On March 1, 1998, the Knicks faced the Lakers at home. After three quarters, the score between the two teams was 71:71.
Lee, who rested in the second half of the third quarter, immediately came on the court in the fourth quarter.
Except for replacing Chris Dudley in the interior, the Knicks got back their main lineup at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The same goes for the Lakers, with 39 wins and 16 losses.
At the end of the regular season, head coach Harris didn't want to lose easily, and the Jazz had caught up.
"Defense! Defense! Defense!"
Defensive cheers echoed throughout Madison Square Garden as Derek Fisher, who got the chance to start tonight due to Van Exel's injury, carefully dribbled across half court.
O'Neal was entangled with Chris Dudley in the low post on the left side.
When he encountered front defense, he suddenly turned and rushed to the basket.
Unfortunately, the opportunity was fleeting and Fisher failed to pass the ball in time.
On the left wing, Fisher was still protecting the ball with his back to the basket.
In order to cut off the connection between the guard and the center, Lee had been defending the opponent throughout the game.
There was no chance in the interior, so Eddie Jones quickly bounced out to the right wing, and Fisher turned around and immediately made a side pass.
As soon as the basketball slipped out of his hand, Lee stole it!
Amid the cheers of the fans, Lee quickly led the ball forward with his left hand, leaped forward suddenly, caught the ball again, and immediately accelerated and rushed forward.
Fisher retreated quickly in frustration, but just barely caught up to Lee's side and was unable to cause much interference.
After the two came to the paint area, Lee did not make much movement.
He rushed forward with three steps against the opponent, and after the aerial confrontation, he waited for Fisher to foul.
Realizing that he could not provide effective defense, Fisher tried his best to block the shot and control his body to avoid fouls.
In the end, he could only watch Lee stretch his body and make a layup with his left hand!
"Wow!"
He made a steal at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and the New York fans at the scene began to cheer loudly again.
Head coach Harris on the sidelines glared at Fisher, obviously very dissatisfied with this round.
Lee didn't even look at the other person.
He had no interest in competing with the small character in front of him, and this attitude of ignoring made Fisher feel sour.
As both are sophomores, they are no longer players of the same level.
The defensive cheers rang out again, and the Lakers quickly kicked the ball out from the baseline.
Before Fisher even crossed half court, he was defended by Lee again.
This kind of sliding step that does not spare any physical effort will indeed consume a lot of Lee's physical energy.
But unlike last season, after realizing part of his talent, physical fitness is no longer a problem.
There was no cutting action.
Lee just gave enough confrontation and then strengthened his hand movements, pulling and supporting the waist in one go.
Fisher was never able to get up to speed and kept using his ball-protecting hands to fight against Lee, so he was unable to advance quickly.
He came to the right wing, where O'Neal again asked for the ball in the low post, and this time Oakley was the one who defended him.
The two men fought from the blocking area to the low post near the right baseline.
O'Neal was very impatient with Oakley's pulling and elbowing.
He finally blocked the opponent but didn't receive the pass.
Instead, when he was re-positioning, O'Neal received a high pass of poor quality from Fisher.
After receiving the ball, he had already come to the right blocking area.
O'Neal had just released the ball with his left hand, but Lee gave up Fisher and immediately double-teamed him.
Oakley blocked the bottom line, trying to prevent O'Neal from turning around and going to the baseline, while Lee came up and hung on the Shark, while constantly interfering.
Being attacked from both sides, O'Neal hurriedly received the ball, but the high receiving position made him only able to throw the ball to Fisher who was in an open position on the right wing.
After receiving the pass, there was no one in front of him, Fisher took a look and then shot the ball behind his head!
"Clang!"
The long rebound bounced out and was immediately caught by Alan Houston.
He did not give the opponent a chance to retreat quickly and rushed across half court after controlling the ball.
Eddie Jones retreated quickly, but his defensive position was too deep, and when Alan Houston rushed into the paint area, he suddenly did a fancy move.
He accelerated with the ball in his left hand, suddenly changed direction with his hips, slowed down slightly and switched to his right hand, then completed a behind-the-back dribble.
Alan Houston easily shook off Eddie Jones, came to the basket and made a layup with his left hand.
"Nice counterattack! It seems that Lee really affected his teammates. Such actions have never been seen in Houston in the past."
Commentator Mike Breen smiled and praised that he was not worried about the Knicks' offense.
If the game came to the fourth quarter, the team would often attack hard!
