Chapter 46: "Iron-Blood" Basketball (Part Two)

On December 3, 1996, Pat Riley returned to Madison Square Garden for the first time this season.

Tonight's game was also the Knicks' first nationally televised broadcast of December. Pat Riley maintained his usual elegant image, sporting a sharp suit and slicked-back hair.

Looking over at the nearly bald Jeff Van Gundy standing on the sidelines, the New York fans in attendance suddenly felt that their own head coach's aura was hopelessly inferior.

Entering the new season, the Heat had secured a 12-4 record.

PJ Brown, who had just joined the Heat, seamlessly integrated into Pat Riley's "iron-blooded" tactical system. Together with Alonzo Mourning, their frontcourt suppressed Patrick Ewing right from the opening tip.

The Heat's perimeter trio—Tim Hardaway, Sasha Danilovic, and Dan Majerle—also displayed extremely aggressive defense, causing the Knicks' offense to go ice cold from the start.

"Defense! Defense! Defense!"

The New York fans at the arena shouted at the top of their lungs, cheering on their team's defense.

Tim Hardaway used a screen from Mourning at the top of the arc to successfully shake off Charlie Ward's defense, prompting Charles Oakley to quickly collapse toward the paint.

Taking advantage of Hardaway rising for a layup, Oakley stealthily delivered an elbow to his ribs. The ball rattled off the rim, but before the old veteran could even celebrate, PJ Brown snatched the offensive rebound out of thin air.

"Shit! He fouled!"

Landing back on the floor, Hardaway was still complaining to the referees. PJ Brown grabbed the rebound and immediately whipped the ball out toward the right wing beyond the three-point line.

Without taking much time to adjust, Sasha Danilovic caught the ball and fired a confident jump shot right in the face of Allan Houston's closing contest!

"Swish!" The three-pointer ripped through the net, nothing but net.

12:2. With 7 minutes and 18 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Heat extended their lead to double digits.

"Boo!"

The New York fans in the arena were furious, boos and jeers erupting simultaneously.

By the very next possession, the Knicks were once again forced into a 24-second shot-clock violation by the opposing defense. On the sidelines, Pat Riley calmly sat back down on the bench with a smile on his face.

When Mourning received a penetration kick-out pass from Hardaway near the left baseline and converted an iron-blooded jumper, Jeff Van Gundy completely lost his composure and immediately called a timeout.

14:2. A disastrous start, and the New York fans directed their boos straight at the home team.

"A terrible start. Ewing's low-post offense has been completely neutralized. The Heat's interior defense is simply airtight."

At the broadcaster's table, John Andariese looked at the box score, his tone growing increasingly gloomy.

"Pat Riley must be the head coach in the league who understands the Knicks best. We need to make timely and effective adjustments immediately. A 12-point deficit is simply too much to overcome easily."

Broadcaster Marv Albert recalled the Knicks' offensive rhythm and felt that the game was slipping away...

On the bench, Jeff Van Gundy sat in front of the players, scribbling furiously on his tactical board while urgently instructing them:

"We still have plenty of time left to turn this game around. Play solid defense, cherish every single possession, and stop giving up offensive rebounds!"

No one responded. The veterans were in a foul mood; trailing like this on a nationally televised broadcast was deeply embarrassing.

Charlie Ward sat desolately on the bench, watching Li You and the others sub back into the game. Ever since the matchup against the SuperSonics, his playing time had plummeted drastically.

Given the defensive pressure applied by the Heat and a 12-point deficit, clawing the score back was by no means a simple task.

Stepping onto the court, Li You also wore a stern expression. When facing elite point guards in the league, some of those tactics used to bully lesser competition simply wouldn't work.

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

Inbounded from the baseline, cheers erupted once again throughout the arena. The moment Li You caught the ball, Hardaway pounced on him with full-court pressure.

While applying physical contact, Hardaway draped his right hand across Li You's waist and swiped quickly with his left hand to strip the ball.

Standing at six feet (183 cm), Hardaway could easily lower his center of gravity. Facing this kind of suffocating pressure, Li You smoothly pivoted into a turn, put the ball in his left hand, and immediately accelerated.

