On March 12, 2001, both the Heat and the Knicks were heavily fined by the league.

The clash before halftime ended up costing the Knicks the game.

Tim Hardaway and Lee Yo were banned for one game and fined $7,500;

Ben Wallace rushed from the bench to the pitch to participate in a brawl and was suspended for one game;

Bruce Bowen was also banned after the game, twice maliciously tiptoeing and participating in brawls were banned for 5 games, and at the same time fined 12,500 US dollars;

Artest maliciously elbowed, was directly banned for 7 games, and fined 17,500 US dollars;

Both head coaches Pat Riley and Jeff van Gundy are also suspended for one game.

The biggest fine of the season was issued, but it also failed to stop the two sides from continuing to spray after the game, and Pat Riley looked very sad and angry in his post-game interview:

"Bruce is a good man who plays hard and is focused on his family, Artest is killing! He could even ruin Bruce's basketball career. ”

Jeff van Gundy also didn't care about Pat Riley's feelings, and was extremely angry after the game:

"It was definitely an intentional foul, it wasn't a basketball move at all, and I even suspect Bowen was specifically instructed that this isn't the first time he's done something like this."

"The league should have punished Bowen heavily, Ron was unintentional, this is an ugly victory!"

Bruce Bowen almost lost his job last year, and after joining the Heat for the second time, he seems to have completely woken up, and tiptoe Carter caused a huge controversy last season.

Alan Houston and Grant Hill are both on the court and will most likely not be able to play in next week's game;

Bruce Bowen was elbowed in the ribs by Artest and is out for at least a month

The war of words between the two sides did not stop after the game, and Li You, who was interviewed by the New York Times, also made a statement:

"I'll help Ron pay the fine, it's a shameful way to win!"

The 30-year-old Bruce Bowen has been struggling at the bottom of the league, and after joining the Heat this season, he hit a career high.

Maybe this is the survival of the little people, with a fierce defense, they can eat with their mouths.

There will always be people who appreciate his talent, and Bowen's career is just beginning.

There were 10 technical fouls and multiple penalties in a game, and after David Stern punched hard, it also sparked heated discussions in the league.

The brawl at Madison Square Garden made New York fans extremely angry, and Grant Hill, who hit his left foot again, has not yet confirmed the injury, but the fans who bought tickets to watch the game know that the damage was not light.

As soon as the thought of this "good gentleman" being injured again, the New York media pointed the finger at the leader of the Heat:

"Jealousy blinded Pat Riley!"

On the morning of March 12, at the Tarrytown Training Center, Jeff Van Gundy looked at the frustrated Grant Hill and sighed silently.

"Kicking the lame leg" did work, and even if Grant Hill had a good temper, looking at the swollen ankle, he couldn't help but curse a few times:

"Shet! He's a liar! ”

Remembering that Bowen always showed an innocent appearance after committing a foul and would throw his hands at the referee, Grant Hill became angry.

Alan Houston was okay, with strong tied feet and high-top sneakers, so it wasn't a big problem, and he was able to recover almost after a few days of rest.

"The good thing is that the next week is all home games, so that's good news for us!"

Hearing Alan Houston's words, Artest was a little depressed, and after being banned, he lost the opportunity to show himself.

Ewing watched as everyone surrounded Grant Hill and began to silently calculate the victory.

In the final season of his career, the Gorillas also wanted to win another 60 wins.

When Lee heard that Gran Tehill had to do further checks, he knew that the opponent would probably miss the rest of the game in March.

"Ron, don't worry about the fines, I'll take care of it for you!"

Artest also raised a lot of relatives and friends, and spent a lot of money, half of the salary of more than 1 million was left, and he spent a lot of money, and at the end of the season, his wallet was deflated again.

Artest, who had not said a word, smiled gratefully, and Billups looked at the schedule and felt that his opportunity had come.

Too little playing time makes it difficult for Billups to make a bright performance, and unlike Longley, who is fishing, he still wants to show his ability.

On the night of the 13th, the Knicks played at home against the Cavaliers, and the game was a little ugly in the absence of multiple players.

Billups didn't play too well against Andre Miller either, 79-85, and the Knicks won hard.

Losing this game, the Cavaliers are likely to miss the playoffs, 23-40, and unless they win all the rest of the games, they will soon be fishing.

Lewis became the team's main attacker, and compared to Billups, the completely magic ball newcomer can still play good statistics.

On March 23, the Knicks lost to the Nets away, and the two-week welfare schedule ended up with a 4-1 record.

Ewing's "tour" was also affected, and the gorilla had to carry some of the ball, but the efficiency plummeted, and it was completely "exposed".

The competition for MVP has also reached a critical juncture, compared to Li You and O'Neal, Iverson has been fighting with injuries in recent games and shooting crazy!

In the recent game against the Hawks, he was 16-of-30 and scored 47 points.

There have been back-and-forth games with the fish belly team, and most of the ball critics have not commented well, except for the Philadelphia media.

On Saturday the 24th, in TNT's program, while the heat had not dissipated, the three began to discuss the performance of MVP candidates for most of the month.

