NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

"The Celtics have used up all their timeouts, and they were completely outplayed by the Knicks in the final moments!"

"That's the Knicks for you!" Kenny exclaimed. "The Celtics did their best. They did everything they could. They gave it their all. They unleashed everything they had, and they really held off the Knicks for the first 46 minutes."

“I think, to be precise,” Miller continued, “they defended everyone except Lin. Their strategy was flawless. Perhaps, apart from not double-teaming Lin throughout the game, all their strategies were impeccable. No one could have done better, no one could have been more perfect.”

"But do you think this is a problem with double-teaming?" Payton shrugged. "They used various strategies against Lin in the final moments, such as double-teaming and full-court press, but what was the result? Lin easily broke through each one and scored easily."

"Is fraternizing Lin really a good choice?"

"Given Lin's absolute abilities, whether he's double-teamed or not, it's all poison. You can only pray that this cup of poison won't be fatal, but you absolutely cannot choose not to drink either cup of poison."

"There's no other choice. This is Lin, this is the best player in the league, this is the strongest king in the NBA over the past decade, this is a unique super genius and the greatest player in NBA history!"

On the court, with just over 20 seconds left, the Celtics once again surged into the frontcourt. Parker made a nearly desperate three-point attempt. Although the three-pointer went in, everyone knew that this shot could not change the outcome of the game. The only thing he could change was the post-game statistics.

The Knicks had possession of the ball, but they didn't launch another counterattack. They quietly waited for the clock to run out, and then won Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals!

This was definitely their toughest and closest game to losing since the playoffs began. They were behind for most of the game, and only found their rhythm in the last few minutes, pulling ahead thanks to Lin Tian's individual offense and passing!

In this game, the Knicks only had one offensive surge, but it was this surge that allowed them to successfully reverse the game and win!

A victory that was quite unlike the Knicks, completely unlike their usual style of play, and where the Celtics completely controlled the tempo!

The more this is the case, the more it shows how difficult this game is!
87: 92!

When the game ended, the gap between the two sides was 5 points.

Throughout the match, except for the last few minutes, the pace was slow for both sides, and the success rate was very low. This was definitely a real, fierce, and brutal match!

Lin Tian played for almost the entire 48 minutes that night, with hardly any rest.

That night, apart from him, the entire Knicks team was out of sorts and played terribly. He once accounted for more than 70% of the team's points. It wasn't until the fourth quarter that his teammates' performance improved slightly, and the two baskets by Stoudemire and Anthony directly determined the outcome of the game.

Lin Tian took 44 shots that night, making 25 of them, including 3 of 7 three-pointers and 4 of 3 free throws, scoring a total of 57 points!
In addition to his 57 points, Lin Tian also grabbed 16 rebounds and dished out 6 assists tonight! The low number of assists wasn't because Lin Tian didn't pass the ball; it was simply because his teammates couldn't make the shots, and he had no choice.

After all, the Knicks only scored a total of 92 points. Even with Anthony and Stoudemire scoring consecutively at the end, Lin Tian's score still accounted for 62% of the team's total!
If it weren't for Stoudemire and Anthony's 5 points in the end, Lin Tian's score would probably have accounted for 70% of the team's total score. It can only be described as: absolutely insane!
It's also worth mentioning that, apart from Lin Tian, ​​the rest of the Knicks team only made 13 of 56 shots tonight, scoring just 35 points!
Even so, it was only because they finally rallied in the fourth quarter, found their rhythm, and scored 15 points. If it weren't for their fourth-quarter explosion, the rest of the Knicks' stats would have been even worse tonight.

Of course, they had no room to continue being so bad.

That night, no one on the Knicks scored in double figures except for Lin Tian. Stoudemire and Anthony only scored 8 and 9 points respectively, while Smith and Wallace each scored 5 points.

At least from the data, Lin Tian, ​​who had a shooting percentage of over 50% and scored 57 points, looked completely different from his teammates, as if they were playing a completely different game.

Without Lin Tian, ​​one can imagine how badly the Knicks would have been beaten by the Celtics that night. It was Lin Tian who single-handedly pulled the Knicks back from the brink of defeat.

On the Celtics' side, their performance remained incredibly balanced. Duncan led the team with 18 points and 15 rebounds, Howard had 12 points and 17 rebounds, Ginobili had 11 points, Josh Howard had 11 points, Artest had 14 points, and Parker had 10 points.

The team still has 6 players scoring in double figures, but no one has scored more than 20 points.

