On March 1, 1998, the Knicks faced the Lakers at home. After three quarters, the score was 71:71.
Li You, who took a break in the second half of the third quarter, came on immediately in the fourth quarter.
Except for Chris Dudley being replaced inside, the Knicks regained their main lineup at the beginning of the 4th quarter.
The same goes for the Lakers, with 39 wins and 16 losses. At the end of the regular season, coach Harris doesn't want to lose easily, and the Jazz have already caught up.
"Defense! Defense! Defense!"
The defensive cheers echoed throughout Madison Square Garden, and Derek Fisher, who got a chance to start tonight due to Van Exel's injury, was cautiously dribbling across half court.
O'Neal was constantly entangled with Chris Dudley in the low post on the left. When he encountered a forward defense, he suddenly turned and rushed to the basket. Unfortunately, the opportunity passed in a flash and Fisher failed to send the pass in time.
On the left wing, Fisher was still protecting the ball with his back. In order to cut off the connection between the defender and the center, Li You led the defense throughout the game.
There was no chance inside. Eddie Jones quickly bounced out to the right wing. Fisher turned around and immediately sent a cross pass.
As soon as the basketball was released, Li You completed the steal!
Amid the cheers of the fans at the scene, Li You quickly led the ball forward with his left hand, jumped forward with his body, and after catching the ball again, he immediately accelerated and rushed forward.
Fisher quickly retreated in frustration, barely catching up to Li You and unable to cause much interference.
After the two came to the paint area, Li You didn't make too many moves. He rushed up with three big strides against the opponent, and after the aerial confrontation, he waited for Fisher to foul.
Realizing that he was unable to defend effectively, Felscher struggled to block the shot and tried to control his body to avoid fouls. In the end, he could only watch Li You stretch his body and pick up the basket with his left hand!
"Wow!"
The steal was completed at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and the New York fans at the scene began to cheer loudly again. Coach Harris glared at Fisher on the sidelines, obviously very dissatisfied with this round.
Li You didn't look at the other person either. He was not interested in competing with the small character in front of him, and this indifferent attitude also made Fisher feel sour.
As both sophomores, the two are no longer players at the same level.
The defensive cheers sounded again, and the Lakers quickly took a baseline kick. Before half time, Fisher was defended by Li You again.
This kind of sliding without any effort will indeed consume a lot of Li You's physical energy.
But unlike last season, after realizing some of his talents, physical fitness is no longer an issue.
There was no cutting action, Li You just used his feet to fight, and then strengthened his hand movements, pulling and supporting the waist in one go.
Fisher, who was never able to get up to speed and kept using his ball protector to fight against Li You, was unable to advance quickly. When he came to the right wing, O'Neal asked for the ball in the low post again, this time with Oakley on top.
The two had been fighting from the blocking position to the low position on the right side near the baseline. O'Neal was very impatient by Oakley's pulling and elbowing. It was rare that he blocked the opponent but failed to receive the pass.
Instead, when he regained his position, O'Neal received a low-quality lob pass from Fisher.
After receiving the ball, he had already reached the right blocking area. O'Neal had just released the ball with his left hand. As a result, Li You gave up on Fisher and immediately double-teamed him.
Oakley blocked the baseline and tried hard to prevent O'Neal from turning around and going to the baseline, but Li You got on the shark and kept interfering at the same time.
Under the attack from the front and back, O'Neal hurriedly combined the ball, and the position of receiving the ball was too high, so he could only throw the ball to Fisher, who was open on the right wing.
After receiving the pass, there was no one in front of him. Fisher took a look and then swung the ball behind his head!
"state!"
The long rebound popped up and was immediately collected by Alan Houston. Without giving the opponent a chance to retreat quickly, he controlled the ball and rushed through the half court.
Eddie Jones retreated quickly, but his defensive position retreated too deep. When Alan Houston rushed into the paint, he suddenly played a trick.
He accelerated with the ball in his left hand, suddenly changed direction with his hips, slowed down slightly and switched to his right hand. He completed the ball around behind his back. Alan Houston easily shook off Eddie Jones, came to the basket and put the basket with his left hand.
"Nice counterattack! It seems that Lee really affected his teammates. Such actions have not been seen in Houston in the past."
Commentator Mike Breen smiled and praised that he is not worried about the Knicks' offense. If the game comes to the 4th quarter, the team will hit hard most of the time!
