Chapter 140 Houston Apologizes

"I am very happy that in the first season after I retired, a rookie had a triple-double in the playoffs, and it was a triple-double of 30+. This is much better than me. I was in the playoffs in the rookie season. Although he had five triple-doubles, the best triple-double is 20+10+10, which is a bit worse than the triple-double of Feilong."

The magician said very "modestly".

In the 79-80 season, the magician scored five triple-doubles in 16 playoff games, led the team to win the championship, and personally won the most valuable player in the finals. Such a person, saying that he is not as good as Zhao Dong, will immediately trigger public debate.

The Los Angeles media and the New York media are the main forces, standing on opposite sides of each other.

Although the New York media is stronger and more influential, the Los Angeles media is not easy to mess with. For the sake of sales, the two sides will not hesitate to fight.

Zhao Dong didn't bother to pay attention to these, and went all out to prepare for the G3 battle.

With his current qualifications, there is absolutely no possibility of being compared with the magician. The New York and Los Angeles media are biting his neck and drinking his blood. The dog-like media does not have a good person.

On the 27th, the Knicks arrived in Orlando.

Oakley and the three of them were unable to join the team because of the suspension and stayed in New York.

Starting from the airport, a large number of radical Magic fans began to boycott the Knicks, and continued to harass the team all the way to the hotel.

In the evening, hundreds of fans gathered under the hotel, and they even invited a rock and heavy metal band to sing an annoying "lullaby" for the Knicks.

"The more this is the case, the more I want to sweep you away." Zhao Dong, who couldn't sleep, cursed.

The Knicks management did not hesitate to call the police. The police dragged their feet and drove away the band in the middle of the night.

But this has already affected the sleep of the players. When they woke up in the morning, they looked like they didn't have enough sleep and kept yawning.

Catch up on sleep in the morning and have restorative training in the afternoon. Zhao Dong and others are not in good condition.

In the evening, the game begins.

Knicks: Ewing, Buck Williams, Zhao Dong, Alan Houston, Charlie Ward.

Magic: Ronnie Binkali, Derek Strong, Gerald Wilkins, Nick Anderson, Anfernee Hardaway

The match will be broadcast live on TNT.

After getting the list, Bill Walton said with a smile: "Actually, it's okay. Alan Houston can also be regarded as the main force. The Knicks only lost one main force, Oakley, and the main lineup can barely maintain."

Matt laughed: "The Knicks must learn to control their temper. This is the playoffs. Three people are suspended, and the impact will be great."

Bill Walton added: "Unless Ewing and Dragon play super performances, otherwise no one can save the Knicks in this game.

Even more seriously, if the Magic pull back the G3 game and the Knicks' morale drops, they are likely to lose consecutive games, leading to...losing this series. "

Matt said again: "Magic forward Dennis Scott suffered a forehead injury in the G2 game and had 35 stitches. He has been injured and is replaced by Gerald Wilkins, the human film essence Dominic Will. Kings' younger brother. He is a swingman with a height of 198 centimeters and 84 kilograms, and he will face the Dragon."

Bill Wharton said: "Gerald was the No. 23 pick in the second round of the Knicks in 1985. He played for New York for 7 seasons, and now he has entered the twilight of his career. He has no advantage in speed when he is facing the dragon. In other respects, he may be completely suppressed by the young flying dragon."

"So the Magic have to continue to double-team the dragon. Gerald can't do it alone." Matt laughed.

During the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Lili said: "The Magic will definitely fight to the death in G3. Although the Knicks won the G2 game, they may not be able to win this game due to the shortage of major generals.

What the Knicks have to do now is to continue to boost morale, mobilize all available forces, and try to complete the sweep. Among them, Zhao Dong and Ewing must perform well, they are the last support of this team. Otherwise, once you lose the G3 battle, you will not be able to wear Lu Jin at the end of your battle. "

"Is it so serious?" Sun Zhenping asked in surprise.

Ma Jian said: "It can be said that the Knicks lost three main players, which is indeed quite serious. Don't look at winning the last game, but it can be said to be a sad soldier. Now that morale is gone, it's really not good!"

At this time in New York, Oakley met with Larry Johnson and John Starks in a nightclub, drinking while watching the game.

