Champion, please stay!

Chapter 149, Section 147: Triple-Double vs. 40+! (9500-word long chapter)
The Knicks' offensive coordination is much, much better than it was when the two teams played each other three months ago.

The biggest improvement was in Yi Shui's individual performance. Three months ago, Yi Shui could only attack head-on. When he received the ball at close range, he would either force his way in or pull away.

He can now consistently stand and score in the paint, mainly because he has a significant size advantage against forwards Haslem and James Jones, and he's no longer at a disadvantage in terms of weight.

Facing the defense of these two players, Yi Shui skillfully used his high-post play, skillful scoring, and passing to his opponents.

Surprisingly, the Heat's best defender against Yi Jianlian in close-range combat was Wade!

After all, he's a super talent who made the All-Defensive Team in his second year! His IQ might not be high, but his basketball IQ is undeniable.

In 05, the Heat acquired three perimeter defensive stalwarts: Jason Williams, Payton, and James Posey. For the next two seasons, Wade didn't need to exert himself defensively against opposing perimeter superstars; otherwise, he would have won at least two more All-Defensive Second Team trophies. This year, with no defensive stalwarts at the two and three positions, Wade has once again become a top contender for All-Defensive Team status.

Of course, due to the size mismatch, all Wade could do was prevent Yi Shui from getting a comfortable shooting spot. His low post defense was similar to Hayes'; he knew he couldn't interfere with Yi Shui's upper body, so he would push his lower body hard to create double-teaming opportunities for his teammates.

Yi Shui didn't dawdle; he immediately passed the ball to the two or three positions. Wade's move to that position indicated that the opponent's defensive formation was definitely in disarray.

It would be even better if Milicic were to help defend, allowing for a lob pass to Swift on the cut or to David Lee, who is playing against a smaller opponent.

Under Yi Shui's leadership, who adhered to the playmaking philosophy of "not holding onto the ball and not stopping the ball," the Knicks' starting lineup fully demonstrated their ability to disrupt the opponent's defense and launch fast breaks in half-court offense!

Although Wade tried his best to defend, he realized he couldn't stop the defense after the first possession and immediately launched a full-scale attack from the second possession onwards.

Conley distributed the ball, Wade prioritized scoring and passed the ball inside, Haslem made decent mid-range shots, and James Jones provided good long-range support.

With half of the first quarter gone, the Heat had scored 16 points, led by the duo of Wade and Conley.

At the beginning of the season, the Heat's offense was terrible, only slightly better than the bottom-ranked Clippers, Timberwolves, and Kings, and they relied entirely on Wade to carry the team.

It wasn't until Conley joined that the Heat's offense started to improve. After Christmas, once Conley truly integrated into the team, the Heat's offense in January surpassed the league average, averaging 99 points per game that month, which is quite good for their current roster.

In the past 20-plus games, the Heat have averaged 25.2 points in the first quarter, and their performance in the first half of the quarter this year is far higher than usual.

but……

Led by Yi Shui, the Knicks scored 21 points in 6 minutes and 37 seconds, leading the Heat by 5 points before the official timeout!
D'Antoni excitedly high-fived his players, his face turning a deep purplish-red from the excitement.

This kind of positional attack is exactly what he wanted when he chose to build this starting lineup!
Regardless of the wins and losses, he directly felt the improvement in the team's tactical coordination during this series of matches against teams from the Southeast Division!
The Hawks and the Heat were opponents we faced in the first two months of the season. At that time, whether they won or lost, their playing style was similar to a head-on rush with easy one-on-one passing. They had tactical coordination, but as the game progressed, they became disorganized and started to rely on speed and momentum to attack.

In the back-to-back game against the Hawks, especially in the first half of the first quarter tonight, it was clear that they were different from their matchup two or three months ago. Their tactical consistency was excellent! Except for a few possessions, they almost never went off the rails!
...

After the official timeout, both head coaches substituted their star players, who had been giving their all on both ends of the court for half a quarter, to rest.

