Youku video for those in China after the jump
Stephon Marbury has had his rebirth, his redemption, and now his catharsis — in the form of a good, long cry. In the waning moments of Sunday’s Game 5, which saw Beijing oust Shanxi to claim its first CBA finals appearance in its 17-year history, cameras appeared to catch Marbury shedding a few tears on the court. But it was in the tunnels afterwards — the bathroom, to be precise — that he really broke down, crying “like a young child,” according to the TV journalist in the next video. He then embraced his head coach. When he finally composed himself to talk to the assembled media, he said, “Man, this is the best feeling I ever had playing basketball.”
The above video is unrelated to all that. It’s highlights of two monster dunks in the third quarter. As described in my live-blog of the game:
[Shanxi's Charles] Gaines ALMOST just got T’ed for the THIRD time this game [Ed's note: maybe 2nd? Unclear]. He sent down an absolutely monstrous one-handed jam with Marbury nearby, then extended his head near Marbury’s maw and jawed emphatically. The refs blew the whistle and discussed momentarily. Marbury made the “T” signal to ask whether it would be called. Gaines ran over to Marbury and embraced him with a smile, and Marbury couldn’t help but crack a grin as well.
HOLY SHIT! Marbury picked Gaines clean, dished backwards to [Randolph] Morris [Kentucky] on the fast-break, then screened out [Marcus] Williams [Arizona], who was defending the bucket. Morris then threw down a one-handed dunk in Williams’ face. Sam thought the ref initially seemed to signal a foul on Marbury, which actually would’ve been a good call, but ended up calling the conventional foul on the defender — WHO JUST GOT POSTERIZED (if I didn’t make that clear) — instead.
Inspired by Deadspin, I’ve set the second part of the replay to music, specifically Zhong Chi’s “I Can’t Hide.”
Emotional Marbury:
