Joseph was the one who took initiative, stepping up to defend Harley.
Harley gave Joseph a smile.
"Nice to meet you." (Harley)
Joseph remained concentrated, not wanting to get distracted by Harley's words. Harley tilted his body slightly, having his left shoulder facing Joseph.
Harley dribbled the ball once hard with his right arm.
Before Joseph knew it, the ball was no longer there. Harley had done a quick pass, grabbing the ball with both hands before flicking with his right wrist, sending the ball over Joseph.
Joseph looked behind him, one of the Jesters having cut to the rim.
Harley started walking back onto defence.
Ainz, the one who had cut to the rim, caught the ball, Theodore(SG) right behind him.
Ainz got to the rim with two long strides without even taking a dribble. He went up, extending his left arm for the layup.
Crox jumped and swatted the layup attempt out of Ainz's hand. Theodore ran over to recover the ball.
Joseph started running, and so did the rest of the Jesters.
Theodore noticed Joseph's outstretched hand.
"Pass!" (Joseph)
Theodore threw a long ball to where Joseph was headed towards. Joseph watched as the ball flew through the air. He then saw Harley also running towards the ball.
Right before he reached the ball, Joseph jumped.
He reached higher than Harley, grabbing the ball out of the air. Joseph landed, the ball held firmly with both hands.
Joseph dribbled towards the rim. He was on the left side of the court, Harley sticking to his right.
Joseph powered his way through, going up for a strong layup. Harley tried to block it, but couldn't reach far enough. Instead, smacking Joseph's arm.
'BEEEEP' (whistle)
"Purple #17, shooting foul. Basket count, 1 free throw." (Referee)
Joseph landed and took a few breaths. He shrugged it off and walked over to the free throw line.
Harley put his hand up, admitting to the foul.
Joseph stood at the free throw line, flexing his right arm.
"Good shot." (Crox)
"Get ready to rebound in case I miss. If I miss, pass it out back to me." (Joseph)
"Got it." (Crox)
Joseph waited for the ball. The referee checked the positioning of the rebounders before passing the ball to Joseph.
Joseph looked at the rim, taking a deep breath before going up for the shot.
"Short!" (Thomas)
The ball bounced off the front of the rim. Crox extended his hand and jumped, barely able to get the rebound over Thomas. Crox landed and instantly passed to where Joseph was.
Joseph grabbed the ball, and with two feet pushing off the ground, he jumped up.
Crox moved out of the way, but Thomas didn't.
Joseph used his left arm to push Thomas' extended arm aside. Joseph extended his right arm and dunked the ball, grabbing the rim. He swung, his body pushing Thomas back.
Thomas stumbled back and fell down.
'BEEEP' (whistle)
"Purple #8, blocking foul. Basket count, 1 free throw." (Referee)
Joseph let go of the rim, landing softly. He high-fived Crox, who bumped chest with him. Joseph glanced over at Thomas, who was being helped up by Harley and some of the other Jesters.
"We'll attack. Their offence isn't the best outside of Snyder. If we force him to pass or force him to take bad shots, we'll be able to stop his points production. Meanwhile, we have to start scoring more." (Joseph)
Joseph was speaking to Crox.
"You'll still be playing on Snyder?" (Crox)
"Yes. I've got height and length on him. I got a way to somewhat deal with him." (Joseph)
Crox went backs to where he needed to be for the rebound. Joseph walked back to the free throw line, glancing at Dom.
'Watch me' Joseph mouthed.
Joseph got the ball from the referee once again. He took a deep breath while looking at the rim. He went up for the free throw shot.
The rebounders collapsed into the paint.
The ball bounced around the rim before rolling out. Crox tried going for the rebound, but Thomas was just in a better position.
Joseph immediately ran up to Harley, who was waiting for Thomas to pass the ball.
Joseph blocked the passing lane, preventing Thomas from passing as easily.
Harley tried getting around Joseph by running, but Joseph was able to stick with him.
Thomas passed the ball to Ainz instead.
The Beasts went back on defence except for Joseph, who was sticking to Harley.
Eventually, Harley just stopped.
Ainz brought the ball up, dribbling slowly. Theodore stood in front of him, defending him.
