On May 30, 2001, as the Finals were about to begin, NBC and the league began to warm up for the game.

As is customary, everyone from both teams will be interviewed, so that fans who are only watching the finals can watch the game.

The Lakers and Knicks have a similar roster structure, Ron Harper has been the Lakers' "mascot" this season, and Ewing has played that role in the Knicks.

O'Neal and Bryant are on max-salary contracts, and Lee Yo and Grant Hill are also max-pay.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, even if Ewing retires next season, as long as the Knicks use the Larry Bird clause to sign Alan Houston, the salary space will be completely blocked.

The situation of the Lakers is not much better, O'Neal's salary is not low, and it is not easy to add All-Star players.

The championship window between the two teams will theoretically get smaller and smaller, after all, Li You and Kobe Bryant will continue to sign big contracts, and the cap extension is also included in the salary space.

The good news is that both teams are young and can continue to dominate the league as long as they stay healthy.

On the morning of the 30th, NBC reporter Rashad began to interview the Lakers one by one.

After more than two days of rest, Phil Jackson did not relax in the slightest and his training was not compromised, trying to keep the players in competitive shape.

Before the afternoon training session began, Kobe Bryant warmed up early, and sweat appeared on his head during the interview.

As a black man, Lashad liked the Lakers' "OK" combination, and after taking the initiative to say hello, the two sat down and asked with a smile:

"Kobe, this is the second time in your career that you've been on the stage of the Finals, can you talk about last year's loss?"

Hearing this question, Kobe Bryant's expression was serious, the smile on his face disappeared, and he replied solemnly:

"I learned from my failures, and last year's finals made me realize my shortcomings."

'I need to be stronger, I need to unite the team and I've learned how to play like a leader.

"The regular season wasn't really what we were capable of, we had some injuries, but I think in the playoffs we showed dominance!"

In the playoffs of the Western Conference, the Lakers cut melons and vegetables all the way, and this experience naturally made Kobe Bryant full of confidence.

In an interview, it was a blow that Kobe Bryant already existed as if he were the boss of the team.

Fortunately, with Iverson's previous experience, Rashad did not compare Kobe Bryant with Li You, and it was not until he interviewed O'Neal that he asked the question of MVP:

"Shaq, we all know you've been plagued by injuries this season, do you think you're going to win the MVP if you stay healthy?"

Everyone on the Lakers has grown beards, and O'Neal is no exception, and after an injury in the first half of the season, he has gained weight compared to last season due to the gradual reduction in training volume.

The notable change was that his neck was a little shorter, and O'Neal didn't care about his appearance, and when he heard the question about the MVP, he confidently replied again:

"Of course! There's no doubt I'm going to win the MVP two years in a row! Lee won't stand a chance. ”

"I'm very aware of my impact, and if I stay healthy, I even think the Lakers have a chance to break the best record the Bulls have ever made."

“.”

Phil Jackson was very cautious in an interview, and the championship coach did not blow X, but simply said with a smile:

"Basketball is round, no one can say that they are sure to win, but the Lakers are in good shape, and I see everyone's desire!"

"I believe we can beat the defending champions, and the Lakers are a more balanced team."

Everyone on the Lakers is busy bragging about X and showing confidence, but Lee Woo is busy entertaining sponsors these days.

Under Armour plans to go public this year, taking advantage of the finals, to launch professional basketball tights, and by the way, a lot of advertising.

The rugby field was personally developed by the founder Kevin Planck, and has achieved good sales in the past 5 years, and basketball tights, under the promotion of Li You, are also accepted by more people.

"Equip dogs" is very popular in New York, and the Rock Park gang is almost always fully armed

The hook is also very attentive to the finals, and under the huge advertising effect, you can change the color and cut a wave of leeks!

Like the NBA league, everyone wants to grab seven directly in the finals, and the longer it lasts, the more popular it is, and the more conducive to advertising.

Lee's three-year contract with McDonald's is expiring, and some food sponsor contracts are also facing renewal issues.

Everyone agreed to continue to cooperate, but the contract amount needs to be discussed again, and everyone is happy to hear about the finals.

Regardless of victory or defeat, on this stage, a wave of live broadcasts in the United States, it is definitely not a loss to spend money.

The advertisements of Li You and O'Neill will sweep at a certain time.

