NBA: This center is incredibly strong.

After 15 minutes of emergency repairs by the staff, the basketball hoop was finally fixed.

Referee Crawford blew his whistle, and the game continued.

With 5 seconds remaining in the second quarter, the Knicks had possession of the ball.

Houston received the ball in the backcourt and sprinted all the way to the frontcourt. Seeing that time was running out, they hastily took a three-pointer but missed, and the first half ended.

The score displayed on the big screen was 46-40, with the Magic leading by 6 points.

At halftime, McGrady had 16 points, Hill had 10 points and 3 assists, and Armstrong's 5 assists connected the whole team.

For the Knicks, Houston scored 15 points, which was key to the team keeping the score close, and Sprewell also contributed 8 points.

Chen Yan left a deep impression on the fans in the first half.

8 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Although this data isn't exactly explosive.

But one number was quietly accumulating on the scoreboard, not so conspicuously: Knicks players had made 0 of 10 shots in the paint against Chen Yan's defense in the first half.

It wasn't that the shot was missed, it's that there wasn't a good opportunity to shoot at all.

As Chen Yan walked back to the locker room, the boos from the stadium never stopped.

But he remained expressionless, simply accepting a towel from a staff member at the tunnel entrance, wiping the sweat from his face, and then disappearing into the shadows of the players' tunnel.

……

Halftime, away team locker room.

"Chen." Rivers picked up a pen and drew a few arcs on the tactics board.

Chen Yan was wiping the sweat from his face with a towel when he heard his name called and looked up.

He struggled in the first half, with Camby and Jensen taking turns flanking him, denying him comfortable opportunities to receive the ball.

On the offensive end, he really doesn't have many options. He doesn't have a mid-range shot, and his post-up game is still being refined. The only two things he can consistently score with are lobs under the basket and second-chance points after offensive rebounds.

Even so, Rivers showed no intention of replacing him.

The reason is simple: on the defensive end, when he stands there, half of the Knicks' driving routes are rendered useless. Those three blocks in the first half are there for all to see, not to mention the interference and intimidation that weren't counted in the statistics.

"In the second half, we'll run more pick-and-rolls." Rivers pointed his pen near the free-throw line. "Tracy, Grant, you guys have the ball. Chen, come up and screen, hang on to your man, Chen, go straight to the basket, don't stop, don't hesitate."

Chen Yan nodded.

This is something he can understand and do.

It's simple, but effective.

Rivers turned his head and looked at McGrady and Hill.

The ball-handling threat posed by these two players is the prerequisite for Chen Yan to gain space under the basket.

"Shoot whenever you have an opportunity, don't wait. If the opponent rushes out, or the help defense rotates into position..." Rivers paused, drawing a parabola above the rim with his pen, "Just throw it into the air, Chen will find the ball."

Most people in the locker room were smiling.

They still vividly remember that alley-oop dunk in the first half that knocked the rim off the basket.

"Chen, don't rush on offense. If they front you, cut deeper into the paint. If they switch, find the smaller players inside. If they collapse, our perimeter will be open. Just do what you're supposed to do: rebound, defend, screen, finish at the rim. Don't overthink the rest," Rivers explained patiently.

Chen Yan put down the towel, his voice soft but decisive: "Understood."

In the Knicks' locker room, head coach Jeff Van Gundy was doing something similar.

"In the second half, focus on guarding McGrady and Hill. They are the Magic's offensive core. If we shut them down, we've won half the game. As for that rookie, stick to the same defensive strategy as in the first half," Jeff Van Gundy adjusted the defensive strategy for the second half.

Although Chen Yan delivered a brilliant performance in the first half, he still failed to attract Jeff Van Gundy's attention.

The main reason is that McGrady and Hill are so dazzling that people subconsciously overlook the rest of the Magic team.

The halftime break has ended, and the second half of the game has begun.

The third quarter began with the Knicks taking the lead on offense.

Houston made an off-ball run, using a teammate's screen to get rid of the defense, caught the ball, pulled up and made a jump shot, bringing the score back to two points.

When it was the Magic's turn to attack, Armstrong dribbled the ball across half-court and passed it to Hill on the left high post.

Chen Yan moved up from the penalty area, his massive body standing on the left side of the free-throw line like a moving city wall.

Hill took a step towards the middle with the help of a screen, and Houston, who was defending him, was firmly held down by Chen Yan.

"Damn it! What did this rookie eat to grow up like this? He's so thick and hard." The moment Houston made physical contact with Chen Yan, he felt like he had bumped into a concrete wall, not a shield.

