Continuing the Madness Tonight
"Lin Feng's touch is still as good as ever today, scoring right on his very first shot," commentator Liu from the CCTV broadcast desk exclaimed with admiration.
"Watching Lin Feng shoot three-pointers is truly a treat; it's practically as beautiful as a painting! Haha, Coach Liu, do you think Lin Feng can break another record tonight? Before the season started, Lin Feng did say he would shatter Mike's record within a single season!" Xu Jia said.
"If Lin Feng maintains the kind of touch he had in the last game, he won't need a full season—I reckon he can do it today!" Coach Liu said with a smile. "I watched the clip of Coleman's appearance on the show. For him to challenge a rookie who's only been in the league for a few days to break Mike's record—to be honest, that wasn't very classy at all; it completely fails to match his status as an NBA legend! However, Lin Feng's counterattack was fantastic. Regardless of whether he can break Mike's record, having that kind of confidence and courage is essential, and for that alone, I'm rooting for Lin Feng!"
"Not only is Coach Liu rooting for Lin Feng, but I'm sure tens of millions of fans in front of their TVs are rooting for him too. During the halftime break, we'll invite Lin Feng to the broadcast desk to hear what he has to say," Xu Jia said with a smile.
True to their roles as the home-sent supporters, these two commentators offered Lin Feng unwavering backing.
If Lin Feng could hear their commentary while on the court, he would surely sink an extra two or three pointers.
Just as the two were chatting, the score on the court had already changed.
7:8!
The Knicks were trailing by one. After the initial 3:3 tie, the Cavaliers scored again with a three-pointer from Devin, followed by a mid-range jumper from Thomas.
For the Knicks, Lin Feng answered Devin with a three-pointer of his own, and Jones drove to the basket, drawing a foul from his opponent. He subsequently made one of two free throws.
Both teams had a hot hand right from the opening tip. After just over a minute of play, they had already combined for fifteen points.
On the court, the Knicks were on the offensive. Jones drove with the ball and kicked it out to Lin Feng on the perimeter. The latter caught and shot—it rimmed out.
This was the first shot Lin Feng had missed today.
Before the game, Lin Feng had already made up his mind not to use any props unless absolutely necessary. Relying blindly on props would yield no real benefit to his personal growth, so tonight's Lin Feng was destined not to be as "efficient" as he was in his previous two games.
Of course, this efficiency was only relative to Lin Feng's heaven-defying performances in those past outings. By the end of the last game, Lin Feng had already raised Curry's three-point shooting accuracy to 70%. In the NBA, that kind of shooting percentage could still be described as utterly freakish!
The Cavaliers went all out tonight, fighting fiercely from the start. In this offensive possession, Comfort powered his way into the paint to score and also drew a foul from Chris, making the subsequent free throw.
With 10 minutes and 2 seconds left in the first quarter, the score became 7:11, with the Knicks trailing by 4 points.
The Knicks inbounded the ball from the baseline, with Jones handling it. After crossing half-court, he ran a pick-and-roll with Deco near the top of the key. Jones seized the opportunity to drive into the paint, but his layup was ruthlessly blocked out of bounds by Darwin, who had rotated over in time for the help defense.
"Want to lay it up in front of me? Not in this lifetime, you little shrimp!" After successfully blocking the shot, Darwin gloated, tossing trash talk right into Jones's ear.
Jones glared at him. "Next time, I'm definitely going to score!"
"In your dreams," Darwin sneered, curling his lip.
Although Jones's layup was blocked, the ball remained with the Knicks. Farmar inbounded from the baseline, passing to Deco. The latter dribbled twice outside the three-second zone, but with Darwin guarding him tightly, he found no opening.
"Over here!"
Lin Feng used a counter-cut to shake off Thomas and went looking for the ball.
Deco promptly zipped the pass to Lin Feng, who caught it and drove straight toward the basket.
"Heh heh, here comes another one!" Standing 2.15 meters tall, Darwin stood in the paint like a brick wall. He paid no mind whatsoever to perimeter players like Lin Feng and Jones driving inside, especially since his signature skill was defense.
