novelraw Chapter 21: Three dunks, lyrics come true
Chapter 21: Three dunks, lyrics come true
In the second quarter, the boos at the United Center were so loud they almost blew the roof off.
At the end of the first quarter, the Bulls trailed the Warriors 18-32, a full 14 points behind. Their second overall pick, Williams, went 0-for-4 from the field, scoring no points and committing two turnovers. Meanwhile, Lin Hao, whom Williams mocked as an "internet celebrity," went 6-for-7 from the field, scoring 15 points and 3 assists in the quarter, wreaking havoc on the Bulls' backcourt.
During a timeout on the Bulls' bench, head coach Bill Cartwright slammed his clipboard down, spitting all over Williams' face: "Jay! Wake up! You're the second overall pick! Not some hothead who just relies on brute force! Stop fighting that Chinese kid one-on-one! Play as a team!"
Williams gripped the towel tightly, his knuckles turning white, and the veins on his forehead throbbing. From a star student at Duke University to the NBA's highly anticipated second overall pick, he had never suffered such humiliation in his life—being defended so badly by a late second-round rookie that he could barely even get a shot off, scoring zero points in the first quarter, and the boos from the entire arena felt like needles pricking his ears.
He had only one thought in his mind: he had to regain face by defeating Lin Hao, he had to dunk on this arrogant Chinese kid and let the whole league know who was the stronger one.
The timeout is over, and the game has resumed.
As soon as Williams received the serve, he waved frantically at his teammates, signaling everyone to spread out and clear one side, as he wanted to go one-on-one against Lin Hao.
The entire audience fell silent instantly, everyone focused on the one-on-one match on the court.
Williams lowered his center of gravity, the basketball whirring wildly between his legs, his eyes filled with ferocity. He executed two consecutive wide crossovers, then suddenly pushed off the ground and broke through to the left – the exact same move and the exact same habit as in the first quarter.
Lin Hao stood like a nail driven into the ground, his feet firmly planted, his eyes fixed on Williams' right shoulder. The instant Williams lowered his shoulder, Lin Hao had already moved sideways, blocking his path of attack. His left hand was precisely positioned between the basketball and Williams, leaving no room for a shot.
Williams was forced to the sideline and had no choice but to turn around and shoot. The ball went way off course due to Lin Hao's long arms and didn't even touch the rim.
With a "clang," the basketball hit the side of the backboard. Richardson leaped high to grab the backboard, and without even looking at the defender in front of him, he flicked his wrist and made a long pass that went across the entire court, heading straight for Lin Hao, who was already running down the court!
The entire venue erupted in cheers!
Lin Hao caught the ball steadily, stepping forward from the free-throw line. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Williams returning to defense. The second overall pick was charging back like a madman, his face contorted with rage, clearly determined to stop Lin Hao under the basket and avenge being shut out in the first quarter.
"Here he comes! Jay Williams is back on defense! What will Lin Hao choose?!" The commentator's voice suddenly rose.
The Bulls' bench all stood up, waiting to see Williams block the shot. But to their surprise, Lin Hao not only didn't slow down, but instead pushed off the ground hard, launching himself into the air like a cannonball!
He wasn't even thinking about a layup, or dodging; he was going to face Williams head-on and dunk over him!
Williams hadn't expected this Chinese kid to be so arrogant. He hesitated for half a second before jumping up, swatting the basketball hard with his large, fan-like hand, yelling, "Get down here!"
However, he miscalculated Lin Hao's takeoff height and even more so, Lin Hao's ability to fight in the air.
Using the physical contact in mid-air, Lin Hao twisted his body slightly, grabbed the basketball with one hand, and slammed it down on the rim after over Williams' block!
"Clang!"
With a deafening thud that made your eardrums ache, the basketball was slammed into the hoop, sending the net churning and the entire basketball hoop shaking violently!
A dunk!
A tomahawk dunk!
Lin Hao hung on the rim with one hand, looked down at Williams who had fallen to the ground at his feet, grinned, and then let go and landed steadily.
The entire United Center stadium was deathly silent.
Two full seconds later, a deafening roar of cheers and gasps of shock erupted simultaneously. The Warriors' bench jumped up like madmen, waving towels and yelling. Richardson even held a can of yellow peaches above his head and waved it wildly at the Bulls' bench.
"My God! He dunked over Jay Williams! This second-round pick dunked over the second overall pick!" The commentator's voice trembled. "I can't believe my eyes! This is this year's second overall pick!"
Williams got up from the ground, his face flushed red like a boiled shrimp, his chest heaving violently, and his eyes staring at Lin Hao as if they were spitting fire.
Lin Hao simply dusted off his hands, raised an eyebrow at him, and slowly let out a thick Northeastern accent: "What? Weren't you pretty arrogant before the game? Is this all the defense you've got? You can't even withstand as much impact as the kids from our county's youth training team."
These words were like a match, completely igniting the powder keg in Williams' heart.
