Chapter 159: The New King of New York
The final buzzer sounded like a heavy bomb, and the moment it went off, the entire Madison Square Garden erupted instantly...
Cheers, shouts, and sobs of overwhelming joy...
Everything intertwined and finally condensed into a single name...
Lin!
Lin!
Lin!
All twenty thousand spectators in the arena chanted in unison, growing louder and more synchronized with every repetition...
The shouting endured for so long that for a full three minutes after the game ended, that was the only sound echoing through Madison Square Garden.
Under the deafening chants of "Lin," the entire Cleveland Cavaliers team and coaching staff retreated in gloom. They had nothing to say about their defeat in this battle. As Thomas put it in the post-game interview, tonight they weren't playing against a human; they were battling God, who had put on the number 11 jersey and donned a mask!
After the final buzzer, Lin Feng sat right in the center of the court. He was simply too exhausted...
Aside from activating the Luck Halo, his frantic performance in the final quarter had been achieved at the cost of pushing his physical limits to the absolute edge.
However, listening to the uniform, thunderous cheers filling the arena, the fatigue in Lin Feng's body vanished instantly. He leaned forward and gently kissed the floor beneath his feet.
Four hours ago, he had stepped onto the floor of Madison Square Garden's official game venue for the very first time. Four hours later, he had etched history on this very court—history belonging to himself, to the New York Knicks, and to the entire NBA league!
Lin Feng sprang up from the floor.
He raised his arms and roared!
He soaked in the adoration of the twenty thousand fans in attendance...
From this moment on, Madison Square Garden had a new "King"!
He came from China!
His name is Lin Feng!
They called him Linsanity!
It had taken him merely three games to rise from a rookie to the king of this place.
Yet, every single one of those three games could be called epic!
In the first game, Lin Feng entered during "garbage time" when the team was trailing by 28 points. Then, single-handedly, he overturned the massive 28-point deficit, ultimately sealing the game with a game-winning "Death Dunk"!
In the second game, Lin Feng was unstoppable, racking up 62 points in the first three quarters alone—a score that was one point higher than the entire Cavaliers team's score through three quarters. He led his team to slaughter the Eastern Conference champions in their notorious hostile territory, the Quicken Loans Arena!
In the third game, with two of the team's main players out and his teammates struggling to find their rhythm, Lin Feng shouldered the Knicks' offensive load entirely, fiercely exploding for a league-record-breaking 81 points!
Any single one of these three performances would be enough to crown the glorious lifetime moments of a superstar; yet, all these honors belonged to Lin Feng alone.
The chants, which had lasted for several minutes, gradually subsided, and the Knicks players walked down the player tunnel. Even though this was a magnificent game, after all, it was just one game in the playoffs, and the team still had a long way to go...
Lin Feng wanted to follow his teammates off the court as well, but he was intercepted by Xu Jia and Liu Weiping, who stated they wanted to interview him.
Out of respect for his country's media, Lin Feng gave them plenty of face and immediately came to a halt.
"Lin Feng, first of all, congratulations on making NBA history. This truly was an incredible game. Right now, what would you like to say?" Xu Jia extended the microphone toward Lin Feng's mouth.
"My emotions are running high right now, and I honestly don't know what to say, but this feeling is amazing!" Lin Feng said with a smile.
"How is your injury? Aside from your 81-point performance, this is what the fans care about the most right now," Liu Weiping asked.
"Thank you all for your concern. My injury is nothing serious, just a nasal soft tissue contusion. It should be fine in a few days," Lin Feng said with a relaxed expression.
"That's good to hear." Liu Weiping smiled and said, "Here is an interesting fact. Your shooting percentage before you got injured was 71%—which is already a terrifying shooting rate. However, after you returned from your injury wearing the protective mask, you only missed a single shot, making practically everything you threw up. Do you think this mask has some kind of magic?"
Liu Weiping joked, pointing at the protective mask on Lin Feng's face.
"Yeah, this mask must be magical," Lin Feng smiled cooperatively, then casually took off the mask from his face. "Coach Liu, I know you used to coach my old man, and he always used to remind me to bring you some gifts whenever I ran into you. Haha, I never expected we'd cross paths on the court today, but I didn't prepare a gift. How about this—I'll give you this magical mask! It's also a witness to tonight's 81 points!"
Lin Feng handed the protective mask to Liu Weiping.
"You're giving it to me?" Liu Weiping's face lit up with surprise. "Then I'm definitely keeping it. This mask holds more commemorative value than any ordinary gift."
"Sign your name on it," Liu Weiping said, pulling out a pen from his pocket and handing it over.
Lin Feng nodded and signed his name across the mask. At that moment, neither Lin Feng nor Liu Weiping could have anticipated that this very mask, signed by Lin Feng, would eventually fetch an astronomical price at a future charity auction that would leave everyone speechless.
"Haha, Coach Liu, your trip was truly worthwhile," Xu Jia said with a hint of envy.
"This is when you realize the importance of having students everywhere," Liu Weiping joked.
"Lin Feng, your team is leading 3:0 now. What are your expectations for the upcoming games?" Xu Jia steered the topic back to the interview.
"First and foremost, it's the game the day after tomorrow. Everyone on the team wants to avoid going back to Cleveland, so we're going to give it everything we've got to close out this series right here," Lin Feng said earnestly.
"And what about after that?" Xu Jia asked again.
"The championship, obviously. I've already won the CBA championship; this time, I'm going to conquer the NBA!" Lin Feng replied with an overwhelming aura of dominance.
"Haha, we certainly hope you win the NBA championship too! Keep it up—fans all across the country are backing you!"
After finishing the Sports Channel interview, Lin Feng was immediately swarmed by a group of American media outlets.
Once he finally dealt with the press, Lin Feng headed back to the locker room. However, as he reached the door, he felt rather perplexed. After securing such a victory, shouldn't the locker room be buzzing with activity? Why was it so dead quiet?
Puzzled, Lin Feng pushed open the locker room door.
*Whoosh*~!
What greeted Lin Feng was a gushing torrent of champagne, catching him completely off guard and drenching him from head to toe.
"Hahaha..."
"Surprise!!"
His teammates cheered and swarmed around him, brilliant smiles plastered across every face.
Lin Feng licked a stray droplet of champagne from his cheek and smiled as well.
Wild celebrations erupted inside the locker room.
The significance of Lin Feng's 81 points far surpassed the importance of winning this single game! Without Lin Feng's 81 points, this would have just been an ordinary playoff matchup; but because of Lin Feng's 81 points, this game would be permanently etched into the annals of NBA history.
Post-game.
Major American media outlets immediately published extensive reports covering the match.
*81 Points in a Single Game! Linsanity Continues!*
*New York Madman Creates History! Slams Mike with 81 Points!*
*Chinese Lin Rewrites League Records! Tonight, God Wears the Number 11 Jersey!*
*Night of Madness! New King of New York Born—Linsanity!*
...(To be continued.)