D'Antoni brought in a lineup of Duhon, Curry, Wilson Chandler, David Lee, and Birdman to maintain speed and continue playing fast. With the offensive spearhead weakening, Duhon was added to further drive the fast break.

Spoelstra substituted Beasley, along with Conley, Daquin Cook, Jamario Moon, and Haslem, who are four players who can catch and shoot.

Jamario Moon, a second-year player, was actually an undrafted player in the 01 draft. At 28 years old, he is in his prime and a strong player who can contribute immediately. In 20 minutes of playing time per game, he can score 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. He can shoot, cut and fast break. The Heat traded Luther Head, who previously served as Wade's backup point guard, back from the Raptors to serve as the Heat's backup at the three and four positions, making up for the lack of forwards after trading Marion.

The Heat took the first possession. Beasley drove to the basket one-on-one, and with Wilson Chandler closely guarding him, he stopped abruptly, grabbed the ball, spun around while holding onto Wilson Chandler, and scored a layup before Birdman could collapse into position!
Led by Beasley, the Heat scored 3 baskets in 4 possessions after the timeout, with Beasley scoring 1 of them. Conley also hit a three-pointer from the outside, giving the Knicks a 7-3 run and bringing the score to 23-24, narrowing the gap to 1 point!
In the eyes of the Knicks players, Beasley was a bust because they had Yi Shui...

But whether Beasley is good or not depends on who is defending him.

Facing Yi Shui's defense, Beasley, who is good at "bullying the weak," was at a disadvantage in height, wingspan, speed, and even strength, and was naturally beaten in a variety of ways.

But against Wilson Chandler, Beasley looked like a superstar! An offensive kaleidoscope!
Just as D'Antoni's face flushed red again, and he was about to call a timeout to stabilize the situation, Curry stepped up!

Curry isolated against Daequé Cook, faked a drive, stepped back, and hit a three-pointer...it went in!
27-23, the Knicks have widened the gap back to 4 points!
Curry and Beasley suddenly started competing!

Beasley had an absolute advantage in height, wingspan, and strength against Wilson Chandler, allowing him to play very comfortably and always get to the best shooting point. When double-teamed, he could simply pass the ball to Conley. In terms of ball distribution and controlling the rhythm, Wade was no match for Conley.

D'Antoni replaced David Lee with Harrington to defend Beasley, but the effect was not great. Harrington, who has gained weight to 111 kg, is no longer the 'kaleidoscope' of positions 1-4. He is no longer at a disadvantage in height and has the advantage in strength, but he can't keep up in speed.

However, Curry was not at a disadvantage! He has been in better form recently and was playing well tonight. Dae Quinn Cook couldn't stop him, and Conley couldn't stop him either!
Conley has great defensive talent and is a reliable defensive player. Under the guidance of Lionel Hollins, the Grizzlies' head coach who was selected to the All-Defensive Team during his playing days, he was developed in his rookie year and is much better than most young guards, but he is still only considered a 'young generation' player.

Led by Beasley, the Heat surged even more fiercely than in the first half of the quarter, scoring 17 points in the second half and a total of 33 points in the quarter!
For the Knicks, Curry was unable to maintain the offensive firepower of the starting lineup in the first half of the quarter, but he withstood the opponent's fierce attack and led the team to score 14 points in the second half of the quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, the Knicks held onto a narrow two-point lead, with the score at 35-33!

The game wasn't broadcast nationally, but it was streamed on American cable, New York, and Florida. The commentators weren't surprised by Beasley's performance; the second overall pick is known for this style of play.

Curry's one-on-one performance caught the commentators' attention!
Curry received the second-highest number of All-Star starter votes among the 08 draft class, only behind Yi Shui. His public image has always been that of someone who is not greedy for credit, has strong tactical execution, and dares to shoot... which is why he is very popular with Yi Shui fans.

He was heavily criticized in January precisely because he couldn't make his shots, his fast break threat decreased, and his performance in connecting fast breaks deteriorated... yet he still dared to shoot, and every shot he took missed.

