With just over six minutes left in the first quarter, D'Antoni finally pulled Lin Yi off the floor for a breather.
Across the court, Cavs coach Mike Brown let out a long sigh of relief and quickly subbed out his already winded big man.
O'Neal looked like he just went twelve rounds in the ring—completely gassed. Honestly, if boxing were allowed, the Big Diesel would've thrown a few punches Lin Yi's way by now. The kid was really bullying the elderly out there.
The scoreboard read 11–19. Yup, the Knicks were in the lead, unexpectedly.
Mike Brown muttered to himself, "This isn't sustainable... we can't keep this up."
His brain was spinning now. Even LeBron was irritated during the last timeout.
...
Meanwhile, over in the media row, Wu Xiaolei was practically laughing out loud. Lin Yi had been way too much fun to watch tonight. Who would've thought O'Neal could be made to look this helpless?
"Sis Xiaolei, what's going on with the Cavs?" asked Qi Jun, brows furrowed. "Aren't they supposed to be way better than the Knicks?"
"It's not that they can't win..." Wu Xiaolei replied, thinking aloud. "They might need to give up some size to keep up with the Knicks' pace."
And that's exactly what happened. First quarter ended with the Cavs down 23–30. As the second quarter kicked off, Mike Brown started making adjustments.
Knicks rolled out their second unit: Lin Yi (still on the floor), Harrington, Gallinari, Tony Douglas, and Chris Duhon.
Cavs countered with: JJ Hickson, LeBron, Jamario Moon, Daniel Gibson, and Delonte West.
"They've gone smaller to try and keep up with Lin Yi," Wu Xiaolei noted.
Qi Jun nodded along... but something didn't feel right.
Lin Yi was locked in. He wasn't about to waste this hot streak.
JJ Hickson, listed at 6'9
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