Chapter 518: Leading
drop!
At the sound of a whistle, Yang Mo, who had been frantically trying to regulate his breathing, stood up and was the first to step onto the court. He knew better than anyone the effort required to defend this home turf. He could accept defeat, but never surrender. The only way to take victory from this place would be to walk over his dead body.
Yang Mo had no way out, and in fact, he had never thought about it.
Yang Mo fought so hard that the Knicks fans couldn't help but stand in awe. They would rather lose the game than let Yang Mo continue to fight. They were afraid that Yang Mo would get injured and then... their bright future would be shattered. Compared to tomorrow, losing now didn't matter to them.
The match soon began, and Yang Mo was still frantically fighting, defending, and running. Every minute and every second felt like his strength was rapidly draining away. He felt exhausted, but he knew he couldn't rest; if he did, his body would quickly collapse. So he gritted his teeth and persevered, figuring he'd just have to wait until halftime, find a masseur, and then take a nap.
With Yang Mo's perseverance, the second quarter finally ended with the Celtics tying the score at 58-58. Yang Mo scored 43 points. This score left his skeptics speechless. Anyone who still claimed Yang Mo wasn't the best player in the league would likely be slammed to death. LeBron James had never done anything so arrogant, let alone scored 88 points against the Celtics' defense. This was something even Michael Jordan couldn't achieve.
As the halftime whistle sounded, Yang Mo, who was almost exhausted, quickly found the masseur and put her hands on him. She leaned on him and gasped for breath, "Hurry... help me to the locker room."
The masseur quickly complied. At this point, no one knew Yang Mo's physical condition better than him. He quickly helped Yang Mo inside. At that moment, the court erupted in applause again, with everyone shouting, "Super Yang, come on! Super Yang, long live!"
If Yang Mo was considered a joke when he first arrived in New York, he was now the undisputed King of Madison, the King of New York in everyone's eyes. With the Knicks' dominance, basketball had become New York's most iconic sports brand, and Yang Mo was at the forefront, becoming the city's signature star.
Yang Mo was helped back to the locker room, where he quickly lay down and allowed a masseur to massage him. Under the masseur's massage, Yang Mo fell asleep almost instantly. When Yang Mo fell asleep, the other Knicks players didn't dare to make a sound, as they knew how much Yang Mo meant to the entire Knicks organization.
Time slipped away quickly, and the second half of the game began at a breakneck pace. Just as Stein was about to tiptoe out of the locker room with the players, Yang Mo stretched and sat up. Although he was still a little tired, he felt much better than before. Sleep was his greatest weapon for recharging; a short nap could restore a significant amount of his strength.
After the second half began, Yang Mo stopped charging and started to calm down. He started to call for a pick-and-roll. Once it came out, he shot... Swish! Another three-pointer!
After a good sleep, Yang Mo's touch has become very soft, so if not now, when will he shoot a three-pointer?
Perhaps because they were too afraid of Yang Mo's pass, or perhaps because they were worried that Yang Mo would disrupt their system, Doc Rivers didn't react at all, and he still assigned someone to single out Yang Mo. He believed that even if Yang Mo's three-pointers were accurate, they would still have some weakness. How could they be considered a regular weapon?
But for Yang Mo, the three-pointer was truly a standard weapon. And when he was on top, he could crush even God standing before him. Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
In the third quarter, the Celtics' backcourt started raining three-pointers. When Yang Mo made his seventh three-pointer in a row, Doc Rivers was desperate. He quickly changed his defensive strategy. At this time, they were already 11 points behind again. If they continued to let Yang Mo shoot like this, God knows whether he would be killed by the three-point rain.
The Celtics changed their defensive strategy, employing double-teams once again. Yang Mo decisively stopped shooting three-pointers and instead began driving into the paint, occasionally passing the ball. Instantly, they had secured their lead. As the saying goes, "A bankroll is a peace of mind." Now that the Knicks had finally turned the tide and crushed the Celtics, Yang Mo wasn't worried.
When Yang Mo wanted to slow down the pace, the Celtics really couldn't make any waves, let alone turn around their huge lead, so they could only take it one step at a time.
The third quarter quickly ended, and the Knicks still held a 12-point lead. Yang Mo's score had already reached a staggering and incredible 72 points. Barring any unexpected setbacks, breaking the 88-point mark would be a piece of cake. Scoring 16 points in a single quarter might be a challenge for others, but for Yang Mo, it was like eating and drinking water.
Doc Rivers was frustrated that his entire team couldn't beat Yang Mo, but he also knew his players had given it their all. It couldn't be helped; Yang Mo was too strong. Of course, his tactics also had something to do with it; he was still conservative. Or perhaps he was intimidated by Yang Mo, as the saying goes, "Once bitten, you're afraid of the rope for three years." Otherwise, he would have called for a double-team long ago. How could he have let Yang Mo sink seven consecutive three-pointers?
Soon, the fourth quarter arrived. For Knicks fans, excitement and anticipation filled the air. They truly, truly wanted to see Yang Mo single-handedly defeat the Celtics; they didn't want to lose their home court. If Yang Mo could truly defend his home court and defeat the Celtics tonight, then... they would be so overwhelmed with joy that they couldn't sleep. After all, they hadn't given the slightest hope of a victory before the game.
At this point, Doc Rivers was mentally prepared for failure. He knew that as long as the game continued steadily, the Celtics wouldn't have a chance of a comeback. Super Yang was too consistent. Even when he was so tired, he was still able to maintain a steady firepower.
How great would it be if I had a player like this? The championship would have already belonged to the Celtics. The other teams? They just had to grab the runner-up.
