Chapter 62: The Unstoppable Record (Part Two)

On the evening of January 18, Phoenix fans buying tickets to watch the game on-site found themselves missing Charles Barkley just a little bit.

Last season, the Suns posted a 41-win record. Although they were easily swept 3-1 by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, as long as they had Barkley and Kevin Johnson, everyone felt they could make a comeback in the future.

The halftime score stood at 58:45, with the Suns already trailing by 13 points.

Kevin Johnson had a cold shooting night in the first half, making only 1 of 4 shots, scoring 8 points entirely off free throws, along with 5 assists and 2 turnovers.

His matchup, Li You, shot 5 of 11, including 3 of 6 from beyond the arc, and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line, accumulating 16 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 turnover.

The noisy arena seemed to indicate that the Phoenix fans were beginning to lose confidence. Kevin Johnson failing to suppress the rookie Li You was something unimaginable in the past...

Injuries would not serve as an excuse. Entering the third quarter, Kevin Johnson began frantically attacking the rim, constantly testing Patrick Ewing's rim-protection ability.

This sight made the home Suns fans feel exceptionally heartbroken. If Barkley were still here, Kevin Johnson wouldn't have to work this hard.

Splitting a pair of free throws, Charles Oakley secured the defensive rebound. Li You received the pass, and the Knicks once again initiated a transition offense.

At this moment, Ewing was much more active than he had been in the first half. Li You was slowed down by a hedge, but the Gorilla had already sprinted into the paint.

Boxing out with his body while turning sideways, Ewing didn't even need to raise his hands. The moment they neared the basket, Li You delivered a semi-high lob pass.

Catching the ball, Ewing used his body to ward off the retreating Hot, twisted his turn, grabbed the ball with one left hand, and easily laid it up at the rim!

"Boo!!"

The massive wave of boos erupting throughout the arena failed to dampen Ewing's good mood.

In less than half a quarter, relying on fast breaks, catching and shooting low-post floaters, and catching mid-range jumpers near the right baseline, Ewing easily racked up 8 points.

After running back and forth for a few possessions, the Gorilla felt like shouting out loud:

"Fast breaks are truly amazing!"

When the starting lineup returned for the start of the third quarter, Li You didn't just blindly chuck up three-pointers. Instead, he dutifully played defense, pushed the transition offense, and fed the ball down low more often.

The Suns, whose defensive discipline had slipped, failed to withstand this wave of attacks. Following a 12:6 run, the lead was widened once again.

Cedric of the Suns was unwilling to admit defeat either. After accelerating the offensive pace, he also began attacking the rim. In response, Larry Johnson, much like Li You, had no choice but to commit fouls.

The "Grandmama" picked up his 4th foul early and had to sit on the bench with a gloomy expression. Since it was a rare up-tempo game, Larry Johnson had wanted to take the opportunity to score more points.

Toward the end of the third quarter, Li You also picked up his 4th personal foul. Kevin Johnson continued to relentlessly assault the rim, and the Suns once again narrowed the deficit.

84:74, with three quarters in the books, the Knicks still held a 10-point lead.

Regarding his foul trouble, Li You felt a bit helpless. A lack of defensive experience was a common flaw among rookies, and it was something that could only be accumulated over time.

"Great job, Li! Don't mind the fouls; every rookie goes through foul trouble. What you need to do is learn from the experience. Most of the time, you can rely more on your help-defending teammates."

Assistant coach Thibodeau offered Li You some pointers regarding his defensive positioning.

Li You rarely gambled on steals, but when facing smaller guards driving for layups, he always instinctively jumped up to contest and block shots.

This tendency had been exploited by Kevin Johnson. Relying on his rich game experience, over half of the free throws Li You conceded tonight came from this habit.

"I understand. I'll keep my foul count under control!"

Hearing Li You's words, assistant coach Thibodeau nodded. Coaches always loved smart players; Li You grasped concepts immediately upon a single explanation.

Kevin Johnson wouldn't rest in the fourth quarter either and continued to play. For the Knicks, Li You stayed on the floor as well. Both teams substituted out their centers for one final push.

The Knicks struck first on offense. Using the same play, Li You dribbled past half-court and quickly distributed the ball, finding the recently substituted Starks at the top of the key.

Moving horizontally along the perimeter from left to right, Li You used dual screens from McCarty and veteran Buck to shake off Kevin Johnson's trailing defense once again.

Suns substitute Danny Manning timely switched onto him. Li You raised the ball on the right wing outside the three-point line for a pump fake. Taking advantage of his opponent's sliding footwork, he immediately lowered his center of gravity and drove past with his right hand.

Danny Manning instinctively slid backward to his left, but Li You took only a single dribble before immediately executing a crossover step-back.

A simple shake was all it took for Li You to easily carve out enough shooting space. Gathering the ball smoothly, he didn't wait for his opponent to leap out for a contest, immediately pulling up for a jump shot beyond the three-point line!

"Boo!!"

The ball swished cleanly through the net, and the arena instantly erupted into boos. Li You's crisp and clean three-pointer once again triggered the home Suns fans.

Kevin Johnson didn't mind. While accelerating the offensive pace, he continued to aggressively attack the rim. Even a worm turns, and after being beaten off the dribble repeatedly, Li You surrendered another foul within three possessions...

The Suns, still lacking their shooting touch, continued to clank shots. On the Knicks' end, Li You continued to push the transition offense and serve up easy baskets to his teammates.

With 6:02 remaining in the fourth quarter, Li You had just finished shooting his free throws and returned to the defensive end near the perimeter when the referee blew the whistle for a holding foul.

Sighing helplessly, Li You shrugged his shoulders and headed toward the bench, fouling out of a game for the first time in his professional career.