This thing affects the viewing experience in front of the TV very much, after all, a pause suddenly becomes Li You eating hamburgers, O'Neill selling dog food, and too many pauses will indeed consume the audience's patience.

On the morning of the 31st, when the Lakers arrived in New York, they found that the whole city was cheering for the Finals, and on the way to the hotel, fans wearing Knicks jerseys or T-shirts could be seen everywhere.

The influence of the three consecutive championships is still fermenting, most people like to win, and the Knicks' "winning honey" has skyrocketed in recent years

In the evening, as NBC began to broadcast player interviews and continued to warm up for the finals, Kobe Bryant, who watched the show, was tired for a while.

"With more scientific training and more professional equipment, I will do my best to make everyone feel the joy of basketball!"

"I love the stage of the finals where I can show myself to the fans all over the world, which is a wonderful thing."

"Winning has always been a constant pursuit for me, and the Knicks are ready!"

“.”

Unlike players who like to grow beards and pretend to be mature, Li You is no different from when he was 19 years old, just a different hairstyle.

Li You's voice came from the TV, and Kobe Bryant looked at it carefully for a while, but found that he didn't mention himself at all, but only mentioned O'Neal on a few topics.

Jim Gray, who interviewed Lee You, apparently regarded O'Neal as his only opponent, and the MVP faced off again in the Finals, which was a gimmick this year.

Phil Jackson knocked on the door and entered, looked at Kobe Bryant, who was secretly sulking, and suddenly said:

"Kobe, that's the reality, and if we keep losing, we're still going to be ridiculed in the offseason."

"No one will remember you, look at Aaron Iverson, is there anyone still talking about him?"

"If you want to achieve something like Maikou, you can only win, and only victory will be remembered."

As if recalling what happened to him over the years, Kobe nodded vigorously, and Phil Jackson stepped forward to pat him on the shoulder and told again:

"Remember, basketball belongs to five people, and we're going to play for each other!"

“.”

has been in the finals for many years in a row, and Ben Wallace can be regarded as getting rid of the identity of the little transparent in previous years.

Despite not liking some of Jeff Van Gundy's options, in the current situation, most sports media still give a "small Ben" enough face.

After all, the Knicks' interior defensive hardness is all supported by Ben Wallace and Kurt Thomas, and when it comes to the Finals, unless they are plagued by fouls, O'Neal is still the two of them most of the time.

Ben Wallace was a little unhappy with the fact that management and the coaching staff wanted to draft a big man in the draft.

For him, this choice lacked respect, and he was never considered when the New York media chanted "the next Ewing", and the combination of the two things made Ben Wallace naturally not in a beautiful mood.

Draft-losers, small men, prejudice still exists, Jeff Van Gundy has never regarded Ben Wallace as the core of the interior line, and everyone knows that the bald young marshal likes Tyson Chandler.

Reaching the finals again, Ben Wallace did not forget to stand for himself in an interview:

"I know how hard I have worked to get to where I am now, and this year's finals, I hope people can get to know me again."

"I'm confident to be the best interior player in the league!"

This statement also failed to attract much attention, after all, it is impossible for a single defense restriction to O'Neal.

Alan Houston, who played a lot of games last year, is in a contract year, recuperating in the regular season, and making a slight effort in the playoffs.

"There's no doubt that Allan will sign a big contract, he's the best backcourt player in the league!"

Alan Houston has no shortage of markets, and the Knicks are likely to offer a big contract, and while this will cut the salary space, there is no better player on the market.

Reaching the finals is like accomplishing the goal, and the players are starting to make their voices heard.

Some people want more tactical status, some people want to earn more American knives, but for Jeff Van Gundy, he has only one goal:

"Become a legend in the world of coaching!"

The bald young marshal is not worried about work at all at present, and these championships are enough for him to eat for a lifetime.

Three consecutive championships, a high win rate, whiteness, the combination of three elements, all teams in the league will open the door for him.

And to achieve four consecutive championships, Jeff Van Gundy has a chance to surpass Phil Jackson, an achievement that neither team has achieved.

With one year left on his contract, Jeff Van Gundy doesn't care, no matter where he goes, he's on top salary.

Change teams and get even more rights!

During the warm-up on the afternoon of June 1, Jeff Van Gundy showed his confident side in an interview:

"In my opinion, the Knicks have a chance to achieve what they did with the Celtics."

