Chapter 124: Salvaging the Hit Rate

"6 for 18 shooting—if I recall correctly, this is the lowest field goal percentage of He Xinghui's career. It’s highly abnormal; he’s definitely been overindulging," Barkley said.

"Charles, Jordan once had a game where he scored only 5 points, and you’ve had performances where you shot under 20 percent. This is normal. Xinghui’s performance has been frighteningly consistent; an occasional off-night is actually the norm," Smith countered.

While many rookies were still hitting the "rookie wall," He Xinghui’s performance had already been absurd. Unfortunately, Smith’s common sense was ignored by both Barkley and the reporters. They were simply waiting for the game to end so they could pin the label of "excessive indulgence" on He Xinghui. This kind of teasing, while not malicious, was a perfect way to grab attention.

"Perform even worse," countless reporters prayed in their hearts.

During the timeout, the Clippers players looked at He Xinghui with mischievous grins. They were leading, so they weren't particularly nervous; they were quite happy to see He Xinghui make a fool of himself.

The timeout ended, and the final quarter began. With the score at 82-77, the Clippers held a five-point lead. It was a close game, and the suspense remained.

Denver had the ball, and surprisingly, Buckner took it upon himself to isolate against He Xinghui. This caught everyone off guard; no matter how you looked at it, Buckner shouldn't have been Denver's primary scoring option. As it turned out, this was George Karl’s strategy. From the sidelines, he had noticed He Xinghui struggling with his stamina, and combined with the tabloid gossip from before the game, he was certain of his diagnosis. He decided to exploit He Xinghui’s fatigue by having whoever He was guarding attack him.

George Karl was a capable coach with a bold streak, but unfortunately for him, he was facing someone who always managed to deliver surprises. His standard tactics were ineffective against He Xinghui. He matched Buckner’s pace, never losing his defensive position. Without the ability to pass effectively or the space to stop, Buckner was forced to take a contested shot over He. However, He was taller and had a longer wingspan, creating significant interference. The shot missed, and Brand grabbed the rebound.

On the sidelines, George Karl frowned, a shadow of gloom crossed the reporters' faces, and a flicker of fear took root in Buckner’s heart.

On the transition, He Xinghui signaled for the ball. Defended by Anthony, He used a crossover, blew past him with pure speed, and drove to the rim for a dunk.

Elson, the team's utility man, looked utterly bewildered. He remembered the coach saying He Xinghui’s speed was slowing down.

"What the..." George Karl looked as if he had seen a ghost. It wasn't scientific—not scientific at all. How could a person’s stamina suddenly recover? Unless, He Xinghui had been faking the fatigue all along. But why would he go to such lengths if he wasn't truly tired? What kind of insane person would pull such a stunt?

"Carmelo, you really should lose some weight. You’re way too slow," He Xinghui couldn't resist a snide remark after his long-awaited bucket.

Fortunately, the "Social Melo" of this time had calmed down quite a bit. He just glared at He Xinghui without any drastic reaction. Anthony lacked restraint, but he wasn't stupid. He didn't want to get ejected for starting a fight; he needed to keep padding his stats to maintain his status.

Denver’s possession saw Anthony calling for the ball again. He had already tossed his coach’s instructions to the wind after only two plays. Of course, his choice was right this time—Anthony isolated against Mobley and scored. On the other end, He Xinghui isolated against Anthony and scored as well. The two suddenly began a scoring duel, much to the delight of the fans. There is nothing more thrilling than a "you score, I score" exchange.

After hitting a three-pointer, He Xinghui couldn't contain his arrogance. He walked over to George Karl and said, "George, show me some respect. Send a double team."

"F***." The Denver players were livid; the provocation was incredibly arrogant. They were furious, but George Karl’s reaction was lukewarm. As an opponent, he should have hated He Xinghui, but in reality, he couldn't bring himself to. In fact, he quite liked him and would have loved to coach him. In his eyes, He Xinghui was much smarter than Anthony.

"As you wish. Consider it done." George Karl simply called a timeout and drew up a double-team scheme for He Xinghui. Now, it was He Xinghui’s turn to be speechless.

*I was just joking and trying to look cool, and you actually took it seriously.*

The game resumed, and He Xinghui received special attention. It was just like the third quarter against the Cavaliers—whenever he didn't have the ball, two defenders were glued to him, preventing him from even receiving a pass. He Xinghui looked helpless. After a Clippers possession, he walked past George Karl and gave him a thumbs up.

"Hahaha, serves him right! Serves him right! Trying to act tough—now he knows his mistake," Barkley roared with laughter in the broadcast booth. Many fans in front of their TVs also chuckled with schadenfreude; even the "He fans" enjoyed seeing him occasionally get stonewalled.

"Uh, I feel like George Karl fell for He's trap. The Denver defensive system has collapsed," Smith said, still playing his role as a fan, analyzing the situation from another angle to praise and hype He Xinghui.

His words weren't pure nonsense. Once Denver started double-teaming, the other Clippers players frequently found themselves with wide-open opportunities. Denver’s defense was mediocre to begin with, and by pouring too much energy into one player, the rest of the floor was left riddled with holes. Brand and Maggette went on a rampage in the paint, leaving Elson, the utility man, on the verge of tears. Trying to hold off one Brand was hard enough; having to deal with two was certainly not a job description for a utility man.

The gap in the score widened, and George Karl paced the sidelines in helpless frustration. In the end, the game concluded without suspense. The Clippers won 110-95, a 15-point victory.

He Xinghui disappointed the media once again. Relying on a 4-for-6 shooting performance in the fourth quarter, he finished the game 10-of-24—a percentage that didn't look quite as eyesore-inducing anymore. Including five three-pointers and 3-of-4 free throws, He Xinghui finished with 28 points. If you ignore his defensive contributions, it was a perfectly adequate performance.

Anthony had a similar night. Excluding his defensive work, his performance was commendable: he shot 11-of-23 from the field, and with his three-pointers and free throws, he finished with 29 points.

After the final buzzer, the fans gave both Anthony and He Xinghui a round of applause. He Xinghui hadn't provoked the fans or ignited any heated conflicts during this game, so the Denver crowd felt relatively positive toward him. After the game, Anthony even hugged He Xinghui. However, seeing He Xinghui open his mouth, Anthony preemptively warned, "If you try to teach me how to do my job again, I’m going to punch you."

He Xinghui laughed heartily and replied, "I was just going to say, 'Great game, Carmelo.'"