"The more you circle the ball, the more beautiful the action will be!"
Li You followed Fisher to the baseline position and made fun of Alan Houston, who scored the goal.
The two fist bumped as if no one was watching, making Fisher's face look even more ugly.
Once again, he was defended by Li You, but before halftime, Fisher's left-hand movement to protect the ball was too large, and the pushing was too obvious, and he was called for another offensive foul by the referee.
"I didn't commit a foul, sir, it was just a normal ball-protecting action!"
After making consecutive mistakes, Fisher complained loudly to the referee, but such a defensive performance made the New York fans at the scene even more excited and ridiculed.
O'Neal was almost blown away by the guards tonight. He rarely caught the ball in a comfortable position. In addition, the Knicks fouled when they couldn't guard him and made free throws. His mentality exploded for a while.
"Fake! Don't let me see you make another mistake!"
O'Neal, who had returned from defense, pulled Fisher over and warned in a low voice. "Little Fish" was startled and nodded in agreement.
If the game reaches the last quarter, Li You will not pass the ball too much.
After the side kick was taken, Fisher lowered his center of gravity, put on a defensive posture, and moved to guard against Li You.
The Knicks simply pulled away, Oakley slowly moved to the free throw line, and Alan Houston walked to the right wing.
Larry Johnson and Chris Dudley simply sank to the left and right near the baseline.
Li You, who was holding the ball in his left hand, moved sideways to protect the ball. Facing Fisher's defense, he moved sideways to the left and suddenly twisted forward quickly, then blasted the ball vigorously on the spot.
Fisher subconsciously slid back, and Li You opened up the space, quickly dribbling the ball with his hips, switching to his right hand and immediately lowering his body weight to pretend to break through.
Noticing that Fisher adjusted his center of gravity and then moved back, Li You immediately changed the direction of his body. While switching to his left hand, he used force from his feet to complete the retreat.
The left wing was close to the sideline. Li You quickly connected the ball from outside the three-point line. Before Fisher could defend him, his body drifted slightly and he shot a jumper!
"Whoa!" The three-pointer hit the net!
71:78, the score difference instantly reached 7 points, and the Madison Square Garden Arena was boiling again.
When O'Neal saw Li You holding up three fingers, smiling and pretending to be defensive, he immediately glared at Fisher angrily.
The shark really wanted to eat the small fish at this moment.
Coach Harris on the sidelines had no choice but to ask for a timeout. He could naturally see the problem, but O'Neal couldn't catch the ball, which was not easy to solve.
"Li was about to end the game in the fourth quarter. The young man is more adapted to the league's game rhythm this year, and his physical condition is much better than last year."
"Michael Jordan should not be ranked first on the MVP list. In the absence of Pat, the Knicks have achieved such a record, and Lee should receive more respect!"
In the commentary box, Walter Frazier got the topic wrong again.
As the Bulls' record improved, Michael Jordan surpassed Li You in the MVP rankings, which made many New York media unhappy.
Jeff Van Gundy looked at the players walking to the bench and smiled again. Their defense was very successful tonight:
"Keep this rhythm and continue to cut off the opponent's internal and external connections!"
The bald young coach didn't make too many adjustments. He simply gave instructions on the defensive strategy, and simply hung up on the offensive end.
After the timeout, the Lakers' offense didn't improve much, and O'Neal still couldn't catch the ball in a comfortable position.
The Knicks scored quickly, and the Lakers scored piecemeal. With 6 minutes and 42 seconds left in the game, Kobe Bryant replaced Rick Fox.
Fisher, Kobe, Eddie Jones, and Robert Horry still haven't found their touch on the outside.
It was also a hit and play, O'Neal drew the ball after being double-teamed, and Horry hit the ball from outside the three-point line.
Li You quickly grabbed the long rebound with quick eyes and hands, then advanced with the ball and went straight to the basket against Fisher's pursuit.
Horry also retreated quickly. Seeing his teammates defending without aggression, he subconsciously wanted to catch up and directly foul.
As a result, Li You suddenly passed the ball from behind while he was walking, and he followed into the paint area and Larry Johnson received the ball and put the basket successfully!
Kobe Bryant made a long two-point jumper against Alan Houston's defense. Oakley grabbed the rebound. After Li You responded, he continued to advance quickly.
Although the Lakers completed their retreat, Li You quickly in and out with his right hand close to the three-point line, deceiving Fisher's defensive focus, easily grabbing half of his body, and quickly cutting in at 45 degrees on the right side of Xiaoyu.