Seeing that Houston was delayed, Camby, who was helping to defend, had to move to the side to block Hill's driving route.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chen Yan turned around, pointed his right hand into the air, and charged towards the basket like a bulldozer starting up.

Hill understood perfectly and passed the ball at just the right moment, sending it arcing over Camby's head and flying into the penalty area.

Jansen, who was roaming near the penalty area, came to cover, but she was a step too late.

Chen Yan receives the ball, dribbles once, and jumps.

Jason slapped his forearm, and the referee blew his whistle, but the whistle couldn't drown out the sound of the basketball hitting the hoop.

"Bang!"

2+1.

Chen Yan stood at the free-throw line and took a deep breath.

Free throws are not his strong suit; his shooting percentage is only around 50%.

But this time, with a flick of his wrist, the ball hit the back edge of the rim, bounced, and fell into the net.

3 points scored.

After taking the free throw, Chen Yan held up a five to Camby, then turned and went back to defense.

"Damn rookie, let you show off for now. I'll get my revenge when I'm in better shape." Camby naturally understood Chen Yan's gesture and was extremely annoyed.

Although I was unwilling, there was nothing I could do.

Chen Yan really dominated him. The game has been going on for so long, and he hasn't scored yet, only managing a few rebounds.

On the sidelines, Jeff Van Gundy frowned.

During halftime, he repeatedly emphasized the need to limit Chen Yan's ability to receive the ball under the basket, but when McGrady and Hill were on the court, you couldn't pack all your forces into the paint.

On the court, the Knicks' offense failed to continue, and Houston's step-back jump shot was interfered with and missed.

Chen Yan secured another defensive rebound.

The Magic continue their offensive play, executing pick-and-roll plays.

McGrady had the ball on the right high post, and Chen Yan came up to set a screen.

The quality of this screen was still very high, preventing Houston from forcing their way through.

To prevent Chen Yan from scoring further, Camby positioned himself in Chen Yan's cut lane beforehand, without switching on to delay him.

McGrady got an open shot off the screen and, without hesitation, pulled up for a jumper and made it.

After that shot went in, the Knicks' nightmare had only just begun.

Over the next few minutes, the Knicks' defensive formation was repeatedly torn apart, like a piece of cloth being pulled hard from two directions at the same time.

McGrady sets a screen, Chen Yan cuts inside—you guard McGrady, Chen Yan receives the ball under the basket, either for an alley-oop dunk or a strong turn to overpower Houston or Sprewell, who are much shorter than him.

You collapse the paint to double-team Chen Yan, and McGrady and Hill get open looks on the perimeter, making mid-range shots as easy as in practice.

About six minutes into the third quarter, the score had already widened to double digits.

The Knicks called a timeout, but it didn't solve the fundamental problem.

Jeff Van Gundy paced back and forth on the sidelines, clutching his tactical board, his mind racing with calculations.

He wanted to replicate the Magic's pick-and-roll offense, but he didn't have ball-handling scorers like McGrady and Hill.

Sprewell and Allan Houston are both good players, but asking them to pull up for a jump shot like McGrady or drive and dish like Hill under the handcheck rule is a completely different matter.

After the timeout, the Knicks' offense became bogged down in isolation plays.

Sprewell made a strong drive, but was interfered with by Chen Yan who was helping on defense, and the ball bounced off the rim.

Chen Yan's long arm scooped the ball down from the crowd like a crane.

With his 216cm height, 234cm wingspan, and the jumping ability brought by the "Spring Man" badge, he is a rebounding machine in the paint.

With the shifts between offense and defense, the Magic's pace quickened.

Armstrong, who had already launched a fast break, received a quarterback-style long pass from Chen Yan that spanned the entire court and made a layup.

The Magic's offense flowed smoothly, while the Knicks encountered problems.

After three quarters of intense competition, the Knicks' outside shooting percentage began to plummet.

Under the handcheck rule, defensive players can use their forearms to touch offensive players, which makes each shot by perimeter players require more physical exertion.

Houston was able to keep the game going with mid-range jumpers in the first half, but towards the end of the third quarter, his legs started to feel heavy and his shooting form became distorted.

The Magic played relatively easily, and their pick-and-roll plays became almost unstoppable that night.

It wasn't that the tactics were particularly ingenious, but rather that there was a natural mismatch in personnel allocation.

Two top-class ball-handling scorers plus a giant center with incredible jumping ability—this combination was a machine specifically designed to dismantle traditional defensive systems in the 2000 NBA.

At the end of the third quarter, the Magic extended their lead to 17 points.

The boos at Madison Square Garden have subsided considerably.

It wasn't because they were lenient, but because they knew that tonight's game was beyond redemption.