Chapter 65: Accompanied by Records (Part 1)

On January 26, 1997, inside Madison Square Garden, the continuous jeers and shouts of New York fans echoed through the arena.

Having grinded out a tough win against the Pacers and suffered a lopsided blowout loss on a back-to-back against the Hornets, the Knicks found themselves facing the Miami Heat in their final game of the week.

Perhaps driven by the fact that he received a meager 310,000 votes for the All-Star game, Tim Hardaway was extra eager to prove himself tonight!

Refusing to rest, he went all out on both ends of the floor. Hardaway's intentions were blatantly clear—to thoroughly outperform Li You...

As the game progressed, the physical contact between both sides intensified. Compounded by the fact that the Knicks maintained a six-point lead over the Heat throughout, Hardaway grew increasingly anxious and began throwing up bricks.

The Heat deployed two second-round picks in this matchup, both of whom hustled relentlessly, ensuring that no matter how the referees called the game, the physical altercations never subsided.

With just twenty-one seconds remaining in regulation, the Heat players realized the game was out of reach and collectively deflated, panting heavily and giving up on defense.

Only Tim Hardaway continued to go toe-to-toe with Li You. Out on the left wing beyond the arc, he fought tooth and nail for the ball, but Li You lowered his center of gravity, squared his hips, and gave his opponent not an inch of opportunity.

The final buzzer sounded. 89:95. Returning to their home court, the Knicks successfully defeated their opponents, closing out their final game of the week.

"Five games in seven days, three wins and two losses. Though we fell short against the Bulls and Hornets, securing tonight's victory brings our record to thirty-three wins and ten losses."

"Surpassing the Pistons to rank second in the Eastern Conference, I'm sure New York fans are thoroughly pleased with this campaign!"

At the MSG broadcast table, announcer Marv Albert seized the opportunity to praise the Knicks' performance.

Competition in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference was fierce, and briefly climbing past the Pistons had already met their preliminary expectations!

"The grueling schedule has taken a slight toll on Li's conditioning. Honestly, it's only now that I truly remember he's just nineteen years old!"

"Get some well-deserved rest before the All-Star break, and hopefully the young man can return to his usual hyper-efficient form."

Analyst John Andariese offered his well-wishes to Li You. Both commentators were riding high on the euphoria of victory, showering every Knicks player with praise.

After the final whistle, Tim Hardaway felt he had lost face in front of a rookie, tossing out a perfunctory greeting before turning on his heel and walking away:

Four of seventeen from the field, two of eight from beyond the arc, one of two from the free-throw line, totaling eleven points, four rebounds, twelve assists, one steal, and three turnovers.

Even with a double-double, Tim Hardaway was deeply unsatisfied with his performance tonight; it was downright abysmal!

His matchup counterpart, Li You, didn't have a banner night either: four of eleven from the field, zero of three from three-point range, four of six from the charity stripe, finishing with twelve points, four rebounds, eight assists, one steal, one block, and two turnovers.

His streak of consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer officially came to an end at twenty-six...

Returning to the locker room, Li You slumped into his seat, completely drained of words. Five games in seven days, coupled with a swarm of envious haters playing suffocating defense—even an iron man would break under that kind of load!

"This was a hard-fought victory, and I am proud of every single one of you!"

"But we need to dig deep and push through just a little longer. There are only two games left this month. If anyone is feeling physically run down, make sure to report it immediately."

Jeff Van Gundy saw that everyone in the locker room was too exhausted to speak. After offering brief words of encouragement, he declared a day off, canceling the next day's practice session.

...

Upon returning to his Manhattan apartment, Li You took a quick shower, hit the bed, and instantly fell fast asleep. He had finally survived the brutal gauntlet of this week's games.

On the 27th, while enjoying his breakfast, Li You watched an ESPN segment solemnly analyzing the reasons behind his statistical dip, happily taking a bite of his sandwich.

"With Wonder Li sidelined in spirit by fatigue, it's tough for a rookie entering the league to maintain elite efficiency across the board."

"Most teams have begun adapting to his tendencies, and we could clearly see him struggling mightily throughout this past week's games."

"Of course, Li is still capable of pulling off highlight-reel crossovers that bring the fans to their feet, but as we enter the second half of the season, sustaining his previous hyper-efficient output is proving difficult."

Kristen Ritter, who had come over early that morning to repay her debt, grew secretly irritated upon seeing Li You eat with such relish, especially since she had arrived on an empty stomach:

"Are they talking trash about you? Aren't you mad?"

