Chapter 114: The Trial Arrives

He Xinghui was wrong; it wasn't 24 to 8, but 25 to 8, because the shot he made was a three-pointer.

James responded with a two-pointer, but when play turned around, He Xinghui drained another unreasonable three-pointer right over his head.

"With that possession, you worked hard to help your team fall behind by one more point."

He Xinghui’s words were like a sharp blade, piercing deep into James's heart and making his efforts seem utterly ridiculous. He swore to himself that he would practice three-pointers like crazy this summer; he would never let his long-range shooting become his Achilles' heel again.

"Twenty-eight!"

A large portion of the fans in the arena shouted the number in unison. They no longer needed to chant "MVP," "Cousin," or "Superstar." They only needed to shout out He Xinghui's point total whenever he scored. Chanting the ever-increasing number was enough to make their hearts race. Counting the rising total brought them satisfaction.

In the final moments of the first quarter, He Xinghui hit consecutive three-pointers. On the last possession, with only three seconds remaining, He Xinghui pushed the ball up the court quickly and launched another deep three. Swish.

James had closed out with great effort, and his defense seemed perfectly positioned, but the ball simply went in. This profound sense of helplessness made James even more determined in his desire to team up with other stars in the future.

"Thirty... one!"

The fans drew out the syllables of the number to express their excitement. Evra, the most exuberant among them, accidentally sprayed some saliva while shouting, which landed on the face of the spectator in front of him. As luck would have it, that spectator was a die-hard James fan, and the two immediately began shoving and hurling insults at each other.

The standby security guards rushed over immediately to escort them out. Evra panicked; he didn't want to miss such a spectacular game.

"Please, I was wrong! I know I messed up. Give me another chance—I can't miss this game, I can't miss these incredible moments!"

Evra and the other guy pleaded together, both deeply regretting their actions.

"I'm sorry, those are the rules. But I can take you to a place with a screen so you can watch the live broadcast," the guard said, showing a rare touch of humanity, largely because Evra’s tearful plea was truly hard to ignore.

As the two grown men were led away, sniffling and wiping tears, the other fans calmed down slightly.

On the court, the first quarter had ended. The Clippers led the Cavaliers 35 to 28, a seven-point lead. Of those 35 points, 31 had come from the hands of He Xinghui. His individual scoring total had single-handedly surpassed the entire Cavaliers team.

James had performed at his normal level on the offensive end, contributing 11 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. However, because he was the one tasked with defending He Xinghui, those stats were effectively meaningless; it would have been better to put in a player who couldn't score but could actually stop He Xinghui.

"Does anyone really think scoring 31 points in a single quarter is hard?" He Xinghui spread his arms, acting cocky toward the Cavaliers players. His look of genuine confusion made the Cavaliers players want to punch him.

Thirty-one points in a quarter? Snow was too embarrassed to tell anyone that he hadn't even scored 31 points in a single game since entering the NBA. As for a single quarter, he hadn't even dared to dream of such a thing. The other players weren't much better; Gooden had only scored 32 points in a game once in his career, and Jones had scored 31 once...

Scoring 30 points in a game is truly difficult; it requires a high volume of shot attempts, a hot hand, and a fair bit of luck among many other factors. It was precisely for this reason that He Xinghui’s feat of 31 points in a single quarter caused such a massive sensation.

Whether in the arena or in front of their televisions, the fans' emotions were stirred. Some fans who had turned away were now reclaiming their status as "He-fans," and some casual viewers were becoming hooked. Even some of He Xinghui's haters were beginning to waver. If a player had such explosive scoring ability, did a few minor personality flaws really matter?

On TNT, Barkley had once again shamelessly defected. "From now on, I am a He-fan," Barkley said with a grin.

"No, on behalf of all He-fans, I reject you, you fence-sitter," Smith said with disdain.

But Barkley’s skin was thick; regardless of whether Smith accepted him, he began to hype up He Xinghui: "Cousin really has a chance to score 82 points in this game. Even if he doesn't get it tonight, he will definitely do it eventually." His attitude was more resolute than that of an average fan.

"Charles, I finally know what 'shameless' really means," Smith quipped.

"You can't blame me; it's all because Cousin's performance is just too explosive. This is 31 points in a quarter—it rivals Wilt Chamberlain and is tied for third in history. With a performance like this, I have no reason not to be convinced," Barkley said, sounding aggrieved.

Meanwhile, on the Cavaliers' bench, Mike Brown was scrambling to arrange a strategy. He was already considering the situation from a big-picture perspective.

"We have only one task from here on out: stop He from scoring. Winning or losing comes second, understand?"

Brown had made up his mind: he would rather lose to the Clippers by dozens of points than let He Xinghui score 82. This was a gesture of goodwill toward James; after all, losing by dozens of points was a team responsibility, but if He Xinghui scored 82, it would be the sole responsibility of his defender, James. A game can be lost, but the blame cannot be pinned on the superstar.

Moreover, Brown had a small fantasy: perhaps if they smothered He Xinghui, the rest of the Clippers would lose their rhythm. Even if the rest of the Clippers blew them out, it would be a good thing for James, as it would at least allow them to pull the starters and surrender, giving He Xinghui no reason to continue padding his stats.

Everyone nodded. James remained silent, which was taken as his tacit agreement. For him, this was the most rational choice, though not necessarily the most comfortable one.

The timeout ended, and both teams returned to the court. He Xinghui did not rest; Dunleavy planned to let him play the first half of the second quarter and then rest during the second half to avoid the Cavaliers' starters. However, Dunleavy hadn't expected Mike Brown to be this desperate, having decided on a strategy to stop He Xinghui at all costs.

Therefore, when He Xinghui stepped onto the court, the Cavaliers' starters, along with two defensive specialists, came on as well.

The Cavaliers had the ball. Snow moved leisurely, wasting time as if he were taking a stroll. When they reached the three-point line, Jones was wide open, but Snow wouldn't pass; he just kept dribbling. Only when the shot clock was about to expire did he throw the ball to Jones. Jones hurried a shot, and it clanked off the rim.

*That is way too shameless,* He Xinghui thought to himself. It was only the second quarter, and they were already playing like this.

The Clippers took possession. Cassell brought the ball up, and He Xinghui ran to the front court, looking for an opportunity to receive the ball. Jones was already in his face, constantly harassing him to make receiving the ball more difficult. Meanwhile, James was lurking nearby, ready to pounce at any moment.

The real test had begun. Seeing the Cavaliers' posture, He Xinghui couldn't help but feel a flicker of emotion.