For Anfernee Hardaway, scoring less than 40 points in the first half of two consecutive playoff gas this year was like a nightmare.
In the Eastern Conference first round G2 match between the Magic and the Knicks, the score was 31:58 at the end of the first half and the Magic were already 27 points behind.
The overwhelming jeers in Madison Square Garden made Hardaway's eyes widen.
This was an experience he had never had before.
Such a huge score difference also ant that the ga was over, and the Knicks would never waste such an opportunity.
Lee in the starting lineup and Chris Childs in the substitute lineup firmly controlled the rhythm of the ga.
As long as they could keep up with the response of the ball, they could play in all three quarters tonight.
Returning to the locker room at halfti, Alan Houston was completely comfortable.
Last year, he and Grant Hill were swept out by Hardaway and O'Neal in the first round of the playoffs. This year, they were able to take revenge:
"13 points in a single quarter, it looks like we can sweep our opponents!"
When everyone heard Alan Houston's words, they all nodded. With the Magic team's poor performance, a 3:0 series lead should not be a problem.
Although the opponent lacked a main inside player, the result of the ga was still beyond the expectations of "Grandmama".
It was really too easy.
"This year's first round of gas will most likely end in a 3:0 result."
Larry Johnson also felt the ga was easy, and he knew the Heat had already got the match point and the opponent did not give the Hornets any chance.
"Grandmama" felt a little upset when she saw the Hornets lose the ga cleanly.
Glen Rice, who was in great form in the regular season, still had a good performance in the playoffs, but the entire team was powerless against the Heat's iron-blooded defense and lost by 12 points in Ga 2.
"Winning the ga earlier will also give us more ti to rest."
Ewing simply reminded everyone that the Heat had a high probability of sweeping their opponents, and the gorilla did not want the Knicks to suffer a loss in rest ti, after all, the veterans' recovery abilities were relatively poor.
Although Lee felt that Hardaway would definitely explode after returning to his ho court, the other players on the Magic were really disappointing.
Averaging only 94.1 points per ga in the regular season, the Magic's scoring ability ranked fifth from the bottom in the league, and this situation did not change in the playoffs.
The huge score difference ant that Jeff Van Gundy didn't give too many instructions after returning to the locker room. This ga could not be lost at all.
After the second half of the ga started, the New York fans were still excited and continued to cheer loudly for the ho team, while also mocking "Mr. 50 Points".
The Magic's form improved, but they were running out of ti. Hardaway kept scoring points, and all Lee needed to do was control the pace of the ga and get the ball to the right position.
Occasionally, he would take advantage of Hardaway's inattention and sneak attack the basket to score points easily.
Both sides played lively throughout the second half. In the fourth quarter, Hardaway did not give up and played with the Knicks for 6 minutes.
After that, head coach Adubato replaced the atmosphere team.
84:108, at the end of the ga, Hardaway, sitting on the bench, looked at the 24-point difference with dull eyes.
The big win made the New York fans at the scene mock the Magic team crazily.
At the MSG comntary booth, comntator Marv Albert said with emotion:
"At the age of 19 years and 117 days, Lee surpassed Magic Johnson and beca the youngest player in NBA playoff history to score 15 points and 10 assists!"
"This record, which was set in 1980, has also been broken. These are incredible young people."
He played for 35 minutes, made 6 of 12 shots, 3 of 7 from beyond the three-point line, 2 of 2 free throws, 17 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal and 2 steals.
Just like the regular season, Lee's "diocre" double-double data.
Breaking Magic Johnson's record also made comntator John Andariese a little excited:
"It's hard to imagine that Lee is only 19 years old. He has talents that are invisible to everyone. Only after watching the ga can you understand how good he is."
"Controlling the tempo of the ga is not an easy task. The Knicks have reduced their turnovers and increased their possessions this season. These are all the results of Lee starting the ga!"
"."
Lee's mature ntality prevents him from being as impulsive as ordinary young players, and his excellent mory allows him to always predict the opponent's tactical routines in advance.
Making the offense clearer and more reasonable is Lee's current job in the team.
Breaking Magic Johnson's record in the playoffs gave the New York dia a collective climax.
After the ga, Lee and Ewing attended the press conference together, and the gorilla felt that he was left out.
"Lee, how do you feel about breaking Magic Johnson's record in the playoffs?"
Lee didn't think this record was anything special. He didn't imdiately understand the mood of the New York dia.
He smiled and held the microphone in front of him and responded:
"It was just a normal playoff ga and I just did the basics, that's all."
"During the offensive round, if you pass the ball to a teammate who has successfully moved into position, you will get an assist!"
"."
After the ga, not only the New York dia was excited, but ESPN and TNT were also reporting extensively that Clay Lee broke Magic Johnson's record.