Li You suddenly dribbled the ball behind his back in the blocking area. The moment he switched to his left hand, he immediately turned towards the baseline.
With continuous shaking, Fisher completely lost his defensive position and watched Li You complete a drifting fadeaway jumper from the right baseline!
"Whoa!" A steady hit from mid-range.
80:90, with 4 minutes and 50 seconds left in the game, the point difference has reached double digits.
Li You's beautiful shot after shaking made the New York fans at the scene shout happily, and they could celebrate the victory of the game.
At the last moment, it was difficult for the Lakers to score any more sports goals and could only rely on free throws to score points.
Although O'Neal protected the basket very well, Li You was close to the basket, and Oakley and Larry Johnson's impact on the rebound limited the Lakers' counterattack.
While they frequently fell into position to attack, they relied on transition attacks to score. In the end, the Lakers completely collapsed.
At 18:33 of the single quarter, at the end of the game, the score was fixed at 89:104. The Knicks defeated the Lakers.
The game had just ended. After the fourth quarter, O'Neal, who had scored zero points, walked quickly to the tunnel.
Unable to catch the ball in the last quarter, all the data were zero, and the Sharks were furious.
6 of 16, 7 of 13 free throws, 19 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 turnovers. O'Neal became the player with the most assists on the Lakers.
When Fisher and Kobe saw Li You wave, the fans cheered loudly and felt sad for a moment.
4 of 15, 13 points, 5 rebounds and 1 turnover. Kobe, who came off the bench, failed to save the team.
After the game, commentators Mike Breen and Walter Fraser briefly interviewed Li You:
"We have a total of 18 games in March and the schedule is a bit tight. Li, can you tell us about the team's plan?"
Winning against the Lakers is a good start to March. Mike Breen knows that fans are more concerned about rankings, so the question is also more concerned about the overall situation of the team.
"The schedule is indeed intensive, but we still have some winning advantages. As long as we stay healthy, the team will maintain its first place."
"We need home court advantage, which is very important in the playoffs. New York fans are our best sixth man!"
Li You's answer seemed very confident. He firmly believed that he could suppress the Bulls as long as he stabilized the game.
Walter Frazier on the side smiled and nodded. He also believed that the Knicks would maintain their first position.
In the first game in March, Li You played 39 minutes, shooting 9 of 18, 5 of 9 from beyond the three-point line, 4 of 4 free throws, scoring 27 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals and 2 turnovers;
Alan Houston made 8 of 17 shots, 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, and 6 of 6 free throws. He scored 25 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 turnover.
The outstanding performance of the two brought the New York media to a collective climax, followed by crazy ridicule:
"Four All-Stars? The Lakers are the biggest joke in the league!"
"."
Perhaps due to an attack of poisonous milk, Chris Dudley was knocked down by milk again. The new player was injured and stopped after coming to New York.
Ben Wallace got a lot of playing time, but the rookie was inexperienced in the game. In back-to-back games against the Wizards on the road, he only played 20 minutes before leaving the game with six fouls.
In the game against the Bulls, although the opponent's insider Longley was absent due to injury, the young "Little Ben" could not withstand the opponent's rush.
At 102:94, the Knicks lost again at home.
The opponent grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, and Rodman even handed over the classic statistics of 6 points and 20 rebounds.
After being taught how to behave by his opponent in two consecutive starts, Ben Wallace almost shut down.
The vengeful Michael Jordan scored 42 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers;
Li You scored 20 points, 4 rebounds, 15 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers.
After winning this game, the Chicago media began to cheer for McQueen again, and McQueen's number one position in the MVP rankings became much more stable!
The intensive schedule prevents the Knicks from paying attention to these gossips.
Jeff Van Gundy looks down on Ben Wallace, but the team's situation leaves him with not many choices. "Little Ben"'s playing time has not decreased, and has even steadily increased.
Ben Wallace's statistics are not impressive either, mostly 4 points, 5 rebounds and 5 fouls.
However, this situation did not make the New York media complain. Maybe Ben Wallace will not be seen next season. Being undrafted is not worth wasting words!
As the games continued in March, the Knicks not only defeated the SuperSonics, but also lost to the Pacers and Jazz.
On the night of March 31st, at Madison Square Garden, Popovich, who was also hanging up, burst into laughter.
