He wanted to purposely provoke Su Wan into hitting him, so that Su Wan would get suspended.
That way, even without Tim Duncan, they could still turn the finals around with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili!
"Fuck you, dare to threaten Su!"
But before he could finish, a big man standing in the spectator seats behind him, having heard these threats and already a bit drunk, immediately lost his cool. With a loud shout, he charged directly at Popovich.
Already agitated by O’Neal’s tripping incident, hearing Popovich’s brazen questioning had made things worse, and now...
This old bastard even dared to threaten Su Wan!?
Thinking no one would dare to hit him, is that it?
The big man tackled him to the ground and fiercely strangled his neck with both hands:
"Die, you old bastard!"
Referees and Spurs players hurried to break it up, but this only highlighted that this big man wasn’t the only spectator angry about Bruce Bowen not being ejected for his sneaky footwork.
Who knows who shouted, "The Spurs players are hitting the fans!"
The scene immediately became more agitated.
A dozen fans at courtside rushed out at the first opportunity, coming to the aid of the fan still pinning Popovich to the ground.
A group of people started brawling.
The scene began to descend into chaos.
Then, more and more people surged out of the stands, heading straight for the dozen or so Spurs players.
At first, the Spurs didn’t dare to fight back, but as more and more punches landed on them, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker couldn’t help but start hitting back.
Including the downed Tim Duncan.
Great, the "GDP" wouldn’t be able to escape this; they wouldn’t be able to play in the next game.
Well done!
Well done!
Su Wan watched the crazed Indiana fans and turned to point at Tinsley and Stephen Jackson, signaling them not to get involved.
He himself immediately rushed into the crowd—jokingly, of course. With the fans at the front lines, how could he, the "soul of Indiana," shrink to the back?
He also re-tightened the belt around his waist, shouting as he did so, "Where’s Bruce Bowen? Don’t let him get away, I’m going to beat the shit out of him today!"
Seeing Su Wan join the fray, the Indiana fans really cooperated.
A crowd of them cornered Bruce Bowen for Su Wan.
This was a brand-new experience.
Fans had never before brawled alongside a star player.
Today, the fans in Indiana were the first to achieve this!
Our beloved superstar has an unmatched character!
Tinsley wanted to join in too, but was stopped by Reggie Miller, "Su told us all to stay put, so just stay put!"
To Miller’s surprise, Stephen Jackson managed to hold himself back this time.
Seeing no escape, Bowen decided to make a desperate attempt and charged at Su Wan, trying to use a "Bull Charge" to knock him down.
Su Wan lifted his foot, delivering a "Big Kick," sending Bruce Bowen stumbling back the way he came.
"Likes playing dirty!"
"Likes to trip people!"
"Thought no one could handle you, huh!"
"Fuck you!"
"Likes to be Popovich’s dog!"
"Daring to act tough in Indiana!"
"Do you even know where you are?!"
"Ah!"
"Fuck you!"
Su Wan, sitting atop Bowen, slapped him with each curse—one by one, a dozen slaps knocked Bruce Bowen unconscious,
his mouth a mess of blood and broken teeth.
Su Wan’s hand was covered in blood and spit.
Disgusted, he wiped his hand on Bowen’s jersey and turned to see that the other fights remained chaotic, with more and more fans joining in. Even with security stepping in, they weren’t having much effect.
Jermaine O’Neal had been tripped right before their eyes, and Popovich even threatened to give Su Wan the same fate as Duncan; how could these Hoosiers stand by and watch?
Go for it!
Beat the hell out of them!
The basketball court instantly turned into "Autism City."
A dozen people ganging up on a single Spurs player.
Including the injured Tim Duncan, who couldn’t escape.
Fans surrounding Tim Duncan even chased after him, asking, "Tim, are we the good guys? Tim!"
The "Stone Buddha" had never shown such a range of emotions.
Rick Carlisle tried to call for peace.
But it was no use.
Eventually, with no other option, the head referee could only come and plead with Su Wan.
Su Wan, listening to the Spurs players’ screams of agony, retorted, "Don’t you think these people are damn annoying? Can’t they just play the game properly?"
The head referee, like a grandson, nodded repeatedly. He figured David Stern’s face must be green with anger by now, and there was no escaping his post-game punishment. All he wanted now was to prevent the situation from escalating.
Rick Carlisle told him that right now, they might only listen to Su Wan...
"Everyone, please calm down, please calm down, stop fighting, stop fighting!" Su Wan called out pretentiously, his voice carried throughout Conseco Arena via the loudspeaker.
The chaotic scene actually began to slowly return to normal.
My God, just like that, a shout was enough?
The referees themselves were stunned, looking at Su Wan with a touch of awe.
Such a "City Son," they definitely wouldn’t dare to provoke, not only that, from now on, when refereeing Pacers’ home games, they would even need to give him a "home whistle."
As the situation was brought under control, fans gradually returned to their seats.
Leaving the Spurs personnel littered on the ground, from the starters to the bench, anyone who had rushed to help Popovich was there, and each of them had taken a few knocks to the face.
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