Chapter 502: Hold on to the last two minutes
When Nelson reached the three-point line, Yang Mo quickly asked Jeffries to withdraw and let him attack. For Yang Mo, he was not afraid of Nelson's attack, but he was afraid of Nelson not attacking.
After failing to break the double-team defense with a quick two-step drive, Nelson quickly passed the ball out of the three-point line. Rashard Lewis caught the ball and shot... bang! The ball went wide. Lewis seemed unused to such a fast and rapid offensive style.
Yang Mo quickly grabbed the rebound, leaving Howard completely helpless in the paint. Howard was undoubtedly the league's top center, but he was always at a disadvantage against two Chinese players. One was Yao Ming, who towered over him, and every time he ran into him, he was severely outmatched. The other was Yang Mo, who was much shorter. While Yang Mo lacked Yao Ming's height, his explosive power, leaping ability, and anticipatory ability created immense difficulties for Howard, leaving him groaning in frustration.
After Yang Mo grabbed the rebound, he quickly launched a fast break. His teammates were running for their lives . As soon as Yang Mo crossed the center line, he passed the ball to Gallinani, who was unguarded in the corner. Gallinani took the ball and shot... Swoosh! The basketball went into the net.
This golden three-pointer immediately drew thunderous cheers from all the fans in the stadium, with each wave of sound getting louder than the last, and in an instant Madison Square Garden was filled with energy.
Even though the Knicks suddenly increased their speed to such a high level and beat him 5-0 in the opening, Stan Van Gundy still did not change the tactics. He just replaced Vince Carter with the younger and better shooter Redick. He believed that if he kept running like this, the victory would definitely be his.
Stan Van Gundy was confident, and so was Yang Mo. Even more confident than them, however, was Charles Barkley in the live studio. When Gallinari hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to seven, he excitedly threw his arms in the air: "Hey, see? Super Yang is a great assist guy. His passing is incredible. He always finds open teammates and passes them the first time. Stockton, well done. This game is over; the Magic should prepare for their third straight loss, hahaha!"
Barkley was so arrogant, but Jeff Van Gundy had a completely different view: "Wait, wait until all the Knicks players run away in the third quarter, they will fall into endless disasters, and then the Magic will only need to reap the victory in the fourth quarter."
"Are you sure the Magic can make it to the fourth quarter?" Charles Barkley grumbled, his back completely tilted towards the Knicks. After all, he had a bet with Jeff Van Gundy; if he lost, he would be the one with the sanitary napkin on his forehead.
"Do you really think the Knicks can widen the gap in the third quarter?"
"What else? We're already leading by seven points. In ten minutes, the score will be twenty-seven."
"Then we'll see!"
"Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
While the two engaged in a heated verbal exchange, the game continued at a breakneck pace. The Knicks' offensive momentum was like leaves whipping up in a gust of wind. Under Yang Mo's passing, their offense flowed incredibly smoothly, and their shooting percentage was surprisingly high. Meanwhile, the Magic's offense was a complete mess, completely disorganized. Under Nelson's direction, their offense became a complete one-on-one play, or rather, a rapid one-on-one play.
As one team gains, the other loses. In this situation, the gap between the two teams will naturally become wider and wider.
The score continued to widen, but the exhaustion Stan Van Gundy had suspected didn't materialize. McGrady was substituted out after just four minutes in the third quarter, and the other players were constantly rotating in. With seven players in rotation, as long as Yang Mo was on the court, the offense didn't lose any firepower.
With 2 minutes left in the third quarter, the Knicks were leading by 21 points. Although it was not as scary as Barkley said, it was still a huge gap. If the Magic wanted to make up for it, it would definitely not be filled in a few rounds.
drop!
Yang Mo took the initiative to request a timeout. He was a man who knew when to stop. He had noticed that his teammates were already panting after running for their lives. It was time for a collective rest, so he called a long timeout. If nothing unexpected happened, the remaining two short timeouts would also be used by the team this time.
Back on the bench, the Knicks players collapsed completely, each one flexing their chest muscles and breathing heavily, regulating their bodies exhausted from the intense exercise. Among them, Yang Mo fared relatively well. Firstly, he had incredible physical fitness, and secondly, he didn't run nearly as much as his teammates. He passed the ball almost as soon as he crossed half court, meaning he only had to run two half-court rounds, while his teammates had to run two full courts. By that calculation, his job was indeed much easier, and of course, his role was the most crucial component of the overall situation.
