Chapter 108: Trailing by 13 Points at Halftime

For Wade Dong, the choice between these two offensive options was clear—he chose the second one.

So, when Guo Qi threw the ball in from the baseline, Wade Dong shouted, "Give me the ball."

"Wade Dong is going for a quick shot!"

Kobe Bryant shouted, signaling for LeBron James to come and help defend.

Although the USA men's basketball team led by nearly 20 points in the first half, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were somewhat frustrated. The two of them working together had still allowed Wade Dong to score 30 points!

Moreover, the 17-point lead was somewhat unacceptable for the USA men's basketball team.

Their pre-game plan was to build a commanding lead in one and a half quarters. In the previous game against the Spanish men's basketball team, the USA team only pulled away in the final two minutes. That was because the Spanish team had players like the Gasol brothers, Calderón, and Rubio. But the Chinese men's basketball team only had Wade Dong.

With Kobe Bryant and LeBron James double-teaming Wade Dong, they should have been able to dominate the Chinese team. But they hadn't managed to do so.

Under full-court pressure, passing the ball to a teammate would have been the wiser choice.

However, passing the ball at a crucial moment was not Wade Dong's style. Wade Dong calmly dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and, facing the defense of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, took a quick shot from just inside the three-point line.

"No way?!"

"Can this shot go in?!"

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James couldn't believe their eyes. Taking a shot from just inside the three-point line seemed reckless.

It was unclear whether Wade Dong was overly confident or desperate.

But...

"Swish!!!"

In front of the entire crowd, the basketball drew a beautiful arc in the air and dropped into the basket.

There were 30 seconds left in the first half.

The USA men's basketball team still had one offensive possession, and similarly, the Chinese team had a few seconds for one more possession.

This time, it was Kevin Durant again!

He held the ball, and with 6 seconds left on the 24-second shot clock, he drove to the basket and scored.

51:67!

China still trailed by 16 points. The Chinese team had the final 6 seconds of the first half to attack.

The USA men's basketball team's strategy for this game was clear: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James's main task was to defend Wade Dong and limit his scoring, while the USA's main scorer was Kevin Durant. Apart from Wade Dong, no one on the Chinese team could stop Durant, which allowed Durant to shoot 11 times in the first half, missing only one shot.

With 6 seconds left for the attack, Wade Dong received the ball, and Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Chris Paul triple-teamed him.

...

Yu Jia, "This is insane!"

Coach Zhang, "Triple-teaming, he can't even dribble the ball."

Yu Jia, "Guo Yang is open, will Wade Dong pass the ball to him?"

Coach Zhang, "There's no way to pass the ball out!"

...

Just as Coach Zhang said, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Chris Paul almost formed a circle around Wade Dong.

Inside this circle, not only was it impossible to attack, but even dribbling the ball was difficult. Passing the ball became a challenging task, and any slight mistake could lead to a turnover. Even if Wade Dong threw the ball towards the basket, it wouldn't be called a shooting foul since he was still in the backcourt.

6 seconds!

5 seconds!

Time ticked away for two seconds, and suddenly, Wade Dong hooked the ball out from between Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul.

Guo Yang, who had already run to the three-point line, suddenly found himself with the ball. He hesitated for a moment.

Seeing Guo Yang's hesitation, Wade Dong shouted, "Stop daydreaming, shoot the ball!"

"Oh, oh..."

Guo Yang finally reacted, with less than a second left in the first half. He shot from beyond the three-point line.

"Swish!!!"

For Guo Yang, this shot seemed to take forever in the air, but fortunately, the ball went in.

54:67!!!

At the end of the second quarter, Wade Dong's quick three-pointer and assist kept the deficit within 15 points.

...

China trailed by 18 points in the first quarter but was only down by 13 points at halftime.

This meant that in the second quarter, China had outscored the USA by 5 points.

"Go, Team China!"

"Go, Team China!"

"Go, Team China!"

The fans saw hope for victory again. Winning the second quarter by 5 points, the third by 7 points, and the fourth by 9 points would mean winning the game!

The fans were dreaming... No matter what, the Chinese fans still hoped for a championship.

...

Halftime.

Wade Dong encouraged his teammates in the locker room, "You played well in the second quarter. Can you keep this momentum in the second half?"

"Yes!"

All the teammates nodded happily.

Winning a quarter against the USA men's basketball team was something they could brag about for a long time.

Wade Dong looked at his teammates' attitudes and grew even more worried.

This attitude was not one of seeking victory, especially the young players like Guo Qi, who were still complacent despite trailing by 13 points.

But Wade Dong couldn't get angry now; it would affect the team's morale and make winning even harder.

Wade Dong said, "Yi Nan, Wang Xin, Zhu Gui, Guo Yang, you will start the third quarter with me."

"Huh???"

This lineup confused the teammates, and even Coach Deng Hua looked at Wade Dong.

The third quarter was the most crucial, and Wade Dong's choice of players, apart from himself, were all veterans. The veterans had experience but lacked energy. Could they hold off the USA team?

Wade Dong knew everyone had doubts, but he didn't explain.

"Just follow my instructions. We'll make substitutions in the second half of the third quarter."

Wade Dong said.

Everyone understood Wade Dong's plan. Substituting in the second half of the third quarter meant the four veterans would play the crucial fourth quarter.

If young players started the third quarter, they might not have the energy to play the fourth quarter. Letting the veterans start would give them some rest time in the second half of the third quarter. After all, not everyone was a physical monster like Wade Dong.

On the USA side, the players were discussing the first half of the game.

They were very dissatisfied with only leading by 13 points at halftime. Coach Kidd was also encouraging the players, giving tactical instructions while boosting their morale.

On the battlefield, there are no fathers and sons, let alone the coach-student relationship between Coach Kidd and Wade Dong.

Now, with different positions, everyone wanted to win this game. The USA men's basketball team wasn't too worried about losing the game.

In the first half, the Chinese men's basketball team scored 54 points, of which 33 were scored by Wade Dong alone. But facing the defense of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, Wade Dong's shooting percentage was not high. He made 11 out of 21 shots, just over 50%, which was already quite poor for him.