On February 25, 2001, the Kings played the Knicks on the road.

The two teams met for the first time this season, and with Chris Webb also hitting the MVP, this national live broadcast was full of highlights.

It's just that the fans looked forward to it for a long time, and finally got the news that Webber was out of action due to injury, which disappointed New York fans, and many fans shouted at Webber on the bench after the game started:

“Wuss！ (Soft Egg)"

Two days ago, Iverson bragged about X and was finally killed by the Hornets.

Webb learned his lesson and didn't talk about MVP at all, he didn't play in the West all the time, and he didn't win against the Knicks a few times in the East.

At the end of the third quarter, the score between the two sides was fixed at 77:80, and the Knicks only led by 3 points.

Jason Williams, who played the full third quarter, sat on the bench depressed, and the game was played so far, with only 2 points in the account.

Coach Adelman didn't expect the main point guard to suddenly pull his hips so much, so he could only wave his hand and continue to let the backup point guard Bobby Jackson go on the court for a while.

Bobby Jackson and Doug Christie partner in the backcourt, while the front three are Hido Turkoglou, Lawrence Fonterberk and Divac.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Knicks also began to pick up a rotational lineup, with Billups, Artest, Cooke, Kurt Thomas, and Ben Wallace coming on.

Compared to his opponents, Jeff Van Gundy's rotation was bolder, taking five substitutes directly.

After the start of the game, the iron continued to play on both sides, and Divac's low post attack did not work, and the mid-range after the block was also missed.

On the Knicks' side, Billups subconsciously slowed down the pace of the game, blocking and dismantling jumpers, and Artest and Cookic missed the cut-in basket

The first to break the deadlock was Kurt Thomas, who blocked the elbow at the elbow area, went down to the right elbow area, received a ground-hitting pass from Billups, and hit a mid-range jumper!

At 77:82, the Knicks finally widened the difference.

Coach Adelman, who was on the sidelines, watched Divac play outside after blocking and dismantling at the top of the arc, and continued to play iron outside the three-point line, subconsciously following the yelling and gesturing, signaling the big men to go to the low post to complete the offense.

played for three minutes, but the score did not move, and the continuous iron hit made the New York fans lose their emotions.

Jeff Van Gundy voluntarily called a timeout, and Billups and Cooke, who were both unpredictable, were ghostly again tonight.

On the TNT commentary seat, Mav-Albert couldn't help but joke a few sentences:

"In the fourth quarter, it didn't look like the two strongest teams in the league on the offensive end."

"I'm still more looking forward to Grant Hill's performance, and he should have playing time in the final quarter."

Hubby Brown glanced at the technical statistics and said with a smile:

"Lee's form has been getting better this week and he will be hoping to reach 30+10 in five consecutive games."

"With Grant Hill coming back from injury, the Knicks have more ball-handlers and faster counter-attacks, and so far, they've really been better offensively."

The Knicks got back the main lineup a little earlier, and head coach Adelman was forced to rotate in anticipation of a response on the offensive end.

The main lineup returned, with Scott Pollard and Divac forming the twin towers, and the outside trio became Jason Williams, Christie, and Peja.

After almost two quarters of rest, Ewing regained his fitness.

“Let's go Knicks！.”

In the cheers of the fans, the gorilla who ran quickly to the front court came to the top of the arc and immediately slowed down, noticing that Li You had rushed past half court, so he simply stopped, stayed away from the three-point line, and made a high block.

Jason Williams stepped forward after Lee Yoo-yun passed half-time.

Suddenly lowered his center of gravity, Li You, who was holding the ball in his right hand, quickly went in and out, swayed left and right, and pretended to break through on the right side, and immediately turned around sharply.

Jason Williams, who subconsciously moved backwards, found that he had come to Ewing's side when he wanted to chase the defense, and the moment he was delayed, he immediately lost his defensive position.

Pollard, the big man who had just appeared on the court, stepped to the three-point line, and before he had time to adjust his defensive focus, Li You, who switched to the left hand, did not stop the ball, and completed the one-handed crotch around the ball.

