15 minutes later.
Returning for the second half.
Sides are switched and play resumes.
Mavericks' possession.
After Kidd pushed the ball up, he handed it off to Nowitzki at the top of the right arc, but the defender waiting wasn't David Lee.
It was...
Su Yan!
"The 'Top-tier 3&D Player' Su Yan, this year's strongest Undrafted Player!" Nowitzki looked at Su Yan, seemingly making an introduction.
Su Yan frowned slightly, then replied, "The 'german war machine,' Dirk Nowitzki! His 'Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg' dominates the league!"
"Ha~"
Dirk smiled, "It's not that exaggerated."
"It is."
Su Yan stepped closer, acknowledging the claim before continuing, "And now... I want to experience it firsthand."
"I had the same idea!"
Nowitzki knew about his title as the "Top-tier 3&D Player" and had read the news about Su Yan shutting down Durant and Anthony.
He naturally knew how strong Su Yan's defensive ability was.
But he was extremely confident in his own "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg."
In the context of the game, if he could make the New York Knicks feel that Su Yan's defense was ineffective, it would be a huge blow.
Winning the game would then follow naturally.
Thinking this.
Nowitzki decisively went on the offense, using a pump fake triple threat. Seeing that Su Yan didn't bite, he dropped the ball and went into a back-down post move.
He had an absolute advantage in height.
But Su Yan also had a strength advantage due to [Steel Tendons and Iron Bones Lv1].
180 kilograms on the bench press.
Even though Nowitzki was a Power Forward, he couldn't overpower Su Yan.
"Bang bang bang!"
After several side-to-side bumps, Su Yan remained completely motionless, like a massive wall.
Nowitzki felt like he was pushing against a wall during a resistance drill—it was effective, but... a little embarrassing.
"This strength?"
Nowitzki was stunned.
He knew his own strength wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, but facing a small forward a size below him, he should have had the advantage.
At the very least... he shouldn't have been completely unable to move him.
What terrifying strength.
Nowitzki was shocked, but since they were in the middle of a game, he didn't have time to panic and immediately followed up with a spin and acceleration.
Attempting to shake off Su Yan.
Wishful thinking.
He might have had a chance with strength, but when it came to speed, Su Yan was inherently superior to Nowitzki.
Su Yan stayed glued to him.
Nowitzki's only remaining advantages were... his height and the troublesome "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg."
No choice.
Seeing that a strong offensive drive wouldn't work, Nowitzki had no choice but to unleash his ultimate move.
"Bang!"
After delivering another fierce bump to Su Yan, he used the momentum for a small step-back, creating a sliver of space, and transitioned into the Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg.
Unstoppable.
It was a shot that was virtually impossible to contest.
Su Yan anticipated Nowitzki's shot and jumped up to block it, but... he was unsuccessful.
"Swish!"
Nowitzki's "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg" was good.
"COME ON!"
Reggie Miller roared in surprise, "Look, even Su Yan seems unable to stop Dirk's Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg.
That is an unstoppable killer move."
Barkley refuted, "Not necessarily!"
Barkley countered, "If you look closely, you'll see that Su Yan's block attempt this time wasn't far off.
The key is...
He looked like he jumped very easily.
I think... Su Yan was definitely testing the difficulty of Blocking Dirk's 'Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg.'
Just wait.
It won't take many more possessions.
Su Yan will definitely be able to block Dirk's 'Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg'."
On the court.
Another score from the "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg" with minimal interference caused Nowitzki's confidence to soar.
And Su Yan was indeed thinking exactly what Barkley had surmised.
He was gauging the difficulty of Blocking Nowitzki's "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg."
He narrowed his eyes, his heart sinking slightly. "It is indeed as difficult to defend as I imagined.
The unstoppable 'Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg' lives up to its name.
However... if I don't give up space and focus solely on contesting the shot, I should be able to do it if I jump with full force.
After all.
