Chapter Eighty-Six: The Man Who Swallowed His Own Teeth and Blood

A three-pointer goes in! The moment Lin Fei lands, he roars, and the entire arena seems to tremble.

In that instant, his figure suddenly rises impossibly tall, as if he alone fills the whole court.

So far, he is five for six from beyond the arc. That number is already shocking enough, is it not?

Oklahoma City has the ball, and with seven minutes left on the clock, every possession is suffocating. Every cut, every dribble, every shot could decide the game’s fate. Westbrook brings it up, and at this point the Thunder can truly trust only their two stars.

Westbrook on offense, Lin Fei on defense. At the center line, Westbrook strings together several drives and hesitations, but still cannot force his way into the paint. It is not that he lacks confidence; rather, he is deliberately burning time, trying to wear Lin Fei down, and, if possible, draw out the two remaining fouls on Lin Fei. Yet on defense, Lin Fei even gives him a step of space, carefully avoiding direct physical contact. That is exactly what Nelson had stressed: the Warriors still hold the lead, and because of that they can afford to trade blows with Oklahoma City and wear them out. But with five seconds left, Westbrook attacks at once, taking one long stride straight into the lane. That drive proves Oklahoma City’s intent to play the long game. As Westbrook charges in, Warriors forward Jobs rotates over for the block, but Westbrook possesses absurd hang time. He switches hands in midair and finishes with his left. Westbrook has always played with such effortless swagger. This is the Thunder’s blessing: in the clutch, both Westbrook and Durant can be the ones to score.

After Westbrook’s basket, a Warriors player grabs the falling ball and immediately passes to Lin Fei. Durant leaps in an attempt to steal it, but he is still just a hair late. His monstrous speed makes him the first one downcourt as play resumes, barreling straight for the rim, impossible to stop. Westbrook gives chase from behind. When Lin Fei reaches the frontcourt three-point line, he still shows almost no sign of slowing. Westbrook, reading Lin Fei’s agile response, is certain he will go up quickly for the layup and changes his path at once—not chasing from behind anymore, but racing to the basket, because Lin Fei’s layup must end there. Yet the moment he takes that step, he realizes he is already too late. Lin Fei, still in motion and just beyond the three-point line, jumps and releases a drifting shot in midair. Such a difficult move is rarely, if ever, completed in this league. To shoot while floating, with almost no deceleration at all, is an act of staggering difficulty, unprecedented in its audacity.

It goes in again! Lin Fei once more confirms the legend.

There are nearly seven minutes left. Lin Fei is now six for seven, with 23 points. Durant, at this point, still has 24. That means Lin Fei remains 17 points behind Durant with only seven minutes left. To accomplish it would still be a miracle.

On the Thunder’s next possession, Westbrook keeps the pace under control. Aside from the ball, the arena is silent. By the time they cross midcourt, Durant has the ball. X steps up high to meet him. Durant drives, only to be stifled tightly by X, who boxes him in. Durant cannot find a teammate to receive the ball, so he forces up a shot himself. Naturally, it misses.

On the next possession, it is Lin Fei again. But the Thunder players are noticeably sharper now, nearly set in place the instant Lin Fei receives the ball, as if to say, "We have been expecting you."

Westbrook is still the defender. Lin Fei dribbles quickly, trying to blow by him without any wasted motion. Westbrook’s body cannot turn around instantly, and Lin Fei is about to leave him far behind. Then, almost as if by accident, Westbrook extends his left foot and clips Lin Fei. Lin Fei was already moving at great speed; the moment he is tripped, his balance is lost and he nearly flies forward, rolling to the floor. Even as he is on the verge of falling, he manages to get the shot off. The ball touches nothing and flies straight out of bounds. At least two free throws should have been the reward. Lin Fei’s body hits the floor with a heavy, unmistakable thud.

Could this truly be the so-called Jordan Rule? Is this the essence of it: if you dare to come at me, then I dare to hit back?

Lin Fei had already suffered once before, when after being shoved he picked up a technical foul. This time he glares at Westbrook with real ferocity, almost ready to throw a punch. Though his relationship with Westbrook is not bad, the fury boiling in Lin Fei’s chest is still impossible to contain.

Lin Fei makes both free throws. He has 25 points now, surpassing Durant in the game, though he is still 15 points behind him on the scoring leaderboard.

At this point Durant begins to unleash everything he has. On offense, he draws a foul on X and calmly sinks both free throws.

The Warriors come back on offense, and Lin Fei’s exhaustion is now obvious. Yet his blood remains hot, unquenched.

Curry handles the ball. Westbrook is still the lone defender on Lin Fei, while everyone else locks onto their assigned man.

At last Lin Fei shakes free of Westbrook and catches the ball, but the Warriors have already lost the quick rhythm that defines their offense.

His body is nearly at its limit. Though he has not played all that long, while Lin Fei is on the court he is being harried constantly, dragged and tugged in every possible way. He catches the ball one step inside the three-point line. The other four Warriors are all immediately swarmed, and Oklahoma City now resorts to the Jordan Rule, trying to force Lin Fei to score alone. See how much you can take. Their earlier defense on Lin Fei had not been tight enough largely because they feared he would pass to a teammate with an easier path to score. But now that the other four are sealed off, Lin Fei can shoot all he wants. Exhausted, he has no choice but to take it himself. The ball drifts just wide.

Then comes Oklahoma City’s offense. Westbrook has it and feeds Perkins directly from the free-throw line. Instinctively, Lin Fei follows the ball’s path over. Perkins catches it, gathers, and goes straight up for the layup. Lin Fei steps back and arrives under the rim, springs up with all his strength, yet still falls far short of Perkins. As Perkins rises, one arm shielding the ball on its way to the basket, Lin Fei is directly beneath him. Perkins’ elbow slams hard into Lin Fei’s face. This time the whistle is for Lin Fei’s blocking foul.

At once, blood begins to drip from Lin Fei’s mouth.

He lightly touches his lip and spits a small white object into his hand. It is hard to see clearly, but many people understand instantly: it is a tooth. Lin Fei wipes his mouth, stuffs that bit of white back in, and swallows it down hard. He closes his mouth, though blood continues to run from the corner of his lips.

Everyone is stunned by the sight. This madman swallowed his own tooth, and his mouth is still bleeding. He is insane, utterly insane.

After Perkins finishes at the line, he leaves the game to be treated for the injury.

The team doctor gently wipes the blood from Lin Fei’s outer lip and asks him to open his mouth. Lin Fei waves him off, signaling that it is unnecessary.

Not only has Lin Fei gone mad; the whole arena has gone mad with him. From the moment of the injury until he left the floor, he never said a single word. He only waved away the doctor’s requests. He swallowed his own tooth and the blood in his mouth, all of it gone into his stomach.

He gestures to Nelson that he can go back in. Yet for such an unforgettable scene, not a single person in the building cheers. The moment has something of a king’s return to it, and yet no one applauds, because everyone is stunned senseless. They never imagined that this seemingly frailest boy in the league would actually swallow his own tooth, along with the blood from his mouth.