Chapter 34: Ewing's Leadership
"He's after you," Falk said, looking at Jordan. "We need to find a way to change this situation. From now on, he has a lot of connections in the league. We can't let him target you anymore."
"Is it his agent? Is Oakley helping him?" Jordan suddenly had an idea and thought of Oakley.
"It's possible. Oakley and his agent, Wells, have many connections. I know Wells, so maybe we can talk to him first," Falk suggested.
On the evening of the 23rd, the Knicks faced the digital team on the road. This was the second matchup between the two teams. The Knicks had won the first game, and now, in the digital team's home arena, the atmosphere was charged with a strong desire for revenge. As the visiting team entered the court, boos rang out from all sides.
The digital team's starters were Derek Coleman, Scott Williams, Clarence Witherspoon, Jerry Stackhouse, and Iverson. The Knicks starters were Ewing, Zhao Dong, Oakley, Alan Houston, and Chris Childs, with Charlie Ward injured and Chris Childs stepping in as the starting point guard.
"Want to get to know each other?" Zhao Dong said, echoing his words from the previous game when he saw Iverson.
This time, Iverson responded indifferently, as if he didn't care.
"Ha ha!" Zhao Dong smiled, his eyes fixed on the target for tonight's game, and said no more.
At the start of the game, Zhao Dong won the jump ball, and the Knicks took possession.
"Fuck!" Before reaching the low post, an exclamation came from behind. Zhao Dong turned around to see Chris Childs make a mistake and have the ball intercepted by Iverson.
"Shh!" Iverson stole the ball and went on a fast break. Chris Childs desperately chased him down but was still a step too slow, and Iverson finished with a layup.
The Knicks attacked, with Chris Childs bringing the ball up the court and passing it to Ewing. Ewing, known for his mid-range shots and small hooks, prepared for a hook shot. He used his left hand to push against Coleman, dribbling the ball with his right. As he went up for the shot, he made a dribble error, and the ball slipped to his feet. The referee immediately blew the whistle.
Zhao Dong had a sinking feeling. No wonder the system had assigned him a team sniper mission for this game. It seemed that everyone was off their game today, making mistake after mistake.
The ball was turned over, and the digital team took possession. Iverson pushed the ball up quickly, taking advantage of the Knicks' unsteady footing. He calmly drained a three-pointer. Iverson was playing smart. With the Knicks making consecutive mistakes, he sped up the game to keep them off balance and unable to recover.
Looking back, Ewing made another mistake, and Coleman intercepted the ball, allowing Iverson to initiate another fast break. In just seventy seconds, the digital team, led by Iverson, launched a [10]-[0] scoring run.
"Focus, focus! I need you to be more focused on the game!" Van Gundy yelled loudly from the sidelines. However, he didn't call a timeout at the start of the game, a decision that allowed the digital team to keep their rhythm while the Knicks remained in a chaotic state.
"Boom!" Houston missed his shot. Zhao Dong, standing at 104 kg, boxed out Sigko Williams and grabbed the offensive rebound. He then immediately took off for a second jump, hitting a straight-arm jumper near the basket.
"Oh, jumping so fast and high! Zhao Dong's straight-arm jumper is already a foot above the basket, and Williams' defense couldn't keep up at all," Bill Walton remarked on the national TNT broadcast.
"Zhao Dong's versatility forces defenders to make precise judgments, whether it's a small hook or a float shot, whether it's a post-up or a face-up, whether it's left or right, whether it's a drive or a jumper. The defender must have a wealth of defensive experience, or it will be difficult to make an accurate judgment," Matt laughed.
At this point, Iverson pushed the ball on another fast break, and Chris Childs fouled him beyond the three-point line, giving Iverson three free throw attempts. Iverson, with an average free throw percentage of 70%, missed his first attempt but hit the second and third.
The Knicks attacked again, but Alan Houston, with the ball, was called for an offensive foul by Jerry Stackhouse, turning the ball over.
