Chapter 47: "Iron and Blood" Basketball (Part III)

Fights breaking out on a basketball court are quite common. Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning both attended Georgetown University, and the two didn't genuinely have bad blood between them.

After exchanging a couple of shoves and a foul called on Ewing's dunk attempt, the incident was basically over. However, Larry Johnson and Mourning had always had a poor relationship; the "Grandmama" charged straight into the paint, genuinely wanting to throw a couple of punches at his former teammate.

P.J. Brown sensed the situation was going south and hurriedly intercepted "Grandmama," shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Man! What do you think you're doing?"

With the game being broadcast nationwide, the referees acted swiftly, stepping in quickly to separate the combatants.

"Grandmama" glared menacingly at his former teammate. Realizing he had almost been ambushed, Mourning stared back without a word, and the two resumed glaring at one another.

The fans in the arena, who had been watching the commotion, were first a bit disappointed and then calmed down. 14:4—the Knicks were still trailing by 10 points...

Seeing Ewing sink both free throws, Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines finally let out a complete sigh of relief.

The backcourt quickly inbounded the ball. After receiving it and noticing that the Knicks had already set their defense, Hardaway immediately flashed tactical hand signals.

Li You, who had already retreated to half-court, immediately shouted a reminder to Charles Oakley:

"Don't let him catch it easily in the left low post!"

The old veteran knew Li You had a great memory. Hearing the warning, he instantly understood that the opponent was targeting Mourning again, and on the defensive end, he began clinging like glue, practically hanging onto Mourning's body...

Just as Li You had predicted, the two big men executed a simple baseline cross-screen, after which Mourning drifted to the left low post to post up and call for the ball.

Oakley, well-prepared, continued to trail his man. At the same time, P.J. Brown moved toward the free-throw line immediately after setting his screen.

Li You knew that all these movements by the Heat were decoys. The Knicks frequently used this kind of high-low coordination; the two teams' tactics could be said to be mirroring each other...

"Defense! Defense! Defense!"

Chants of defensive encouragement rang out once again inside Madison Square Garden. Defending the wing on the left outside the three-point arc, Li You tried his best to blanket Hardaway with his body, denying him any easy passing lane.

Once the shot clock ticked past the halfway mark, Hardaway delivered a low-quality high- lob pass, but Mourning had already been pushed out of the low post by Oakley.

Battling Oakley's defense, Mourning executed a series of bump-and-grinds near the left baseline, edged closer to the paint, and instinctively tossed up a right-handed floater!

"Clang!" Another miss!

The fans instantly burst into loud cheers. Ewing retreated to the rim in time, boxing out P.J. Brown behind him and forcefully securing the defensive rebound.

When Li You received the ball again, Hardaway stepped up immediately to hedge, then ceased his full-court denial and sprinted back alongside his teammates to set the defense.

The Heat's defensive discipline was exceptionally high, and Li You, bringing the ball across half-court, furrowed his brows slightly.

Using Ewing's screen at the top of the arc as usual, P.J. Brown heavily guarded Ewing's roll to the basket, causing the help defense to arrive a bit slower this time.

Seeing Li You execute a sweeping behind-the-back dribble after being delayed, shifting the ball to his left hand while lowering his center of gravity significantly, Hardaway barely had time to warn his teammates before Li You, gathering the ball with his left hand, executed a rapid in-and-out dribble, faking right and driving left.

The deceptive hesitation during his drive left P.J. Brown rooted flat-footed to the spot, able only to watch as Li You charged toward the basket!

The Heat's defense came in layers. The moment Li You penetrated the paint, Mourning was already sliding over to help.

Li You chose not to pass. Slightly decelerating as he rushed to the rim, he came to a sudden stop and seamlessly performed a left-handed pump fake. Mourning, trusting his physical instincts, leaped high into the air...

Seeing in mid-air that Li You had executed a nimble pivot on his right foot and twisted away, Mourning cursed angrily under his breath. The moment his feet touched the floor again, he watched helplessly as Li You easily laid the ball up with his right hand in the paint!

14:8, the deficit was narrowed to 6 points.

"Ooh!!"

The brilliant basket instantly ignited the atmosphere inside Madison Square Garden. As Li You retreated on defense, he smilingly tapped his head with his right index finger, prompting the fans to holler and cheer loudly in response.

The electric home-court atmosphere did nothing to disrupt the Heat's offense; they continued running their plays methodically, stretching the Knicks' defense by establishing deeper post position for their big men.

This time, Mourning caught the ball deep in the post. Seeing Oakley lose his defensive position, Ewing instinctively drifted over to help, leaving P.J. Brown wide open at the free-throw line to sink a mid-range jumper...

Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines couldn't come up with any great solutions and could only shout reminders to his players to stay focused and tighten up their defense.