"Charles, can we win this?" Larry Johnson asked.

"There are difficulties, but as long as Patrick and Feilong play well, there are still opportunities." Oakley said.

"If the Magic can't be killed this time, the G4 battle will be difficult." John Starks was a little worried.

"It's okay, it's a big deal to go back to the home court, we will kill them in the G5 game." Oakley laughed.

In Beijing, it was past seven o'clock in the morning, and Zhang Mingji found Zhao Dong's home with some gifts.

The courtyard where the Zhao family lived was still full of people, all preparing to watch the game, and Zhang Mingji's arrival did not attract attention.

He found Zhao Yuancheng, Zhao Dong's father, and introduced himself.

"You want Xiaodong's phone number? But I don't know you, so let's do it, you tell my wife, she is in charge of my family."

Zhao Yuancheng called Li Meizhu, and Li Meizhu looked at Zhang Mingji and asked, "Do you have anything to do with my Xiaodong?"

Zhang Mingji talked about Yao Min's affairs, and there was nothing to hide.

"That's it, then how about it, I'll call him now, and you can talk to him yourself." Li Meizhu said after thinking about it.

"All right, thank you so much!" Zhang Mingji said with a smile.

"Okay, Mom, you can give him the phone."

Zhao Dong then received a call from home in the locker room, and was startled when he heard a man named Zhang Mingji looking for him.

"Hi, Mr. Zhang, I'm Zhao Dong."

"Hi, Feilong, I'm Zhang Mingji."

"Are you alright?"

"It's like this. I just entered the industry as a basketball agent and I have a seed in my hand. I think..." Zhang Mingji finished speaking for three or four minutes.

"You want to use Yao Min to play in the NCAA?"

Zhao Dong was a little funny after hearing that, it's not impossible, but the Great Eastern Shark was killed by you, and the newly trained people were taken away by you, so you can't find someone to kill you?

"Well, my game is about to start here, we'll talk later, you ask my mother to give you my phone number, and you leave me a phone number, okay?" he said.

"Okay, that's troublesome, thank you so much!" Zhang Mingji said hastily.

Starting the game, the two teams met at the exit, extremely jealous.

When the away team played and Zhao Dong appeared under the spotlight, boos flooded in like a tsunami, impacting his body and mind, as if to completely drown him.

Magic fans on both sides of the passage raised their middle fingers at him and cursed him loudly.

At this time, he turned around and waved to his teammates behind him, signaling them to come over. After forming a group, he shouted sharply in front of the magic fans who were within reach on both sides who scolded them:

"Remember, we are the Iron Knicks, behind us are millions of New York fans, we are fearless, we are here to sweep them, sweep them, sweep them, sweep them..."

"Sweep them, we want to sweep them, sweep..."

The five Knicks starters, right under the noses of the Magic fans, brazenly shouted the slogan of sweeping the Magic in the face of boos all over the sky.

The boundless morale was gathering, everyone, including Ewing, was trembling with excitement, and adrenaline was flowing.

The Magic fans on both sides were dumbfounded, looking at Zhao Dong and others in disbelief. With such a team, can their team really win?

"Crack, click..."

The following media cameras flickered frantically.

TNT's live footage sent this scene to the eyes of fans across the United States, including Knicks fans.

"This is the leader of our Knicks. I officially declare that I have become a Dragon fan, a die-hard fan."

"This is a real leader!"

"I really hope Feilong can lead the team to win the championship!"

At this time, countless Knicks fans far away in New York issued various exclamations.

"yeah!"

Thousands of away Knicks fans traveling with the team burst into loud cheers.

"Morale, I saw the morale of the Knicks burning wildly." Bill Walton exclaimed.

"Zhao Dong, I really hope to see him lead the Chinese men's basketball team to fight for the country in the 2000 Olympic Games." Zhang Lili sighed.

"Flying dragon..."

When warming up, Alan Houston, who was walking behind Zhao Dong, called out to him.

"Um?"

Zhao Dong stopped and looked back.

"Feilong, I, I apologize to you for what happened before." Alan Houston hesitated for a moment, then said.

Zhao Dong was taken aback. He didn't expect Houston to apologize to him. After thinking about it, he said, "Alan, I accept your apology. Now that the team is in trouble, I hope you can make your contribution."

