Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 1130 The Ultimate Psychological Warfare! Lin Tian's Signature Skill!

After Allen was taken out of the game, the US team's defensive pressure naturally dropped significantly, but their offensive firepower increased substantially.

Wade's ability to cut and penetrate is simply unmatched by Allen.

More importantly, in the previous few minutes, Lin Tian was almost standing still when defending Allen, which allowed him to leave Allen 3 meters away, thus saving a lot of energy on the defensive end.

But now that Wade has replaced Lin Tian as his opponent, Lin Tian can no longer rest.

With the score already behind, Lin Tian had no time to rest.

China needs to catch up!

Even if Lin Tian were still guarding Allen, let alone Wade, he would still need to help defend and move around more to help his teammates fight against the powerful American team.

In this attack, the US team once again passed the ball to the inside. They certainly knew that Yi Jianlian had four fouls and was the easiest point of attack for the Chinese team. In addition, Howard happened to be the one who was least afraid of Yi Jianlian.

So James didn't hesitate and, after waiting for Howard to get into a good position, immediately passed the ball in.

"Hey little girl, wanna experience my might?" Howard, with his back to the basket, taunted Yi Jianlian before suddenly slamming the ball hard on the floor with both hands, his shoulder slamming into Yi Jianlian's chest and forcing him to take a half-step back.

Then Howard gathered the ball and suddenly pulled up, Yi Jianlian couldn't stop him at all! He has absolute confidence when facing his crush.

"Snapped!"

"Beep beep beep! Foul! Two free throws!"

Then, two more sounds came at the same time, and because both sounds were so loud, no one could even tell which sound was louder or which sound came out earlier.

However, this foul wasn't called on Yi Jianlian, because it wasn't Yi Jianlian who committed the foul.

It's Lin Tian.

This guy rushed over from who-knows-where, but by the time he arrived, it was too late to jump and block or defend. Lin Tian simply went all in, aimed at Howard's arm, and slapped it down with all his might.

Howard let out a scream, then lost control of the basketball. The ball flew out of control, and before he could even jump, he was knocked off his balance by the immense force of the blow and fell to the floor.

"Don't give him any 2+1 opportunities!" After committing the foul, Lin Tian didn't look at Howard, but instead raised his hand to indicate that he accepted the foul call. At the same time, he looked at Zhu Fangyu and the others and said, "Be ruthless! Play as ruthlessly as possible, preferably make him miss both of his free throws!"

"Brother, why don't you speak Chinese? I can't understand it." Zhu Fangyu scratched his head. Of the five people on the court, he was the only academic failure. The other four had all played in the NBA, so of course they could understand Lin Tian's English.

"If you speak Mandarin, they won't understand, right?" Lin Tian chuckled. "I'm telling you to be tougher when you foul, like you'd beat your son!"

"Don't worry, I'll beat him like a grandson!" Zhu Fangyu said, baring her teeth fiercely at Howard, who was watching them. "What the hell are you looking at!"

Howard couldn't understand what Zhu Fangyu was saying, but judging from Zhu Fangyu's expression, he was 100% sure she was cursing him.

Howard walked to the free-throw line, cursing under his breath. He wasn't in the mood to argue with Zhu Fangyu because his hand was still hurting and trembling.

Lin Tian's merciless slap really hurt.

Howard took a deep breath, looked at the basket, and then raised his hand.

"Bang!"

Forging!

"Whoosh!"

For his second free throw, Howard attempted a swish from outside the basket, the ball grazing the net and flying out of bounds, missing both free throws.

"Impressive!"

As Howard retreated in frustration, Lin Tian walked past him with a smile and said, "He deliberately missed the ball, so we can't grab the rebound and launch a counterattack immediately."

"You're as stupid as an idiot, but you actually have some brains?"

"You're the idiot!" Howard finally snapped.

"Can't you tell I'm praising you?" Lin Tian innocently spread his hands and said, "Is this the first time in your life that someone has praised you for being able to lead tactics? Is this the first time in your life that someone has praised you for having a brain instead of calling you a mentally challenged person whose brain stopped developing after the age of seven?"

"You're dead!" Howard uttered another harmless but harsh remark, then turned and quickly walked towards his own basket.

He made up his mind that if Lin Tian dared to come in, he would definitely teach Lin Tian a lesson and make him know the consequences of offending him!

Lin Tian received the ball in the backcourt, and Wade once again pressed forward, continuing the defensive strategy that the US team had used against Lin Tian throughout the entire game.

"If the rotation strategy worked, we wouldn't have been able to beat you guys on the ground for four Olympic Games." Lin Tian seemed to have fully recovered his strength at this moment, mocking Wade while calmly dribbling the ball towards the frontcourt.

Once he reached the three-point line, he immediately called for a screen from Yi Jianlian, and then used the screen to dribble towards the inside.

This time, however, Lin Tian did not rush to accelerate and attack the basket. Instead, he half-ran and half-walked towards Howard, seemingly trying to draw Howard out of the three-point line.