The basketball flew out from under his crotch, and Lee Woo deftly squeezed past Pollard's side.

Like a wooden stake, Pollard didn't react, turned his head and watched Li You fly close to the ground, straight into the basket!

Re-fishing for the ball with his right hand and breaking through to the paint in an instant, Li You noticed that Peja and Divac both shrank to the basket at the same time, and jumped with both feet in front of the basket.

Throwing himself in the air completely, Li You quickly curled up in the face of the jumping block of the two, pulled the lever in the air from top to bottom, and dodged the cover.

Gliding on the lower left side of the basket, Li You's waist and abdomen exert force, and after switching to the left hand, he picked up the basket!

"Bang!" Basketball hits the board into the basket!

As soon as Li You landed, Madison Square Garden was boiling, and in the blink of an eye, a dozen or four balls were sent to the basket, and the New York fans at the scene subconsciously got up and cheered.

“Wow！”

Divac under the basket was still a little dazed, and the expression of "this can also go in" was written on his face.

At 77:84, the margin was widened, and Coach Adelman immediately signaled to slow down, and the Twin Towers lineup had a big advantage on the inside.

Divac, who deliberately hit the number four, drove the ball quickly to the halfcourt, and then immediately turned his back to the ball in the right blocking area.

Every time he defended the tall inside, Lewis would curse secretly, basically everyone assumed that he was a soft persimmon and always pinched from him.

Jason Williams was uncomfortable with Li Youling, came to the right flank, failed to send a pass in the first place, and finally stopped the ball and hit the ground, breaking Divac to move up.

Lewis immediately blocked the line, and Lee You followed the pass and pounced directly to Divac's side.

As soon as he moved at his feet, Divac noticed Lee's movement and distributed the ball again to Jason Williams on the perimeter.

It's just that the quality of the pass is average, and the speed of the ball is very slow, Li You saw the opportunity to suddenly exert force and jumped out.

The moment he received the ball, Jason Williams saw that Li You had already pounced, and subconsciously protected the ball on the right side of his body, but he didn't expect Li You to react faster and complete the cut almost synchronously in the process of the ball hemming.

Cutting the ball vigorously with his left hand, Jason Williams instantly lost control of the basketball, and before he could fully react, Li You had already controlled the ball, quickly led the ball with his right hand, and rushed across the half court at full speed.

"Oh! From Lee's beautiful steal, he accurately predicted the opponent's passing route! ”

Commentator Marv Albert raised his voice, and Hubby Brown on the side noticed that the Kings seemed to have given up on defense, and could only sigh:

"Lee's speed is too fast! Such a mistake is to give away points! ”

1 hit 0 in the front court, Li You rushed to the paint area, grabbed the ball with one hand with his right hand, and easily glided and dunked after rushing up in three steps!

At 77:86, I watched the score difference come to 9 points.

The cheers grew louder and louder, and the head coach of Aardman hesitated, but still did not ask for a timeout.

Fortunately, in the next round, Divac went deeper in the low post on the left side, and when he received the ball, he turned and threw a shot to the bottom line in response.

The Kings, who strengthened their defense, immediately wrapped up when facing a high block on the line, no longer giving Li You a chance to pass easily.

Faced with a big delay at the top of the arc, Lee Woo took advantage of the situation to distribute the ball to Grant Hill on the left wing.

Jason Williams had just relaxed, and Lee Woo didn't stop the ball after completing the pass, feigning a reverse run and suddenly accelerating to the bottom left corner.

And Grant Hill, who received the ball, swayed right and left in the face of Peja's defense, and immediately crossed steps to break through after putting the ball with his left hand.

In the left blocking area, Grant Hill took advantage of the situation to give the ball to Lee You, who moved to the bottom left corner.

After receiving the ball, he raised the ball and shook it, and Jason Williams, who was chasing after him, was immediately hit by Li You's feint and flew out of the baseline sideways.

