Chapter 144: A 2-0 Lead in the Series

At the end of the third quarter, the Knicks still maintained a massive lead.

While this news was certainly surprising, even more astonishing was the fact that Lin Feng had already scored 62 points in just three quarters!

Major media outlets pushed out this breaking news as real-time playoff updates.

"Knicks vs. Cavaliers: Linsanity Explodes for 62 Points in Three Quarters!"
"A New Record Born? New York's Madman Drops 62 in Three Quarters!"

As the news spread, even more people tuned in to watch the game's progress. Lin Feng's 62-point performance in three quarters was simply too captivating. Fans who were unable to access the UNP Sports channel all swarmed into the network's live streaming room: five hundred thousand, one million, two million...

In less than five short minutes, the number of viewers in the live stream skyrocketed from over four hundred thousand to 2.1 million.

UNP Sports was only a local sports channel, and the capacity of its official website was extremely limited. With such a massive influx of fans in a short span of time, the website crashed instantly...

Countless fans cursed online. Who wouldn't want to witness the birth of a new record?

At the arena.

A small fraction of the home fans at the Quicken Loans Arena had already left. They simply had no desire to witness a rare massacre.

However, among the remaining fans, a small group actually defected on the spot, chanting Lin Feng's name. Because Lin Feng had racked up 62 points in three quarters, they hoped he would break the modern NBA single-game scoring record of 69 points held by the great Michael. Moments of witnessing history firsthand were not something everyone had the chance to encounter.

Yet, as the fourth quarter began, Coach Phils did not send Lin Feng back onto the court. The Knicks deployed an all-bench lineup. Holding a 37-point advantage, Phils naturally saw no need to risk his star players; suffering an injury now would outweigh any potential gains.

On the Cavaliers' side, Thomas was still on the floor. He possessed a fierce competitive spirit, and even with the massive deficit, he still wanted to fight.

However, after four minutes of play, the Cavaliers failed to gain any advantage. Perhaps inspired by the stellar play of the starters, the Knicks' bench unit performed exceptionally well, losing by only 1 point to Thomas-led Cleveland in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.

The point differential remained at 36 points, yet only seven minutes and fifty seconds remained on the clock.

Overcoming a 36-point deficit in such a short time was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Consequently, Thomas finally decided to relent. He requested to be subbed out, and the Cavaliers sent in their own substitutes.

The game completely degenerated into garbage time.

"The Cavaliers have given up. It seems Lin Feng won't be returning to the court. Heavens, this is such a pity! If Lin Feng had been allowed to play, perhaps he would have broken Michael's record. Oh no, judging by Lin Feng's shooting touch tonight, I'm certain he would have shattered that record..." commentator Hyson said with a regretful expression.

Not only him, but fans all across America who were following the game felt a deep sense of regret. New York fans, in particular, had not seen a single true superstar on their team for nearly six years. Lin Feng's sudden emergence had given them boundless room for imagination, and they desperately wanted him to be perfect—perfection upon perfection! Breaking records was something they naturally welcomed in abundance.

Lin Feng!
Lin Feng!
Lin Feng!

With three minutes left in the game, some fans inside the Quicken Loans Arena suddenly began shouting Lin Feng's name. They simply couldn't wait any longer.

To make the opposing fans turn on their own team and chant his name inside the Quicken Loans Arena—Lin Feng was the very first player to achieve this in all these years...

"Lin, you're quite popular! Look at that, even Cleveland has fans cheering for you," Jones joked with a smile as he sat next to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng shrugged. "Heaven knows what they're shouting for."

"To sub back in and score, of course. Don't tell me you don't realize you're only seven points away from the great Michael's 69-point record?" Jones asked with surprise.

"Oh? I genuinely didn't know that," Lin Feng paused for a moment before spreading his hands. "Let's forget about it for today, maybe next time. Otherwise, people will accuse me of padding my stats in garbage time."

"You say that, but if you miss today, who knows when another opportunity like this will come along? You can't expect to score 62 points in the first three quarters every single night," Jones said earnestly. "If you can score just 8 more points and reach 70, fans across the entire nation will remember you forever. Are you really not considering going back in?"

Lin Feng smiled and shook his head. "There will be other chances."

"Alright, I never took you for such a stubborn guy," Jones chuckled, spreading his hands.

The final buzzer sounded.

The final score was 122 to 90. The Knicks routed the Cavaliers on the road by 32 points! And the series score now stood at 2:0!

This was a jarring scoreline, especially given that it involved the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers. In truth, there was nothing inherently wrong with a 2:0 lead; it was just that everyone's pre-series script had the Cavaliers winning both home games to take a 2:0 advantage heading back to Manhattan, before closing out the series there—or perhaps dropping one in New York before sealing it back at home.

Yet, no one could have anticipated that while the score was indeed 2:0, the team in the lead would be the visiting New York Knicks. Now, they were heading back to New York carrying a massive 2:0 advantage, with a genuine chance to close out the series right at Madison Square Garden.

If that truly happened, the New York Knicks would once again pull off the miraculous eighth-seed upset!

However, it was clearly far too early to indulge in such daydreams. As the dominant powerhouse of the Eastern Conference, how could they possibly surrender so easily?

In the next game, and the game after that, they would undoubtedly mount a ferocious counterattack.

...

In the locker room.

Lin Feng had just changed his clothes when Phils called him over.

"Coach, did you need me?" Lin Feng asked.

Phils nodded. "Come with me to the post-game press conference."

"This... I don't think that's appropriate..." Lin Feng shook his head. Post-game press conferences were typically attended by team captains, and the current captains were Jones and Cook.

"Go on, Lin. I'm sure plenty of the media are waiting to interview you!" Jones said with a smile from nearby.

"We're starting right now."

Without wasting any more words, Phils walked out of the locker room and headed straight for the press conference hall. Reluctant as he was, Lin Feng had no choice but to follow silently behind his coach.

The press room was packed with reporters that night; all forty or fifty seats were completely occupied. Cavaliers head coach Brown and Thomas had already arrived.

By comparison, Phils and Lin Feng were fashionably late. The moment the two of them stepped into the room, however, the atmosphere instantly livened up.

Reporters craned their necks, locking their eyes onto Lin Feng. From this moment on, Lin Feng was their primary target—they were determined to extract every juicy detail they could from him...