On the evening of May 8, 2004, in the arena of the Continental Airlines Center, the Knicks and Nets witnessed the transformation of the basketball game into a "fighting competition".

A strong team never gives up easily!

Unlike the Celtics, the Nets have reached the division finals for the second season in a row, and both sides have completely different mindsets.

The rabbit was in a hurry and bitten, and the Nets completely broke the defense after the score difference reached 15 points in the third quarter, and Kenyon Martin started a different way of playing.

At the end of the third quarter, Artest first pulled Artest to the basket on the defensive end, and then elbowed Kurt Thomas on the offensive end.

Kenyon Martin's manoeuvre was quickly reciprocated

The defense took a flying knee from Lee Yo, and the enraged Kenyon Martin was followed by a headhead and a big hat from Kurt Thomas on the offensive end.

In the final minutes, Kidd, who was hitting the iron continuously, also lost his composure, and the Knicks took the initiative to crash into Lee Woo in the transition offense, and both of them fell to the ground at the halfway point.

Although the referee blew the whistle, as Li You's left wing hit the iron outside the three-point line, Kidd, who picked up the long rebound, launched a conversion attack and was knocked out of the bottom line by Li You, who was returning to the defense, and the scene was uncontrollable

Before Jefferson could rush to the bottom line, he was pushed aside by Artest, who was returning to the defense, and the two quickly pushed and shoved after a verbal altercation.

The menacing Kenyon Martin rushed to the baseline to pull Kidd up, only to be attacked by Kurt Thomas behind him and almost tripped over the floor.

Pulled up by the Nets fans in the front row, Kidd saw that players on both sides were squeezing under the basket and pulling, and couldn't help but rush forward to grab Kenyon Martin.

After Lee Woo-dun, who was holding the ball in his right hand, he noticed that Kidd had always maintained a defensive distance, and immediately realized that his opponent was still planning to change his defense.

"Bichi! Shut your stinky mouth, how did you think you got your all-star spot! ”

Except for the kid Knight, who is prone to being hit by the opponent's heavy punches, the other rotation players don't have this problem.

The big man Collins saw Mutombo move his feet and prepare to raise the cover, but he could only stubbornly follow the defense.

With just a slight movement of his foot, Kenyon Martin can expect Lee to throw the ball to the top left of the basket.

Hesitation will be out of position, and by the time Kenyon Martin moves to the front of the basket, Lee You, who has already taken three strides, throws the ball into the air.

After receiving the ball from the baseline and dribbling through the half, Kidd still handed the ball quickly, and in the right elbow area, Kenyon Martin took the ball on his side and made a hand pass to Jefferson, who started in the bottom corner on the right side.

88:70, a difference of nearly 20 points, made the New York fans on the scene boil again.

The first line of defence is always easily breached, and there is always a problem with the selection of Kenyon Martin who is in charge of the defense, and there is almost no solution to this situation.

"As for Lee, he's stronger than we remember, and getting four fouls isn't a cool approach."

Receiving his fourth foul, plus the break, Kidd also calmed down.

The beast power forward has good physical fitness, and he didn't care about taking a few shots in this half of the game, and was pulled back to the bench and still yelling and scolding.

In an anxious state of mind, as soon as he completed the pass, Kenyon Martin immediately accelerated down and failed to play a bit of cover.

Kenyon Martin and Artest were the most emotional, with Jefferson hugging his teammates and the two suddenly getting into a verbal altercation that almost got into a scuffle.

Coach Frank on the sidelines watched Li Youhe simply high-five in celebration, and lost his mood for a while.

Jefferson, who is on the opposite side, always scores points on his head, and Artest wants to vent his frustration when he finds an opportunity.

If most of the game has passed and the difference still cannot be narrowed, then it is not too late to rest at the end.

The two analyzed on the commentary bench, but unfortunately, Kidd, who planned to travel at a staggered peak in the fourth quarter of the game, encountered Li You again.

The Nets are really desperate, and they don't need to rotate the lineup, and the starting five continue to play.

The opponent did not rotate, but the Knicks made the substitution step by step.

"The key to turning the game around is that Kidd has to step up, the Nets need to hit those open jumpers, and they need to pick up the pace of the game appropriately."

The game is most likely gone, Kenyon Martin completely let himself go, no matter what the result is, he wants to vent his bad anger.

The referee pulled Li You aside early, anyway, the star players were not sent off and they completed the task, as for other situations, there is a high probability that they can also increase some ratings.

Artest, who was hugged by Grant Hill, also calmed down at this time, he just didn't like the referee's blowing scale tonight.

“let‘sgoknicks！.”