Charles Barkley was not polite, and when discussing Iverson, he put on an old-timer appearance in the studio and commented seriously:

"As a team leader, against some weak teams, he should lead the team to crush the opponent, not play back and forth."

"The 76ers have a good record, but I don't think they're going to win a championship, like I said, they didn't show their dominance."

"The Knicks are not in order, Lee can still crush the opponent, the Lakers Kobe Bryant has an injury, and O'Neal can score 40 points in 36 minutes."

'They've lost as well, but more often than not, they've shown absolute dominance!'

Kenny Smith was a little helpless to hear the words of his partner's egg-picking, and the victory still needs to be subdivided? They hadn't done this before:

"I don't think Iverson has a problem with too many shots, and the 76ers have no one to digest the ball."

"Iverson is not Michael Jordan or Lee, and he may not be as efficient as the two, but to be able to lead this 76ers team to such a record is definitely an MVP-level performance."

Hearing such a view, Charles Barkley immediately retorted:

"The 76ers have the best big man in the Eastern Conference!"

"The team sent away Stackhouse, Larry Hughes, Theo Latliff for Iverson, and the management has overdrawn the future, and the lineup is not an excuse for his inefficient performance."

"Look at his game against the Kings, the 76ers lost by 21 points, and they only scored 79 points in the game."

"We all know what Lee played against the Kings!"

"If it weren't for Lee, I'd vote for Iverson, but right now, the best player in the Eastern Conference isn't him, and I can't find any reason to vote."

"If the Lakers can catch up, I will also vote for Shaq, there is no excuse for the MVP selection, whoever has a better individual performance and a better team record, I will vote for whom."

Ernnie Johnson, noticing that the two wanted to continue arguing, suddenly interjected with a smile:

"Maybe we should pay more attention to Tim Duncan, the injury hasn't affected the big man."

"The Spurs are in first place in the West right now, Coach Popovich is growing with the team, and I think they have a chance to make it to the Finals again."

In the game of abusing vegetables, Duncan's playing time has plummeted, which is considered to be the improvement of Popovich this season, if he continues to slam his thigh, there is a high probability that he will really be out of class.

Maybe Excel is not gorgeous enough, 20+10 can't satisfy everyone's appetite, although the two in the studio applauded, but never mentioned the matter of voting.

As the regular season drew to a close, TNT and ESPN began to consume several MVP candidates, and print sports columnists began to excel.

In a daily newspaper with a huge circulation like USA Today, most of the sports section is composed of articles by Iverson and Lee You.

In addition to bragging X, Li You's overall image is better, with no chains, tattoos, and no bells and whistles;

And Iverson, who let himself go, is not bad in popularity, and under the "black people should help black people", many people like this rebellious little player.

Reebok is also trying to help Iverson shout, and the hook is not stingy with advertising, and the sports media that collect money turn over and over to increase the heat of the two.

After three games a week and two games a week, at the end of March, the Knicks started their road trip and ushered in five games a week.

In the first back-to-back away game, although Artest is still suspended, the team has regained its old offensive firepower after Alan Houston returned from injury.

The Kings of "See You in Sacramento" are well prepared at home.

The two sides fought until overtime, and in the end, relying on Li You's performance of scoring 14 points alone in overtime, the Knicks had the last laugh.

At 121:114, the Knicks had a tough win over their opponents.

Ewing only played two quarters again, and the winning, grinning gorilla swapped jerseys with Webb after the game

Lee Woo played 45 minutes, 17-of-30, 7-of-15 from beyond the three-point line, 13-of-14 from the free throw line, and recorded 54 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks and 4 turnovers.

54 points, just tied Iverson's highest score of the season, and at the end of the game, the New York Post reporter who accompanied the team climaxed.

At the post-game press conference, as soon as Alan Houston and Lee Yow sat down, the New York Post reporter in the audience couldn't wait to ask:

"Lee, congratulations on your career-high 54 points, can you talk about your performance in overtime?"

Hearing the question, Li You just shook his head with a smile and teased his inefficient performance in the last section:

"Actually, I'd like to talk more about the performance in the last quarter, and if I can hit the last shot, the game won't go into overtime."

"As for the 54 points, I just want to thank my teammates, we almost lost the game, they were my back."

also won the game and grinned, Alan Houston was also in a good mood, and then joked:

"I love seeing Lee strike, it will make us more motivated!"

"It's a great feeling to save the MVP!"

Looking at the two groups of people on and off the stage who started to blow each other's business, some local reporters in Sacramento secretly pouted.

Webb was 16-of-27 from the field and 7-of-12 from the free-throw line for a big double-double of 39 points and 15 rebounds!

Blew up the Knicks' interior, but losing made the stats meaningless.

In the last two games of late March, the Knicks first defeated the Trail Blazers in a difficult way, and then sent warmth to the Grizzlies.

With 55 wins and 17 losses, the Knicks continue to lead the league.

Although the individual games were a bit inexplicable, Jeff Van Gundy was very happy with the result.

On Sunday, April 1, April Fool's Day, the Knicks continued their road trip to take on the Lakers on the road.

