NBA: The Basketball Miracle

"Swish!" A steady mid-range shot.

In one round, Lee realized his opponent's game strategy.

The offense reduces low-post big man singles, the three backcourt players run more actively, and the big man is more likely to be responsible for catching the ball.

After losing consecutive games in the regular season, the Nets are no longer obsessed with the low post.

The Knicks' seemingly weak inside line is actually difficult to be completely penetrated.

Soon the game turned into a test of patience.

The Nets ran their tactics methodically, and the players on the court performed their duties and continued to make shots.

Unlike the Nets, the Knicks mostly rely on individual abilities to drive offense.

Lee's pick-and-roll constantly mobilizes the two big men, and Larry Johnson will also complete back-to-the-basket singles in the low post.

In this attack, Cassell received the hand-to-hand pass from the big man Gatling in the left elbow area, briefly broke away from Lee's pursuit and made a jump shot from the free throw line.

"Bang!" The basketball hit the rim and bounced out!

This was the first time the Nets missed a shot, and all the New York fans at the scene cheered.

The rebound was easily protected by Larry Johnson, and after Lee received the ball, the Knicks immediately launched a transition offense.

Seeing Lee advancing quickly along the left sideline, Cassell stepped forward to delay him immediately.

The moment the opponent chased and defended to his side, Lee did not shake unnecessarily, but continued to accelerate with the help of Cassell.

The two quickly rushed across half court, and the Nets players hurriedly responded to each other, preparing to complete the defensive matchup.

On the left wing approaching the three-point line, Lee dribbled the ball quickly behind his back, suddenly stopped and swayed a short distance, then quickly passed the ball to Alan Houston at the top of the arc.

Without giving Cassell much time to react, Lee moved laterally without the ball and completed a hand-to-hand pass with Alan Houston at the top of the arc.

The two of them switched positions, and Cassell hurriedly chased and defended.

Lee, who was moving sideways, suddenly stopped, immediately received the ball at the top of the arc, and quickly jumped and shot!

"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!

Cassell, who had just chased Lee to the side, failed to block the shot.

He was still not used to Lee's offensive choice and raised his hand to indicate that it was his problem.

10:13, there are 7 minutes and 52 seconds left in the first quarter, and both sides played efficient offense.

Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines kept loudly reminding his players to remain patient.

In order to protect the rebounds, the Knicks gave up some mid-range shots, and Dudley squatted to defend at the beginning of the game.

Head coach Calipari also signaled the Nets players to remain patient and execute the game plan.

The game was not as one-sided as New York fans expected.

The Nets continued to respond with jump shots near the elbows, and after missing the shots, they also stepped up their efforts to grab frontcourt rebounds.

They frequently fell into positional attacks, and although the game was played at a fast pace, it was not fun for the fans to watch.

Lee was very patient and was always able to find the best scoring opportunities on the court.

In addition, with the ball in his hands and his teammates finishing, the Knicks never made any mistakes.

With 3 minutes and 5 seconds left in the first quarter, the score was 20:22.

Seeing that both teams maintained extremely efficient offense, commentator Mike Breen exclaimed:

"The Nets have made great progress. Compared to last season, the players' execution is even better!"

Walt Frazier on the side didn't care about the situation on the field at all, and said with a smile:

"The Knicks won't make mistakes first. Lee still controls the tempo of the game. We just need to be patient and wait for opportunities."

Kendall Gill made his first three shots, but this time he missed the long two-pointer from the right wing.

Larry Johnson was feeling very uncomfortable, and the rebound just fell into his arms.

He turned around, grabbed the ball and rushed forward.

Noticing that Lee had already accelerated, running without the ball, and rushing towards the opponent's half, Larry Johnson immediately sent a through ball after crossing the center line.

The quality of the pass was not good.

Lee, who had just crossed the free throw line and was near the paint area, bent down to receive the ball.

Cassell, who was retreating quickly, suddenly jumped forward and tried to steal the ball.

However, he didn't expect that Lee would dribble the ball behind his back while receiving it, and took three steps forward to dodge his cut ball.

Cassell, who failed to cut the ball, rushed out of the baseline directly, while Lee grabbed the ball with his left hand, jumped up and glided to the lower left side of the basket, hovered briefly in the air, twisted his wrist, and deftly sent the ball into the basket.

"oh!!"

The agile layup broke the dull atmosphere.

After an exclamation, the New York fans at the scene immediately cheered loudly.

At 20:24, the Knicks expanded their lead again.

Lee took small steps and retreated with a smile.

He was not a real young boy.

He had never lost in a competition of patience.

Cassel's face looked grim, he felt like he was being shown off, he let out a long breath and tried to stay calm.

The offense continued as planned, but this time big man Gatling turned around under the basket and was hit by Oakley's powerful cut, causing him to scream.

The Nets' rookie players were still complaining.

The Knicks team had already rushed forward.

After receiving the ball in the middle, Lee kept accelerating.

Cassell had no time to call his teammates and could only retreat quickly.

