Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

After Martin made his free throw, completing a five-point surge, the score came to 25-30, and the Bucks still had possession.

Yu Fei received the inbound pass from his teammate, standing one meter outside the left three-point line, and suddenly motioned for Ratner to set a screen.

Seeing Yu Fei's position, and remembering the opponent's multiple attempts to shoot threes one meter outside the line before the game, Ratner knew what to do.

This was an offense the Pistons couldn't react to.

Under Larry Brown's philosophy and the team's overall defensive framework, they hadn't prepared for madmen who call for screens one meter outside the three-point line and then shoot from even further away.

Yu Fei had once used such a shot to defeat them, but in their eyes, it was luck, a god-given destiny of a night. How could one stop fate?

But since it was luck, it wouldn't last long.

A year had passed, would fate still favor Yu Fei?

"Swish!"

Ratner's screen allowed Yu Fei to get to a spot more than one meter beyond the arc at the top of the key, where he shot without a defender in sight and scored with a swish.

25-33

"Don't panic, don't rush!" Brown shouted sternly, "Carnival basketball isn't sustainable!"

Brown's words and demeanor deeply reflected their view of the Bucks.

It was a stereotype that had existed for half a century.

Just as outsiders were pessimistic about the Suns' playoff prospects, thinking that their run-and-gun style with threes was fine for the regular season but not for the playoffs. Because that's entertainment basketball, while in the playoffs, it's all about "serious basketball."

This was the political correctness in basketball games.

The Bucks displaying "carnival basketball" again wasn't a death sentence for the Pistons; it was the opponent courting their own demise.

Big Ben went for the pick-and-roll, rolling to the basket, Billups passes.
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This was a familiar play for the Pistons, but this time, Big Ben's dunk attempt didn't materialize because Devean George came over from the side and swatted the ball away, along with the hand.

One laudable aspect of contemporary basketball is that iffy calls that could go either way usually aren't made. Big Ben's offensive move not only failed, but he was also knocked off balance and ended up sitting on the court with a thud.

Yu Fei quickly secured the loose ball and instantly found Martin streaking down the court, flinging a long pass from the backcourt.

Previously merely a nobody in the Pistons' eyes after scoring five straight points, Martin could no longer be overlooked.

Martin's fast break encountered a chase-down defense from Prince, which reassured the fans in the stands.

If you said Prince couldn't guard Yu Fei, that's normal—who can guard Yu Fei? But isn't closing the door on a rookie with the physique of a refugee a piece of cake?

Perhaps Prince thought so too, and therefore he didn't expect Martin, like a cornered mad dog, to jump over the wall—Martin recklessly collided with Prince, causing himself to lose balance. The referee blew the whistle during the imbalance, yet Martin managed to toss the ball towards the hoop with the last of his touch.

The ball circled around the rim...

"Swish!"

"Kevin Martin scores seven in a row!" Mike Breen said excitedly, "This is the charm of the playoffs! This is where heroes and stars are made! After today, every person from Detroit will remember the name of Bucks' number 22!"

Aside from Martin himself, perhaps Yu Fei was the happiest for him.

Initially, Yu Fei had insisted that the team draft Martin, and the guy had the worst rookie season ever. Now, at last, he seemed to be getting on track.

Otherwise, with the rookie performances of Martin and Ariza, Yu Fei would have a hard time making draft recommendations in the future.

Subsequently, Martin also made his free throw.

Out of the last 11 points scored by the Bucks, Martin accounted for eight.

This also brought the score gap to a point where the Pistons needed to call a timeout to break the Bucks' rhythm—25-36.

Only four minutes into the second quarter, the Pistons were already trailing by 11 points.

This was Game 7, and yet they were allowing the Bucks to do whatever they wanted.

"Kevin, from now on, you'll be the decoy." During the timeout, Karl said to Martin, "Detroit is going to tighten up their defense on you, and you won't have it as easy as before. But your predicament will be Frye's opportunity, understand?"

Martin nodded, "I'll draw the defense to me."

"Right," Karl smiled, "just like that."

Initially, Karl might have been the biggest skeptic inside the Bucks regarding "carnival basketball."

Now, he might be the biggest supporter of "carnival basketball."

Before Yu Fei took the court, Karl said, "For everyone's sake, blow them out."

The Bucks made a slight lineup adjustment.

Horry replaced Ratner, Yu Fei took over for George, handling offense and playing the four on defense, Ariza subbed in for George.

The Bucks focused their defense on Billups, Rasheed, and Hamilton.

This would give Prince and Big Ben some opportunities to sneak in scores.

Returning from the timeout, Prince got an open three-point shot at the top of the key because Ariza had gone to double-team Billups.

Prince's three-point shooting percentage in the playoffs was close to 37%, not someone you'd want to leave open.

This shot, he made it with ease.

But that was exactly what the Bucks had chosen.

Let Prince shoot freely, as long as they shut down the offense of Hamilton and Billups, the Pistons would have no explosive elements on offense.

Then Yu Fei made his move.

What caught the Pistons off guard was that Yu Fei didn't call for a screen and instead went one-on-one against Prince on the perimeter.