"Special!" Zhao Dong muttered in frustration as the ball was lost once more. The Knicks continued to play in various disorganized states—attacking without focus, making mistakes, defending poorly, and failing to secure rebounds.
In the 4th minute, John Starks, who had replaced Alan Houston, dribbled into trouble and was intercepted by Jerry Stackhouse. Stackhouse passed the ball to Iverson, and the digital team launched yet another fast break. Zhao Dong chased desperately from the middle, and this time he had a chance. The digital team passed the ball around, wasting a bit of time, and Zhao Dong was only two steps behind Iverson and Chris Childs. As they reached the top of the arc, Zhao Dong had caught up with Charles.
"He's so fast! Zhao Dong seems even quicker!" Fans who knew him well immediately noticed the difference.
All eyes were now on Iverson and Zhao Dong. Iverson, with the ball, sped toward the basket, ignoring Chris Childs behind him. He went up for the dunk, but Zhao Dong was right on his tail, with only one and a half steps behind him. As Iverson took off, Zhao Dong took a small step forward, and then leapt into the air.
With the wind from behind him, Iverson felt the invisible pressure, realizing that someone was closing in. But at that moment, the ball was already on its way up. Just as Iverson sent the ball toward the basket, a large hand appeared out of nowhere, slapping the ball away toward the backboard.
"What?!"
Before Iverson landed, he was shocked to see his layup being chased down. The decelerated Chris Childs caught the rebound and immediately counterattacked.
"Here!" John Starks clapped and shouted from the front. Childs passed the ball to him, and Starks caught it with one hand. However, Jerry Stackhouse came over to steal it. He was nervous, missed the ball, and lost possession. Clarence Witherspoon, the small forward for the digital team, picked up the ball and made a long pass to Iverson. Iverson turned around, took three steps, and finished with a layup.
"Your uncle!" Zhao Dong swore in frustration before roaring, "Calm down, don't mess up, be careful when passing and receiving the ball!"
This was the first time Zhao Dong spoke up on the court, showing just how dissatisfied he was with his teammates' performance.
"Asshole, you're a rookie. What qualifications do you have to say anything about me? Do you think this team has no leader?" John Starks shot Zhao Dong a disapproving look and ignored him. Zhao Dong turned to Ewing, his gaze full of expectation. You're the core of the team, the signature star. You should be stepping up right now, shouldn't you?
But Ewing remained silent, as always. Zhao Dong shook his head in helplessness.
In the 5th minute, Ewing finally scored, bringing the score to 6:14, with the Knicks trailing by 8 points. Van Gundy called a timeout. However, the timeout didn't solve the problems, and the team continued to struggle.
At the end of the game, the Knicks were defeated by the digital team with a score of 92:109. It was a resounding loss.
Ewing, the team's core, played 33 minutes, shooting 7-of-12 from the field, 5-of-8 from the free-throw line, and finished with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 7 turnovers, and 3 fouls.
John Starks, the team's sixth man, scored 20 points, but he made 25 turnovers in 6 minutes. Alan Houston shot 4-of-14, including 1-of-5 from three-point range, and ended with 12 points and 2 turnovers. Oakley had 8 points and 6 rebounds.
The entire Knicks team recorded 21 turnovers and only made 23% of their three-point attempts, hitting 3 out of 13. In contrast, the digital team committed only 13 turnovers, made 52.4% of their three-pointers, and hit 11 out of 21 shots.
Zhao Dong played 31 minutes, with 8-of-15 shooting from the field, 1-of-2 from three-point range, 4-of-6 from the free-throw line, and finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, and 4 fouls.
The mission was canceled due to the team's loss, and he didn't receive any rewards, which made him unhappy. But with the whole team out of form, his performance was also affected. Even if the team had won, the rewards would have likely been minimal. However, today, he realized a crucial issue: Ewing's leadership.
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