Su Wan was amused.
Looking across the NBA technical foul scene, only Tim Duncan, sitting on the bench with a smile, could top the technical he just got, right?
Rick Carlisle, who learned of the details, was also amused.
The arena was filled with boos.
Damon Stoudemire, the Grizzlies’ best at free throws, took the "technical free throw."
Meanwhile, Mike chose to make a substitution, bringing in Dante Jones for Eddie Jones.
Dante Jones, also from the ’03 class, was best known to Su Wan for two things: he once dunked over Yao Ming, vouching for his athleticism.
Another was his stepping under Kobe.
According to himself, Kobe elbowed his throat first, and he was just retaliating rightfully.
No matter the truth, it showed that Dante Jones certainly wasn’t the type to take provocations lying down.
He dared to mess with Kobe, so why would he hold back against the mighty Su Wan?
Su Wan was just waiting for him to come and give him a buff, so he shouted to Mike, "Don’t put someone still on a rookie contract on me, let that guy with the 5 million dollar contract guard me."
The 5 million dollar contract referred to Shawn Battier.
To be precise, his contract this year should be 4.9 million.
In an era where the salary cap was just 49.5 million, a 5 million dollar contract could be considered a mid-tier contract; only moderately above-average players in the League could get such a contract.
Sure enough, Dante Jones was riled up, "You think getting a Finals MVP from fighting makes you so great? Damn jerk, not everyone is scared of you! I’ll shut your stinking mouth!"
Alright, Dante Jones’s trash talk was unexpectedly good.
But he clearly didn’t realize what he was about to face for that piece of trash talk.
Paul Gasol inbounded the ball from the backcourt, and then went down the court with Damon, providing a screen for the "Little Flying Squirrel" as he moved towards the inside.
Su Wan feigned helping, Damon bit, passing the ball to Dante Jones.
Dante Jones mainly made his name through defense, and during the 08-09 season, he managed to contain Kobe to some extent, which brought him fame as another "Kobe terminator." On the offensive end, he relied on his athleticism for cuts and added an inconsistent three-point shot.
With the ball in his hands, Su Wan didn’t give him a chance to look for teammates; he closed in, initiating physical contact, using his chest to push against Dante Jones and force his dribbling.
Jones had no choice but to post up against Su Wan, waiting for a teammate’s help.
But before help arrived, Artest sneaked up and poked the ball away, alerted by the Grizzlies’ players’ warning shouts.
Su Wan perfectly caught the ball and immediately broke away with a fast break.
A confident Jones, proud of his athleticism, chased after him all the way.
Yet, Su Wan acted as if he wasn’t there, securing the ball with both hands, turned in the air, and completed a back-dunk.
After landing, Su Wan crouched down while retreating, making a "too small" gesture.
This caused the crowd to howl once again.
Not only because Su Wan’s celebration was slick but also because this basket had brought the Pacers’ lead to 10 points.
What did that mean?
Let’s put it this way...
In the past six games, not to mention the end of the first quarter, they hadn’t led by 10 points even at halftime.
Now, Su Wan’s return was just 8 minutes into the first quarter, and the Pacers had already pulled ahead by double digits.
And Su Wan...
He already had 12 points!
His shooting rate was an exaggerated 5 of 7!
Barkley realized then that he had made a huge mistake.
He was too focused on the problems the Pacers had exposed during their 1-5 run but forgot...
Sometimes Su Wan didn’t need his teammates to perform well; he could take care of the opponent all by himself!
This had happened last season.
Why did Barkley subconsciously ignore it?
He started to ponder this question.
Beside him, Kenny Smith said, "Now it seems that the media, who said Su Wan only knew indulgence over the summer, were obviously deliberately demeaning him. They speculated about Su Wan’s entire summer with just one picture. And now, Su Wan has swollen their faces with less than a quarter’s performance!"
That’s when Barkley realized he was misled by the irresponsible media. After seeing those news reports, he thought Su Wan might have had significant issues with his condition, especially after such a long suspension, thinking he needed to adjust.
But the truth showed...
His summer wasn’t anything like what outsiders said.
He had become stronger!
"OMG!" With 6 minutes and 45 seconds left in the second quarter, Bobby Leonard exclaimed, hands on his head, inadvertently rising from his seat, "What did I see, what did I see, Su Wan crossed over Dante Jones, connecting with a mid-range shot, OMG, this is too much!"
While he commented, his eyes glanced at the big screen in the arena, waiting for the instant replay.
Such a moment deserved a thousand replays.
"Toot!"
The referee called a timeout then, Mike’s decision.
His last shred of hope for Dante Jones disappeared with that shot.
He had to make another substitution.
Su Wan watched Jones struggling to get up, passing by him without daring to make eye contact, "Where’s your trash talk now, Dante? Why can’t you look at me? I prefer your unyielding appearance!"
Honestly, Jones really wanted to hit Su Wan.
But this was Conseco Arena, where Popovich was sent to the ICU just for threatening Su Wan.
If Popovich faced such consequences for threatening Su Wan, what would happen if he dared to hit him...