The newbie Allen Iverson put the coach's words behind him as soon as he came on the court. He took the ball from the baseline and rushed forward with the ball.
Arriving at the top of the arc, Iverson, holding the ball in his right hand, did not call for a pick-and-roll. He dribbled the ball under his hips, stopped suddenly and switched to his left hand. Then he changed direction significantly in front of him and accelerated the breakthrough with the ball in his right hand.
Li You, who was facing off, was very familiar with this move. He predicted the opponent's offensive line and followed it with a quick slide.
Iverson faced the defense, quickly broke through to the right elbow of the free throw line, then quickly dribbled the ball under his hips, stopped again, slightly opened up a shot space, immediately combined the ball, and released a fadeaway jumper!
"Whoa!" A steady hit from mid-range.
At 32:37, the score difference returned to 5 points.
This type of quick stop and start relies entirely on physical fitness. Li You has no choice. The small man's center of gravity is too low, so he can only give physical confrontation and look forward to Iverson's shooting.
The exclamations that erupted in the Madison Square Garden Arena made Iverson, who had just come on the court, cheer up and keep clapping his hands to encourage himself. After Li You received the baseline ball, he immediately led the defense closely.
Iverson's ferocious rush did not cause too much trouble to Li You. He circled the ball behind his back and continued to accelerate against the defense with the ball in his right hand.
Near the midline, Li You quickly dribbled the ball behind his back. After an emergency stop, he took advantage of Iverson to grab the ball and suddenly changed direction with his hips, lowered his center of gravity, held the ball in his right hand and accelerated again, dribbling steadily across the half court.
Iverson, who lost his defensive position, desperately pursued the defense and once again got to Li You's side. After a quick slide, he completed the defense immediately.
The two faced each other at the top of the arc, and the New York fans who liked to watch the excitement immediately stood up and started cheering loudly.
All the players on the court also knowingly pulled away in turn, leaving room for the two to fight.
The cheers of the fans deepened Iverson's self-excited state, and he quickly rushed towards Li You, trying to complete the defense by pressing...
Li You, who was holding the ball in his right hand, was speechless at such a defensive move. When Iverson pounced on him, he immediately moved sideways to protect the ball.
While steadily protecting the ball, Li You suddenly blasted the ball with his right hand on the spot, shook his shoulders back, pretended to turn around, then suddenly lowered his center of gravity, pushed the ball quickly with his right hand, twisted his body forward, and accelerated the breakthrough with all his strength.
Iverson, who made the wrong defensive choice, was first stunned by the fake move, and then followed his body reaction and slid desperately to the left rear.
Li You found that he could not get rid of Iverson's defense, broke through to the right elbow of the free throw line, and quickly dribbled behind his back.
After an emergency stop, Li You grabbed the ball with his left hand, paused briefly, and quickly blasted the ball on the spot again. Taking advantage of Iverson's fierce defense, he immediately pushed the ball and changed its direction.
Sparing no effort to defend and steal, Iverson was unable to quickly return to the anti-slip step and completely lost his defensive position. In the end, he could only stay in place and watched Li You stop in the middle distance and make an easy jump shot!
"Whoa!" The ball was scored steadily from mid-range.
At 32:39, Li You responded quickly.
The audience first exclaimed, and then started cheering loudly, especially when they saw Li You shaking his head at Iverson again, and the noise became even louder...
Taking advantage of Iverson catching the ball at the bottom line, Li You also suddenly grabbed the ball, and then quickly distanced himself, while also stimulating the opponent:
"How many times will you lose tonight?"
As soon as I saw Li You's smiling face, Iverson was furious. After releasing the ball with his right hand, he rushed forward. He quickly pushed the ball to change direction while traveling, and he passed half the court in the blink of an eye...
Unlike Li You who relied on fake moves and dribbling rhythm to break through, Iverson came to the top of the arc and stopped suddenly again, then quickly dribbled the ball under his hips, switched to his right hand and accelerated again.
Without any fancy moves, Iverson relied entirely on speed to seize most of his position. Li You lost his defensive position and cursed in his heart.
The two came to the paint area, and Iverson leaned forward to complete the basket. The basketball hit the board high and fell into the basket accurately...
"God! It's so fast! What an amazing talent!"
The commentator Marv Albert could only sigh. After Iverson completed the attack, he watched Li Youbang beat his chest and was completely excited...
Still maintaining a very aggressive defense, Iverson has not given up yet, and seems to want to use fierce pressing to kill Li You once.
Li You speeded up his dribbling rhythm at this time, and also increased the intensity of his shots. Whether he was dribbling behind his back or changing direction with his hips, his speed suddenly accelerated.
