Chapter Forty-Three: Another Way to Score

“Zach LaVine, who seemed destined to score with that dunk, missed it completely—unbelievable! He’s the reigning Dunk Champion!” On the commentary platform, one commentator looked bewildered. “How could he possibly make such an unthinkable mistake?”

“No, no, my friend, I think Zach was thrown off on that play,” the other commentator had a different view. “Just now, Michael Wu came chasing from behind. At that height, if his arm were just a bit longer, he would have delivered a solid block to the Dunk King!”

“Even though he didn’t get the block, Michael definitely affected LaVine’s dunk attempt!”

Just as the commentators had said, after LaVine shook off Wu and took to the air, it was Wu who chased him down from behind and managed an extreme contest. Of course, the commentators were a bit removed from the action and couldn’t see that Wu had actually made contact with the ball; they could only speculate. But on the court, two people knew what happened, and one of them was the Dunk King himself—LaVine.

Landing in frustration, Zach LaVine immediately searched for the kid who had interfered with his dunk. He knew exactly who it was—on the entire court, only that guy could do it!

But before he could find Wu, the cheers from the stands drew his attention forward. And there, between the two halves of the court, Michael Wu, wearing the Magic’s number 0 jersey, was striding boldly toward the frontcourt!

Even though Wu had just ruined the new Dunk Champion’s showcase—a feat worth boasting about—he had no intention of showing off. At that moment, only one thought echoed in his mind: Run!

After snagging the offensive rebound and posterizing his opponent last possession, Wu realized that aside from his still-unsteady jump shot, he had found another way to help his team score.

With this in mind, Wu sprinted alongside his teammate, the ball-handler C.J. Watson, for a two-pronged fast break. The Timberwolves’ defense was caught off guard; only the young point guard Tyus Jones managed to get back.

But Jones alone couldn’t stop the Magic’s two-man fast break. As Wu and Watson bore down on him, Jones had no choice but to commit to the ball-handler.

At that instant, Wu stretched out his right arm toward Watson and pointed upward. Watson instantly recognized the signal—he’d seen this move countless times. Without hesitation, he lobbed the ball high, aiming it near the rim!

However, as soon as Watson released the pass, his heart skipped a beat!

It had been too long since he’d played in a game, and his pass was far from perfect—in fact, it was downright poor, just a little too high!

But in the very next moment, Watson’s target bent his knees, sprang into the air, seized the ball one-handed, controlled it mid-air, then clasped it in both hands, his eyes fixed only on the rim.

“Dunk!”

With both hands gripping the ball, Wu slammed it through the basket, adding two more points for his team!

“Alley-oop! Michael Wu and C.J. Watson have just completed a textbook alley-oop!” The commentator on the sidelines was nearly shouting in excitement. “Incredible! That pass from Watson was no easy catch—Orlando nearly turned it over!”

“Oh wow, Michael’s scored five straight points to start the second quarter. I’m starting to regret what I said earlier—Coach Frank’s lineup isn’t about conceding the game, it’s about taking it!”

“Yeah!”

At that moment, the Amway Center, already buzzing, erupted to new heights. Most fans had little hope for this game, but Wu’s back-to-back dunks had reignited their anticipation.

The home crowd wasn’t even hoping for Wu to lead the Magic to a comeback—that seemed unrealistic. They simply wanted to see when Wu would deliver his next electrifying dunk.

“Michael, that was all you!” Watson couldn’t help but approach Wu for a high-five, grateful that his young teammate had turned such a terrible pass into an assist. “Next time, I swear I’ll get it to the perfect spot!”

“Nice work, Michael!” Stephen Zimmerman also raised his hand for a high-five, glancing around the arena. “Hey, these guys aren’t here to watch us embarrass ourselves anymore.”

“Haha, right? Just look at the fans’ faces,” Watson grinned. “Michael, they’re waiting for your next show!”

“Come on, guys, the game’s not just my show.” Wu wasn’t letting the compliments get to his head. He high-fived Zimmerman. “The fans are waiting for our show—everyone’s!”

“All of us!”

After scoring only two points in the previous seven games, Wu had racked up five in less than a minute of the second quarter—a dramatic turnaround that put him in soaring spirits. He was now certain that aside from his shooting, he truly had other ways to score.

Having watched Wiggins both in warmups and the first quarter, Wu realized that with his height and wingspan, if he channeled his rebounding hops into dunking, he could become a real offensive force.

In truth, Wu was becoming just that on offense.

His words struck his teammates like a splash of cold water, snapping them into focus. As Wu said, basketball is a team game—the fans are watching all five players!

Wu’s explosive play couldn’t allow them to fall behind. Even Rudez started boxing out aggressively on defense, proof of the Magic’s renewed determination.

The Magic’s sudden collective effort threw the Timberwolves off balance. Jones made a passing error, sending the ball straight to the stands and handing possession back to Orlando, who wasted no time capitalizing.

C.J. Watson, in a flash of brilliance, broke into the paint off a Zimmerman and Rudez elevator screen, drawing the Wolves’ defenders in before kicking it out to Mario Hezonja on the perimeter!

The small forward from Croatia caught the ball just inside the three-point line, adjusted slightly, and rhythmically launched his shot before the defense could close out.

The basketball traced a beautiful arc through the air, splashing straight through the net.

“A three-pointer! The Orlando Magic cut the lead to 25-39, opening the second quarter with an 8-0 run against the Timberwolves!”

“Buzzer!”

As Hezonja’s shot fell, the Timberwolves’ head coach, Tom Thibodeau, wasted no time—he immediately called for a timeout!