The New York fans at the scene also shouted and cursed, and the reminder that watching the game requires civilized language has long been forgotten

"Who do you think you are?? mf！ Leave New York, you're nothing! ”

It's just that the cheering shouts of New York fans sounded in the arena, and Kidd, who stopped at the logo position, couldn't help but twitch the corners of his eyes.

Kevin Harlan didn't see any spirit on the Nets, he just felt that the opponent was losing the defense:

At the top of the arc, Kidd struggled to squeeze past Lee Yoo after he pushed the ball, but Mutombo covered with high quality and couldn't chase it in time.

The noise did not affect the mood of the two people in the commentary seat, and Rivers even exclaimed loudly:

'I liked the way they played tonight, it doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's important that you show the desire to win.

"Reaching the division finals for two consecutive seasons, Kidd has shaped a new team culture for the Nets."

With his arms crossed, Coach Frank suddenly realized that he could only pray that the Knicks' coverage on the line was not of good quality, and Kidd completed the pursuit.

Although the score is behind, the game is not over yet, and tonight's shooting is really bad, and Kidd knows very well that if the two main attackers are gone, the series can be declared over early.

Stoudemire, who roared loudly, looked extremely excited, and shouted at Kenyon Martin in front of him.

Kenyon Martin hesitated to hear the shouts of his teammates, but after a few exchanges he got to know Stoudemire better.

Although the big man Collins came up with a big delay, his role was limited, and he was directly squeezed by Li You by speed.

"Boom!" Empty catch the storm dunk!

"Ahh

At 86:70, the point difference is still within the trailable range, but the content of the Nets game makes fans desperate.

"The Knicks proved to be unafraid of such a challenge, and the defense of Gasol and Thomas limited the Nets' breakout."

Stoudemire, who had been waiting for a long time, moved sideways near the baseline on the left side, jumped high, grabbed the ball with both hands in the air and didn't give the opponent a second chance to help defend, and smashed the ball into the basket!

"As the leader of the team, Kidd didn't do well tonight on a statistic level, but he showed his sportsmanship!"

Collins, who didn't want to foul, could only watch Li You go straight to the basket and subconsciously reminded Kenyon Martin inside to pay attention to help defense.

Most of the players on both sides carried four fouls, and the third quarter of the game was stop-and-go, and the scene was not good-looking, but the atmosphere was getting hotter and hotter.

Before Jefferson, who put the ball on his left hand, could accelerate to break through, Prince, who was not hindered, came up from the side.

Although the opponent was half a body ahead, Prince used his long arm to take advantage of his long arm and take advantage of his left hand to complete the ball behind Jefferson.

At the moment of dropping the ball, before Jefferson could control the ball, Prince, who had taken the ball away, had already taken the ball and rushed.

1 to 0 in the frontcourt, watching Prince, who was rushing faster and faster, gradually widened the gap, and Jefferson, who was chasing behind him, had no choice but to stop and patted his thigh depressedly.

Grabbing the ball with his right hand, Prince glides and dunks in three strides!

At 90:70, the score difference came to 20 points, and the Continental Airlines Arena was completely boiling, and the New York fans at the scene cheered and shouted:

"You're never going to win against the Knicks!"

Soon some civilized language appeared in front of this sentence, and the shouting and scolding became louder and louder, and the Nets fans began to fight back.

Without waiting for the baseline to serve, there was a clash in the back row of the audience, and the fans on both sides came to another boxing match, and the security personnel rushed up.

The game continued, and the Nets fans in the stadium were still cheering for the home team, but Kidd lived up to their expectations and still handed over the ball at halftime.

It was almost a microcosm of the whole game, and Kidd would just pull Lee Yoo to stand on the left and right flanks and watch his teammates complete the attack.

Lee Yoo followed Kidd to the right flank, noticed that Collins in the left elbow area had completed a hand-to-hand pass to Kidders, and immediately shouted to Stoudemire on the inside.

After receiving the ball, he put the ball on his right hand and broke through, and Kidders played extremely resolutely tonight, going straight to the basket from the middle.

The alerted Stoudemire was just in front of Kenyon Martin, cutting off the opposition's passing path and leaping high to interfere.

Instead of passing, Kidders switched hands in the air, collided in the air after switching to his left hand, and reluctantly threw the ball to the basket while losing his center of gravity.

Kenyon Martin struggled to get the rebound in the frontcourt, but as Mutombo retracted the basket and picked the ball up again, Stoudemire jumped twice after landing to protect the rebound in the backcourt.

The limited chances were also missed, and the Knicks were already fighting back when Kidles, who fell to the floor, got up.