Over time, people's impression of Curry has become more and more fixed. In this half-quarter of the game, the commentators were surprised to find that Curry's one-on-one skills were so diverse!
That rhythmic step-back three-pointer; actively pressing forward against the defender, suddenly flicking the ball to create a rhythm difference and driving in... it's just like Embiid!

Some commentators have said that Curry is imitating Yi Shui's playing style...

Elementary school student: Mine! These moves are mine! They're all mine! They're from the top student in college! He was secretly learning from me in college!

...

During the break, the two head coaches had completely different moods.

D'Antoni's pre-game plan was to overwhelm the Heat, but that didn't work; Spoelstra's plan was to catch the opponent off guard and pull off an upset, but that also didn't achieve his goal.

Spoelstra was in a real bind. Beasley, the sharp substitute, had successfully penetrated the opponent's weak interior defense and led the team on a scoring run.

Turns out, the other newbie on the other side was just as good!

D'Antoni, on the other hand, wore a bright red smile. He thought Beasley, this unexpected hero, was going to disrupt his rhythm... It wasn't a waste to give the kid so much playing time!
Even after Christmas, no matter how bad Curry's performance was, D'Antoni still gave him more than 20 minutes of playing time per game, ensuring his tactical role and shot attempts.

He also worried that Curry might not be able to handle the pressure and would be overwhelmed. But in a team that aims to win, and where Curry plays a run-and-gun style, this is the only way to develop young players. If Curry really collapses, then they can only find someone else to develop. There are no conditions to nurture and protect young players.

Fortunately, Curry pulled through! He scored in double figures for six consecutive games starting with the Grizzlies, while also averaging 5+ assists per game!

Tonight, he even scored 11 points in the first quarter alone! This gave Yi Shui plenty of time to rest!
The last time Curry scored in double figures in a single quarter was two and a half months ago, in the game against the Warriors when he scored a career-high 28 points.

After the break, D'Antoni substituted Duhon, Chalmers, Yi Shui, Harrington, and Swift.

Spoelstra also put Wade back in, and he could only think positively that at least Beasley helped Wade keep the score close and even narrowed the gap by 3 points.

The point guard position was filled by Chris Quinn, who is 188 cm tall. Although he is white and has little ability to organize the offense, he has a catch-and-shoot percentage of over 40%, excellent speed, and strong ball-handling and fast break ability.

James Jones and Milicic were brought back into the frontcourt, but at power forward... it's a tough time for Haslem, the captain who has the second-most playing time in the team this season after Wade, to continue playing.

In the first half of the first quarter, Yi Shui had 7 points and 3 assists, while Wade had 8 points and 2 assists, making it a close contest. After the start of the second quarter, the two continued to compete.

With Harrington and Duhon as support, Yi Shui initiated attacks with off-ball screens at the top of the arc, complemented by Chalmers, who was in peak form from the start, on the wing, and Swift, a commanding center, on the weak side. Against the Heat, who had a system but poor player configuration, Yi Shui still played very well in half-court offense and counterattacks when the Heat missed shots and retreated to defend their poor formation.

On Wade's side, Conley, who played the entire first quarter, was resting on the sidelines. Wade played much more directly – endlessly driving to the basket and dishing out the ball!
Tactically speaking, the Heat's current roster is far inferior to their starting lineup, but their offensive firepower is stronger because their current frontcourt lineup is not enough to fully utilize the playmaking abilities of Conley and Wade.

Yi Shui received the ball on the outside and hit a three-pointer over the help defense; Wade drove hard to the basket and used a Euro step for a 2+1 play.

The opponent closed in quickly on the wing, and Yi Shui stopped abruptly at the high post, raised the ball and passed it to the wing, where Chalmers received the ball and hit a three-pointer; Wade broke through and passed the ball to Chris Quinn, who hit a three-pointer from the corner.

Yi Shui grabbed the rebound and launched a fast break, passing to Du Hong midway through. Du Hong drove one-on-one into the opponent's basket, and Du Hong lobbed the ball to Swift, who followed behind Yi Shui and entered the basket for a dunk; Chris Quinn dribbled down the court, and Wade received the pass for an alley-oop dunk...

