Champion, please stay!

Chapter 210, Section 208: The Winning Streak Continues

In this game against the Hawks, the Knicks failed to score 100 points for the first time this season, winning 99-90.

易水被防得16中8、其中三分球6中2、加上6中6的罚球，拿到24分9板3助攻，不过他防守做得很好，3抢断2盖帽，逮着约什-史密斯和马文-威廉姆斯怼。

The Hawks have always been afraid of star players with outstanding individual abilities. When they face players like James, Howard, and Wade, their defense is often exposed. Their defensive floor is impressive, but their ceiling is not high.

After scoring 45 points against the Hornets, Yi Shui's average score rose to 35.7 points per game... The Hawks focused on defense in this game, and their offense was a mess. Apart from scoring 28 points in the second quarter, they only scored 16, 22, and 24 points in the other three quarters, respectively. Princeton basically didn't perform.

This led to Woodson being heavily criticized after the game. The Nuggets and Hornets had both proven that team offense was very effective against the Knicks, but he insisted on playing a physical, half-court style of play.

The attack failed to materialize, and besides the coach's strategy issues, there was another potentially more crucial factor—Biby's serious decline in form.

The recruitment process is also a headache.

As experts have analyzed, 21-year-old rookie Jeff Teague's overly slender physique made him unable to adapt to the physicality of the NBA and prevented him from becoming an immediate contributor.

The strong recruitment efforts for both the inside and outside lines have also been unsatisfactory.

Joe Smith has regressed significantly; his screens and cuts on offense are gone, and he can only stand still and shoot. Jamal Crawford has decent stats, averaging 19 points per game at the start, but he falls apart whenever the intensity of the game increases.

Sending away Ronald Murray to make room for Crawford was a major blunder.

The feeling of playing against the Hawks at Yishui – the Hawks are not as strong as they were last season.

It's not just that he's gotten stronger; it's that the opponent's overall offensive performance has weakened by a level, falling below the league average.

Last season, the Hawks didn't rely heavily on any one star player's isolation plays, but this time, he felt the Hawks especially needed Joe Johnson and Crawford to score in isolation. The former was able to hold his own, scoring a game-high 27 points tonight, while the latter went 3-for-12 for 9 points...

No wonder the Eagle King can score back-to-back 40+ points.

On the 25th, Yi Shui arrived in Chicago with the team. After resting for one night, they played against the Bulls on the 26th at 7 pm.

The Bulls have played 14 games so far this season, with a record of 6 wins and 8 losses. Although this is not as good as last season, it is still acceptable given the large number of rookies they have made.

Harden's scoring has declined somewhat since the start of the season, dropping to an average of 15.5 points per game, but his assists have increased to 4.8 per game. He has gradually adapted to the NBA's tactical style and his passing has improved.

In the first quarter, Yi Shui noticed Harden's improved passing skills and his enhanced understanding and utilization of double teams.

Yi Shui, Curry, and substitutes Chalmers, Gibson, and others were clearly targeting Harden.

Unlike their previous encounter, Harden didn't foolishly try to go head-to-head with Yi Shui as the media had suggested. Instead, he made the passes when necessary and his tactical coordination with his teammates was much better. He led the team to break through the Knicks' not-so-strong defense, scoring 32 points in the first quarter and 27 points in the second quarter!
On the defensive end, the Bulls did an excellent job defending Yi Shui, Curry, and David Lee tonight. Harden stuck to Curry tightly, and Luol Deng and Noah double-teamed each other, causing Yi Shui a lot of trouble when attacking the basket.

Of course, the Bulls were able to defend the Knicks only if Duhon, Hughes, and Chalmers, who came off the bench, had a poor shooting touch, but were still shooting like they had in the previous dozen or so games when they were on fire, resulting in a lot of missed shots.

半场战罢，坐镇主场的公牛队以59比42领先尼克斯队17分，尼克斯队首节只拿到19分、第二节打得好了一点但也只拿到23分。

After halftime, D'Antoni, as requested by Yi Shui, paired him with a combination of Curry, Webster, Gibson, and Birdman.

In positional play and fast breaks, the opposing team would collapse their defense to the basket, allowing Yi Shui to spread out and shoot.

At the start of the third quarter, Luol Deng took advantage of Yi Shui's collapsed defense to make a layup after a reverse run, widening the gap to 19 points.

In the transition between offense and defense, Curry and Gibson initiated the attack with a pick-and-roll. Yi Shui ran from the right sideline to the top arc, stopped abruptly on the right side of the top arc, received a pass from Curry, turned around, and fired a three-pointer over the onrushing Luol Deng... and it went in!
This goal ignited Yishui's counterattack!

