Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 271 King of New York
"It's Yao again!"

Inside the TNT studio, Barkley screamed and shouted at lightning speed, "Turn around, shoot, and it's in!"

"A crucial basket! The Knicks are up by 5 points with 11 seconds left. The Magic are going to lose!"

"Yao killed the game!"

"He got 49 points, f***ing, 49 points! That's insane!"

"Yao went on a rampage, damn it, the Magic couldn't stop him at all. When the Knicks were down by 11 points, the Water House was filled with cheers of victory."

"But Yao hasn't given up yet, scoring 21 points in a single quarter! What a gift, how can he be so strong!"

"He single-handedly turned the game around. The Great Wall of China, did you see that? That's the power of the Great Wall of China!"

Barkley got more and more excited as he spoke, shouting until he was breathless and dizzy.

But he doesn't care.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, facing the defending champions, Yao Ming scored 21 points in a single quarter to lead his team to a comeback victory after trailing by 11 points. He felt that no amount of praise for Yao Ming was too much.

"Lucky New Yorkers, rejoice! They've got a superstar."

Barkley couldn't even imagine how excited the New York fans would be at this moment.

Outside Madison.

All they did was cheer.

Even the police officers maintaining order at the scene couldn't resist waving their arms and joining in the revelry.

With 21 points in a single quarter and 49 points in total, it's no exaggeration to say that Yao Ming single-handedly led the Knicks to victory.

In stark contrast to Madison, the Water House Centre was as desolate as a tomb.

The 20,000 spectators at the scene were completely silent.

Only a handful of away fans were shouting and yelling wildly.

Many fans held their heads in their hands, looking on in disbelief.

Leading by 11 points, McGrady was like a god descending to earth, unstoppable, and they really thought they had the victory in the bag.

Who knew Yao Ming would emerge victorious, single-handedly breaking through the Magic's defense.

If Tracy McGrady was possessed by a god, then Yao Ming was a god.

He scored 21 points in a single quarter, making every shot he took, and despite the best defense, he was simply unstoppable.

The fans at the stadium witnessed Yao Ming make shot after shot, single-handedly snatching victory from the game.

The game is not over yet.

But Rivers on the sidelines felt like the sky had fallen. When he pulled everyone together to plan the final attack, his hands were trembling.

After 11 seconds, Carlisle actually made a substitution.

Bender replaced Chandler.

In fact, he even wanted to substitute Yao Ming.

Forget about inside play; making two points is meaningless for the Magic.

And he was right in his prediction.

He believed McGrady was a decoy, and that Miller was the one who actually made the move.

It turned out to be Mike Miller.

Bender, who came on as a substitute, made a crucial save with a diving save, maintaining his position perfectly.

The basketball hit the hoop.

Yao Ming leaped up and firmly grabbed the rebound.

Brown hurriedly went to hug Yao Ming.

But it's pointless now.

The arena was deathly silent, save for the cheers of the Knicks players.

"Fuck you!"

Yao Ming threw down the basketball and used a vulgar curse to vent his inner excitement.

On the sidelines, Carlisle raised his arms high, his face full of pride.

Won!

I didn't see it wrong!

With a group of excellent role players, the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

But if they want to go further and win the championship, they still need to look to Yao Ming.

Yao Ming went to the free-throw line and made both shots.

51 points!
Tang Sen shook his head on the sidelines, feeling that this was too crazy.

This isn't against any weak team; we're facing the defending champions, an undisputed strongest team in the league.

Then Yao Ming scored 51 points.

This is incredibly valuable!

Seriously, no amount of praise is too much.

competition is over.

The magicians' expressions were complicated.

Leading by 11 points but ultimately losing the game, especially when you try your best but still can't stop your opponent, the sense of defeat is intense.

McGrady stood with his hands on his hips, looking at Yao Ming surrounded by the crowd, his face full of helplessness.

He also scored 39 points.

He scored 30 points in the second half alone, that's crazy.

But Yao Ming scored 23 points in a single quarter!
With a sigh, McGrady walked over.

"Yao, you're amazing!" McGrady came up to Yao Ming and gave him a high-five and a hug once no one was around.

In the final quarter, he had no idea how Yao Ming had managed to do it.

So many incredible shots, and he managed to make them all.

Yao Ming reverted to his usual humility, jokingly saying, "Should I treat everyone?"

Yesterday, while having dinner at Brown's house, the group made a pact that whoever won would treat everyone.

McGrady laughed and nodded in agreement.

I'm almost 40 and I still lost, so Yao Ming has to treat me.

The players are familiar with the game and can accept the result, but Rivers is having a hard time accepting it.

Some were even resentful.

At the post-game press conference, Rivers told reporters, "Yao is very strong. I saw him last year when he was in Orlando training with Tang."

"I knew back then that he was incredibly talented and would become the best center in the league."

"He did it, he incredibly scored a full 51 points."

"But we only lost to Yao."

Rivers gave a soft snort.

Does that mean Yao Ming can score 51 points every game?
Putting aside Yao Ming's incredible 51 points, Rivers genuinely felt that the Magic played better than the Knicks today.

The Knicks players are good, but they're still inexperienced.

Moreover, their strategy was about to succeed, allowing McGrady and Brown to perform at different times, and they were already leading by 11 points, ready to win the game.

Yao Ming's sudden outburst was purely an unexpected event.

Without this unexpected outcome, the magic would have won.

"Believe me, the Magic will definitely win this series in the end." Rivers said firmly before getting up and leaving.