95:89, the Spurs successfully won the game!
Jeff Van Gundy made a face and became angry when he saw the rookie coach opposite:
"Everyone is following the same routine, why are you so proud!"
In tonight's game, the Spurs' starting lineup features three big men, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Will Perdo.
David Robinson played the three position, and Popovich really caught the Knicks' weakness.
There are three big men on the field who are over 2.10 meters tall, and the "little money" has been robbed and shut down again.
At 47:33, the Knicks lost 14 rebounds and were robbed of 14 offensive rebounds by the Spurs.
A large number of games also caused Oakley's condition to decline, and he was beaten by the rookie tonight.
10 of 16, 5 of 5 free throws, 25 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks and 3 turnovers, Tim Duncan easily handed over a double-double.
David Robinson, who played small forward, made 8 of 16 free throws and 8 of 11 free throws. He scored 24 points, 8 rebounds and 3 turnovers.
Jeff Van Gundy's defensive strategy didn't work, and the opponent's free throws were accurate.
After returning to the locker room, Li You saw that Alan Houston was too depressed to speak, and said jokingly:
"This is a basketball game. I think we played well. We have 13 wins and 5 losses this month. We won all the games we should win!"
Stable performance has always been Li You's pursuit. If he loses in back-to-back games, he loses. When facing a bunch of big men like the Spurs, losing once is no big deal.
13 of 18, 3 of 7 from behind the three-point line, 2 of 4 free throws, 31 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Alan Houston was in very good shape tonight, but the mood of losing was not beautiful:
"If we met the Spurs in early March, we wouldn't lose so many rebounds!"
Everyone in the Knicks team who returned to the locker room one after another was not in a good mood. After losing this game, they fell to second place.
With 56 wins and 17 losses, the Knicks and Bulls have the same record, but relying on the relationship between wins and losses, the Bulls are temporarily ahead.
"There is a high probability that Mike Dun will win the Player of the Month award this month. I didn't expect that the Bulls would really catch up."
Larry Johnson was also a little unhappy. He always felt that these old guys were still lingering. Seeing that the heat was taken away by the opponent again, he felt crazy about lemons.
As the head coach, Jeff Van Gundy naturally has to show a confident look, and when he returns to the locker room, he gives him chicken soup:
"We have the same nine games as the Bulls in April. Believe me, the other team can no longer stand it."
"Think about their lineup structure, we are younger and more talented!"
"Persistence is victory. Don't relax. As long as we get the first place in the Eastern Conference, we can get the home court advantage in the playoffs."
"Think about the playoff schedule. Before the Eastern Conference Finals, I don't think we will encounter our opponents!"
"."
Li You, who was replenishing water in his seat, was stunned when he heard this. The bloated bald young coach no longer paid attention to the Heat, which was ranked fourth.
The atmosphere team was so inspired that they pushed the Bulls to second place. Just thinking about it makes me happy!
On April 1, the NBA announced its Player of the Month for March, and Michael Jordan of the Bulls successfully won the award:
In March, the Bulls achieved a record of 13 wins and 1 loss. Michael Jordan averaged 40.4 minutes per game, 28.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.1 steals, 0.9 blocks and 2.0 turnovers per game;
He averaged 23.6 shots per game, shooting 49.8% from the field, and averaged 6.6 free throws per game, shooting 74.2% from the field.
After the awards were announced, most of the idle sports media turned their backs:
"Bulls championship!"
He hit almost 50% of the field goal percentage. This performance also allowed McNuck to secure the top spot in the MVP rankings.
In the TNT program, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and McHale did not discuss the Player of the Month. Today’s topic is the issue of MVP ownership:
"McDunner did have an efficient performance, but don't forget that this only happened when Pippen returned!"
"But Lee is different. Patrick Ewing can only cheer for the team from the bench. With the Knicks' performance like this, I think Lee should win the award."
As soon as Kenny Smith finished speaking, McHale on the side shook his head:
"Don't forget Karl Malone. The Jazz's record is getting better and better. It's unfair to only consider the two. If the records of the three teams are not much different, Malone can still win the award."
Ernie Johnson heard the two people's opinions and suddenly said with a smile:
"You all ignored what happened last year, I think McNamara will win the MVP!"
Definitely. When Smith heard this, he immediately laughed out loud and joked loudly:
"You think McQueen lost the MVP last year and will be compensated this year? God, this view is so unreliable!"
"."
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