This was probably what the Detroit Pistons most wanted to see.

Their defensive system was tailored for those outside stars who preferred to go one-on-one; if Yu Fei was planning to do just that, he would be playing right into their hands.

The Detroit people were happy for only a few seconds before they saw Prince getting shaken off by Yu Fei's uncanny crossovers, after which he used a lateral step-back to increase their distance, and then took an open three-pointer from the left side.

Prince had no chance to defend; his interference only started when the ball had already left Yu Fei's hands.

Essentially, it was an ineffective defense.

"Swish!"

28 to 39

The gap returned to 11 points.

Horry excitedly high-fived Yu Fei, "Just like that, kill them!"

"Do you remember the final score that day?" Yu Fei asked.

Within the Bucks, "that day" was a specific term. It represented the night of the riot at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

"100 to 77," Horry said. "And there were still five minutes left at the end; I will never forget that night."

Yu Fei moved back to the top of the arc, saying, "Let's finish that game."

The offensive play of the Detroit Pistons was the opposite of the Bucks.

In the scouting reports of the Bucks' "carnival basketball," there was a comment laced with irony: their games were basically unrestricted.

Which meant anything goes.

But the Detroit Pistons did not have the same freedom; they operated like a well-oiled machine.

Hamilton used a screen to get open, received the ball, and then encountered a weak side double team from the Bucks.

To ensure the security of the ball, he quickly passed it out.

The ball ended up in Rasheed Wallace's hands. Facing Yu Fei's defense, he first used his body, then turned for a fallaway jumper.

It missed, and Yu Fei grabbed the defensive rebound, used his back to dribble past Rasheed, who had intended to commit a tactical foul on him, and sped to the frontcourt. Taking advantage of the Pistons' slow transition defense, he fearlessly pulled up for a catch-up three-pointer that made Larry Brown curse.

"Swish!!!"

"This is an insult to basketball!" Brown yelled, "You had the chance to score two points directly under the basket!"

"Don't ever say that," Yu Fei said with an innocuous smile, "I don't have the guts to insult basketball, but the guts to insult you guys? Not only do I have them, they're quite substantial."

Brown, seething with anger, roared, "You'll pay for this!"

Pay the price? Another fight?

You could feel the Detroit Pistons becoming more irritable.

This wasn't a problem for the Bucks, it might even be an advantage.

Because the League had reiterated, demanding no fighting in this series, the Bucks could just mouth off. If the Pistons really wanted to fight, the referees would be the first to crack down on them.

To control the emotions of the Pistons players, the referees' whistles blew frequently.

Wanna throw heavy hands in the confrontation? No dice.

Want to make sneaky moves in the blind spots? Wishful thinking.

Suddenly, all three referees seemed to have eyes like a hawk, revealing every sinister move.

The Pistons went hard, but ended up fouling frequently within half a quarter. From now on, every foul caused by the Bucks would send them to the free throw line.

And the score showed no sign of narrowing.

With half of the second quarter remaining, 45 to 30, the Bucks' lead had reached 15 points.

Both the lagging score and allowing the Bucks to score 45 points in a quarter and a half were disadvantageous for the Pistons. It meant the game was headed in the direction they least wanted to see.

The Pistons, who had neglected to refine their offense, were accustomed to driving their offensive efforts through defense.

Once their defense couldn't contain the opponent's offense, it would backfire and weak the attacking side.

Hamilton, who had been besieged by the Bucks, finally found an opportunity to catch the ball amidst the crowd but released an airball.

Any Pistons fan seeing this would feel a chill.

Then, Martin picked up the rebound under the basket and casually tossed it to Yu Fei nearby.

"Give me a screen."

Martin was already prepared for it.

In the frontcourt, Martin's screen looked comical, far too frail to expect his body to effectively delay the defense.

Just as Prince was preparing to aggressively push past the screen, Yu Fei suddenly exerted force in the opposite direction of the screen, and instantly, he stepped past Prince, charging into the interior like a truck with failed brakes.

Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace both arrived under the basket and leaped into the air together.

In midair, Yu Fei contorted his body into a bow shape, like a grim reaper wielding a scythe, unfazed by the League's best defensive zone, he roared and hammered the ball forward.

"BOOM!!!!!!!!"

Rasheed Wallace was knocked down by Yu Fei, and Ben Wallace failed to block that shot; Yu Fei, like Godzilla, demolished the Wallace Brothers' defense, leaving behind a devastating scene at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

After landing, the impact of the play caused Big Ben to retreat several steps, accidentally stepping on Rasheed's body, causing himself to slip as well.

Only Yu Fei remained hanging on the basket; eventually, he came down steadily.

I don't know how many seconds passed, but the more than 20,000 people inside The Palace of Auburn Hills were all shocked by this scene. This was the NBA's most notorious devil's home ground, representing a once-great city. They had seen everything, they feared nothing, and they greeted visitors with the worst attitude.

But now, that demon, hated by hundreds of thousands of Detroit people, had destroyed their most trusted team in Auburn Hills. They didn't know what they could believe in anymore, they didn't know what else would happen after this, they were just scared.