Chapter 503: Fighting Tenaciously
While Yang Mo was desperately rushing back , his teammates were also quickly returning to defense. They had finally gotten such a big lead and they must not be beaten back at this critical moment.
With the Knicks players chasing them closely, the Magic players didn't get any good results. Their fast break was blocked outside the three-point line. Every Knicks player chased and defended an opponent, and the man-to-man tactics were pushed to the limit in an instant.
When the Knicks' defense was in place, the Magic's smooth offense came to a halt, and their fast break was unsuccessful. After Nelson tried to break through two or three times outside the three-point line and failed to get rid of Tony Allen, he passed the ball to Rashard Lewis.
After Lewis received the ball, he immediately found Ryan Anderson as a screen. He used Anderson as a screen to break through one step to the left and then made a jump shot. In his opinion, Jeffries, who was already out of breath while walking, would definitely not be able to bypass Anderson to chase him, so he made a bold jump shot.
But just as he was about to shoot, he realized he was wrong, because a figure suddenly dropped from the sky, and then a giant hand ruthlessly slapped the basketball he had just thrown out of the court... Ding! The referee quickly blew the whistle, indicating that Jeffries had hit the ball out of bounds, and the Magic still had the ball.
Although the ball was still in the Magic's hands, the fans at the scene cheered and screamed excitedly because of the block. They did not expect that the almost exhausted Jeffries could still block the shot, and he squeezed Anderson aside and slapped the basketball high into the air, sending it out of the court.
"Well done, man 1!" Yang Mo in the penalty area cheered loudly for Jeffries.
Jeffries just smiled, then took advantage of the break to bend down, supporting his knees with his hands, breathing deeply, letting the sweat fall like raindrops.
Seeing Jeffries so exhausted, Rashard Lewis, who had his shot blocked, couldn't help but be a little surprised. Is this the same guy who just flew up and knocked my shot out of bounds? Why was he able to jump up and block the shot even though he was so tired?
Lewis felt that he could not see through Jeffries at all, just like the Magic had never seen through the Knicks . They always thought that the Knicks were a bad team, but in the end they were severely beaten by this bad team in two games, just like Jeffries slapped the basketball away with a clean slap.
After serving again, Jeffries, who was originally out of breath, immediately recovered, stuck closely to Rashard Lewis, and kept running with him, leaving him no room at all.
The same thing happened to the other players on the Magic team. Not only could they not find a chance to shoot, they couldn't even find a chance to pass the ball.
The Knicks' tenacity far exceeded their expectations. Their original fast break plan ended in vain, and they even failed to shoot the ball until the last 24 seconds.
It was undoubtedly a beautiful defense.
But it was a shitty offense for Stan Van Gundy. He complained loudly on the sidelines without hesitation: "Run, run, can't you cross screen? Why can't you even shoot the ball? Are you guys already this bad?"
Van Gundy's complaints were of no avail. It was not that the Magic players did not want to shoot, but that they did not have the opportunity. The New Yorkers were too tenacious, and these guys were defending with their lives.
When it was the Knicks' turn to attack, Tony Allen deliberately brought the ball upfield slowly, giving his teammates enough rest. Once he got the ball upfield, he quickly passed it to Yang Mo.
After Yang Mo received the ball, Howard had no choice but to follow. Meanwhile, Yang Mo bent down and slowly patted the basketball. He wasn't in a hurry at all; he had plenty of time. He waited until the countdown began before suddenly launching himself, sprinting into the paint with a single, incredibly fast stride. Yang Mo unleashed his full speed and explosiveness, making Howard's reflexes difficult to match. After all, he was a center, and he didn't have an advantage in one-on-one situations.
So, almost instantly, Yang Mo passed his defender and rushed into the restricted area with the swiftness and ferocity of a bullet from a submachine gun. As Yang Mo flew like a bullet, no one on the Magic team dared to stop him, and in the end, they could only watch him score a layup.
When the basketball passed by Yang Mo fell into the net, the red light behind the backboard just lit up. It was another perfect buzzer beater, which successfully earned two more points for the Knicks and a short break for his teammates.
In fact, when he was sprinting, the Knicks players had already returned to defense. By the time the Magic got the ball and started the fast break, they had almost reached the frontcourt and had taken the lead.
In a sense, the Knicks have now handed over all of their offense to Yang Mo, and the remaining offense will be left to Yang Mo to handle.
Coming to the frontcourt, the Magic still seemed to be struggling under the tenacious defense of the Knicks. In the end, Redick used a beautiful counter-run to get rid of Larry Hughes' pursuit and alleviated the Magic's scoring drought with a mid-range jump shot.
This score made Stan Van Gundy very happy, but his happiness did not last long. Soon Yang Mo responded with a buzzer-beating three-pointer.
Despite the rotation of offense and defense, the Magic still couldn't find a way to break through. Finally, when the time was almost up, Howard went out and shot a three-pointer. Bang! Of course, his three-pointer missed. Anthony Randolph grabbed the rebound first , and then he passed it to Yang Mo.
After receiving the ball, Yang Mo quickly slowed down the pace. With only nineteen seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Knicks were leading by 26 points. This was a score beyond their expectations. If they could make the final buzzer-beater, they would have an even greater advantage heading into the fourth quarter. This would effectively bury the Magic halfway down.
Yang Mo held the ball and moved to the three-point line, slowly killing time. At this point, Stan Van Gundy was already furious and could no longer be restrained. He was yelling at the top of his lungs from the sidelines: "Double-team, double-team! Double-team! He must be double-teamed! Now he's the only Knicks player who can shoot. Everyone else can give up. Guard him!"
Stan Van Gundy's shouting made Yang Mo burst into laughter. He felt that Stan Van Gundy's IQ seemed to have fallen below the normal level.
