Chapter Fifty-Eight: Defending the Home Ground

Until today, ABC Television had scarcely reported anything about Michael Wu. As commentators for ABC covering the NBA, their knowledge of him came mostly from reports by other media outlets.

But tonight, seated in the Amway Center in Orlando, the two ABC announcers were left utterly astonished by this second-round rookie whom they barely knew.

The referee’s whistle blew sharply, and after a brief silence, the crowd erupted.

“I don’t even know what to say anymore, buddy! Michael Wu is wild!”

“Incredible, incredible, incredible!”

“What did he just do? What did he just do?”

Magic fans stared in disbelief, rising from their seats as one, their eyes locked on the court.

Meanwhile, the arena DJ roared Michael Wu’s name. On the Magic bench, every player jumped up; Aaron Gordon almost tossed his towel into the stands.

“Michael!”

On the court, Serge Ibaka bounced over to Wu and slammed his chest against his: “You’re a wild one!”

Wu, at the center of it all, grinned and exchanged powerful high-fives with his teammates, the trademark smile curling at his lips.

“Brother, I told you I’d jump higher.” Glancing at Rudy Gobert, who lay sprawled on the floor, Wu smirked, “Next time, you can try again.”

Gobert, still on the floor, had no retort. He replayed the moment in his mind, that overwhelming, explosive instant.

Not only in Gobert’s mind, but also on the arena’s giant screen, the replay rolled: Wu snatched an offensive rebound, rose up without pause, and slammed a one-handed dunk over Gobert. He didn’t hesitate for even a second—from the moment he grabbed the rebound, he’d already decided to posterize Gobert.

Gobert, thrown off balance by the mid-air collision, lost his footing and crashed to the floor. Worse yet, he was charged with his fifth foul of the night, just one step away from ejection.

“The Utah Jazz are facing their toughest moment of the game!”

The ABC commentator snapped out of his awe over Wu’s highlight-worthy dunk and glanced at the referee’s signal. “For most of the fourth quarter, they’ll be grappling with the same trouble they faced in the third.”

“And now, the man who caused it all stands at the free-throw line, waiting for nothing but the cheers of the entire crowd!”

Wu took the ball from the referee and loosened up. Truth be told, the mid-air collision had left his body feeling as if it might come apart. Ibaka’s excited chest bump only added to the ache that radiated through him.

This translated into a distorted shooting form, and his free throw ended up as an airball.

“Hey, man, did you forget your scope?”

Ibaka, watching the ball sail out of bounds, couldn’t help but tease as he ran back on defense.

Wu could only offer an awkward smile; he hadn’t expected to miss so completely—not even grazing the rim.

Magic head coach Frank Vogel, always keenly observant of his players, immediately noticed Wu’s discomfort.

Wu had been dunking and posterizing all game—not only forcing Gobert into three fouls, making him wary on defense, but also wearing himself out. It was time for a rest.

So as the third quarter entered its final minute, Vogel called for a substitution. Wu was replaced by Jeff Green. He wasn’t alone, though; Gobert was also sent to the bench.

Seeing the Frenchman leave alongside him, Wu couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Michael, be ready to head to the locker room for a checkup at any moment.” Wu grinned, but Vogel wasn’t amused. “You’d better wipe that smile off your face, or you’ll leave the arena before the fans do.”

“How could that be, coach? I’m just smiling.”

“Just smiling? Think of Tim Duncan. He was only smiling, too.”

Vogel didn’t bother to explain further. The third quarter wasn’t over, and the team still had a chance to tie the game in the final minute; he focused on his players’ performance.

Wu, meanwhile, was startled by Vogel’s comment.

He remembered how Duncan—the "Stone Buddha"—had gotten a technical foul just for laughing on the bench.

Thinking of this, Wu quickly wiped the smile from his face and sat down straight on the bench.

What happened on the bench didn’t affect the game. The contest remained tight, but the Jazz’s plan to use Gobert to change the momentum in the last two minutes fell flat. Instead, the Magic seized the opportunity, launching a fast break in the final seconds of the third quarter and taking the lead.

In the closing seconds, the Jazz tried to slow things down, but their tactics failed, and they couldn’t reclaim the lead.

When the third quarter ended, the Magic had finally entered the break ahead on their home court.

The fourth quarter was without suspense. Without Rudy Gobert, the Jazz looked like a different team. Nikola Vucevic dominated the paint; Gordon Hayward kept the game alive with his offense, but his strength alone wasn’t enough.

Even when Gobert returned midway through the fourth, the Jazz trailed by eight, and the Magic didn't change their lineup. Vogel felt there was no need to unleash Wu again.

With just over three minutes left, Gobert, in an ill-fated defensive play, was charged with his sixth foul and ejected.

With their defensive anchor gone, the Salt Lake City team lost all resistance and suffered a crushing defeat in Orlando.

“93 to 87—the Orlando Magic defend their home court, and the Utah Jazz swallow their second straight loss!”

As the final buzzer sounded, Magic fans rose to their feet and cheered. The team had been stifled in the first half, but in the end, they pulled off a comeback.

Though the score was low, the fans were thrilled. After all, it was a comeback victory at home.

After the game, reporters gathered around Nikola Vucevic, who had amassed 22 points and 13 rebounds, for postgame questions.

But before they could speak, Vucevic grabbed the microphone, facing the camera with a look of displeasure.