Chapter 136: From Horror To Thriller
In the visiting locker room at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena, tonight’s guests were troubled over how to limit the master of this venue.
Besides Deron Williams, the league still hasn’t found a good way to limit Pau.
Kidd looked completely defeated.
Although only half the game had been played, the visible gap made the Grizzlies know that hoping Kidd would use his so-called experience and awareness to tangle with Pau would ultimately result in being ruthlessly beaten by the opponent’s young legs, showing just how cruel the power of time is to athletes.
This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Kidd. Despite being over 35 years old, he still saw himself as one of the league’s top point guards. But tonight, he had no answer for Pau.
A faint, barely perceptible contempt rose in Mark Iavar oni ‘s heart.
Kidd, this control freak who called himself the on-court coach, had ultimately been thoroughly surpassed by the younger generation. He despised Kidd’s erosion of coaching authority, resented his self-directed decisions on the court, and was even more dissatisfied with his refusal to implement the SSOL system he wanted to push.
That was the only offensive system Iavar oni truly mastered; if they didn’t run SSOL, it wouldn’t matter who coached the Grizzlies—the coaching staff now just let Kidd control the game, improvising without a supporting tactical system.
Now, Pau had become their unsolvable problem.
If even Kidd couldn’t limit Pau, what difference would it make to put someone else in? Kyle Lowry had even been torched by the opponent’s bench, Jarrius Jackson’s defense looked labored even in the NCAA, and if he were matched up on Pau, the scene would be unimaginable.
Even more fatal was Pau’s most overpowered trait at the point guard position: despite being only 183 cm tall, his defense was always at an elite level. As long as he wasn’t facing Deron, he was even the Hornets’ perimeter defense ace. And the Grizzlies’ poverty at point guard individual offensive ability meant they couldn’t wear him down on offense, allowing Pau to put more energy into offensive organization.
Kidd sat alone in the corner, vigorously wiping his face with a towel, as if trying to erase the shame of the first half along with it. Every time Pau easily scored on him, he could feel Byron Scott’s gaze from the sidelines— that look mixed with pity and the pleasure of a victor, more suffocating than any direct trash talk.
It was this man. This coach he had once trusted immensely, only to be personally driven out by him in the end.
Now Scott had achieved success and fame, bringing a young genius point guard into the playoffs, letting that young man crush him in an indefensible way.
Mark Iavar oni paced in front of the tactical board, his voice dry: “We must do better at limiting CP3, Jason, you need to…”
“I can’t.”
This was an unfortunate moment; Iavar oni ‘s mind was a tangle of chaos, with no clear strategy, just wanting to take it one step at a time, so his approach was just repeating the failures of the first half.
But Kidd thought he had already made enough blunders in the first half.
Kidd’s words contained no emotion, just stating a fact: “I’m already 35 years old. If you expect the current me to defend Chris Pau, you’re doomed to be disappointed.”
This sounded like he was making excuses for his first-half failures.
Iavar oni ‘s face turned from red to green. It was this attitude, this eternally self-righteous attitude! This control freak always thought he knew more than the coaching staff!
“Then what do you say we do?” Iavar oni practically gritted out, “Put Kyle in? Put Jarrius in? Or pray Chris Pau goes easy on us in the second half?”
“Let Eli guard him.”
Kidd’s tone was as if stating the obvious.
“What?” Iavar oni thought he had misheard.
“I said, let Eli guard Chris Pau.” Kidd stood up, his gaze sweeping over Xu Ling, then locking onto Iavar oni firmly, “It’s the only choice. I can’t keep up with Pau, but Eli can. His height, wingspan, speed—all can disrupt Pau.”
Iavar oni felt a surge of absurdity: “Have our offensive core guard their core point guard? Are you joking? That will exhaust his energy—what about our offense?”
“Offense is on me.” Kidd stepped forward, exerting invisible pressure, “I’ll organize, I’ll find open teammates. And if Eli can limit Pau on defense, we’ll have more fast break opportunities!”
“No!” Iavar oni rejected outright, “That’s too crazy a decision! We can’t put that much burden on Eli!”
In Kidd’s view, incompetents like Iavar oni just needed to handle timeouts and substitutions properly to call it a job well done.
And now he dared to oppose his suggestion?
Kidd, who had been ineffective all first half, flared up in anger and shot back: “Pau torched us in the first half! Everyone saw it! If you really have a way, just say it—don’t keep telling us to ‘play good defense’—we’ve heard enough of that nonsense!”