"I will."

Houston was in good spirits.

"good."

Zhao Dong patted Houston on the shoulder and went to warm up.

Houston quickly followed.

"Are the two reconciled?"

On the sidelines, Van Gundy and Neil Grant were a little puzzled. They didn't expect that Houston would apologize to Zhao Dong, which is hard to imagine.

But Houston really doesn't want to leave New York now, and he can see it. Ewing is old. If he retires in the future, Zhao Dong will take over the team completely. He is still the second child. If he is traded to other teams, he may not be as good as here. After all This is the Big Apple.

At the beginning of the game, Zhao Dong won the jump ball and the Knicks attacked.

In the past, Ewing played the first ball, but today, he decided to take the first ball himself.

Ewing is getting old, and he has to do his part and shoulder everything, regardless of responsibilities and honors.

Left wing, close to the sideline, two steps outside the three-point line, Zhao Dong holds the ball, and Gerald Wilkins defends alone.

But the Magic's shooting guard Nick Anderson will double-team him at any time, as long as he breaks to the wing.

This is why he doesn't get close to the three-point line, and doesn't want to attract double-teams prematurely.

He gestured to pull away, ready to break through.

Anderson also moved a step towards him.

"squeak!"

Start, the toughest crushing breakthrough, through a direct collision, he easily knocked away Gerald Wilkins on the opposite side, and when he broke through the three-point line, he ushered in Anderson's supplementary defense.

Gerald Wilkins, who was rushed from behind, chased him up. He needed to rush Anderson again immediately, otherwise he would fall into double-teaming.

At this time, his right hand holding the ball pulled the ball up and pushed it to the right with one hand.

"What?"

Everyone thought that Zhao Dong would hit the first ball by himself, and the inside line was already opened. Anderson didn't expect him to pass the ball, and quickly turned back to defend Alan Houston.

As soon as he left, Zhao Dong had no obstacles and rushed directly into the flank.

At this time, Houston, who had just received the ball, made a pass back. After receiving the ball, Zhao Dong went straight to the basket and jumped up to meet Magic power forward Derek Strong who returned from the right wing.

"boom!"

Amid the strong sound of smashing the basket, Derek Strong was directly knocked over by Zhao Dong in the air, and fell to the basket with a bang.

"yeah!"

Amidst the exclamations of the Magic fans, the away fans erupted in huge cheers.

The Knicks bench was also boiling, and white towels were constantly waving.

"Damn it, Derek Strong, get up, you have to give him back one." The live commentator roared angrily.

"With a tomahawk-style dunk in the opening game, Feilong gave the Magic a big blow, and the Knicks' momentum is getting stronger and stronger!" Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.

Magic offense.

Zhao Dong didn't switch to Magic shooting guard Nick Anderson today, so he handed him over to Alan Houston.

But in order to control the rebound, he put Gerald Wilkins two meters, ready to shrink the basket at any time.

Penny broke through with the ball, and suddenly made a cross to Gerald Wilkins on the weak side.

Gerald Wilkins received the ball, and Zhao Dong had already stepped back to the front of the defense. His open space was gone, but he still made a three-pointer against Zhao Dong.

"Snapped!"

Zhao Dong was not polite, he directly capped the ball, then took off for the second time, caught the ball, and finally launched a counterattack.

"boom!"

Zhao Dong entered the paint with the ball and bombed the Magic's basket again.

"yeah!"

Amidst the cheers and shouts of thousands of away fans, the Knicks players quickly returned to defense.

"It's another most brutal dunk. After the flying dragon blocked the block, he made a fast break and was in excellent condition." Bill Wharton shouted.

"It is said that they were disturbed by Magic fans last night, and they look very good now." Matt laughed.

"I now understand why Feilong was intensifying the morale of his teammates before the start. He needed to activate his teammates." Bill Walton laughed.

Magic offense.

Penny made a three-pointer and missed, Ewing grabbed the rebound and the Knicks attacked.

Zhao Dong held the ball, but was still two steps away from the three-point line, forcing the Magic to double-team immediately, but they couldn't guard him alone.

Gerald Wilkins adopted a stalking style of close defense this time, sticking his hands to Zhao Dong's body, constantly seeking physical contact.

