On the evening of May 17, 1999, the Eastern and Western Conference semifinals officially began.
The Eagles, led by coach Wilkens, defeated the Magic with a score of 3:1.
The Eagles came to New York early and were bombarded with Li You's advertisements in the past two days.
Mutombo is a good friend of the gorilla, and the two drifted together, so their relationship is naturally very close.
Madison Square Garden was packed that night. When Mutombo saw the Little Bronze Man trophy placed in the center of the venue and heard President David Stern's speech, he felt for a moment that Ewing was really out of date.
The applause and cheers in the arena grew louder and louder, and all the New York fans present stood up to pay tribute.
"It's great to see young players achieve this achievement, ranking first in scoring and first in three-pointers!"
"Historical level of efficiency, leading the Knicks to first place in the Eastern Conference, the perfect No. 1 position!"
"The most important thing is that he is only 21 years old. This is definitely a blessing for the basketball world!"
"Congratulations on becoming the 1999 NBA regular season MVP - Clay-Lee!"
Wearing a black formal suit, after David Stern finished his speech, he handed the bronze man with a smile to Li You, who was "fully armed" in a white New York home jersey.
After receiving the trophy, Li You nodded in greeting and then raised the little bronze man high.
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
Huge shouts resounded throughout the arena, and David Stern on the side clapped again, feeling that the ball market in New York seemed to be better than before.
Michael Knick's retirement did not have an impact on New York. On the contrary, the old fans felt comfortable and continued to buy tickets enthusiastically. With the season shortened, the Knicks' season tickets did not have to be sold.
After Li You handed the trophy to the staff, he stood in the center of the venue and took the microphone, saying simply:
"MVP is just the beginning, our work is not finished yet, the Knicks will once again challenge for the championship!"
"."
On the visiting team's bench, everyone in the Eagles felt the fiery atmosphere at the scene. They looked at each other and stopped talking.
Head coach Wilkens looked serious. Before the final warm-up started, he once again warned the players:
"Mucci, control your mistakes and don't give your opponent a chance to easily counterattack. Dikanbe, remember to delay your exit."
Mookie Blaylock and Mutombo immediately nodded in understanding.
Most of the Hawks' main players are over 30 years old, and only Chris Crawford is a rookie forward in the 1997 class.
In the live TNT commentary box, Hubie Brown was still praising head coach Wilkens’ coaching ability:
"Using Crawford this season relieves the pressure on the Hawks' interior defense."
"During the regular season, opponents were limited to 83.4 points per game, ranking first in the league. The Eagles played phenomenal defense this year."
His partner, Dick Stockton, did not take up the topic. The Eagles' defense was indeed excellent, but their offense was really stretched.
During the regular season, they averaged 86.3 points per game. To win in the first round, they relied more on defense, and this kind of offense ranked second to last in the league.
The last place is the Bulls who have become weak.
"Tonight's game is a test for Blaylock and Steve Smith. Lee and Alan Hughes are younger and in great shape!"
"In terms of rebounding, maybe the Hawks will have some advantages. Grant Long was in good shape in the first round, but Larry Johnson also performed well."
"Considering that Lee won the MVP tonight and is blessed by the home atmosphere, the Knicks may soon enter the game state. The Hawks should be careful!"
Dick Stockton briefly introduced the status of the players on both sides. In and out, he was more optimistic about the Knicks.
In the shortened season, the Knicks averaged 102.7 points per game during the regular season, leading the league and becoming the only team with the Kings to score more than 100 points this season.
Both people in the commentary box knew that the Knicks' bench was deep enough. As long as Sprewell performed normally, it would be difficult for the Hawks to restrict him.
Jeff Van Gundy didn't tell the players too much. The two teams have played against each other many times in the regular season and know each other very well.
Amid the cheers of the fans at the scene, the game started quickly. The bald young coach watched from the sidelines for a while, then returned to the bench and hung up.
The Eagles attacked very resolutely in the first round after the opening. After a screen, Steve Smith made a jumper from the three-point line on the right wing.
In the next few rounds, Steve Smith continued to attack and then continued to hit the iron.
Coach Wilkens could only keep asking his players to retreat quickly. The game lasted for almost 3 minutes, and the Eagles scored zero points.
Chris Crawford was very active after the start, but Oakley was very experienced and blocked the opponent in every round, and the rebounds were protected.
This time Mutombo faced Ewing's defense on the lower left side of the basket, and his right hand shot from the basket was strong again. Oakley grabbed the rebound, and everyone in the Hawks could only retreat quickly.
"Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks!"
The cheers got louder and louder, and Li You didn't rush forward after receiving the ball. Faced with Mookie Blaylock's defense, he moved cautiously through the half court.