Yi Shui's style of play, which uses his own threat to drive the team's offense and then uses the team's offense to support himself, is in a back-and-forth battle with Wade's style of play, which relies on his individual ability to support the team.

When it comes to the rotation phase, with Wade out, Curry is the main scorer for the Knicks. When Wade is on the court defending Curry, D'Antoni will bring back the frontcourt duo of Yi Shui and Harrington. Curry will also voluntarily give up attacking against players of the All-Defensive First Team caliber and focus on assisting the ball and receiving shots.

Beasley doesn't have Curry's team spirit, but Spoelstra can keep him on the bench.

This was the power that Spoelstra fought for with Pat Riley after two months of the regular season.

The main point is that it's already been determined that this draft was a misjudgment. At best, Beasley can only become a decent sixth man for a strong team. Even as a starter, he can't be used as a 'scoring piece'. He's just a pure 'one-on-one player' and is powerless against strong defenses.

However, as long as Yi Shui is not present tonight, Beasley's superb one-on-one skills are indeed effective, and no one can stop him.

The score went back and forth between the two teams, with both teams having their moments of brilliance, but the opposing team was always able to respond quickly.

第二节比分30比31，尼克斯队小负1分，第三节比分28比25，尼克斯队小胜3分。

易水首节7分2板3助攻、第二节9分3板3助攻、第三节10分4板2助攻，三节26分8助攻，率队以93比89领先热火队4分！
韦德这边，首节8分2助攻、第二节10分2助攻、第三节14分，三节32分4助攻。

As the game progressed, the performance of the role players on both teams began to decline, while the individual scores of the two players increased.

Both of them noticed the changes in each other's playing style over the past three months.

In the early part of the season, Wade had to do everything, but now Conley has taken over most of the 'nanny' work, and he mainly focuses on scoring.

In the early part of the season, Yi Shui's assists were simply a matter of drawing double teams and then passing the ball. Now, their offensive capabilities, tactical command, and playmaking have all improved, which has made their scoring conditions better.

Wade was genuinely envious of Yi Shui's tall stature. He had always admired Jordan and Kobe for having the kind of physique that allowed them to play small forward without being at a disadvantage.

He didn't have a height advantage against Curry, who mainly plays point guard... Luckily, he has long arms.

...

During the final break, neither head coach substituted their star players, with Yi Shui and Wade continuing to play!

Yi Shui played 24 minutes in the first three quarters, with Wade playing slightly more at 26 minutes. Both teams had a rookie breakout performance that helped them maintain their lead. Both head coaches did a good job managing the playing time of their star players tonight.

Alongside Yi Shui, the Knicks fielded Duhon, Curry, David Lee, and Anderson, forming their best lineup in both half-court sets and fast breaks tonight.

Spoelstra paired Wade with a lineup of Conley, James Jones, Jamario Moon, and Haslem, which was the Heat's best team offense tonight.

Milicic was benched in the final quarter. This young center, who is only 23 years old, is indeed a good defender. When he is on the court, the Heat can have basic rim protection. However, he has no initiative on offense. When he is on the court, it becomes more difficult for Wade to drive in and score.

After the break, the fourth quarter began with the Knicks on offense.

Curry and Birdman initiated the offense with a pick-and-roll at the top of the key, passing the ball to Duhon on the sideline. Duhon then made a direct pass to Duhon at close range without stopping the ball.

Yi Shui received the ball, turned and pushed past Jamario Moon who was helping on defense, then faced Haslem who jumped and made a bank shot... and it went in!
The decisive quarter has arrived. As the star player of a team that wins by offense, Yi Shui knows that in a game where neither side can defend the other, the side that gains the upper hand at the start will have a great deal of initiative.

Since the opposing team didn't field a dominant center, not even Joel Anthony, he naturally had to take the initiative to attack inside!

In the transition, Wade called for the ball at the top of the key and went one-on-one, driving past Duhon and hitting a pull-up jumper just inside the free-throw line!

