NBA: The Basketball Miracle

On June 1, 1998, at Madison Square Garden, New York fans witnessed an outrageous record.

With the Jazz scoring just 31 points in the first half, they only scored 14 points in the third quarter.

After three quarters, the Knicks were leading by 30 points, 45:75.

The fans at the scene had already started celebrating the victory crazily, but in the last quarter, the Jazz gave them another big gift.

At 9:21 in the quarter, despite trying their best on the defensive end, the atmosphere group that came off the bench still missed many shots.

In the end, the Knicks defeated the Jazz 54:96 and got off to a good start in the finals.

Not only were the New York fans stunned, but Bob Costas, Doug Collins and Isiah Thomas on the NBC commentary stand also looked at each other in bewilderment.

There was a lot of awkward chatting during the game, and I didn't know what to say after it was over.

"54 points, the Jazz set a record for the fewest points in the Finals."

"The 42-point difference is also the biggest difference in the finals. Coach Sloan should probably use the rotation a little later. Congratulations to the Knicks for winning the first game."

After hearing the director's prompt, Bob Costas immediately gave a brief summary of the game.

Doug Collins, who was standing by, looked at the technical statistics and said with admiration:

"No Knicks player played for more than 30 minutes. They were in hot form tonight and performed very well on the defensive end."

He clocked in after three quarters, played for 28 minutes, made 7 of 12 shots, 3 of 4 from beyond the three-point line, 4 of 4 free throws, 21 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals and 1 turnover.

Clay Lee played "Stockton-like" numbers tonight.

The unexpected victory made the New York fans at the scene ecstatic.

After the game, NBC reporter Jim Gray was the first to interview Lee:

"Incredible victory, Lee, can you talk about how you restricted your opponent? This is the craziest finals I have ever witnessed!"

Influenced by the heated atmosphere at the scene, Jim Gray also subconsciously raised his voice.

Noticing the reporter's excited look, Lee shrugged his shoulders and replied easily:

"This is our desire to win. When it comes to the finals, everyone will take on more responsibilities. Tonight, we were the better team."

"But the finals also starts with an away win, we are ready for G2!"

"."

Jeff Van Gundy never expected the game to turn out like this.

When he saw the huge score difference in the fourth quarter, he almost doubted his life:

"Iron-blooded coach, is this the level?!"

The bald young coach smiled brightly after the game, and almost couldn't hold it back when shaking hands with Sloan.

He just felt completely relieved when he saw the grim look on the face of the famous coach.

Everyone on the Knicks team was smiling when they won, but everyone on the Jazz team was not smiling when they lost.

Karl Malone and Stockton both looked bitter and resentful, as if losing by 42 points was acceptable to them.

Before the start of the finals, the New York media brought out the gimmick of the showdown between the new and old point guards, and Lee also expressed his respect for Stockton before the game.

I thought it would be a fair matchup, but tonight Stockton was beaten by Lee.

Playing for 27 minutes, 1 of 4 shots, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and 5 turnovers, Stockton's performance was naturally ridiculed by the New York media after the game:

"John, the Jazz made 25 turnovers tonight. Does this mean that the two teams are not on the same level?"

Reporters from the New York Post usually lead the charge, and when the victory is great, they even taunt the team.

Stockton on the stage took a look at the technical statistics, noticed the number of turnovers, and responded calmly:

"There are indeed too many turnovers. Next time, we will control the turnovers. Although we lost a lot, the series has just begun."

Karl Malone did not show much emotional fluctuation, shooting 8 of 11, 6 of 6 free throws, 22 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 6 turnovers.

The muscular man tried to play more roles in the game, but the Knicks' defense under the basket was not as gentle and harmless as that of the Lakers, and all the passes inside failed.

Facing the media's questions, Karl Malone just responded calmly:

"You can report it all you want, but we have found the key to winning, and the Jazz will win the series!"

The Utah duo had expressionless faces throughout the press conference, as if it was not the Jazz who lost by 42 points.

This performance made the New York media furious.

The next day's newspapers gave Malone the title of "fake MVP".

TNT and ESPN did not treat the Jazz well, and both sides had the same view:

"The ugliest finals in NBA history!"

The Jazz only have one day to adjust, and Game 2 will officially start at 9 p.m. on the 3rd.

After winning by a large margin, the New York media praised Ewing to the skies again.

5 of 11 shots, 4 of 6 free throws, 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers, an efficient double-double.

When Ewing read the newspaper in the morning, he found that he had become the league's top center. (😂😂)

During the morning video class, Ewing was in a good mood.

Victory can indeed cover up a lot of things.

No one cares that his low-post and mid-range jump shots have become less stable, and no one cares that he has lost his core play.

"No need for double-teaming. We just need to do a good job of one-on-one defense. Malone always likes to receive the ball in the low post on the left side, and Pat can guard inside."

"At most, let him get to the free throw line. Larry, pay attention to Russell's shooting. They always like to pass the ball to the weak side. He won't always be iron. Give him confrontation and let the ball guard his right hand."