These words were relayed to Carlyle by the reporter.

Carlisle just laughed it off and ignored it.

However, after the post-match press conference, back in the locker room, when he found Thibodeau and the others, Carlisle still expressed his concerns.

He hopes Yao Ming will be more dominant and lead the team to victory, but he doesn't dare to hope that Yao Ming will score 50 points every game.

That's an exaggeration.

Therefore, Carlisle felt that there was a bit of luck involved in winning this match.

The team still exposed some problems when facing the Magic.

They failed to completely contain McGrady and Brown, especially McGrady.

Then some problems arose in the offense.

Houston's performance was mediocre, and Billups also played poorly.

The Magic's defense isn't bad.

In addition, the Magic's strategy of overusing their starters has prevented the Knicks from fully utilizing their bench strengths.

Carlisle was troubled and pulled Tangsen aside, wanting to discuss with him who on the team could better defend McGrady.

"Rick, calm down. No matter what, we won today. Go home and get a good night's sleep. We can think about this again tomorrow."

Tang Sen didn't know how to answer the question.

That's Tracy McGrady.

This question is like asking how to defend against Jordan back in the Bulls era.

Who knows how to defend against it?

Carlisle was slightly taken aback, then smiled helplessly and said, "That's right, we won today."

Winning is the best outcome.

the next day.

While the Western Conference Finals were still locked in a fierce battle, the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals had already quickly captured all the media attention.

The Knicks' performance continues to be impressive.

They swept aside the top-ranked Nets in the Eastern Conference and have now even reversed the deficit against the defending champions.

Yao Ming's 51 points broke the record set two years ago by Allen Iverson, who scored 48 points in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The New York media were celebrating like it was New Year's Day, using all sorts of creative methods to wildly praise Yao Ming.

The Times even used the headline "King of New York" to describe Yao Ming on its front page.

Their description is like a Roman epic: when the team was in despair, Yao Ming stepped up, like Odysseus, and helped the Knicks win the game.

Online, Knicks fans have been relentlessly praising Yao Ming's phenomenal performance.

He has now cemented his title as the King of New York.

Even the Orlando Sentinel habitually betrayed the Magic, claiming that Yao Ming was too strong to be defeated and expressing concern that the Magic's title defense would be ruined by Yao Ming.

However, the Knicks players couldn't hear these voices.

Reporters were gathered outside the hotel where he was staying, but Carlisle had already instructed everyone not to give any interviews to reporters.

The next morning, while doing recovery training in the hotel gym, he pulled everyone aside to watch the video of yesterday's game.

"Guys, we have a lot of problems."

Carlisle spoke as if the Knicks had lost yesterday.

He didn't mince words and pointed directly at the TV screen, calling out names.

It's said that Billups' shots weren't decisive enough, his shooting percentage was low, and he only scored 8 points throughout the game.

He needs Billups to make a greater contribution.

Billups blushed with embarrassment.

Even Houston's core player wasn't spared; Carlisle directly criticized him for not providing timely help defense, giving McGrady too many opportunities.

Their offensive contributions were also limited.

You're an All-Star, you need to be even better.

"Guys, don't think that winning one game means we're in the Finals. The Magic aren't that easy to beat. You all learned that after yesterday's game."

Carlyle's tone was serious.

Anyway, he felt that it was far too early to celebrate.

His concerns were not unfounded.

On the 18th, after the Mavericks and Kings' Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals and the Lakers' showdown in the Western Conference Finals, the Knicks and Magic played their second game.

In this performance, the magic was turned upside down.

McGrady came out strong right from the start.

In the first quarter, Carlisle made a series of substitutions, from Wallace to Prince, and even brought in Calderick Brown at the end, but still couldn't stop McGrady.

McGrady played for a full 11 minutes, shooting 5-for-8 in the quarter and scoring 15 points including free throws.

Carlisle crossed his arms and paced irritably on the sidelines.

With no other option, Carlisle had to double-team him.

McGrady went cold, but Brown took over.

Yao Ming could limit Brown to some extent, but it was obviously impossible to completely limit him.

Brown scored 11 points in the quarter with a combination of shots and hooks.

With the two of them taking turns playing, the Magic's offensive firepower will never stop.

Moreover, McGrady's passes were extremely lethal when he was double-teamed.

At halftime, the Knicks trailed 57-62, down by 5 points.

In just the first half, the two teams combined for nearly 120 points, which is enough to illustrate the tone of the game.

No one can completely defend against anyone else.

McGrady had 21 points in the first half.

Brown scored 17 points.

For the Knicks, Yao Ming continued his performance from the previous game, scoring 22 points in the first half.

Houston scored 15 points in the first half, which can be seen as a response to Carlisle's criticism.

Both teams' key players performed admirably, even exceeding expectations.

Carlisle was extremely frustrated; this pace of the game was not what he wanted.

Both teams are going to burn through their key players, which is definitely not going to work.

Even though the Knicks, with their abundance of excellent role players, have a better chance in the long run, Carlisle still doesn't think it's a good idea.

Because the risk of uncertainty is too high.

really.

The Knicks lost the game 111-117, a difference of 6 points.

Although Yao Ming scored 42 points again, and Houston also scored 29 points.

But for the Magic, Brown scored 38 points, and McGrady scored an even more terrifying 47 points.

Carlisle thought Rivers' over-reliance on his starters was a big problem and that he would eventually be unable to keep up, but when he actually saw McGrady and Brown combine for a whopping 85 points, he still found it terrifying.

(End of this chapter)