"We're young at the core, we've got a lot of talent and we're excited to make it to the finals with all the players in full fitness."

"We've put in a lot of effort this season, and I'm sure the Knicks can do wonders."

The New York Times reporter laughed when he heard this, and reporters from several other sports media also followed suit:

"This is the confidence of the strongest champion coach in the current service!"

The finals G1 will officially start at 21 o'clock, and Li You will continue to greet the sponsors and celebrities who came to watch the game before the game.

Tickets for exclusive seats were given to Bloomburg, the billionaire who is not short of money, just to save face, and the location also has an exclusive soda snack service

Tens of thousands of dollars in tickets in exchange for a small investment and personal relationship with Axes Capital, in short, this thing is not a loss.

Old Charles also invited a lot of people in the box, and after winning the game, although the eldest took over the team, but the finals are such a big party, and the father naturally has to make good use of it.

With less than half an hour to go before the start of the game, Madison Square Garden was already full, and the front-row tickets were bought by the agency, and some chanting singers paid out of their own pockets to show their faces

Ewing chatted with acquaintances on the sidelines before the game, and when it came to a bigger stage, this X had to continue to pretend.

Many fans have already shaken their handkerchiefs and screamed to the music, and on the NBC commentary seat, Mav Albert, who served as the on-site commentator, was also a little excited:

"I love the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden, tonight's game, the fans have been waiting for it for a long time!"

Doug Collins didn't make much predictions about the series before the game, so let's move on to the strengths of both sides:

"There's no doubt that the Lakers are absolutely dominant on the inside!"

"The Knicks have the best backcourt in the league, and the two sides have very different tactics, but on the defensive end, they will be put to the test."

The two analyzed together, and soon the lights on the scene dimmed, and after the away team players came on the field, as the home team players appeared one by one, the sound became louder and louder.

Broadcasters have also started to announce the starting lineups for both sides, and the head coaches of both teams have not made any changes, and the Lakers have continued to start the previous playoffs:

"The two in the backcourt are Derrick Fisher and Kobe Bryant, and the front three are Rick Fox, Horace Grant and Shaquille O'Neal."

Regarding this starting lineup, Doug Collins briefly commented:

"Grant won't play too much, and the Lakers need to provide O'Neal with more offensive space."

"Robert Horry will also play a key role tonight!"

After Li You, who was wearing a blue training uniform, appeared on the stage, shouts began to resound in the stadium.

Compared with the serious Lakers team, Li You was full of smiles and high-fived his teammates one by one.

Grant Hill is still trying to calm his emotions, and he is still a little nervous when he plays the Finals for the first time in his career.

Sitting on the bench, Jeff Van Gundy held a Pepsi and did not greet the players, but drank happy water

In the final warm-up stage, Phil Jackson was still telling the players:

"Fisher, watch your defense! We need to communicate, change guards quickly, trust each other, OK? ”

Hearing the head coach's words, Fisher hurriedly nodded, in order to reduce the burden on Kobe, he will defend Li You tonight.

After watching the video of the game for many days, Fisher could only secretly cheer himself up, straighten out his headband, bounce on the spot, and try to move his body.

As the referee beckoned the two sides to the center of the court, Li You briefly bumped fists with everyone on the Lakers with a smile on his face, and O'Neal pulled his face and stared at the basketball in the referee's hand with great concentration.

With Ewing's jump ball failing, O'Neal easily dialed the ball to half court, and the shouts rang out again:

“Defense！.”

As soon as Fisher controlled the ball, Li You stepped forward to lead the defense, dribbled two steps without waiting for half court, and immediately gave the ball to Grant at the top of the arc.

The bespectacled man looked like he was pressing, but his scoring ability was actually degraded so much that Lewis was completely inside the three-point line to prevent opponents from shooting.

He gestured with the ball and hurriedly gave the ball to Kobe Bryant on the right flank, O'Neal arched sharply at this time, stuck Ewing behind him, and asked for the ball with his back in the low post on the right side.

Bryant was heavily defended by Alan Houston, but Ewing was firmly grounded and sent a high pass, and then Bryant, who was without the ball, immediately slipped to the bottom line, running from right to left and running to the bottom left corner.

Grant also started moving to the left near baseline, leaving the top of the arc for Fisher.