Li You's ball protector has been blocking the opponent's small moves, and the two have been competing since the beginning.
He has been selected to the All-Defensive Team for several consecutive years. Although Blaylock is only 183cm tall, he is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league.
But compared to the previous two years, Li You could feel that the opponent's lateral movement speed had dropped a bit.
When he came to the right wing, everyone on the Knicks had already settled in. Ewing moved quickly and began to slow down when he came to the right elbow of the free throw line.
Mutombo, who followed the defense, realized that this was a defensive position that was neither up nor down, and immediately reminded his teammates loudly:
"Don't let him break through!"
Outside the three-point line, Li You, who was holding the ball in his right hand, did not move much. After lowering his center of gravity, he accelerated his breakthrough against the defense.
Stepping on the three-point line, Mookie Blaylock continued to provide physical confrontation, and the two collided. Li You adjusted his steps, took a step back, slightly raised his center of gravity, and then suddenly leaned forward to accelerate.
Mutombo cursed secretly. Seeing his teammates lose most of their position in an instant, he hurriedly moved towards the basket.
Just realizing that Ewing behind him was also following the pass, Mutombo was distracted and Li You had already broken through to the lower right side of the basket.
Sensing the opponent's help in defense, he jumped quickly and deflected the defense. Li You came to the basket and briefly pulled the lever. At the bottom left of the basket, he reversed and picked up the basket!
Mutombo, who returned to defense, looked helplessly at Li You, who retreated. Mookie Blaylock next to him raised his hand again to indicate that it was his problem.
0:8, 9 minutes and 07 seconds left in the first quarter, Madison Square Garden is almost boiling.
When the Hawks' offense struck again, Mutombo grabbed an offensive rebound under the basket and put the basket under the basket to help the team score 2 points, which helped the team break the deadlock.
In the commentary box, Hubie Brown saw Alan Houston start in the right corner, and with the help of Larry Johnson's screen, the right wing received a cross pass from Li You and hit a three-pointer. For a moment, he could only sigh:
"The Knicks are indeed the best offensive team in the league right now."
"Lee and Houston took care of all the team's scoring after the start. The two of them were in great shape."
After Steve Smith, who was hitting the iron continuously, hit a pull-up jumper in the right block, Dick Stockton said jokingly:
"This is also a duel between coach Van Gundy and coach Wilkens."
"The two have different coaching philosophies. At present, it seems that the Knicks have the upper hand!"
As the game progressed, Li You attracted more defense and began to give the ball inside.
Perhaps stimulated by the MVP award ceremony, Ewing was in good shape tonight. After a simple pick-and-roll, he quickly moved down the left side near the baseline. After receiving the pass, he made a solid mid-range jumper!
In the next two rounds, the Gorillas even hit two long points after the pick-and-roll. Although the Eagles responded, coach Wilkens still requested a timeout.
"ah!"
After scoring three goals in a row, Ewing beat his chest and roared, and the Knicks team's atmosphere team also jumped up and rushed forward to celebrate with high-fives.
Jeff Van Gundy only felt that the game was under control, so he didn't say much during the timeout and continued to hang up.
Coach Wilkens made timely adjustments. In the first round after the timeout, Mookie Blaylock started a pick-and-roll at position 5.
Using Mutombo's screen at the top of the arc, Blaylock breaks away from the defense, pulls it up and throws it!
"Whoa!" The three-pointer hit the net.
At 11:18, the point difference was reduced to 7 points, and the Eagles bench regained its energy and cheered.
With constant applause, Mookie Blaylock encouraged himself. This time he did not choose to stick to the defense. When he saw Li You calling for tactics from outside the three-point line, he subconsciously glanced back.
When he came back to his senses, he saw Li You holding the ball in his right hand suddenly speeding up his pace.
Blaylock hurriedly slid, Li You changed speed and swayed, took two steps in a row, and then quickly changed direction in advance.
Completely opening up the defense and grabbing the ball with his left hand, Li You quickly cut in from 45 degrees, following Oakley to the left elbow of the free throw line, Chris Crawford subconsciously chased to the basket.
They jumped together, and after a mid-air confrontation between the two, Li You grabbed the ball with his left hand, dodged the defense, and quickly threw the ball toward the backboard while the opponent hit his shoulder!
"My bowl!"
"squeak!"
The buzzer sounded and the ball was scored. Chris Crawford waved his hand helplessly, and the hard foul did not have much effect.
Li You shook his shoulders, and with the cheers of the fans, he made a steady hit in the extra penalty.
Seeing that the score difference was back to 10 points again, coach Wilkens on the sidelines looked at the bench. In the end, there was no substitution. Like all old-school coaches, he also believed in the veterans more.
