Chapter 694: Chapter 486: Durant Doesn’t Want to Be Durant Anymore (Combined) Chapter 694: Chapter 486: Durant Doesn’t Want to Be Durant Anymore (Combined) The boos at the Staples Center were deafening, with Los Angeles’s dissatisfaction toward Ron Artest quickly escalating over a short period.

Some were also blaming Phil Jackson, believing that Jackson’s decision to keep Artest on the floor at the crucial moment had doomed the Lakers.

“Luckily, it’s just a regular season game. If this had happened in the finals, what a disaster would that have been?” Joe Lago, a renowned writer from Los Angeles, wrote on Twitter.

The disaster caused by Artest made James’s triple-double and Kobe’s 36 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists ultimately serve as merely a backdrop to Fei’s 45 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists–the major triple-double.

Moreover, for James’s camp, what was even more unacceptable was that James’s losing streak to Fei had continued from Cleveland to Los Angeles.

Tonight marked the twenty-ninth time James had lost to Fei in six years.

“Given that the Supersonics’ lineup wasn’t complete, with their core center Chris Bosh out due to injury, this defeat is a significant blow to the Lakers,” said Doug Collins, “because they were the stronger side in terms of absolute strength.”

However, the rhetoric of “Tonight’s Supersonics winning against the odds” was dismissed by Fei.

“KD’s strength has been underestimated, and that is why the Lakers lost,” said Fei, “Their focus was all on me, but after tonight, they probably won’t let KD launch such easy attacks again.”

Although Fei wished Durant, who scored 33 points tonight, to share the glory of victory with him.

But the power of narrative was in the hands of the media.

The ESPN journalist interviewing Fei then asked, “This is your twenty-ninth consecutive victory over LeBron, how does tonight differ from the previous twenty-eight wins?”

“No difference,” Fei said lightly and sarcastically, “LeBron just dodged his responsibilities as usual when tasks became demanding.”

“Are you referring to the final pass?”

“Exactly, I guess many will blame Ron for it, but I think, even Ron himself wouldn’t have expected to end up as the last shooter in such a critical game,” Fei said, hardly able to suppress a laugh, “You have number 23 and 24, and you let Ron Artest make the final shot? What do you expect from him?”

“So, the question should be — why did he pass?” Fei asked with a laugh, “Was DJ’s defense that terrifying? Or was he worried about overshadowing Kobe? I don’t know the answer, you would have to ask him yourself.”

Interestingly, Artest’s response to the final shot was almost identical to Fei’s version.

“I had the lowest three-point shooting percentage on the court,” said Artest, seemingly distracted, “We had no timeouts, and the ball was in LeBron’s hands…I didn’t think he would pass.”

To the journalists, this statement had dual implications.

One was Artest expressing dissatisfaction with James passing to him at the last moment; a superstar should dominate the game himself.

Another is perfectly in line with the journalistic structure of interviews.

“I didn’t think he would pass,” you think? You thought he wouldn’t, so you weren’t ready to catch and shoot from the beginning, which means you weren’t ready. In other words, you mean you weren’t prepared at that time?

For journalists, there’s no multiple choice.

They will question James’s choice to pass at the crucial moment on one hand, and on the other, they will sensationalize Artest’s remarks, portraying him as a player lacking professionalism.

Artest, unfamiliar with the media’s roundabout ways, just wanted to get back to the locker room.

When he returned to the locker room, everyone was looking at him.

Some wanted to know what he was thinking at the final moment, but no one voiced it out loud.

Artest picked up his laptop and headed to the shower.

Gradually, the team members took their positions.

“Where’s Ron?!” Kobe came in, “Where is that mongrel?!”

Tonight’s game, at its peak, drew nearly twenty million viewers, with even more international viewers, and here at their home court, the Lakers had a chance for a winning shot at the final moment, yet were thoroughly blocked by Fei. As if that weren’t enough, Artest, given a clear shot, made the dumbest offensive choice.

This infuriated Kobe beyond measure.

“He’s in the shower,” someone said.

So, Kobe stormed into the shower, banging hard on the door.

“It’s not locked.”

From inside, came Artest’s leisurely response.

Kobe directly opened the door, and what he saw made his brain short-circuit.

Artest was not showering; he had placed his laptop in the compartment and was watching a Western adult movie.

On the screen, a blond MILF playing a doctor was getting intimate with a bald stud.

“What is this?”

Kobe asked.

Artest seemed not to hear, totally engrossed in it.

If only he had this level of focus on the court…

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“What are you watching?” Kobe asked, hardly containing his anger.

“Julia Ann’s new film,” Artest replied with enjoyment, “Her outfit in it is just crazy!”

This man had just messed up the most important regular season game of the season, and as undeniably the culprit, he had detached from the game state the moment it ended.

No, Kobe suspected he had been thinking about this damn movie even during the game.

Kobe’s rage could no longer be contained: “Turn that damn thing off! You blockhead! Do you realize if you had made that last shot, a hundred Julia Anns would be fighting to get to your bed first???”