There was no one in front of him, Li You adjusted slightly, and quickly jumped out!

"Huh!" Three-point shot hollow into the net!

At 79:89, with 7 minutes and 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the biggest margin of the game appeared.

Adelman was forced to call a timeout, and the Kings' offense suddenly went silent.

Looking at his teammates who walked to the bench, Webb, who was wearing a black suit, could only get up and high-five, and the shouts of the "soft eggs" on the scene became louder and louder.

No matter how good-tempered the player was, he couldn't stand being scolded for the whole game, and Webb, who was dark-faced, returned to the bench and gave the audience a middle finger, and as a result, the New York fans were even more motivated.

"Lee's understanding of the game has gone up to the next level after a few seasons of polishing."

"The first thing the Kings want to solve if they want to get the score back is the scoring problem, and Webber's absence has really affected them a bit."

Hubby Brown began to make excuses for the Kings, and the old man knew that the tide was turning, and it was difficult to beat the Knicks by playing the ball.

Marv Albert, who has been playing as a commentator at home in New York for the past few years, has the illusion that Lee Woo seems to be getting faster:

"After the high block and the ball break through, once Lee completes the acceleration, the follow-up defense is difficult to keep up, except for fouls, there seems to be no good choice."

"It's incredible, Lee's body is getting better and better, and Tim Grover should be busy again this offseason!"

The two began to joke about Li You's training team on the commentary seat.

After the timeout, everyone on the Kings team who returned to the court looked serious.

It is still a double-tower lineup, and this attack, everyone pulled away, and immediately played a classic tactical cooperation.

After receiving a pass from the right elbow area, Jason Williams immediately reversed the moment he handed over the ball, stepped sideways and slotted straight into the basket from Divac's left side.

The high-quality cover made the quick UCLA cut in very well, and Divac, who played in the high post, took the opportunity to give the ball to Jason Williams, who received the ball and immediately threw it close to the bottom right of the basket.

There was no chasing defense behind him, Jason Williams' shot seemed very calm, but when the basketball was still rising, Li You, who went straight to the basket from the middle, jumped high and completed the pegboard hat directly in the air!

"Smack!"

The basketball slammed into the rebound and flew straight out, Lewis twisted to control the ball and immediately threw the ball to the court.

Grant Hill, who accelerated along the right sideline and rushed across the half court, got rid of the chasing Peja and rushed to the paint area with a two-handed dunk!

From blocking to dunking, the Knicks' counterattack was fast, and Adelman, who was holding his arms, subconsciously shook his head, this game is gone.

In the follow-up game, the Kings were stupid on the bench, and under the continuous iron, the Knicks rushed faster and faster, without a position to attack, and the conversion of three-pointers appeared frequently.

In the semi-conversion attack, Lee Woo was caught at the top of the arc and immediately gave the ball to Alan Houston on the right wing.

The latter received the ball and pretended to pass the ball to the bottom corner on the right side, and Divac, who was rotating to help the defense, subconsciously stopped, and then watched Alan Houston shoot an easy jump shot outside the three-point line!

"Huh!" Three-pointers hollow into the net.

Playing with the opponent, Alan Houston smiled and retreated, and soon, Divac missed the basket, Ewing grabbed the rebound, and Li You received the ball and rushed again.

The Kings, who had been working hard to retreat, had just completed the defensive alignment, and at the top of the arc, Li You, who was holding the ball in his left hand, suddenly lowered his center of gravity, and his body shook to the left while changing his body sharply in front of him.

Jason Williams was staggered backwards and completely lost his defensive position, switching to the right-handed Lee Woo straight to the basket.

Attracting the attention of everyone on the Kings, Lee Woo threw the ball to the upper left of the basket.

Grant Hill, who suddenly cuts in from the bottom left corner, scoops the ball in the air and slams the basket with both hands!

