168: The fake zone is now open!

Time-out.

On the Lakers' bench, the atmosphere was bizarre to the extreme.

There was no relief of having survived a crisis, nor any excitement from tying the score.

Everyone's faces wore an expression as if they were looking at an alien, their eyes fixed intently on Lin Feng.

It was as if he wasn't their teammate, but a David Copperfield who had just performed a vanishing and reappearing act right before their eyes.

Pau Gasol held a towel, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

But even after wiping for a while, his gaze remained fixed, filled with a dreamlike confusion.

He was still replaying that movement from earlier.

Why had his body refused to obey his brain's commands?

Why had it moved as if controlled by something, executing that unbelievable

change of direction?

Steve Nash, the two-time MVP renowned for his basketball IQ, was now utterly baffled.

He had lived nearly forty years and played basketball for half his life.

He had seen all kinds of geniuses and made countless miraculous passes.

But he had never experienced, nor even heard of, a scene like the one that had just unfolded!

It felt as if someone had shoved the exam answers directly into his brain!

He could even "see" that Sefolosha would slip!

This was even more absurd than a Hollywood sci-fi movie!

Finally,

it was Nash, the team's brain, who couldn't hold back any longer.

He walked over to Lin Feng and asked in an extremely complex tone,

"Lin."

"What... what exactly did you do?"

This question voiced everyone's thoughts.

Howard, Artest, even the usually carefree Nick Young, all pricked up their ears, holding their breath as they awaited Lin Feng's answer.

Lin Feng simply picked up a bottle of Gatorade, unscrewed the cap, and took a slow, unhurried sip.

Then, he looked up, meeting his teammates' gazes filled with confusion, shock, and even a hint of awe.

He smiled.

It was a calm yet supremely confident smile.

"I said,"

"run to the positions I told you, and shoot."

"Leave the rest to me."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a compelling, undeniable magic.

The teammates exchanged glances; though their confusion deepened, they strangely refrained from pressing further.

An instinctive trust was rapidly taking root in their hearts.

In the corner,

Kobe, dressed in a suit, took it all in.

His sharp eyes burned with an intense, incomprehensible fire!

He understood!

This kid Lin Feng had actually done it!

He was no longer just that spear, only knowing how to charge forward!

He had become the king who could make all weapons on the battlefield serve him!

Kobe's heart pounded violently in his chest.

He could already see the scepter of the Purple and Gold Dynasty, snatched away by the thunder duo, being reclaimed step by step by this young man!

"Beeeeep—!"

The whistle signaling the end of the time-out sounded.

The second quarter resumed.

On the Thunder's bench, head coach Brooks' face was so dark it seemed water could drip from it.

He roared loudly at his players.

"Cut him off! Sever the connection between that number 11 and everyone else!"

"Don't let him make another one of those bizarre passes!"

"Use your bodies to pressure him! Wear him down!"

The relaxed expressions had long vanished from the Thunder players' faces.

Replacing them was an unprecedented seriousness.

The game resumed.

The Thunder's defensive strategy had undergone a dramatic transformation!

Westbrook clung to Lin Feng like a piece of adhesive plaster, applying full-court pressure and physical harassment from the backcourt!

Meanwhile, the other Thunder players, like mad dogs, frantically cut off the running lanes of the other Lakers players!

Their goal was clear!

To sever the connection between Lin Feng and his teammates at all costs!

They aimed to completely isolate Lin Feng!

To turn him into an island, unable to transmit any signals!

This defensive strategy was immediately effective!

The Lakers' offense instantly became sluggish.

Although Lin Feng could still use the Eye of the Heavenly Emperor to see his teammates' optimal movements,

his passing lanes were completely sealed off by the Thunder's ferocious defense!

The ball simply couldn't be passed out!

With the 24-second shot clock about to expire,

Lin Feng was forced into a difficult individual attack.

"Clang!"

The ball hit the rim and bounced out!

A collective sigh of disappointment echoed through the Staples Center.

The Thunder seized the opportunity and immediately launched a fast break!

Durant received a pass from Westbrook and scored an easy layup!

The score was now in their favor!

On the sidelines, Coach Brooks pumped his fist fiercely!

It worked!

His tactic was effective!

As long as they stifled Lin Feng, that bizarre engine, the Lakers would remain that weak, pushover team!

Over the next few possessions,

the Lakers' offense was completely paralyzed.

Every time the ball reached Lin Feng's hands, Westbrook would cling to him relentlessly.

Meanwhile, the other Lakers players were scattered and disjointed by the Thunder's defense.

Lin Feng's brow furrowed slightly.

He knew.

Simple passing was no longer enough.

The opponent's defense had escalated to another level.

Conventional weapons could no longer penetrate their defense.

He needed a "breakout point."

A super breakout point that could ignore any defense and defy all logic!

A piece that could, like the sharpest dagger, plunge straight into the opponent's heart and utterly shatter their defensive confidence!

Lin Feng's gaze slowly swept across the court.

Finally,

his eyes settled on the figure in the corner, tightly guarded by Durant.

Nick Young!

He was the one!

A resolute glint flashed in Lin Feng's eyes!

He took a deep breath, focusing all his mental energy intensely!

Then.

He accelerated sharply, facing Westbrook's beast-like defense!

Not to drive past him!

But to create a passing window, even if only for a tenth of a second!

Now!

Lin Feng's gaze, like two tangible bolts of lightning, pierced through the crowd and locked onto Nick Young in the corner!

In that instant!

Nick Young's entire body trembled violently!

He felt as if his brain had been forcefully invaded by an overwhelmingly powerful, irresistible, divine force!

Before his eyes, the entire world changed!

The roaring noise of the arena vanished!

The rapidly moving figures of teammates and opponents slowed to a crawl, like a slow-motion replay!

He saw it!

He saw with crystal clarity that Kevin Durant's seemingly flawless defense was actually full of laughable gaps!

He could even predict that Durant would extend his left hand to block his shooting path in the next second!

And the standard-sized basket

in his eyes, was expanding at an incredible rate!

Becoming like a vast, boundless, azure sea!

An unprecedented, supremely powerful confidence!

An absolute sense of control, as if he were the sole ruler of this world!

Instantly filled Nick Young's entire soul!

Pseudo-ZONE state, activated!

Simultaneously!

Lin Feng's pass arrived!

The basketball, as if it had eyes, slipped through the double coverage of Westbrook and Ibaka, landing precisely in Nick Young's hands!

Nick Young caught the ball.

His face no longer wore its usual playful grin.

Instead, it was replaced by an absolute calm, as if possessed by a deity!

He made no adjustments!

Facing Kevin Durant's block, which was already in his face!

He rose slowly into the air!

His body extended into a perfect, textbook shooting form!

Then, with supremely confident and graceful motion, he gently released the ball from his hands!

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Under the incredulous, horrified gazes of tens of thousands of spectators!

The ball traced a breathtaking, perfect arc through the air!

"Swish!"

Nothing but net!

Three-pointer made!

Even Nick Young himself was stunned after the shot.

He stared blankly at his hands, unable to believe that he had just made that shot!

And the entire Staples Center, because of this historic, unbelievable three-pointer!

Erupted into a roaring, tumultuous frenzy!