Unlike the regular season, most basketball critics still pay more attention to the playoffs, and Magic Johnson has a higher status in the history of the NBA playoffs.
Breaking the record of this legendary star made Lee's popularity soar again.
Except for fans in New York, most fans who want to learn about the stars still have to watch cable TV broadcasts and newspapers and magazines.
A record is released every now and then.
Even those who don't like watching the NBA will be curious and join in the fun.
On April 28, the Heat defeated the Hornets again on the road, and finally swept their opponents with a score of 3:0, easily advancing to the semifinals!
Although Pat Riley has a high probability of losing the award for the league's best coach, the Heat team he built has obviously been a success!
The award for the league's best manager will most likely be won by Pat Riley, who holds two positions.
The Jazz also advanced. Stockton, Hornacek and Karl Malone perford as steadily as ever, sweeping the Clippers with a score of 3:0.
4 of 10, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 13 assists, 3 steals, 4 turnovers, Stockton easily hit his signature data!
The Knicks team, who had already flown to Orlando, watched the ga together in the evening.
Ewing was jealous again for a while.
According to the recent trend, Karl Malone is really going to win the MVP!
"Do these sports reporters and broadcasters only look at the data? Obviously, our performance is not inferior to the Jazz!"
Charles Oakley really feels that he is old this ti.
The dia are all promoting Karl Malone.
Faced with such outrageous selection results, the old guy is also confused.
Starks is still younger after all, and he added sarcastically:
"In terms of PER, it is said that Karl Malone ranks first, surpassing Michael Jordan."
(PER: Playing Efficiency Rating)
When the Knicks players heard this data, most of them were puzzled, and expressions of "what is that?" appeared on their faces.
"It's a asure of a player's efficiency, but it's not that objective. It can only be used as a reference."
Lee gave a brief explanation, but everyone still shook their heads and no one cared about it.
Most ordinary players just look at the number of shots and hit rate, and don't care about other data at all.
"It's hard to believe that Michael Jordan is rejected based on just this one statistic!"
The atmosphere group also complained, believing that sports reporters and broadcasters were deliberately trying to trip up Michael Jordan.
Lee shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.
As ti approaches May, the MVP award for this season will be announced soon. The gorilla has been eating lemons every day recently:
"We're both on the 64-win team, so why didn't he get the award?"
The reason is very simple. Ewing's Excel is not good enough, and in the Knicks, Lee's data performance is better.
This situation is a bit embarrassing. Except for average points per ga, average rebounds per ga, shooting percentage and blocks, the gorilla lags behind Lee in all other aspects.
Excel is not the best in the Knicks, so how could most sports dia vote for Ewing?
The boss was sulking again, and the atmosphere group had to go back to their rooms to rest, so tonight's card ga was cancelled.
On the evening of the 29th, the Magic team returned to their ho court and fed shit to the fans in the first quarter of the ga.
30:13, the Knicks led by 17 points at the start.
Face-to-face attack, continuous back-to-back, Hardaway kept shooting in the first quarter, 4 of 10 in a single quarter, and scored 9 points!
But such performance was useless. Lee really couldn't defend on the defensive end, and on the offensive end, he didn't force himself to attack against the explosive Hardaway, but sent 5 assists in a single quarter.
Ewing made 5 of 7 shots and easily got 10 points and 8 rebounds. Alan Houston made 3 of 5 shots and 2 of 3 from beyond the three-point line, also scoring 8 points efficiently.
During the intermission, at the Orlando Arena, the ho fans began booing. People buy tickets to watch the ga, not to eat shit!
Hardaway obviously wanted to compete with Lee.
This fake successor of Jordan felt jealous when he saw Lee appearing frequently on TV.
He had a strong performance in the first quarter, but his teammates missed many shots, which completely discouraged Hardaway.
Lee, who was sitting on the bench, changed into training clothes, ignored the shouting behind him, and sat in his seat calmly. The mont the opponent chose to attack, the ga was over.
"It feels really good to sweep the opponent. It seems that Hardaway doesn't plan to rest."
Alan Houston saw that Hardaway was still on the court in the second quarter and began to gloat, because a 17-point gap was not easy to make up.
"It was a useless attempt. The first quarter was all one-on-ones. They were dood to lose."
Lee ca to his senses and saw Hardaway start to score consecutively. He complained and continued to watch the situation on the court.
The Knicks really had no one who could match Hardaway at the No. 1 position, and Chris Childs was unable to defend against the fake Jordan successor, and was scored against continuously by the opponent.
But on the bench, Starks has been in better and better form recently and can also score response goals.
Although they were still far behind, the Magic fans at the scene began to cheer loudly for Hardaway's performance.
