On April 24, 1997, in Game 1 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, during the game between the Magic and the Knicks, the live director frequently focused the camera on Horace Grant on the Magic’s bench.

As a key player during the Bulls’ three consecutive championships, “Cobra” Grant became the Magic’s highest-paid player after O’Neal left the team.

But at this time he could only sit on the bench with a serious expression. Frequent injuries in the late regular season made Grant miss the playoffs.

In the second quarter of the game, the two teams began to rotate players, and the Magic brought in the younger brother of “Human Highlight Reel”, Gerald Wilkins.

This player has played in New York for many years and has basically dedicated the peak period of his career to this city.

Brian Shaw also rotated into the game, and veteran Daniel Shayes was put in the paint.

Head coach Adubato expected the rotation lineup to perform well, but unfortunately the rotation players continued to miss shots.

On the contrary, Starks began to explode.

The 24-point difference was too much, and the Knicks felt no pressure after their substitutes came on the court.

More than two minutes into the second quarter, the Magic only scored 2 points when Hardaway made a quick stop and jump shot in the left elbow area.

“Unfortunately, the injuries to the Magic’s main lineup have affected their lineup’s running-in.”

“If Hardaway and Grant had stayed healthy, the Magic’s record might have been better this season.”

The team missed shots frequently, the score gap widened, and commentator Marv Albert also started gossiping.

“The Magic made the wrong choice. If they had kept the core lineup, O’Neal and Hardaway might not have been unable to win the championship.”

“The Bulls can’t remain dominant forever. I believe the Knicks will succeed. At least time is on our side.”

Commentator John Andariese also gossiped that the Magic’s decline is also a lesson. If you let go of a core player for no reason, it will be extremely difficult to compete for the championship again.

Just like at the end of the regular season, the Magic used their bench lineup and did not change their playing style much.

Even though they were trailing by a large margin, they did not throw three-pointers crazily, but instead strengthened their defense and continued to finish near the paint.

Lee, who was sitting on the bench, watched Hardaway quickly slide to the baseline, receive the ball in the left blocking area, and then rush to the basket.

He almost yawned.

“We are behind so much and we still play in a normal way. It will be difficult for us to lose this game.”

It is indeed difficult to limit Hardaway in one-on-one man-to-man defense. Lee didn’t care about the opponent’s score and complained in a low voice.

“It’s really hard to catch up. If they miss the 3-pointer and lose the rebound, they might lose more. With a 30% 3-point shooting percentage, Hardaway is really not a good shooter.”

Alan Houston also completely relaxed. With a huge lead, the main lineup could fully rest and then come on the court in the second half of the second quarter. After the third quarter, they basically punched out and went home.

Lee envied Hardaway’s confrontation. Breaking through and attacking the basket requires players to choose the right angle.

In this era, the defenders are extremely oppressive, and it is very important to maintain one’s breakthrough route after the confrontation.

Facing most of the backcourts in the league, Lee does not have too many problems, but when he encounters forwards, the opponent’s rough defense often forces him to move, and then loses the established breakthrough route:

“Still need more muscle and strength.”

Hardaway, who was anxious on the court, no longer frequently assisted his teammates, but relied on his personal ability to score points continuously.

The New York fans at the scene were already going crazy. After more than half a quarter, the Magic only scored 8 points!

At 18:49, the score difference had reached 31 points.

With 5 minutes and 20 seconds left in the first half, the Knicks’ main lineup returned to the court.

Hardaway had completely lost his composure at this point, and seemed unable to understand why his teammates kept missing shots when there were clearly open spaces in many possessions!

“Let’s go Knicks! Let’s go Knicks! Let’s go Knicks!”

In the first offensive round after coming on the court, Hardaway began to lead the defense throughout the court, trying to cause Lee to make a mistake.

The two started to fight from the half court, and the oppressive defense did not play much of a role.