Howard hesitated, unsure whether to press Lin Tian directly or turn around and defend the basket again.

"Dwight, go back!" Just as Howard hesitated, Wade shouted, squeezing through the screen and once again blocking Lin Tian's path: "Trying to create a mismatch isn't that easy!"

"Who said I was going to exploit your mismatches?" Lin Tian smiled, then suddenly launched a shot, a lob shot with a very tricky arc, the basketball flying towards the inside.

Yi Jianlian caught the ball as it rolled down the court, and then pulled up for a quick two-handed dunk!

"boom!"

Howard was delayed in returning to defend Yi Jianlian because he was debating whether to press Lin Tian. By then, Yi Jianlian had already slammed home a dunk, and Howard was only just arriving, barely managing to get back under the basket.

The two players were only about a body length apart, but that one body length was enough for the Chinese team to score a crucial 2 points with a dunk.

Wade didn't seem to care that Lin Tian had provided another assist.

This is Lin Tian! These points are all deserved by Lin Tian. They can't possibly shut down Lin Tian's individual offense and passing.

On the US team's offense, Howard, who had just been fouled hard and missed both free throws, and then left his man open on the defensive end, allowing the opponent to score a dunk, was quite proactive and aggressive. He once again got into position under the basket and then gestured for his teammates to pass the ball.

This point is indeed the biggest and most obvious advantage of the US team. Even though Howard missed both free throws just now, James was still willing to trust him and passed the ball to Howard under the basket again.

Everything was so similar to the last round. Howard dribbled, turned, pushed past Yi Jianlian, and then sprang up to dunk with both hands, but he was slapped on the arm again, knocking him down from the sky.

The only difference from before is that this time it was Zhu Fangyu's turn to take action.

"Super stress-relieving!" Zhu Fangyu exclaimed with a smile after committing the foul. "Can someone translate this for me?"

"FUXX YOU!" Lin Tian thoughtfully provided a very appropriate translation.

"Boss, I'm not really stupid. I understand what that means." Zhu Fangyu pouted, indicating that you can't fool me like I'm a primary school student.

"But this sentence perfectly describes your current mood and thoughts, and it can also convey your emotions most accurately." Lin Tian shrugged, indicating that you should say that, kid.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Fangyu immediately nodded, then turned to look at Howard. Just as he was about to retort, a hand suddenly covered his mouth: "Are you crazy?"

"I'm just kidding you." Sun Yue looked at Zhu Fangyu with a helpless expression: "If you had just sworn, that would have been fine, but now that the ball is dead and we're about to shoot a free throw, if you go over there and start cursing at someone, the referee will 100% give you a technical foul."

"Got it!" Zhu Fangyu suddenly realized: "I'll tell you earlier, and shout it the moment the foul occurs."

"Bang!"

The group chatted casually while taking their positions, and the atmosphere within the Chinese team gradually relaxed without anyone noticing!

Everyone seemed to have stopped feeling anxious about falling behind, and no longer worried about having less and less time left in the game.

They're as relaxed as if they were playing a practice match right now!

"Lin is really amazing," Kobe couldn't help but say. "For some reason, the Chinese team isn't nervous anymore."

Gasol nodded in agreement: "That's also one of his strengths. His psychological warfare isn't just aimed at opponents; he also has a way with his teammates. He has a way of making his teammates regain confidence and forget their troubles with just a few gestures."

"A true leader! Number one in the league."

"Whoosh!"

With a crisp sound, Howard, who had missed three consecutive free throws, finally made one, avoiding a four-game losing streak.

Before he could even feel happy, he heard Lin Tian lecturing Zhu Fangyu: "Next time, be tougher! Use more force! The fact that he still made the free throw proves your foul wasn't hard enough, that it didn't hurt him enough!"

"Next round, if it's still one-on-one, I want you to take him down to the floor and make sure he can't get up! Any malicious fouls are mine!"

"Huh? What? I don't understand?" Zhu Fangyu said with a clear face, indicating that he didn't understand Lin Tian's English at all.

Lin Tian: It's okay, you don't need to understand. It was meant for Howard and the American players.

They just need to be afraid.

After arriving at the frontcourt, Lin Tian once again received the ball and had Yi Jianlian set a screen for him. He once again bypassed Wade, and just like before, Lin Tian did not accelerate again but chose to drive to the basket himself.

Instead, he continued to entice Howard, drawing him forward to defend him in mismatch situations.

This time, Howard didn't hesitate. He quickly retreated, not giving Yi Jianlian another chance to cut to the basket and attack directly. The reason Howard was so decisive was because James came to help. He moved to the side and helped Howard close the gap created by the screen.

Lin Tian didn't hesitate and quickly made a lateral pass, the basketball flew to Xu Yong's hands. Xu Yong caught the ball and, of course, didn't hesitate at all, pulling up and shooting from beyond the three-point line.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, although the ball was in an open position, it still bounced off the rim and missed.

Howard, who had positioned himself earlier and rushed back into the paint, grabbed the rebound. Instead of rushing, Howard calmly passed the ball to Durant, who was closest to him.