Hardaway scored 17 points with 8 of 11 shots in a single quarter, which was considered to be a blow to the Knicks' backcourt.
The first half ended with the score difference at 56:39, and there was no change.
For three consecutive gas, the score at halfti did not exceed 40.
Hardaway almost beca autistic on the spot and walked back to the locker room with a sullen face.
The persevering Hardaway continued to shoot crazily in the third quarter. Lee kept defending against his shots.
The Magic team lost their minds and started to shoot three-pointers continuously.
The Knicks had predicted that the opponent would have this offensive option.
They protected the rebounds and Lee launched a transition offense. After a few rounds, the ga completely collapsed.
The score in a single quarter was 24:18, and after three quarters, it was 80:57.
So Magic fans had already started to leave.
Hardaway did not play in the fourth quarter without a single minute of rest in the first three quarters.
Head coach Adubato brought in the atmosphere group and announced that the series was completely over.
On the bench, Ewing also changed into training clothes, made 8 of 12 shots, 17 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 2 turnovers.
He only played for 31 minutes and got a double-double. The gorilla was very satisfied with his performance:
"Lee, how is PER calculated?"
Ewing pretended to be indifferent and asked Lee beside him about the data question in a low voice.
"Simply put, it's the offensive stats minus the missed shots, minus the missed free throws, and then divided by the number of gas played."
Lee gave a brief explanation, and when he saw Ewing shaking his head silently, he knew that he was still thinking about the MVP.
Everyone on the Knicks bench was chatting and laughing. Even though the boss didn't win the MVP, everyone really tried their best, and this matter can be said to have been completely turned over.
The ga ended quickly, 104:88, and the Magic regained so face in the last quarter.
The series score ca to 3:0, and the Knicks finally swept the Magic easily and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Hardaway tried to maintain his deanor and shook hands with the expressionless Knicks players.
Just looking at the smiling faces of Alan Houston and Clay Lee, Hardaway almost couldn't hold back. After shaking hands, he quickly left the court.
After the ga, Hardaway's old injury recurred and he was unable to attend the press conference.
16 of 30, 42 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, the fake Jordan successor bid farewell to this season with a 40
ga, and the fans were satisfied, at least they had enough excuses:
"The Magic lost, but Penny didn't lose!"
In tonight's ga, Lee only played for 27 minutes, made 5 of 9 shots, 2 of 5 from beyond the three-point line, 2 of 3 free throws, 14 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers.
The double-double data once again broke Magic Johnson's record!
The sweep of the opponent also gave the Knicks nearly a week of rest ti, and major sports dia also began to promote the "teacher-student battle" in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
On April 28, Starks, who had just returned to New York, also received the league's best sixth man award.
In the press conference room of Madison Square Garden, Starks accepted the trophy with a smile on his face.
Although his average of 13.6 points per ga was not an advantage among all the candidates, Starks received 73% of the votes.
The Knicks' record brought a huge bonus, breaking the best record in team history, and soone should get an award.
Starks won the best sixth man award, and Ewing's MVP dream was completely shattered.
Taking this opportunity, the coaching staff also announced a one-day holiday, after which everyone will fully prepare for the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Winning an award is always a good thing, so Starks simply held a party in the apartnt, as it is better to share happiness with others than to enjoy it alone.
In addition to the Knicks team, there were also a lot of people joining in the fun at the apartnt.
Ewing also forced a smile. In a few days, Karl Malone will receive the award, and the gorilla can only eat lemons every day.
"I was quite surprised when Pat called , but I still chose to accept the invitation. Although my personal data this season is average, it is always a good thing to play more playoffs."
Alan Houston looked at the noisy crowd, clinked glasses with Lee while holding a glass of juice, and recalled his original choice.
Lee thinks that this player is more interested in big markets like New York. Ewing's recruitnt played a role, but the geographical location is the key:
"The data will also increase. With an appropriate increase in the number of possessions and the inability to digest the ball, the number of shots will definitely increase."
After thinking about it, Alan Houston seed to feel that what Lee said made sense, and he no longer minded the decline in statistics.
After all, this was only the first year.
New York fans don't like Alan Houston's playing style, and the doubts have never stopped this season.
When Alan Houston was at the University of Tennessee, he played "father-son basketball".
The head coach at the ti was his father. It can be said that doubts have been rising since college.
No matter how Alan Houston performs, he seems very calm when facing the dia. His college experience has given him great help.
"We should have more chances in the semi-finals. A lot of tis, the ga is about talent, and our tactics are very flexible!"
Lee raised the juice and blinked. The Heat is not the Magic. Although Mourning is a younger brother, he will not be polite to Ewing.
If you can't open up the situation, you have to pass the ball to the outside!