Lee simply made an emergency stop, dribbled the ball behind his back, accelerated, turned around, then protected the ball sideways, and quickly rushed across the center line.

By the end of the regular season, most players in the league no longer knew how to defend Lee, and Hardaway’s mentality obviously exploded.

Ewing’s screen at the top of the arc only hung for a moment, and then he quickly moved down and took away Magic center Rony Seikaly.

Lee broke through on the left side and suddenly took the ball forward with his left hand.

While Hardaway was sliding desperately, he dribbled the ball across the three-point line and immediately dribbled it hard on the spot.

Hardaway quickly adjusted his center of gravity, and when he saw Lee changing direction of the ball, he immediately slid to the left.

Unable to get the expected shooting space, after changing direction, Lee dribbled behind his back, quickly stepped back, returned to the three-point line, and raised the ball to fake a shot at the top of the arc!

An anxious Hardaway immediately jumped up to defend, but he realized something was wrong when he flew into the air.

Lee, who successfully created a time difference, jumped up, hung on defense, and threw the ball into the basket.

“Squeak!”

“Bang!”

The basketball hit the backboard and went into the basket. Lee was stunned for a moment, then quickly faced the audience, raised his hands, and smiled coolly.

“There are free throws! Lee fooled Hardaway. God, how did he shoot the ball in!”

Commentator Marv Albert shouted excitedly, while Hardaway, who was tricked into committing a foul, walked aside in frustration without making any excuses.

Lee stood at the free throw line and just as he received the basketball, the New York fans at the scene began to shout loudly:

“MVP! MVP! MVP!”

The shouts of the fans made Ewing frown slightly. He had never received such treatment this season.

As Lee made the free throw steadily, the score difference was heading towards 40 points.

Jeff Van Gundy, who was sitting on the bench, also showed a hint of pride.

Compared to Adubato who was standing on the sidelines and shouting loudly, the bald young coach who was sitting steadily on the bench did have a bit of the style of a famous coach.

In the second half of the second quarter, the Knicks’ offense became smoother and smoother, and Larry Johnson even hit a three-pointer from the left wing.

The opponent’s inside defense intensity decreased, and Ewing only needed to position himself, receive the ball, turn around and shoot to score.

Charles Oakley stopped rushing for offensive rebounds at the end of the first half. The score gap was too big and the old guy also slacked off.

When Lee cut in without the ball and received the pass from Ewing in the right blocking area, he did not stop the ball when he came to the basket.

He threw the ball onto the backboard and then quickly retreated.

The basketball just passed over Hardaway’s fingertips, hit the rebound high and fell accurately into the basket!

This goal made Hardaway so angry that he raised his hand to signal for a substitution.

Coach Adubato immediately requested a timeout and replaced Anfernee Hardaway, who was in an increasingly bad mood.

As the first half was coming to an end, Lee’s long three-pointer from midfield spun around the rim before falling out.

This caused the New York fans to cheer again. What a great shot!

32:64, the game was already in suspense.

The Knicks just had to wait for the other team to replace the atmosphere team.

“It was a very exciting first half. We played an extremely efficient offense, which was even better than the regular season!”

“Lee made 4 of 6 shots in the first half, 3 of 4 from beyond the three-point line, 1 of 1 free throws, 12 points, 1 rebound and 6 assists. I think his performance is better than Hardaway’s.”

Commentator Marv Albert also did not forget Hardaway’s mockery of Lee as a “star-making product” before the game, and began to fight back with a smile.

“There is no doubt that the data has already explained some problems. In the backcourt of the league, it is difficult to find a player whose overall strength can match that of Lee!”

Commentator John Andariese also began to praise Clay Lee’s performance.

Although the New York media always compares data at different times, this is also a reflection of strength.

The two of them were praising the team in the live commentary booth, but when the Magic team returned to the locker room, they had lost their temper.

No matter how much chicken soup they gave, it was useless as the score difference was 32 points.

In several regular season games, the Magic lost by as much as 21 points, and the only game they won was by only 4 points.

All the psychological massage before the game was useless. The Knicks, with 64 wins, are far ahead of the teams in the lower half!

Coach Adubato was relieved that he did not hear Hardaway’s complaints during the halftime break.

No matter how big the score gap was, he had to play in the third quarter.

After the start of the second half, the Knicks were no longer interested in executing their pre-game plan, especially since their opponents were still missing shots and they could maintain the score difference by running and switching offense.

Every time Hardaway missed a shot on the court, Lee would count for him.

After hearing “Three”, the fake successor to Jordan could no longer hold back.

He turned around angrily and was about to push forward, but was blocked by Oakley who was prepared.

Before he could open his mouth to say anything, he was knocked staggeringly.

“Looking for something else to do, man?”

Most of the players of both teams were in the paint area. As soon as Oakley spoke, the Magic team hurriedly pulled Hardaway behind them.

With such a big score difference, a conflict occurred and they were suspended, which was a huge loss.

The referee took the opportunity to pull Hardaway away, as he was the protagonist of the event.

Charles Oakley was already feeling a little bored on the court, and in the past, he would have taken action at this time.

It’s just that the score difference was too big tonight, and apart from rebounds and dunks, the old guy wanted to go off the court to rest.

“Charles, come down and rest for a while!”

Jeff Van Gundy quickly stood up and asked veteran Buck Williams to come on the court.

Seeing that the opponent had no intention of changing the atmosphere group, he could only fight with the opponent.

In the third quarter, the Knicks scored and shot. Ewing received the ball in the low post and attacked the inside.

The gorilla was quite efficient, hitting consecutive shots from both sides of the paint.

Clay Lee and Alan Houston were responsible for the support, and the Magic team’s inside line soon couldn’t hold on.

At 17:26 of the quarter, New York fans at the scene began to celebrate the victory.

49:90, the score difference reached 41 points.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, head coach Adubato hurriedly replaced the atmosphere team. This was already a tragedy.

New York fans who bought tickets to watch the game were still cheering loudly, trying to get the atmosphere team to work harder and make the Magic the front-page headline of tomorrow’s sports section.

Hardaway, who was sitting on the bench, looked more and more unhappy, and the atmosphere group also missed the shot.

Lee was already smiling on the bench, and waved a towel to his teammates. Walter McCarty got a rare chance to play, and he tried his best to score points, sparing no effort on both offense and defense.

By the end of the fourth quarter, the atmosphere in Madison Square Garden exploded, and New York fans shouted:

“50 points!!!”

64:114, the Magic lost 50 points. Hardaway walked towards the player tunnel without looking back, setting a record.

“I am very happy to witness this record with New York fans. The 50-point difference tied the record set by the Bucks and Warriors in the 1971 Western Conference semifinals.”

“That was in 1971, when the Bucks beat the Warriors. Lee wasn’t even born yet.”

“God, this is incredible!”

Commentator Marv Albert didn’t expect to win by so much, and no one expected the atmosphere group to also fail.

Lee, who had already changed into training clothes and was waving to the fans, felt a little regretful:

“We still lost by 8 points!”

In the first playoff game of his career, Lee clocked in for three quarters, played for 27 minutes, made 6 of 10 shots, including 3 of 4 three-pointers, 1 of 1 free throws, 16 points, 2 rebounds and 8 assists.

At the post-match press conference, the New York media failed to see Anfernee Hardaway as he was unable to be interviewed due to a recurrence of his old injury.

Jeff Van Gundy appeared in the press conference room with Clay Lee, and the New York media at the scene cheered happily.

“19 years and 114 days old, Lee, congratulations on becoming the youngest player in NBA playoff history to score 15+5. How does it feel to play in the playoffs for the first time?”

Every time Lee hears these age records, he feels a little out of place. It is very likely that any record will be in my situation in the future.

“It feels good, at least my performance is about the same as the All-Star player on the other side!”

