157: The Grim Reaper's scythe! Even the gods cannot stop it!

The timeout ended.

Lin Feng took over the offense.

He knew there was no turning back in this game.

Either he crushed his opponents...

...or he would be crushed by them.

He stood outside the three-point line, facing Thabo Sefolosha's focused, hound-like face.

His gaze was very calm.

There was none of the arrogance from G1, nor the frustration from G2.

There was only a deep-sea-like composure.

He began to dribble.

Left hand, right hand.

The sound of the basketball hitting the floor was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent Staples Center.

Suddenly!

He made an incredibly realistic fake drive to the left!

Sefolosha's body subconsciously shifted a step to the left!

That single step was the opening!

Lin Feng violently pulled the ball back with a smooth behind-the-back dribble, his body instantly pivoting to the right!

He didn't choose to drive into the paint.

Instead, he pulled up for a sudden stop near the free-throw line!

His body went from high speed to a complete standstill in an instant!

Jump!

Shoot!

The basketball traced an arc in the air that gave every Lakers fan a sense of absolute peace!

Swish!

Nothing but net!

10-2!

The Lakers finally scored!

In the tomb-like silence of the Staples Center, a faint spark of fire finally lit up.

The fans erupted in a cheer that had been suppressed for a long time!

The next possession.

Under Nash's interference, the Thunder's offense ended with a missed, forced shot from Westbrook.

Howard boxed out and secured the defensive rebound.

The ball was handed to Lin Feng once again.

Same position.

Same defender.

This time, Lin Feng chose a different approach.

He performed consecutive, small-scale between-the-legs dribbles.

He used changes in rhythm to confuse Sefolosha's judgment.

Just as Sefolosha's center of gravity wavered slightly.

Lin Feng pulled up for another jump shot!

Fadeaway!

The shot was up!

The entire motion was full of aesthetic beauty!

Swish!

Another crisp, pleasant sound of the net snapping!

10-4!

Lin Feng scored four points in a row!

Using the most stable and classical scoring method, he forcibly pulled the Lakers back from the edge of the abyss!

The atmosphere in the Staples Center finally began to warm up!

Defense!

Defense!

Shouts of 'MVP' echoed through the arena once more!

However...

On the Thunder's bench, head coach Brooks' face showed no panic.

He just watched the court calmly.

He watched the man who was beginning to take over the game.

Kevin Durant.

He knew that when Lin Feng chose to play this way...

...on the other side, the sleeping 'Reaper' should also be waking up.

Thunder offense.

Westbrook steadily handed the ball to Durant.

Defending Durant was Ron Artest.

One of the league's top perimeter defensive anchors.

Artest immediately pressed up, using his body—as strong as a bull—to constantly apply physical pressure on Durant.

His arms were like cobras, constantly poking at Durant's dribble.

This was the highest level of 'sticky' defense.

However...

Durant's face remained expressionless.

He just dribbled the ball unhurriedly.

Then, before anyone could react.

He pulled up directly!

It was that simple.

It was that unreasonable!

He ignored all of Artest's physical contact!

He ignored Artest's hand, which was almost already in his face!

Relying on his terrifying height and wingspan, he forcibly found his unique shooting space right over Artest's head!

The shot was released!

The basketball flew from his fingertips!

After Artest landed, he looked back helplessly.

Swish!

Nothing but net!

12-4!

An expression of utter helplessness appeared on Artest's face.

How do you defend a shot like that?

This wasn't even a matter of defense anymore!

This was pure talent-based suppression!

The very next possession.

Lakers offense; Gasol made a slight passing error and was intercepted by Westbrook!

The Thunder launched a transition attack!

Westbrook was like a sports car, pushing forward frantically!

Durant, meanwhile, was like a glider, following from the other side!

Westbrook drove into the paint, and after drawing Howard's defense, he delivered a no-look pass precisely into Durant's hands!

Durant caught the ball and took three long strides toward the rim!

Gasol, rotating over to help, leaped high, attempting to block the shot!

However!

Durant performed a massive, terrifying double-clutch in mid-air!

He avoided Gasol's block!

Then, under the despairing gaze of all the Lakers fans...

...he slammed the ball fiercely into the basket!

Bang!

A posterizing dunk!

Gasol became the backdrop for this slam!

After scoring, Durant glanced at the floor with an expressionless face.

Then he silently turned back to defend.

That gaze was as cold as a harvester carrying out a mission.

Reaper Mode!

Activated!

Over the next few minutes.

The entire Staples Center completely turned into Durant's personal highlight reel!

He transformed into the most unstoppable scoring machine on the court!

Facing Artest's defense, he punished him ruthlessly with pull-up jumpers!

Facing the Lakers' switches, when Nash ended up on him, he blew past him with a simple burst of speed and finished with a tomahawk dunk!

Facing the interior wall formed by Howard and Gasol, he used his unbelievably soft touch to hit two high-difficulty floaters in a row!

No matter who the Lakers used to guard him...

...no matter what defensive strategy the Lakers used to limit him...

...the result was always the same.

Score!

Score!

And score again!

The expressions on the faces of the Staples Center fans were changing rapidly.

From the hopeful shouts at the beginning...

...to the dumbfounded shock later...

...to total, despairing silence at the end.

They were personally witnessing how a superstar takes over a crucial playoff game in the cruelest way possible.

Lin Feng also tried to respond.

He stopped being obsessed with individual scoring and tried to use his passing to revitalize the team's offense.

He drove, drew the double-team, and then kicked the ball out to an open Nick Young on the perimeter.

Under immense pressure, Nick Young rushed his shot!

Thud!

An airball!

He ran a pick-and-roll with Gasol, feeding the ball comfortably to Gasol as he rolled to the basket.

Facing an open rim, Gasol actually fumbled the ball out of nervousness!

A turnover!

The entire Lakers' morale had completely collapsed under Durant's precise and lethal harvesting, like the Reaper's scythe.

Beep—!

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

Lin Feng looked at the glaring score on the big screen.

62-44.

The Lakers were trailing by a full 18 points.

On the other side, Durant's personal stat line showed a number that made everyone feel suffocated.

30 points!

In just half a game, he had racked up 30 points!

Lin Feng walked back to the locker room, a raging fire of indignation burning in his heart!

He looked at his own stats of 16 points and 5 assists on the sheet.

He realized.

Teamwork could no longer save this damn defeat.

The only thing that can oppose a 'Reaper'... is a 'God'!

The second half was about to begin.

The players walked back onto the court from the tunnel.

Lin Feng was the last one.

He slowly walked to the center circle and stopped.

Under the confused gazes of the tens of thousands of spectators in the arena.

He slowly closed his eyes.

Midorima ZONE activated!