Champion Rules

Chapter 152, Section 148: When Competition Escalates into War (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

The Knicks chose to host the biggest MVP award ceremony in NBA history for Lynch on the eve of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, a neon-lit spectacle in Times Square that sent New York into a frenzy.

That same night after the ceremony, although the venue for the speech had been dismantled, Times Square was still paralyzed as fervent New York fans flooded the streets, climbed lampposts, and occupied fire escape ladders, tearing the night sky with deafening shouts of "Fuck Melo"—this was the celebration that New York basketball had waited 37 years for. Since Willis Reed, Madison Square Garden had finally welcomed its own MVP player again.

This is the New York fanbase, this is the New York basketball scene. This massive basketball market has only lacked someone to activate it. Once a superstar like Lynch establishes himself in New York, fans worldwide will see where the true basketball mecca is.

Of course, this grand celebration also got Lynch's rivals on edge.

Just look at Mark Cuban's furious reaction to show how disappointed he was with the result.

In his view, the Dallas Mavericks achieved their best regular season record since the 00 Lakers, which is an absolutely historic honor.

"There has never been a player in NBA history who led a team to 67 or more wins and didn't win the MVP award. Giving this award to Lynch, who had four fewer wins, is utter nonsense! If individual statistics could measure everything, Kobe Bryant wouldn't have gone without an MVP!"

Mark Cuban's Mavericks were then going through a Texas civil war.

In this historical context, the Golden State Warriors had neither Michael Pietrus nor Stephen Jackson, so they certainly couldn't recreate the "Black Eight" miracle.

Therefore, the Dallas Mavericks have advanced to the Western Conference Finals and currently lead the series 1-0.

Mark Cuban firmly believes his team will make it back to the Finals. He argues that Tim Duncan is too old and Dirk Nowitzki is in his prime, so the Spurs can't win.

He had already written his goal in red on the locker room whiteboard: "Let Dirk kick that fake MVP's ass in Madison Square Garden!"

It wasn't just Cuban who was provoked; this anger was also burning throughout Detroit.

Last season, he came very close to the MVP award, finishing third in the final MVP rankings.

This season he is trying to make another run for MVP, and he believes he can do it.

However, he watched helplessly as his mortal enemy took away the highest honor.

Unlike Cuban, Carmelo Anthony could kick Lynch's ass right now.

If he can do it.

Before Game 2 of the series began, Carmelo Anthony deliberately walked to the Knicks' warm-up half of the court.

"Lin Qi, did you bring your MVP trophy? You don't need to deliver it to my house yourself; I can bring it back to Motor City myself."

Lynch didn't stop shooting, not even turning his head: "You're not taking anything out of here except a loss. By the way, I'd be happy if you could learn to keep quiet when your opponents win awards. When you lifted the Finals MVP trophy, I didn't chatter like a vulture smelling carrion."

Rasheed Wallace, worried that Anthony would get hurt, ran to the Knicks' half of the court: "Alright, Lynch, you're so smug after winning one game. You're even more arrogant than Tracy McGrady was back in the day. Do I need to remind you of what happened to him?"

Lynch shifted his gaze from Anthony to Rasheed Wallace: "Since when did you get the right to speak here?"

The referee did not allow the two sides to continue arguing and urged both players to return to their own half of the field.

But all the referees could feel the air in Madison Square Garden gradually becoming hot and dry.

The pre-game verbal altercation between Lynch and Anthony transformed their three-year-long feud into a palpable tension.

The Detroit Pistons did indeed change their strategy tonight. Lionel Hollins made a bold decision, replacing Richard Hamilton with Stephen Jackson and moving Carmelo Anthony to the shooting guard position.

Stephen Jackson's task was to double-team Lynch as quickly as possible.

This means that when Lynch has the ball, he will face a double-team of equal size and power.

It also frees up Carmelo Anthony from defense, allowing him to focus on offense.

This is a risky move, as Richard Hamilton has consistently provided the Pistons with 15-18 points per game.

His shooting percentage fluctuates very little. Although he rarely has a breakout game, most of the time no one would want to remove such a reliable offensive option.

Lionel Hollins, however, did it anyway, believing that Lynch's consistent scoring wouldn't save the team. The only way for the Pistons to win was to contain Lynch.

This definitely worked; Lynch's offense was much more difficult than in the previous game.

Stephen Jackson is a guy who shouldn't be underestimated, especially on the defensive end.

Even when Lynch is playing off the ball, he is still disrupted by Stephen Jackson who arrives in time.

Lynch was certainly not completely shut down, but Lionel Hollins' adjustments successfully contained the newly crowned MVP's firepower.

Fortunately, the New York Knicks' defense remains excellent.

Carmelo Anthony, the genius at attacking the basket, still couldn't find his rhythm under the rim, which allowed Trevor Ariza to drive to the basket with impunity and shoot freely.

Of course, Anthony would never have imagined that this would lead to an even more serious problem—as a superstar, Carmelo Anthony would be disliked by his son a few years later because of his incredible rim-attacking skills, leading his son to say in an interview that his favorite player was LeBron James.

Both teams' star players had a tough time, making the performance of role players especially important.

Stephon Marbury and Chauncey Billups traded blows, but neither could score efficiently in the later rounds of the playoffs.

Trevor Ariza made some three-pointers, but his poor ball-handling skills prevented him from carrying the offensive load.

Stephen Jackson focused all his energy on the defensive end, and was completely unable to maintain his efficiency on the offensive end.

Zach Randolph was locked down by Lynch as usual, and Eddie Jones needs a month of rest after his breakout performance before you can expect him to have another breakout.

On the bench, Richard Hamilton struggled to contribute in a lineup without Chauncey Billups orchestrating the offense. Sam Cassell and Grant Hill could produce some bright offensive plays, but they couldn't carry the load on the meat grinder defense.

Another suffocating defensive battle ensued, with the score at halftime at a low 41-42.

The newly crowned MVP struggled to climb to 14 points, while Anthony, who was able to unleash his full offensive potential, only managed 12 points under tight defense.

During halftime, seeing that the team had managed to control their fouls well in the first half, Lionel Hollins ordered: "In the second half, I want to see Lynch fall down at least once every three minutes! I want the so-called MVP to smell blood every time he breathes!"

He knew how formidable Lynch was, and he didn't want Lynch to find his shooting touch in the second half.

To achieve our goal, we must confront him with even more brutal force.

Mike Malone gave the same instruction: "Don't give Melo any chances. Be even rougher on defense in the second half! This is the Eastern Conference Finals, this is a bloody war. Make sure that jealous Lynch MVP guy can't find the basket!"

Both teams gave up on offense, deciding to let the game descend into a dark age of defensive play.

You can imagine how chaotic the second half became after both coaches issued such instructions.

Julio Lamas watched the flying elbow, unable to believe how much effort Argentina's golden generation had put in to establish themselves in the NBA. The FMP's head coach and general manager now understood why Darko Milicic chose to give up after entering the NBA; not everyone has the willpower to maintain their initial drive in such intense competition.

When Rasheed Wallace's elbow grazed Lynch's temple, and when Carmelo Anthony rammed Trevor Ariza like a battering ram, those delicate skills that were once a source of pride in the Balkans became as fragile as child's building blocks in the steel jungle.

Alberto Herreros was amazed by the talent in the NBA. He couldn't believe that any player could score against such defense, and he couldn't believe what Lynch had done.

The second half was even more intense, and neither side managed to break 80 points as the game was about to end; the red numbers on the scoreboard resembled congealed scabs.

Then, the MVP started to influence the outcome of the game.

Carmelo Anthony received the ball on the left side without the ball and was about to shoot when he saw Lynch coming from the weak side, completing a seamless quick rotation.

Carmelo Anthony lacks the ability to pass the ball directly to his weak-side teammates, thus preventing him from immediately assisting Zach Randolph.

He opted for a jump shot, but the basketball just barely touched Lynch's fingertips!

"DPOY shut down the offense! When neither side could score efficiently, Lynch had far more ways to impact the game than Melo!" Mike Breen commented objectively.

After making the block, Lynch grabbed the offensive rebound on the next offensive possession. Just as he was about to launch a second-chance opportunity, Rasheed Wallace roughly tackled him. Lynch fell out of bounds and crashed into the spectators, the splashing Gatorade making the situation even more chaotic.

Lynch got two free throws, and Rasheed Wallace started yelling again. Even though it was an indisputable foul, he just couldn't control himself.

"If you do that again, I'll give you a technical foul!" the referee warned impatiently.

Rasheed was about to say something more, but Anthony stopped him: "Calm down, Rasheed. Shouting at the referee won't change anything."

Lynch continued to provoke Rasheed Wallace: "Rasheed, what did you just say about Tracy McGrady's fate? You weren't on that Pistons team that came back to beat the Magic! Don't fucking act all high and mighty! You should have been out of the game after I destroyed you in last season's playoffs. The only reason you're still here is because you have no trade value!"

"Enough! Shut up and take the penalty!" the referee snapped.

Lynch made both free throws, bringing the score to 78-72, and the gap began to widen again.