“The playoffs are no different than the regular season, man. These records are going to be broken soon, so there’s no need to report them!”

Lee reminded everyone in the audience that they would be playing against the Magic in two days. As long as they played enough time, the record would be broken soon.

The New York media in the audience all laughed. Anfernee Hardaway’s boomerang hit his face before the game.

The fake Jordan successor performed well, making 5 of 16 shots, 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 turnover, and got the highest score for the Magic team.

Unfortunately, the New York media won’t let this one go:

“Lee, how does it feel to play against Mr. 50 Points? Will we play a good offense in the next game?”

Lee quickly realized that this was Anfernee Hardaway’s new nickname:

“We will indeed play an efficient offense. It’s a pity that Grant is injured, but this is the playoffs. Winning by 50 points shows that we have tried our best. This is also a respect for our opponents!”

“Respect!”

The Magic team’s reporter couldn’t hold back when hearing the jokes, and stood up and left. Soon he heard a voice behind him:

“What a rude guy.”

A record-tying victory brought collective excitement to the New York media, and Lee’s record also began to sweep major sports media.

There has actually been a lack of hot news in the NBA league recently, because Michael Jordan has won the scoring title again and Rodman has retained the rebounding title.

These things have been reported for many years and fans have become numb to them.

Therefore, after the first round of games that night, most media followed suit and reported on this game. Fans will buy into it if it is fun to watch.

In addition to the unlucky Anfernee Hardaway, the most depressed player is Stephen Marbury of the Timberwolves, who is also in a bad mood.

95:112, the Rockets’ senior Big Three beat the Timberwolves’ rookies in just three quarters.

Marbury scored a game-high 28 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, just setting a record, but it didn’t even make a splash.

Olajuwon, like Ewing, made 7 of 13 shots and scored 18 points. The difference is that the gorilla played less time, only 30 minutes.

The Rockets also had many players scoring in double digits. In the playoffs, except for the “The Glide” who is still looking for his form, everyone else is in very good shape.

After only one playoff game, the call of “Rockets championship” was heard again, and commentators and fans all believed that the elderly Big Three could make it to the finals.

Pat Riley’s Heat relied on iron-blooded defense to easily defeat the Hornets 99:109.

Dell Curry, who came off the bench, made only 1 of 8 shots and scored only 4 points.

The Jazz also showed their dominance tonight, defeating the Clippers at home 86:106.

Stockton made 5 of 9 shots and got a double-double of 13 points, 7 rebounds, 17 assists, 1 steal and 4 turnovers. Malone made 13 of 27 shots and got 27 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists.

Utah’s duo is as stable as ever in beating the weak!

The first round is a best-of-five format. If the team is strong enough, they will get the match point soon.

On the morning of April 25, in addition to routine preparations for the game against the Magic, the Knicks coaching staff also began watching videos of the Heat in advance.

Although the Hornets played well in the regular season and Glen Rice was in explosive form this year, in the playoffs, facing the melee and layers of defense in the interior, the Hornets could not hold up.

“Voshon Lenard, a second-round pick in 1994, entered the starting lineup in the second half of the regular season. He has been in very good form recently and is very good at catching and shooting.”

With 8 of 13 shots and 6 of 9 from the three-point line, second-round pick Lenard scored a Heat-high 24 points in the game against the Hornets.

Assistant coach Thibodeau briefly introduced the player to Jeff Van Gundy.

“We must admit that we are still not as good as Pat Riley in terms of training. After taking over the team, our training volume has increased significantly.”

In addition to the system, the second-round pick’s performance is inseparable from hard training.

Jeff Van Gundy admires Pat Riley’s ability very much. The opponent can always dig deep into the potential of the players.

“The Heat has increased their three-point shooting. They have become the team with the most attempts outside the three-point line in the regular season. Jeff, this is not a coincidence. They have changed their style of play!”

