Carlisle was ready to declare garbage time with five minutes left in the game. The Pacers’ lead was hovering around 25 points. Theoretically, even though the Pistons were still putting up a fight, it was impossible for them to close that gap in five minutes.

But, halfway through the fourth quarter, Prince rushed up and pulled Su Xi straight to the ground during what should have been a routine drive.

Everyone watching on TV could see how utterly irrational they were being.

"I’m ashamed of the Detroit Pistons. Even during the Bad Boy era, they wouldn’t pull this kind of cheap stunt in this situation," Barkley said. "They should just accept their defeat."

Kenny Smith didn’t even argue.

He also thought the Pistons were acting completely without class.

Su Xi stepped up to the free-throw line and sank both shots, extending the lead to 27 points. That also brought his personal stats for the night to 35 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block.

This was a new playoff scoring record for Su Xi, an undeniably dominant, superstar-level performance.

In this game, it was as if Su Xi was operating on a completely different plane of existence, utterly crushing the Pistons. From start to finish, he never allowed them to mount a true counterattack.

The Pistons were like a cocky street punk, whistling his way into a dark alley, only to have a sack thrown over his head and get beaten senseless. They didn’t even know what was hitting them.

Although Larry Brown was one of the NBA’s top head coaches, his in-game adjustments were truly, truly, *truly* mediocre. He was more than a single tier below his protégé, Popovich.

However, even if Larry Brown were given three days to prepare for a rematch, the Pistons still wouldn’t be able to defeat the Pacers.

This was because after Su Xi’s Agility Talent was upgraded, and after he’d acquired Reggie Miller’s talents for off-ball movement and catch-and-shoot jumpers, this new-and-improved version of him gave the Pacers a fundamental, structural advantage.

The only difference would be that a prepared Pistons team wouldn’t get completely steamrolled by the Pacers right from the opening tip. They might last until the third quarter, maybe even hold the lead for a bit, but in the end, defeat was still inevitable.

SWISH!

Rashid Wallace sank his signature high-arcing jumper.

But it was too little, too late. A single basket wasn’t going to solve anything.

Su Xi slowly brought the ball past half-court, controlling the tempo and letting the clock bleed.

Meanwhile, Rashid Wallace was in the paint, prowling like a caged beast.

He shouted at Su Xi, who was beyond the three-point line, "Little Sheep Su Xi, you got the guts to come in here and challenge me?"

As he spoke, he even slapped the floor, a gesture meant to show his fury and defiance.

But there was no one left to appreciate his performance. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

This was nothing more than impotent rage.

The crowd at Auburn Hills Palace had thinned to no more than 5,000 fans; three-quarters of the audience had already left.

Su Xi paid him no mind whatsoever.

He continued his leisurely crossovers in front of Billups, his body swaying like a willow branch in the wind.

He looked deceptively fragile.

Billups, however, was on high alert, his nerves stretched taut.

He could sense that Su Xi was getting stronger and more elusive. If his old drives to the basket were sharp and aggressive, his new style was almost eerily fluid.

Unpredictable.

SKKRT!

Su Xi suddenly exploded forward with a jab step.

Billups instinctively fell back. Su Xi’s explosiveness rating was a 99, meaning any sudden move he made would trigger an opponent’s primal defensive reflexes.

The moment Billups retreated, Su Xi rapidly changed direction. As he took a single step, his body executed a swift, contorting twist—a feat made possible by his maxed-out flexibility and near-superhuman coordination.

Billups scrambled to slide over, but he’d already lost half a step. His frantic effort was less about defense and more about not looking completely pathetic.

But the instant Billups committed to the slide, Su Xi executed a mind-boggling spin move, his body whipping nimbly back around from the right.

After that series of extreme, whiplash-inducing fakes, Billups felt almost carsick.

He closed his eyes.

He gave up. ’I’m exhausted,’ he thought. ’Screw it. Let it all burn.’

He desperately reached out, trying to commit one last foul, but still couldn’t get a hand on Su Xi.

It was as futile as trying to slice water with a sword.

Su Xi blew past him with an incomparable blend of flexibility, agility, grace, and raw power.

Billups felt like a dirty stray cat tossed into a tumble washer by an "innocent" child. He might come out cleaner, but his limbs and mind had long since stopped responding to his commands.

Su Xi charged into the paint.

He caught Rashid Wallace completely flat-footed. Wallace had expected Su Xi to continue in the direction of his crossover and had already shifted his weight. But who could have predicted that Su Xi would follow up a high-speed crossover with an immediate spin move?

’What a show-off.’

’Look at you, think you’re so clever.’

Su Xi was on him in the blink of an eye. Rashid Wallace hurried to close the distance, but just as he was about to make contact, Su Xi stopped on a dime. The stop was a little shaky; his coordination talent still wasn’t enough to perfectly control his 99-rated super-explosiveness.

His center of gravity wobbled slightly, but it didn’t matter.

Because Rashid Wallace was thrown off balance even more. He couldn’t stop his momentum in time and nearly stumbled right past him.

The instant he stopped, Su Xi abruptly spun. Rashid Wallace immediately lunged after him... like a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey.

But in the end, his reaction was just a beat too slow.

He couldn’t even touch Su Xi’s shadow. Already a step behind, all he could do was charge forward recklessly.

But then Su Xi did something incredible: he took a step back, his body as nimble as a lynx.