Chapter 340: Brutal Beating
Was there really no way out?
There simply wasn’t.
That was just how competitive sports worked sometimes—it all came down to raw strength. Right now, the Kings’ Durant and Butler, one on offense and one on defense, had nearly suffocated every possible avenue for a Celtics comeback.
As he watched his team sink deeper and deeper into trouble,
Coach Stevens gnawed at his fingernails, his mind racing for a breakthrough.
Hard. Far too hard.
Although Coach Stevens wasn’t a traditionally trained head coach, his philosophy was one of the purest academic styles in the league.
Academic-style coaches often shared the same flaw: they favored rigid structure, demanding that every player strictly fulfill their assigned role.
This approach had its advantages and disadvantages.
The upside was that the team could function like a precise machine.
The downside was that it made it difficult to fully unleash players’ creativity and natural talent. Against truly powerful opponents, it was hard to produce any kind of overperformance.
In his previous life, Irving’s complete fallout with the Celtics—eventually reaching a point of no return—was partly because he felt the team was restricting his growth.
“Nothing worth watching anymore. Let’s head back.”
After only watching the first half, Chen Yilun had already started packing up, ready to return to work.
“Huh? No way, boss! It’s barely started!”
Prince, who was watching with great enthusiasm, immediately let out a wail.
“This game is great! We’re not short on time—let’s just finish watching before we leave.”
Seeing Prince practically beg, Chen Yilun sighed and sat back down.
“Alright, alright. You basketball addict.”
Chen Yilun laughed.
“Watch all you want, but don’t you dare drag out the report. I want to see the rookie report tonight.”
“Don’t worry, boss!”
As soon as Chen Yilun relented, Prince slapped his chest loudly.
“Even if I don’t sleep tonight, I’ll get that report done for you!”
The rest of the game stayed firmly under the Kings’ control.
Even though their raw strength was already bordering on overwhelming, Malone remained extremely cautious with his rotations.
He locked the team into a strict eight-man rotation, leaving the Celtics no room whatsoever to fight back.
In the end, the Kings comfortably took Game One at home, 107–88.
Durant scored 28 points, Butler had 25, Jokić added 20, and Booker chipped in 18.
Four of the Kings’ starting five scored in double figures, completely suppressing the Celtics on both offense and defense.
By contrast, for the Celtics, aside from Irving showing flashes of brilliance, the other two All-Stars—Hayward and Al Horford—were completely shut down for the entire game.
As for the two young third-overall picks, Brown and Tatum, they were completely lost under the Kings’ defensive pressure.
“So this is the Finals? That’s terrifying.”
After the game, Brown said with lingering fear as he walked toward the player tunnel.
“It’s normal to feel uncomfortable in your first Finals,”
Al Horford said with a smile as he turned back to look at the two young players, who looked like defeated strays.
“It’s fine. Your careers are long. Don’t get hung up on one night’s result.”
What Horford didn’t know was that, as he spoke, Irving—walking at the very front—had an expression dark as thunder.
Irving’s competitiveness was legendary throughout the league.
Today’s loss had stabbed straight into his pride.
Losing alone wasn’t the most terrifying part. What truly enraged Irving was how his teammates seemed largely indifferent to the defeat, as if they had already accepted failure this season.
“Second place is the biggest loser,”
Irving muttered to himself.
It was a famous quote from his idol Kobe, and Irving felt it deeply.
“You can give up if you want—but I won’t!”
As he spoke, fierce flames burned in Irving’s eyes.
“Even if it’s just me alone, I’ll keep fighting!”
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“Let’s go. Nothing left to see.”
Chen Yilun patted Prince on the shoulder and stood up.
Still immersed in the game, Prince spoke with lingering excitement.
“It really has to be the Finals—nothing compares!”
“Does it?”
Chen Yilun tilted his head, looking at the replay still playing on the big screen.
“I thought it felt pretty flat. Isn’t this just how we predicted it would go?”
“Boss.”
Prince straightened his clothes and stood up.
“You’ve never been a professional athlete—you wouldn’t understand.”
Looking toward the court, his eyes burned with uncontrollable passion.
“This is the highest stage there is. There’s no better game than this. Once you experience that adrenaline rush in the Finals, you’ll never forget it.”
“Alright, alright—bullying me for not being a pro athlete, huh?”
Chen Yilun laughed.
“Hurry up. We’ve still got a ton of work to do.”
Just as Chen Yilun and the others were about to leave, Mr. Tsai sighed and turned off his television.
“Alright, let’s hear it.”
In the luxurious living room of Mr. Tsai’s home sat quite a few people, many of them members of his own inner circle.
“Unless something unexpected happens, the Kings will still win the championship this year,”
one person said after thinking for a moment.
“That’s stating the obvious,”
someone on the other side of the room sneered.
“With Sacramento’s level of dominance right now, even an outsider can see it. Why bring that up?”
“That’s not the core of today’s discussion!”
Seeing the two about to argue, Mr. Tsai frowned and spoke.
“What we need to talk about is this: we’re about to step into the game ourselves. What stance should we take toward Sacramento? And what should we do to improve Brooklyn’s competitiveness?”
Mr. Tsai’s words immediately silenced the two men.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Mrs. Clara stepped in to smooth things over.
“Fortunately, Chen Yilun, the person in charge of the Kings, can be considered half one of our own. Since the beginning of the year, we’ve maintained fairly good relations with his side.”
“What I mean is this,”
Mr. Tsai continued.
“New leadership should bring new changes. After I take over, Brooklyn must undergo a major transformation. Chen Yilun and Malone’s team is exceptionally strong—rare even in the league’s history.”
“Is there any chance we could bring one or two people over from Chen Yilun’s side?”
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