During the Pistons' offense, Carmelo Anthony called for a screen from Rasheed Wallace. Ariza, as an agile defender, quickly bypassed the screen and continued to pressure Anthony. Tyson Chandler also moved towards Anthony, giving Ariza a good opportunity to cut the ball to the basket.

Anthony bounced the ball off the ground and passed it to Rasheed Wallace, who then took a big step and jumped to dunk.

As the entire audience at Madison Square Garden held their breath, Lynch swooped down from the dome like a peregrine falcon, his outstretched arms leaving a trail of afterimages in the air.

With a sickening thud, Rasheed Wallace was slammed to the floor, ball and all.

"Another block! Lynch is starting to dominate the game with his Defensive Player of the Year style!"

Lynch made a long pass to Trevor Ariza, who slammed home a one-handed dunk, making the score 80-72.

Lionel Hollins looked worried. With only 1 minute and 21 seconds left in the game, an 8-point deficit was fatal for the Pistons, whose offense was struggling.

Lynch, who finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks, shrugged at Anthony and said, "You think you're qualified to touch my MVP?"

Rashid Wallace slammed his fist on the floor, his eyes wide with fury: "Why isn't it a foul when he knocks me down?!"

"Rashid, shut up. I'm warning you one more time."

"Answer me!" The player who held the record for most technical fouls in a single season completely lost control. "Why wasn't it a foul when that yellow-skinned bastard knocked me down?! What, am I some cheap prostitute? Someone who can be violated at will?!"

The Celestial Venerable stood beside the audience and roared at the referee. Wu Lan heard every word he said clearly.

She doesn't like to interfere in her son's matches. She won't rush onto the field to trash talk her son's opponents after his victory like Haliburton's father in 2025, nor will she flaunt her son's glamorous outfits like AI's mother.

She wasn't the kind of player's family member that people disliked. Most of the time, she just watched the game quietly, and New York fans didn't even notice her presence.

But today, she stopped Rasheed Wallace from yelling because she was sitting next to Kevin Lucas, the boy who saw Lynch as a hero.

“Please take responsibility for your words, Mr. Rashid, and at least don’t say these things in front of children.”

"Shut up!" Rasheed Wallace angrily slammed the ball to the floor. He didn't mean to, but the ball bounced back and hit Wu Lan and Kevin Lucas. The paper cup in Kevin Lucas's hand drew an arc in the air, and the liquid in the cup refracted a halo under the spotlight.

The referee immediately gave Rasheed Wallace a technical foul; the NBA does not tolerate conflicts between players and fans.

Cameron Anthony wanted to pull Rasheed Wallace away; he hated Lynch, and he was loyal. But today he absolutely disapproved of Wallace's actions because he also had a single mother.

Rasheed Wallace's rationality was completely consumed by rage. Even after receiving a technical foul, he was still yelling, "Damn it, you coward, all you do is hide behind the referee! Damn it! If you dare come any closer, I guarantee I'll knock out a row of your teeth!"

"You idiot, what the hell are you doing?! Stop this stupidity!" Anthony shouted to stop him, but it was too late. He saw Lynch angrily charging towards Rasheed Wallace.

This time, Lynch was unusually quiet, saying nothing, and quickly ran up to Rashid Wallace, raising his fist.

Lynch has always been portrayed by the media as a tyrant, but in reality, he has never had a serious physical altercation with anyone since entering the NBA.

He didn't retaliate when LBJ deliberately bumped into him.

He is nothing like the stereotypical tyrant; it's just that people tend to define a person using habitual thinking.

In fact, he only had one fight in his entire basketball career, which happened when he faced Darko Milicic with the FMP youth team.

Darko Milisich did the same thing as Rashid Wallace—he turned his attention to Lynch's mother.

This is his bottom line.

"Soft my ass!"

Lynch jumped up and knocked Rasheed Wallace down, slamming his fists into the face of the bastard who had been babbling incessantly throughout the entire match.

When Lynch actually rushed in front of him, he was completely powerless to resist.

Everyone immediately tried to pull him away, but Tyson Chandler didn't. Instead, after Lynch was pulled away, he climbed on top of Rasheed Wallace and delivered a second powerful blow.

Mike Malone and some substitutes rushed onto the court to help, but the Pistons weren't about to give up easily.

The players from both sides got into a full-blown brawl, and Mike Breen watched the chaotic scene in astonishment, swallowing hard.

"I think this series has really escalated into a war starting today."

This marks the third consecutive season that the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons have met in the Eastern Conference Finals.

This is a season where competition has escalated into war.

(End of this chapter)