Chapter 76 "Master-disciple" contest (10,000-word chapter)

For Anfernee Hardaway, having less than 40 points in the first half of two consecutive games in this year's playoffs was a nightmare.

In the first round G2 of the Eastern Conference, the Magic played the Knicks at 31:58. At halftime, the Magic were already 27 points behind.

The overwhelming sarcasm in Madison Square Garden made Hardaway's eyes wide open. This was an experience he had never experienced before.

Such a huge point difference also means that the game is over, and the Knicks will not waste such an opportunity.

Li You in the starting lineup and Chris Childs on the bench firmly control the rhythm of the game. As long as they can keep up with the response to the ball, it will be another 3 quarters tonight.

Back in the locker room at midfield, Alan Houston felt completely comfortable. Last year, he and Grant Hill were swept out of the playoffs by Hardaway and O'Neal in the first round. This year, they have successfully avenged themselves:

"With 13 points in a single quarter, it seems we can sweep our opponents!"

Everyone nodded when they heard Alan Houston's words. The Magic's disappointing performance, and the series was 3:0, shouldn't be a problem.

Although the opponent lacked a main insider, the game ended like this, which was far beyond "aunt's" expectations. It was really easy.

"In this year's first round, the probability is 3:0."

Larry Johnson also felt that the game was easy, and he also knew that the Heat had already got the match point, and the opponent did not give the Hornets any chance.

"Auntie" felt a little uncomfortable when she saw the Hornets losing cleanly.

Glenn Rice, who dominated the regular season, still performed well in the playoffs, but the entire team was unable to do anything against the Heat's iron-blooded defense, and G2 lost another 12 points.

"Winning the game early will also give you more rest time."

Ewing simply reminded everyone that the Heat have a high probability of sweeping their opponents, and the Gorillas don't want the Knicks to suffer in the rest time, after all, the veteran's recovery ability is poor.

Although Li You feels that Hardaway will definitely break out after returning to the home court, the other players on the Magic team are really a bit stretched.

Averaged only 94.1 points per game in the regular season, and the Magic's scoring ability ranked fifth in the league. This situation did not change in the playoffs.

With the huge point difference, Jeff Van Gundy didn't give too many instructions after returning to the locker room. This game could not be lost at all.

After the second half of the game started, the New York fans' emotions remained unabated and they still cheered loudly for the home team and mocked "Mr. 50 Points" by the way.

The Magic recovered, but they ran out of time. Hardaway kept scoring points, and what Li You needed to do was control the rhythm of the game and put the ball in the right position.

Occasionally, when Hardaway is not paying attention, he sneaks into the basket and easily scores points.

Throughout the second half, the two sides played lively. In the fourth quarter, Hardaway did not give up. The Knicks played with him for 6 minutes, and then coach Adubatu changed to the atmosphere team.

At 84:108, at the end of the game, Hardaway, who was sitting on the bench, looked at the 24-point difference with his eyes blank.

Winning the game by a big score made the New York fans at the scene wildly mock the Magic.

In the MSG commentary box, commentator Marv Albert said with emotion:

"At 19 years and 117 days old, Lee surpassed Magic Johnson and became the youngest player in NBA playoff history to score 15 points and 10 assists!"

"This record set in 1980 has also been broken. What an incredible young man."

Played 35 minutes, made 6 of 12, 3 of 7 from beyond the arc, 2 of 2 free throws, 17 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, and 2 steals. Just like the regular season, Li You posted an "extraordinary" double-double.

Breaking Magic Johnson's record also made commentator John Andaris a little excited:

"It's hard to imagine that Li is only 19 years old. He has talents that no one can see. Only by watching the game will you understand how good he is."

"Controlling the rhythm of the game is not an easy task. The Knicks have made fewer mistakes this season and increased the number of rounds. This is all the result of Lee starting the game!"

"."

His mature mentality prevents Li You from being as impulsive as ordinary young players, and his excellent memory allows him to always predict the opponent's tactical routines in advance.

Making the offense more clear and reasonable is Li You's current job on the team.

Breaking Magic Johnson's record in the playoffs brought the New York media to a collective climax.

After the game, Li You and Ewing attended the press conference together, and Gorilla felt that he had been left out.

"Lee, how do you feel about breaking Magic Johnson's record in the playoffs?"

Li You didn't think there was anything special about this record. He couldn't immediately understand the mood of the New York media in the audience. He responded with a smile and held the microphone in front of him:

"This is just an ordinary playoff game, and I just completed the basic work, it's that simple."

"In the offensive round, if you give the ball to a teammate who successfully moves, you can get an assist!"

"."

After the game, not only the media in New York were in a climax, ESPN and TNT were also reporting on Li You breaking Magic Johnson's record.

Unlike the regular season, most sports commentators still value the playoffs more, and Magic Johnson has a higher status in the history of the NBA playoffs.

Breaking the record of this legendary star suddenly made Li You's popularity skyrocket.