Coupled with Rick Fox also standing on the left wing, the Lakers cleared one side at the beginning of the game, and after O'Neal turned to play, everyone began to move to the right wing, ready to respond.

After receiving the ball, he turned around, and after putting the ball with his left hand, O'Neal opened the way with his shoulder, and turned to the baseline direction while hitting Ewing, and switched to his right hand after carrying the opponent, and easily completed the throw!

"Huh!" The two-point ball hollows into the net.

From the speed of action to the power confrontation, Ewing, who has become the mascot this season, has all fallen behind.

After the goal, O'Neal seemed to find the feeling of abuse in the Western Conference playoffs, and he also had a happy smile on his face, which was the same as he thought before the game!

“Let's go Knicks！.”

New York fans have become accustomed to the scene of super centers beating up the gorillas and continue to shout.

Quickly sent the baseline ball, Li You received the ball, and Fisher hurriedly stepped forward to lead the defense.

Completely different from the Western defender he faced before, Li You accelerated and rushed after receiving the ball, and when he was close to the halfway line, he quickly dribbled the ball behind his back, and after a sharp stop, he switched to his left hand and continued to accelerate with his shoulder.

Fisher could only follow the passive sliding step, and in the blink of an eye, Li You passed half the time.

Stopping outside the three-point line at this time, Fisher saw the movement behind him, and saw Li You suddenly push the ball and change direction, and hurriedly slid to the left back

The moment he deceived the opponent's defensive center of gravity, Li You turned sharply while switching to his right hand, clinging to Ewing's body, fishing for the ball with his left hand, and accelerating the breakthrough from the left side.

Lee Woo got rid of the defense so easily, and the scene was full of cheers for a while, and O'Neal was still crouching at the free throw line, as if waiting for Fisher to continue to complete the defense.

Li You saw the opponent's defensive movement while catching the ball, and immediately began to adjust his pace, suddenly stopped on the three-point line, and then pulled it up and threw it!

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

“Wow！”

The cheers of the fans were heard in his ears, and O'Neal realized that he had made a mistake in defense, perhaps because he was used to abusing vegetables, and the sharks were still squatting in the pit.

The position of the free throw line does have a defensive role, but for Li You, such an opportunity is likely to give away points.

Phil Jackson on the sidelines frowned, compared to the Spurs' outside line, they can wait for the opponent to play iron, and when they meet the Knicks backcourt, they have to pounce:

"Fisher, squeeze through! Shaq, defend! ”

In the Lakers, only Phil Jackson will yell at O'Neal to defend.

glared at Li You depressedly, O'Neal didn't like to defend at all, and soon, after half court, he changed direction and began to ask for the ball with his back in the low post on the left side.

It was still a quick pass on the line, and this time Rick Fox came to the left wing with the ball in his left hand, and in the face of Grant Hill's underhand pressing, he couldn't complete the pass in the first place.

Although Ewing pulled and pulled, it didn't play much role, and when the opponent sent a high hanging pass, O'Neill received the ball easily.

O'Neal's body shook to the line, and the moment he received the ball, while releasing the ball with his left hand, he suddenly turned around quickly, shook to Ewing's defensive center of gravity, and dribbled two steps to the basket!

A jump arched Ewing, O'Neal rushed into the reasonable collision zone, exploded directly, and poured the basket vigorously with both hands!

"Exaggerated athleticism! Shaq actually broke through to the basket to complete the dunk, what a wonderful offensive performance! ”

The flexibility that does not match the body shape at all, seeing that Marf Albert couldn't help but admire, Doug Collins saw Ewing's physical state, and couldn't help but simply remind:

"Coach Van Gundy could consider starting the rotation early!"

Seeing O'Neal's strange screams and boos began to appear in the arena, the Knicks were unaffected and continued to serve the baseline ball quickly.

After receiving the ball, Li You did not speed up again, held the ball in his left hand, followed the left sideline, and slowly advanced.

Fisher didn't step forward to press meaninglessly, glancing backwards from time to time, for fear that one would accidentally lose his defensive position.

Lewis then moved quickly from the bottom left corner to get closer to the touchline, and after fake cover, he continued to move sideways, quickly bounced out to the left flank.

Grant also followed the defense, and wanted to cooperate with Fisher to wrap Li You, but before the two could form a circle, Li You, who was holding the ball in his left hand, suddenly lowered his center of gravity, and at the same time quickly completed a large backdribble.

