152: The King's Trial!

In Lin Feng's eyes, two flames of suppressed, extreme rage ignited.

The whistle for the second quarter soon sounded.

The Lakers players returned to the court.

D'Antoni stood on the sidelines, his face full of anxiety.

He looked at Lin Feng, wanting to say something, but didn't know where to start.

The Thunder's unreasonable defense, built purely on top-tier talent, was almost unsolvable.

Any tactic seemed pale and weak in the face of such barbaric physical contact.

Lin Feng walked onto the court.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm the surging blood in his chest caused by pain and anger.

He knew.

He couldn't keep meeting force with force.

He had to make a change.

Lakers possession.

The ball was still in Lin Feng's hands.

Sefolosha stuck to him immediately like a piece of inescapable flypaper.

Westbrook, like a cheetah ready to strike, prowled on his flank, watching intently.

That deadly cage was prepared to close once again.

However.

This time, Lin Feng didn't choose to drive.

He passed the ball to Gasol at the high post.

Then, he began his off-ball movement!

He wanted to use his movement to tear through the Thunder's defense and escape this suffocating encirclement!

He circled around Gasol's screen and ran toward the corner.

But this played right into the Thunder's hands!

Sefolosha's footsteps followed him closely, like a ghost.

Meanwhile, Westbrook directly abandoned his defense on Nash, cutting across like a bolt of blue lightning to block Lin Feng's receiving lane!

The passing lane was cut off!

Gasol had no choice but to pass the ball back to Nash on the perimeter.

A failed off-ball run.

The next possession.

Lin Feng continued to run.

He used Howard's massive frame to perform a back-cut.

He looped around the baseline and ran toward the forty-five-degree angle on the other side.

This time, he created an opportunity!

He shook off Sefolosha by half a body length!

Nash's pass was delivered precisely into his hands!

An opportunity!

Lin Feng caught the ball and, without the slightest hesitation, pulled up for a jump shot!

He finally gained a sliver of breathing room!

However.

The moment he reached the peak of his jump and was about to release the ball.

A black figure full of explosive power lunged from his diagonal rear like a phantom!

It was Westbrook!

His terrifying leaping ability was on full display at this moment!

His entire body was like a cannonball, jumping from a step inside the three-point line and flying over!

That large, outstretched hand blocked all of Lin Feng's shooting vision!

In mid-air, Lin Feng could only rely on instinct to forcefully increase the arc of his shot!

The basketball flew off his fingertips.

And then.

"Thud!"

The dull sound of the basketball hitting the front of the rim!

The ball bounced off the rim!

Lin Feng's shooting percentage began to plummet!

His signature, nearly unstoppable fadeaway jumper...

...began to lose its form under the massive physical exertion and the omnipresent defensive interference!

"Great defense!"

After Westbrook landed, he excitedly pounded his chest and roared at the crowd!

The entire Chesapeake Energy Arena was once again completely ignited!

The Lakers' offense stalled once more.

Meanwhile, the Thunder's counterattacks came in waves, one after another.

Durant took over the offense.

Using his unstoppable height and wingspan, he hit two consecutive unreasonable mid-range pull-up jumpers over Artest's head!

The point difference was quickly pushed into double digits!

Ten points!

Twelve points!

Fifteen points!

D'Antoni was sweating profusely on the sidelines, pacing back and forth incessantly.

He called a timeout.

He subbed in Jordan Hill for the exhausted Gasol.

He tried to find a solution through lineup rotation.

But against the Thunder's pure talent suppression...

...any tactical adjustment seemed so futile.

Back from the timeout.

The situation didn't improve at all.

Every off-ball run Lin Feng made was frantically burning through his already low stamina.

And the opportunities he finally managed to create were completely destroyed by Westbrook's ghost-like help defense.

He was struggling immensely.

The Lakers' offense had completely turned into a mess of loose sand.

"Beep—!"

The buzzer for the end of the first half finally sounded.

It felt like a release.

The big screen showed a score that made all Lakers fans feel despair.

65:50!

The Lakers were already trailing by a full 15 points!

Lin Feng's individual stats also stayed at that somewhat glaring number.

12 points.

He dragged his heavy steps off the court.

His jersey was completely soaked with sweat.

On his exposed arms and neck were glaring bruises from the barbaric collisions.

In the locker room.

The atmosphere was even more oppressive than after the loss in G1.

Everyone kept their heads down, silent.

The Team Doctor rushed over with ice packs to perform emergency cold compresses on Lin Feng's swollen ribs and shoulders.

The moment the ice pack touched his skin, a bone-chilling cold made him gasp.

His stamina was flashing the most dangerous red light!

Kobe sat right next to him.

He looked at the young figure gritting his teeth while enduring the pain and the ice, his gaze becoming incredibly solemn.

He knew better than anyone.

How cruel this style of play from the Thunder was as a dual devastation of a player's body and will.

It wasn't just physical exhaustion.

It was a mental torture that crushed your pride and confidence bit by bit!

Kobe didn't say any words of comfort.

He only spoke slowly after the Team Doctor had temporarily left.

His voice was low and deep.

"Kid."

Lin Feng looked up at him.

Kobe's gaze was as sharp as a blade.

"This is championship-level intensity."

Every word from Kobe seemed squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Anyone who wants to wear the crown must crawl through a hell like this."

His eyes were fixed deathly on Lin Feng's eyes.

"Make it through, and you are a king."

"If you don't..."

Kobe paused, his tone becoming ice-cold.

"...everything you've done before will be forgotten."

"Your so-called Black Eight Miracle, your so-called G7 Miracle, will all just become a joke."

"There is no second path."

Kobe's words were like the sharpest daggers, mercilessly stabbing into Lin Feng's heart!

Pain!

A pain more intense than any bruise on his body!

But it was also this pain that made his brain, somewhat muddled from fatigue, instantly become incredibly clear!

King!

Or, a joke!

Lin Feng's chest heaved violently.

In his dimmed eyes, an extinguished flame was ignited once again!

And it burned more frantically than ever before!

He clenched his teeth.

A grinding sound came from between his teeth.

He reached out and pushed away the Team Doctor who was about to continue the icing.

He knew that in the second half, he had to respond in a tougher, more barbaric, and even more frantic way!