NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 189 The Future Is Mine (6400 word chapter)
On the night of June 2000, 6, New York fans at Madison Square Garden entered a state of self-euphoria as soon as the game started.

Although the Lakers duo was in excellent form in the first quarter and continued to help the team score points, the fans at the scene were extremely confident and believed that the Knicks could overtake the score and reverse the game.

At 28:26, the Lakers showed a desperate attitude in the first quarter. O'Neal and Kobe once again played the entire first quarter!
Among the role players, Glenn Rice continued to slump, but Harper, who was left out, performed well and scored 5 points in the first quarter.

During the break, the noise in the arena became louder and louder. Doug Collins took a look at the technical statistics and commented loudly:

"The defensive intensity of both teams has dropped a bit, and obviously the players haven't fully recovered from the game the night before."

"O'Neal is in very good shape. If he maintains his current form, the Lakers still have a chance to drag the series back to Los Angeles!"

What Bob Costas noticed was the play of the Knicks' role players:

"Kurt Thomas, who comes off the bench for the Knicks, is in great shape, but he needs to control his fouling."

"Lee sent out four assists in the first quarter. The Lakers' defense was dismantled. Phil Jackson should probably reduce some of his excessive help defense."

On the Knicks bench, Li You looked relaxed. In tonight's game, the Lakers suddenly changed from their normal routine and started a mindless double-team mode.

Perhaps the 51 points stimulated the players. In the second half of the first quarter, the game entered a state where the game could be lost and Li You had to "die".
Li You has experienced this kind of double-teaming too many times. In the Eastern Conference playoffs in the past two years, almost all teams will use this method.

If this defensive strategy was adopted at the beginning of the series, it might still have some effect, but with a big score of 3:1, the Knicks' character mentality is completely different, and open opportunities appear with greater certainty.

Ewing's physical condition is worse than the coaching staff imagined. The gorilla is old and played only 47 minutes in the last game. After being completely exhausted, he spit out cakes continuously in the first quarter.

Jeff Van Gundy didn't show much emotion on the surface, but he was still a little anxious in his heart.

The game lasted 2 minutes and 2 seconds in the second quarter. O'Neal stood on the free throw line, and Kurt Thomas walked to the bench depressed. His shooting touch was very good tonight, but he was too excited and accumulated fouls too quickly.
When Lewis saw the coach waving, he immediately stood up excitedly. It seemed that he would have more playing time tonight.

"Don't be nervous. If your opponent double-teams you, you will take action decisively when the opportunity arises. You don't have to think about passing the ball. Once the ball is in your hands, it will end."

"Don't forget to grab rebounds and get in position in advance!"

Before going on the field, Li You patted the newbie, and Lewis nodded quickly. The two of them went on the field together. He knew his mission clearly.

Compared to Phil Jackson, who looked serious and kept talking to his players, Jeff Van Gundy still looked calm and calm after making substitution adjustments.

When the New York fans at the scene saw Li You coming on stage again, they shouted excitedly:
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"

O'Neal on the free throw line was a little sensitive to the "MVP". He accidentally took a free throw too hard and the second free throw missed the frame.
"Wow!"

The cheers made O'Neal curse and retreat. He didn't like the atmosphere of the scene very much.

Kobe, who was in a "red-eye" state at the beginning, saw Li You receiving the baseline ball and pounced on it.

The "mortal enemy" appeared, and Kobe instantly entered a violent state again, constantly sliding and giving physical confrontation.

Looking at Kobe Bryant showing his teeth, Li You didn't care. Iverson had used this expression for several years.
He held the ball in his left hand and advanced quickly against the defense. He simply dribbled the ball behind his back while moving. After switching to his right hand, Li You sprinted and quickly passed the half court.

It was still a double screen on the line. Kukic moved up at the right elbow area. After the fake screen, he immediately ran to the right block.

Rick Fox hesitated for a moment, then chose to follow the defense and pull close to prevent Kukic from receiving the ball with his back.

Li You, who once again dribbled behind his back and switched to his left hand, began to move laterally towards the top of the arc. Lewis quickly came to the top of the arc and stood still. After a false screen, he immediately ran to the right wing.