Suddenly speeding up the pace of dribbling, the basketball passed through the crotch, and suddenly appeared in front of Li You's right.

Before Fisher and Grant could react, Li You jumped forward, grabbed the ball with his right hand, and passed directly between the two.

"Oh!"

In the exclamation, Li You completely got rid of the defense, went straight to the basket, and faced O'Neal, who came up to help the defense, did not stop, but jumped and rushed up.

O'Neal, who was covered in flesh, couldn't jump sufficiently, and the two collided in the air, and O'Neal, who noticed that he couldn't be separated, simply pulled directly.

Grabbing the ball with one hand with his left hand, Li You exerted his strength in the air, twisted his body with the force of the rebound, and threw the ball to the rebound, while not forgetting to shout:

"My bowl!"

"Squeak! Bang! ”

At the same time as the referee blew the whistle, the basketball also hit the high board into the basket, and Madison Square Garden suddenly boiled.

"Lee's breakthrough was so quick, Shaq was able to react and did his best, and of course, I would advise Coach Phil Jackson to consider rotation as soon as possible."

"Grant pick-and-roll isn't too good either."

Marv Albert also quipped, and Doug Collins on the side chuckled as he noticed that the two teams did have a lot of similarities.

Fisher's eyes were straight on the three-point line, and the rate was so frightening that he didn't even see how the basketball was going through the defense.

Lee Yoo-k hit an easy shot, and the atmosphere group on the sidelines also cheered, and the Lakers' outside defense was no more than that.

4:6, the same two rounds, but the Knicks took a lead.

“Defense！.”

Li You's wonderful goal made the defensive shouts of New York fans a little louder.

O'Neal, who had a good hand, wanted to continue to ask for the ball in the low post, but this time Ewing suddenly started to go around the left block.

Bryant, who came to the left wing, noticed that there was no good passing opportunity after receiving the ball, and immediately signaled O'Neal to raise the cover.

Giving up the low post, O'Neal also moved to the elbow area.

After hanging for a while, O'Neal immediately went down, and Kobe Bryant wanted to complete the pass, but Ewing resolutely delayed and cooperated with Alan Houston, who was chasing the defense, to wrap up.

Bryant, who was holding the ball in his left hand, hurriedly lowered his center of gravity to accelerate the breakthrough, trying to get rid of the defense, but suddenly tripped Ewing's foot, stumbled, lost control of the ball, and the basketball was immediately cut away by Alan Houston.

Fisher only felt that Li You at the top of the arc bounced out with a "bang", reacted completely, gritted his teeth and chased after him.

The fast attack is as fierce as a tiger, Alan Houston threw the ball vigorously, Li You rushed across the half court to catch the ball on the three-point line, dribbled two times and three steps and rushed up directly, grabbed the ball with one hand with his right hand, and dunked it with one arm!

are also heavy defenders, Marv Albert watched Fisher catch up with Li You without the ball, and subconsciously praised:

"God! Lee showed his impact again, he was too fast! ”

Before 4 seconds arrived, the ball went in, Fisher served on the bottom line, and looked at Li You in front of him, feeling more and more outrageous

In the next time, the game, the Lakers continued to chisel the inside line, and the Knicks threw it when they had the chance.

Phil Jackson opted to slow down, and Jeff Van Gundy continued to hang up and watch the Knicks cling to the transition.

With 6:04 left in the first quarter, Ewing sent O'Neal to the free throw line again, carried two fouls, and completed his mission, clapping and smiling as he walked to the bench.

The New York fans in attendance also gave the gorillas a round of applause, with Ben Wallace coming off the bench.

After aiming at the free throw line for a long time, O'Neal pouted his ass and hit the iron again on the second free throw.

As soon as he grabbed the rebound, Ben Wallace immediately gave the ball to Grant Hill, who was responding, and then rushed to the opposing half.

At the top of the arc, he moved horizontally, and Lee Woo pretended to receive the ball with his hands, and then moved without the ball and continued to run to the right wing.

Rick Fox was distracted, and Grant Hill, who was holding the ball in his left hand, suddenly changed direction quickly and went straight to the basket at the top of the arc!

O'Neal, who had just retreated to the paint, moved to help the defense, took into account the foul, and failed to interfere in time.