In the following game, Williams completely lost his mind, his eyes only on the basket and Lin Hao. He completely abandoned teamwork and started a crazy one-on-one mode. But the more anxious he became, the more chaotic his play became. Every breakthrough route was clearly predicted by Lin Hao, and every shot was disrupted and distorted. Three consecutive one-on-one attempts ended in misses.
Taking advantage of the Bulls' chaos, the Warriors played better and better. Lin Hao's passes seemed to have eyes, always accurately finding open teammates, and the point difference widened. By halftime, the Warriors had a lead of 22 points.
In the locker room during halftime, Williams got a severe scolding from the coach, but all he could think about was how to get revenge on Lin Hao. He vowed that he would dunk on him in the second half and make this Chinese kid pay.
But he didn't expect that what awaited him in the second half was an even more thorough humiliation.
Just three minutes into the third quarter, Lin Hao, using a teammate's screen, broke through the paint from the top of the arc and entered the three-second zone. Williams, his eyes red, rushed over to help defend, yelling, "This time you're not getting away!"
Lin Hao seemed to have anticipated his defensive route. He suddenly turned to the left with the ball, and Williams instinctively lunged to the left, his center of gravity shifting instantly. But Lin Hao had only turned halfway when he suddenly exerted force from his waist and abdomen, twisting back sharply in an extreme backspin that made Williams stagger and completely lose his defensive position.
Immediately afterwards, Lin Hao pushed off the ground with both feet and soared into the air again, facing Williams who had not yet regained his footing, grabbing the basketball with one hand and delivering another powerful dunk!
"Clang!"
The basketball slammed into the basket again. This time, Lin Hao's arm landed directly on Williams' shoulder, a solid dunk!
A second dunk over someone!
The entire audience was stunned, forgetting even to utter a boo.
The Warriors' bench erupted in chaos, with all the players jumping up and down, clutching their heads in disbelief. Richardson even rushed to the scorer's table, mimicking Lin Hao's suona playing and yelling at the entire audience, earning a technical foul from the referee on the spot. But he remained cheerful and didn't seem to care at all.
Lin Hao, who had just landed, looked at Williams, who was standing there in a daze, and patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "Kid, don't just stand there, get back on defense."
Williams stood there, trembling all over. He felt as if Lin Hao had slapped his face hard in front of more than 20,000 people in Chicago and then crushed it to pieces on the ground.
The game was no longer in doubt. With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Warriors had a commanding 28-point lead, and the game was essentially over. But Williams refused to leave the court; he remained, still looking for an opportunity to score over Lin Hao and salvage what little dignity he had left.
But fate played a cruel joke on him.
The Warriors launched a fast break, and Richardson drove into the paint, facing the defender and attempted a reverse layup. The ball bounced off the front of the rim.
Everyone thought the ball was lost, but just then, a blue figure rushed out from the side—it was Lin Hao. And right beside him, closely following, was Jay Williams.
Lin Hao leaped high, caught the bouncing basketball in mid-air, and slammed it into the basket over Williams next to him!
The third dunk!
"Clang!"
The moment the basketball swished through the net, the final red light came on. Inside the United Center, someone shouted a lyric from the song "Northeasterners on the Court," and then the entire Chinese audience joined in, the voices growing louder and louder until they merged into a unified shout.
"I'll dunk on you three times, and I mean it!"
The lyrics have come true!
The final buzzer sounded, and the score was 128-98, with the Warriors securing a 30-point victory over the Bulls on the road!
林昊全场出战34分钟，21投14中，三分球5投3中，罚球7罚7中，疯狂砍下38分7篮板5助攻3抢断，正负值高达+38，全场最高！
The highly anticipated second overall pick, Jeremy Williams, only made 3 of 17 shots, including 0 of 4 three-pointers, scoring a paltry 8 points, along with 4 turnovers and a plus-minus of -32.
The moment the match ended, Lin Hao smiled and shouted to the camera on the sidelines, "My lyrics weren't written for nothing, were they? I kept my word!"
One sentence was enough to make the live broadcast cameras laugh so hard they were shaking.
Jay Williams stood in the center of the arena, watching the statistics on the big screen and listening to the boos from the audience. His face was as white as paper, and he couldn't even lift his head.
He lost, utterly and completely, utterly humiliated.
[Ding! The host has completed three dunks over the second overall pick, showcasing a legendary moment and triggering the achievement "Lyrics Come True"!]
[Task Evaluation: Perfect! With three dunks of vastly different styles, he completely shattered the pride of the second overall pick, fulfilling his promise and igniting a frenzy across the internet!]
[Rewards: Permanently increase physical strength by 10%, slightly increase standing jump, and unlock the passive skill [Poster Dunk Intimidation] - When facing your drive and dunk, opposing players' defensive intent decreases by 20%!]
Lin Hao grinned as he heard the system notification in his head. Just as he was about to turn around and walk back to the bench, he heard the entire audience suddenly erupt in a unified shout:
"Apologize! Apologize! Apologize!"
The entire internet is waiting for Jay Williams to fulfill his pre-match bet and publicly apologize to Lin Hao.