Although Wade didn't experience the run-and-gun style of Yi Shui when he entered the NBA, after playing for so many years, he naturally understands the importance of momentum in offensive battles.

Duhon had no chance against Wade. He recalled the media's comments about Wade when the All-Star starters were announced—after his mid-range shooting improved, Dwyane was like a face-up version of Michael Jordan, and no one could stop him.

When the Knicks were on offense, Yi Shui once again used a back cut to shake off James Jones and receive a pass from Curry at close range. However, this time, the player switching onto him wasn't Jamario Moon, who had height and energy but lacked the physical strength to withstand weight (weighing less than 100 kilograms), but Wade!

Instead of passing the ball directly to the two point guards like he did in the first three quarters, Yi Shui leaned on Wade and turned to the left!
Feeling Wade's movement, Yi Shui suddenly slapped the ball, pivoting on his left foot and then his right, turning his body back, grabbing the ball and taking a half-step back.

Wade immediately stepped up again, but Yi Shui had already bent his knees and lifted the ball!

Ignoring Wade's powerful jump, Yi Shui leaped up and unleashed a close-range jump shot from half a step to the right of the three-second zone... and it went in!
The Knicks lead 97-91, maintaining their six-point advantage!
Wade felt a chill run down his spine. Yi Shui had been using Beasley's power forward style of inside offense all along, and he had forgotten that Yi Shui's earlier playing style was that of a shooting guard or small forward!

This time, the ball was gathered and the step-back shot... seems to be T-Mac's high-post shooting style?
Yi Shui learned McGrady's offensive techniques, which Wade had also heard of, but he never expected that this guy would actually use them in low-post offense!
With such good static physical qualities, he can overpower forwards and guards in the low post like an inside player, yet he still wants to expand his skills and learn the low post back-to-the-basket moves of perimeter players.

At this moment, Wade questioned what his best friend had told him... "Dwyane, your offensive skills are already quite diverse. You should continue to optimize your strengths and leave the things you're not good at to the management so they can bring in the players you need."

Looking back now, my best friend's team, with salaries similar to the Knicks and paying similar luxury taxes, naturally had all the types of teammates he could want. Meanwhile, his team, in the 05-06 season when they won the championship, only had a salary of 6000 million, which was still a few million short of the luxury tax threshold.

With his salary cap tied up by several bad contracts and unable to make any signings, Yi Jianlian's team lacked a primary inside scorer, so he developed low-post offense; lacked a fast-break leader, so he led the charge; lacked a player with strong drive-and-kick ability, so he increased his post-up scoring and passing options...

Every time Wade plays against Yi Shui, he thinks a lot. The player he is closest to has a completely different personality and playing style from Yi Shui, but they are both players who have been in the spotlight since entering the NBA and have outstanding talent. It is too easy for him to make all sorts of associations.

Fortunately, Wade's thought process is relatively simple. Once he got to the frontcourt, his attention was focused on the game, so he didn't really lose focus...

Wade received a pass from Conley and continued his drive to the basket!
This time, Curry left Conley wide open and relentlessly closed in. Wade drove past Curry into the paint, and although he wasn't completely shut down, Curry's physical contact slowed his advance, giving Yi Shui the opportunity to collapse into position.

The space for a close-range pull-up jump shot was blocked by Yi Shui, and the landing point of the Euro step was blocked by the birdman who had come in. Wade had no choice but to pass the ball to Conley, who was waiting on the sideline.

But Duhon, who hadn't kept up with Wade's advance, had already switched to defend Conley.

Conley received the ball and faked a shot, Duhon jumped and then pulled up for a mid-range jump shot... That was way too much, he missed!
Yi Shui held off Wade's aggressive rebound, Birdman secured the defensive rebound, passed the ball to Du Hong, and started a fast break!