Lee's words brought Ewing back to his senses.

The gorilla then realized his identity as a tool and felt complicated for a moment.

"The other team will definitely make adjustments. They won't use a big center anymore. Malone might play at the 5th position. Charles, I need a screen in the next game."

"You know, I don't want to be hit by Malone's elbow. If I can't defend myself for a few rounds, this guy will start to use his elbow!"

Lee was smiling and reminding his teammates about the precautions for the next game.

Oakley was also very proud and responded immediately:

"If we weren't leading by too much, I would have made him suffer in the last game. Don't worry about that wimp who can only fake a fall!"

Oakley was bragging, and the atmosphere group followed suit and flattered him:

"Yeah, Charles can beat the shit out of Malone!"

"Let's beat them by another 50 points! The Jazz are a bunch of wimps!"

"."

Jeff Van Gundy, who was hanging out on the side, was speechless for a moment when he saw the players' morale boosted.

Lee didn't need their guidance at all.

He played the game very calmly and was able to give clear feedback on some details on the field without watching video replays.

The coaching staff didn't say anything and Lee didn't care.

He had no interest in playing old man basketball with the opponent.

Many rounds were just one-on-one duels on the wing during transition offense.

When they were tired and fell into positional offense, the Knicks finished quickly.

As long as there were no problems with rebounding, it was easy for them to play 80+ rounds.

After the video session, everyone on the Knicks team felt that the game was secured.

With the help of metaphysical psychology, they were inexplicably confident.

Thibodeau noticed that Jeff Van Gundy was idle the entire time, and only a few assistant coaches followed Lee to explain the routine to everyone:

"Jeff, don't you want to say a few words? Remind everyone that we now feel that we are over-confident in our own strength."

Hearing Thibodeau's whispered reminder, Jeff Van Gundy came back to his senses, cleared his throat, and then clapped his hands in a pretentious manner:

"Very good! We played a perfect game. Keep it up and don't be careless. We have to protect our home court!"

Everyone responded casually, and then left to prepare for lunch, chatting and laughing.

Thibodeau looked at Jeff Van Gundy, who was a little embarrassed, and whispered to comfort him:

"Everyone heard your advice. Confidence is also a good thing!"

"."

On June 3, before Game 2 started, most commentators' predictions were one-sided.

The Knicks also had a lot of pick-and-rolls.

Lee was extremely aggressive and had two different playing styles from Stockton.

In general, the Knicks played a stronger pick-and-roll in Game 1.

The Bulls were defeated by the three-pointer, and the Jazz can no longer hold on.

The media also followed suit and shouted:

"The Knicks are champions!"

New York fans didn't care whether the finals were exciting or not.

They just wanted to beat the weak teams in every game.

Enthusiastic fans still entered the stadium early.

Since there were three consecutive away games, many people simply held up signs:

"Knicks In Four!"

This game may be the Knicks' last game in New York, so Spike Lee quickly invited Denzel Washington and several main characters from the He Got Game crew to watch the game.

At the beginning of May, "He Got Game" was just released.

Like other stars, Lee played a small cameo role in the movie.

As the leading actor, Ray Allen's main job this month is to promote the movie.

Tonight he also sat in the front row with the crew.

During the final warm-up, Lee also greeted these leading actors.

Spike Lee was whispering to the gorilla, and Denzel Washington smiled and bumped fists with Lee:

"It's a pity that I don't like going to Salt Lake City to watch games, otherwise I would definitely go to the scene to cheer for you in the next few games."

There is a big age gap between the two, but there is no generation gap.

Lee started to brag confidently again:

"That's a shame. The game really can't return to New York!"

The two laughed and hugged each other again, while Rosario Dawson was chatting with Ray Allen on the other side.

This girl who came from the bottom of the society in New York seemed to prefer big boys like Ray Allen, and was not interested in Lee, who had a gloomy temperament.

Milla Jovovich had just married the great director Luc Besson.

She was dressed in simple jeans and T-shirt, and looked a little cold.

She made a phone call gesture to Lee and said nothing more.

The atmosphere in Madison Square Garden became increasingly heated.

After Spike Lee finished chatting with Ewing, he turned around and shouted to Lee:

"I will go to Salt Lake City to watch the game. There is no need to go back to New York. We are going to sweep our opponents!"

Karl Malone seemed to have heard this arrogant boast and immediately glared over here.

On the NBC commentary stand, after receiving the Jazz's starting lineup, Doug Collins kept shaking his head and finally said firmly:

"Karl Malone and Adam Keefe are a pair in the paint. I don't like this combination!"

"Maybe the pick-and-roll defense will be better, but with the height reduced, the Knicks have more rebounding advantages."

Isiah Thomas also smiled at this time and followed the bad news for the Knicks:

"We have huge advantages both inside and outside. If I were to coach this Knicks team, I would frequently initiate pick-and-rolls after the start of the game to consume Karl Malone."

"Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks!"

Amid the cheers of the fans, players from both teams came to the center of the court.