Li You received the ball and accelerated across the halfway line, then immediately passed the ball to Raga Bell, who ran to the bottom right corner.

Although Kidders in the back tried hard to chase and defend, Raga Bale, who received the ball, did not make any adjustments and threw the ball away!

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

On the Knicks bench, everyone applauded, and Matt Barnes threw the towel in his hand into the air.

Seeing the point difference widen again, the Nets fans were silent again, and in the noisy arena, only New York fans were left celebrating wildly.

Kidd began to work hard to increase the tempo of the attack, and this time after the right elbow and Kenyon Martin blocked, he immediately accelerated with the ball in his right hand.

The cover quality pulled the crotch, allowing Li You to squeeze through dexterously and easily chase Kidd's side.

As he went, Kidd sensed that Lee was chasing after him again, and then suddenly spun around and stealthily distributed the ball to Kenyon Martin down the middle.

The latter may have decreased in physical fitness, and after receiving the ball, he failed to attack the basket directly, but took a step forward, and then took advantage of his strength to jump!

Just a beat slower, Kenyon Martin grabbed the ball with his right hand and wanted to dunk when he was rejected by Mutombo's hat under the help defense.

The two battled in the air and eventually both fell to the ground, with Kenyon Martin, who had lost his center of gravity, falling to the bottom right of the basket and Mutombo staggering to the baseline.

"Oh!"

The beautiful block sent the fans to exclaim, and Lee stuck Kidd behind him, and the basketball jumped high as it hit the back edge of the basket and flew into the air.

grabbed the rebound, and after landing on the ground, Li You threw the ball backwards with his right hand with his back to Kidd.

Without looking at the pass, the basketball flew straight across the halfway line, and Prince grabbed the ball in front of Jefferson to control the ball, and then accelerated across the halfcourt.

Although Stoudemire had just lost his position defensively, he was as fierce as a tiger at this time, and followed behind him with a meteor stride straight to the basket.

Prince spotted his teammates behind him and leaned on the defense to throw the ball towards the rebound.

Jefferson sensed that something was wrong, and before he could turn his head, a powerful attack came from behind him!

Stoudemire jumped high, got into the air and grabbed the ball with his right hand with one hand, slammed into Jefferson and slammed the ball into the basket!

"Boom!" Convert the dunk to get it!

"Ahh

Jefferson, who almost threw himself into the street, stumbled and hit the basketball hoop, and when he turned his head, he saw Stoudemire yelling at him, and immediately rushed up to get an explanation.

Prince reacted quickly, hugging Jefferson from behind, and the linesman stepped forward to block it, so there was no clash.

Coach Frank on the sidelines jumped to his feet in a hurry and loudly reminded the players to stay calm and that they must chase the points as soon as possible.

Jefferson, who had an explosive mentality, turned around and made a pass error in the offensive round, and the breakthrough point was directly tackled by Prince.

At the bottom left of the basket, Prince made a steal and threw the ball to the frontcourt.

Kidela couldn't stop Lee from receiving the ball, and players from both sides quickly rushed across the halfcourt, and this time the Nets completed the defensive alignment in time.

On the left flank, Li You, who was holding the ball in his left hand, also slowed down.

Stoudemire had just moved towards the line when Lee Woo suddenly dribbled under his crotch, and then immediately changed direction in front of him.

In order to prevent the breakaway, Kidd always maintained a defensive distance, which allowed Lee to stretch and make a wobble with extreme stretch.

The sudden acceleration of the dribble allowed Kidd to follow his body's instinct to slide back to the right in a row.

Just grabbed half of the position, Li You, who was still full of energy, defended against the defense, and the tank broke through and rushed to the basket.

Approaching the paint area, he immediately jumped with both feet, and Li You jumped and knocked away Kidd, who was guarding on his side.

didn't even make a blocking action, Kidd was knocked and leaned back slightly, watching Li You hold the ball with his left hand and easily pick up the basket!

"Bang!" Basketball is played into the basket.

At 97:70, Frank's face turned pale and he reluctantly asked for a timeout.

"You've got to work harder!"

Lee Woo smiled and patted Kidd who glared at him, such a game is indeed interesting.

"Shet!"

Looking at Li You's back, Kidd scolded again, returned to the bench and took the towel and fell to the floor, the whole person was extremely depressed.

Losing G3 means that the series is over, and falling behind 0:3 against the wind can only happen in a dream

Kenyon Martin also stopped shouting loudly, keeping his head down and not saying a word.

For Li You, breaking through the defense line has never been a problem, and the second line of defense is extremely important if you want to limit him effectively.