According to the game plan made before the game, the Eagles wanted to grab the start and take the lead, but Steve Smith had a bad touch tonight and ended up digging a hole at the start.
At the end of the first quarter, Jeff Van Gundy began to rotate again. After Sprewell, Kurt Thomas, and Ben Wallace came on the court, the Knicks did not suffer in rebounding.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was fixed at 20:29. Coach Wilkens looked serious on the sidelines and his defense failed.
The intensity of the game was not low. Mookie Blaylock and Li You played the entire first quarter. The two had a lot of confrontation and their hand movements never stopped.
Hubie Brown in the commentary box had already noticed this situation. Taking advantage of the break, he said cheerfully:
"Lee's skills are not like those of a young player. Blaylock tried to use defense to disrupt his dribbling rhythm. Lee also responded well and did not increase invalid dribbling."
"He deserves the title of MVP. He sent out 5 assists in a single quarter. Li quickly activated the team's offense!"
What Dick Stockton felt was that the Eagles lacked energy on the offensive end:
"It's really difficult to play on the road. I hope the Eagles can get back to form as soon as possible."
The nearly double-digit point difference made Madison Square Garden boiling. Fans all know that the rotation is also an advantage of the Knicks.
Sprewell, the best sixth man, is getting better and better, and the coaching staff doesn't have to worry about the offense of the rotation.
However, the expected efficient scoring did not appear. Mutombo came on the stage early, and Sprewell's two unreasonable breakthroughs were both blocked by the opponent.
Seeing Sprewell staggering to the ground, the referee did not say anything, and boos broke out for a while.
In the Eagles' substitute lineup, Ed Gray and Tyrone Corbin partnered in the backcourt, and all other main players returned. The five players on the court began to rush for offensive rebounds.
On the bench, Li You noticed that the two sides were playing slower and slower, and knew that the opponent's game strategy was partly working.
Larry Johnson looked at Ben Wallace's backboard protected by Mutombo and sighed in a low voice:
"Ben has grown a lot this year. Maybe he can get a good contract in the offseason!"
The Knicks' salary is increasing. Li You understands what Larry Johnson means and responds in a low voice:
"Don't worry about salary issues, the team shouldn't care about spending more money."
Several water cooler guardians on the bench were also a little envious of the "small money". They performed well in the contract year and got the contract. They don't have to worry about the money in the next few years.
In the rotation of the second quarter of the game, seeing that the point difference was not narrowed, Jeff Van Gundy still made a substitution.
It was not until the end of the half that the Knicks' main lineup fully returned.
At 42:53, the first half ended, and the point difference still came to 11 points.
After the start of the second half, the Eagles had an old problem again, and the offense suddenly lost power in the third quarter.
The Knicks attacked step by step, without speeding up or slowing down, and their scores also increased steadily.
After three quarters, the score reached 53:77, and the Eagles scored 11 points in a single quarter.
Ewing looked at Mutombo, who was about to walk to the bench, and stepped forward to joke in a low voice:
"Looks like I'm going to win tonight!"
"."
Looking at the gorilla's proud smile, Mutombo was speechless.
The last quarter of the game completely turned into garbage time. The Eagles did not follow suit and quickly switched to the atmosphere team.
Mookie Blaylock felt a little disappointed when he returned to the bench. Although he knew before the game that there was a high probability that the Knicks would not be his opponent, falling in the third quarter was beyond his expectation.
Steve Smith and Mutombo didn't want to talk either. The team's offense was really stretched and the score probably wouldn't reach 80 points tonight.
Amid the cheers of the New York fans, the atmosphere team also played hard, and the game time passed quickly.
In the end, the Knicks, playing at home, defeated their opponents 77:101 and ushered in a good start to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
On the bench, Li You stood up and clapped his hands. He played 27 minutes tonight and made 7 of 13 shots, 1 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, 5 of 5 free throws, 20 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists and 1 turnover.
When Li You greeted his friends sitting in the front row, TNT reporters immediately interviewed Jeff Van Gundy.
The showdown between the champion coach and Qian Sheng coach is also a highlight of this series:
"Jeff, since taking over the team, the Knicks' record has been very good. Can you tell me your secret to winning? Fans are very curious about this!"
Wearing a crisp black suit, Jeff Van Gundy smiled and answered very confidently:
"We just believe in each other, I completely trust my players, and everyone plays for each other, and that's why the Knicks can keep winning."
"The most important thing is that when the team has an MVP-level player like Lee, it is really difficult to lose!"
"."
Many New York fans present were also cheering for the bald young coach. When Jeff Van Gundy finished his interview, he waved to the fans and was secretly proud:
In the first round, the champion coach won completely!
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(End of chapter)