Noticing that Li You had no intention of inviting her to share breakfast, the young woman—who had deliberately dressed to look slightly more mature—started trying to strike up a conversation.

"Mad? No, no, no. Getting television coverage is always a good thing; it's a form of media recognition!"

"I assumed you'd already eaten breakfast. Don't be shy, help yourself to whatever you like!"

Seeing the dark-haired young girl staring longingly at the food on the table, Li You immediately made a casual gesture.

A faint blush crept across Kristen Ritter's cheeks, but she ultimately failed to resist the temptation, digging eagerly into the mouth-watering bacon before her.

Feeling somewhat self-conscious about her table manners, she glanced around the room and spotted several framed photographs of Li You and Melinda. Feigning casual indifference, she lowered her voice and asked:

"Is that your girlfriend? Do you have a thing for blonde girls?"
Li You gave her a half-amused, half-mocking look, eyeing her washboard-like figure. Beneath her black, form-fitting sweater, there was barely a curve in sight.

Her bright, expressive eyes gave her an air of absolute innocence, but the fact that she had mustered the courage to attend a wild swinging party proved she was far from a naive maiden.

"I'm not interested in minors, so you don't need to dress up to look older. An ironing board isn't exactly much to show off anyway."

Kristen Ritter, still chewing on a large bite of her sandwich, didn't process the insult at first. It wasn't until she followed Li You's gaze and looked down at herself that she finally understood what "ironing board" implied.

Fuming inwardly, Kristen puffed out her cheeks. Then, remembering her currently emaciated wallet, she could only huff and say defensively:

"I'll only be able to pay back part of it soon. I'm just a freelance model right now, I don't make that much cash."

Li You rested his chin on his hand, observing her without exposing the young girl's petty little calculations. That stack of bills from last time had been two thousand dollars; if she spent it frugally, she certainly wouldn't need to pick up any more special gigs.

Feeling as though all her thoughts had been completely seen through, Kristen could only furiously devour the food in front of her, muttering complaints to herself:

"Ironing board? Newsflash, dairy cows don't make good fashion models!"

...

During the third week of January, Li You posted his worst stretch of performances since entering the league:

Over five games, starting three of them, he averaged 32.6 minutes, 14.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.4 turnovers;

He averaged 10.4 field goal attempts with a 44.5% shooting clip, launched 5.0 three-pointers per game at a 28.8% success rate, and went to the line 4.4 times a contest, converting at an 89.3% clip.

On the morning of the 28th, Jeff Van Gundy reviewed the coaching staff's compiled data, unable to suppress a slight frown.

"It's likely just fatigue. Five games in seven days, three on the road, flying back and forth—it's bound to take a toll."

"A 60% true shooting percentage is still well above the league average. Under such a grueling schedule to still put up these numbers, honestly, I'm nothing short of thrilled!"

Assistant coach Don Chaney put on a look as if they had struck gold. Within the coaching staff, he had always been Li You's staunchest advocate.

Jeff Van Gundy merely felt that the drop in three-point accuracy was a bit steep, but considering the Miami game had dragged down his averages, he eventually relaxed his brow:

"How is Pat's physical condition? The last thing I want to see is anyone getting injured right before the All-Star break."

Assistant coach Tom Thibodeau didn't think there was much to worry about. Having played half the season, Ewing's average minutes were kept at a modest 38 per game. He replied in a relaxed tone:

"The weight loss should have relieved the pressure on his knees. Honestly, I think Pat looks even better this year!"

Jeff Van Gundy let out another sigh of relief. Once they gutted out these final two games of the month, the Knicks would finally get some well-earned rest!

On the night of the 28th, the Knicks hosted the Celtics at home.

In their relentless pursuit of Tim Duncan, the Celtics had long stopped pretending; they were openly tanking for the number one overall draft pick!

With the pressure off and the Knicks heavily favored to win, the New York fans filing into the arena were simply hoping to see Li You put on a show.

The previous outing against the Heat had felt like swallowing a piece of foul-tasting chocolate, and the entertainment-seeking New York crowd hoped this guaranteed victory would wash the bad taste from their mouths...

Yet, to everyone's utter shock, midway through the second half, during a scramble for a defensive rebound, Patrick Ewing collapsed to the hardwood in agony.

Sitting on the bench, Jeff Van Gundy instantly sprang to his feet. Seeing Ewing's agonizing expression, his mind went completely blank for a moment:

"A knee injury?..."