Despite repeated stress from the coaching staff, Kenyon Martin is inexperienced and seems to lack talent, with most defensive rounds coming in the wrong defensive position

As a result, once Kidd is broken through, the Nets' interior is mostly empty-footed, and apart from bad fouls, no one can find a more suitable way to defend.

Jefferson and Kidders didn't speak, close to a 30-point difference, and the game almost lost suspense, after all, the Nets were pulling their hips offensively, and it was difficult to score 24 points in a quarter.

On the Knicks bench, D'Antoni, who was on the hook, also knew that the game was stable, and handed the tactical board to the assistant coach.

With a smile on his face, D'Antoni encouraged two words to start the tactical back, and they will reach the division final again!

After the timeout, the Nets still didn't give up, and Kidd tried to speed up the offensive tempo, but a lot of antibodies declined, and the result was more and more shots.

In some of the inside offensive rounds, the Knicks were not on the defensive, and the two sides entered a state of stabbing each other, and Nets fans could only watch the game time go by.

With 2 minutes and 21 seconds left in the game, as Li You received Gasol's hand-handed pass on the right flank, and hit the long-range three-pointer again, the cheers of the Continental Airlines Arena couldn't stop!

The Nets asked for a timeout again, and Kidd put his head down and put his hands over his face, seemingly not believing that he was going to be swept again

On the commentary bench, Kevin Harlan thought that tonight's game was very good, glanced at the technical statistics, and sighed again:

"When Lee is hot and can hit those difficult three-pointers, the Nets can't do anything!"

"I'm sure the fans will be very happy with tonight's game, that's what everyone is looking forward to!"

Rivers seemed to be touched again, noticing the Nets' atmosphere group and saying thoughtfully:

"If you want to fight superstars, you have to assemble a luxurious lineup!"

"The Nets still have a lot of work to do, and they need to find a scorer for Kidd and let the players do what they do best, and that's the right way to build the team."

Kevin Harlan laughed when he heard his partner's words, and then began to quip again:

"Do you think the Nets should find an All-Star partner for Kidd?"

"He's only 31 years old and he's still at the peak of his career, which is not a good idea!"

Rivers knew his partner was saying that All-Star players in their prime, but he had a different idea:

"The Knicks have four All-Stars, and they have two of the best defensive players on the perimeter this year."

'If you want to play against a team like that, you have to have enough star players.

The two held different points of view, and as the pause ended, they stopped delving into the topic.

In the last two minutes, the Nets' bench players did not show much energy, and the referees stopped blowing their whistles, and the game ran out quickly.

At 114:92, the final hum sounded, and the Continental Airlines arena became the home of the Knicks again.

“wow！”

The team got match point and watched a great game, and the emotional New York fans cheered loudly in celebration.

The Nets were in the early player tunnel, and Li You waved to the fans in his training uniform before coming to Craig Sager.

As a sideline reporter for TNT, Craig Sagar has also been concerned about ratings recently, and when he saw Lee You's wet hair, he immediately quipped:

"If you can see this kind of form in every game, everyone doesn't have to worry about ratings!"

"43 points, a new high in the playoffs this season, Lee, congratulations on getting match points, how would you evaluate your opponent tonight?"

Played 40 minutes, 15-of-24, 7-of-12 from beyond the three-point line, 6-of-7 from the free throw line, 43 points, 6 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 steal and 1 turnover.

After getting two pairs of data, Li You was in a good mood, and when he heard such a question, he also answered seriously:

"The Nets are a strong opponent! It's great to be able to experience a game like this in the semi-finals. ”

"It doesn't matter if we win or lose, it's the third time we've met in the playoffs, I love this tough opponent and if I have the possibility, I still want to play against the Nets next season!"

Craig Sagar felt that Kidd definitely didn't want to encounter Li You again, and when he thought of the subsequent division finals, he couldn't help but ask again:

"Li, what kind of expectations do you have for the next divisional finals?"

Li You smiled, he knew that the Knicks would most likely encounter a strong defensive team:

"Just stay fit, we'll win this year!"

On Sunday, May 9, the sports media also discussed the points made by Rivers during the game as they reflected on last night's game:

"How do you play against a super team?"

The conclusion of the ESPN critics is:

"Find another superstar and build a lineup around the superstar."

Stephen A. Smith is the only ball critic on the show who disagrees with this view:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have to be aware that in the history of the NBA, no one has played like Lee."

"Lee can shoot from 26 feet, and he can also rely on his excellent dribbling skills to get to his sweet spot to score."

"The most important thing is that Lee is physically strong, he is no longer the little thin boy who first entered the league, he is not afraid of confrontation, and his shooting rate under the basket is more than 70%."

"Even if it is another 10 years, there will be no superstar like Lee who plays again!"

