Chapter 155 Playing Dirty Tricks

Leaving the CCTV commentary booth, Lin Feng unexpectedly ran into an "old acquaintance" in the hallway.

To be precise, calling him an old acquaintance was a stretch, as Lin Feng didn't actually know him personally and had only ever seen him on television. That's right, this old acquaintance was none of other than the NBA legend and loyal "Lin-hater," Coleman.

Upon bumping into Lin Feng, Coleman froze slightly, his expression turning somewhat awkward. After all, despite never having met Lin Feng, he had criticized and torn him to shreds in public.

"Hello, Mr. Coleman." Lin Feng, displaying an abundance of magnanimity, took the initiative to greet him.

"Oh, hello." The awkwardness vanished in a flash, replaced by a cold, arrogant smile. Coleman was here tonight to work as a guest analyst for ESPN.

"Your performance tonight is not bad, but your team is definitely going to lose the game!" Coleman said coldly.

"Whether we win or lose, I don't know, but your performance on the show was quite spectacular!" Lin Feng burst into a wide grin, naturally referring to the segment where Coleman had kissed a donkey's rear end on *Sam's Sports*.

Coleman's old face flushed red, and he glared fiercely at Lin Feng. "You are the most annoying person of color I have ever met!"

"Plenty of people find me annoying. Who do you think you are?!" Lin Feng shrugged.

"What?" Coleman didn't catch the meaning of Lin Feng's retort.

"I said, you better get ready to eat shit!" Lin Feng snorted coldly, refusing to entangle himself further with Coleman, and strutted proudly toward the locker room.

"Damn asshole!"

Coleman cursed at Lin Feng's retreating back. Deep down, however, a sense of dread had already taken root. After all, Lin Feng showed no signs of "returning to normal" tonight; his performance was still as defying of the heavens as ever.

In Coleman's view, Lin Feng's previous two games were absolute anomalies. How could that kind of performance possibly be his baseline?

Yet, tonight, Lin Feng's output was barely inferior to the last two games, save for a slight dip in his shooting percentage. But even with that drop, his accuracy remained entirely out of reach for ordinary players.

Furthermore, Lin Feng had already racked up 43 points. If he scored just 21 more in the second half, he would break Michael's single-game playoff scoring record.

If that actually happened, wouldn't he really have to swallow donkey dung?

...

The third quarter began.

The Knicks sent out their starting lineup, while the Cavaliers deployed four starters. Devin remained on the bench, replaced by a white guard named "Vela."

In basketball, the third quarter was crucial. Having endured the physical grind of the first two halves, the players' stamina was inevitably compromised. Therefore, the third quarter was often the most fatiguing period, making it prime time for a sudden run to put the game away...

The Knicks inbounded the ball. Lin Feng brought it across half-court, where the Cavaliers' white guard, Vela, immediately pressed up against him. The Cavaliers had changed their defensive assignment on Lin Feng. It was clear they had reviewed their failures from the first half—nobody would believe Lin Feng had scored 43 points in a half simply because the defense was airtight.

Lin Feng and Chris executed a pick-and-roll at a 45-degree angle, then attacked the basket with the ball. Just as Lin Feng prepared to go up for a layup, he felt a steel-like hand grab his ribs, forcefully dragging him down right as he was about to jump.

What the hell!

Lin Feng couldn't help but curse under his breath. It hurt immensely; he felt as though his ribs were about to be snapped...

Whistle~!

The referee's whistle blew, signaling a foul on Vela.

However, the referees ruled that it was not a shooting foul, meaning no free throws were awarded; instead, it would be an inbound pass from the sideline.

Lin Feng covered his grabbed ribs with one hand and glared at Vela. The latter wore an entirely innocent expression, acting as though nothing had happened.

Chris passed the ball back into Lin Feng's hands, and Vela immediately closed in again. Lin Feng slid his feet, suddenly executing a crossover to break past Vela's defense. However, while Lin Feng maneuvered past Vela's body, he didn't account for Vela's feet. The guy directly stuck a leg out into Lin Feng's driving path, sending Lin Feng crashing hard to the hardwood floor!

Gasp~!

At this sight, the entire arena erupted in uproar.

Immediately following, a wave of indignant curses rained down on behalf of Lin Feng, while Vela—the culprit who threw the dirty leg—became the target of universal condemnation.

Lying on the floor, Lin Feng clutched his thigh with a look of agony, unable to get up for a long time. At this, both the Knicks players and the fans in the stands were completely dumbfounded.

Could he be injured?

Doubts arose in everyone's minds. If Lin Feng went down, this playoff series was effectively over.

"He did that on purpose!"

"That bastard meant to do it!"

"Punish the culprit severely!"

The fans shouted angrily from the stands.

Meanwhile, head referee Crawford delivered his verdict: a Flagrant 1 foul, two free throws and possession.

Vela didn't care about the referee's ruling, merely offering a symbolic complaint. However, his full attention remained fixed on Lin Feng, who was still sprawled on the floor in agony, because his sole objective coming off the bench was to injure Lin Feng if possible.

Now, seeing Lin Feng clutching his leg in pain, a hidden smile crept across Vela's face.

"Lin, how do you feel?"

"Lin, are you okay?"

Jones, Chris, and the others crowded around Lin Feng to check on him.

Lin Feng looked up at them, released his grip on his thigh, and stood right up.

"Lin, you're fine?" Everyone gasped in astonishment.

"Relax, I'm great!" Lin Feng shrugged, then cast a sideways glance at Vela nearby. He had caught every single twitch of Vela's expression just moments ago.

Clearly, this guy hadn't subbed in to play basketball; he was here to play dirty, and his primary target was Lin Feng.

"Playing dirty with me, little punk? Bring it on!"

Lin Feng sneered inwardly as he stepped up to the free-throw line.

Seeing that Lin Feng appeared to be unharmed, the spectators in the arena let out a collective sigh of relief.

Lin Feng's free-throw shooting was rock solid, sinking both attempts.

59:62!

The Knicks were still trailing by 3 points.

Next up, possession remained with the Knicks. Lin Feng received the ball beyond the three-point arc and launched a pull-up three right in Vela's face!

Swish! Good!

The score was tied at 62-all.

Right at the start of the third quarter, Lin Feng had scored 5 consecutive points, bringing his total for the game to 48.

The Cavaliers went on the attack, with Vela handling the ball.

Lin Feng sneered in his heart and directly cast a curse aura upon him. Want to play dirty? Let's see who outplays whom!!

As Vela dribbled up the court, the shoelace on his right shoe mysteriously came untied. Consequently, his left foot stepped right onto his right shoelace, causing him to execute a magnificent, face-planting tumble onto the basketball court...

Having anticipated this, Lin Feng scooped up the ball that Vela had fumbled away, sprinted down to the Cavaliers' half, tossed the ball high off the backboard, leaped into the air, grabbed the rebounding ball off the glass, and hammered it home with a vicious slam dunk.

That's right, Lin Feng had joyfully executed a self-assisted alley-oop dunk!

And the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden was reignited once more by Lin Feng's playful and mocking slam dunk...

The Cavaliers inbounded the ball from the baseline.

Vela tied his shoelace and once again dribbled across half-court. But no sooner had he crossed the timeline than his hand slipped while bouncing the ball, accidentally batting it all the way back into his own team's backcourt.

Whistle~!

The referee's whistle blew.

Backcourt violation!

Vela committed yet another elementary turnover, handing possession right back to the Knicks on a silver platter.

At this, Lin Feng was amused. Thought you could play dirty? Keep going, won't you?!