The two were at daggers drawn; clearly, this displeasure had been building between them for some time.
It just hadn’t been expected that a momentary slump would make it erupt.
Xu Ling was puzzled: wasn’t the key to this his own opinion? How did these two end up arguing instead?
Just as Xu Ling was about to speak, the usually silent defensive assistant coach Dave Joeger cautiously interjected: “Mark, maybe we can try Jason’s suggestion. If Eli guards Pau, we can adjust the other matchups accordingly. Have Josh guard West. Have Trevor start the second half, use his physique and athletic talent to disrupt Peja. We’re at a height disadvantage, but our rotation speed will be faster…”
Dave Joeger’s words gave Iavar oni a step down, but the anger in his chest hadn’t subsided.
Kidd had openly overstepped today, completely disregarding him as head coach—since that was the case, what was the point of maintaining superficial harmony? Better to lay it all out and be done with it.
However, Iavar oni knew better than anyone that if he erupted in conflict with Kidd in the locker room now and it led to a loss, this cheap head coaching gig would likely be over. The Grizzlies were a rising playoff team; no ambitious coach would easily give up this platform.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging emotions.
From a pure tactical perspective, Kidd’s suggestion might be correct—having Xu Ling guard Pau could recreate the magic of when the Bulls had Pippen guard Magic Johnson back in the day.
But Iavar oni understood even better: if this adjustment succeeded, Kidd would become even more unrestrained later; if it failed, he’d be the one taking the blame.
He didn’t want to make this decision alone and finally turned his gaze to the one who truly held the deciding power: “Eli, what do you think? Are you willing to guard Pau?”
Xu Ling calmly observed this power struggle. He didn’t understand why Kidd chose this moment to clash with the coach, but he clearly sensed—Iavar oni hoped he would refuse.
In Iavar oni ‘s mind, even if Xu Ling didn’t actively help, he absolutely wouldn’t side with Kidd. After all, he was the one who could bench a rival indefinitely at the start of the season just because of personal dislike—how could he take on such a thorny task?
However, Mark Iavar oni ‘s blind spot in thinking was precisely what created the reality he now faced—he had completely misjudged Xu Ling.
“I can try.” Xu Ling said calmly.
These brief five words hit Iavar oni like a heavy hammer to the chest.
He watched helplessly as the power balance in the locker room began to tilt, realizing he had already lost control of the situation.
Iavar oni ‘s expression shifted unpredictably, from anger to struggle, finally settling into a nearly numb compromise.
He scanned the locker room: Kidd’s gaze was iron-hard, Xu Ling seemed indifferent but was unquestionable, Joeger and the other players all silent, watching him, waiting for his final decision.
Iavar oni understood the team’s helm was no longer in his hands.
When had this started?
Iavar oni took a deep breath, as if using all his strength, and said: “Fine, we’ll do it your way. Eli, in the second half, you’re the primary defender on Chris Pau. Trevor starts, matched on Peja. Josh, your job is to stick to David West—don’t let him get the ball comfortably or shoot.”
Finally, Iavar oni paused, as if making a last struggle, but ultimately said to Kidd: “Jason, offense is on you.”
These few short sentences nearly drained Iavar oni of his authority as head coach. He no longer laid out specific tactics, because any tactic seemed feeble before the combined will of Xu Ling and Kidd.
But Iavar oni didn’t realize that the person with the highest decision-making power in this room didn’t care about his power struggle with Kidd; the only thing he cared about was victory in this game.
When the second half began, both teams’ players returned to the court, and those on it quickly noticed the change.
“The Grizzlies have made personnel adjustments, putting Josh Howard at power forward!” TNT’s Harlan tossed the question to his partner. “Doug, what impact do you think this adjustment will have on the game?”
Collins, as a former NBA coach, had unremarkable coaching results but was an industry-recognized tactical master. Industry experts had joked: if he could call a timeout every possession, Collins would be the greatest coach in NBA history.
With this tactical acumen, Collins instantly saw through the Grizzlies’ intentions: “With Memphis’s interior depth, no adjustment could compensate for the disadvantage, so they simply went the opposite way—maximizing their wing advantage. The wing trio of Eli, Josh, and Ariza is unmatched across the entire league. What I’m most looking forward to now is seeing how they dominate on defense.”
The Grizzlies had the first possession of the second half.