The Heat's small-ball lineup and defensive formation were good, and they managed to stop the Knicks' fast break formation. However, they couldn't stop Yi Shui's aggressive drives to the basket!
Yi Shui pushed past James Jones and charged into the paint. Jamario Moon collapsed from the wing and couldn't get there in time. Yi Shui received the lob pass from Du Hong, took a step, and, overpowering Haslem who was pressing forward, slammed the ball into the basket!
The Knicks led 99-91, extending their lead to 8 points!
When the Heat got on offense, Wade felt the pressure mounting. He had to make that shot! Otherwise, the Heat could very well collapse at the start of the fourth quarter!
He hadn't noticed it in the last round, but this time he noticed the opponent's defensive movements in advance. The entire opposing team was watching him, which instantly reminded him of the unpleasant memory of being "one against five" in their last encounter.

But he still chose to charge in!

With Curry blocking his way on the wing, Yi Jianlian providing support up close, and Birdman boxing out under the basket… Wade, while battling against the collapsing Curry at the free-throw line, grabbed the ball, took three big strides straight to the front of the rim, and powerfully floated the ball over David Lee's interference… and it went in! He even drew a foul on David Lee!
As the league's renowned king of 2+0 plays, Wade made the free throw this time, increasing his personal score to 37 points while narrowing the gap to 5 points and stabilizing the situation.

However, this offensive play only happened once. In the next three possessions, Wade only managed one successful shot, scoring with a Euro step.

Having grown accustomed to playing against disciplined defensive teams, he found himself struggling against the Knicks' mindless yet effective double-teaming defense, and was forced to pass the ball.

The key issue was that on two separate occasions, Jamario Moon and Conley, who were receiving the passes, both missed their three-point attempts!

Seeing that they couldn't stop Yi Shui from attacking the basket, and that Yi Shui used his height to threaten a turnaround step-back jumper to score when Wade tried to block him in the low post, they followed suit and collapsed to block under the basket, successfully forcing Yi Shui to pass the ball. They limited Yi Shui even better than the Knicks had limited Wade, and Yi Shui didn't get a single shot attempt in 3 possessions.

But Curry hit a three-pointer after receiving the pass! David Lee also made one of his two mid-range jumpers after receiving the ball!
首节11分、第二节5分、第三节3分的库里，这次三分命中后，得分来到22分，新秀年第5次单场20+！

96 to 104, the score difference has reached 8 points again!
When it was the Heat's turn to attack, Wade ignored everything and drove in. Facing a flurry of hands flying everywhere, he opted for a pull-up fadeaway jumper... but missed!
Yi Shui grabbed the defensive rebound, and facing Wade's pressure, passed the ball to Du Hong, who then initiated a fast break.

Relying on the attacking threat from Yi Shui and the long-range threat from Curry, who made his fourth three-pointer of the night, Du Hong successfully passed the ball to David Lee, who cut in from the wing and scored two points with a floater.

The Knicks led 106-96, and the Heat called a timeout!

After the timeout, Wade stared at the big screen for a while before heading to the bench.

The 10-point difference wasn't what caught his attention. This season, his teammates were weaker than ever before. They had lost count of how many times they had fallen behind by more than ten points. They had come back from behind quite a few times, and of course, they had also failed to do so quite a few times... That wasn't what he cared about.

It's data from Yishui!
末节打了4分钟，易水拿到6分1板2助攻，本场比赛总数据提升到了32分10板10助攻……又三双了！
Why "again"? Because Yi Shui's first triple-double in his career was achieved right over his big jaw!
Wade once again thought of his good buddy. That guy, when playing against him, he couldn't beat him one-on-one. His scoring wasn't usually high, but his assists were always plentiful, and he had many triple-doubles...

...

In this half-quarter of the star battle between Yi Shui and Wade, although Wade scored 7 points, more than Yi Shui, the Knicks pulled ahead by a full 6 points, and there was no doubt that Wade lost.

While Wade's confidence and drive remained unaffected, players with strong mental fortitude like Conley and Haslem were also fine.

But this is a huge blow to other role players!
After the timeout, Wade tried to launch another counterattack, but failed. His teammates lost confidence in receiving the ball and shooting, and missed many shots. His personal offense was also blocked. He scored 7 points in the first 4 minutes and only 6 points in the next nearly 8 minutes. The team only scored 13 points.