Alan Houston understood this, the regular season data dropped, the playoff data increased, and by next season, perhaps the situation will change.
The two smiled and clinked their glasses again, while Larry Johnson on the side was drinking to drown his sorrows.
This year, without statistics and honors, "Grandmama" has beco an ordinary role player.
On April 30, the Bulls defeated the Bullets by one point, 96:95, thanks to Pippen's last-minute dunk, and successfully advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Michael Jordan, who was in a declining state, played for 43 minutes, made 14 of 24 shots, scored 28 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block and 2 turnovers.
With a shooting rate of nearly 60%, the Bulls still remain unstoppable, leaving many comntators dumbfounded.
If nothing unexpected happens, the Bulls' opponent in the next round will be the Hawks.
Although the Hawks have this season's DPOY Dikembe Mutombo, most people firmly believe that Michael Jordan will reach the Eastern Conference Finals again.
The Knicks have also begun to prepare for the Eastern Conference semifinals, and Jeff Van Gundy attaches great importance to it.
After all, he was about to receive the league's best coach award, and Jeff Van Gundy didn't want to be slapped in the face at ho.
The playoffs were still in progress, and the tenacious Pistons tied the score to 2:2, with one ga deciding the outco, which was well received by the spectators.
On May 3, the NBA officially announced that Karl Malone of the Jazz won the Most Valuable Player Award of this season.
As soon as the news was announced, a large number of dia outlets rushed to Chicago to interview Michael Jordan, and a small number of them ca to New York to interview Ewing.
However, to everyone's disappointnt, neither of them responded and both declined the interview, saying that they were fully preparing for the semi-finals.
Karl Malone, who is about to turn 34, has reached the highlight of his career, and the Jazz fans are also excited.
On the evening of the 4th, Lee went to Starks's house for dinner.
After dinner, the two of them sat in front of the TV and saw David Stern present the bronze dal to Malone. Starks was still a little bit unbelievable:
"69 wins, the scoring champion this season, and Michael Jordan didn't win the award? These dia are really crazy!"
Lee, however, felt happy. Like all the fans, he preferred to see Michael Jordan's defense break down:
"Sotis the MVP has to consider other factors. Anyway, the news these days is dominated by this award."
"Does voting really have to be based on data sheets?"
People are in high spirits when things are going well. In the Western Conference semifinals that night, the Jazz defeated the Lakers 77:93!
Karl Malone made 9 of 21 shots and got a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds, while O'Neal made 6 of 16 shots and only got 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Big Shark was beaten into a little Shaq, and Kobe Bryant, who just broke the record and beca the youngest player in playoff history to score 20 points, made 1 of 7 shots and scored 3 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.
The experienced Jazz taught the Lakers another lesson, and Malone also proved that there is no fake MVP!
On May 5, the NBA announced the best coach of the season:
Jeff Van Gundy of the New York Knicks led the team to break the best record in team history, winning 64 gas, and won the award without any suspense!
Wearing a neat black suit, white shirt and dark blue tie, Jeff Van Gundy tried hard to control his smile and held up the trophy in the press conference room of Madison Square Garden.
The Heat players who have arrived in New York are very low-key, and Pat Riley has not expressed much on the matter.
"Jeff is an excellent coach and I am sure he will continue to have more and more success. I am very happy to see him receive this award!"
That night, before the start of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Pat Riley, with a shiny slicked-back hair, spoke to the New York dia and simply sent his blessings.
Coming to the familiar Madison Square Garden, Pat Riley still looked elegant, with a slicked-back hair and a calm expression, showing the appearance of a true famous coach.
When the New York fans at the scene saw the bald young coach holding the tactical board and loudly explaining the tactics, they imdiately felt that his temperant was far inferior.
After the ho team's entrance ceremony ended, the noise in Madison Square Garden beca louder and louder.
"The Heat continued with the starting lineup from the first round, with Tim Hardaway and Voshon Lenard in the backcourt, Jamal Mashburn and Alonzo Mourning on the front line, and P.J. Brown at center."
"There are almost no secrets between the two sides. Each side knows each other's tactics very well, which is a challenge for the Knicks."
At the MSG comntary booth, comntator Marv Albert briefly introduced the Heat's starting lineup. Comntator John Andariese also joked:
"Having just won the best coach award, I believe that coach Van Gundy will make targeted arrangents. This ga can be said to be a battle of proof."
The players from both teams were doing their final warm-up. Ewing had been a little silent since he knew Malone won the award, but he still reminded everyone before going on the court:
"Defend well, don't let the other side score easily, and protect our ho court!"
The players from both teams ca to the center circle. Mourning took the initiative to comfort Ewing, but Tim Hardaway kept staring at Clay Lee, the "No. 1 point guard
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