Assistant coach Don Chaney looked at the technical statistics and reminded the bald young coach again.

The Heat averaged 22.7 shots from beyond the three-point line per game. They still used an “iron-blooded” defense, but relied more on outside shooting on the offensive end.

The Knicks have also increased their three-point attempts this season, averaging 19.3 per game, ranking 8th in the league.

Lee and Starks accounted for half of the shots, and most of the rest came from Chris Charles and Alan Houston.

As the number of three-pointers increased, the Knicks’ number of possessions also increased to 81.5 per game, ranking 7th in the league.

The offense and defense are relatively balanced, and there is speed within slowness, which is why we can get 64 wins this season.

Jeff Van Gundy thought for a while and didn’t know how the Heat would adjust, but intensifying the confrontation was definitely the game strategy that the opponent would adopt:

“It’s better to protect the home court first. As long as we can win the first two games, there will be ample room for adjustment.”

Without hearing too many instructions, the coaching staff knew that Jeff Van Gundy would most likely not be able to guess Pat Riley’s adjustments.

Everyone watched the game video and began to express their opinions. After a round of discussion, they finally realized helplessly that they really didn’t have any offensive system.

They didn’t have the Jazz’s college basketball, a lot of UCLA cuts, frequent pick-and-rolls, and the Bulls’ triangle offense, which gave Michael Jordan space to play singles, and others were waiting to eat cakes:

“64 wins, we won that much?”

Lee also knew that the coaching staff was studying the Heat’s game videos, but given the Knicks’ situation, it would be more practical to give the ball to the players in the best condition rather than making adjustments over and over again.

If Ewing is not good enough, he can just play as a forward. It is a daydream to expect the gorilla to excel throughout the series.

In the afternoon training session, they still ran through the tactics and practiced the routines step by step, and then took a break.

Those who wanted to practice more were free to do so, and several veterans just lay down.

“After his return, Michael Jordan has started to dominate the scoring title again. This is his 9th time winning the award. Rodman has also won the rebounding title for 6 consecutive years. The fans have seen enough.”

The league will have to award two players from the Bulls tonight. Larry Johnson was so angry that he complained a little while practicing three-point shooting.

“Michael Jordan’s statistics have declined, which is a good thing. It proves that he will also age.”

Lee heard what Larry Johnson said and said helplessly:

“29.6 points per game, only 0.8 points less than last year. This decline can be ignored.”

The statistics are disappointing. Even after the decline, his shooting percentage is still 48.6%. He can still kill people with no double-teaming.

No one took the first round of the game seriously, but the Bulls are the BOSS in the Eastern Conference!

Several veteran players had psychological trauma. They were so happy after winning two games in the regular season that they didn’t know what to do.

Subconsciously, they didn’t believe they could defeat Michael Jordan.

After the evening training session, Lee returned home and watched the Bulls game.

With Harper and Pippen in poor form, Michael Jordan played 42 minutes, made 12 of 25 shots, scored 29 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 3 turnovers.

86:98, the home team Bulls successfully defeated the Bullets.

Even a super center couldn’t stop Michael Jordan’s impact. Lee turned off the TV and calculated silently:

“Just 48% hit rate, the same as the regular season. Is his form declining?”

On April 27, the G2 match between the Magic and the Knicks officially started that night.

Many fans at the scene were holding white boards, and “Mr. 50 Points” had become famous throughout New York after these two days of reports.

Hardaway did not accept any interviews before the game. The loss in the last game was too big, which was enough to show the strength gap between the two teams.

After the game started, the atmosphere in Madison Square Garden became more and more heated.

After two days of rest, the Magic still couldn’t find their touch.

Except for Hardaway’s back-to-back jump shot in the low post on the left side at the beginning, the Magic’s score remained at 4 points for 4 minutes and 20 seconds in the first quarter.

The Magic kept sharing the ball, scoring in and out, and tried to attack the basket when their touch was not good.

