On December 17, 1996, the Knicks welcomed the Utah Jazz at home.

After a series of abuses, he finally met a strong opponent.

With 18 wins and 3 losses, the Jazz currently lead the Western Conference, and their record is just better than that of the Rockets, who form the aging Big Three.

Chris Childs has performed well recently. The new player has successfully squeezed out Charlie Ward's playing time. Jeff Van Gundy's favorite player has recently fallen out of the rotation at the No. 1 position.

The Jazz's starting lineup remains unchanged, with John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek partnering in the backcourt, Brian Russell and Karl Malone on the front line, and Greg, who is 2.18 meters tall, at center.

Ostertag.

Although Karl Malone and Stockton are older, after adding Hornacek, the Jazz led by Jerry Sloan have become more and more courageous, and their record has become more and more outstanding in the past two years.

The iron-blooded coach stood on the sidelines with his arms folded calmly after the start. He would only loudly remind the players on the court when the team was defending.

On the other side, Jeff Van Gundy shouted loudly. He just boasted in front of the New York media in the last game, and naturally he didn’t want to be slapped in the face.

After the opening, Ewing missed a hook shot close to the basket, and then followed suit with a mid-range jumper near the baseline on the right side.

The Jazz's big center Ostertag played a key role, squatting on defense and stalling the Knicks' offense.

The offense didn't start, and Charles Oakley didn't make it easy for Malone with his tough defense. In addition to hitting a hot jumper from the right elbow after the opening, he also missed the next two attempts at the frame.

With 6 minutes and 26 seconds left in the first quarter, the Knicks violated the 24-second rule and the score was still 8:8.

"Shhh!!"

The boos gradually started to rise, and the New York fans couldn't stand it anymore as they watched the fierce offense and defense of both sides.

As Hornacek's breakthrough caused a foul on Larry Johnson, Li You took advantage of the free throw time to replace the starter Childs.

Hearing the New York fans at the scene cheering for Li You, who was standing outside the three-point line, Stockton looked at it expressionlessly, and then stopped paying attention.

The Jazz were naturally prepared before the game. After Hornacek made two free throws, everyone quickly retreated and Stockton called on his teammates to defend.

"Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks!"

The scene once again erupted with loud cheers, and the fans were looking forward to the home team's vigorous attack.

Both are short guards, but Stockton's defense is completely different from Hardaway's.

When he saw Li You holding the ball with his right hand near the top of the arc, Patrick Ewing stepped out to prepare for a pick-and-roll, and Stockton took the initiative to defend.

Li You could notice the movements of the old guy's hands, quickly changed the direction of his hips, switched to his left hand, and immediately circled the ball behind his back.

After taking the initiative to distance himself, Li You moved sideways to protect the ball. When Ewing moved up and stood at the top of the arc, his shoulders swayed, he suddenly lowered his center of gravity, and turned around.

Picking up the ball with his left hand, Li You immediately accelerated, leaning against Ewing's body, and broke through on the left side.

Ewing did not move down quickly, but stood firm and tried his best to delay the pursuing Stockton. The big man Ostertag, who was forced to switch defenses, noticed that Li You had lowered his center of gravity and subconsciously moved towards him.

Then he took a step forward.

Li You got rid of Stockton's entanglement and observed that the big man failed to delay in time. He dribbled across the three-point line and immediately exerted force with his feet. He took a sharp step back and returned to the outside of the three-point line. He quickly combined the ball and shot a jump shot.

!

"Whoa!" The three-pointer hit the net!

At 10:11, in less than 12 seconds, the Knicks completed their attack.

Ewing saw Stockton stop beside him and started to frown, and immediately smiled and high-fived Li You in celebration.

"Coach Van Gundy made the right choice, Lee will punish the opposing defense!"

Feeling that the arena had become noisy again, commentator Marv Albert also praised the substitution operation.

John Andaris noticed that Sloan still looked calm on the sidelines. He just made a simple gesture and immediately added:

"It seems that the Jazz are well prepared. In recent games, Lee has received more and more targeted defenses!"

The Jazz's offense was not only initiated by Stockton. When Malone received the pass in the left block, everyone also started running. There was no 1 vs. 4 situation at all.

Li You followed Stockton and ran back to the baseline, not giving the opponent a chance to catch the ball, while the big man Ostertag inside simply moved to the paint area.

Karl Malone took advantage of the situation and sent a lob pass. After receiving the ball, Ostertag did not let go of the ball. He raised it high and completed the throw right in front of the basket in the paint area.

Patrick Ewing's jump interference worked, and the basketball missed the frame.

Malone, who sent the pass, squeezed hard towards the basket. Oakley was not to be outdone. The two took off at the same time. In the end, Oakley relied on his advantageous position to protect the backboard with difficulty.

"Fake! Don't let me find a chance!"

When he was blocked, he was pinched by Malone. Oakley handed the ball to Li You who was receiving the ball and immediately cursed.

Noticing that the Jazz had completed their defensive positioning again, Li You quickly moved across half court, and Li You immediately signaled Alan Houston to come to the right wing to receive the ball.

For example, after making a tactical gesture, Li You immediately gave the ball to Alan Houston. At the same time, Ewing quickly came to the top line to cover.

At the top of the arc, Li You first pretended to cut in from the middle, then suddenly reversed and, with the help of Ewing's cover, cut in diagonally from the right flank.

Stockton thought this was a simple UCLA cut-in tactic, and after squeezing through the screen, he desperately pursued Li You.

The imagined pass did not appear. Li You cut in and quickly ran to the left corner. At the same time, Alan Houston, who was on the line, quickly threw the ball to Larry Johnson on the left wing.

The ball was moved up the line, and Oakley, who was near the baseline on the left, also provided a timely screen for Li You.

When the old guy was covering, he lowered his center of gravity and bent his knees to covertly hit the pursuing Stockton's left thigh.

Scottoton, who was pursuing the defense with all his strength, was staggered and completely lost his defensive position.

When Li You came to the left corner, there was no one in front of him. Malone realized something was wrong and had no time to defend. He watched Li You catch the ball and make an open jump shot!

"Whoa!" Another three-pointer!

Larry Johnson and Li You, who sent the pass, high-fived in celebration. On the other side, Oakley looked at Stockton, who was sitting on the floor rubbing his thighs. He turned to Karl Malone and grinned:

"Dude, don't leave New York lying down!"

The old guy knocked Stockton off the field with one move, ignoring the ugly Malone, and when he returned to defense, he greeted Li You with a smile:

"Li, learn more! These are valuable experiences!"

Li You looked at Stockton who was lamely walking to the bench, felt the joyful atmosphere of Madison Square Garden again, and nodded immediately:

“On the basketball court, there is knowledge everywhere”

Thanks to book friends for collecting(﹃)
Chapter completed!