"The ball will be more beautiful if it is spun around a little more!"
Lee followed Fisher to the baseline and teased Alan Houston who scored the goal.
The two men bumped fists as if no one was around, making Fisher's face even uglier.
He was defended by Lee again, but before half court, Fisher's left hand was too big to protect the ball and the pushing was too obvious, so the referee called another offensive foul.
"I didn't commit a foul, sir, it was just a normal ball-protecting move!"
Fisher made continuous mistakes and complained loudly to the referee, but this defensive performance made the New York fans at the scene even more excited and they kept mocking him.
O'Neal was almost pissed off by the defenders tonight.
He seldom received the ball in a comfortable position.
In addition, the Knicks fouled him when they couldn't defend him. His free throws kept missing.
His mentality exploded for a moment.
"Fuck! Don't let me see you make another mistake!"
O'Neal, who had retreated back to defense, pulled Fisher over and whispered a warning.
"Fish" was startled and quickly nodded in response.
If the game goes into the last quarter, Lee will not pass the ball too much.
After the ball was kicked out from the sideline, Fisher lowered his center of gravity, took a defensive stance, and moved closer to defend Lee.
The Knicks simply moved away, Oakley slowly moved to the free throw line, and Alan Houston paced to the right wing.
Larry Johnson and Chris Dudley simply sank to the left and right baselines.
Lee, holding the ball in his left hand, moved sideways to protect the ball.
Facing Fisher's close defense, he moved to the left side and suddenly turned forward quickly, then blasted the ball hard on the spot.
Fisher subconsciously slid backwards, Lee created space, dribbled the ball quickly between his legs, and after switching to his right hand, he immediately lowered his body's center of gravity and pretended to break through.
Noticing that Fisher adjusted his center of gravity and then moved back, Lee immediately changed direction, switched to his left hand, and exerted force with his feet to complete the step back.
On the left wing near the sideline, Lee quickly dribbled the ball outside the three-point line, and without waiting for Fisher to defend, he drifted slightly and made a jump shot!
"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!
71:78, the score difference instantly reached 7 points, and Madison Square Garden was boiling again.
When O'Neal saw Lee holding up three fingers, smiling and retreating to show off, he immediately became angry and glared at Fisher.
The shark really wanted to eat the fish at this moment.
Head coach Harris on the sidelines had no choice but to request a timeout.
He could naturally see the problem, but O'Neal couldn't catch the ball, and this problem was difficult to solve.
"Lee was going to finish the game in the fourth quarter. The young man is more adapted to the league's game rhythm this year, and his physical condition is much better than last year."
"Michael Jordan shouldn't be ranked first on the MVP list. In the absence of Pat, the Knicks have such a record. Lee should be respected more!"
In the commentary booth, Walt Frazier changed the subject again.
As the Bulls' record improved, Michael Jordan surpassed Lee in the MVP rankings, which made many New York media unhappy.
Jeff Van Gundy looked at the players walking towards the bench and smiled again.
Their defense was very successful tonight:
"Keep up this rhythm and continue to cut off the opponent's inside and outside connections!"
The bald young coach didn't make too many adjustments.
He simply gave some instructions on the defensive strategy and simply left the offense alone.
After the timeout, the Lakers' offense did not improve much, and O'Neal still could not receive the ball in a comfortable position.
The Knicks scored quickly, and the Lakers fought piecemeal.
With 6 minutes and 42 seconds left in the game, Kobe Bryant replaced Rick Fox.
Fisher, Kobe, Eddie Jones and Robert Horry still haven't found their touch on the outside.
It was also a score-and-go.
O'Neal attracted a double-team and then passed the ball to the goalkeeper, and Horry missed the three-pointer.
Lee quickly grabbed the long rebound, then advanced with the ball and went straight to the basket despite Fisher's pursuit.
Horry also retreated quickly, and seeing his teammates defending without any aggressiveness, he subconsciously wanted to chase them and foul them directly.
As a result, Lee suddenly passed the ball from behind, followed by Larry Johnson in the paint area to catch the ball and make a layup!
Kobe Bryant missed a two-point jump shot against Alan Houston's defense, Oakley grabbed the rebound, and Lee continued to advance quickly after receiving the ball.
Although the Lakers completed their retreat, Lee quickly in and out with his right hand near the three-point line, deceiving Fisher's defensive focus, easily gaining half a body position, and quickly cutting in at 45 degrees on the right side of Fisher.