On the left wing, Hardaway suddenly cut in, overcame Lee’s defense, broke into the paint area and made a fake pass.

In the air, he threw the ball with his left hand to Ronnie Seikali who was following up. The latter received the ball and faced Ewing’s block, but his shot missed again.

“Wow!!”

Amid the cheers of the fans, Lee grabbed the backcourt rebound at the bottom right side of the basket, and the Knicks players quickly rushed across half court without any instructions.

His teammates missed the chance to finish again, and Hardaway looked unhappy and could only retreat.

Lee continued to accelerate along the left sideline, observed the situation on the court, and without waiting to cross half court, he suddenly threw the ball to the upper right side of the basket.

Larry Johnson, who had already rushed to the basket, jumped up hurriedly, but he did not have enough time to prepare and failed to complete the dunk.

He scooped the ball in the air and put it into the basket.

“Nice pass! It’s a pity that he failed to complete the dunk. Lee always sees his teammates in time. He makes the Knicks’ offense much easier!”

Commentator John Andariese was also taken aback and didn’t even notice the opportunity.

The “Grandmama” felt a little regretful after completing the fast break and could only watch Lee show off in the backcourt.

Derek Strong of the Magic just returned to half court, only to find that the Knicks had already scored.

He wanted to complain, but looking at Hardaway’s frown, Strong swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

4:13, after the opening, the Knicks’ outside shooting was average, Alan Houston missed two shots, and most of the points came from transition offense.

“Defense! Defense! Defense!”

Hardaway dribbled across the halfway point quickly, the defense cheered again, and he frowned as he watched his teammates get into position.

Big man Rony Seikaly came to the top of the arc for a pick-and-roll again.

The expected effect did not appear. Ewing was still squatting in the paint area.

Hardaway could still feel Lee pulling on his waist, and the pick-and-roll was unable to get rid of the defense.

Theoretically, he could pass the ball to his teammate, but this time Hardaway chose to stop suddenly, then took a step sideways, and made a quick stop jump shot below the free throw line.

At 6:13, the Magic finally broke the scoring drought.

There was no joy on Hardaway’s face after scoring. It was almost halfway through the first quarter when he only got this little point.

This gave him a bad feeling and he quickly retreated. He turned around and directed his teammates to complete the defensive position.

While Hardaway was still shouting, Lee had already rushed across half court.

In the left corner, Alan Houston quickly moved to the wing position, and Lee, holding the ball in his left hand, also moved sideways.

While Lee paused slightly on the three-point line, Alan Houston pretended to receive the ball.

Hardaway wanted to remind his teammates to switch defense, but the next second, Lee, holding the ball in his left hand, suddenly lowered his center of gravity, leaned forward and accelerated.

Hardaway, who was almost deceived, quickly slid to the right rear, and at the same time used his body advantage to continuously engage in physical confrontation, trying to block Lee to the baseline.

The two men collided, and when they were unable to break free of the defense, Lee approached the lower left side of the basket and continued to accelerate. He suddenly crossed over and pulled back.

The sudden stop caused Hardaway, who was still sliding on defense, to pause slightly.

The moment he switched to his right hand, Lee accelerated again and broke through, rushed into the paint area, and completed a layup while tilting his body against Hardaway who came to defend again!

“Swish!” The two-point ball went into the net!

After completing the attack, Lee stood under the basket and patted his biceps pretentiously, which caused cheers from the fans in the front row.

After being ambushed again, Hardaway wanted to communicate with his teammates, but in the end he just silently took the ball from the baseline.

The Magic team that defeated Michael Jordan in the playoffs is no longer there.

“Cobra” Grant is injured and Hardaway can’t handle the team alone.

The Knicks’ perimeter defense switched at will. Lee was the weakest defender among the players. When he reached the low post, he had to rely on his teammates’ help defense.

Hardaway played a back-to-the-basket singles game in the left blocking zone again.

