Chapter 596 - 89: O’Neal’s Awakening

As the fourth quarter began, the referees’ whistles became noticeably more frequent.

Su Xi watched, shaking his head. ’They’re paving the way for James.’

Whenever James drove into the paint, he was guaranteed to get a call.

The Magic’s rhythm was completely thrown off.

However, the Cavaliers weren’t shooting well either. Under the high-intensity pressure, James’s muscles were burning, and his shot was ice-cold.

The game trudged forward, a grueling affair.

With just 45 seconds left, the Cavaliers had finally managed to retake the lead.

At this point, Dwight Howard had fouled out of the game. With both Howard and Hill out, the Magic put a lineup on the floor consisting of Nelson, Durin, Hardaway, Turkoglu, and Millsap.

Su Xi, sitting in front of his TV, had only one word for it: "Ugly!"

Home-court advantage with the refs was normal, but for the whistles to be blown like this just to hand the game to James was pathetic.

On any borderline call against the Magic, the whistle blew.

On any borderline call against the Cavaliers, the refs swallowed their whistles.

Individually, each call seemed plausible. You couldn’t point to any single egregious error.

But the favored team could play more aggressively and with more freedom.

The team being targeted would become hesitant, even pulling back on their normal defense.

As an old saying from China goes: when the law is unknowable, its terror is immeasurable.

To punish without teaching is the most insidious of all.

But then, something unexpected happened.

When the game reached this point, the Magic, against all odds, let loose.

Nelson brought the ball past half-court. He ignored everything, just pulled up from a few feet beyond the three-point line, and launched it... SWISH!

He drained it, putting them up by two.

That shot defied logic. It defied tactics. It defied everything.

It was just a shot!

He wasn’t just shooting a basketball. He was shooting his rage.

A rage that sprang from the depths of his soul, impossible to contain.

It was burning like a wildfire.

After the ball went in, he tilted his head back and let out a furious roar.

On the sidelines, Stan Van Gundy wasn’t calling plays anymore. He just clenched his fists and roared.

On the other end, the Magic gave up on interior defense. As James charged inside, Turkoglu simply put his hands behind his back.

The gesture was comical.

It was dark humor.

And utterly disgraceful!

For an offensive player to force a defender to do that...

Who the hell is the one who should be more ashamed?

BOOM!

James threw down a dunk, tying the score.

He roared too.

The entire Cleveland home crowd roared along with him, their voices thundering as one.

But the Magic were unfazed.

Stan Van Gundy didn’t even call a timeout. He just stood on the sideline, yelling at his players, "Just play! Just play!"

He had lost his mind!

The fans watching on TV were going crazy too!

Aside from die-hard Cavaliers fans and James fans, most people were rooting for the Magic.

A famous author from Asia once said: "Between a high, solid wall and an egg that breaks against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg."

Tonight, the Magic were the egg. They were the egg being crushed by the unwritten rules of the game.

They seemed destined to be shattered.

But then, Hardaway drove inside the three-point line. He came to a screeching halt and leaped into the air.

He jumped with all his might—the highest he had jumped in five years.

James lunged at him, a mountain of a man crashing down.

He contorted his body for an impossible reverse layup, a flash of the grace and elegance he was once known for.

The clash looked like a wild beast trying to crush a delicate flower swaying in the wind.

Under immense pressure, Hardaway released the ball just as James crashed into him, sending him to the floor.

The referee didn’t make the call.

But God did!

SWISH!

It dropped cleanly through the net.

Su Xi leaped up from his sofa, pumping his fist and shouting, "YES! WELL DONE, HARDAWAY!!"

The Magic were back on top by two.

seconds left in the game.

The Magic had pushed the Cavaliers to the brink.

Mike Brown called his final timeout and started drawing up a play.

By now, the vast majority of fans watching at home were cheering for the Magic, hoping they could pull off the win.

Su Xi was no exception.

The commentators on TV were saying, "The Cavaliers don’t need to go for a three. A tie is as good as a win for them. If they tie it up and go to overtime, they’ll advance to the East finals."

That was right. Given the Magic’s current state, they had no chance of surviving overtime.

All the Cavaliers had to do was tie the game to win!

BEEP!

The whistle blew, and the game resumed.

O’Neal was on the sideline to inbound the ball, with Millsap harassing him. James quickly shook off Hardaway’s defense.

The pass went to him.

But just as James reached for the pass, Nelson shot forward. He leaped, trying to snatch the ball away, but James overpowered him in mid-air and secured the catch.

After catching the ball, James had just landed and was about to make his move when... SLAP!

Nelson, still on the ground, dove forward and poked the ball right out of James’s hands.

He crashed hard onto the floor.

The ball flew loose. Turkoglu scooped it up and passed it to a streaking Hardaway. Hardaway attacked the frontcourt, drove into the paint, then quickly darted back behind the three-point line. He pulled up for a jumper... The ball sailed in a perfect arc... SWISH!

A three-pointer.

The Magic led by five.

Only 8.1 seconds remained.

The arena erupted in boos and curses. The home crowd thought Nelson should have been called for a foul.

They had gotten so many favorable calls that at the slightest setback, they accused the referees of being unfair.

But if anyone had committed a foul on that play, it was James.

Nelson never touched James’s body during the entire steal. James’s own ball-handling had been sloppy.