To erase the deficit, they first had to get stops, but the Heat were clearly well-prepared. Hardaway persisted in fighting through screens, and the big men's hedges became more and more aggressive.

Stifling Li You's three-point shot certainly exacted a toll. For two consecutive possessions, Oakley received passes from Li You around the free-throw line elbows and converted both jump shots for two points.

However, the Heat answered right back on the offensive end. Sasha Danilovic shook off Allan Houston's defense and buried another jump shot from beyond the arc...

As the first quarter drew to a close, the Knicks made personnel substitutions, but they were still completely worn down by the Heat's slow-paced offense and suffocating defense.

P.J. Brown fought relentlessly for rebounds on every possession, while Mourning showed no fear of contact, tangling repeatedly with Oakley in the paint.

It wasn't until Hardaway turned the ball over that Li You recorded a steal and assisted Allan Houston on a transition three-pointer, marking the Knicks' first successful fast-break of the game.

With the final 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Jeff Van Gundy shouted for everyone to hold strong, but P.J. Brown missed a putback at the rim, immediately secured his own offensive rebound, and scored the buzzer-beating tip-in.

24:18, the margin remained 6 points.

Returning to the bench, Li You cursed silently in his heart—Pat Riley had no humanity; all five Heat starters had played the entire 12 minutes...

"P.J. Brown grabbed 7 rebounds in the first quarter alone, 4 of them on the offensive glass."

"Unbelievable, we are actually losing the rebounding battle. The Heat have truly transformed this season!"

Commentator John Andariese felt the game was completely dictated by the opponent tonight; the Knicks rarely won when losing the rebound battle...

"Falling behind by too much early on—clearly, our coaching staff was underprepared. Of course, the young guys played great. Once Li checked in, he organized the offense all over again."

Broadcaster Marv Albert offered polite praise, but after exchanging glances with his broadcast partner, both knew the game was in deep trouble.

As the second quarter got underway, Li You saw that Hardaway was still on the floor and felt speechless inside. Clearly, Pat Riley was determined to secure a victory in New York...

The Heat struck first on offense. Having gone 0-for-4 in the first quarter and scoring only via free throws, Hardaway now stepped up as his team's primary offensive weapon.

On the opening possession, facing Li You's defense at the top of the arc, Hardaway lowered his center of gravity, held the ball in his right hand, executed a rapid crossover through his legs, and then quickly changed direction in front of his body.

Hardaway instantly gained half a step, accelerated with the ball in his right hand, abruptly pulled up at the free-throw line, and rose for a jump shot right over Li You's contest!

Scoring with his signature move, Hardaway felt thoroughly refreshed, shaking his head and taunting mockingly:

"Check it out, rookie, that's how you do a between-the-legs dribble!"

Li You didn't utter a word. He took the inbound pass, quickly brought it across half-court, moved to the right wing, and immediately zipped the ball to Starks at the top of the arc.

Li You then darted rapidly from right to left across the court, using a screen from veteran Buck Williams to momentarily shake Hardaway's trailing defense.

On the left wing outside the three-point arc, Li You received the return pass from Starks and immediately went into a shot fake.

Hardaway, scrambling to recover, nearly left his feet on the fake. Seeing Li You drive straight ahead with the ball in his right hand, Hardaway hurriedly adjusted his body's center of gravity and slid desperately backward and to his left.

Just past the three-point line, Li You, maintaining a low center of gravity, executed a lightning-fast between-the-legs dribble and, catching Hardaway hesitating on defense, immediately made a subtle, early counter-move.

Hardaway, reacting instinctively with his body, momentarily caught his front supporting foot against the move. When he tried to adjust his stride to recover, his feet tangled, and he nearly tumbled backward onto the floor...

Supporting his weight with his right hand, Hardaway barely managed to avoid hitting the deck, but by then he had completely lost his defensive position, forced to watch helplessly as Li You blew right past him and easily drained a mid-range pull-up jumper.

"Killer Crossover! That's how you do a between-the-legs dribble!"

Having just managed to stand back up, Hardaway heard the whisper muttered close to his ear by Li You and was completely sent over the edge:

"Motherfucker!"

Hardaway viciously rushed forward and shoved Li You, then cocked back his right fist, intent on teaching this rookie who had embarrassed him a harsh lesson.

Li You reacted with equal speed, sidestepping the punch, and instantly wrapped him up in a wrestling clinch, sending both players crashing down together onto the floor near the baseline.

"Motherfucker!"

Dazed from the fall, Hardaway heard a curse ring in his ear before taking a solid right hook straight to the face...

The New York fans in attendance were still cheering for Li You's basket when, in the blink of an eye, the two players were brawling on the hardwood. After a collective gasp of shock, cheers erupted and echoed throughout the arena.

Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines hadn't even processed what happened before Larry Johnson sprinted over, roaring:

"Shit! Stop it, break it up!"