Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Then, Big Dog charged forward with the ball. Robinson, having lost his reason, actually got to the basket and, shouldering against Yu Fei, attempted a layup, but was thwarted by Yu Fei who, after standing his ground, dished out a reverse block.

Chris Whitney picked up the loose ball and quickly dashed towards the frontcourt to score on the fast break.

"Don't be sad, Coach Carl, that's how people without grit are."

Fueled by continuous provocations, Big Dog, who used to be a dependable workhorse like Wiggins, struggled to control his emotions and finally, following that trash talk, gave Yu Fei a hard shove.

Yu Fei, taking advantage of the momentum, sat back and then immediately looked towards the referee.

As expected, the referee was reasonable; even with home court advantage, you can't push someone over just because the opponent talked trash.

Big Dog, as expected, picked up a T.

After Yu Fei made the free throw that came with the technical foul, he continued to mess with Big Dog's head, "If you really had grit, you should have swung a punch just now."

Enraged, Big Dog bellowed, "You think I wouldn't dare?"

"Shut up, Big Dog!"

Head referee Jess Kersey then glared at Yu Fei, "Rook, if you keep running your mouth like that, I'll throw you out!"

Whether the referee threw Yu Fei out or not, the damage was already done.

Big Dog's composure was shaken.

Carl was anxious and unsettled, his voice yelling commands to his players louder than before.

Then, during a powerful Robinson post-up, Carl, as if infused with chicken blood, bellowed, "Just like that! Smash it in hard! Like a man, Glenn! Glenn! Go at him!"

Both Yu Fei's height and weight indicated that posting him up wasn't a wise decision.

After backing down for three seconds, Big Dog opted for a turnaround fadeaway jump shot that greatly irritated Carl, resulting in an airball.

"You're such a coward! A coward! I've never seen you toughen up! Watching you play is just disgusting! Damn it, why can't you just be tougher?"

Big Dog didn't respond.

Yu Fei could tell, he wasn't the typical brash and discontented Black brother.

This combination of traits has a specific term in the United States called "Black anger."

But Big Dog wasn't angry.

Clenching his teeth, he sounded like a restrained dog with a muffled "mmmhmmm~~~~," resembling the sound someone makes when constipated.

"Your coach is really 'considerate,'" Yu Fei said "warmly."

Big Dog glared back furiously: "Don't push me, or I'll hit you, rookie!"

"You won't, Big Dog," Yu Fei laughed, "If you're going to hit someone, it should be that 'dead fatty' constantly barking on the sidelines, shouldn't it?"

Somehow, Yu Fei saw Big Dog laugh.

What Yu Fei didn't know was, "Big Fatty" was the "term of endearment" Anthony Mason used for George Karl.

That was what made Big Dog burst into laughter; it was the root of all evil.

Yu Fei and Mason were cut from the same cloth.

Disrespectful of authority, taking insult to opponents and coaches lightly, whereas Big Dog was different; it related to his character and the education he received.

Even though George Karl publically described him as a soft egg who acted like dying from minor ailments, he still didn't have the courage to stand up against the coach's authority.

But that didn't mean he respected Karl.

Because Mason had proven Karl was nothing but a hollow tough guy.

He only liked being tough with those who wouldn't dare to confront him.

So when Yu Fei made a sharp comment about Karl, it achieved the pinnacle of unintended comedy – he didn't realize the impact his words had on the person involved, yet reached the highest level of comedic effect.

This was on the same level as the Canadian Electric Eel predicting his prison time and Cecilia Cheung in "The Promise" when she uttered the line, "Do you guys want to see me strip?"⑴.

It was too funny; Big Dog couldn't control himself.

This, in turn, significantly reduced his animosity towards Yu Fei. After all, it was just trash talk, and Yu Fei's examples were all factual. If there was anyone to blame, it would have to be that 'dead fatty' still shamelessly barking from the sidelines.

The game continued, and the matchup between Yu Fei and Big Dog lost some of its combative edge, thanks to Carl.

He was so noisy that it annoyed Yu Fei, while Big Dog enjoyed his various attacks on Carl.

But the game was still the main thing.

Yu Fei was in the zone, whereas Big Dog didn't have nearly as good of a feel for the game in the second quarter as he did in the first, and the hero keeping the Bucks' deficit within 20 points was Ray Allen.

Putting personality aside, Ray Allen was the kind of teammate Yu Fei dreamt of playing with.

Not ball-dominant, deadly accurate from three, capable of fast breaks, and not a scene-stealer.

If he were placed on the Golden State Warriors during the Splash Brothers era to replace Klay Thompson, he'd be a version of The Buddha with enhanced single-point drives but weaker defense.

However, with the Bucks' Ray Allen often had to take up the main scoring role due to Big Dog's nonchalance and Mason's reckless antics, and whenever his offense faltered, there went Karl barking again.

Unfortunately, like Big Dog, Allen too was one to submit to the coach's authority.

Allen's responsible play kept the game out of garbage time until the end of the first half.

For Yu Fei, this wasn't necessarily bad.

The later the game entered garbage time, the more opportunities he had to pad his stats.

By halftime, Yu Fei tallied 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, which was undoubtedly his best game of the season so far.

"You could describe Frye's performance tonight as phenomenal," Collins said, "He's simply been unstoppable!"

In the second half, Ray Allen started to miss shots, and Anthony Mason once again displayed his toxic attributes.