High post, mid-range, three-pointer... Yi Shui shoots when he gets open, and shoots even when he doesn't. When Curry gets tired of playing pick-and-roll offense, Yi Shui decisively takes tough shots in isolation, regardless of the difficulty, believing that he can make them!
公牛队下半场的防守做得依旧很到位，外线贴防、篮下夹击执行力都很强，防得除易水外的尼克斯队其他人12投4中、其中三分球6中2、加上4中3的罚球，只拿到13分。

但易水8投5中，其中三分球6中3，加上2中2的罚球，独得15分！
Yi Shui took a lot of long-range shots, and the Bulls not only failed to defend against it, but were also affected by the intense pressure on their own offense. In the first half, they made 23 of 44 shots, with a shooting percentage of over 5%, but in the third quarter, they only made 9 of 23 shots and scored only 22 points!
单节28比22，尼克斯队将比分追至70比81，分差缩小到11分！
In the final quarter, Yi Shui immediately scored a 2+1, using a pull-up fake to shake off Luol Deng, driving to the basket and slamming the ball into the rim over Brad Miller, who had come off the bench, while also drawing a foul! After making the free throw, he narrowed the gap to 8 points!
For the remainder of the game, the Knicks' overall offense was similar to the first three quarters, shooting a combined 6-for-15 from the field, a mere 4% field goal percentage, which is lower than the league average. They only made 2 of 8 three-pointers, and even with Ben Wallace's two incredible free throws, they only managed 16 points.

但易水6投4中，其中三分球4中2，加上3中3的罚球，又拿到了13分，加上前面的2+1，单节拿到16分，在还剩30秒的时候，率队将比分追至102比105，11分半钟时间打出了32比24的比分！
After the Bulls called a timeout, they made substitutions and set up isolation plays, with Harden as the executor!
Chicago Bulls head coach Negro is a classic coach. He was a veteran player who entered the NBA in the late 80s and played for 12 years. During his playing days, he was considered a high-quality role player and the kind of player who placed immense trust in the team's star player.

A landmark event was the game-winning shot in the 97-98 season, which was passed to Duncan, who missed the shot. This caused a rift in his relationship with David Robinson and Shawn Elliott, with whom he had worked for many years. After the lockout, Popovich traded away this role player who had strongly supported Duncan as the leader in order to resolve internal conflicts.

Negro strongly advocates the idea that 'the core of the team must take responsibility,' and assigns Harden to take crucial shots.

Harden also took a shot... paying tribute to his idol, he drove into the paint, faced Yi Shui's double team, and made a high lob shot that went straight through the basket, clearing the bridge!
Veteran Ben Wallace, who came on in the final moments, secured the defensive rebound and called a timeout!

After the timeout, D'Antoni substituted Curry, Webster, Yi Shui, Birdman, and Ben Wallace, a combination of three shooters and two rebound forwards.

Harden left the Knicks with only 9 seconds. Curry received the ball, dribbled for 3 seconds, and prepared to pass it to Yi Shui. The coach also arranged for the star player to shoot.

But when Yi Shui ran towards the outside, Luol Deng and Eric Gordon both double-teamed him off the ball!
Webster's open! Curry glanced over there and decisively took over himself!
Harden's defense against Curry was truly excellent at this moment. He actively kept up with Curry's pace and failed to shake off his opponent. Curry took a strong step to the side, jumped, and launched a high-angle three-pointer at Harden just before the countdown ended...

The red light came on, the long whistle blew, and amidst the "NO NO NO" chants from the baseline fans that the players could clearly hear, the ball slammed into the basket!
The long whistle blew when the ball was about to reach its highest point. Curry's release point was more than half a meter away from the three-point line. There was no controversy about the shot!
Curry, who had only made 2 of 8 three-point attempts in the previous 29 minutes, hit a crucial three-pointer to tie the game!

与下半场15投10中、其中三分球9中5、加上6中6的罚球狂轰31分的易水一同，将比赛拖入加时赛！

In the third quarter, the Knicks were dominated by Yi Shui. Although the Bulls managed to put together a decent defense and their offense showed some improvement in the final quarter, they were still suppressed for another quarter... and collapsed in overtime! In 5 minutes, the Knicks scored 12 points, while the Bulls only managed 6.

首节6分、第二节6分、第三节15分、末节16分、加时赛4分……易水全场28投15中、其中三分球12中6，加上12中11的罚球，狂轰47分！
The Knicks narrowly defeated the Bulls 117-111 in overtime!

哈登今晚表现不错，21投9中、其中三分球6中2，加上5中4的罚球，拿到24分5板8助攻1抢断，但投丢了制胜球。

Harden was devastated to see Curry being surrounded and patted on the head by his teammates.