On the Knicks' side, the role players were in high spirits! Although they were a bit tired at the start due to the intense attacks from Yi Shui, and their shooting touch returned to the lukewarm state of the third quarter, they worked hard with their 'brainless double-teams' to prevent Wade from scoring. Their scoring efficiency was not high in the last 8 minutes, and the team only scored 16 points, but that was enough!

At 8:24 p.m., the final whistle blew.

易水出战36分钟，23投13中，其中三分球7中3，加上8中7的罚球，拿到36分13板11助攻，力压35投17中、其中三分球7中2、外加13中9的罚球拿到45分的韦德！

The Knicks defeated the Heat 122-109, a 13-point advantage!

After the game, the Knicks players hugged and celebrated.

After grinding through three quarters, they decisively defeated their opponent at the start of the final quarter. It was a very satisfying game!

Besides that, there are other things to be happy about.

The Heat have been on a rapid rise. From looking like they should be tanking after the first month, they are now in playoff contention and have a chance to reach the sixth seed in the East. The Knicks' goal is to finish in the top three and avoid facing the other four of the top five teams in the East in the first round. There is a certain probability that they will meet the Heat in the first round.

Similar to the Hawks, the Knicks have only faced the Heat three times in the regular season, and they have won the first two meetings, giving them a psychological advantage!
Also, their defense in the final quarter was quite good, limiting the opponent's score to 109 points...

Giving up 109 points is a lot for other teams, but for the Knicks...

Before tonight, they were conceding an average of 106.8 points per game.

Only the Warriors, who allow an average of 113 points per game, and the Suns, who allow an average of 107.5 points per game, have allowed more points than them.

They can't control how many points their opponents score; they win by scoring more points than their opponents!

While celebrating with his teammates, Yi Shui noticed something... Had the game ended even a minute ago? Most of the seats were empty! Even if the fans flew, they couldn't have moved that fast!

No wonder there were no more boos after that.

Hearing Yi Shui's question, Chalmers replied, "After we widened the gap to 10 points, they started leaving the court. I heard the fans behind the bench cursing Wade and Conley for being useless."

Yi Shui's attention was focused on how to double-team Wade, how to pass the ball, and how to score, and he didn't notice anything else.

"Miami basketball fans... Pat Riley is definitely a good fit for this city."

After grumbling for a moment, Yi Shui returned to the bench and threw the keychain he had bought that morning at the American Airlines Arena into the empty seats behind the bench.

It doesn't matter which fan picks it up, which staff member takes it, or which trash it gets thrown away.

The next time I play the Heat, it will be at home, so there won't be any Heat merchandise on the wall of my study during my rookie year!
We might face off in the playoffs... so let's try not to leave any weak links in the playoffs!
...

With All-Star Weekend approaching, the league has scheduled many popular games in the days leading up to the holiday to build hype for the event.

The Knicks... are not among the favorites for a matchup.

Despite David Stern's high expectations for Yi Shui, he didn't expect him to be so strong in his rookie year, nor did he expect Walsh to be so efficient and decisive, even at a loss, to get rid of players like Crawford and Randolph who had toxic playing styles. The Knicks got back on track and became the most offensively potent team in the league, making waves in the Eastern Conference.

Today's featured games in the league are: Cavaliers vs. Lakers and Hornets vs. Jazz.

23 vs 24, Paul vs Deron Williams, are among the three most anticipated star matchups in the league today. Another popular matchup is Garnett vs Duncan, which was yesterday's hot game.

But tonight's two nationally televised, highly anticipated matches were both played rather 'mediocre'.

The Lakers easily defeated the Cavaliers 104-88.

Kobe scored 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting, a respectable performance.

James was guarded by Kobe and Ariza, and stifled by the three towers of Bynum, Gasol and Odom. He made 5 of 15 shots and scored 13 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists. It's hard to say whether his performance was good or bad.