The referee tossed the basketball up and Ewing easily pushed the ball to his own half.

Stockton still did not lead the defense, and the Jazz players quickly completed the defensive matchup.

When Lee came to the left wing, Ewing and Oakley both sank to the left and right baselines.

It seemed that Stockton was going to let Ewing attack in the low post, so he took a step back and tried to interfere with Lee's passing route.

Alan Houston saw that Lee did not initiate a pick-and-roll, and immediately made a gesture to Larry Johnson.

When Stockton moved backwards, Lee did not shake too much, but dribbled behind his back quickly.

After switching to his right hand, he immediately lowered his shoulders and accelerated.

Stockton kept sliding to the left and back without losing his defensive position.

When the two came to the left elbow area, Larry Johnson just gave Alan Houston an off-ball screen on the wing.

Lee did not force the attack when he broke through with his shoulder.

When Alan Houston got rid of the defense and moved to the right wing, he immediately passed the ball while moving.

After receiving the ball, Alan Houston had no one guarding him in front of him.

He ignored Hornacek who was defending him on the side and shot the ball right away!

"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!

He hit a three-pointer at the start of the game, which made the New York New York crowd go crazy.

Everyone started shouting,

"Defense! Defense! Defense!"

After receiving the ball at the baseline, Stockton was defended by Lee.

After quickly rushing through the center line, he began to protect the ball sideways.

Lee did not cut the ball.

He saw Karl Malone and Adam Keefe doing a cross screen under the basket behind him, and he immediately knew that the opponent would most likely choose to pass the ball.

Sure enough, after Malone got into position, Stockton passed the ball to Malone.

After completing the pass, Stockton quickly slipped across the baseline from left to right and took Lee to the right wing outside the three-point line.

At the same time, Bryon Russell began to move to the left wing, serving as Malone's outside receiving point.

Oakley was blocking Malone from behind at this time, and as the opponent was dribbling the ball hard and getting closer to the basket.

Lee, who was defending, noticed that Adam Keefe in the interior suddenly gave Stockton an off-ball screen, and immediately realized that the opponent was most likely targeting Stockton.

When Malone was approaching the paint with his back to the basket, Stockton quickly moved to the right wing outside the three-point line.

It seemed that he was a step slow in defending, but when Malone passed the ball to Stockton, Lee suddenly accelerated, jumped high, and intercepted the ball near the three-point line.

Stockton, who was still waiting to catch the ball, saw Lee steal the ball and rushed to defend to delay him.

The opponent's feet moved, and Lee, with the ball in his right hand, completed a large behind-the-back dribble.

"oh!!"

The wonderful steal, coupled with the 1-on-1 in the frontcourt, excited the fans at the scene to scream.

Lee picked up the ball with his left hand again and immediately accelerated and rushed forward.

Stockton, who was out of defensive position, subconsciously pulled him, but he staggered and completely lost his defensive position.

Rushing across half court, Lee was 1 vs 0, and immediately jumped into the paint area, grabbed the ball with his right hand, and slammed it down!

"Wow!"

Amid the cheers of the fans, Lee smiled and nodded his head with his right hand when retreating to remind his opponent to use his brain.

A mistake occurred in the first cooperation.

Although Stockton had a blank expression on his face, he intensified the physical confrontation when Lee led the defense.

Before crossing half court, the two men collided several times.

Instead of choosing a low-post attack, Malone moved up immediately and the Jazz played the familiar pick-and-roll again.

At the elbow area on the left side of the free throw line, Malone moved, and Stockton, who had been protecting the ball sideways, held the ball in his right hand and passed from Malone's right side.

After completing the screen, Malone immediately moved sideways.

Oakley did not choose to delay, but followed Malone to complete the defense.

Stockton's return speed was extremely fast.

While he was half a body length ahead of Lee, he immediately made a ground pass.

When Oakley saw Malone catching the ball, he immediately raised his right hand and tried to interfere.

After Malone received the ball, he took a quick tentative step with his right foot, and then immediately took a dry jump shot!

"Swish!" The two-point ball went into the net.

"Boo!"

Karl Malone scored a goal in open play, and the audience booed continuously.

Oakley didn't care about the long two-point jump shot, and the Knicks continued to quickly serve the ball from the baseline.

Adam Keefe, who started tonight, saw Ewing move to the three-point line at the top of the arc and his scalp tingled for a moment.

After Lee crossed half court, he immediately did a high pick-and-roll with Ewing.

Holding the ball in his left hand, feeling Stockton still defending him from behind, and facing Adam Keefe who switched defense in front of him, Lee suddenly accelerated and forced a breakthrough.

Adam Keefe was caught off guard and could only slide desperately to the right rear.

Just when two Jazz players were about to block Lee in the left elbow area, Lee shook his left wrist and easily passed the ball out.

Ewing received a ground pass in the paint and immediately made a layup facing Karl Malone who came on to defend.

"Swish!" He scored a goal in the paint area.

2:7, after the opening, the Knicks played a smooth offense again.

...

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