Horry did not choose to defend at this time, but immediately moved up to block Li You's path and cooperated with Kobe to complete the double-team.

The two surrounded each other very quickly. Li You, who was holding the ball in his left hand, moved up and quickly blasted the ball on the spot. When the two were surrounded, he immediately turned around and swung the ball to the right wing with his right hand.

Kobe only felt that he was almost able to steal it. He watched the basketball fly into Lewis's hands. After the latter caught the ball, there was no one in front of him, and he simply aimed at the basket and shot an open jump shot!
"Shua!" The three-pointer hit the net hollowly.

At 30:31, when the Knicks took the lead, Madison Square Garden was boiling again.

After scoring the goal, Lewis was relieved, and then he celebrated with a fist pump.

With a huge advantage inside, the Lakers offense naturally has to give the ball to O'Neal.

Ben Wallace's half-circle didn't work. O'Neal in the low post on the left turned around deftly and hit the basket in an instant.

It's just that Kobe on the left wing failed to send the ball out immediately and was still competing with Li You, who was leading the defense.

The opportunity was fleeting. O'Neal once again moved to the right low post to ask for the ball. Kobe could only transfer the ball up the line. After Brian Shaw received the ball on the left wing, Artest continued to press.

Throwing the ball to O'Neal, the quality of the pass was average, the ball was forced to adjust, and then the Sharks were surrounded by three people.

Ben Wallace held his breath and headed down the line. Lewis in the right corner and Artest on the line immediately retracted, and everyone squeezed toward the basket with open hands.

After moving a step and being surrounded, O'Neal immediately raised the ball and then threw it to Horry in the right corner.

The latter was unguarded and hit an open three-pointer!
The long rebound bounced directly to the free throw line. Li You shrank in time, easily collected the rebound, and then immediately launched a transition attack.

Quickly pushing the ball to change direction, Li You picked up the ball with his left hand and immediately accelerated.

Kobe stepped forward immediately and delayed, but after losing a position, he was forced to slide.

The Lakers' defensive enthusiasm has obviously dropped a lot, and the role players behind have given up chasing.

Phil Jackson's face darkened when he saw the players' reactions.

Seeing Li You breaking through Kobe's defense and dribbling the ball under his crotch in the paint, he quickly turned around, deflected the defense and put the basket with his left hand. Phil Jackson directly requested a timeout.

At 30:33, the Knicks successfully widened the point difference.

"Wow!"

Keep cheering and twisting, and for New York fans, the game seems to have turned into a party.

Seeing Li You smiling and high-fiving his teammates, Kobe angrily returned to the bench, sat back in his seat, lowered his head and sulked.

Once the role players lose their "confidence", the game will most likely go bad.

Phil Jackson looked ugly. Talking about tactics at this time would have no effect. At this moment, he suddenly missed McDunner. In the desperate situation, some players even denied themselves.
The angry Phil Jackson slapped the tactical board and yelled at the bench:

"Listen! Fight like a man, and if you don't want to be defensive, say it now!"

"I will let players who want to win more appear on the court. The series is not over yet!"

O'Neal didn't say anything at this time. He couldn't make a big open shot, which often happened in this year's playoffs. He didn't care about winning in the past, but in a desperate situation, he would inevitably have some emotional fluctuations in his heart.

Although he didn't complain about his teammates, everyone could see the impatience and disappointment on Shark's face.

Several veterans also fell silent. AC Green basically fell out of the rotation, and Glenn Rice became a blacksmith and completely turned into a shooting tool.

Harper wanted to say a few words, but thinking about his physical condition and his impact on the game, he didn't know what to say for a while.

Phil Jackson kept complaining. As a championship coach, he really didn't want to be swept by Jeff Van Gundy again.

Just the thought of the bald young coach also achieving three consecutive championships makes Phil Jackson furious.

There are many types of leaders on the court. There is no point in painting and talking, strength is the foundation.

After the timeout, the Lakers' offense did not improve. O'Neal, who was double-teamed again, passed the ball to Rick Fox, who was wide open at the top of the key.

The latter caught the ball and took aim for a while, but in the end he made a jump shot.

The more the opponent pulled his hips, the more excited the New York fans at the scene became. The fans in the back row were making noises and shouting, and some fans in the front row were vomiting sweet things.

