Chapter 48: “Iron-Blooded” Basketball (IV)
The two sides were fighting before the half-time of the nationally televised game. The lively scene made the New York fans who liked to watch the excitement shout with excitement.
On the Heat bench, Mourning reacted quickly. Seeing his teammate suffer, he rushed forward and pulled Lee away.
Lee staggered after being pulled, and before he could react, Hardaway raised his upper body and rushed over again. The linesman reacted even faster and simply jumped between the two of them. The other two referees also rushed over and tried to separate the crowd.
The scene was already in chaos, and Larry Johnson, who was full of anger, got into a fight with Mourning under the basket.
The players who rushed into the field were also pushing each other. The coaching staff and security personnel of both sides rushed up and tried to pull the players back to the bench.
Starks took advantage of the chaos and punched Hardaway again, spewing,
"Fuck you, you're just a piece of trash who can only punch a rookie!"
Two referees quickly grabbed Hardaway and dragged him directly to the player tunnel. Another referee also pulled Lee to the player tunnel.
"Shit! Let me go!"
Hardaway suffered a loss and wanted to go back to get back at the court, but in the end he was sent back to the other side of the locker room by everyone.
Lee indicated that he had calmed down, patted the referee next to him, and left the court on his own initiative.
New York fans on both sides of the player tunnel stretched out their arms and high-fived Lee to celebrate, cheering loudly.
In the center of the court, Larry Johnson and Alonso Mourning were also pulled apart. The two were still going over old scores. Larry Johnson called Mourning a traitor while Alonso mocked "grandmama" as a cancer.
Pat Riley frowned on the sidelines. He was somewhat dissatisfied with Mourning's impulsiveness.
Soon the referee announced in front of the technical table that "Clay Lee, Tim Hardaway, Alonzo Mourning, and Larry Johnson" were ejected from the game.
Rushing from the bench into the field was naturally a violation of the rules, and the confused Jeff Van Gundy found that the team's advantage was back.
Without Mourning, the Heat's interior defensive strength will drop significantly.
Charles Oakley chuckled and asked to play early.
In the subsequent game, with the return of Ewing, the Knicks regained the rebounding advantage. PJ Brown was miraculously absent in a single quarter with 20:24.
At the end of the first half, the score was 44:42, and the Knicks narrowed the gap to only 2 points.
"Well done, Lee, we're going to win this game!"
During the halftime break, Charles Oakley returned to the locker room and loudly praised Lee's one-for-one trade.
The opponent lost its main point guard, and the old guy knew that the Heat was finished.
"It was just a knock down, Tim Hardaway is so stingy!"
Lee had finished his physical therapy by then, and sat in his seat casually complaining about Hardaway's overreaction.
"Not only did he knock the opponent down, I guarantee that this dribble will be recorded forever in the Sports Center program. Killer Crossover, oh! That's his signature move!"
Starks, who received a technical foul, gloated on the sidelines.
Tim Hardaway lost all his face after being knocked down by the rookie player using his signature move.
Patrick Ewing was in a good mood as well. The Heat lost a meat shield and he regained his touch. Seeing that the "grandmama" was depressed and silent, he took the initiative to comfort him:
"Larry, we will win this game!"
After hearing what Big Brother said, Larry Johnson could only nod dejectedly as a response.
Lee knew that Larry was worried about the data. The new season has been going on for a month, and Larry Johnson, who could score 20+ last season, has seen his data reduced by more than half.
After Jeff Van Gundy entered the locker room, he continued to encourage everyone. Victory was in sight, and the joy of defeating Pat Trailey had begun to fill their hearts.
Amid the cheers of enthusiastic New York fans, the Knicks completely reversed the score in the third quarter, 66:68.
In the fourth quarter, although the Heat found their touch from the outside, Alan Houston also had a good time and made two consecutive three-pointers to respond in time.
In the end, the Knicks won the game with difficulty, 86:91!
As soon as the game ended, Jeff Van Gundy smiled. Pat Riley was in a bad mood. He simply encouraged Van Gundy and left quickly.
The New York media, who were stirring up trouble, awarded the best player of the game to Lee after the game.
At the press conference, Van Gundy, who was praised, felt that he had mastered some of Pat Riley's tactics:
"Is this the true meaning of iron-blooded basketball?"
A fight broke out in the nationally televised game, and the NBA announced the punishment the next morning:
Tim Hardaway threw a punch and shoved the referee, for which he was fined $10,000 and suspended for one game;
Clay Lee punched Hardaway, for which he was fined $7,500 and suspended for one game.
Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson rushed onto the court from the bench and participated in the fight. They were also suspended for one game and fined $5,000.
Under the severe punishment, Pat Riley did not speak for his players. He just responded confidently in an interview:
"We are ready for the next fight!"
"."
On December 4, the Knicks challenged the Nets back-to-back away from home and eventually defeated their opponents easily with a score of 109:100.
Clay Lee and Larry Johnson did not play with the team in this game. They stayed in New York and trained as usual during the day.
During the afternoon break, the "grandmama" who had eaten a lemon helped Lee sort out the letters from fans. He said in a sour tone:
"As expected, fans still like fancy dribbling. You are still a first-year rookie, and you have received so many letters."
Lee had a headache. This old-fashioned way of support consumed a lot of his energy:
"Passionate fans can sometimes cause some confusion. Oh! Why is there hair in there?"
Larry Johnson was not surprised at all. He laughed and said jokingly:
"Perhaps you will even receive an invitation to beg for seed. Believe me, what I say is true!"
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