Weber hadn’t played poorly this game. He was the main reason the King were still in it, managing to keep the score tight even as Ewing demolished their bench.
After all, with Olajuwon back at the five, the defensive pressure on Weber had lessened considerably.
Gugliotta was playing hard in this game, likely because he saw a chance to get his starting spot back. But no matter how hard he tried, his defensive fundamentals were what they were, so he could only do so much to limit Weber.
So far in the game, Weber had already shot 10-for-19 and, with free throws, had racked up 25 points.
But in Adelman’s eyes, 25 points wasn’t nearly enough. If the King wanted to win, Weber needed to score 35, maybe even 45.
Weber stared blankly at Adelman, his expression slowly turning serious. He nodded with conviction.
It wasn’t just Adelman; the players also knew exactly what losing the Celestial King Mountain game would mean.
After the timeout, the King were still moving the ball, but Weber’s shots became much more decisive. As soon as the ball reached him, he faced up Gugliotta, used a simple triple threat, then pulled up and shot.
Nothing fancy, just pure star power.
The ball swished through the net.
Still not enough.
On the next possession, from almost the exact same spot, he caught the ball with his back to the basket, executed a nimble spin, took one dribble to set himself, and pulled up for another shot.
Gugliotta had a hand right in his face, but it didn’t stop the ball from finding its way into the basket.
Another one in.
While Weber took over the game, the rest of the King’s players had a single mission: to defend with everything they had.
With this new intensity, and with a minute and a half remaining, the King, fueled by Weber going 4-for-4, suddenly went on an 8-2 run against the Phoenix Suns.
The lead was down to just 2 points.
The Phoenix Suns called a timeout.
Even Chen Yu couldn’t help but stand up, a knot of tension forming in his stomach.
’A soccer ball is round, and so is a basketball. Who the hell knows who’s going to win this thing.’
Looking at the players huddled together, Olajuwon’s face was dripping with sweat, and the others looked about the same.
It seemed that now, in the fourth quarter, the consequences of their poor rest were finally catching up to them.
But at a time like this, what could Chen Yu do?
If the Phoenix Suns wanted to win, someone had to step up and score like Weber was.
Chen Yu’s gaze fell on Hardaway.
It was hard to say who the true leader of this Phoenix Suns team was, but their biggest star was undoubtedly Hardaway.
From two meters away, Chen Yu could see Hardaway’s expression perfectly.
He didn’t have much of an expression, just quietly listening to Skiles ramble on. His gaze was as calm as an abyss, making it impossible to know what he was thinking.
The 60-second timeout was over in a flash.
Skiles, whose coaching style was to treat the symptoms rather than the cause, helplessly reverted to his old method. He put Ewing in, had Olajuwon guard Weber, and called for a decisive double-team on Weber when necessary.
He wasn’t great at adapting on the fly, nor could he conjure up some brilliant, out-of-the-box kill-shot play.
The Phoenix Suns on offense.
In this crucial moment, the King started a full-court press.
But J Kidd’s handle was still steady. The moment they crossed half-court, Hardaway was already calling for the ball.
The ball came to him, but Hardaway just waved his hand, giving a tactical signal.
Every NBA team has its own set of specialized hand signals for plays.
This was the signal for everyone to clear out.
Hardaway dribbled the ball, calmly letting the clock tick down. When there were only 10 seconds left on the shot clock, Bibi couldn’t wait any longer and lunged forward for the double-team.
He’d rather force Hardaway to pass it off to J Kidd.
But in that instant, Hardaway made his move. He drove hard to his right, exploding past the defender.
As a two-time All-Defensive Second Team selection, Doug Christie was the King’s lockdown perimeter defender. He didn’t get beat off the dribble, but the Hardaway before him was simply on another level of "unstoppable." He came to a sudden stop, pulled up, and shot.
His body soared into the air, seemingly hanging there for an eternity.
Christie was already on his way down when Hardaway finally released the ball.
SWISH. Nothing but net.
On the sideline, Adelman suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine.
When it came down to a battle of star power in the clutch, the opposing Hardaway seemed to have a bit more shine than his own Weber.
’That’s Jordan’s successor, after all!’
The noise from the stands dwindled as a palpable anxiety began to fill the arena.
And Hardaway wasn’t done. With his evasive movements, he always found a seam to slip through, even when facing a double-team.
He drove on Divac without an ounce of fear, and even as his body went off-balance, he still managed to get the shot up.
The ball bounced twice on the rim before dropping through the net.
The whistle blew.
And-one!
A collective sigh of disappointment echoed through the entire arena.
This was the clutch play that extinguished any hope of a comeback for the King.
Stepping to the free-throw line, Hardaway gave the King no reason to hope, sinking the shot with ease.
The lead was back to 5 points.
But with only a paltry 16 seconds left on the clock.
Adelman was in despair. On the court, Weber and the other players were in despair.
They had defended him as well as humanly possible, but Hardaway was playing like he was possessed by the ghost of Jordan. He was simply unstoppable.
"We’ve won."
Chen Yu was already on his feet, ready to applaud.
In the playoffs, Hardaway was still a superstar you could count on.
Watching Hardaway calmly walk off the court, Chen Yu couldn’t help but reflect.
’Just the year before last, Hardaway seemed so dejected, like a total loser. Now, he’s been reborn like a phoenix, carrying that same "who else but me" swagger that Jordan had.’
’I’m going to score, and no one can stop me!’
Clearly, the King were not up to the task today.
As Peggy missed a rushed three-point attempt, the last shred of hope for a comeback was extinguished.