Beer was on sale tonight, and many fans chose to watch while drinking. These drunk fans would not be merciful.

After receiving a long rebound in the left block, Kukchi immediately advanced with the ball and launched a transition attack.

Approaching the midline, he quickly threw the ball toward the half court and passed the ball ahead of time. Li You, who came to the left wing, accelerated to grab the ball.

Looking at Kobe, who had established a defensive position in advance, Li You, who was holding the ball in his left hand, stopped outside the three-point line. At this time, everyone in the Knicks team had already accelerated to rush through the half court.

Li You turned his head to look towards the top of the arc and suddenly threw the ball towards the upper right side of the basket.

O'Neal, who was retreating from defense, was still struggling with the open shots on the outside. He didn't pay attention to the little player next to him. When he saw the basketball flying into the air, he subconsciously turned his head.

Ben Wallace, who was running down the middle, had already rushed up. After catching the ball in the air, he immediately slammed the basket with both hands!
"Boom!" The empty catch dunk was successful!
"what!"

Seeing Ben Wallace roaring loudly in front of him, O'Neal suddenly broke through his defense and immediately stepped forward and gave him a push.

Seeing O'Neal's fierce reaction, Ben Wallace immediately became energetic and pounced on him without saying a word.

The two people suddenly became entangled under the basket. Seeing the sudden conflict, the atmosphere became more and more heated, and cheers resounded throughout the arena.

The referee reacted the fastest and immediately rushed between the two. Several people on the Lakers court quickly pulled O'Neal out.

Phil Jackson on the sidelines was furious again. He could clearly feel the players' defensive enthusiasm declining:
"Shet, calm down! Get back and keep an eye on your defenders!"

Ben Wallace, who was pulled away, was still shaking his head at O'Neal and yelling:

"Hey, you weakling! I'll take you home tonight!"

Being provoked by the role players, but somewhat powerless to refute, O'Neal threw Phil Jackson's words behind him, yelled and wanted to rush forward:

"MF*K! Don't stop me! What qualifications do you have to talk trash to me!"

The visual effect exploded when Ben Wallace, who had an afro, shook his head. The two of them made a pass through the referee, and O'Neal completely broke the defense.
Soon the two received a technical foul each. Li You walked to the free throw line with a smile. After catching the ball and hitting the extra free throw, he looked at O'Neal with his hands on his hips and joked with a low smile:
"Don't worry, Shaq! I still welcome you to my championship party. He's just too young, but he's actually a great guy!" "."

O'Neal wanted to choke out a few words in response, but found Phil Jackson's death stare on the sidelines, cursed twice and simply gave Li You a slap on the back of the head.

The angry shark quickly entered the state of giving the ball to me and began to wreak havoc inside the Knicks again.

O'Neal scored points, but the Lakers couldn't make any outside shots. The Knicks' defense shrank smaller and smaller. In the end, everyone except Li You began to shrink.
Seeing Horry hitting the open space in the left corner and the Knicks switching offense, Bob Costas could only sigh:

“The Lakers have got to have somebody on the perimeter step up and hit those open shots.”

"God! Lewis hit a three-pointer again, and the Lakers' defense seemed to collapse!"

During the transition attack, Lewis, who was unmarked in the right corner, received Li You's breakthrough ball, threw in a three-pointer, jumped up and down, and roared in celebration.

35:42, half of the game has passed. Putting aside Kobe’s technical free throws, the Lakers’ scores all came from O’Neal.
Phil Jackson has replaced Glenn Rice. He expected the Lakers to respond from the outside, but what he saw was a rain of three-pointers from the Knicks.

A simple breakthrough and distribution, relying on Li You's containment, Kukqi and Artest also fired from the outside.

Seeing the Lakers' score frozen at 35 points, the New York fans at the scene even began to celebrate the victory.

Doug Collins was a little helpless when he saw this situation. He didn't expect the Lakers' role players to be so tough:

"Perhaps head coach Phil Jackson can try to increase rotations again. They fell behind too much at halftime. With the current state of the Lakers, it will be difficult to reverse the game."

Bob Costas noticed that after both sides regained their main lineups, the Lakers still had difficulty scoring. At this time, he could only comment briefly:
"If you want to recover the point difference, the Lakers, who are in poor offensive condition, can consider starting from defense!"