Seeing that there was no one guarding Alan Houston's side, Lee, holding the ball in his left hand, did not slow down, but rushed to the free throw line against Cassell.

While moving, Lee passed the ball behind his back and accurately found Alan Houston who was running to the right corner.

The latter received the ball without any adjustments, he immediately raised the ball and shot it!

"Swish!" The converted three-pointer went into the net.

At 20:27, seeing the score gap widen, Alan Houston pumped his fist to celebrate, and the noise became louder and louder.

Quietly, the Knicks took the lead by 7 points.

Lee looked at the championship point guard in front of him with a smile, while Cassell looked unhappy.

Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines breathed a sigh of relief, then called on Chris Childs and Starks and others, and the Knicks began to rotate personnel step by step.

With 1 minute and 58 seconds left in the first quarter, Lee was substituted off the court.

He made 3 of 4 shots, 1 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, and had 7 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.

The game was not stressful, Lee did not play, and the Knicks scored from multiple points.

This made Ewing, who was on the bench, feel sad:

"When I was on the court, the Knicks did not play like this!"

The rotation lineups of both teams came on the court, and the Nets maintained an efficient offense, but the score gap was not narrowed.

At 26:33, at the end of the first quarter, the Knicks still led by 7 points.

"This is the difference in strength. Even though the Nets played well, I believe the boys will be able to expand the score soon!"

Walt Frazier looked in a good mood.

Unlike ordinary fans, he was more concerned about the pace of the game.

The Knicks scored in all of their limited transition offense, with all five starters scoring, which shows that the opponent's defense was not good.

Commentator Mike Breen thought the Knicks easily took a 7-point lead:

"We really showed absolute control of the game and didn't make any mistakes in the first quarter."

"Lee hasn't started scoring yet. It seems like tonight's game will be easier than we thought."

When it came to the rotation stage, the substitute lineups of both sides were not as efficient as the starting lineups.

Jeff Van Gundy watched as both sides began to miss shots, but he did not rush to make substitutions.

Instead, he returned to the bench and watched the game happily.

It was not until 4 minutes and 12 seconds left in the second quarter that Clay Lee and Alan Houston returned to the court.

37:46, despite low efficiency, the Knicks still widened the point difference.

In the last few minutes of the first half, the Nets were already a little anxious and took the initiative to speed up the offensive tempo.

Lee quietly followed the opponent and the cheers from the scene became more and more loud.

At the end of the first half, the score was 46:57, and before they knew it, the Knicks were already leading by 11 points.

With a double-digit lead, New York fans couldn't hold back anymore and started celebrating the victory at halftime!

In the Knicks locker room, Jeff Van Gundy's smile never stopped:

"What does the best coach in the league mean?"

Everyone on the Knicks team was talking and laughing.

Lee made 5 assists in the first half.

Everyone touched the ball and everyone had stats.

Everyone just felt deeply involved in the game, so naturally they were in a good mood.

Lee noticed that Ewing didn't say anything and seemed to be in a bad mood.

He touched his chin and smiled in his heart:

"It's an easy game, so everyone has to share the cake. The boss can't eat alone."

By the third quarter, the Nets could no longer hold on.

The Knicks were more patient than they thought.

Once again actively speeding up the offensive tempo, Kerry Kittles made a three-pointer from the right wing right after the opening!

"Clang!"

The long rebound bounced out, Alan Houston immediately took the rebound, and then immediately passed it to Lee who was accelerating in the middle.

The Nets players obviously failed to reach a consensus, and there were problems in their defense in the first round.

Only Cassell reacted the fastest and tried to delay Lee at the first moment, but he was directly dribbled past by a large behind-the-back ball.

Lee shook off Cassell's defense and continued to accelerate with the ball in his left hand.

Noticing Kettles on the other side also quickly returned to defense, Lee began to slow down after rushing past half court, and immediately stopped at the top of the arc and made a quick jump shot for a three-pointer!

"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net.

Cassell, who was chasing closely from behind, was a little confused.

There was only one defender in front of him.

The two men who threw the ball blindly and retreated in time looked at each other, while the New York fans at the scene shouted excitedly.

46:60, the score difference came to 14 points.

Head coach Calipari on the sidelines loudly signaled to the players to stay calm and defend well, but as Cassell fell to the ground in pain during a breakthrough, the coaching staff knew that the game was over.

The championship point guard was injured and left the court, and the Nets quickly replaced him with backup point guard Sherman Douglas.

After this little guy came on the court, his cross pass from the left wing to the top of the arc in the first round was directly intercepted by Lee.

Amid the cheers of the fans at the scene, after completing the steal, Lee kept accelerating with the ball in his right hand, playing 1 vs. 0 in the frontcourt, jumped in the paint area, and easily made a windmill dunk!

Lee's dunk was not smooth enough, but he still ignited the atmosphere of Madison Square Garden.

"Wow!!"

The score gap continued to widen, and the atmosphere team on the Knicks bench began to wave the towel wildly.

