Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Yu Fei and Kobe's spirited showdown ignited the fans' enthusiasm.

Key Arena tonight looked no less impressive than any other NBA home court.

At half-time, the SuperSonics led the Lakers by 7 points, 64 to 57.

"If this game happened on Christmas Day, I believe it would mean more," Karl said in a half-time interview, "I mean, special games should belong to special nights."

Karl was right, but even if today was just an ordinary day, a special game could still leave a lasting impression on the fans at Key Arena.

The exciting gameplay greatly stimulated the fans' desire to consume.

During the half-time break, one-third of the fans left their seats to head to the stores outside the stadium to buy refreshments and replenish their energy.

The energy here is truly impressive," Adam Silver said, though not sincerely.

As the NBA's Deputy Commissioner and the successor favored by Stern, he had been deeply involved in the League's plans to relocate the SuperSonics.

Adam remembered how Stern had described the plan when it first came out.

"Moving the SuperSonics away from Seattle might be the most controversial thing in my career. But Seattle needs a lesson; we need a case study. And I believe that the NBA will eventually return to Seattle — by then, I believe they'll be better prepared. And this will be the greatest gift I can leave for my successor. Whether he's outstanding or not, bringing basketball back to Seattle will be the biggest success of his career."

Adam agreed with the idea that Seattle needed to be punished and liked the subplot that Stern had left for the next Commissioner. Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

Especially considering he was the closest to the Commissioner's throne after Stern, he was even more interested in the matter.

But after watching half the game in Seattle, Adam's mind suddenly harbored several wicked thoughts.

Maybe Clay Bennett would change his mind.

Maybe Frye could find another way to bring a brand-new arena to the SuperSonics.

Maybe the SuperSonics would really be left behind.

Adam hadn't forgotten his objective.

Meddling in the production of the "final season" of NBA Entertainment's coverage of the SuperSonics was a ruse; the real intention was to scout the basketball market in Seattle and the changes brought about by Yu Fei's arrival.

"Let's take a walk around," Adam suggested.

He could no longer bear to watch.

It was just that the person accompanying him was utterly mesmerized.

"Andy?" Adam called out to him.

The man immediately came back to his senses.

Is this the charm of a star player? Adam Silver wondered.

Even his assistant, who usually didn't care much for basketball games, was deeply engrossed. Could the sports journalists' theory of star power actually be correct?

Home Locker Room

Durant was still annoyed with himself for his poor performance in the second quarter.

Before Kobe powered up, he had some good moments, but soon those were extinguished by the Black Mamba's Kiss.

"Rookie, why are you hanging your head?" Posey asked.

Durant replied, "I'm thinking about why I can't guard Kobe."

"It's simple," Posey said bluntly, "because Kobe's really good at using blind-side elbows on you, that's a fact. But another fact is your thin frame can't even handle one of Kobe's elbows."

"What elbow? Isn't it Kevin using his body to go up against Kobe's elbows?" Roy said with a sneer.

Durant wanted to know how Yu Fei managed to maintain his shooting touch in such a high-intensity matchup, "Is there a secret?"

"A secret?" Yu Fei didn't know of any secrets for maintaining shooting touch under heavy defense. "There's no secret here, Kevin. If you want to know, you should hit the gym," he said.

Then Brown shouted, "I know Big Fei's secret."

All eyes immediately turned to him.

"Women!" Brown said confidently, "Big Fei's secret is women. Ever since he got single, women have been changing on him like clothes, one after another. I'm certain that Big Fei has developed quite a resistance from them!"

Yes, Durant was more willing to believe in the endurance gains brought by women than the gym-workouts.

But he didn't dare to try it easily because, when he first entered the NBA, the league gave them a three-day lecture, warning them about various dangers off the court. Kobe, who had his escapades in Eagle County, served as a cautionary tale.

Yu Fei was quiet tonight because the true man-to-man battle with Kobe in the second quarter had drained a lot of his energy, so even if Brown was talking nonsense, he didn't feel like clarifying.

When Karl entered the locker room, everyone went silent.

"We did well in the first half; let's continue that in the second," he said.

Yu Fei asked, "Kobe is in a kind of crazy form tonight, shouldn't we focus on him?"

"That kind of unreasonable offense can't stay accurate all the time," Karl said with confidence, "wait until Kobe starts missing, then the Lakers are done."

Karl was a little off in his calculation. As a Hall of Fame superstar, Kobe was known for being clutch, a big-game performer who often stepped up when his team was faltering, and his most jaw-dropping performances usually came during the regular season.

Tonight was just such a game for Kobe.

He exerted himself, and the SuperSonics' targeted defense was limited, so he started shooting recklessly.

This became more apparent in the third quarter.

Phil Jackson tried a few times to get Kobe to calm down, but after seeing his teammates' toothpaste-like offense, Kobe went ahead and pretended he was back in high school.

But Kobe on fire was not someone that just anyone could restrain.

The Zen Master tried, failed, and then let it be.