Kidd dribbled past halfcourt, and Pau immediately pressed up. But Kidd showed no panic; he used his body to protect the ball, observing the court situation.
Xu Ling began running off the ball, with Peterson right on him, but Xu Ling used Milicic’s screen to force a cut, and Kidd’s bounce pass arrived perfectly.
Xu Ling caught the ball, facing switching Peja, but instead of forcing it, he quickly passed to open Ariza on the perimeter.
Ariza didn’t hesitate, firing a three-point shot—unfortunately, a bit too strong, rattling out.
“Don’t worry about it!” Xu Ling said while backpedaling on defense, “Let’s hold them this possession!”
Then, with Xu Ling on Pau, Kidd on Peterson, Ariza on Peja, and Howard battling West, Collins delivered his verdict: “So, from now on, everything depends on defense, everything depends on talent!”
Pau dribbled forward, trying to shake Xu Ling with his signature rhythm changes, but he soon discovered the situation was completely different.
Xu Ling’s defensive strategy was crystal clear: give a step, prevent the drive, use height and wingspan to contest shots. He didn’t rashly go for steals but moved like a mobile wall, firmly blocking Pau’s driving lanes.
Xu Ling’s lateral quickness was already outstanding, and against Pau he kept his center of gravity low enough that no matter how Pau changed direction to gain position, Xu Ling was always half a step ahead.
Pau tried an accelerated breakthrough, but Xu Ling’s long arms always loomed over him, preventing a clean acceleration.
Forced to stop his dribble, Pau looked for West but found Josh Howard stuck to him like glue. Though shorter than West, Howard matched his strength and had better agility, now constantly fronting to disrupt West’s catches.
Pau had no choice but to pass to Peja. Ariza immediately went under him, his long arms waving in Peja’s face, disrupting his shooting rhythm.
Peja forced up a shot, clanging it off the rim as well.
Milicic battled hard for the defensive rebound.
Kidd took the outlet pass and immediately pushed the fast break. His pass found weakside Howard streaking ahead; Howard drew the defense and dished to trailing Xu Ling, who, under Pau’s chase, didn’t force a layup but used a convincing pass fake to lift Pau, then easily banked it in.
49 to 53
Pau’s expression grew serious, dribbling past halfcourt again and calling West for a pick and roll against Xu Ling’s defense.
This was the Hornets’ deadliest weapon.
Xu Ling was solidly screened by West, giving Pau a split-second of space, and he accelerated like a viper toward the rim.
Just as Pau thought he’d shaken the defense, Josh Howard, who had been on West, showed stunning switch and help defense awareness; he hadn’t been fully dragged away by West but moved early, perfectly plugging Pau’s drive path.
Pau was caught off guard, nearly colliding with Howard; he slammed on the brakes, rhythm disrupted, and in that split-second, Xu Ling, blocked by the screen, abandoned the switch on West, using superior screen navigation and speed to race to Pau’s blind spot.
In an instant, Pau was trapped in an airtight double team from Xu Ling and Howard.
He could only force a pass out, but the intent was read; Ariza’s long arms intercepted the passing lane, deflecting the ball out of bounds!
“Wow!!! Perfect defense!” Harlan exclaimed, “Howard’s positioning was crucial! Eli’s recovery speed was quick too! Ariza was in the right spot!”
“Yes!” Collins agreed loudly, “The Hornets might be in big trouble!”
Byron Scott furrowed his brow on the sidelines. He had anticipated Grizzlies adjustments but not ones this thorough.
Xu Ling’s man pressure on Pau, Howard’s mobility and rotations at power forward, Ariza’s stickiness on perimeter shooters, and the team’s clear defensive communication formed an impenetrable net.
Hornets inbound, Pau caught the ball with time running out; he had to iso Xu Ling, chaining crossover dribbles to create space before pulling up for a jump shot!
Xu Ling reacted instantly after being beaten, fully extending his arm, nearly contesting the release point.
“Bang!”
The ball smashed the front rim, missing again!
Xu Ling turned immediately for the rebound; though he didn’t get it, his hustle and defensive presence put unprecedented pressure on Pau.
Kidd grabbed the board and fired a long pass to sprinting Ariza.
Ariza streaked through midcourt like lightning, received Kidd’s pass, ignored trailing Peterson, and slammed home a one-handed dunk!
51 to 53!
Down only 2, the Hornets called timeout.
During the timeout, Scott roared at his players, demanding more patience and decisiveness.