In the blocking position, Lee suddenly dribbled the ball behind his back and turned towards the baseline the moment he switched to his left hand.
After continuous shaking, Fisher completely lost his defensive position and watched Lee complete a drifting fadeaway jump shot at the right baseline!
"Swish!" A steady hit from mid-range.
80:90, with 4 minutes and 50 seconds left in the game, the score difference has reached double digits.
Lee's wonderful shot after the shake made the New York fans at the scene shout with joy and celebrate the victory of the game.
At the final moments, the Lakers found it difficult to score goals in open play and could only rely on free throws.
Although O'Neal's rim protection was excellent, Lee missed his shot close to the basket, and Oakley and Larry Johnson's impact on the rebounds limited the Lakers' counterattack.
While frequently falling into positional offense, the Lakers relied on transition offense to score points.
In the end, the Lakers completely collapsed.
At 18:33 in a single quarter, the score at the end of the game was 89:104, and the Knicks defeated the Lakers.
The game had just ended.
After playing the entire fourth quarter and scoring zero points, O'Neal quickly walked towards the player tunnel.
The Sharks were furious because they couldn't catch the ball in the last quarter and all their statistics were zero.
6 of 16 shots, 7 of 13 free throws, 19 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 turnovers, O'Neal became the player with the most assists on the Lakers.
When Fisher and Kobe saw Lee waving his hand, the fans at the scene cheered loudly, and they felt sad for a moment.
With 4 of 15 shots, 13 points, 5 rebounds and 1 turnover, Kobe, who came off the bench, failed to save the team.
After the game, commentators Mike Breen and Walt Frazier briefly interviewed Lee:
"We have a total of 18 games in March, and the schedule is a bit tight. Lee, can you introduce the team's plan?"
Winning the Lakers is a good start for March.
Mike Breen knows that fans are more concerned about the rankings, so the issue is more focused on the overall situation of the team.
"The schedule is indeed very dense, but we still have some wins. If we stay healthy, the team will maintain the first place."
"We need home-court advantage, which is very important in the playoffs. New York fans are our best sixth man!"
Lee's answer seemed very confident.
He firmly believed that as long as he could consistently bully the weaker players, he could suppress the Bulls.
Walt Frazier on the side nodded with a smile, and he also believed that the Knicks would maintain their first position.
In the first game in March, Clay Lee played 39 minutes, made 9 of 18 shots, 5 of 9 from beyond the three-point line, and 4 of 4 free throws, scoring 27 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, and 2 turnovers;
Alan Houston made 8 of 17 shots, 3 of 5 from beyond the three-point line, and 6 of 6 free throws, scoring 25 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 turnover.
The outstanding performance of the two made the New York media collectively climax, and then they began to mock wildly:
"Four All-Stars? The Lakers are the biggest joke in the league!"
"."
Perhaps it was the toxic hype that struck, and Chris Dudley was overwhelmed again.
The new player has been injured frequently since arriving in New York.
Ben Wallace got a lot of playing time, but the rookie lacked experience in the game.
In the back-to-back away game against the Wizards, he only played for 20 minutes before fouling out.
In the game against the Bulls, although the opponent's inside player Longley was absent due to injury, the young "Little Ben" failed to withstand the opponent's rush.
102:94, the home team Knicks lost again.
The opponent snatched 17 frontcourt rebounds, and Rodman even delivered classic statistics of 6 points and 20 rebounds.
Ben Wallace was almost autistic after being taught a lesson by the opponent in two consecutive starting games.
The vengeful Michael Jordan scored 42 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers;
Clay Lee scored 20 points, 4 rebounds, 15 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers.
After winning this game, the Chicago media started cheering for Michael Jordan again, and Jordan's first place in the MVP rankings was also much more stable!
The intensive schedule made the Knicks team not pay attention to these gossips.
Jeff Van Gundy looked down on Ben Wallace, but the team's situation left him with not much choice.
"Little Ben's" playing time did not decrease, but even increased steadily.
Ben Wallace's statistics are not impressive either, mostly 4 points, 5 rebounds and 5 fouls.
However, this situation did not make the New York media complain.
Maybe we won't see Ben Wallace next season. It's not worth wasting time on an undrafted player!
As the games in March continued, the Knicks, in addition to a big win over the SuperSonics, also lost to the Pacers and Jazz.
On the evening of March 31st, at Madison Square Garden, Popovich, who was also AFK, was grinning from ear to ear.
