The Knicks relied on defense to build a double-digit advantage in the first quarter, but that didn't cause panic among Rick Carlisle and the Mavericks players.

In the first game, they also fell behind in the first quarter, but in the second three quarters of the game, they worked hard to recover the score, and even reversed the game, won the first victory of the Finals, and brought the home court advantage back to Dallas, so the real psychological pressure today is the Knicks players, if they still lose this game, then they have to go to Dallas with a 0-2 score, this is definitely not the scene they want to see, They must be desperate to win this game, otherwise they are really going to fall off a cliff!

It is also for this reason that it is normal for the Knicks to lead, but if the Mavericks can catch up in the second quarter, then in Rick Carlisle's view, the initiative of the whole situation will return to the hands of the Mavericks.

The reason is also very simple, now the pressure is on the Knicks, the Mavericks have no burden at all, they lost here, and they still have home-court advantage when they go back!

With the steadiness of these old fellows, it is impossible for them to waste these advantages little by little!

That's why, after the Mavericks won the first game, most pundits thought they would have a chance to win, and there was no way, these old guys wouldn't miss it easily if they bit the big score difference......

It's just that what Rick Carlisle didn't expect was that he thought the Mavericks would rebound strongly in the second quarter of tonight's game like the first game, but the Knicks started with a tough defense in the first quarter, and they were also very tough in the second quarter, and they continued to limit the Mavericks with such defense, and the Mavericks not only failed to narrow the gap in the second quarter, but also were widened by the Knicks, and at halftime, the Mavericks were already 15 points behind.

Yi Jianlian didn't do anything in the first half, all his energy was spent on offense, he scored a total of 25 points in the first half, Yi Jianlian basically attacked directly when he got the ball, no matter what was standing in front of him was a defender, two defenders, or three defenders, all he had left in his eyes after taking the ball was the basket!

It was also this kind of attack that completely disregarded the rest that made everyone realize Yi Jianlian's fear.

"This guy is definitely not human!"

At halftime, Dwyanwade, who watched the game, deliberately expressed his surprise and admiration through Twitter, he was not hostile to Yi Jianlian because Yi Jianlian eliminated them in the semifinals, and he and Yi Jianlian are still very good friends.

Moreover, this is not the first time for Dwyanwade either!

He's used to it!

"In the second half, I'm going to try to attract you defensively, and I hope you can be bold and don't think about anything else!"

In the Knicks' locker room, Yi Jianlian and other players of the Knicks team were talking about the strategy for the second half, and at this time, D'Antoni and the assistant coaching staff were actually discussing what tactics to use in the second half, but because Yi Jianlian was talking, these Knicks players listened very carefully.

Especially when Yi Jianlian didn't say a word in the first half, they now wish to hear Yi Jianlian speak as usual.

After all, this can mean that Yi Jianlian did not want to alienate them.

Yi Jianlian said a lot, and the main meaning is very simple, he will change from the main attacker to the assister in the second half, and he hopes that the whole team can strengthen individual shots.

Although he scored 25 points in the first half, he felt that the Mavericks' defensive intensity for him was gradually improving, and if he continued to attack recklessly like in the first half and hand over the defensive pressure to his teammates, Yi Jianlian felt that he would get into the cage set up by Rick Carlisle.

He decided to do the opposite.

He believes that his desperate desire to score points in the first half has definitely caught the attention of Rick Carlisle, and he is unlikely to make any tactical changes.

Wish...... Rick Carlisle was able to maintain his elegant and easy-going attitude in the second half.

***

Rick Carlisle is angry now, especially angry.

He didn't know how to express his emotions, if he could get the gun, he really wanted to give Yi Jianlian a shot and kill this stinky and shameless guy!

In the first half, you played so fiercely, and you didn't say a word when you scored, it looked like you owed him a lot of money, and now you continue to attack, what does it mean to come up and pass three assists to your teammates?

Damn it!

Rick Carlisle cursed again, and while he slandered Yi Jianlian in his heart, Yi Jianlian assisted his teammates to complete an attack.

The Mavericks' defense was completely messed up.

There is no way not to mess up, Rick Carlisle spent ten minutes of the twenty-minute break talking about how to defend Yi Jianlian, and he almost said ten sets of defensive Yi Jianlian's lineup.

As a result, this guy stopped attacking!

Not only does he not attack, he also passes!

You say, why is this guy so annoying?

Rick Carlisle gave his assistant coach a murderous look, and the latter smiled helplessly at him, and he didn't expect Yi Jianlian to be the playmaker in the second half.

The score difference widened further, and by the end of the third quarter, the Knicks were almost 20 points ahead.

Due to the large margin of points, the two teams were a little uneventful in the fourth quarter.

In the end, 103-87, the Knicks defeated the Mavericks by 16 points at home, avenging the first loss of the Finals and tying the score to 1-1!

Yi Jianlian scored 36 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in this game, and the whole game did not change much from the first game, but they won this game easily, but lost the last game.

And Xiao Si's performance in this game was not as good as the first game, he only got 19 points and 14 rebounds.

But it's worth mentioning that 15 of those 19 points were scored in the second half, and Xiao Si put all his energy on the defensive end throughout the first half, and he got a total of three blocks in the game.

'That's how we win games, it's not scary to lose a game, as long as we believe we can win, then we can win, but one thing is important that we have to believe we can win!'

At the press conference after the game, Yi Jianlian faced reporters, and his attitude towards the victory of the game was expected.

"As long as we do what we should be doing well on both ends of the pitch, like tonight, then we can win!"

D'Antoni was excited, and the Knicks' mental head tonight was fantastic!