After his teammates took a one-minute timeout, Yang Mo quickly called another short one . He squatted beside his teammates with his tactical board, drawing as he spoke, "The next two minutes are crucial. Besides using them to slow the tempo down, we also have to withstand the opponent's fierce counterattack. We must maintain a lead of over 20 points, which will give us a significant advantage in the fourth quarter. Tony, can you still play?"
"Yes." Tony Allen nodded. He ran for nearly five minutes in the third quarter and his physical strength was probably the best among all the players.
"Where's Larry Hughes?"
"No problem." Larry Hughes also responded loudly. He only ran for less than three minutes, so he should be the Knicks with the best physical strength.
"Anthony Randolph, don't tell me you can't do it. You are the youngest here." Yang Mo continued to call out Randolph's name.
"Although I'm a little tired, I can still hold on." Anthony Randolph scratched the back of his head and answered slightly embarrassedly.
"So... who can hold on for another two minutes?" Yang Mo looked around and found that almost everyone else was gasping for breath, and their physical condition was not very good.
"Let me do it." Jeffries raised his head and took a sip of his drink, nodding vigorously. "Two minutes, I can still hold on."
"Are you sure?" Yang Mo looked at Jeffries with some surprise. He didn't expect Jeffries to stand up at this time. In the crazy running just now, Jeffries was the player who ran the most, and he should also be the most tired player.
"I'm sure." Jeffries gritted his teeth and said firmly, "Since we are already leading by 21 points, we absolutely cannot lose."
"Okay, come on stage with us." Yang Mo reached out and patted Jeffreys's shoulder. Although this guy's shoulders looked thin, they were full of responsibility at this time.
At this time, the whistle sounded, and the first short break ended. Yang Mo immediately waved and called for another one.
Stan Van Gundy was over there, extremely excited when he saw Yang Mo call three timeouts in a row. He looked at his players and said excitedly, "Boys, it's time for us to fight back. They're running out of energy. We have to play a fast break for the next two minutes and we have to recover at least five points. As long as we can get the score within fifteen points, we'll definitely be the winner in the fourth quarter."
Stan Van Gundy was giving orders excitedly, but his players didn't seem any more relaxed than the Knicks. Dwight Howard, in particular, had been running all over the court. Beads of sweat, each the size of a soybean, were already forming on his forehead. Outside player Rashard Lewis wasn't feeling well either; he'd also been running for quite a while.
"Nelson, you have to speed up, you must speed up, understand? JJ, your three-point shooting percentage is very high now, you have to shoot more. And Rashard, you also have to shoot more three-pointers. Your opponent can't hold on now. Jeffries could hardly walk when he left the court. And Howard, the rebounds are left to you." Stan Van Gundy quickly assigned specific tasks to the players.
At this time, the second timeout was over, the whistle sounded, and the game resumed.
When the timeout came back, the five Knicks players quickly stood up, suppressing their fatigue as much as possible. Now it was time to show the real deal. When they walked onto the court, the fans immediately burst into applause. They had no reason not to love these crazy Knicks players. These guys valued victory more than their lives. Every spectator could see that they were fighting tooth and nail.
drop!
After Yang Mo passed the ball to Tony Allen, he whispered "tactic number four" and then quickly ran into the penalty area. As soon as he entered the penalty area, he blocked Howard tightly and asked for the ball with his back to the basket.
Yang Mo now knows better than anyone that his teammates no longer have much energy to maintain the offense, and it all depends on him now.
Howard tried his best to stop Yang Mo's boxing out, but the power gap prevented him from catching the ball. After all, his lower limb strength was too poor. His slender calves gave him excellent explosive power and jumping ability, but they couldn't give him the powerful strength that defied his body structure.
After receiving the pass, Yang Mo did not continue to play with his back to the basket. Instead, he turned around and faced Howard head-on. He also knew that the more energy he could save now, the better, after all, the brutal fourth quarter had not yet arrived.
Yang Mo faced Howard with the ball, quickly shook, and took a tentative step forward. The realistic movement instantly deceived Howard's eyes, causing him to take a half step back.
Although he only took half a step back, it was enough for Yang Mo. Yang Mo slammed the ball, his body quickly flew over, stepped out of Howard's defensive line, and then suddenly jumped into the penalty area. Then he jumped high and slammed the ball into the basket... boom!
After a skillless two-handed dunk, Yang Mo didn't celebrate at all, and didn't even wait for the fans to cheer. He ran directly to half court. Because the Magic team had already launched a fast break!