My [Spring Man Lv3], with a maximum running jump of 113 centimeters, is also terrifying!!!"
Nowitzki was confident.
Su Yan was equally confident.
In the next possession, the two collided once again.
With his triple advantage in speed, agility, and strength, Su Yan once again rendered Nowitzki's drive ineffective.
Not attacking?
Impossible.
So, he could only unleash his "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg" ultimate move once more.
Nowitzki was very confident.
Su Yan was even more confident; as if he had been waiting for this moment, when Nowitzki lifted his leg to shoot, Su Yan also leaped up.
This time, he held nothing back.
It wasn't a jump where he lunged toward the person, as that could easily hit Nowitzki's foot and be called a cylinder violation.
The jump was relatively vertical.
Su Yan jumped high enough, stretched his arm straight enough, and after Nowitzki released the ball and it flew out...
...at an extreme height.
His fingertips touched the ball, disrupting its spin trajectory, and he blocked Nowitzki's shot.
"He blocked it?"
Because it was so extreme, many fans didn't see it.
"He blocked it!"
But when they saw the ball fly higher into the air and then drop straight down, everyone knew... it must have been a block.
"WTF?!"
Reggie Miller was so shocked that he let slip a curse word.
"Hahaha!"
Barkley burst out laughing, "See, Reggie? This is exactly what I expected. Su Yan was just testing the waters.
In the very next possession.
He completed the block on Nowitzki.
My God.
That's the 'Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg'! To block that straight on, it looks truly unbelievable!!!"
Reggie Miller nodded his head vigorously.
"How is that possible!!!"
Nowitzki's pupils dilated.
He didn't believe it, not one bit.
1 minute and 17 seconds later.
He faced Su Yan again, continuing to use his ultimate move, the impossible "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg" shot.
"Coming again?"
Su Yan smiled slightly, "You're just going to get blocked again!"
"Don't brag!"
Nowitzki didn't believe him, but the high-leaping Su Yan, with his long, outstretched arm, seemed ready to swallow both him and the ball whole.
"Hiss..."
Nowitzki gasped, subconsciously adjusting his release arc higher to avoid the block.
Indeed.
Su Yan didn't block it this time.
"Clang!"
The jarring sound of iron (a miss) rang out.
Blocking isn't the only good defense; as long as the shot misses, it's good defense!!!
A classic example.
Peak Kobe's fadeaway jumper was despair-inducing.
Defensive stalwart Battier had no answer for it; even if he stayed perfectly positioned, there was zero chance of Blocking Kobe.
But in order to disrupt Kobe.
He chose to cover Kobe's eyes so he couldn't see the hoop when he released the shot. This way.
Although he couldn't block it.
He could still cause significant interference, which counted as a successful defense.
"A headache-inducing guy!"
Nowitzki's expression was grave. With his "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg" being countered repeatedly, he felt a certain apprehension toward Su Yan.
Therefore.
He decisively called for a screen to avoid Su Yan.
Facing either David Lee or Wilson Chandler, the pressure instantly became much less.
But as soon as he encountered Su Yan, things became uncomfortable again.
This could only mean... Su Yan's defense was truly powerful; he seemed capable of solving the unstoppable "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg."
The final possession of the third quarter.
Nowitzki called out Curry, using his absolute height and strength advantage. One bump, one turn, and Curry was gone.
Nowitzki, now virtually wide open, took a calm, confident shot that was practically guaranteed to go in.
However.
Just as he was releasing the ball, Su Yan sprinted out of the paint and, while still more than a body length away from Nowitzki... planted his foot and leaped.
A full-power jump.
A maximum running jump.
Su Yan instantly soared into the air, his feet more than a meter off the ground, combined with his 210 cm height and 213 cm wingspan!
Holy shit!
The visual impact was incredibly intense.
The next second.
Su Yan, flying through the air, delivered a massive block like a volleyball spike,
swatting away the basketball shot by Nowitzki!!!
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