Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Staples Center hosted a grand pre-game event.

There were also guesses about whether "this is Frye's last career game."

Yu Fei despised such foolish guesses because it implied that the Clippers might lose tonight's game.

That evening, Yu Fei's close friends and family all came to the scene.

Yu Fei's mother held her granddaughter and sat in the family area, and his wife took their son Yu Bufan around in the front row.

There were also Yu Fei's friends; they all came here, giving him a reason not to lose.

Yu Fei took a deep breath, turned around, and put everything outside the court behind him.

With the advantage in the paint and Thompson's three-pointers, the Clippers took the lead after the first quarter, Curry seemed off his game tonight, 1 of 5 from the field in the first quarter.

Then, James began a series of impressive performances.

Entering the second quarter, James first hit a three-pointer, then used the basketball like a pack of explosives, constantly sprinting toward the paint.

It was James's explosion in this quarter, scoring 15 points, that kept the Miami Heat close in the first half, also giving Curry a chance to adjust his shooting touch.

By halftime, James's performance was perfect, with 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, completely outplaying Yu Fei who got only 12 points and 8 rebounds.

It can be said that for the first time since the start of the Finals, James broke through Yu Fei's defense with his offense in one half.

Yu Fei realized that James really played desperately.

And it indeed was time.

If he didn't give it his all now, James would face another defeat—how many more times could he afford to lose?

At halftime, the score was 56-53, the Clippers were only leading by 3 points.

Yu Fei, feeling somewhat powerless to stop James, smiled and said to Yao Ming beside him, "He's really in good form, do you think I can beat him tonight?"

"It's tough!" Yao Ming replied, "Save some energy for a potential Game 7."

At the start of the second half, both teams played extremely tough defense, blocking each other out.

But the deadlock didn't last long, the Miami Heat first broke it with a pick-and-roll between Curry and James.

Then, Yu Fei and Thompson hit three-pointers together, Jokić forcefully scored on Whiteside in the low post, maintaining a 3-point lead for the Clippers.

James continued to exert force, breaking through Yu Fei with a strong tank-like layup and assisting Whiteside for an alley-oop, instantly tying the score.

Following that, the Clippers burst forth.

Yu Fei scored on a fadeaway over James, Antetokounmpo hit a jumper from beyond the arc, Jokić secured an offensive rebound and scored on a putback, stretching the lead to 6 points in one breath.

Curry and James then consecutively hit threes, and the Clippers' 6-point lead was again tied in less than two minutes.

At that moment, Yu Fei started to play one-on-one.

James focused on defense, but Yu Fei's movements were decisive, faking left and driving right, cutting into the paint and scoring off a bank shot.

A focussed James was also unstoppable, scoring against the Clippers' double team.

Yu Fei cut from the weak side, faced James and hit a rainbow-like three-pointer, causing an uproar among the spectators.

In the last few minutes of the third quarter, the duel between the two superstars was like heavy punches exchanged in a boxing match.

This nerve-wracking tension continued into the fourth quarter.

The Clippers didn't change their main lineup, nor did the Heat, as both coaching staff understood that it was now a contest of strength and stamina; the first to falter would lose their chance for victory.

Rivers told Yu Fei from the sidelines, "If you need to catch your breath, let me know."

Thus, the full-strength confrontation entered a frenzy at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

As physical energy was massively consumed, the intensity of the game remained, causing a sharp decline in shooting accuracy for both teams.

The frequency of scoring decreased, and the difficulty increased, making every point increasingly precious.

After a few minutes of a scoring drought, Yu Fei scored with a turnaround jumper against James in the low post.

The Clippers regained a 3-point lead.

Quickly, James responded with a drive.

Thompson hit a three-pointer, but before the Clippers could relish their 4-point lead, Love also made a three-pointer from the perimeter.

The more intense the game, the more likely it was to experience bursts of scoring.

They could go minutes without scoring, then suddenly hit shots frequently within a few minutes, remaining neck-and-neck.

This seemed to become a pattern, making even a few points seem like an insurmountable gap.

As the game entered the final five minutes, this season's MVP, James, scored an incredibly long three-pointer, forcibly narrowing the gap to 1 point.

Thompson again fired a three, but this time, his touch didn't hold.

However, the offensive rebound fell into Yu Fei's hands.

The oldest player on the court, the Miamian's most dreaded opponent, was immediately pressured by Butler from the side,

intending together with James to corner him.

But Yu Fei instantly jumped as he landed, his shot clean and a mid-range bank shot hit.

This was Yu Fei's 20th point of the second half.

He wasn't stopping yet.

And history was being written at that moment.

James responded with a jump shot.

Yu Fei backed down low, faked with his shoulders and then turned to step through for a score.

Curry used a McGrady-style shake before pulling up for a three to tie the score again.

But Yu Fei, getting open off a Jokić screen, decisively shot a three.

The Heat tried to find Curry again, but the Clippers tightened their defense, no longer allowing the MVP to easily shoot.