Soon, the rhythm of the game entered a state of random play.

The Knicks stepped up their defense, and the Nets, who were trailing by a large margin, became more and more anxious.

Their organized tactics failed to score, and Kendall Gill and Kettles began to play singles consecutively.

Cutting in 45 degrees from the left, Kendall Gill's breakthrough layup was blocked, Dudley grabbed the rebound, and the Knicks started to run wildly.

Lee, who received the ball, continued to accelerate along the right sideline.

Sherman Douglas just came up to defend and saw Lee make a long pass.

The basketball crossed half court and landed precisely on Larry Johnson, who was near the free throw line.

After receiving the pass, Johnson dunked with one hand!

The Nets were only paying attention to their own defenders, and then they realized that Gill, who had fallen to the ground, had not retreated to half court.

The Nets, who had only three turnovers in the first half, completely collapsed in this quarter.

The ball was lost in the paint, the dribble hit his foot, and the pass was passed to the bench.

Cheers, jeers, and joyful shouts began to fill Madison Square Garden.

With 3 minutes and 46 seconds left in the third quarter, Jayson Williams, who had been rotated in early, still missed his second free throw.

Oakley grabbed the rebound and the Knicks launched another transition attack.

After receiving the ball, Alan Houston continued to accelerate, crossed the center line, and immediately passed the ball to Lee who was following up on the right wing.

After receiving the pass, Lee did not slow down.

He approached the three-point line, suddenly stopped, and dribbled behind his back twice in a row at an extremely fast speed.

Lee made a deceptive movement of his body, fished the ball out with his right hand, and lowered his center of gravity to pretend a breakthrough.

Douglas, who had just retreated to the half court, subconsciously slid to the left rear.

Seeing Lee pulling back from the crotch, when he wanted to make up for the defense, he was directly shaken and split into two.

"oh!!"

The defensive player's embarrassed posture made the fans at the scene couldn't help but shout loudly.

Without any defensive interference, Lee glanced at the opponent, passed the ball to the left wing, and shot a jump shot from outside the three-point line!

"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!

After scoring the goal, Lee raised his right hand to his ear and made a listening gesture while retreating.

Madison Square Garden was in an uproar.

The Nets were forced to request another timeout.

Commentator Mike Breen was delighted and started praising the team:

"This is Lee! Regardless of whether he wins the MVP this season, I think in the hearts of New York fans, this award belongs to him!"

Walt Frazier on the side also smiled and added:

"There is no suspense. The Nets played well in the first half. Lee completely controlled the game tonight."

In the last few minutes of the third quarter, Lee also started to shoot the ball randomly, and the last quarter turned into garbage time.

If he didn't shoot, he would have no chance.

The Nets did not seize the opportunity.

Instead, they were mentally broken by several unreasonable goals and finally collapsed.

The score was 14:26 in a single quarter.

After three quarters, the score was 60:83.

In the last quarter of the game, Lee had already changed into training clothes and was waving a towel on the sidelines.

"Little Ben" got some garbage time again and performed hard after coming on the court.

The two people in the commentary booth were talking more and more off topic.

Walt Frazier took a look at the technical statistics and said regretfully:

"23 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals. Lee almost got a double double."

"Think about those Chicago media reports. Lee never plays for statistics!"

In 26 minutes, Lee shot 9 of 15, 3 of 5 from beyond the three-point line, and 2 of 2 free throws.

His efficiency was high again!

Commentator Mike Breen looked at the technical statistics and did not respond.

The Knicks still made an effort in the assist king.

The same goes for the Wizards.

After all, the gap between the two is too small:

"If we win Game 1, and the night after tomorrow, we can win another game and get the match point, and then advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals!"

"Maybe we will meet our old rivals again, but judging from the regular season matchups, the Hornets seem to have the upper hand!"

The two began to imagine the future in the commentary booth, and the game time passed quickly.

As the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, the score was fixed at 83:104.

The Knicks defeated the Nets at home and got off to a good start in the playoffs.

Lee fist-bumped with the atmosphere group leaving the field with a smile.

Ben Davis grinned, holding the assist king trophy and shouting, and asked everyone to prepare to take pictures.

MSG soon interviewed Lee, and just like the regular season, they started the commercial promotion session.

It was a thrilling victory, and the New York fans at the scene continued to cheer loudly after the game, and the noise was still going strong.

Walt Frazier, wearing a brown suit and a Knicks-colored tie, was in a good mood and asked the question that fans were most concerned about:

"I think New York fans support you to win the MVP. What do you think about this year's selection?"

Lee was asked the same question for several days in a row, but he was well prepared and answered with a smile:

"No matter who wins the MVP award, I think it's well-deserved because our records are very close."

"For me, the championship is the most important thing. Maybe another MVP award is more suitable for me!"

Commentator Mike Breen was laughing at the sidelines and started to praise the team:

"63 wins, first in the league! Lee, you are the MVP in the hearts of New York fans!"

"We all believe that the Knicks will win the championship!"

"."

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