But this didn't affect Zhao Dong. Zhao Dong had already adapted to the atmosphere of the playoffs. He turned around and started back-hitting Gerald Wilkins two steps beyond the three-point line.

With his wingspan and ball-handling skills, Gerald Wilkins can't break his ball. With his tonnage and strength, Gerald Wilkins can't squeeze him, and the close defense has not produced how much impact.

"Xie Te, Feilong, do you still want face?"

Seeing that such a big Zhao Dong hit him on his back, Gerald Wilkins was so angry that he wanted to curse.

With a slight back arch, Zhao Dong easily arched Gerald Wilkins' center of gravity, then turned around and began to break through to the flank.

Anderson had no choice but to let go of Alan Houston and come to defend. At the same time, center Binkali, who was facing Ewing in the low post, also kept paying attention to Zhao Dong and was ready to defend at any time.

Ewing is too experienced, and as soon as Binkali's attention was removed from him, he immediately turned around and rushed to the basket.

At this time, Zhao Dong, who had a full level of organizational ability, not only saw Ewing's movement, but also passed the ball without hesitation, directly to the basket.

"boom!"

An empty dunk, Ewing smashed an empty basket.

6:0, Magic offense.

"It's so easy! Feilong made the most of his ability to attract double-teams, which is why he scored 15 assists in the last game."

Bill Walton exclaimed.

"The huge damage caused by double-teaming the flying dragon will kill the Magic. The assist ability is too strong, and every open space in the audience is in his sight."

Matt sighed.

"If you don't double-team the dragon, who will defend him alone? Pippen can't defend him alone, let alone the Magic. He is not a player who can score 20 points at most in a game. He can score 40+ in a game efficiently. Superstar, the consequences of not double-teaming him are equally serious."

Bill Wharton said.

In the 9th minute of the first quarter, Ewing made 5 of 6 shots and 1 of 2 free throws. He scored 11 points and 3 rebounds before leaving the game.

His hand feeling is not very good. Among the 6 shots, there is only one jumper and he missed it. The remaining 5 shots are all made of Zhao Dong's breakthrough to attract the vacancy created by the double-team, and he enters the basket and directly attacks the basket, so the efficiency is very high. .

Zhao Dong did not end, but played the entire first quarter.

In a single quarter, he made 3 of 4 shots and 2 of 2 free throws. He scored 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. The efficiency is amazing.

After the first quarter, 25:18, the Knicks won by 7 points in a single quarter.

"Whether the Magic is defending alone or double-teaming, they can't limit the performance of Feilong. When a super offensive player has the top assist ability, he is really unlimited." Bill Walton praised.

Matt smiled and said: "The Knicks' outside touch is really not very good. They wasted a lot of passes from the dragon. They made 3 of 10 shots and 0 of 3 three-pointers. They scored 6 points in total. If they feel normal, The Knicks will lead by double digits."

In the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Lili smiled and said: "Zhao Dong is getting used to the playoffs more and more. He played all the first quarters without a single mistake, and his performance is still all-around."

"I envy his assist ability. Where there is space, the ball passes right away. Just now there were three cross passes from the strong and weak sides, and two of them were scored."

Ma Jian said with envy.

Zhang Lili smiled and said: "Good vision, good pass control skills, plus tonnage and strength, he can easily squeeze him when double-teaming, plus excellent wingspan, defenders can't interfere with his passing.

You can see that he passed all standing up in the double-team, and he didn't even have a jump pass. He didn't need to jump at all when he passed the ball outside. . "

"Feilong, take a two-minute rest in the second quarter..." Van Gundy said before the bench.

"Coach, I don't need to rest. I'm ready to play the whole game today." Zhao Dongma said.

"You didn't sleep well yesterday, did you?" Thibodeau asked.

"It's not very good, but I have good physical fitness and I can do it. We must win this game without any problems." Zhao Dong said.

Van Gundy nodded. He really believed in Zhao Dong's physical fitness, because Zhao Dong had never had any obvious physical problems, and he played better and better after entering the second half of the regular season.

He exhorted: "When you are on the court, trust your teammates, pay attention to your physical fitness, and don't consume too much in the second quarter."