The game was largely predictable, and there was little tactical or technical analysis afterward; the only interaction was a war of words between Kobe and LeBron fans.

爵士队以116比96屠杀黄蜂队，德隆34分4板11助攻，爆捶18分9助攻的保罗，赛后新闻热度也没有达到理想状态。

On the contrary, the Knicks vs. Heat game, which was not so popular and was only broadcast on US cable and in state broadcasts, generated a lot of buzz after the game!
Wade lost to Yishui again! He scored 45 points but still lost!

Yi Shui achieved his fourth triple-double in his rookie season, surpassing Odom and tying Kidd to become the active player with the most triple-doubles in his rookie season!

Previously, neither the media nor the fans considered Yi Shui to be an 'all-around' player, but rather a scorer.

Despite his outstanding physique, he didn't have many rebounds. Before facing the Heat, he only had 16 games with double-digit rebounds in his first 50 games, fewer than Brook Lopez and far fewer than Kevin Love, who averaged 10+ rebounds per game.

He averages 5+ assists per game, but has the fewest double-digit assist games among players with 5+ assists, having only 4 double-digit assist games before playing the Heat.

Yi Shui has always given people the impression of being a rebounder, a passer, a playmaker, and a player who goes for the basket. But he is not obsessed with rebounds and assists; he loves scoring and uses all sorts of methods to score over his opponents.

The result is that these mere 17 double-digit rebounds and 5 double-digit assists had 4 overlapping instances!
After the media compiled this data, it led to two different opinions among fans.

One is that Yi Shui doesn't crave stats and doesn't pursue triple-doubles; the other is that Yi Shui will go all out to get triple-doubles whenever he has the chance.

The two viewpoints are not actually contradictory, but those who support different views stand on the opposite side...

...

The next day, the buzz surrounding Yi Shui's triple-double versus Wade's 40+ point performance continued to grow, and public opinion shifted in a direction unfavorable to Wade.

The incident in mid-November when the two faced off, in which Wade tried to dominate and show off but ended up getting beaten instead, has been brought up again by fans for discussion.

Just bad luck...

Meanwhile, Yi Shui followed the team to Orlando, another major city in Florida.

After a night's rest, they faced the Magic on the road on February 11th.

The Magic are a very special team. Sometimes they're on fire, making 20 three-pointers in a single game, and other times they're incredibly cold!
Yi Shui had experienced games where the opponent's shooting touch was off and the game was completely unplayable. This time, he felt just how amazing the Magic's shooting group could be when they were on fire.

The Magic took a staggering 31 three-point attempts, setting a new NBA season record for most three-point attempts in a single game! However, they only made 8, for a mere 25.8% success rate!

The Magic's offense became increasingly chaotic, and a key reason for this was the injury of Jameer Nelson, who was supposed to control the tempo. While Turkoglu possessed the ability to organize the offense, controlling the tempo was not his forte.

When the All-Star reserve roster was announced, many people didn't understand how Nelson could make the All-Star team, but after he was sidelined with a serious injury, the Magic went 1-2, and his importance suddenly became apparent.

The Knicks, who played terribly in half-court offense tonight, capitalized on the opponent's missed long-range shots, the wide-ranging rebounds, and Howard's inability to secure offensive rebounds, launching a furious counterattack! They countered every missed shot, forced fast breaks, and even when the fast breaks didn't create open looks, they quickly took shots...

The Knicks took 86 shots in total, 36 of which were fast break or strong fast break shots!
On the defensive end, the Knicks naturally collapsed to shut down Howard. If one person couldn't hold him up, they had to rely on their own strength to make up for it!
At 10:24 PM, a game in which both sides were frantically missing shots ended.

The Knicks shot 37-for-86, a mere 43% field goal percentage, far below their usual level. However, the Magic managed to pull away, shooting only 32-for-87, a mere 36.8% field goal percentage.

易水25投10中，其中三分球7中2，加上4中3的罚球，拿到25分7板3助攻，率领尼克斯队以95比88险胜魔术队！
(End of this chapter)