In the battle of Celestial King Mountain, the Phoenix Suns had the last laugh.
And the King were now on the brink of elimination.
"The Lakers are next," Nelson said with a sudden sigh, already thinking about their opponent in the Western Conference Finals.
On the other side of the bracket, the Lakers were already up 3-1 on the Spurs, making their spot in the Western Conference Finals all but guaranteed.
"Yeah. Time to face the Lakers."
’If we can beat the Lakers, the championship should be in the bag.’
Over in the East, judging by the series scores, it looked like the Magic and the Celtics were the most likely to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
And no matter which of those two made it to the NBA Finals, both had a very obvious weakness: a lack of strength in the paint.
For the Phoenix Suns, with both Olajuwon and Ewing, it would be a relatively easy matchup.
After the game, Skiles was all smiles. He was in such a good mood that he forgot all about complaining about the power outage at the hotel. Instead, he heaped lavish praise on Hardaway for his 31-point performance.
If the Lakers weren’t so overwhelmingly strong, Skiles might have even shouted to the reporters, "Our goal is the championship!"
But even if Skiles didn’t bring it up, there was no way the well-connected media wouldn’t know about the hotel power outage.
Skiles glossed over it in a few words, calling it an accident.
The media let him off the hook, but they had no intention of letting Adelman off so easily.
A reporter from Fox Sports asked a question that was sharp as a knife. "We’ve investigated this. There were no construction permits filed for work near the hotel. So where did the crew that supposedly cut the power cable come from? Furthermore, the hotel’s backup generator was conveniently ’under maintenance’ and unavailable. Considering the hotel is owned by the Maruf Brothers, am I right to assume that this was a dirty trick orchestrated by the King’s management?"
Adelman stared dumbfounded at the reporter. ’What do you mean, "am I right to assume"? How can you just assume that?’
’And what is this about? How come I don’t know anything about it?’
Adelman was completely stunned. The visiting team’s hotel had a power outage, so the Phoenix Suns players hadn’t rested well... and they were still this ferocious? They maintained the lead for the entire game even without proper rest?
"The weather isn’t that hot yet, is it? And are you sure they didn’t rest well? Did you even watch the game? They were the ones in the lead!" Adelman immediately shot back. If he didn’t say anything, he’d be branded with the shameful reputation of someone who resorts to dirty tricks off the court because he can’t win on it.
’Losing the game and my reputation... I can’t let my entire career be tarnished like this.’
"Of course," the reporter replied, nodding without hesitation. "We interviewed other guests at the hotel. They said the power wasn’t restored until dawn. With the ventilation systems down, the hotel was incredibly hot and stuffy. I don’t think anyone could get a good night’s sleep under those conditions."
"Then they..." Adelman started to argue, but the reporter cut him off.
"The Phoenix Suns players have already stated that they slept terribly. But they also said that Chen later led them through meditation and other methods to recover their energy," the reporter said, his argument well-supported and his tone unyielding.
The moment he heard Chen Yu’s name, Adelman’s mouth snapped shut.
’That guy... he actually might have that kind of ability.’
"Fack!"
In his mind, Adelman cursed the Maruf Brothers and General Manager Jeff Petrie a hundred times over. ’Forget about whether you should have done it in the first place. Even if you were going to do it, couldn’t you have at least given me a heads-up?!’
Lost the game, and lost all face.
That very sentiment became the headline for the next day’s news.
In the league, resorting to off-court tricks was already considered despicable. But to use them and *still* lose the game? That just earned you even more contempt.
Amidst the torrent of criticism, the King’s morale seemed to take a hit. In Game 6, the players completely lacked the do-or-die spirit of a team with their backs against the wall.
Weber, in particular, looked as if his spirit had been broken. He sleepwalked through the entire game, finishing with a meager 14 points and 8 rebounds.
The Phoenix Suns won 92-81, securing an easy victory. They took the series 4-2, successfully eliminating the King and advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
After that series, the media’s tune changed completely.
The Phoenix Suns were now considered serious contenders for the championship.
Some media outlets were even calling the Western Conference Finals the *de facto* NBA Finals, declaring that whoever won between the Phoenix Suns and the Lakers would be the eventual champion.
"Not many in the media seem to think we have a chance."
On the plane to New Jersey, Chen Yu said to Brian beside him as he flipped through a newspaper.
Brian pursed his lips in disdain. "Before the series against the King, some in the media were saying we’d get swept 4-0. We won that, didn’t we?"
Chen Yu smiled and put down the newspaper. "Are you sure you still want me to go to the draft lottery? It’s not too late to change your mind."
On May 19th, which was tomorrow, this weekend, the NBA would be holding its draft lottery ceremony in New Jersey.
Tomorrow was also Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Chen Yu felt uneasy about not being with the team for their first game against the Lakers, an away game no less.
As for luck, Chen Yu wasn’t much of a believer anyway.
’Could the Suns’ draft lottery position really have anything to do with whether or not I’m there in person?’
Brian paused for a moment, then shook his head. "I just have this feeling that ever since you joined the Phoenix Suns, you’ve brought us good luck. So for this draft lottery, I still need your good luck on our side."
The Western Conference Finals were important, of course, but would Chen Yu’s presence at the game guarantee a win?
’Of course not.’
’Winning and losing comes down to the players; Chen Yu’s help can only go so far.’
’The draft lottery, on the other hand... if we really manage to draw a high pick, the impact could be massive.’
In Brian’s mind, ever since Chen Yu arrived, everything had been getting better for the Phoenix Suns. It was no exaggeration to say that Chen Yu was the team’s lucky star.

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