Ainz surveyed the court before he brought the ball to his hip. The release was slow, much too slow. Theodore was able to close the gap between them in an instant. Ainz, despite Theodore being so close, went for the shot, the ball getting swatted out of his hands.
Theodore grabbed the ball and started a one man fast break, the other Jesters trying to catch up. The only ones on that side of the court was Harley and Joseph.
Harley ran towards Theodore before Joseph snapped his fingers, extending his hands.
Theodore passed the ball to Joseph.
Joseph pointed upwards, looking directly at Theodore.
Joseph caught the ball and drove to the basket, Harley now facing him.
Joseph glanced behind him, the other Jesters already much too close.
Joseph threw low bounce pass into the paint where Theodore had gone to. Theodore went up for the easy layup, making it.
Theodore went back to Joseph.
"Good pass." (Theodore)
"Good defence. Keep it up." (Joseph)
Joseph once again stuck with Harley, preventing the inbound to go directly to him. Harley did a spin, but Joseph made sure he was always in the passing lane.
The person inbounding the ball, Samuel(PF), passed the ball to Leonard(SF). The game went on, but there was a constant struggle between Joseph and Harley.
Joseph had seen what Harley could do with the ball, but without the ball, it seemed as if Harley was not used to it.
Leonard glanced back at Harley, who was still unable to get himself open.
Harley eventually got to the three point line, where Ainz set a screen for him. Joseph slipped past the screen, only slightly behind Harley.
Leonard had passed to him.
Joseph reached out and managed to tap the ball off its course. The ball bounced somewhere else, Harley running after it.
Darius(SF) who had been at the corner, caught the ball. The Beasts ran back on offence while the Jesters ran back on defence.
Darius passed the ball over to Joseph, who ran full speed to the other side of the court. When he crossed the half court line, he held the ball with both hands, keeping it close to his body.
Harley, who was unable to steal the ball because of that, came to a stop in front of Joseph.
Harley eventually took several steps away from him.
On the left side of the court, Darius set a screen for Theodore to get open. Joseph passed the ball to Theodore, who had Leonard on him.
Joseph ran up behind Theodore, Theodore passing the ball back to Joseph.
Harley guarded Theodore, Joseph being guarded by the taller Leonard.
Joseph did a simple crossover before trying to drive to the rim. Leonard stuck to his right.
Joseph stopped and glanced behind him. He grabbed the ball with both hands and spun his body around a little before going up for a shot.
Harley had approached him in an attempt to steal the ball.
Joseph, in the air, was not in his shooting motion. Instead, he tossed the ball backwards to Theodore, who was open because of Harley.
Harley ran up to him, but Theodore had already released the shot.
Joseph ran towards the basket.
The ball bounced off the back-rim and off to the side. Crox went up for the rebound, Joseph in no position to grab the board.
Thomas also went up for it, but Crox's wide body managed to push Thomas slightly too out of position.
Crox caught the ball and tied to put it back up before even landing. The ball bounced on the far left of the rim, missing.
Joseph jumped up, extending a hand to tap the ball back into the rim.
After he tapped the ball back up, he saw someone fly in the air.
A hand smacked the ball against the backboard, the ball bouncing off the backboard.
Leonard landed and started running. Joseph ran too, wanting to go back on defence.
Harley caught the ball and started the fast break. Theodore was the closest person to him, so he stuck with Harley.
Harley glanced behind him before running slightly diagonal, keeping Theodore to his left.
Joseph ran after Leonard, but they were about the same speed, Leonard slightly ahead.
"Stop the pass!" (Joseph)
Harley stopped driving and pulled off another one of his quick passes, the ball simply flying over Theodore's head without him noticing.
Leonard grabbed the ball and went up for the easy layup.
Theodore looked behind him, confused.
Joseph came to a stop beside Theodore.
"Don't mind, it happened to me too." (Joseph)
The two Jesters went back on defence, high-fiving each other on the way back. Theodore inbounded the ball to Joseph who slowed down the pace of the game.
Meanwhile, at the bench, Coach Dom was contemplating something.
"This isn't good…" (Dom)
***
Time: 7:45
Score: 14-13 (Jesters lead by 1)
***