Kobe Bryant had just hit a long two-pointer at the top of the arc. The Knicks quickly sent a baseline ball. Li You turned around and assisted Alan Houston, who had just appeared, to make a jump shot from the left elbow.

A screen and the player was gone. Seeing Harper's performance, Phil Jackson sighed secretly and asked for another timeout.

The chicken soup has completely failed, and the role players' offense is misfiring. After the timeout, watching the Knicks continue to score points easily, the Lakers bench was completely silent.

At 18:32 of the single quarter, at the end of the half, the score reached 46:58.

The 12-point difference sent Madison Square Garden into a complete rage. The New York fans at the scene began to celebrate in advance. Everyone was looking forward to the end of the game as soon as possible.

He made 14 of 8 in the half, 8 of 3 free throws, and scored 19 points. O'Neal lowered his head and walked quickly to the tunnel.

Phil Jackson looked back at the big screen in the center of the field again. He didn't want to give up, but thinking about the state of the role players, he was already prepared to lose.
The Knicks, who have been rotating extensively, are blooming more. Although the two people in the commentary box expected that this might happen in the game, looking at the fans dancing to the music, it was hard to comment on the Lakers' performance for a while.

Finally, Bob Costas changed the subject and said:

"If the Knicks win tonight, head coach Jeff Van Gundy will set a record."

"He will become the youngest head coach in NBA history to win three consecutive championships!"

Doug Collins felt a little sad when he heard this topic. When he left the Bulls, he turned to Phil Jackson and won the championship.

When he thought of this and saw the Lakers who were stretching their hips tonight, Doug Collins suddenly felt a lot more comfortable and simply joked:

"Perhaps after the series, Phil will also be questioned. After leaving McDuck, he has not been able to prove himself!"

The two laughed in the commentary box and made fun of past championship coaches, which fans also liked to hear!

After the second half started, within 2 minutes, the score difference reached 17 points.

If you cover your teammates a few more times, you will get an open shot. Li You has a mediocre touch and simply turns into a cake maker.

With the huge point difference, everyone in the Knicks played more and more energetically. The role players of the Lakers pulled to the end and watched O'Neal and Kobe take turns playing singles.

After Li You assisted Oakley, he succeeded in a mid-range jumper from the right elbow area of ​​the free throw line. All the Knicks players scored tonight.

Jeff Van Gundy had returned to the bench at this time, smiling and clapping his hands, officially entering the on-hook state.
Larry Johnson took advantage of Glenn Rice's reduced defensive intensity and began to attack in the low post. After turning over and hitting a fadeaway jumper, he grinned for a moment.

Phil Jackson stood with his arms folded, watching the Lakers running less and less on the offensive end. Everyone stood and watched O'Neal's singles. They were frustrated for a while and sat back on the bench.

Only Kobe Bryant was still cooperating with O'Neal to score points on the court, but the Lakers' defensive intensity dropped too much and the point difference never narrowed.

At the end of the third quarter, cheers resounded throughout the arena, and the on-site DJ also played lively music.

James Dolan and David Stern, who were sitting in the front row, were laughing and chatting in low voices, ready for the award ceremony!
At 24:26 in a single quarter, after three quarters, the score reached 70:84, and the final quarter was about to enter garbage time.

In the last quarter of the game, O'Neal finally enjoyed an early rest in the series.

With 3 minutes and 33 seconds left in the game, the point difference was still 18 points. Phil Jackson replaced O'Neal and Kobe, and the atmosphere team came on stage.

Returning to his seat, O'Neal stared blankly at the two teams of players going back and forth on the court.

On the other side, Kobe covered his head with a towel after the game to prevent the cameras from capturing his expression. This was the first time he felt the city's malice!

Many New York fans are wearing printed T-shirts tonight, and what is printed on the chest is the famous scene where Li You crossed him
Not only this T-shirt, photos of blocks and steals also appeared on fans.

There were laughter, taunts, and the happy shouts of the Knicks. Kobe, who returned to his seat, subconsciously pressed his ears, lowered his head and tried to control his emotions.

Compared to the Lakers' bench that was silent, everyone in the Knicks stood on the sidelines and hugged and celebrated.