Facing Darwin's defense, Lin Feng did not slow down. Pushing off hard with his right foot, his entire body launched into the air...
"Oh my god, what is he doing?!"
The Cavaliers players on the court and the sidelines were all shocked.
Darwin also panicked slightly, instinctively jumping up and reaching out his hand to block Lin Feng.
However, Lin Feng's movements were far more agile than the giant center Darwin's, and his speed was a beat faster. Once airborne, he swung his right arm back, his right hand gripping the basketball, and drove it straight down toward the rim!
It was a tomahawk slam dunk!!
Bang!
The basketball was slammed through the hoop.
And the ball, falling through the net, happened to hit Darwin squarely on the body...
Swish!
The entire Madison Square Garden erupted!
Lin Feng had completed a tomahawk slam dunk right over Darwin's head!!
This was the ultimate response to that previous blocked shot, and at the same time, an absolute, unadulterated humiliation for Darwin!!
Lin!
Lin!
Lin!
The fans in the arena chanted in unison.
After completing the slam dunk, Lin Feng landed and waved both arms toward the spectators. At this moment, he was the undisputed center of Madison Square Garden.
Countless fans wearing Lin Feng's number 11 jersey frantically pointed the cameras toward the giant number 11 on their chests!
"Goodness! Lin Feng's play was so tough! He actually completed a poster dunk right over Darwin's head!!" CCTV anchor Xu Jia shouted excitedly.
"This is Lin Feng! Twenty seconds ago, Darwin blocked his teammate, and right away, he had to pay him back—in an even more humiliating way! How could you not love a Lin Feng like this?!"
Coach Liu's emotions were also running high. Having worked in basketball broadcasting for over thirty years, he had witnessed everything Chinese players had experienced in the NBA—he had experienced Zhizhi's frustrations as well as Dayao's glory. But Dayao's position was center, and his playing style was solid and unflashy; throughout his entire career, he would never have had the kind of passionate, explosive moments Lin Feng was showing right now.
Furthermore, Lin Feng had started out with the lowest entry point among all the players who had entered the NBA. He was holding a short-term contract that could be cut at any moment. Yet, after just two games, he had already become the "master" of this legendary arena!
Just as Lin Feng threw down his slam dunk, the whistle of lead referee Crawford blew.
Darwin was called for a shooting foul.
This was a 2+1 opportunity.
Lin Feng stepped up to the free-throw line, and the entire arena instantly fell silent.
Receiving the ball from Crawford, Lin Feng looked up at the rim and shot.
The basketball dropped through the net without a single doubt!
The 2+1 was successfully converted.
10:11! The Knicks were still trailing by just one point.
As the free throw went in, enthusiastic cheers erupted once again throughout the arena.
"Where on earth did this guy pop out from? Clearly an Asian player, yet he has such astonishing leaping ability!" Devin thought to himself, feeling utterly frustrated as he brought the ball up.
The Cavaliers, who had started the game with such overwhelming momentum, lost a bit of their sharp edge due to Lin Feng's domineering 2+1 slam dunk.
Devin passed the ball to Thomas, who used his formidable physique to bully Farmar in a mismatch. Unfortunately, his layup clanked off the iron.
Chris grabbed the rebound.
By this time, both Lin Feng and Jones were already leaking out on the fast break. Before the game started, Coach Phil had repeatedly emphasized seizing every transition opportunity possible.
Chris whipped the ball to Jones, who dribbled across half-court and passed it to an unguarded Lin Feng on the other wing.
Lin Feng caught the ball and let fly...
The spectators immediately leaped to their feet, ready to celebrate...
Swish!
Lin Feng did not disappoint the fans in attendance.
The basketball found the bottom of the net cleanly.
13:11!
The Knicks had overtaken the lead!
...
[PS: For those chasers of the updates, are there still any free reward votes and Qidian coins left~ The 515 red envelope ranking is counting down! I'm here to beg for votes, asking for extra votes and reward votes for one final push! (To be continued.)]