The Hornets tried changing things up, feeding West more in the post. But Howard used his strong physique to body up West relentlessly, contesting every turn and shot.
West’s two post isos: one missed under Howard’s contest, the other disrupted by helping Ariza, clanging off again.
On offense, Kidd fully controlled the rhythm, repeatedly creating opportunities for Howard and Xu Ling. Howard hit consecutive midrange jump shots, while Ariza and Xu Ling added 4 points via a cut layup and a steal-to-fast-break conversion.
To open the third quarter, the Grizzlies went on a 13-2 offensive surge.
Even Hornets timeouts couldn’t halt the Grizzlies’ rising momentum.
Xu Ling’s scoring in this surge wasn’t flashy—just 2 fast-break points—but his successful limitation of Pau on the other end was the root cause. Like a shadow under light, he stuck to Pau relentlessly, directly severing the Hornets’ offensive organization.
Under Xu Ling’s defense, Pau went 0-for-3 in the first half of the third, no field goals, just 2 free throws, plus 2 turnovers.
A strange atmosphere settled over the Charlotte Bobcats Arena.
Home fans seemed choked silent, replaced by growing anxious whispers and incredulous sighs. The Hornets team that had controlled the game at halftime had, in just five minutes of the second half, become a squad that couldn’t play.
Byron Scott paced the sidelines, face ashen. He tried subs, bringing Pargo for Peterson to add a ballhandler; he tried more off-ball movement for Pau, but Xu Ling shadowed him everywhere.
Moreover, the Grizzlies’ initial defense was just man-to-man, but as they defended, Kidd the schemer started calling on-the-fly strategies, and as a man of the future, Xu Ling knew well how to defend with small lineups, so the Grizzlies’ defense grew more organized, showing intricate coordination and rotations.
But Pau was Pau after all; an MVP-level player wouldn’t sit idly. Xu Ling gave him a step on jump shots.
With the shot clock winding down, Pau pulled up from a step inside the three-point line, no warning, straight pull-up jump shot.
Xu Ling’s reaction was lightning-fast, lunging to contest, but Pau’s release was decisive.
“Swish!”
58 to 60
The Hornets finally ended a three-minute scoring drought, cutting the lead to 2.
This bucket was like a shot of adrenaline to steady the team.
After landing, Pau clenched his fist tight and said to Xu Ling: “You can’t guard me, Eli!”
Xu Ling’s face showed no ripple, responding flatly: “Keep going.”
The Grizzlies’ fast break then stalled, giving the Hornets a chance to close further.
Pau tried to repeat the feat, but Xu Ling’s body-to-body defense was inseparable—this time, he anticipated the rise perfectly, swatting the shot away like an eagle’s talon.
The ball caromed off the rim side, flying long.
Kidd secured the long rebound and sparked the Grizzlies’ break.
This time, Kidd didn’t look elsewhere but pushed full speed himself. His aging legs seemed infused with new energy as he shouldered past chasing Pargo, but spotting Pau, he calmly dished to trailing Xu Ling.
“NOOOOOOO!!!!!”
Though Hornets fans cursed Xu Ling vehemently, they knew who was most dangerous receiving the ball here.
Xu Ling caught it into open court, no hesitation, feet planted outside the three-point line, rising for the shot.
“Swish!”
“Eli hits the fast-break three!”
“The Hornets are like drowning swimmers unable to reach shore—they must find answers, or the Grizzlies will win their first-ever playoff game in their home arena!”
Now the lead was back to 5.
Pau lost the carefree ease of the first half, impatiently dribbling, desperate to score yet knowing his touch was ice-cold.
He instinctively called Peja for a screen. As the pick formed, Xu Ling and Ariza switched swiftly. This was Pau’s golden iso chance on Ariza—far easier than facing Xu Ling. But passing habit led to a fatal mistake.
Peja never touched that pass.
Xu Ling ghosted into the passing lane, ripping it away with a smack. In the next seconds, the Hornets’ home arena echoed like an airplane taking off—except this time, it was the engine of the Grim Reaper’s private jet.
Hornets fans smugly watching the first half never imagined the second half would open like a horror flick and end in a thriller.
Xu Ling streaked forward like black lightning, pulling up outside the three-point line. Facing no defense, he chose that habit Bobby Knight had cursed from season start to national championship game without changing: fast-break 1-on-0 but pulling up for a chase three.
“Swish!!!”
The net fluttered lightly, like thunder, officially pulling the curtain on ending the game.
