his route slightly, blocking the person's path, and then he casually bounced the ball and passed it forward to him.

James's plan was to block the defender and then let Anthony easily dunk the ball.

But just as he stopped to block the person, he immediately realized something was wrong.

He blocked nothing!

Then a figure ran past James. James changed direction and slowed down, trying to block the pursuer, but the pursuer changed direction and accelerated. The two of them went left and right respectively, and the person behind suddenly gained space and rushed past James without any hindrance.

"Melo! Watch out!" James knew something was wrong and shouted to warn Anthony, but it was too late.

"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound, Anthony had just jumped up and spread his body, wanting to do a one-handed tomahawk dunk, but before his arm could hit the rim, a hand cleanly blocked the basketball in his hand.

After a crisp sound, the basketball flew towards the three-point line. Sun Yue, who had just returned to defend, caught the ball and then quickly advanced towards the frontcourt.

Now it's four against three for the Chinese team, they have the advantage!

"You two think I'm dead?" Lin Tian, ​​having just completed the block, looked at Anthony and James with his usual domineering gaze. "The game is only just beginning!"

In the frontcourt, Sun Yue quickly passed the ball to Xu Yong, who dribbled one step and then passed it to Zhu Fangyu. After receiving the ball, Zhu Fangyu moved one step to the side and, with the help of Yi Jianlian's screen, got a huge open shot.

Because the US team was down to one player, no US player could catch up with Zhu Fangyu at this point, and they could only watch as Zhu Fangyu took another shot from beyond the three-point line.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, Zhu Fangyu's shot, taken from an absolutely open spot, still missed the target.

But just as Howard was about to jump up and grab the rebound under the basket, a dark figure descended from the sky again.

Of course, it's Lin Tian who just completed a block in the backcourt!

Howard, who was about to jump, was pinned back down by Lin Tian before he could even get up. Lin Tian pressed him down so hard that he couldn't straighten his back and was completely unable to resist. He could only rely on his hearing to hear a loud bang.

"boom!"

Lin Tian then landed and scanned the entire arena.

"I'm back! The match officially begins now!"

"Come on, come on!"

"Great shot! Great shot! One offensive play, one defensive play, both showcasing true heroism!" Yu Jia shouted. "That block and that putback dunk absolutely ignited our morale! It has to be Lin Tian! It can only be Lin Tian!"

"Now it's the American team's turn to tremble. They didn't take advantage of that time to widen the score gap completely; they wasted their chance. Now the opportunity is in our hands!"

"It's our turn to show off our firepower!"

"With just over five minutes left, we're down by seven points! Come on, guys of China!"

"It's okay." James had completely calmed down by now. He grabbed the basketball, waved it down, and said, "He's just one person. We're up by 7 points! We're confident tonight!"

"When you emphasize that you're leading by 7 points, you're already scared," Lin Tian said with a smile. "If you weren't scared, you wouldn't need to emphasize anything. People tend to emphasize what they're afraid of."

"And what about you? You keep emphasizing that we're scared, but what are you scared of?" Although James wasn't directly facing Lin Tian, ​​he didn't forget to trade barbs: "You're afraid of losing, right?"

"I don't know if I'm afraid of losing," Lin Tian chuckled. "After all, I've lost very few times, and I've experienced that feeling so little that I really can't remember what it felt like."

"I'm completely different from you guys who're used to losing and lose every year!"

This is what Lin Tian's trash talk is like.

It makes you so angry you want to punch him, but you have to admit he's right.

He has never lost.

For the 1802nd time, James warned himself not to respond to Lin Tian or argue with him. He then decisively turned away and stopped talking to Lin Tian. In the instant he turned his head, James suddenly noticed that Howard had taken the position under the basket. With a flick of his wrist, the basketball flew to the basket.

After receiving the ball, Howard exploded into the air, spun around in mid-air, and slammed the ball toward the basket with one hand!

"Snapped!"

"boom!"

"beep!"

The three voices rang out almost simultaneously, and everyone knew what that meant.

Yi Jianlian, who was desperately defending, failed to control the angle of his arm and hit Howard, giving Howard a 2+1 play.