“Wow！”

The cheers can't stop, the opponent continues to hit the iron, the Knicks keep cutting points, and the wonderful scene allows the fans to continue to vent their excitement through shouting.

Seeing Peja's three-point shot missed in the bottom left corner, Li You, who received the long rebound, launched a conversion attack again, and Adelman, who was on the sidelines, turned his head and simply sat back on the bench.

Jason Williams, who was trying to chase the defense, kept giving physical confrontations, and on the left wing, Lee Yo, who was holding the ball in his left hand, suddenly stopped when he was close to the three-point line.

After vigorously blowing up the ball on the spot, he dribbled under the crotch, Li You combined the ball outside the three-point line, and Jason Williams was hit by Li You and lost his center of gravity and almost hit the street on the spot

Unable to continue to pounce, Jason Williams could only watch Lee Yoo shoot a jump shot from the left wing!

"Huh!" Convert three points and score again!

There was no timeout, the Kings, who were trying to slow down, kept hitting the iron, and the Knicks, who were crazy about speed, were scoring consecutive points.

With 2 minutes and 12 seconds left in the game, Lee Woo broke through in the middle, stuck half a body, and carried Jason Williams to the paint area.

Noticing that the big man on the left near the baseline came up again, Li You suddenly turned around as he went.

Coming to the bottom left of the basket, the two who jumped up to block found that the ball in Li You's hand had disappeared

Ewing, who received a pass from Li You, cut into the basket from the left near baseline position, and scored a one-arm dunk!

"Ahh

Watching Ewing pound his chest and roar, the Kings immediately asked for a timeout, the main lineup was all replaced, and the atmosphere team immediately appeared.

The joyful shouts of the New York fans resounded in the stadium again, and the hearty offense completely ignited the atmosphere of the scene.

The 2 minutes were quickly over, and the final score was fixed at 87:114.

In the fourth quarter, at 10:34, the Knicks played a crazy offensive performance!

Maybe it was because they lost too much, and after the game, after the game was over, everyone on the Kings team shook hands briefly, and then they all turned their heads and walked to the players' tunnel.

Jason Williams, who was 1 of 6 from the field and only got 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 turnovers, was completely blinded, and his brain went blank after the game, and he was pulled back to the locker room by his teammates with his shoulders

Played 40 minutes, 13-of-23, 4-of-7 from beyond the three-point line, 8-of-8 from the free throw line, 38 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 steals, 1 block and 2 turnovers.

Cut 30+10 again, after the game, Li You smiled brightly, Craig Sager came here with a smile, and then asked teasingly:

"It's great to see you bounce back strongly, 30+10 for five games in a row, it's not an easy thing."

"It's a pity that the Kings' Webber is out due to injury, and the regular season is over in a month and a half, and the Knicks are currently leading the record, Lee, are you confident of winning this year's MVP?"

After Iverson blows, it's now Li You's turn again, a turn-based game, of course, you don't need to be polite:

"Of course, this season I've improved my defense, and after a few seasons of polishing, I have a deeper understanding of the game."

"I'm the best outside player in the league and I'm ready for MVP!"

Soon, Li You and Craig Sager started a wave of business blowing, which can be regarded as a warm-up for the MVP selection.

Playing 26 minutes, 7-of-13, 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 3 turnovers, Grant Hill's return to the locker room was blocked by a large number of media.

"Grant, it seems that you're getting better and better at the moment, does that mean you're fully integrated into the team?"

Most of the points came from the fast break, and there will be some back-to-back singles in individual rounds to join the Knicks, and 18 points are also Grant Hill's highest score:

'It's going to take some time and the injury has really affected me, so at the moment I need to get used to my body again.

"But I'm ready, it's easy to play with Lee, we worked together back in the All-Star Game, and it's not a difficult thing for me!"

"Mr. Good" Grant Hill is very popular with media reporters, and this kind of post-game interview is no longer unusual.

Artest, who is back on the bench, is not in a good mood, he doesn't like to play on the bench, and as Hill said, it's easier to get good statistics by playing as a starter.