When he was given the crucial shot on the last possession of regulation time, he felt like he was getting closer to his idol, and he really was. His crucial shot was exactly the same as his idol's rookie year...

...

With a 13-game winning streak to start the season, the Knicks have broken their franchise record for the longest winning streak to start a season!

And they even broke into the top five all-time! They tied the Celtics' 13-game winning streak at the start of the 72-73 season!

比尼克斯队开局连胜更长的，只有57-58赛季凯尔特人队的开局14连胜、已经解散的华盛顿国会队48-49赛季的开局14连胜、小牛队02-03赛季的开局14连胜、火箭队在93-94赛季的开局15连胜。

The Knicks' eight-game winning streak surpasses last season's, thanks to LeBron James' 51-point performance against the Warriors.

When the Knicks were on a 10-game winning streak, the Lakers came out to end the Suns' 9-game winning streak.

On the night the Knicks tied their franchise record for the longest winning streak to start a season with 12 wins, Kobe Bryant stole the spotlight with 53 points against the Warriors.
Tonight, after returning to the hotel after the game, Yi Shui saw the news... Damn, the Warriors are stealing the spotlight again!

Rookie Jennings scored a whopping 56 points in the away game at Oracle Arena, tying his season-high scorer record held by DeMarcus Cousins!

In a post-game interview, Jennings told the camera, "Don Nelson told my agent that he didn't need a player like me, and that's what motivated me to score 56 points tonight."

Yi Shui is a bit numb. His 47-point game and 13-game winning streak were overshadowed... Mad Scientist, if you don't want to choose, fine, but why are you being so sarcastic!

Don't people know that people born in the Year of the Snake are all petty?

Next time he goes to Oracle Arena, he's going to beat the Warriors!

However, it seems that both times he went there, he scored 50+ points against the Warriors...

Speaking of which, this is the fourth time this month that the Warriors have allowed an opponent to score 50+ points. Yi Shui checked the forum and indeed saw the relevant data. The Warriors have set a 'record' tonight.

The last time a team was this bad was in the 60s, when there were two seasons where every team had five or six 50+ point games scored by opposing players in a single month.

This can be considered 'karma' for the Warriors, since the team of the player who committed such a heinous act was called the Philadelphia Warriors.

Jennings became an overnight sensation, becoming the most watched rookie, overshadowing Evans, Harden, and others.

Yi Shui estimated that the future Rookie of the Month award for King Shouyue had already been decided, and Jennings' average points per game had soared to 18+, second only to Evans.

The following afternoon, Yi Shui returned to New York with the team. During an interview, when asked about Jennings' 56 points, he said, "That's great. I hope more and more rookies can do that. I hope Brandon can do it again next time he goes to Oracle Arena... He only goes to Oracle Arena once a year? That's a shame, but home games are fine too!"

In the evening, after finishing his extra training and returning home, Yi Shui was browsing the forums when he saw local die-hard Warriors fans criticizing him relentlessly. However, many more fans from California IP expressed their hope that he would visit them more often.

The Bay Area is indeed a great place; most fans are very friendly.

After a night's rest, on the 28th, the Knicks will host the 76ers at home.

At that time, the 76ers' management was still quite decent.

During the offseason, Allen Iverson signed a minimum contract with the Sacramento Kings, who were looking to sell tickets. However, the Kings' coaching staff benched Iverson in the opening game, and after playing only one game, Iverson requested to terminate his contract, giving up his salary.

After leaving the Kings, Iverson went two weeks without playing. The 76ers then extended an offer to Iverson, who returned to his former team and became their starting point guard.

This ruined the offensive and defensive system that Eddie Jordan had painstakingly built up over the course of the season, but the 76ers management said they were willing to pay for their solution.

Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, and rookie Jrue Holiday, who gave up his starting position, all called Allen Iverson their star player and leader.

Having learned his lesson, Brand always praises Iverson whenever the media asks him about him.

Everyone knows this is Iverson's last season. When the visiting team entered the stadium at 7:40 p.m., the Madison Square Garden fans gave Iverson applause and cheers, the first time this season.

The Knicks players showed Iverson great respect, taking turns to take photos with him. Yi Shui, on behalf of the team, presented him with a Knicks commemorative jersey with Iverson's name on it and the number 3. The Knicks also prepared a 33-second tribute video, featuring Iverson's highlight-reel shot against the Knicks four years ago when he scored 47 points.

The Knicks showed respect for their opponents before the game, and even more so during the game. Yi Shui made 13 of 22 field goals, including 1 of 1 three-pointers, and 8 of 9 free throws, scoring 35 points in three quarters, leading the Knicks to a 106-88 victory over the 76ers, extending their winning streak to 14 games!

(End of this chapter)