The home Suns fans showed no joy; they had essentially become the backdrop tonight...

Al McCoy, the on-site broadcaster, heard the producer's prompt and helplessly offered praise to Li You:

"At 19 years and 18 days old, congratulations to Li for becoming the youngest player in NBA history to record 15 assists in a single game."

"I suppose Phoenix fans didn't want to see this happen. 19 years old? Truly incredible, this is indeed a remarkable record."

In 35 minutes of playing time, he shot 8 of 17, including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc, and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line, finishing with 25 points, 3 rebounds, 15 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, and 6 fouls.

On the Knicks' bench, the hype squad all stood up to high-five and celebrate with Li You. Meanwhile, the Suns had not given up; inside presence Lauren Meyer erupted in the final moments, stepping up to the free-throw line repeatedly.

Fortunately, both teams had entered the penalty situation, and Ewing was also getting his trips to the line. This situation tortured the local Suns fans as the game was severely drawn out.

On the sidelines, Jeff Van Gundy looked a bit nervous now, standing up to bark instructions and signaling everyone to hold their ground.

In the end, with a score of 110:103, the Knicks successfully withstood the Suns' free-throw barrage and won this grueling tug-of-war.

Boos continued to echo through the arena. Kevin Johnson, having played 44 minutes, stood with his hands on his hips, looking somewhat desolate as he stared at the scoreboard.

Shooting 4 of 14, and making 13 of 14 free throws, he finished with 21 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers.

Putting up 20+10, Kevin Johnson felt he had already given his absolute all.

The Knicks players quickly headed toward the player tunnel. With the Suns attempting 41 free throws tonight, anyone would feel a bit aggrieved.

Li You paid no mind to the jeering from the home fans. Entering the tunnel, he noticed a Suns staff member glaring over, smiled, shook his head, and shouted loudly:

"Free throws? Doesn't matter. I'm going to keep winning here in Phoenix, and this city will never win a championship!"

Assistant coach Thibodeau hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed Li You by the shoulder, and rushed him toward the locker room. This wasn't New York, and the coaching staff wanted no extra trouble.

Back in the locker room, Ewing checked the box score and discovered that Li You had broken another record, leaving him feeling deeply envious.

Charles Oakley didn't care much about such things; the old veteran was quite satisfied with Li You's performance. Ewing's shot attempts remained the highest on the team, and as long as the rookie didn't get a swollen head and respected the alpha, everything was fine...

Jeff Van Gundy also wore a smile upon entering the locker room, clapping his hands and loudly summarizing:

"A fantastic game! We displayed the fruits of our training. This is family, and we play for each other!"

"Next week, we'll face a stretch of 5 games in 7 days. Therefore, once we return to New York, practice is canceled. Rest well—I don't want to see any of you appearing in the newspapers coming out of nightclubs!"

"Lastly, congratulations to Li, the youngest 20+15 player in NBA history. I think this record will never be broken!"

The Knicks players let out loud cheers. Finally, equipment manager Old Mike handed the game ball to Li You, smiling warmly as he said:

"Li, take the game ball. It'll be hard for this record to be broken anytime soon, so don't be modest this time!"

His previous scoring record had been broken a few days earlier by Portland's high school rookie Jermaine O'Neal. Considering how difficult 15 assists were to achieve, Li You ultimately accepted the game ball:

"This record belongs to everyone! We are family!"

The hype squad and several rookies started howling again. Li You, in high spirits, broke into a smile, knowing he would definitely be on television again:

"You can limit my shot attempts, but can you limit my assists?"

...

In less than a day, after Li You and the team returned to New York, the new record swept through the NBA league, with sports media following suit to report on it.

The New York media praised Li You to the heavens, with the sports sections of several print media outlets making the new record their front-page headline.

For New York fans, this year could be considered a double blessing!

With O'Neal out of the Eastern Conference, Ewing—selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players—was a lock to be voted in as the Eastern Conference All-Star starting center.

Li You, selected 18th overall by the team, kept setting new records every few days. Combined with his flamboyant style of play, home game tickets were in short supply...

On the morning of the 19th, during a rare day off, agent Mark Bartelstein came to visit Li You once again.

On the television, a TNT broadcast featured hosts Ernie Johnson and McHale discussing the record while analyzing Li You's technical traits.

"It's such a pity. If you could make the All-Star team in your rookie year, it would definitely elevate your popularity even further!"

"Jeff Van Gundy lacks seniority, otherwise, given the Knicks' record, they could have voted you in."

"Heat guard Tim Hardaway's fan votes can't compare to yours!"

Mark Bartelstein looked at the television broadcast with a disappointed expression. He genuinely hoped Li You would make the All-Star team as a rookie, at which point the New York media could hype him up to the skies!

Li You was also watching the TNT broadcast. McHale's analysis was quite accurate, noting his lack of strength in contact and less-than-ideal finishing at the rim:

"In this year's All-Star Game, the 50 Greatest Players are the main event!"

"The Rookie Challenge also offers great exposure, but a shoe endorsement contract is our phased goal. I imagine there will be new offers coming in."

Securing a major shoe contract was never a simple task for a player, and Mark Bartelstein knew this was the most crucial priority—that was a massive amount of money.

"Michael Jordan ranked 46th? That ranking certainly has some issues, but it also makes a certain kind of sense..."

The voice coming from the television caused Mark Bartelstein to shake his head helplessly:

"Li, this is the media. For ratings, for sales, they can always lower their own bottom line."

"If you ever play poorly and the New York media starts questioning you, remember to throw all these newspapers and magazines into the trash can."

Li You nodded indifferently; actually, he quite enjoyed reading absurd news:

"Jordan ranked 46th? Perhaps this year's Cleveland All-Star Weekend will witness history once again..."