"Pat, perfect performance! We all remember your contributions on the defensive end!"

Li You patted Ewing, who was spitting out the cake tonight, and complimented him with a smile. This immediately put the gorilla in a good mood, and he grinned along with everyone.

Larry Johnson also smiled broadly, hugged Li You and kept shouting loudly:

"Lee, we did it! Dynasty team!"

Oakley also patted Li You on the shoulder, raised his eyebrows and whispered:

"I took out all my treasured cigars! Oh! We are going to celebrate tonight!"

With 30 seconds left in the game, everyone on the Knicks bench stood up.

Alan Houston smiled and crossed himself on his chest, seemingly starting to thank God again, and then excitedly hugged Li You in greeting.

As the final buzzer sounded, cheers filled the arena again, and happy New York fans began to hug each other.

At 92:108, the series was completely over.

All the media reporters rushed to the venue, carrying cameras and rushed to the Knicks bench.

Jeff Van Gundy, who was sitting on the bench, did not get up immediately. Instead, he covered his face with his hands and cried with emotion.

Tonight, the bald young marshal specially wore a new suit and dressed himself up very decently. He wanted to smile handsomely in front of the camera after the game, but he ended up overestimating himself.

"Yeah! Champion!"

Assistant coaches Thibodeau and Don Chaney did not shed tears. They just punched wildly, hugged each other and kept yelling.

Madison Square Garden was particularly noisy at this moment, and many fans in the front row rushed into the venue to celebrate the team's milestone moment.

Ewing also had red eyes. He faced the camera and suppressed his emotions, tried to smile, hugged and greeted the Lakers players who came by, and shared his championship experience.
A large number of sports reporters have been surrounding Li You. Compared with other excited veterans, Li You just smiled and raised three fingers when facing the camera.

This is only the first season he signed a maximum-salary contract. "Good Brother" has completed his mission. Li You has a clear plan for himself. Three consecutive championships is just a small goal.
Not many Lakers players like Li You, and Harper was the first one to come over and say hello:
"Congratulations, Bro! Go chase history! You can do it!"

"Thanks, man! Seriously, I learned a lot from you!"

Li You smiled and hugged Harper. The two were old rivals who often fought against each other.

Soon the Lakers' atmosphere team came over to say hello. Kobe, who was covered in a towel, was still trying to control his emotions. Seeing Li You's smiling face, he reluctantly complimented:
"Li, congratulations on achieving three consecutive championships!"

Noticing that Kobe's eyes were red and he seemed to have shed tears, Li You patted him hard and encouraged him with a smile:

"It's a pleasure to play against you, Bro! Keep up the good work, the future belongs to young people!"

"."

Kobe almost lost his temper. Li You was only one year older than him, and everyone was still young!
The sports reporters surrounding the two men all clicked their cameras. They are both rookies in the 96 class. In the future, the league will definitely create a feud around the two.

The radio microphone faithfully recorded Li You's words. When they noticed O'Neal moving over, the media reporters once again moved the microphone closer to the two of them.

After losing, O'Neal was still unconvinced. After hugging him, he fist bumped with Li You and said:
"Congratulations, Bro! But I will never lose again. I hope I can still see you in the finals next year."

Hearing that the other party directly loaned money to the finals, Li You laughed and simply responded:

"I'm really looking forward to our next meeting! Shaq, remember to practice your free throws!"

O'Neal's face became even darker. Free throws cost him the scoring title. Free throws were also the reason for his defeat in the finals.

O'Neal turned around and left. He really didn't want to see Li You's smiling face!

Although Madison Square Garden was still very noisy at this moment, many reporters still heard the conversation between the two, and some New York media were still heckling behind O'Neal, which made the Sharks quicken their pace.

Li You suddenly had a thought in his mind, and then he got a prompt in his mind:
[The Extraordinary Power of Shaquille O'Neal]

The surrounding sports media soon noticed that Li You's smile became even brighter, and couldn't help but click their cameras again to record this historical moment.

Li You continued to hug and greet the Lakers coaching staff with a smile. He noticed Phil Jackson's ugly face and felt more and more comfortable:
"The future must belong to me!"

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(End of this chapter)