Chapter 142: Lin Feng's Influence Within the Country

This scoreline. This course of the game. No one could have imagined it before tip-off.

The Knicks had essentially blown the game open in less than a quarter. By halftime, they were leading by 35 points. This didn’t look like an NBA playoff game at all—it was more like the American All-Star team utterly dismantling the Chinese national team.

The halftime report appeared across major American sports media, causing an uproar nationwide.

Although it was only halftime and the Cavaliers still had a chance to mount a comeback in the second half, being thrashed by 35 points at the break was simply staggering, especially with Lin Feng’s otherworldly performance leaving American fans utterly stunned.

Scoring 41 points in just one half—if he kept up this pace, could he really hit eighty points in a single game?

Oh my god! Eighty points???

Since the NBA’s restructuring over thirty years ago, no player had ever scored more than 70 points in a game. The highest single-game score was still the ancient legend Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points back in the 1960s.

Since the restructuring, the highest was Michael Jordan’s 69 points.

Lin Feng didn’t need to reach eighty; just scoring 70 points would rewrite history and set the modern NBA scoring record. The 100-point record from the ancient era was simply too distant—after all, a whole team didn’t even always reach 100 points in a game.

...

China.

Thanks to Lin Feng’s stunning debut performance for the Knicks, the second game drew massive attention at home. CCTV Sports Channel even announced the live broadcast a day in advance.

However, when eager fans turned on their TVs to watch the Knicks versus Cavaliers match, the screen showed ping-pong instead, sparking fury among viewers who flooded CCTV Sports’ official Weibo with angry comments.

In truth, CCTV Sports didn’t want this either. Before the NBA broadcast, they had scheduled the semi-finals of the Ping-Pong World Championships, originally set to begin at 5 a.m. Beijing time. But the semi-finals were delayed by half an hour and turned into an unexpectedly intense match. As a result, by the time the Knicks game began, the ping-pong semi-final had not yet concluded.

Fans waited impatiently for nearly an hour until the ping-pong match finally ended. When the broadcast switched to the NBA game, it was already halftime.

And then the score flashed across the screen.

71 to 36!

The Knicks were already up by 35 points, leaving fans speechless.

“Can someone tell me what happened in the first half?”

“Damn it, finally a game to watch, and it turns out like this.”

“Holy hell, Lin Feng is just savage—what grudge does he have? Beating up the other team by 35 points at halftime!”

“The key is Lin Feng’s points alone are more than the entire Cavaliers team’s. How is this even a game??”

“Damn CCTV, making me watch garbage time!”

“...”

Fans were full of resentment. Even the live broadcast’s host Hao Wei and guest analyst Xu Dacheng were at a loss for words.

“First, we’d like to apologize to the fans watching at home. Due to the delay in the ping-pong World Championships, this game has already reached halftime. The Knicks lead decisively on the road, 71 to 36. Lin Feng started and has continued his hot streak from the last game—hitting 10 of 15 from three-point range, 4 of 5 on two-pointers, and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line. He’s scored 41 points in just one half, matching Yao Ming’s career scoring record in the NBA. That means Lin Feng needs just one more point to break the Asian scoring record in the NBA. Coach Xu, what are your thoughts?”

Hao Wei turned to guest analyst Xu Dacheng.

CCTV Sports had thoughtfully invited Xu Dacheng as the guest analyst for this broadcast. Xu was well known domestically as a devoted “Lin Feng fan,” ever since his passionate commentary during Lin Feng’s game-winning shot against Beicheng in his debut. Though Xu was sidelined by CCTV afterward, he was brought back this time to cater to fan enthusiasm.

“In my opinion, Lin Feng will definitely surpass Yao Ming’s record. It’s only halftime—unless Lin Feng sits out the entire second half, with his current form, he’s guaranteed to keep scoring. Even if he doesn’t play the second half, his 41 points are more impressive than Yao Ming’s. Yao scored 41 in a triple-overtime game, but Lin Feng did it in just one half,” Xu Dacheng praised generously, living up to his reputation.

His words resonated with viewers, who flooded the live chat with support.

As the second half was about to start, CCTV Sports Channel’s ratings soared. Normally, NBA playoff games on CCTV Sports only managed about a 0.3 rating. With no domestic players in the league for many years, the NBA’s influence in China had waned steadily, and ratings for live NBA broadcasts had declined year after year, with the highest this season only reaching 0.35.

Yet today, before the second half even began, the channel’s rating broke 0.4, smashing the NBA broadcast record for the year.

Seeing the data, He Congwen, the NBA broadcast director at CCTV, couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. He knew this surge was all because of Lin Feng.

Moreover, this 0.4 rating was likely just the beginning. Based on years of experience, he predicted the viewership would continue climbing, possibly returning to the heights CCTV enjoyed when Yao Ming played in the NBA. If that happened, sponsors would be throwing money at them without hesitation.

Thinking of this, He Congwen’s lips curved into a smirk. He recalled the call from Zhu Deli the night before.

On the phone, Zhu Deli begged He Congwen to avoid airing the Knicks games—or better yet, to ban them outright.

He Congwen, a seasoned insider, had given a vague response. Of course, if the Knicks games failed to attract viewers, he could afford to humor Zhu Deli. After all, Zhu was the head of the Basketball Association, and you never knew when you might need his favor. But now...

He Congwen snorted coldly in his heart: “You really think a single word from you can make me ban the Knicks games? Who do you think you are?”

He left his office and entered the NBA broadcast control room, then spoke into host Hao Wei’s earpiece: “Please announce the Knicks’ upcoming schedule, and let the audience know that our channel will be broadcasting all their remaining games!”

...

Basketball Association.

Zhu Deli had just sat down when Zhao Jian rushed into his office, panicked.

“Director, there’s trouble again!”

“Still Lin Feng?” Zhu frowned. Of all the troublemakers, only Lin Feng could cause him such headaches.

Zhao Jian nodded. “CCTV Sports Channel is currently broadcasting the Knicks game.”

“That’s it?” Zhu gave Zhao a disdainful look and smiled smugly. “I already knew about this. But today’s game is the last one the Sports Channel will broadcast. I’ve already spoken with their leadership.”

“Uh?” Zhao was stunned. “Director, are you serious?”

“Don’t you trust my ability?” Zhu curled his lips. “Listen, Zhao, I can’t guarantee everything, but when it comes to sports media, I have it all under control.”

Zhao scratched his head awkwardly. “But Director, the Sports Channel just announced they will broadcast all of the Knicks’ upcoming games!”

“And also, Lin Feng has already scored 41 points in today’s game!”

“...”