Chapter 75 “Breaking” a new record (8,000-word chapter)

On April 24, 1997, during the Game 1 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs between the Magic and the Knicks, the on-site director frequently focused the camera on Horace Grant on the Magic bench.

As a major player during the Bulls' three consecutive championships, "Cobra" Grant became the Magic's highest-paid player after O'Neal left the team.

But at this time, Grant could only sit on the bench with a serious expression. Frequent injuries at the end of the regular season made Grant miss the playoffs.

In the second quarter of the game, the two teams began to rotate personnel. The Magic team got the younger brother of "The Essence of Human Movies", Gerald Wilkins.

This man has played in New York for many years and basically contributed to this city during the peak period of his career.

Brian Shaw also played a rotation, and veteran Daniel Shayers was brought in inside.

Head coach Adubatu hoped that the rotation lineup could perform well, but unfortunately, the players who came on the rotation continued to play hard.

On the contrary, Starks began to break out. The 24-point difference was too much. The Knicks came on the bench without any pressure.

The second quarter lasted for more than two minutes, and the Magic only scored 2 points. Hardaway made a pull-up jumper from the left elbow area.

"Unfortunately, the Magic's main lineup has suffered injuries in turn, which has affected the integration of their lineup."

"If Hardaway and Grant remain healthy, perhaps the Magic's record will be better this season."

After frequent strikes, the points difference widened again, and the commentator, Marv Albert, also started to gossip.

"The Magic made the wrong choice to retain the core lineup. O'Neal and Hardaway may not be able to win the championship."

"The Bulls cannot remain dominant forever. I believe the Knicks will succeed. At least time is on our side."

Commentator John Andaris also followed the gossip and said that the Magic's decline is also a lesson. If a core player is let go for no reason, it will be extremely difficult to compete for the championship.

Just like at the end of the regular season, the Magic took on the bench and did not change much in their style of play. They fell behind by a big score and did not throw wildly three-pointers. Instead, they strengthened their defense and continued to finish near the paint area.

Li You, who was sitting on the bench, watched Hardaway quickly slip through the baseline, catch the ball in the left block, and then go to the basket, almost hitting Hatcher directly.

"Being so far behind, we are still playing the same way. It is difficult for us to lose this game."

One-on-one man-to-man defense was indeed difficult to restrict Hardaway. Li Youzai didn't care about the opponent's score and complained in a low voice.

"It's really difficult to chase points. If they miss 3-pointers and lose rebounds, they may lose even more. With a three-point shooting rate of over 30%, Hardaway is indeed not an excellent shooter."

Alan Houston also completely relaxed. With a huge lead, the main lineup could fully rest before coming on the scene in the second half of the second quarter. After the third quarter, they basically clocked in and went home.

Li You was a little envious of Hardaway's confrontation. Breaking through and attacking the basket required players to choose a good angle. In this era, defenders are extremely oppressive, so it is very important to maintain their breakthrough route after the confrontation.

Facing most of the league's backcourts, Li You doesn't have much trouble, but when encountering forward players, the opponent's rough defensive methods will often force him to shift, thus losing the established breakthrough route:

"Still need more muscle and strength."

Hardaway, who is anxious on the court, no longer frequently assists his teammates, but instead relies on his personal ability to continuously score points.

The New York fans at the scene were already crazy with joy. After more than half a quarter of the game, the Magic only scored 8 points!

At 18:49, the point difference has reached 31 points.

There were 5 minutes and 20 seconds left in the first half before the Knicks' main lineup reappeared.

Hardaway has completely lost his composure at this time. It seems difficult to understand why his teammates are always banging the iron, and many rounds are clearly open!

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

In the first offensive round after coming on the court, Hardaway began to lead the entire defense, trying to cause Li You to make mistakes.

The two started to struggle from the half-court, and the oppressive defense did not have much effect. Li You simply stopped suddenly, dribbled behind his back, accelerated, turned around, then turned sideways to protect the ball, and quickly rushed through the center line.

By the end of the regular season, most players in the league no longer know how to guard Li You, and Hardaway's mentality is obviously explosive.

Ewing's screen at the top of the arc only hung up for a moment, and then he quickly moved down and took away Magic center Ronny Sekali.

Li You, who broke through on the left side, suddenly led the ball forward with his left hand. Taking advantage of Hardaway's desperate sliding, he dribbled across the three-point line and immediately blasted the ball vigorously on the spot.

Hardaway quickly adjusted his center of gravity, and when he saw Li You's push changing direction, he immediately slid to the left.

Unable to get the expected shooting space, after completing the change, Li You dribbled the ball behind his back, quickly retreated, returned to outside the three-point line, and feinted with the ball at the top of the arc!

Hardaway, who was anxious, immediately jumped up to defend. He realized something was wrong when he was flying in the air. Li You, who successfully made a time difference, jumped up, hung up on the defense, and threw the ball to the basket.

"squeak!"

"Bang!"