What's even more unsettling than the 2+1 is Yi Jianlian's foul count.

His fourth foul!

In FIBA ​​games, five fouls mean ejection. Considering there were still more than five minutes left, Yi Jianlian, as the only well-rounded center on the Chinese team, would have a huge impact on him and the team as a whole with this fourth foul.

Because he will definitely be more cautious in his next defensive actions, he will inevitably be hesitant and timid for fear of being sent off. Under such circumstances, his defensive quality will naturally be difficult to guarantee, and the already porous defense of the Chinese team will inevitably be worsened.

"It's okay." While Yi Jianlian was still feeling annoyed, Lin Tian had already walked up to him: "I only have 2 fouls, I can help you."

"Me too!" Xu Yong followed closely behind.

"Me too." Zhu Fangyu patted Yi Jianlian's butt, indicating that little brother, you don't need to be afraid.

"Furthermore," Lin Tian said, quite satisfied with the team's atmosphere, "I guarantee that guy with four fouls will be out of the game before you!"

The guy who committed four fouls, of course, refers to Allen.

He already had four fouls by the third quarter, and now it's time for him to rest completely!

"Bang!"

Howard's free throw missed as expected, and Yi Jianlian grabbed the rebound, giving China the lead.

Lin Tian made his way to the frontcourt, then quickly waved to signal all his teammates to spread out for him, clearing the space on the left side of the court. Then, Lin Tian suddenly accelerated, rushing towards Anthony, who was double-teaming him.

Allen was overjoyed. He felt that Lin Tian had finally fallen into the trap tonight! He and his teammates had finally caught him!

He continued his tight defense against Lin Tian, ​​while quickly shifting his feet to the side and closing in on Lin Tian, ​​intending to join forces with Anthony to surround him.

But to everyone's surprise, although Lin Tian was heading in Anthony's direction, he only took one step in that direction before suddenly stopping to gather the ball and then raising it into the sky with both hands.

At this moment, Allen fell for it again!

He saw a glimmer of hope that could cause Lin Tian to make a mistake, so he was eager to completely stop Lin Tian. And it was precisely because he saw a glimmer of hope that he was anxious.

If you rush, you'll fall for a scam!

You'll regret it if you get scammed.

But Allen clearly had no chance to regret it; it was too late.

He jumped up helplessly, looking at Lin Tian's smug smile and his rapid attack on him. At this moment, Allen was truly powerless.

"Bang!"

The only good news at this moment was that Lin Tian and Allen's shots after their aerial confrontation missed. Lin Tian at least didn't get a 2+1 play, and Allen only committed a regular foul.

The problem is that this was Allen's fifth foul, and compared to a fifth foul, the difference between a 2+1 and two free throws is really not that big.

"He's down! Allen's been knocked down by Lin Tian! What a beautiful shot! That feint was absolutely gorgeous, hahaha." Zhang Weiping couldn't help but laugh as he spoke, "Let's watch the replay again."

"Hehe, Lin Tian tricked him! That was really cool, that feint was so beautiful."

Yu Jia said, "Let's see if this play will create a butterfly effect, or if it will be the first wing flapping in a butterfly's flight. But first, we need to see how the American team substitutes their players. Who will they bring in to continue targeting our Lin Tian?"

"Wade! It really is Wade! He is indeed the best choice. After all, among the remaining guards on the US team, Paul is too short, Westbrook is too impulsive, and Kidd is basically an assistant coach. Kidd has hardly played in this Olympics."

"Wade is definitely the best choice."

"Swish! Swish!"

After the US team brought on Wade, Lin Tian calmly made both free throws, then looked at Wade and said, "So, are you going to play with me now? I'm curious to see how many guards you guys have who can match up against me!"

"Bring it on." Wade clapped his hands, but instead of dribbling the ball up the court, he looked at Lin Tian and said, "How many of us are you planning to take down?"

"Howard has 3 fouls, you have 3 fouls, Kevin has 3 fouls." Lin Tian actually started counting on his fingers: "I think you're all in danger."

"Bring it on!" Wade repeated his words again, and Team USA's offense began. (End of Chapter)