Except for New York fans, most fans still have to go through cable TV broadcasts and newspapers and magazines if they want to know about the stars.

A record comes out every three to five, and even those who don't like watching the NBA will be curious and follow suit.

On April 28, the Heat defeated the Hornets again in an away game, sweeping their opponents with a final score of 3:0 and easily advancing to the semifinals!

Although Pat Riley has a high probability of losing the league's best coach award, the Heat team he built has clearly succeeded!

The league's best manager award will most likely go to Pat Riley, who plays two roles.

Also advanced were the Jazz, Stockton, Hornacek, and Karl Malone, who were as stable as ever and swept the Clippers with a big score of 3:0.

4 of 10, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 13 assists, 3 steals and 4 turnovers, Stockton easily produced his signature statistics!

Everyone from the Knicks team who had flown to Orlando watched the game together in the evening. Ewing was sore for a while. According to the recent trend, Karl Malone is really going to win the MVP!

"Do these sports reporters and broadcasters only look at statistics? Our performance is obviously not inferior to that of the Jazz!"

Charles Oakley really feels that he is old this time. The media are all building momentum for Karl Malone. Faced with this outrageous selection result, the old guy is also confused.

Starks was still younger after all, so he said sourly:

"In terms of PER, it is said that Karl Malone ranks first, surpassing Michael Jordan."

When everyone in the Knicks team heard this data, most of them had question marks on their faces, and expressions of "What is that?" appeared on their faces.

"It can be regarded as a numerical value that measures player efficiency, but this thing is not that objective, so it can only be used as a reference."

Li You explained briefly, but everyone still shook their heads, no one cared about it.

Most ordinary players just look at the number of shots and shooting percentage, and don't care about other data at all.

"This data alone denies Mykou. Such selection results are hard to believe!"

The atmosphere team also complained, believing that sports reporters and broadcasters were deliberately trying to trip up Michael Jordan.

Li You shrugged his shoulders and said nothing. As the time approaches May, the MVP award for this season will be announced soon. Gorilla has been having lemons every day lately:

"We are on a 64-win team, why can't he win the award?"

The reason is also very simple. Ewing's Excel is not beautiful enough, but within the Knicks, Li You's data performance is better.

This situation is a bit embarrassing. In addition to being better than Li You in terms of points per game, rebounds per game, shooting percentage, and blocks, Gorilla lags behind in all other aspects.

Excel is not the best in the Knicks, so how can most sports media vote for Ewing?

The boss was sulking again, so the atmosphere team had no choice but to go back to the room to rest. Tonight's card game was cancelled.

On the night of the 29th, the Magic team returned to their home court and fed the fans in the first quarter.

At 30:13, the Knicks led by 17 points at the start.

Attacking in front of the frame and playing continuously from behind, Hardaway kept taking shots in the first quarter, making 4 of 10 shots in a single quarter and scoring 9 points!

It's just that this performance was of no use. Li You couldn't guard him on the defensive end. On the offensive end, he didn't force the attack against the explosive Hardaway, but sent out 5 assists in a single quarter.

Ewing made 5 of 7 shots and easily scored 10 points and 8 rebounds. Alan Houston made 3 of 5 shots and 2 of 3 from beyond the three-point line, also scoring 8 points efficiently.

During the break, the home fans at the Orlando Arena began to boo. They bought tickets to watch the game, but they didn’t come here to eat!

Hardaway obviously wanted to compete with Li You. This fake Jordan successor felt sour in his heart when he saw Li You who was frequently on TV.

The first quarter of the game was strong, but Hardaway was completely discouraged by his teammates.

Li You, who was sitting on the bench, changed into his training clothes, ignored the shouts and curses behind him, and sat calmly in his seat. The moment the opponent chose to attack, the game was over.

"It feels really good to sweep the opponent. It seems that Hardaway doesn't plan to take a rest."

Alan Houston saw Hardaway still on the court in the second quarter and began to gloat. The 17-point deficit was not easy to catch up with.

"It's a useless attempt. The first quarter was all singles. They will definitely lose."

After coming back to his senses, Li You also saw Hardaway starting to score consecutively. He complained and continued to watch the situation on the court.

The Knicks really had no one who could match Hardaway at the No. 1 position, and Chris Childs couldn't defend the false successor to Jordan, and was scored consecutively by the opponent.

But on the bench, Starks has been getting better and better recently and can also score goals in response.

Although still lagging behind by a big score, Xiangwei Chocolate was able to eat, and the Magic fans at the scene began to cheer loudly for Hardaway's performance.

Hitting 8 of 11 in a single quarter, Hardaway scored 17 points, which was enough to destroy the Knicks' backcourt.

The half ended at 56:39, with no change in the score difference.

In three consecutive games, the half-time score did not exceed 40. Hardaway almost shut down on the spot and walked quickly back to the locker room with a grimace.
To be continued...