Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

His concerns were quite justified because that was Yu Fei's ultimate goal.

But could humans truly fight against the objective laws of the body?

You're old, you're injured, so you should rest well, whatever you want to defend, you can only do it when you're healthy.

Jordan continued to struggle on the court, but he no longer shot baskets, just trying to do some auxiliary work, leaving the main offensive tasks to the ever-energetic Hamilton.

Hamilton did not disappoint, responsible for 8 of the Wizards' 10 points scored in those three minutes.

34 to 28

The Wizards entered the second quarter with a 6-point lead.

Finally, Collins substituted Jordan, who had played the entire first quarter.

Jordan, with just one basket from six attempts, scoring 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in 12 minutes, was he satisfied with himself?

Yu Fei didn't care about that; he was called up by Collins, "Frye, from now on, do what you're good at! Indiana is not accustomed to our fast-paced offense and defense tonight, so let's keep it up, speed up, speed up, even more! Stick to the fast break to the very end!"

Stick to the end? I'll thank my lucky stars if we can stick it until the boss gets on the court.

Before going on the court, Yu Fei looked at Jordan a few more times, his right knee trembling.

Unfortunately, Jordan noticed this, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Yu Fei and Jordan had never been friends. Their relationship had degraded to the point of national notoriety, with many talk show hosts constantly crafting jokes about Yu Fei and Jordan, even comparing them with America's historically "wrong couples." So far, people have seen Yu/Jordan compared with Nicole Kidman/Tom Cruise, Madonna/Sean Penn, Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton.

Yu Fei thought these people were vulgarians. If there had to be a comparison, then the comparison should be with the future's Johnny Depp and the Queen. Yu Fei considered himself as playing Depp's role, a pitiful person who is "not eloquent," "pure and easy to bully," and even pulled down in bed by his partner.

Now, looking at Jordan again, Yu Fei felt a hint of pity for the old man who had a significant impact on his career, "Don't make yourself look pitiful, rest well if you can't play, and don't drag us down on the court."

"What did you say?!!"

"If your condition has already affected your brain and you can't understand human speech, I can only express my condolences to your family."

In an instant, Jordan stood up.

His anger was unmistakable, just like Yu Fei never masked his disrespect for him.

Tim Grover stopped him, and scolded Yu Fei, "Do you really not know what respect is, Frye?"

"It's precisely because you respect him too much that he doesn't realize the world is full of diverse colors." After speaking, Yu Fei turned and went onto the court.

Not far away, Thomas Flynn of The Washington Times looked as if he had struck gold, meticulously documenting the conflict between Yu Fei and Jordan.

He felt like he had hit the jackpot, but oddly enough, the rest of the team seemed like nothing had happened.

By the time Flynn finished recording, he saw his competitor—Steve Wyche of The Washington Post—looking at him with a playful expression.

"Any problem, Steve?"

"Believe me, you don't need to go out of your way to record these things," Wyche said, "This is our life, it happens every day."

Once Yu Fei was on the court, the game returned to the control of the Wizards.

Thomas stubbornly stuck to his beliefs, trying to contain Yu Fei with basic tactics like man-to-man coverage or double-teaming.

An assistant coach suggested he take advantage of the new rule and try out zone defense.

"I'll tell you, unless I'm dead, we will not use zone defense!" Thomas said through gritted teeth, "That damn zone defense only turns players into wastes without a sense of defensive responsibility, I don't need it!"

Lacking a defensive stalwart on the wing, and not using a zone defense that is currently the most suitable tactic to contain Yu Fei's breakthrough, it was predictable that the Pacers would be torn apart by Yu Fei leading the ball.

After three quarters, the Wizards' lead had reached 20 points, and Jordan's performance improved as the fourth quarter became garbage time.

In Yu Fei's words, he no longer looked pathetic.

Jordan first beat Miller's defense, then completed an incredible high-arching reverse layup under the assistance of Jermaine O'Neal.

Next, he made several jump shots against tight defense.

For his supporters, the game only truly began at this point.

This was but further proof of his decline. At 38 years old, tendinitis was devouring what little athleticism he had left, and the skills he could still utilize were perhaps only 25% to 50% of what they were at his peak. For a man who even skeptics acknowledge as the greatest athlete in United States history, witnessing his decline was like seeing a deity corroded, yet it was inevitable.

Only by accepting that Jordan was no longer that Jordan could one understand why there was such an astonishing turnaround in one evening.

In the first three quarters, he seemed like he was six feet under, yet in the fourth, he suddenly found vitality.

Then, when the last five minutes played out and the score was pushed to a 20-point lead, he was finally benched by Collins.

Tim Grover sighed with relief, "Got through another night."

And Yu Fei? He was glad that Carter finally realized scoring in garbage time was a matter of dignity.

111 to 99

The Wizards defeated the Pacers on the road, accomplishing their revenge against the opponents.

A noteworthy tidbit was that Jalen Rose, upon realizing in the fourth quarter that Thomas wouldn't put him back into the game, furiously kicked over an advertising sign on the sidelines, but fortunately Thomas didn't see his action.

Post-Game Interview

"My shooting was terrible. I had some good opportunities, but I missed them," Jordan spoke of his poor shooting touch.

"No problem with the knee, it's not the issue. I just couldn't find the rhythm, because the Pacers put a lot of defensive pressure on me, but luckily my teammates found opportunities through this, and we won. That's a good result," Jordan shared his thoughts on the game.

"Frye played well. It was his night, and I have no issues with him anymore," Jordan responded to his conflict with Yu Fei.

"At first, we'd pass the ball to Michael, and the offense would stop there. Now we've changed. We started looking for the second and third options... It's benefited everyone," Hamilton discussed the team's change in tactics.

"Michael may not have shot well, but he worked hard at everything else. He's our unsung hero," Collins discussed Jordan's performance.

"Frye's return was very timely. We needed his energy, and this was his best performance so far," Collins spoke about Yu Fei's comeback.

"Michael's knee isn't the problem, and neither is he and Frye. Our only issue is injuries, with Christian's absence significantly impacting our inside game," Collins discussed the team's issues.

"Playing against Michael isn't a big deal. I only care if we win or not. We lost, and that makes me sad," Thomas expressed his disappointment at the loss.

"Michael is not what he used to be, but that No. 44 (Yu Fei) did some things that Michael would do. Do they still want to trade him?" Thomas talked about Yu Fei's trade rumors.

"I'm not unhappy with Isaiah, I'm unhappy with myself. I wanted to be on the court to help the team, but the coaching staff felt I couldn't do it tonight, so I did something excessive. I can apologize for that," Rose explained the reason behind kicking the advertising sign.

"Frye, congratulations on your comeback. How does it feel to be back on the court after half a month?"

"I'm excited; it's something I've been looking forward to."

"Would you like to talk about your issue with Michael?"

"Sure, it's not as complicated as you think. We have some differences, and until now, we haven't understood each other because we're from different generations. We can never truly understand each other. But what does it matter? John Lennon and Paul McCartney didn't understand each other either, but that didn't affect the greatness of The Beatles at all,"

"Tonight you scored 34 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 4 blocks. 34 points is a new career-high for you in a single game and this is also your second career triple-double. What are your thoughts on this?"

"None, because it came easily to me. You know, humans never have any sentiment for things that come too easily."

— Yu Fei's post-game interview.