Chapter 32: Does the Goal Not Count?

Chapter 44: Does the Ball Not Count?

"Winner." Su Feng answered plainly, causing Hayward's worried expression to transform into laughter.

"Gordon! What's with the giggles? Did Mia from the cheerleading team go on another date with you yesterday? Come on, share the story with everyone!" Stevens waved the newspaper at Hayward. During breaks, one cannot simply sit on the floor staring at each other.

Hayward stepped forward to take the newspaper. "Sophomore forward Gordon Hayward is the smartest star player on the Butler team. It is said that he displayed his shooting talent at a basketball game when he was just three years old. Standing at 2.03 meters, Hayward is a formidable opponent. In terms of offensive skills, Hayward possesses shooting range and the ability to attack the basket. As Butler's leading shooter and rebounder, Hayward averages 18.5 points and 8.2 rebounds this season. Currently, there is much optimism surrounding his draft prospects, and this white forward is expected to land a mid-first round pick."

"Yeah! We should make him our top scorer!"

"Gordon! Give me an autograph, haha!"

"Remember, our opponents are the Kansas Houston Rockets, not Duke! Win this game for me, and then we'll go celebrate!" Brad Stevens punched the air with his fist as his young players began to shout one by one.

Quickly send the thirsty bulldogs to hunt!

Meanwhile, Xavier Cleaves worked to move toward the weaker side of the court, trying to create space for Cole Aldrich and William Adams Miller.

But William Adams Miller was not the endpoint of the attack. He raised his hand to pass, and the basketball flew over Su Feng's head. Cole Aldrich suddenly turned inward, instantly shaking off Matt's half-court position!

Although Cole Aldrich was heavier and taller than Matt, his athleticism surpassed that of Matt Howard.

Matt Howard couldn't bite this guy because of the sudden feint. Thus, this white center easily approached the basket. Faced with Cleaves' empty long shot, Cole jumped up and slammed it down!

"Wow, a powerful dunk from the big center! Goodness, I feel like the basket is about to come down!" Chris Webber exclaimed, pointing out that Cole and Matt were not even on the same level!

Stevens helplessly shook his head for the ball. The Houston Rockets' offensive tactics were not complicated, but the gap in capabilities between Matt and Cole remained unchanged.

After the basket, Cole Aldrich and Xavier Cleaves high-fived. They undoubtedly showcased Butler University's strong underdog capabilities!

Su Feng took the baseline ball from Matt and slowly advanced into the heart of the Houston Rockets' territory. He was not scared of the white center and the black guard, even after they had just executed a good offensive play.

"Don't worry, this is for you!" the point guard muttered to himself. While everyone was enjoying the recently made basket, Cleaves was already looking for opportunities. Three-pointer! This was the first scoring point for the Kansas Houston Rockets, putting them back in the lead thanks to Javier Cleaves.

"Cleaves! What are you doing? Focus on the court! If you want to play like Duke in the finals!" Stevens would not allow any mishaps from the team today. We’ve made it to the Final Four; we cannot back down!

Cleaves apologetically raised his right hand. Although Cleaves was a team player, his ability to create opportunities for himself was equally important.

But before Marvin Scott could celebrate, Su Feng scored a three-pointer with a pass that didn't even glance his way.

Sherwin Cleaves was very active on the right side of the ball, and Su Feng was indeed looking in Cleaves's direction. However, when the basketball was passed, everyone realized it was actually flying in the opposite direction from where Su Feng was looking.

Hayward was feeling off from the last game and didn’t continue to feel frustrated today. He made a steady shot, and the score was tied again.

"This is a battle of the final four! The game will be tense from start to finish!" Reggie Miller prepared for a long fight, whether as a commentator or a player.

In the next five minutes, both sides engaged in a tug-of-war. Xavier Cleaves and Cole Aldrich utilized their team's strengths to reach the offensive end like fish in water.

Sherwin Cleaves’s height disadvantage always forced Xavier Cleaves to take some tough shots. Cole Aldrich, in the paint, was dominating. Stevens worried that Matt, being a bit thinner, might get hurt by the stronger Cole.

