The Best Point Guard

James was used to it by now.

His indignation had long since been numbed by reality’s cruel blows.

Su Xi gave Nike a take-it-or-leave-it price: nine percent.

After crunching the numbers, Nike could only accept the proposal.

They had lost all their bargaining power.

However, Su Xi said he wanted to wait until after the Finals to sign a new contract.

Nike was practically in tears.

But they had no other choice.

This was what you would call applying maximum pressure.

Su Xi felt no pressure at all. After all, this was just about making money.

’Besides, what if I don’t win Finals MVP?’

No one could predict the future.

Su Xi even tried to console the Nike executives. "Not many people think we’ll win the championship. I just don’t have the time right now. Look, Miami refuses to back down. And the San Antonio Spurs, I feel they’re very strong too."

The Nike executives had only one thought in their minds: ’If only that were true.’

Although the San Antonio Spurs had lost one home game, they were still considered the strongest contender in the West. Pundits swore that no matter the score by which the Mavericks eliminated the Grizzlies, the Spurs would ultimately triumph. Based on past history, the Mavericks were considered no match for them.

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Su Xi and the Knicks arrived at the American Airlines Center Arena.

The Heat Team had coined a new slogan this year: "White Hot."

The sea of white T-shirts worn by their home crowd created a truly powerful atmosphere.

Pat Riley was also full of ambition, convinced that this time they would take down the Knicks.

From the opening tip, they double-teamed and locked down Zach Randolph.

They were extremely physical.

However, it wasn’t very effective.

Even with some favorable home-court whistles, as Su Xi relentlessly drove into the restricted area and sank shot after shot, they began to sense the danger.

Crawford’s shooting hand wasn’t as hot as it was in the last game, but Su Xi entered the zone, scoring at will.

He scored 18 points in the first quarter alone.

By halftime, his point total had reached 37.

Neither James Posey nor Dwyane Wade could pose a real defensive threat. Even when they tried to double-team him, Su Xi pierced their defensive line with his slashing moves.

Su Xi’s dominant scoring forced Pat Riley to adjust his strategy.

They built an extra wall inside to stop Su Xi from getting into the paint and scoring at will. But that’s when Su Xi’s passing came into play. Zach Randolph stepped up as a key player, scoring in bunches and quickly distributing the ball to all corners of the court.

He became a new offensive hub.

As a result, the Knicks’ offense became even more fluid.

Miami was playing very well.

They just weren’t scoring as many points as the Knicks.

Late in the fourth quarter, Isaiah Thomas even covered his forehead, looking embarrassed.

It was as if he’d had a sudden awakening. He felt he had let Chuck Daly down. ’As Chuck Daly’s disciple, how could I have ended up leading a completely undisciplined, freewheeling offensive juggernaut?’

In the latter half of the fourth quarter, Wade continuously attacked the basket. The home-court whistle played a major role here; he drew a foul on nearly every drive.

Su Xi sarcastically referred to them as "touch fouls."

However, it didn’t change the final outcome of the game.

Even with the game constantly being interrupted by whistles.

Even with Wade hitting 13 free throws in the last six minutes.

But what could anyone do? The Knicks’ firepower was just too overwhelming.

Su Xi hit two three-pointers, Crawford hit one, and Zach Randolph hit one.

That alone erased Wade’s advantage at the free-throw line.

Moreover, at a critical moment, Shaquille O’Neal was repeatedly sent to the free-throw line. His 1-for-5 performance sealed the Heat Team’s loss in Game 3.

The American Airlines Center Arena was shrouded in a long, mournful silence. The home crowd was heartbroken.

They were at a loss for words.

Once considered the strongest force in the East, they had now been pushed to the brink of elimination.

They watched helplessly as Su Xi dropped a 52-point super triple-double.

They watched helplessly as the Knicks racked up 123 points.

Pat Riley finally stopped believing the Knicks were just lucky. He was finally willing to accept that the Knicks were playing on a whole new offensive level.

Unfortunately, this realization came a little too late.

No team in NBA history had ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.

Judging by the bowed heads of the Heat players as they left the court, they didn’t believe they could pull off such a miracle either.

"I don’t think we’ll have any trouble winning this series. No disrespect to Miami, I’m just being honest."

Zach Randolph told a TNT reporter after the game.

Before him, Crawford had also exclaimed excitedly, "I can finally set foot on the court of the Eastern Conference Finals!"

They seemed extremely optimistic.

And they had every reason to be.

With the series at this point, everyone knew perfectly well what the final outcome would be.

Even someone as stubborn as Pat Riley.

Only Isaiah Thomas was still apologizing. He loved to apologize.

He loved to emphasize that it wasn’t his fault, that he had been trying to get the team to play with more tactical structure, but he had failed.

However, everyone knew it had absolutely nothing to do with him. It was like a doll that suddenly gained consciousness and decided it was responsible for saving the world.

It was utterly absurd.

At the post-game press conference, Pat Riley said, "We will find a way to stop Little Sheep Su Xi. We won’t let him win a championship this easily. If he wins the title, I guarantee he will usher in an era of his own. I know this all too well."

Indeed, no one understood better than Pat Riley how a perimeter player could dominate the league.

Back in the day, he had been on the front lines trying to stop Jordan. He witnessed Jordan’s rise firsthand with the Lakers, then saw Jordan take the crown while he was with the Knicks. At the time, the Knicks he coached were the strongest force resisting the Bulls.

Now, the tables had turned. The Heat he now led had become the strongest force resisting Su Xi’s domination of the league.

Perhaps he was just destined to be a kingmaker.

After the game, Su Xi refused to comment on Dwyane Wade when a reporter asked if he thought Wade was the second-best shooting guard in the league.

Any answer would have been controversial.

So he said nothing at all.

He wasn’t LeBron James, after all.

James was already out there saying, "If I’m not the best small forward in the league, then who is?"

He had just won Game 3 in Cleveland, helping the Cavaliers take a 2-1 series lead.

This gave him the right and the confidence to make such a bold claim.

The media was already hyping his performance as the best playoff run ever—with one qualifier, of course: by a third-year player.

Without that qualifier, his claim would be utterly demolished.

In fact, his claim wasn’t safe even with the qualifier.

Wasn’t Su Xi also a third-year player?

Su Xi had already won two Finals MVPs, while James was still bragging about his first great playoff run.

So much for the "Chosen One." There wasn’t much to boast about.

Or perhaps, they knew it themselves: James was just being artificially elevated to be mentioned in the same breath as Su Xi.

If only they knew the story of Southern Murong and Northern Qiao Feng.

It would have been the perfect analogy.

In the West, the Dallas Mavericks were unstoppable, also taking a 3-0 series lead.

They were underdogs this year, but they had stormed their way to the top of the conference.

They were getting better and better, their chemistry growing stronger with each game.

In contrast, while the San Antonio Spurs managed a comeback win at the Staples Center, they showed no signs of dominance. It took them two overtimes to defeat a tenacious Kobe.

Kobe scored 66 points in that game.

The image of him gritting his teeth in determination became legendary among the Lakers faithful.

Clearly, Kobe lost the game but won everyone’s respect.

His scoring performance this season was considered one of the greatest of all time.

Some even argued that his pure offensive skill set had surpassed Jordan’s, and that he was only held back by his physical attributes—namely, his small hands.

Su Xi was happy to hear such praise.

’After all, I’m the one who copied all of Kobe’s offensive skills.’

’And besides, my hands aren’t short, and they’re definitely not small!’

’I have huge hands.’

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