Chapter 58: Magic Blind Steal! Curry’s Iconic Moment

The NBA is a dazzling global stage—a place to show off talent and personality. Tang Lei's principle is simple: stay humble off the court, but let loose on the court!

If you can't play boldly on the court, what's the point? Might as well go home and grow potatoes.

Every player, star, or even superstar, has their moment to shine. From Stephenson's air guitar celebrations to Westbrook's fierce dunks, Lillard's iconic watch-check, Wade's "This is my house," LeBron's strut, and Curry's finger-pointing to the sky—each action radiates personality and charm.

But despite Tang Lei's taunting shoulder shrug, Leonard remained unfazed, as emotionless as a machine. The Raptors had the ball, and Lowry passed to Leonard, hoping to see his teammate respond with a score.

Facing Durant, Leonard displayed patience, crossing over multiple times to shift Durant's balance before driving hard to the right. Just as he made his move, Tang Lei appeared from the side, stripping the ball cleanly from Leonard's grasp.

Tang Lei had anticipated Leonard's move, waiting for his moment. With the ball in hand, he sprinted toward the Warriors' basket. Faced with a double team near the free throw line, he passed between his legs to Thompson, who caught it at the three-point line and shot in one fluid motion.

"Swish!"

Three more points! The Warriors now led 94-105, and only 4:11 remained on the clock.

"Nice shot!" Tang Lei said, high-fiving Thompson as they jogged back on defense.

"Your steal and pass were perfect," Thompson replied, growing fonder of the young player. He decided that on his next trip to China, he'd make sure Tang Lei took his hosting duties seriously.

"Move the ball! Let's get it moving!" shouted Raptors coach Nick Nurse from the sidelines, reluctant to burn a timeout with only two left. Lowry brought the ball up, while teammates set up their positions.

Tang Lei guarded Siakam, who was now stationed at the top of the arc, while Lowry controlled the ball at a 45-degree angle. Suddenly, Danny Green cut across the court, with Siakam setting a screen on Thompson to free him up.

Tang Lei instinctively moved to help on Green but quickly realized that Lowry's pass wasn't meant for Green; it was aimed at Ibaka under the basket.

The moment the ball hit the ground on its way to Ibaka, Tang Lei, with his back to the play, flung himself to the floor, intercepting the pass with a blind steal. It was a miraculous defensive play—intercepting the ball without even seeing it!

Lowry was stunned, as were the nearly 20,000 fans in attendance.

Tang Lei quickly passed the ball up to Curry, who sprinted towards the basket. Looking back, he saw no one close enough to catch him and prepared for a dunk. But as Curry was about to jump, he slipped and fell flat on the court.

The crowd gasped and laughed, but Curry managed to hold onto the ball. Picking himself up, he passed it to Iguodala, who, seeing Raptors defenders in position, returned the ball to Curry, who had retreated to the three-point line. Iguodala even set a screen, shielding him from a Raptors defender.

However, Curry's earlier fall had clearly shaken his confidence, as his three-point shot ended up as a rare airball. Ironically, this threw off the Raptors' rebounders, allowing Green to scoop up the ball and score with a simple floater.

94-107!

Seeing the 13-point gap, Nurse immediately called a timeout. Two possessions with turnovers, and three missed defensive stops—things were slipping out of control, and it was time to regroup.

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Hey guys, it's about All-star time. What do you think about All star games??