Similarly, Hayward's precise shooting and Su Feng's sharp knife-like drives left the Houston Rockets struggling. Su Feng always managed to find space on the court, and his passing vision reminded Chris Webber of his former teammate, Jason Williams, "White Chocolate." No, this kid's assists are deadlier than White Chocolate's!

Now, Su Feng was an NCAA champion. He hoped to win his team's first championship trophy. Not just for himself, but for all those who fought alongside him.

"And what are you hesitating for?! It’s time to pass!" Only when Stevens’s shout echoed on the practice court did Su Feng realize he had missed the best passing opportunity.

"Mine." Su Feng raised his hand and coldly apologized to everyone. He promised himself he wouldn’t let it happen again.

At this point, no one would blame him. Making mistakes in practice is better than in a formal game.

"Okay, let's take a break. We’ll practice later!" Even Su Feng began to act out on the basketball court, causing others to become even more disoriented. Stevens called off practice to let everyone rest. After all, the athletes had been running for forty minutes straight.

"And what are you thinking?" Hayward sat cross-legged beside Su Feng, knowing his friends usually wouldn't do this.

Until the rotation players began to play slowly, neither side gained a substantial advantage. Everyone thought the first half would go smoothly. In the last two minutes of the first half, Stevens suddenly pulled Su Feng, catching everyone off guard.

"Ronald Nord has exited the game; it seems he’s lost today. This junior guard is experienced, but the final four is a first for him. The one replacing him is… Wow! Goodness, Coach Stevens is substituting again. We all thought the bulldogs' starting lineup would rest until the second half, but clearly, Coach Stevens doesn’t want to enter the second half without being on guard!" Reggie Miller shouted loudly, exciting everyone.

"What the hell is this?" Marvin Scott crossed his arms, watching Stevens. Wasn’t this guy planning to use Su Feng in the second half? Bringing Su Feng on now would only increase his physical burden!

"Stop him for me! Whatever it takes, I’ll stop him! Use money to get him off me!" Marvin Scott shouted, and since Stevens wanted to fight that way, don’t blame him for being rude!

Frequent physical contact and fierce resistance marked the most obvious change on the court after Su Feng returned. Although the opponent's guard's tight defense made it easy for Su Feng to break through, when he went for a layup, the opponent's backup center would not hesitate to knock Su Feng out of bounds while also stopping his offensive play. In short, they simply did not want Su Feng to score smoothly.

"That drive by Ye was beautiful! He headed straight for the basket! No, Darius Jackson, that black forward was brutally taken down. God, that’s our third foul."

Su Feng fell heavily to the ground, a noticeable bruise on his left arm. Only because the arena lights were too bright, the commentator and fans couldn’t see it.

Bulldogs rushed to Su Feng, but he didn’t wait for anyone to help him. Gritting his teeth, he stood up on his own.

Darius Jackson glared fiercely at Su Feng, but Su Feng's response was even more terrifying.

Now Jackson awkwardly looked elsewhere. Although Su Feng was the one falling repeatedly, no matter how hard he was hit, this yellow-skinned madman seemed to never stop attacking.

Faced with a desperate person, a slightly hairy figure turned into a Houston Rockets player.

"Damn!" Stevens clenched his fists on the sidelines. Knowing this, he wouldn’t have sent Su Feng in. To start the second half well, Stevens didn’t want to lose his vigilance.

On the basketball court, Su Feng made two free throws; the first one seemed unaffected by the collision and aggression. But only Su Feng knew how much pain he was in!

"Six points, and with his own self-destructive drive, the bulldogs took a six-point lead. But was the price for those six points a bit too high? Reggie Miller could see the Houston Rockets were intentionally playing so aggressively. If Su Feng didn’t go down for a moment, they would become even fiercer! Just as the Houston Rockets' defenders were dribbling outside the three-point line to waste time, Su Feng suddenly lunged forward and snatched the basketball from their hands.

The point guard was sweating profusely, but he was still gritting his teeth and running. The one who was caught by Su Feng was reluctant to follow suit.

Of course, he could not match Su Feng’s speed. Soon, Su Feng entered the paint, trying to take off, hoping to end the first half with a dunk and an eight-point lead. But the opposing angry guard reached out directly, surprised to find Su Feng had already leaped from the sky, pulling him down with a crushing slam.