Billups is always used to slowing down the game, and this situation has also caused Artest's stats to drop a bit.

Fortunately, Grant Hill's playing time is tightly controlled, which gives Artest more opportunities as well:

"I'm going to be a big star, and everybody will come and interview me!"

Ben Wallace immediately laughed when he heard Artest's whisper:

"Rookies are always so confident, what you should think about is how to get more playing time!"

Looking at Ben Wallace, who was getting more and more abundant, Artest, who had just taken off his jersey, was not polite, and immediately replied:

"You're also a substitute, and I average more points per game than you!"

"Shet! Why don't you go and look at the rebounds! ”

“.”

"Soft egg" Chris Webber also made a statement in an interview after the game after the team's big loss:

"That's not the real strength of the Kings, goodbye Sacramento!"

Webb's words may have made sense, but after this match, Lee's biggest takeaway was that no one compared him to Jason Williams anymore.

"Only by blowing up the opponent can you avoid touching porcelain!"

At the end of February, several people on the MVP candidate list took turns to brag about X, and everyone's attitude can be summarized as follows, except for Duncan:

"I'm the best X, MVP should be mine!"

The New York media was the loudest, Iverson, who had just finished taunting the loss not long ago, ended the game with the Kings, and Webb "avoided the game" and did not dare to play away.

The clay man also has three points of fire, in short, Webb, the surface brother, can't be it.

On the morning of the 26th, the NBA league announced the Player of the Week for the last week of February, and the Knicks' Lee Woo successfully won the award.

In this week's game, the Knicks achieved a 3-1 record, and Lee Woo played an average of 38.3 minutes per game;

averaged 33.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 3.0 steals, 0.3 blocks and 2.8 turnovers per game;

He averaged 22.0 shots per game and shot 52.2 percent from the field and 5.8 attempts from beyond the three-point line with a 42.6 percent three-point shooting percentage.

He averaged 8.8 free throws per game and shot 89.1% from the free-throw line.

Compared with the performance of some hip pulls in the first week after the All-Star end, Li You's data rebounded strongly!

On the 27th, the last game of February, 92:110, the Knicks beat the SuperSonics by a narrow margin.

Rashad Lewis went on 4-of-8 shooting, 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point line and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line to finish with 20 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and one turnover.

The scoring was all three-pointers and free throws, and the new Lewis basically made a magic ball.

Alan Houston was also in great form, shooting 11-of-16 from the field and 2-of-5 from beyond the three-point line to score 24 points in an extremely efficient manner.

With 30 points, 4 rebounds, 16 assists, 3 steals and 3 turnovers, Li You cut a big double-double and ended perfectly in February!

The three of them performed efficiently, and the New York fans swelled to the sky, and they didn't care about the recent form of the SuperSonics, and after the game, many people chanted "Knicks championship" outside the arena.

Just as James Dolan expected, compared to the past defensive battles, the higher the score, the more excited the fans!

After the All-Star break, tickets to the Madison Square Garden Arena were even in short supply.

Front-row tickets naturally belong to celebrities and celebrities, and everyone doesn't care about spending money.

Tickets to the rear of the arena are also selling very well, and most of them are bought by tourists who come to New York.

Such a situation made the curly boss smile, and he frequently expressed his position on his own MSG in the past half a month:

"The "Show time" era belonging to the Knicks is about to sweep the world! ”

“.”

On March 1, the NBA league announced its Player of the Month for February, and Tracy McGrady of the Magic team won the award.

In February, the Magic had a 9-3 record;

He averaged 29.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.1 blocks and 2.7 turnovers per game while shooting 50% from the field, 37.8% from three-point range and 81.9% from the free throw line.

McGrady deserves the award!

In the first week of March, the Knicks continued to enjoy the Eastern Conference benefit schedule.

Back-to-back games, successive victories over the Celtics and Bulls.

After head coach Pitino stepped down, new head coach Jim O'Brien was able to pull up the Celtics' record.