From the course of the game to the statistics, the players' performance, and the pace of the game, everything was under the Celtics' control, exactly as they wanted! This was the best performance they could deliver after giving it their all!

Except for the ending, everything was so perfect, nothing could have been better.

But they still lost.

What the four TNT staff members said in the studio after the game really explains the chain reaction that was bound to happen after this night and the public's opinion on the aftermath of this series.

"The Celtics deserve a 99 out of 100 for their performance tonight. Everyone on the Knicks except Lin gets a maximum of 30, but Lin alone is worth 150!" Kenny concluded. "The problem now isn't that the Celtics need to figure out how to contain Lin."

"They don't need to expect that if they don't perform well in the next match, they'll have a chance. These are not things they need to discuss or study right now."

“That’s right! They really shouldn’t be thinking about that right now.” Barkley added, “It’s certainly difficult for Lin to score close to 60 points every game when the rest of the team is performing poorly. But it’s also impossible for the Knicks players to only score 35 points every game!”

"The Celtics contained the Knicks to the extreme tonight but still couldn't win. So what if you can't contain the rest of the Knicks?"

"Stoudemire and Anthony are both legitimate All-Star starters. Their abilities are absolutely enough to support their selection to the All-NBA Team for many consecutive years. They did have an off night, but they can't have an off night forever!"

"If they regain their form in the next game, what will the Celtics do? Can they still hold the Knicks to around 90 points like they did tonight?"

“It’s very difficult,” Payton said without hesitation. “Extremely difficult, to the point that we could say it’s wishful thinking.”

"This Knicks team is not some inexperienced young team, nor is it a regular season team that has never faced tough battles."

"They are two-time champions, they have fought against countless strong opponents, they have defeated top teams in the league such as the Pistons, Lakers, and Suns, and their experience is even more extensive than that of the Celtics!"

"At the same time, many statistics show that this Knicks team is basically the most powerful offensive team in NBA history!"

"With a team like this, it's obviously impossible to limit their scoring and shooting percentage to what they did tonight through consecutive defensive games!"

"Perhaps I can put it more directly and simply," Miller concluded. "The Celtics are finished! They've lost this game, and their chances of winning this series are now almost zero."

"They squandered their best chance, they missed their only chance, and now it's time for the Knicks' incredible comeback!"

Miller's words received unanimous agreement and support from the other three.

This is certainly not the first time this has happened in TNT's studio, but it is definitely a very rare scene.

Clearly, in this game, the Knicks not only defeated the Celtics, but also managed to unify the opinions of the most argumentative group of players.

Sometimes that's how it is; a hard-fought victory can bring far more changes and benefits to a team than 10 big wins by 20 points!
At least that evening, when the Knicks' post-game press conference began, Lin Tian was not present; instead, Stoudemire and Anthony were there.

Before the reporter could even ask a question, the two guys spoke up on their own.

Start criticizing yourself!
“I played utter crap. We didn’t deserve Lin’s perfect performance tonight. Because of my terrible performance, we almost lost this crucial game!” Anthony started by saying, “I won’t do this again in the next game! I will give Lin the support he deserves!”

"I played worse than shit. If Messi and Ronaldo were holding Lin back, I would have just ripped off Lin's underwear and made it impossible for him to move an inch. Not to mention that last alley-oop, even if a monkey was there, it could have easily made that shot."

"Lin deserves 99% credit for that basket; my job was simply to put it in the hoop." "I'll play even better in the next game!"

"No, no, no, I was worse," Anthony quickly said. "I practically kicked Lin in the groin, almost crippling him. If Lin hadn't been so strong, we would have definitely lost the game!"

"I want to apologize to Lin. In my next match, I'd rather he kick my balls!"

“I’d rather Lin poke my ass raw with a fire poker,” Little S frowned, continuing his contest with Anthony.

"He can chop me up and feed me to the dogs!" Anthony frowned, realizing that he seemed to have to settle things with this bastard next door tonight.

"If I don't perform well in the next game, I'll be a premature ejaculator for the rest of my life! I'll never last more than 3 seconds for the rest of my life!" Little S got carried away and unleashed his ultimate move.

"If I don't perform well in the next game, I'll be ED for the rest of my life! I'll be ED for the rest of my life! I'll be a limp 6:30 for the rest of my life!" Anthony immediately raised the bet, indicating that he would never lose.

"Hmph, what's so special about that? I'm telling you, I can..."

In the locker room, Lin Tian watched the live broadcast of the press conference, his lips twitching with anger.