Durant dribbled the ball along the left sideline. Considering his height, his agility and skills are truly incredible. To be able to play like a guard with that height is why so many people believe that Durant will be the face of the league in the next generation!

Then, just as Durant arrived at the frontcourt, about 2 meters away from the Chinese team's three-point line, he suddenly made a sharp crossover, instantly shaking off Zhu Fangyu and creating space for himself. He then dribbled forward one step.

He pulled up and launched a three-pointer!

"Whoosh!"

Death wielded its scythe, once again precisely tearing the heart of the Chinese team apart.

This three-pointer wiped out Hebei China Fortune's efforts in the previous minute, widening the gap between the two sides once again!

"NICE!" Almost the entire US team's bench jumped up and cheered at that moment. Durant's three-pointer made the previously oppressive atmosphere disappear instantly, and all the players jumped up and down in celebration.

While this shot wasn't enough to seal the victory for Team USA, it was enough to excite them! Howard's 1-for-4 free throws had given many people a bad feeling, and several even recalled the painful memories of their teams being reversed and losing to Lin Tian and his team due to some minor issues in a certain year.

Ultimately, the American players gathered here have all lost to Lin Tian far too many times.

It's no exaggeration to say that all of these people were defeated by Lin Tian.

Well, saying that a few others were defeated by Lin Tian is an understatement. They didn't have much of a chance to make the playoffs and then lose to Lin Tian.

As for the regular season, how can we even mention their record? It's embarrassing enough.

But Durant's move definitely boosted the morale of the US team!

However, Hebei China Fortune proved that they were not in despair or passive because of that one goal.

Lin Tian continued to dribble steadily forward, still setting screens unhurriedly, and after each screen, instead of rushing to drive to the basket, he once again lured Howard forward.

Howard didn't fall for it again. This time, due to positioning issues, it was Durant who came over to double-team Lin Tian.

Lin Tian passed the ball again, this time to Zhu Fangyu, who had been left unmarked.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, perhaps due to overexertion in the previous minutes, Zhu Fangyu, who had a good overall performance and a great touch tonight, missed that wide-open three-pointer.

"Oh no!" Yu Jia said worriedly, "Missing those two three-pointers could affect our mentality and also the US team's defensive strategy."

"We need to score! Everyone except Lin Tian needs to score!" Zhang Weiping added, "Although they did very well in the first half, our players need to step up and keep scoring! Only when everyone scores can we turn the game around and win!"

At this point, the US team was completely unhurried. James leisurely crossed half-court, time was their friend now, and he calmly organized the offense, continuously passing the ball around.

Then the basketball returned to Howard's hands in the paint once again.

Let him play singles! The American team has complete confidence in this option.

Especially when the team has a clear lead, what can your Chinese team do even if they commit a foul?

How many fouls have you key players committed?

Especially Yi Jianlian, who has already committed 4 fouls, can only hope for help from his teammates; there is nothing else he can do.

But the American players clearly forgot something else.

Does that mean Howard is still willing to play one-on-one in the paint and is still willing to be violently fouled by the Chinese team?

Even if the Chinese team's fouls aren't intended to cripple someone, they won't injure him.

But are Howard really willing to endure those increasingly vicious fouls?

No!

This time, as Howard turned to try and take on Yi Jianlian one-on-one, he noticed Sun Yue coming to help defend from the weak side.

This time, instead of forcing a shot, he suddenly passed the ball behind him.

Howard felt that was an opportunity, an open shot! James had just been standing there.

But clearly, that was just now.

Howard's passing vision is too narrow and too presumptuous; he simply doesn't have the ability to facilitate and distribute the ball.

James is gone; now Lin Tian is standing there!

After receiving the ball, Lin Tian quickly turned and sprinted down the court. The American players couldn't react in time and could only watch as Lin Tian rushed forward and scored 2 points with a layup.

A crucial 2 points!

"pause!"

Coach K couldn't tolerate such a low-level and inexplicable mistake. Howard had two free throw opportunities, but he didn't take them and instead gave the opponent a fast break pass.

Even if the team is in the lead, Coach K still has to call a timeout to give instructions.

"Coach, I have an idea!" But during the timeout, Wade spoke up before anyone else.

"Lin's stamina must have really run out! There's a problem with him, there's a problem with his playing style! This isn't the style he usually plays, or the style he should be using at this moment! He could play more aggressively during pick-and-rolls and be more decisive in his drives, but he didn't."

"He didn't accelerate directly to the basket. Although it looked like he was waiting for a double team or Dwight's defense, he didn't need to do that. He would have been more efficient if he had just driven in himself."

"I think it's because he can't run anymore and can't accelerate."

"Furthermore, during that fast break just now, he didn't dunk, and he didn't even pick up speed. He just made a layup and scored 2 points, which isn't his style! After the layup, he didn't even trash talk to us! He quietly walked past us with his head down and sat down on the bench."

"I believe this is absolutely because he overexerted himself and had no strength left! He needs to conserve his already depleted energy as much as possible!" (End of Chapter)