95:89, the Spurs successfully won the game!
Jeff Van Gundy had a sullen face and was furious when he saw the rookie coach on the other side:
"We all follow the same routine, why are you so proud?"
In tonight's game, the Spurs' starting lineup featured three big men, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Will Perdue.
David Robinson played at the three position, and Popovich really caught the Knicks' weakness.
There were three big guys over 2.10 meters tall on the court, and "Little Ben" became autistic again because of the robbing.
47:33, the Knicks lost 14 rebounds and the Spurs grabbed 14 frontcourt rebounds.
A large number of games also caused Oakley's condition to decline, and he was beaten by the rookies tonight.
Tim Duncan easily got a double-double with 10 of 16 shots, 5 of 5 free throws, 25 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks and 3 turnovers.
David Robinson, who played as a small forward, made 8 of 16 shots and 8 of 11 free throws, scoring 24 points, 8 rebounds and 3 turnovers.
Jeff Van Gundy's defensive strategy didn't work, and the opponent's free throws were very accurate.
After returning to the locker room, Lee saw Alan Houston was too depressed to talk, and said jokingly:
"This is a basketball game. I think we played well. We are 13-5 this month. We won all the games we should have won!"
Lee has always been pursuing to steadily beat the weak teams.
In some back-to-back games, if he loses, he loses.
When facing a team like the Spurs, which has a lot of big guys, losing once is no big deal.
13 of 18 shots, 3 of 7 from beyond the three-point line, 2 of 4 free throws, 31 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist.
Alan Houston was in very good shape tonight, but he was not in a good mood after losing:
"If we had met the Spurs in early March, we wouldn't have lost so many rebounds!"
The Knicks players were not in a good mood as they returned to the locker room one after another.
After losing the game, they fell to second place.
With 56 wins and 17 losses, the Knicks and the Bulls have the same record, but the Bulls are temporarily in the lead thanks to the win-loss record.
"Mike Jordan is likely to win the Player of the Month award this month. I never expected that the Bulls would catch up with him."
Larry Johnson was also a little unhappy.
He always felt that these old guys were lingering around.
Seeing the popularity being snatched away by the other side, he felt very angry.
Jeff Van Gundy, as the head coach, naturally had to show confidence.
He gave some chicken soup when he returned to the locker room:
"We have the same nine games in April as the Bulls. Believe me, the other team can't stand it anymore."
"Think about their squad structure, we are younger and more talented!"
"Persistence is victory. Don't relax. As long as we get the first place in the Eastern Conference, we will get the home advantage in the playoffs."
"Thinking about the playoff schedule, I don't think we will encounter any opponents before the Eastern Conference Finals!"
"."
Lee, who was drinking water at his seat, was stunned when he heard this.
The inflated bald young coach no longer took the Heat, ranked 4th, seriously.
The atmosphere team was so encouraged that they pushed the Bulls down to second place.
Just thinking about it makes me happy!
On April 1, the NBA announced the Player of the Month for March, and Michael Jordan of the Bulls won the award:
In March, the Bulls had a record of 13 wins and 1 loss.
Michael Jordan averaged 40.4 minutes per game, averaging 28.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.1 steals, 0.9 blocks and 2.0 turnovers.
He averaged 23.6 shots per game, with a shooting percentage of 49.8%, and 6.6 free throws per game, with a free throw percentage of 74.2%.
After the awards were announced, most of the sports media that used to be fence-sitters switched sides:
"Champions Bulls!"
With a hit rate of almost 50%, this performance also allowed Michael Jordan to secure the first place in the MVP rankings.
On TNT's show, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and McHale did not discuss the Player of the Month.
Today's topic was the MVP:
"Mike Jordan did play an efficient performance, but don't forget that this only happened when Pippen returned!"
"Lee is different. Patrick Ewing can only cheer for the team from the bench. The Knicks played like this. I think Lee should get the award."
As soon as Kenny Smith finished speaking, McHale shook his head:
"Don't forget Karl Malone. The Jazz's record is getting better and better. It's unfair to only consider two people. If the records of the three teams are not much different, Malone can also win the award."
After hearing the two's opinions, Ernie Johnson suddenly said with a smile:
"You all ignored what happened last year. I think Michael Jordan will win the MVP!"
Kenny Smith laughed out loud when he heard this, and said loudly:
"You think that Michael Jordan lost the MVP last year and will be compensated this year? God, this view is too unreliable!"
"."
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