In the studio, Tim Leegler, who had just joined the show during the playoffs, wanted to speak, Smith glanced at him, smiled and said slowly:

"Don't question my conclusion, Legler, you're a great three-point shooter, but Lee is different, he's more of a three-pointer with the ball."

"You should know the difference, no one can play like Lee!"

Tim Legler, a three-point contest winner, has indeed been an excellent shooter in his career, and he knows the difference between catch-and-shoot and ball-handling shots:

"Of course I do! But the basketball is 5 people, and the Nets just responded that there was a problem with the ball. ”

"Kidd scored just 12 points on 3-of-14 shooting, and although he had 12 assists, the core players were destined to win."

"I insist that the Nets should change their core players if they want to go further!"

The host, Stuart Scott, heard the topic deflection and hurriedly reminded him:

"We're talking about how the Nets are going to beat the Knicks in this series."

Smith laughed again, Legler, who had just joined the show, was no match for him at all, and tactically leaned back and raised his voice and said:

"No one can beat the Knicks this season, Lee is unstoppable, and head coach D'Antoni brings out the best in the team."

"We're going to see the Knicks dominate the league again!"

“.”

In the synchronous game last night, at 89:94, the Timberwolves pulled one back, and the big score came to 1:1.

The big three all played well in this game, but there was not much discussion after the game.

The Kings scored only 12 points in the first quarter, and Chris Webb made a 1-of-7 shooting and scored 2 points to set the tone for the game.

Garnett was outstanding, shooting 8-of-16 from the field to record 28 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 6 blocks and 4 turnovers.

Although he got the highest score in the game, no one discussed the MVP performance the next day.

About to fly to the away game, Garnett also gave an interview before leaving.

Regarding the discussion of whether to form a superteam to fight the Knicks, the tough guy expressed disdain:

"A true superstar doesn't need to team up with anyone else to win the title!"

"Only softies would choose to take shortcuts, and I would never leave the Timberwolves for a championship."

Garnett's words offended many people, and several members of the Lakers felt that they were mocking them!

There was also G3 of the Spurs and Lakers that night, and in an interview before the game, O'Neal did not say no to the same question when asked the same question.

After all, it was he who recruited two out-of-fashion veterans in the offseason, and O'Neal just wants to rely on more star players to beat the opponent

During the afternoon warm-up, O'Neal was extra focused, because he couldn't lose tonight's game, and in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he simply responded:

"I don't know the definition of a superteam, the Lakers used to have a lot of All-Stars, but I don't think we're a superteam."

When asked if the Lakers will recruit more young All-Star players in the future, O'Neal only said vaguely:

"I just want to win the championship and if I can work with star players, that's a good thing!"

'I'm not going to say no to sharing the ball because I know I'm not young anymore.'

"I want to take the last chance to win more titles, and for that, I'm willing to make sacrifices."

After several years of beatings, O'Neill is the player who knows Li You's strength best.

Compared to Garnett, who showed his tough attitude, the sharks seem to be planning to take shortcuts!

The reporter of the Los Angeles Times felt a little unhappy when he heard O'Neal's answer, but fortunately, the Lakers also have tough guys, and Kobe Bryant, who was interviewed, held his head high and disdained the super team:

"I'm not interested in sharing the ball because I'm the best shooting guard in the league!"

"I don't need to build a super team to lead the Lakers to win championships!"

In that night's game, Kobe Bryant did what he said and once again blew up the Spurs' outside line:

He was 7-of-13, 4-of-7 from beyond the three-point line, and 4-of-8 from the free-throw line, scoring 22 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 5 turnovers.

O'Neal was 11-of-13, 6-of-11 from the free-throw line, and scored 28 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 8 blocks and 2 turnovers, showing his dominance on the inside.

In addition, Payton and Malone did not lag behind, and F4 played together, and the Lakers pulled one back.

At 81:105, the Spurs lost to their opponents with Duncan 4-of-14 and 10 points in a rage.

On May 10th, after a full day of rest, the Nets and Knicks ushered in the G4 game.

In the battle of honor that night, Kidd still didn't find his shooting touch.

Coupled with a drop in defensive intensity, the Continental Airlines arena became the home of the Knicks again at the end of the first quarter.

34:21, a double-digit point difference, seems to indicate that the Nets are about to be swept.

During the break, Kidd was silent, he never gave interviews, and he no longer communicated with the coaching staff, and the whole person was in a state of autism.

The cheers in the arena made Kidd a little uncomfortable, and he was a little wavering when he thought of the topics discussed by the ball critics in the past two days:

"Super team? Nothing bad seems to be there."