After a series of shots, he quickly turned toward the baseline, scooped up the ball with his left hand, and rushed to the lower left side of the basket with Lee on his shoulders.

Ewing, who came to assist in defense, arrived soon. Hardaway jumped up and passed the ball.

The moment Rony Seikaly received the ball, Oakley, who had retreated to the basket, cut the ball hard.

“Bang!!”

Both the ball and his hand were hit, and Rony Seikaly screamed subconsciously and raised his arms, trying to get a foul.

But the referee did not make any comment, Oakley passed the ball to Alan Houston, and the Knicks launched another transition attack.

Several players of the Magic team quickly retreated. Brian Shaw, who got the chance to start tonight, rushed up immediately.

Nick Anderson did not miss the “Grandmama” this time and quickly retreated as well.

Neither Ewing nor Oakley joined in the madness, but instead lagged behind.

Hardaway quickly returned to defense and followed Lee all the time. The Magic quickly completed the matchup and forced the Knicks to slow down.

“Let’s go Knicks! Let’s go Knicks! Let’s go Knicks!”

The team fell into positional offense and the fans began to cheer loudly for the home team.

On the right wing, Alan Houston immediately passed the ball to Ewing at the free throw line, then cut in without the ball and quickly rushed to the basket without a chance to run to the left corner.

Near the left baseline, Larry Johnson’s screen was squeezed past, and Alan Houston still failed to get an open opportunity.

On the left wing, Lee quickly made a tactical gesture, signaling “Grandmama” to move up, and then immediately moved sideways and took over Ewing’s hand-to-hand pass at the top of the arc.

The moment he received the ball, Hardaway came up close.

Ewing’s screen was of good quality, but as long as he could squeeze halfway through, he could complete the defense with his hand movements.

Ewing went down and Lee, holding the ball in his right hand, also accelerated his breakthrough.

The Magic’s defense was compressed and Larry Johnson, who was reminded, quickly moved to the top of the arc.

After breaking through to the free throw line, Lee passed the ball from behind. Larry Johnson received the ball and ignored Strong who was defending him.

He quickly shot a three-pointer from the top of the arc!

The cheers in Madison Square Garden became louder. Head coach Adubato looked helplessly at the bench. When he saw Grant sitting upright, he sighed inwardly.

The starting lineup was changed, with Hardaway trying his best to defend Lee’s three-pointers and being more focused when defending without the ball, but these adjustments did not have much effect.

The defense line was compressed, and some players lost their defensive focus.

Head coach Adubato could only remind them loudly:

“Focus and follow your defender!”

The noise made it difficult for the Magic to hear what the head coach yelled, but they knew without even thinking, “Pay attention to defense!”

At 6:18, the score difference reached double digits again.

After retreating to the defense, Lee and the “Grandmama” fist-bumped and encouraged each other:

“Nice shot, the extra practice seems to have had some effect!”

The consecutive scores made Larry Johnson very proud:

“Try to finish off the opponent as soon as possible!”

In the second half of the game, the Magic finally found some touch and finished at the basket several times, but they always missed people on the defensive end, allowing the Knicks to score easily.

Hardaway, who was becoming more and more depressed as the game went on, was substituted out with 1 minute and 52 seconds left in the first quarter.

He passed the ball so many times but didn’t get a single assist.

By the end of the first quarter, at 18:29, the Knicks were still leading by 11 points.

Having changed into training clothes on the bench, Lee looked at the rotation lineup that was ready to fight, and said to Alan Houston beside him with a smile:

“I’m already thinking about the next round’s opponent!”

Alan Houston didn’t know this joke and said seriously:

“You still have to pay attention to the opponent’s counterattack. 4 assists in a single quarter, Lee, you are going to break the record again tonight!”

Lee shrugged his shoulders. He was not able to share his happiness. He suddenly felt lonely at this moment:

“Maybe this joke will no longer exist.”

…

By the way, don’t forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me 🙂

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep