Champion, please stay!

Chapter 122, Question 120: Don't worry, I've got your vote!
Stoudemire had just stood still and turned around when everything went black!
Watching Yi Shui run out and bump his butt with Curry in celebration, Stoudemire rushed forward and, after Nash advanced to the top arc, went up to help Nash block Duhon.

Nash initiated the attack using a screen, driving to the right side of the three-second zone and passing the ball to the left.

When Stoudemire received the ball, he had already used his explosive acceleration to get a chance to start and outmaneuver Duhon. However, Yi Shui, who was defending Diaw near the byline, left Diaw wide open and blocked him as he circled towards the top arc!

Stoudemire had no choice but to change direction and move towards the middle. He caught the ball half a step away from the basket and launched a mid-range shot over the onrushing Birdman on the right... It swished through the rim!
The ball went in, but Stoudemire felt uneasy; this wasn't the kind of response he wanted!

And as soon as the ball went in, David Lee under the basket immediately picked it up and passed it to Duhon, and the Knicks went on a charge again!
Du Hong seized the opportunity to pass the ball, and Curry received it on the left sideline and made a pass.

Yi Shui received the ball head-on, facing Stoudemire again. He took a step to the right and Stoudemire lunged forward, just missing Yi Shui...

Yi Shui rises again, easily sinking a floater from the right side of the basket!

As soon as O'Neal ran into the three-point line, the Knicks' offense ended, and he could only turn around and run back to the frontcourt.

This season, O'Neal underwent more than six months of effective treatment by the Suns' medical team and, with the help of Thomas Carter, adjusted his playing style to be more suitable for the current situation. His weight also dropped to a new low of 147 kilograms since he gained weight in the summer of 00, which is even 'thinner' than during the last two years of his peak with the Heat.

But with just four months to go before turning 37, his mobility is nowhere near what it was when he first joined the Heat.

Whether it's fast break or defense against fast attack, they can't keep up at all!

Almost every team that faces the Suns this season will target this point, launching fast breaks and transition offense, often creating a 5-on-4 advantage.

The Suns have actually been trying to slow down the pace this season. In the three seasons of their run-and-gun peak from 04 to 07, they allowed opponents 86 or 87 shots per game and only scored 103 points. This season, even though they limited opponents to 81 or 82 shots, the number of points allowed has increased by 5. The reason is that the opponents' shooting percentage has increased from just over 45% in those years to 49.1%.

Slowing down the pace also affected the Suns' offense!
Normally, the Suns can launch strong counterattacks, but their opponent is the Knicks, who are very fast.

After receiving the ball from Diaw who had grabbed the rebound, Nash saw that the opposing team had retreated on defense. He quickly advanced past the midcourt line, where David Lee was already crouching behind O'Neal at close range, while Yi Shui and Birdman stood on either side of the free-throw line... He could only resort to a half-court game.

Nash continued to run pick-and-rolls with Stoudemire to initiate the offense. This time, both of them noticed that Yi Shui was just staying in the elbow area and completely ignoring Diaw, who had no mid-range or long-range shooting!

In the first five years of his career, Diaw made fewer than 50 three-pointers. He made his 50th three-pointer at the end of last month, which made the news in Phoenix. This season, after 18 games, he has made only 3 of 10 three-pointers!

Diaw performed exceptionally well in the Suns' half-court offense back then because his teammates Stoudemire, Marion, Barbosa, and others would break free from their defenders and drive to the basket. Even with a center protecting the rim, these teammates had a very high success rate in attacking the rim.

Back then, the Suns were just like the Knicks now. Apart from Yi Shui and David Lee's occasional low-post back-to-the-basket plays, no player would stay close to the basket on offense. Even if Diaw was left open at long range, he would at most leave one opponent in the paint for his teammates to deal with. He was able to showcase his ability to screen for off-ball shooters and pass the ball to them.

But after O'Neal arrived, if Diaw was left open, it meant there were at least two players camping in the paint!

Stoudemire's field goal percentage at the rim has plummeted from 74% before the big trade last season to 65%, and his overall field goal percentage has dropped from 59% to 51%.

Sometimes opponents don't notice that Diaw isn't shooting from long range, or they don't dare to leave their defenders wide open, which gives them better spacing. But the Knicks clearly noticed, and their defense has always been so 'bold,' known for its mindless double-teaming.

However, the Suns' superstars have been playing under these offensive conditions for over a month and are already used to them.

Nash broke through and rushed to the right side of the three-second zone, stopped abruptly and jumped, leaning forward, taking advantage of the switch player's braking to dodge, and then threw a mid-range shot... hit!
If you can't execute a quick, whirlwind attack in positional warfare, then go it one-on-one!

Back when he was with the Mavericks, Nash was known for his one-on-one skills, earning two All-Star reserves and two All-NBA Third Team selections!
After two rounds of probing, the two teams launched a fierce attacking battle with completely different offensive styles.

The Knicks sped up their offense, while the Suns resorted to half-court sets, isolation plays, and passing, or creating mismatches through pick-and-rolls. This sight was disheartening for fans who had been watching basketball for years.

A few years ago, during Nash's first season with the Suns, Marbury led the Knicks in a high-scoring game that went to double overtime, with the score reaching 151-145, and Nash's team narrowly winning.

That time, one side sped up and launched a fast break, while the other side settled into a positional game with individual play and passing. However, this time the roles were reversed.

Even when forced into a slow-paced, one-on-one style of play, the Suns' offensive firepower remained fierce!

Nash could drive and shoot and was good at exploiting mismatches; Stoudemire was strong in face-up isolation and his mid-range shot had matured; O'Neal was fierce in low post isolation. They took turns isolating and passing the ball, and they were unstoppable!
On the other hand, the Knicks' offense was also very effective.

As long as they don't get pushed into a half-court game, the Suns' defense is even worse than theirs. It doesn't matter if they fall into a half-court game; Yi Shui or Curry can just waste a basket and quickly retreat on defense, then they can attack again on the next possession.

Moreover, Du Hong and Yi Shui consciously controlled their counterattack speed, only going all out in the first two probing rounds, and slowing down their counterattack speed afterwards.

Firstly, it reduces resource consumption, so they can't withstand the attack.

But the main reason is to allow O'Neal to keep up!

During the pre-game meeting in the morning, when lead assistant coach Dan D'Antoni mentioned this strategy, Yi Shui felt there were potential problems.

Fortunately, his worries did not materialize. On the court, O'Neal was still very respectable. When he could barely keep up with the fast break, he wouldn't stay in the frontcourt without retreating to receive the ball and go straight for a layup.

In the early stages, the Suns had the upper hand!

Nash with a 49% field goal percentage, Stoudemire with a 51% field goal percentage, and O'Neal with a 62% field goal percentage had an incredibly high success rate in half-court offense against the Knicks.

But as the game progressed, the Suns gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

It wasn't that the three players' performances declined; even O'Neal, who is almost 37 years old, showed excellent consistency tonight.

Just like how Yi Shui easily defeated the Warriors' inside and outside game.

When facing the strong defense of David Lee and Birdman, O'Neal didn't need to use much strength when he went one-on-one. He could overpower his opponents with his weight alone, and at the same time, he could effectively avoid Yi Shui's collapse and help defense with his huge size.

The reason the Suns are losing ground is that their role players are not adapting to this pace!
Nash, Stoudemire, and Hill on the bench were able to quickly adapt to O'Neal's rhythm because they are superstars or former superstars, with more comprehensive abilities and high compatibility.

Role players are called role players because they can only perform specific tasks. The Suns' current role player roster is mostly made up of players from the D'Antoni era. Let alone just a little over a month, even after playing for two months after last season's All-Star break, they still couldn't adapt to O'Neal's slow pace. Give them another year, and they still won't be able to.

Even after Suns head coach Terry Porter substituted Shaquille O'Neal, who didn't seem too tired, after 10 minutes in the first quarter, he couldn't reverse the downward trend in scoring.

It's easy to disrupt the rhythm, but it's difficult to get it back on track, and Terry Porter doesn't have that kind of team control.

In the first half of the game, the Knicks trailed 14-18. After the first quarter, Yi Shui made a mid-range jumper over Hill's help defense at the free-throw line, and the Knicks took a 32-30 lead over the Suns into the break!
开局2中2后，易水后面4投2中，打满首节的他6投4中、加上2中2的罚球，单节拿到10分2板1助攻1盖帽!
However, the Suns' superstars were not so easy to deal with. At the start of the second quarter, the return of Nash, Stoudemire, and O'Neal, along with Raja Bell and Hill, who were arguably the best fit for the trio, sparked a 12-6 run against the Knicks, giving them a 42-38 lead and forcing a Knicks timeout!

The Suns players gathered in a circle during the break, excluding the head coach, to discuss things on their own, and the effect was very noticeable.

The tactics for the break were devised by Nash and Hill, and Nash also directly instructed assistant coach Gentry on the lineup rotation.

The Suns have declined significantly on both offense and defense. In addition to the incompatibility between O'Neal and most of his teammates, the head coach also has huge problems.

Last season, O'Neal played 28 games with the Suns, averaging only 12 points per game. The Suns' record collapsed, but not this badly. They still managed 17 wins and 11 losses in those 28 games. Now, O'Neal is in better form and the roster has been strengthened, but he can only achieve a shooting percentage of just over 50%. Terry Porter's roster rotation and tactical arrangements are clearly problematic.

Nash and Hill's setup was simple: they copied D'Antoni's setup after last season's All-Star break, reducing the number of players on the court, reducing O'Neal's isolation plays, and making O'Neal more of a close-range receiver to enhance his consistency and reduce the adaptation challenges for perimeter shooters and cutters in terms of movement and receiving the ball.

After the timeout, D'Antoni was forced to bring Yi Shui on early.

Fortunately, Yi Shui played with ease tonight and was in good physical condition.

His presence on the court had an immediate impact. First, he drove into the paint during a half-court set, drawing O'Neal's help defense before passing to the left side, where David Lee received the ball and scored a 2+1 against Stoudemire.

Hill then missed a three-pointer after being left open. Yi Shui received the ball on a fast break and passed it to the wing. Da Q received the pass and passed it again. Curry, who was following up at the top of the arc, received the ball and hit a three-pointer.

The Knicks have taken the lead again, 44-42!
Then Nash stepped up, one-on-one against Curry, and hit a pull-up jumper, tying the game again!
The two teams once again entered a high-scoring battle, with one team launching a scoring run and the other responding with a counterattack. When one team was on fire, their lead could be as high as 10 points, but the other team could immediately respond with a mini-run to erase the deficit or even take the lead.

The emotions of fans at the stadium and those watching on TV were like a rollercoaster. Just when they thought they were about to establish a clear lead, they immediately lost it again. Just when they thought they were about to be overwhelmed, they immediately caught up again...

太阳队在第二节打出32比28的比分，半场以62比60反超尼克斯队两分，但双方互换半场后，尼克斯队反手又回敬了一个单节31比28，以91比90重新取得1分领先优势！
In the final quarter, both teams, who had dominated for three consecutive quarters, showed a significant decline in offensive firepower.

Starting in the second quarter, the Suns adopted an eight-man rotation: Nash, Dragic, Barbosa, Raja Bell, and Hill on the perimeter, and Stoudemire, O'Neal, and Robin Lopez on the inside.

The Knicks used only a nine-man rotation, with five starters: Duhon, Curry, Yi Shui, David Lee, and Anderson, and four reserves: Chalmers, Big Q, Harrington, and Swift.

At this point, the Knicks' advantage became apparent—they were young!
The oldest players in the nine-man rotation, Harrington and Swift, are only twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old!
尼克斯队逐渐拉开分差，打到比赛尾声进入暂停时，尼克斯队以117比112领先太阳队5分，10分钟时间打出了26比22的比分！
Throughout the final quarter, the fans cheered for the Suns, hoping they could launch another offensive like they did in the second and third quarters, but they didn't. Even when the opposing team didn't mount a comeback, the Suns remained on the back foot.

At this point, their hearts were pounding for over two hours; they were truly on the verge of death.

The big screen displayed the key statistics for both teams.

Nash played 41 minutes, scoring 27 points and dishing out 8 assists.

Stoudemire played 39 minutes, scoring 31 points and grabbing 6 rebounds.

O'Neal played 37 minutes, while Lopez only played 9 minutes in the first 46 minutes of the game. He scored 23 points and 12 rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting and 7-of-10 free throws, which was a good performance. Even his free throws were surprising. However, he was really exhausted and could only stand on one side of the three-second zone to receive the ball and shoot high.

That means the Knicks couldn't keep up either, otherwise they would have been overwhelmed in the final quarter.

However, after the timeout, Nash reignited the hopes of the fans in the arena, one-on-one against Curry, seized the rhythm difference, and hit a long two-pointer from a pull-up!
Curry turned around and tried to return the favor with a shot... but missed.

The ball bounced in Nash's direction. Nash grabbed the ball, launched a fast break, and before the opposing players could rush back, he faced Curry, who was making a desperate retreat, and hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc... and it went in!
During the transition between offense and defense, Curry, who was caught up in Nash's rage, took a three-pointer after a screen... The moment the ball hit the rim, the kid felt like dying.

However, this time the top scorer saved the elementary school students!
Yi Shui circled around to O'Neal, who had anticipated the defensive landing point, and stole the ball first. Before O'Neal could reach out to grab him, he dribbled across to the other side of the basket.

After turning around, Yi Shui made his usual feint, and Stoudemire, who was rushing in from the free-throw line, flew past him and blocked O'Neal, who was trying to pounce on him. He then jumped and laid the ball... and it went in!
119-117, at a crucial moment, Yi Shui helped the Knicks regain a two-point lead!

After running back to the backcourt, Yi Shui paused at the top of the arc, patted Curry on the head, and said, "Shoot with confidence, I'm here."

Curry, who missed two crucial shots in a row, was on the verge of collapse at least at this moment. He needed someone to lend him a hand, and someone did appear!

With 37 seconds left, the Suns didn't call a timeout and continued their attack!
After O'Neal got close enough to press the defense under the basket, Nash and Stoudemire started a pick-and-roll offense.

Curry, spurred on by his own mistakes, worked incredibly hard on the pick-and-roll defense, and Birdman fought even harder on the defensive end, preventing Nash from getting another chance to catch the ball and shoot directly.

Curry tried his best... but it was just so-so. Stoudemire drove to the basket and pushed Curry aside.

Although Nash, who was being closely guarded by Birdman, had no chance to shoot and looked disheveled, he maintained his balance and passed the ball in time, delivering it steadily to Stoudemire, who was rushing towards the basket from the left side of the free-throw line.

Yi Shui failed to block Stoudemire and chose to stay under the basket, joining David Lee in defending against O'Neal and Hill's offensive rebounding.

But to everyone's surprise, when Stoudemire saw Yi Shui pull in, instead of stopping to shoot from close range, he took a heavy step forward!
Upon seeing this, O'Neal shouted, "NO, Amar'e..."

Stoudemire didn't hear it, and even if he had, he wouldn't have stopped. He had been waiting for this opportunity all game, and he wanted to return the favor from Yi Shui's opening dunk!
Stoudemire felt an immense surge of power coursing through his body. He leaped high, higher than any jump he'd made in the fourth quarter, stretching his arms out and slamming them down towards the rim… Suddenly, his eyes widened! He tried to pull up for a layup, but it was too late!

Yi Shui jumped from the spot, his toes leaving the ground almost the same distance as Stoudemire's, but his outstretched hand was a head higher than Stoudemire's outstretched hand that was grabbing the ball...

"Snapped"

Yi Shui's large hand completely covered the ball, and with a solid slap, the ball flew away!

The great shark was internally devastated. This little tyrant, didn't he see that his hook arm was slapped away by this guy jumping up?
Curry, right behind Stoudemire, steals the ball and launches a counterattack!

At this moment, the Knicks players, like Stoudemire, experienced an adrenaline surge, and they all rushed off the court amidst the deafening boos and jeers from the fans!

Nash, Hill, and Raja Bell retreated and blocked Yi Shui's cut-in to receive the ball at close range. Yi Shui then passed the ball back to the top arc.

Curry received the ball in a wide-open space. Without hesitation or doubt, Yi Shui's words rekindled his confidence!
Jump, release the three-pointer...

Countless fans at the stadium closed their eyes in prayer, but tonight the Emperor has arrived, and even the gods have to retreat!

Yi Jianlian and Curry connected, Curry received the ball and hit a three-pointer straight into the basket!
The Knicks regained a 5-point lead, 122-117, securing the victory!

(End of this chapter)