Xavier Cleaves called for the ball from Mike William Adams Miller halfway through the game. He had to hurry to surpass the score. In a trailing situation, the Houston Rockets had to fight every minute!

William Adams Miller responded to Javier Cleaves’s call and immediately passed the ball. Cleaves was ready to receive it. The defender decided to use this offensive chance to equalize the score.

The basketball was getting closer to Cleaves. He prepared to shoot. At that moment, a shadow suddenly jumped out and intercepted the basketball mid-air! Xavier Cleaves did not react to what was happening. He only saw a number on his jersey, pushing the ball quickly!

"My God! Did you see Chris? Even if God came, he couldn’t cut the ball! It was too fast; he flew from the left side of the basket to the right side in no time, just reaching the basketball! This guy has an engine in his legs!" Reggie Miller held his head with both hands. Even in the NBA, this play was absolutely amazing!

Of course, Su Feng didn’t have an engine in his legs. He was simply converting his anger into fuel to propel himself forward!

No one could catch up with Su Feng. He barely stepped over the free-throw line before jumping straight up.

This guy jumped so high, running directly, making it feel as if the basketball court had lost gravity.

In mid-air, Su Feng twisted his waist, slowly returning to the basket. Then, from this astonishing height, Su Feng clasped his hands tightly and forcefully slammed it down through the rim.

"Prosperity!" The next second, fans flooded the entire arena with enthusiasm greater than magma.

"Prosperity! Reverse dunk! And he completely brought down Indianapolis! Go play in the NBA, kid. The NBA needs such an entertaining player!" Miller's roar forced many viewers to turn down the volume on their TVs. In fact, Reggie Miller couldn't hear the roar at that moment.

As Su Feng returned to the basket, he stunned everyone with a pull-up before letting go upon landing.

Later, the point guard opened his left hand to the stands, his right hand clenched into a fist. Then, the two hands collided fiercely. At that moment, Su Feng's "Thunder Hammer" seemed to truly spark fire!

Countless fans followed Sus Feng and did the exact same thing, and Su Feng's message was clear. From now on, I will take over this game!

The total audience was 2,592,599, with currently fewer than 999 people able to sit safely in their seats.

When Su Feng successfully dunked, the entire blue sea of fans roared. Seeing the score about to be tied by the opponent, Su Feng suddenly appeared, and everything changed.

Su Feng’s nose was still taped, yet he didn’t gloat over the beautiful reverse dunk he just made. He immediately returned to his half of the court, positioned himself well, and extended his long arms. Expression? Don’t expect this cold guy to give you any expression. He ignited the scene, but it appeared he did not melt himself.

Mike William Adams Miller was somewhat reluctant about the mistake. Passing was no problem because no one could run from the other side of the court fast enough to intercept the ball.

But such a “no problem” pass made a mistake. One could only say that Su Feng’s presence destroyed all the Houston Rockets’ dreams!

Despite their morale being severely impacted, the Houston Rockets trailed by 5 points at a critical moment, not equalizing the score. But now Kansas had no choice. No matter how strong Su Feng was, he couldn’t defend against five players alone. Marvin Scott didn’t believe this guy could control both ends of the offense and defense by himself.

Now, Mike William Adams Miller was being very careful with the ball. He feared the cold-faced guy in front would snatch the ball from him again. As soon as William Adams Miller approached the three-point line, he protected the basketball by hiding it behind his back.

At this moment, Xavier Cleaves had already arrived at his favorite left corner. The versatile guard raised his hand for the ball, and Mike William Adams Miller seemed to see a glimmer of hope.

William Adams Miller immediately passed the hot potato to Cleaves without hesitation. Cleaves was not in a hurry to face Cleaves's defense. He first took three big steps. When Cleaves's attention was distracted, he immediately began to drive.

Everyone thought Kansas's number one would hit the basket, but Cleaves jumped into the air, pulled it up, and then took the shot.

Cleaves was healthy and eager to complete these actions. In his rush to take off, he felt a bit anxious, but there was no turning back.

The basketball swished through the net, and Cleaves excitedly waved his arms. Kansas’s number one guard did not want to lose to the number one butler!

"Beautiful response, Xavier Cleaves is as calm as ever! It seems this game won’t end so quickly!"