Antoine Walker completely let himself go, and many games were more and more iron, and more and more iron

The Bulls' record has improved to 9-48 after the loss, and the dive is already confirmed, and it has become the norm for Sprewell to be booed at home.

On March 4, the Knicks, who were in full form, finally got iron when they challenged the Raptors on the road.

At 88:98, Carter won on 8-of-23 shooting.

Losing this game, the Knicks' record came to 46-13 and still ranked first in the league!

In the synchronous game of the day, 95:110, the Lakers defeated the Warriors.

In the first quarter of the game, at 16:43, the Lakers played a terrifying offensive performance.

After the win, the Lakers' record came to 39-19, just equal to the Spurs' record, and both teams surpassed the Kings with 38 wins at the same time to rank in the top two in the West.

O'Neal Excel, who has been plagued by injuries, is still very good, and he did not forget to stand up for himself after the game:

"The regular season isn't over yet, but I'm the best interior player in the league!"

"Nobody is going to dislike having too many MVP trophies, and I want to chase what Larry Bird has achieved."

Interestingly, as soon as O'Neill took a stand, Philadelphia media reporters took the lead in firing the shots, and Stephen A. Smith directly mocked in his op-ed:

"A small guard who led the 76ers to a 44-16 record was always overlooked."

"Aaron Iverson can't play like Shaq, but he's a true fighter and he's never afraid of the big guys who are so talented!"

The team finished second in the league, and Iverson was on fire heading into March.

In the game against the Wizards, he played 46 minutes, made 15 of 34, and scored 41 points!

Despite the team's narrow victory over the Fish Belly Wizards, the Philadelphia media gave high praise after the game:

"Allen Iverson is a real MVP!"

On March 5, Li You, who returned to New York, watched the newspapers and sports media cheering for his stars at his home in Manhattan, and he was also a little emotional for a while.

Unlike the basketball environment of the future, most MVP candidates really hate their opponents.

The team is on holiday, and Jeff Van Gundy is not only concerned about the physical condition of Ewing and Grant Hill, but also inquired about the situation within the team.

The gorilla tour was a success, at least this season with "bloodsucking" and two pairs.

I met some old friends, exchanged jerseys, and had a lot of fun taking pictures.

At the Tarrytown Training Center, assistant coach Thibodeau saw that Jeff Van Gundy didn't seem to be very happy, and immediately announced the good news:

'Grant is in good condition and at the moment, 25 minutes of playing time will not affect his fitness.

The bald young marshal nodded, and while the other assistant coaches left the office at lunchtime, he suddenly said in a deep voice:

"I don't seem to be in the team's plans, Tom, maybe we have to prepare in advance."

When Thibodeau heard this, he was immediately taken aback, he had been working for the Knicks for many years, and he didn't want to leave here:

"Why? We're number one in the league, we're three straight championships, we're a dynasty team, and we're not even involved in the draft and free agency! ”

"There is no coach in the league who can achieve anything like this."

Jeff Van Gundy looked at his old friend who had been with him for many years, and still interrupted:

"There weren't that many reasons, just because our boss didn't like my coaching philosophy."

"He's not the old Charles, he hasn't intervened in the team's specific affairs, but he can decide the direction of the team, and so far, James Dolan has succeeded."

"New York fans love his theories, even if he doesn't understand basketball at all."

Subconsciously widened his eyes, Xibodu wanted to retort, but he just opened his mouth, but he couldn't speak for a while, and finally he could only spread his hands and whispered:

"If we win again?"

Jeff Van Gundy didn't respond, just got up and patted Thibodeau on the shoulder, changed the subject and said:

"It's just my guess, but I'm ready to leave New York when my contract expires."

"But I'm not short of work, as long as I continue to be the head coach, you will still be my head assistant!"

Thibodeau nodded, just thinking of the experience of the past few years, and suddenly a thought popped up in his heart:

"It doesn't seem difficult to be a head coach?!"

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(End of chapter)