Grant Hill, who seized the opportunity, threw the ball to the top right of the basket, Ben Wallace jumped up to catch the ball and hit the basket with both hands!

At 13:18, the Knicks scored easily again.

Phil Jackson frowned and immediately asked for a timeout, no matter how much he watched the video, this kind of offense is all up to the individual ability of the player.

The Knicks' quick iron shooting in individual rounds also allowed the Lakers to seize some counterattack opportunities, and Kobe Bryant and Fox also scored.

But the pace of the game was not what the Lakers liked, and seeing this, Doug Collins could only praise:

"Lee was in control of the pace of the game from the start, and the Lakers were passive, and maybe they should take the initiative to speed up."

Marv Albert liked to see such a game scene, and noticing Horry's early appearance, began to joke again:

"If you want to keep Lee's offense, no one in the league can do it, strengthen the offensive space, and it seems that Phil Jackson is the head coach intends to continue to let O'Neal lead the offense."

In the first round after the timeout, "Little Ben" died in the left blocking area, but it still didn't play much role, and O'Neal turned and threw the iron to the baseline after the hit.

“Wow！”

Finally, he missed an athletic goal, and the New York fans cheered.

Ben Wallace grabbed the rebound, and after Lee Woo answered, he found that the defender next to him had become Kobe.

"Little Fish" couldn't stand it, and Phil Jackson didn't have a head, so he asked Fisher to defend Artest, who appeared on the stage.

Kobe Bryant glared and kept giving physical confrontations, but Li You advanced quickly, came to the left wing, dribbled quickly behind his back, and switched to his right hand after a quick stop.

Ben Wallace immediately stepped forward to block the pick-and-roll, O'Neal was forced to follow, Kobe Bryant glanced behind him, but Lee Woo suddenly shook to the right and changed direction sharply.

Kobe Bryant subconsciously slid to the right rear, but still couldn't keep up with Li You's heavy shoulder acceleration.

And O'Neal, who had just stopped, blinked an eye and watched Li You hold the ball in his left hand, fly close to the ground, and go straight to the basket again.

Horry, who was squatting in the bottom corner of the right side, turned his head, but found that Li You had already risen in the paint area, and after rushing up in three steps, he switched to his right hand, stretched his body in the air, grabbed the ball with one hand, and vigorously slashed and dunked!

"Ahh

The galloping breakthrough also made Li You roar excitedly after landing.

In retrospect, an angry O'Neal attacked Ben Wallace in the low post to score two points and add free throws.

"Don't worry, he won't score!"

O'Neal is not in the mood to deal with Li You, this season he deliberately practiced free throws, stood on the free throw line and began to take a deep breath, and pouted his ass to aim at the frame when he received a pass from the referee.

The free throw was too long to ensure the shooting percentage, the basketball knocked twice on the basket, and finally Ben Wallace successfully protected the backcourt rebound.

Grinning at O'Neal, the free throw seemed to be no different from last season.

Falling into the positional attack, Lee You, who advanced through the half, waited for his teammates to fully settle down, Ben Wallace quickly rose again, and Fisher followed Artest to the free throw line, and the tactical intent was immediately clear.

High blocking, although he could not completely get rid of Kobe's pursuit, but Li You, who held the ball in his right hand, was extremely fast, first moved sideways to pull the defense, noticed O'Neal's delay, and immediately accelerated to break through.

Artest moved sideways at this time to make a back cover, delaying O'Neal and immediately bombing.

Kobe Bryant hurriedly changed positions, Fisher also immediately cut off Li You's passing route, and O'Neal continued to chase the defense, but completely lost the defensive position after being delayed.

The defense echo between the three of them is extremely tacit, obviously they have practiced the corresponding defensive tactics, but Li You, who just got the gap, suddenly increased his stride, took two steps and jumped with his right foot, leaned forward sharply, and leaned forward to pick up the basket!

The basketball flew past O'Neal's fingertips, which were struggling to block, and flew above the rebound, hitting the board and falling into the basket with precision.

Li You, who completed the layup, smiled at several people, and trotted all the way back to the half court after going around the baseline.

Such an awkward layup made Phil Jackson on the sidelines shake his head, and the exaggerated body coordination made it difficult for defenders to predict the timing of Li You's shot.