The basketball was hit head-on into the basket. Li You was slightly startled for a moment, then hurriedly faced the audience, raised his hands and smiled pretending

"There were extra penalties! Lee tricked Hardaway, and God, how did he put the ball in!"

Commentator Marv Albert screamed in excitement, while Hardaway, who was tricked into committing a foul, walked aside in frustration without any excuse.

Li You stood on the free throw line and just took the basketball. The New York fans at the scene began to shout loudly:

"MVP! MVP! MVP!"

The shouts of the fans made Ewing frown slightly. This season, he has not been treated like this.

With Li You hitting the extra free throw steadily, the point difference went to 40 points.

Jeff Van Gundy, who was sitting on the bench, also showed a proud look.

Compared to Adubatu, who stood on the sidelines and kept shouting loudly, the bald young coach's performance while sitting firmly on the bench did have a hint of the style of a famous coach.

In the second half of the second quarter, the Knicks' offense became smoother and smoother with a completely free hand. Larry Johnson also hit a three-pointer on the left wing.

The opponent's interior defense intensity has dropped, and Ewing only needs to get in position, catch the ball, turn around and put the basket up to score.

At the end of the first half, Charles Oakley stopped rushing for offensive rebounds. The point difference was too big, and the old guy also took advantage of the situation.

When Li You cut in without the ball and received a pass from Ewing in the right block, he didn't stop the ball when he came to the basket, threw the ball onto the backboard, and then quickly retreated from defense.

The basketball just passed Hardaway's fingertips, hit the board high and fell into the basket accurately!

This time he scored, Hardaway was so angry that he raised his hand to indicate a substitution and stopped playing.

Coach Adubatu immediately requested a timeout and replaced Anfernee Hardaway, who was getting worse and worse.

Near the end of the first half, Li You's ultra-long three-pointer from the midfield position circled around the basket before falling out.

This caused the New York fans at the scene to cheer and feel explosive!

32:64, there is no suspense in the game anymore, the Knicks only need to wait for the opponent to change to the atmosphere team.

"A very exciting first half. We played an extremely efficient offense. This is an even better offense than the regular season!"

"Lee made 4 of 6 in the half, 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, 1 of 1 free throw, 12 points, 1 rebound and 6 assists. I think his performance was even better than Hardaway's."

Commentator Marv Albert also didn't forget that Hardaway mocked Li You as a "star-making product" before the game, and started to fight back with a smile.

"Undoubtedly, the data has already illustrated some problems. In the league's backcourt, it is difficult to find a player whose overall strength can match Li's!"

Commentator John Andaris also began to praise Li You's performance.

Although the New York media always compares data at different times, this is also a manifestation of strength.

The two of them had a heated exchange in the commentary box, but when everyone on the Magic team returned to the locker room, they had lost their temper. No matter how thick the chicken soup was, it was useless. There was already a 32-point difference.

In several games during the regular season, the Magic lost by up to 21 points, and the only game they won was by only 4 points.

All the psychological massage before the game was useless. The Knicks, with 64 wins, were significantly ahead of the teams in the bottom half!

Coach Adubatu didn't hear Hardaway's complaints during the halftime break, and he was relieved. No matter how big the score difference was, the third quarter had to be played.

After the second half of the game started, the Knicks were not interested in executing the pre-game plan, especially since their opponents were still trying to make a run and switch offenses to maintain the point difference.

Every time Hardaway hit the ball on the court, Li You would help him count. After hearing "Three", the fake Jordan successor could no longer hold back.

He turned around angrily and was about to push forward, but Oakley, who had been prepared, blocked him.

Before he could open his mouth to speak, he was knocked up and staggered.

"Looking for something else to do, man?"

Most of the players from both teams were in the paint. As soon as Oakley made a sound, everyone on the Magic team quickly pulled Hardaway behind them. With this point difference, there was a conflict and he was suspended and suffered a blood loss.

The referee pulled Hardaway away, which was the protagonist of the series.

Charles Oakley was already a little bored on the court. In the past, at this time, he would have taken action.

It's just that the score difference is too big tonight. In addition to rebounding, the old guy wants to take a rest.

"Charles, come down and rest for a while!"

Jeff Van Gundy quickly stood up and asked veteran Buck Williams to play. Seeing that the opponent had no intention of changing the atmosphere group, he could only follow the opponent's lead.

In the third quarter, the Knicks were all about scoring and attacking. Ewing caught the ball in the low post and attacked the inside.

Gorilla is very efficient, hitting and shooting continuously on the left and right sides of the paint area.

Li You and Alan Houston were responsible for the response, and the Magic's inside line soon became unable to withstand the situation.

At 17:26 of the single quarter, the New York fans at the scene began to celebrate the victory.

At 49:90, the score difference came to 41 points.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, head coach Adubatu quickly changed to the atmosphere team. This was already a tragedy.

The New York fans who bought tickets to watch the game are still booing loudly, trying to intensify the atmosphere on the stage and make the Magic team the headline of tomorrow's sports section.
To be continued...