Fortunately for the American team, the ball bounced back into play after hitting the rim, and Leonard grabbed it with quick eyes and hands.

The Chinese team's overall tactical deficiencies were also exposed.

After that unexpected missed dunk, Durant, using a screen, found himself with an open look in the corner.

Leonard passed him the ball, and Tang Tian sprinted over to contest.

Durant caught the ball, jumped, and released his shot as Tang Tian flew past the screen.

Tang Tian was still a bit too slow, and Durant had already released the ball by the time he arrived.

The ball arced through the air.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, the ball went through the net.

Durant's clutch three-pointer, another one!

He had scored all of the American team's 7 points in the last three minutes!

Moreover, with that fortuitous sequence, the American team had actually tied the score!

Now, with only 10 seconds left in the game, if the American team could just get one stop, they could force overtime!

For the American team, with their superior stamina and overall strength, overtime would obviously be to their advantage.

Now, it all depended on whether the Chinese team could seize those final 10 seconds.

Li Chunjiang called a timeout.

Inside the Wukesong Arena, the fans could no longer sit still, all standing up and craning their necks to look towards the Chinese team's bench.

Those next 10 seconds could very well be the 10 seconds that determined the history of Chinese basketball.

But despite the tension, they were still full of confidence in the Chinese team.

Not only because they had Tang Tian, but also because the Chinese team's outside shooting had been red hot for the past three or four minutes.

And there was always the possibility of Tang Tian channeling his inner LeBron James; he had assisted Ding Yanyuhang for a three-pointer to advance to the quarterfinals against Cameroon.

After the timeout, the Chinese team would inbound the ball in the frontcourt.

The arena suddenly fell silent, including the commentators Su Qun and Zhang Weiping, who both stopped commentating.

Not just the fans in the arena, but even those watching on TV could feel the tension in the air.

This was a real battlefield, one where the bayonets had been drawn and the ground was stained with blood.

The Chinese team inbounded the ball on the sideline in the frontcourt, with Tang Tian passing it in.

The Chinese team ran a play, and Tang Tian successfully got the ball to Yi Jianlian, then ran off a screen to receive it back.

9 seconds on the clock.

The other players spread out to create space.

It was at this moment that there was a very noticeable change in the American team's defensive strategy.

They weren't applying high-pressure defense on Tang Tian, not even a double-team, just Leonard guarding him one-on-one.

Popovich was a very perceptive man; he had noticed the Chinese team's very unreasonable shooting percentage from the outside.

He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it felt like whoever received a pass from Tang Tian was guaranteed to make the shot.

So he adjusted his defensive strategy, even though it might seem foolish to others.

But he had made his choice.

Tang Tian wanted to give his mentor a thumbs-up at that moment; that kind of courage wasn't something everyone possessed.

Then he chose to use the Chuanhua Butterfly Step plus Wu Chu Qi You to break past Leonard.

In the Pay-to-Win System, Leonard possessed defensive skills second only to Hakeem Olajuwon.

Olajuwon had long since retired; he was the strongest defender in the league now.

Moreover, Leonard was currently at the peak of his career.

The strongest offense versus the strongest defense, deciding the ultimate champion of the World Cup.

The fans watching this scene held their breaths.

Leonard's excellent anticipation and wingspan stopped Tang Tian's Wu Chu Qi You.

It was a rare occasion when Tang Tian was defended.

The strongest defense lived up to its name.

But Tang Tian obviously wasn't limited to just that one move; he pulled the ball back, and his body followed.

Leonard desperately tried to keep up.

But his center of gravity was a bit unstable.

Seeing this, Tang Tian chose to turn, post up, and then turn again.

Leonard's unstable center of gravity meant he couldn't keep up.

After that series of moves, there was very little time left, but the Chuanhua Butterfly Step + Wu Chu Qi You + turnaround fadeaway.

Tang Tian finally managed to shake off Leonard's defense!

The battle between the spear and the shield, and in the end, the spear prevailed.

Tang Tian was an offensive textbook; he knew too much, and even with the strongest defense, it was difficult for Leonard to defend him one-on-one.

Tang Tian's signature turnaround fadeaway shot, and before the ball had even left his hand, the red light on the sideline lit up.

At that moment, it felt like the arena had frozen in time.

Everyone stared at the spinning basketball in the air.

Time slowed down as if Jay Chou had cast a time-stopping spell from the movie *Kung Fu Dunk*.

"Swish!"

Finally, a crisp sound.

Tang Tian's game-winning shot, went in!

Just like he had done in previous games.

"It's in! It's in! Tang Tian has hit the game-winner against the United States! China are the world champions!"

Su Qun started roaring in the style of Yang Jian.

At this moment, as a veteran basketball media member, he couldn't control his emotions.

Zhang Weiping, who was next to him, instantly teared up, his body trembling slightly, unable to speak.

They had experienced a similar scene in 2016, but the difference was that this time it was on their home court, in front of their own people, at their doorstep!

After Su Qun, the fans at the Wukesong Arena, the fans in front of the TV, all raised their hands and cheered, many of them bursting into tears of excitement.

The dormitories in universities were filled with the screams of fans.

This moment was the most exciting and proud moment for all Chinese basketball fans!

The Chinese team, after the Rio Olympics, had once again defeated the American team at the Basketball World Cup.

Olympic champions, plus World Cup champions, this was the strongest Chinese men's basketball team in history!

The players on the court, the players on the bench, all rushed to Tang Tian's side, cheering and shouting at him.

This also included the usually shy Yi Jianlian.

At this moment, no one wanted to keep a low profile!

They just wanted to shout into the camera, the Chinese team are the world champions!

While the Chinese team was celebrating wildly, on the other side, the American team's players wore expressions of disbelief and shock.

Before the game, none of them had imagined that the game would be so intense, and they certainly hadn't imagined that they would be blown out after leading in the final five minutes.

It all seemed so unscientific.

And compared to disappointment, they were now more confused.

Losing in Rio, with players going to nightclubs before the game, and not having their strongest lineup… they could find many excuses.

But this time in China, they had avoided all of those excuses, with their strongest lineup, and even the head coach was the strongest in the NBA league.

Even the refereeing in this game wasn't biased towards the home team.

But in the end, they still lost.

They would have a chance to get revenge at next year's Olympics, but at this moment, they didn't even know how to get revenge.

Popovich also seemed to have aged a lot in an instant.

His temples, full of white hair, looked indescribably old at this moment.

His final choice wasn't wrong, but even those who don't make mistakes aren't guaranteed to have the last laugh.