Five games a week, all away, the players were a little tired, and Jeff Van Gundy was even going to give up the game.

Kobe Bryant was affected by elbow bursitis and has been out of action for a week, and when he has not fully recovered, he forced a comeback to fight for a breath.

It's never a wise choice to just fight with an injury, and after 9 minutes of play, Kobe Bryant couldn't hold on and had no choice but to end up.

In the end, the game turned into a group of Knicks crowding down the sharks

84:78, in the case of inaccurate shooting, the Knicks still defeated the opponent and beat the Lakers twice this season!

In the fourth quarter of the game, at 22:13 in the single quarter, O'Neal couldn't catch the ball in the low post for a long time.

After the loss, the sharks were so angry that they went 1-of-2 from the field and 2-of-4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, scoring only four points.

The Lakers' record came to 48-27, and Phil Jackson also looked ugly after the game, and at the post-game press conference, he could only emphasize many times:

"That's not the real strength of the Lakers, tonight, we just can't shoot!"

6 of 22 from beyond the three-point line, the Lakers' three-point shooting rate was less than 30%, and such a stretched projection allowed O'Neal to be surrounded by three people when he received the ball.

8 of 15, 15 of 22 free throws, 31 points and 11 rebounds, still got a double-double, Olney didn't give Phil Jackson a platform after the game, just pulled his face and said the game:

"The regular season can't say much, we're ready and I just want to see the team healthy into the playoffs."

“.”

Although Li You was possessed by a blacksmith tonight, he still handed over a double-double of 24 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals and 3 turnovers.

On Easter Sunday, April 2, the Knicks returned to New York for everyone, and there were only three games for the next week, so everyone could enjoy the holiday with peace of mind.

After defeating two MVP candidates, Lee Woo once again rushed to the top of the rankings.

On April 15, the Knicks will take on the 76ers on the road, and although there is still half a month to go, many sports media have begun to warm up for this game.

With 51 wins and 22 losses, the 76ers are firmly in second place in the East, and although the record is a little worse, the Philadelphia media is still shouting hard.

Although Stephen A. Smith is a die-hard Knicks fan, he still wants to pull the little brother more at this time, and took the initiative to canvass for Iverson on ESPN's show:

"I don't want to discuss who is better Allen or Lee, I just want to say the fact that the 76ers have been silent for years before this."

"When Iverson came in, everything changed, he changed the culture, he brought the 76ers back on the rise, and that's what I saw."

“.”

MVP needs storytelling, and Iverson does have a big advantage in this, after all, everyone loves to fight back!

In the case of a small difference in record, the result depends more on the personal preferences of the media reporters, and no one has ever stipulated that the player with the better record will definitely win the award.

The Knicks, who have already entered the state of playoff preparation, began to play back-to-back games.

The Eastern Conference welfare schedule has almost locked the team in the first place in the league, and Jeff Van Gundy just wants to enter the playoffs healthily and start to rotate more of the roster.

After arriving in Philadelphia on the 15th, the Knicks had a 60-19 record.

"MVP Talk!"

The NBA league has been promoting for half a month, and before the game, Iverson once again confidently stated:

"Eric is back from injury, the team is getting better, I don't care about being number one in the league, I'm going to lead the team to win games!"

“.”

Although Iverson was no longer in opposition to Li You in the game, the two sides played frequently, and everyone knew each other's style of play well.

That night, Philadelphia fans came to the First United Center arena early, and everyone was very much looking forward to this game.

It's just that after the first quarter of the game, many fans were silent.

is still the familiar four guarantees and one, 4 of 10 in a single quarter, Iverson is full of firepower, cutting down 11 points.

At 26:19, the Knicks took a seven-point lead.

As the game progressed, all that remained in the arena was the noise, and the disappointed Philadelphia fans did not expect that the game would lose its suspense after the half.

At 54:44, looking at the 10-point difference, Iverson could only pout and walk to the players' tunnel.

After the start of the second half of the game, the Knicks did not play too many offensive climaxes, and the step-by-step game gradually opened up the difference.

In the end, 106-90, the Knicks defeated the 76ers by a small margin, and the record also came to 61 wins.

11-of-25, 29 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals and 5 turnovers, Iverson was silent after the game

The noise in the arena grew louder and louder, and after the game, Lee Woo stood next to NBC reporter Jim Gray for an interview:

"It's nice to win the game, 61 wins, we locked up the number one spot in the league."

"It was a result that I didn't expect and I just want to thank the coaching staff and my team-mates, they are really good!"

Jim Gray had already heard the shouts of the fans at the scene, and at this time he also asked with a smile:

"Lee, the regular season is over soon, let's talk about MVP, everyone is very focused on this game!"

Hearing this question, Li You, who was wearing the away blue jersey, just shook his head, and then repeated his previous point with a smile:

"I maintain my previous view that in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks have no opponent."

"In my opinion, there isn't much competition between me and Allen, he's good, but he's still a long way from the title."

"Like I said before, I'm the best outside player in the league and there's no suspense about MVP!"

“.”

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(End of chapter)