What are those two bastards doing?
Go and embarrass yourself? Go and portray yourself as a perverted bastard?
I will never have any interest in a man's lower body, not even the slightest bit!
Absolutely not!

"When they come back later, can I kill them?" Lin Tian asked his teammates, pointing to Stoudemire and Anthony on TV who were still escalating the conflict and raising the stakes, as well as the reporters who were dumbfounded and had completely forgotten to ask questions.

The reporters tonight have really forgotten why they came here.

It seems like they're here to listen to a crosstalk performance?
A crosstalk performance between Stoudemire and Anthony?
This stuff is all vulgar and inappropriate for children.

……

Although Stoudemire and Anthony's statements that night were utterly ridiculous, neither of them were joking, nor was the entire Knicks team.

They are not overgrown babies who need to be taken care of, nor are they the kind of ornaments who willingly lie flat and wait for Lin Tian to make a difference and lead them forward.

They are NBA players, and they all have their own pursuits, especially several players on the Knicks, who are all in the final year of their contracts and need to perform better to earn better contracts!

Based on their performance and state tonight, they clearly won't be able to get the lucrative contract they want!
Therefore, they must rise up and recover.

They must put on a performance that would earn them a big contract!
This is what Don Nelson meant when he said: play for yourself, not for the fans, the team, the honors, or anything else.

Money is the most important thing to the players!
No one on the Knicks team was happy about winning that night, and hardly anyone even said to Lin Tian, ​​"Boss, you did a great job!"
Everyone was caught up in self-reflection and self-loathing.

Anthony and Stoudemire are just representatives; what they express represents the entire team's message!
Everyone expressed their opinions about the next match, either in their hearts or verbally.

Kill the Celtics!

As for the Celtics' locker room at this time?
Let's not talk about it, let's not talk about it.

The team's leader was a quiet type, Duncan, who rarely spoke unless necessary. Parker and Ginobili were also not fond of shouting. The most lively people in the locker room were the two Howards and Artest.

But tonight, these clowns all quieted down. What the TNT commentators and fans could sense, they could certainly sense too.

They knew very well that they had missed their best opportunity.

They might even lose their only chance in this series.

Quiet. The entire Celtics locker room was like a funeral home—quiet, silent, and with an extremely low atmosphere.

No one spoke or made a fuss; everyone just sat quietly in the locker room, waiting for something.

"Alright, the game is over, we need to look forward." Finally, Duncan stood up, stood in the middle of everyone, and stretched out his hand, saying, "We were almost perfect tonight, we were just a little bit short, just a tiny bit short! Next game."

"If we perform better in the next game, if we can improve a few details just a little bit, we will win!"

"Now, everyone go back to the hotel, take a nice hot shower, forget everything that happened tonight, and get ready to win the second game."

"Everyone, hands up, let's shout our slogan! The series has just begun!"

"Let us charge forward..."

"Championship!"

The usually taciturn Duncan delivered a rare long speech, which at least brought some energy to the Celtics' locker room.

But how much of this energy can translate into confidence and motivation for the next game?

Then really, nobody can say for sure.

It can only be said that the Celtics' future is truly uncertain.

.......
The day after the Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals also kicked off.

After winning their first game on the road, the Nuggets are in a great position. In this game, they will certainly go all out to try and win their second game on the road!

If they can win two consecutive away games, then the outcome of this Western Conference Finals can be decided in advance!

But once the game started, things turned out completely differently than the Nuggets had expected!
Because Popovich gave up early in the last game, he didn't let his key players expend too much energy unnecessarily. In addition, after two days and two nights of rest, the Spurs players are all fully recovered! The fatigue from the Game 7 battle has been swept away.

Having regained their form, they seized the initiative from the start, with Bosh and Francis hitting consecutive three-pointers, and James repeatedly driving to the basket to score.

Even Martin, who usually only does the dirty work in the starting lineup, rolled to the basket after a pick-and-roll and delivered several spectacular dunks!
Like the Celtics next door, the Spurs firmly controlled the game from the very beginning!

However, unlike the Celtics, the Nuggets did not have a monster like Lin Tian leading the team to defy fate, and the Spurs' offensive firepower was far more vigorous than that of the Celtics.

Ultimately, the Spurs controlled the game from start to finish. With LeBron James' perfect triple-double of 31 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and Chris Bosh's massive double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds with four three-pointers, the Spurs easily tied the score at home!
The two sides will now travel to the Denver Plateau for their next two duels! (End of Chapter)