At 15:22, the point difference tended to be widened, which made the New York fans excited, and the defensive shouts became louder and louder.

The Lakers' offense was not fast-paced, and Ben Wallace, who was desperately trying to get around the front defense, could only watch O'Neal turn deftly this time, touch the basket and catch the ball and dunk it.

Bryant, who gave the assist, breathed a sigh of relief, such a pass is extremely risky, but fortunately, he can score by passing to the basket.

The scores of the two sides began to rise alternately, and the Knicks' single-defense strategy was not effective, even if they couldn't receive the ball comfortably, relying on their size advantage, O'Neal could still crush and score points.

With 2:02 left in the first quarter, Lee Woo missed his first open field goal, hitting a three-pointer from the right wing, and the long rebound was collected by Fox, and then immediately threw the ball into the halfcourt.

Fisher started early, rushed fast, grabbed the ball on the three-point line, didn't care about the situation behind him, and immediately rushed to the basket.

Bryant shouted to remind him, and as soon as Fisher turned his head, he saw Li You soaring into the air, subconsciously dodging in the air, and starting to fall before throwing the basketball to the basket with his right hand.

"Smack!"

Li You, who jumped high, was unaffected, sent out a volleyball cap with his left hand, and slapped the ball down.

Before Fisher could stand firm after landing, he was smashed to the ground by the basketball, Li You hurriedly grabbed the ball, and then threw the ball forward to the court.

Alan Houston came to the right wing and immediately stopped after receiving the ball, ignoring Fox, who was defending, and jumped again from outside the three-point line!

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

After hitting the iron in a row, he finally hit the goal of the open battle, and Alan Houston was also excited to wave his fists in celebration.

The New York fans at the scene were not happy for a few seconds, and after continuously passing the ball, Fox responded by making a three-point shot on the left wing!

Li You suddenly accelerated the pace of the offense, shook off Kobe, and burst into the basket with the ball from the backcourt, causing Kobe to foul and stand on the free throw line.

After hitting both free throws, Kobe Bryant was not polite, and in the right blocking position, facing Alan Houston's defense, he turned to the baseline and hit another iron after hitting with his back.

There was no time to vent the frustration in his heart, and Li You, who retracted the basket to protect the rebound, launched a conversion attack again.

Struggling to defend back, O'Neal found that Li You, who was holding the ball in the middle, was rushing faster and faster, and was about to cross the three-point line, Fox simply pulled it directly and then sent free throws.

“Wow！”

Lee Woo hit both free throws, and the first quarter of the game was about to end.

With Fisher's ultra-long three-point miss at the end, the score was fixed at 24:31.

Playing the full first quarter, 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-5 from the free-throw line, O'Neal scored 12 points.

In addition to the positional warfare offense, O'Neal followed the Knicks all the way around.

also played the first quarter, 5-of-6, 1-of-2 from beyond the three-point line, and 5-of-5 from the free throw line, and Li You scored 16 points in a single quarter.

Most of the rounds, the Lakers didn't have a bag, which made Li You only have 2 assists in the first quarter.

Madison Square Garden Arena, the score is leading, New York fans are happy, the atmosphere is getting hotter and hotter, and many people are still shaking orange handkerchiefs in their hands.

Looking at the technical statistics, Marf Albert noticed that Kobe Bryant and Alan Houston were both 1-of-4, but it was Horry and Lewis who became the second scorers:

"It can be seen that both sides are fully prepared for the limitation of the second scoring point!"

Doug Collins noticed that the Lakers only seemed to replace Fisher in the second quarter and took Brian Shaw, and knew that the Lakers were struggling again.

Phil Jackson didn't care about falling behind the score, and after a few seasons of grinding, the Lakers are no longer a "Yes Mr. team".

As the players walked to the field, Phil Jackson gestured while continuing to remind loudly:

"Be tough! We need tough defense! ”

On the bench on the other side, Jeff Van Gundy was also loudly admonishing the upcoming Kurt Thomas:

"Don't let the opponent score easily, we're ahead, give them some color!"

Li You looked at the bald young marshal who was throwing his fist excitedly, and also patted Billups on the shoulder:

"Bro, if you want to get a big contract, you can show your ability in the finals!"

Billups, who has been a little transparent all season, nodded fiercely, and the time has come to fight hard:

"I'm ready!"

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(End of chapter)