Unable to shake off the defender completely, Li You dribbled with his left hand, shouldered through the contact, and continued to accelerate. Seeing his opponent sliding over to cut him off near midcourt, he instantly executed a behind-the-back dribble, switched the ball to his right hand, stuck his backside out to shield the ball, and crossed halfcourt.

Even if it looked a bit ugly, Li You didn't care as long as he could protect the ball with his dominant hand.

Arriving at the right wing outside the three-point line, Hardaway constantly applied physical contact, pulling, grabbing, and swiping—his hands never stopped moving.

Charles Oakley immediately shifted over to Li You's left side, drawing Mourning away and proactively setting a screen.

Hardaway glanced at the movement behind him, noticed Li You's shoulder fake, and instinctively shuffled backward, preparing to fight through the screen. Just as his feet shifted, Li You picked up his dribble momentarily, dropped his center of gravity, and abruptly twisted his body to accelerate.

Gaining half a step instantly, Hardaway let out a curse and quickly slid backward to his left-rear, while his right hand continued to pull and grab covertly.

Cutting in at a 45-degree angle, Li You drove deep into the right paint and initiated contact himself. Taking advantage of the defender's grab, he slammed his body into him, abruptly decelerated into a sudden stop, planted his feet hard, and executed a massive step-back!

Hardaway was jolted to a halt and hurriedly leaped forward to contest, but he quickly realized he had no way to effectively disrupt Li You's step-back fadeaway jumper.

"Swish!" The mid-range shot dropped cleanly through the net!

The home fans instantly burst into loud cheers. This was the Knicks' first field goal of the game.

Taking advantage of Hardaway receiving the inbound pass on the baseline, Li You stepped up to press him full-court, stealthily delivered an elbow, and muttered under his breath:

"Those boring little tricks of yours don't work on me!"

"Shit! Shut the fuck up, rookie!"

Hardaway wanted to use his off-arm to retaliate, only to find that Li You had already shifted his feet and darted away. Having suffered a silent blow, Hardaway muttered angrily in frustration.

During the game against the SuperSonics, Li You had suffered a similar bitter lesson against Gary Payton. He had committed three turnovers that night, and the opponent's active hand-checking had left a deep impression on him.

However, Li You was a fast learner. Taking advantage of Hardaway accelerating and occasionally grabbing him, both players kept their hands active while stopped at the three-point line until the referee could no longer ignore it and blew the whistle:

"Beep!"

Seeing the referee signal an offensive foul against him, Hardaway jumped straight up in fury and complained loudly:

"Hey! Hey!! Open your eyes and make the right call!"

Boosted by the home-court whistle, Li You, who had benefited from the call, high-fived his teammates to celebrate while the home crowd joined in with loud jeers.

Seeing his teammate losing his cool, Mourning hurried over to pull Hardaway away from complaining to the referee:

"Get back on defense! We're still up by 10 points!"

Hardaway's aggressive full-court pressure had zero effect on Li You.

Facing these undersized guards, the cautious Li You completely avoided any hesitation dribbles. With a behind-the-back dribble and his backside stuck out to protect the ball, he steadily navigated across halfcourt.

Ewing, unwilling to lose, actively stepped up to set a screen this time. Executing a quick behind-the-back dribble and switching the ball to his left hand, Li You immediately attacked the left side.

Fighting hard to squeeze through the screen, Hardaway chased from behind, while PJ Brown stepped up from the interior to hedge.

Trapped in the double-team, Li You flicked his left wrist, zipping the basketball right between PJ Brown's legs. Ewing, rolling hard to the rim, caught the bounce pass and took two giant strides to elevate, only to be yanked down hard from behind by a helping Mourning.

"Motherfucker!"

Staggering from the pull, the big gorilla cursed furiously and turned around to shove Mourning. Instantly, players from both teams rushed into the paint, terrified of letting their teammates get the short end of the stick, and began shoving each other.

Seeing that the situation was turning ugly, Jeff Van Gundy shouted at the top of his lungs from the sidelines:

"Pat, keep your cool! Everyone, calm down!"