Chapter 24: A Paragon of Stepping Down after Achievement

Chapter 36: A Model of Retiring at the Peak

William Adams watched his players with satisfaction. Those who had played for two or three years now understood how to win. Their flawless execution had made it easy for Duke to seize a commanding lead; this was what it meant to be the ultimate dark horse.

Of course, the seasoned Coach K was not one to be underestimated. If he were a proud man, he wouldn’t be one of the greatest names in NCAA history.

Su Feng knew that the Cleveland Cavaliers’ ace was himself. Their own ace, due to few fouls in the first half, hadn’t played much. After the suspension, Coach Stevens would certainly send in his point guard. Duke had to be thoroughly prepared. Anyone who could lead the Cavaliers to a championship as a freshman was not just some jack-of-all-trades.

“From now on, keep drawing fouls from their point guard! He’s already got two fouls—one or two more, and Coach Stevens will have to bench him. Use fouls to tie his hands, just like you did. There’s nothing more effective than simply stopping a player from playing. Su Feng must be denied the space to exert his power!”

The pause finally ended. Anxious Cavaliers fans saw Su Feng don his jersey again and cheered without hesitation for their valiant number one guard.

On his first play after returning, Su Feng faced Henry Bright William, who couldn’t keep up with him at all. Willie Wesley called for a breakthrough.

Duke’s starting power forward, Lance Thomas, tried to learn Zoubek’s positioning tricks, hoping to lure Su Feng into an offensive foul.

This time, Su Feng was more cautious. When he brushed past Henry Bright William, he didn’t go all out. Instead, he paused.

With a sharp stop, Su Feng changed direction, slipping around Lance Thomas’s blockade.

Though there was a brief halt, no one could catch Su Feng after he accelerated again. He pierced into the paint like a sword. In the lane, Duke’s “blocking maniac” Brian Zoubek was waiting to defend. Even though Su Feng forced his way in, scoring would not be easy.

Su Feng saw Zoubek step forward, blocking his path. Without hesitation, he lobbed the ball towards the rim.

Zoubek stretched his long arms with all his might, but the ball grazed his fingertips and entered the paint.

“A lob? After a season of March Madness, we’ve rarely seen or used this kind of offense,” Reggie Miller remarked, puzzled. The lob and the three-pointer were Su Feng’s least-used methods of attack.

Not only Reggie Miller but even Stevens frowned. Su Feng’s shooting percentage had never been satisfactory. Why would he use such an uncertain method at such a crucial moment?

When the Bulldogs’ backup center, Smith, leapt behind Zoubek to grab the ball and dunked it, everyone suddenly realized—Su Feng was not one to do anything uncertain.

“An alley-oop! He used his breakthrough to draw Zoubek out, then delivered a perfect pass to his inside man, who specializes in alley-oop dunks and was left completely unguarded! With Su Feng’s return, the Cavaliers’ offense has come back to life!” The old trickster shook his head. This kid’s vision and overall awareness are far beyond his years. Even so, Duke still held an eight-point lead. They had plenty of time to drag Su Feng back into the mud.

Henry Bright William, while following the principle of drawing fouls, became more aggressive in his one-on-one plays. This time, after receiving a pass from Scherr, he drove straight at Su Feng, intending to draw another foul.

But to Henry Bright William’s surprise, Su Feng, who already had two fouls, dared to reach in for a steal during the drive.

Smith charged at Su Feng, hoping to draw a foul, but before he could act, Su Feng had already swiped the ball away!

After losing the ball, Henry Bright William spun around, but Su Feng leapt up and flicked the ball beneath his body.

Seeing Shelvin Mack break free, Su Feng, from the ground, passed him the ball. No one expected the defender to deliver a pass from the floor, so when Shelvin Mack caught it, the Cavaliers captain was wide open.

Although Kobe’s desire to score was not high today—hence his mere 21 points and, in part, the reason for the loss—the Black Mamba never gave himself any excuses.

“We’ll have plenty of battles in the future, but don’t let me down,” Kobe said, patting Su Feng’s shoulder before turning to leave. But after taking a step, Kobe turned back again.

“I’ll send my personal number to your manager. We’ll talk later. Hey, cheer up. You don’t talk enough on the court, man!” This time, Kobe truly left.

Su Feng was stunned. He could hardly believe he had just spoken face-to-face with his childhood idol, or that he had managed to defeat him.

Yet soon, Su Feng left the court with a sense of fulfillment. First Wade, now Bryant… playing in this league was becoming more and more interesting.

Houston’s Rocket Arena, and perhaps Staples Center, might just be basketball courts to Su Feng, but to the world, these were grand stages. If you played for the Rockets, the whole world would know your name.

In Houston, leading the Cavaliers to an epic comeback and outdueling Kobe Bryant statistically, this rookie had burst into the public eye, instantly boosting his commercial value.

But this young man, who’d never been the subject of tabloid gossip, made many covet his immense market worth.

The newspapers were filled with nauseating articles about Su Feng’s performance the previous night. As for off-court news, the media only hyped up his supposed relationship with Vignali. Yet both were busy with their own careers, with no actual contact—such rumors were groundless.

After the game in Houston, however, all the media expressed immense confidence in the Cavaliers. They seemed to forget how, just days earlier, after the Cavaliers had lost to the Grizzlies, this same crowd had been the harshest critics.

The Cavaliers played the Detroit Pistons at home the day after defeating the Lakers.

In that game, Nowitzki finally found his rhythm, scoring a game-high 32 points. Under his leadership, the Cavaliers triumphed 103–89, a 14-point margin, easily dispatching a once-talented but now lackluster opponent.

Nowitzki took a lot of shots, so Su Feng “only” scored 32 points with 28 assists.

The Cavaliers’ opponent wasn’t strong, but after witnessing the combined force of Nowitzki and Su Feng, the entire league seemed to fall under the shadow of the Dallas Cowboys.

Suddenly, the Cavaliers had racked up 12 straight wins, having beaten the Spurs, Heat, and Thunder—they were back!

A new wave of media hype surrounded the Cavaliers, with some already ready to hand the O’Brien Trophy to Cuban.

But a day later, the Cavaliers played back-to-back away games in Chicago, putting on another startling display.

The Bulls were performing well this season, ranking third in the East with a 28–14 record. Their rising star, Derrick William Adams, was third in the MVP race.

This strong matchup was considered the most important game of the day, with ESPN even selecting it for a national broadcast.

Yet, during the game, fans witnessed nothing but endless brawling, inefficient offense, and an ugly contest.

Nowitzki, brilliant in the previous game, lost his touch again, scoring 16 points on just 37 percent shooting.

As for the duel between Su Feng and Derrick William Adams, it was so dull that viewers nearly fell asleep.

William Adams took 28 shots but made only nine under Su Feng’s defense, finishing with 26 points—all due to his own persistence.

Su Feng was no better; Adams’s defense kept him from making an impact. William Adams was blind to any other options, and Su Feng had no real opportunities either. Su Feng ended with 14 points and eight assists—a thoroughly unsatisfactory performance.

The match was a disappointment, and the final score was abysmally low. For the second time this season, the Cavaliers failed to score 80 points, losing 77–82 in a downright ugly game.

Such was the Cavaliers’ way: when you least expected it, they’d astonish and excite you, earning your highest praise—like Su Feng’s comeback at Staples, or Nowitzki’s 32 against the Pistons.

But if you got your hopes up, you’d soon regret it, as the Cavaliers would leave you gnashing your teeth—like this latest game, which once again made them the media’s primary target.