The same offensive method, but this time Li You suddenly turned around quickly after blasting the ball again. While grabbing the ball with his left hand, he lowered his center of gravity, grabbed half of his body, and accelerated the breakthrough from the left wing against Iverson's defense.
Iverson also cursed secretly. Li You was a head taller than him and a little bigger than him. Under passive defense, he was stuck behind Li You's rapid gyro-turn while walking.
The extraordinary bullet speed allowed Iverson to effectively block the shot, and Li You, who turned around and came to the paint area, grabbed the ball with one hand with his right hand, dodged in the air, then twisted his wrist, raised the arc and threw the ball towards the backboard!
After hitting the board high, the basketball circled around the basket and finally fell into the basket.
34:41, the point difference is still 7 points.
"oh!!"
The wonderful offense made the New York fans at the scene scream with joy.
In the following minutes, the two no longer fought one-on-one, but the two sides fought faster and faster.
The guard-driven game was more transitional and breakaway plays were more frequent.
Iverson still rushed hard, relying on his personal speed to constantly hit the basket. Li You played more pick-and-rolls, trying to get everyone involved in the offense.
After repeated runs without the ball, Alan Houston once again shook off the defense and came to the left wing beyond the three-point line. After receiving a pass from Li You, he raised the ball and threw it!
"Whoa!" The three-pointer hit the net!
Alan Houston breathed a sigh of relief. Adding in the number of shots taken in the first quarter, he was 1 of 6. He finally scored...
At 40:48, the Knicks widened the point difference again.
After the 76ers acquired Stackhouse, Iverson also gave up some shooting opportunities and devoted more energy to the defensive end.
Li You's offense was also affected by the dogged defense of Niubi Tang.
In this offense, Li You hit the iron again outside the three-point line on the left wing. Iverson was about to taunt him, but Larry Johnson, who came on the rotation, grabbed the rebound and caused Coleman to foul again.
Jeff Van Gundy took the opportunity to replace Li You, and Charlie Ward reappeared.
"Good job!"
Patting Li You on the shoulder, Van Gundy, who was out of control, smiled and sent encouragement.
Looking at the bald young marshal, Li You smiled and nodded in response. He high-fived the host on the bench before sitting down in his seat.
Commentator John Andaris in the commentary box saw that Li You had put on his coat and said with some regret:
"Lee played for 8 minutes and 53 seconds, almost taking over the team's scoring in the second quarter. Coach Van Gundy should give him more playing time."
6 of 8, 2 of 4 from beyond the arc, 3 of 3 free throws, 17 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal. The picky New York fans were very satisfied at this time and cheered and applauded Li You after he came off the court.
Commentator Marv Albert jokingly added:
"Perhaps the national broadcast made Alan Houston too nervous. He played more like a rookie tonight, otherwise Lee's assists would have been two more."
In the last 4 minutes of the second quarter, the main lineup returned, and Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson began to take turns attacking in the low post.
Coupled with the constant fighting for offensive rebounds, Iverson's transition offense completely disappeared, and his two attacks on the frame also followed suit.
At the critical moment, Stackhouse's two three-pointers helped the 76ers tighten the score, but the New York fans at the scene could tell that the opponent would not be able to stand up!
At the end of the half, the score was fixed at 49:57, and the Knicks entered the second half with an 8-point lead.
There was no need for Van Gundy's chicken soup to stimulate him. Ewing made 4 of 11 shots in the half and only scored 8 points. He didn't want to be upstaged by the rookie. In the third quarter, he exerted all his strength and kept asking for the ball.
The 76ers' defense failed to withstand the gorilla's impact, shooting 6 of 9 in a single quarter. Ewing scored 12 points and 7 rebounds...
Except for Alan Houston, everyone in the main lineup played the entire third quarter...
73:83, after three quarters, the Knicks have achieved a double-digit lead.
Although the game was about to be won, the fans at the scene felt that it was not enough. Iverson also exploded in the third quarter, shooting 5 of 7 and 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, scoring 15 points efficiently. Everyone wanted to see the guards interact with each other. Biao:
"We want Lee!..."
There were only scattered shouts at first, but seeing Charlie Ward still on the court in the 4th quarter, the voices got louder and louder.
Alan Houston, who was also sitting on the bench, joked in a low voice to Li You beside him:
"Listen to these shouts, you've become a big star!"
Li You shrugged his shoulders, smiled and said nothing. It was everyone's freedom to watch whoever the audience wanted to see. All he had to do was wait for the opportunity:
"Old guys will always get in trouble, time is on my side!"
