The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 78 - 76: Trying to Steal a Chicken Only to End Up Losing the Rice

Chapter 78: Chapter 76: Trying to Steal a Chicken Only to End Up Losing the Rice

Bruce Bowen’s flying kick was aimed at Su Wan, and a murmur ran through the crowd as some San Antonio people displayed anticipatory smiles, hoping to see Bowen kick Su to the ground.

But the next scene left them stunned. In a split second, Su somehow reacted, using his hand to fend off Bowen’s foot just before falling to the ground.

Instead, it was Bowen who, unbalanced by Su’s deflection, fell backward, his head hitting the floor with a thud.

The murmur instantly turned into a roar, as the more squeamish fans turned their heads away, frowning and closing their eyes, not daring to look back at the court. Only when their friends reassured them that there wasn’t the gruesome scene they imagined did they dare to open their eyes.

By then, they saw the once lively Bowen lying motionless on the floor, only the rise and fall of his chest proving he was still alive.

"Team doctor, team doctor!"

Popovich, coming out of his shock, quickly asked the assistant coach to call for the doctor. In the meantime, he glanced at Su, who had gotten up and stood with one hand on his hip. Furiously, he shouted at the referees, "This is murder! That Huaxia rookie wants to kill Bruce. Why are you standing there? Eject him from the game right now!"

With Popovich’s outcry, the crowd also let out a wave of jeers, and all sorts of foul language started spewing from the stands.

Reggie Miller and others immediately stood by Su.

This was a lesson learned from the "Auburn Hills Palace incident."

"You okay?" Tinsley asked softly.

Su shook his head slightly.

Initially, he had wanted to, just like the past Bruce Bowen, run to the referees showing an innocent face, to indicate he hadn’t done it on purpose, or hypocritically hurry to Bowen’s side to show concern.

But ultimately, he gave it all up.

He didn’t want to do those things.

The reason was simple:

Bowen had thrown a kick, and he had simply protected himself, executing a legitimate defensive maneuver. Now, it was Bruce Bowen’s own fault he lay on the ground. If the referees couldn’t make a fair call, he would seek justice in front of the media. He hadn’t done anything wrong.

So, he chose to do nothing, staying quiet and waiting.

The team doctor rushed over, one more experienced than the others hovering his hand in front of Bowen’s face, gesturing with numbers, checking and observing Bowen’s reaction to ensure his consciousness wasn’t scattered. Relieved, he began inspecting Bowen’s body and eventually confirmed there were no injuries. He had the team doctor lift him onto a stretcher.

Seeing Bowen carried out in such a way intensified the fervor of the fans in the arena.

Popovich took the opportunity to pressure the referees to their breaking point, "You have to eject him. If I don’t see that outcome, then you’re deliberately biased, and San Antonio will never accept it!"

The referee glanced at him, pulled him over to the monitor, and pointed to the replay showing Bowen airborne, "Greg, I’d like to ask, what’s the professional term for this move on a basketball court?"

Popovich was speechless, but his tone remained unyielding, "... Regardless, the person lying on the floor is Bruce Bowen!"

Seeing Popovich playing dumb with him, the referee’s stance grew firmer, "Regardless, we only saw Bruce make a move that has no place on a basketball court, and this wasn’t the first time. Su simply protected himself; he didn’t counter."

"He raised his hand, didn’t you see?" Popovich pointed to a frame in the playback video, "If he hadn’t lifted his hand, Bowen wouldn’t have fallen like that!"

That could be called no counter?

"If Su hadn’t lifted his arm, then he would be the one lying on the ground!" the referee said while holding the whistle in hand, "Listen Greg, this is the final decision. I’m giving Bruce a Flagrant Foul Two, and if you don’t return to your spot immediately, you will also receive a technical foul."

Popovich never expected that his insistence on reviewing the video would ultimately incriminate Bruce Bowen. The sense of failing in his scheme disconcerted him into cursing aloud, "Go ahead and blow your whistle at me, you piece of shit. How can someone like you be a referee?"

"Tweet!"

The referee saw Popovich refusing to back down and didn’t hesitate to blow the whistle for a technical, ejecting Popovich from the game.

"Damn it, keep calling it like that, the other side is getting away with murder, and you’ll regret it!" Popovich continued to curse as he had to make his way to the tunnel.

The home crowd at the Spurs’ venue was already upset about Bruce Bowen being carried off, and now Popovich had been ejected, the jeers immediately filled the stadium.

At this time, the Pacers were awarded two free throws and possession of the ball by the officials.

Rick Carlisle breathed a sigh of relief.

Artest had never found the referees so agreeable, he kept shouting praise at them, "Wise decision, sirs, wise indeed!"

Carlisle had wanted Reggie Miller to take the free throws, but after Miller glanced at Su Wan, he declined, believing that Su Wan was capable.

Su Wan didn’t disappoint, standing at the free-throw line amidst deafening boos, he sank both shots with composure.

Next, the Pacers still had possession for an offensive play.

The Spurs’ defense was clearly in disarray without Popovich’s yelling to position them. With Popovich gone, they seemed a bit lost.

One word:

Despicable!

Noticing this, Su Wan immediately chose to run a pick-and-roll with little O’Neal. The Spurs’ confusion was evident as both Tim Duncan and a returning Manu Ginobili rushed at O’Neal, leaving Su Wan open. Capitalizing on his free-throw shooting rhythm, he hit the mid-range shot with ease.

Four points in a row!

Swept up in the eye of the storm, Su Wan seemed completely unaffected by the boos.

In fact, he seemed to grow stronger amidst the jeering!

Well, if not for the boost from "The zone," such a wave of boos about to engulf Su Wan would have surely had an impact.

After all, this was Su Wan’s first time in such an environment...

It was the Spurs’ turn to attack, and Rick Carlisle successfully predicted that the other Spurs players wanted to get the ball to Tim Duncan to handle the situation. From the sidelines, he continuously gestured for a "soft double-team" on Duncan.

That meant creating a lingering threat of a double-team around Duncan, slowly tightening the circle around him as he got the ball, and decisively closing in the moment he looked to pass.

The usually stable Tim Duncan, under continuous pressure, started to rush.

He hastily shot the ball and missed.

Foster grabbed the rebound.

And then, it was like the Spurs’ collapse was as rapid as a landslide.

The Pacers grew more composed as they played, stretching the lead further and further, until they finally won by 13 points with a score of 98 to 85 at the Spurs’ home court.

While Su Wan had managed 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in the first half, he finished with an impeccable performance of 24 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks for the entire game.

However, everyone knew that the focus of the post-game discussion wouldn’t be on Su Wan’s stats.