Champion, please stay!

Chapter 165, Section 163: The Emperor vs. the Black Mamba!
When Yi Shui dunked, with Mbenga on his back and the other four Lakers players surrounding him from behind, the fans in the arena erupted in a deafening cheer!

One against five? Every team has a superstar who can take on five opponents.
As the opposing team retreated on defense, everyone excitedly high-fived and bumped chests with Yi Shui, Kobe put his hands on his hips.

Whether Yi Shui scored 12 points in the first quarter or Curry scored 10 points in the first half of the quarter, in Kobe's eyes, it was nothing special.

But this shot really surprised him.

It's not that this dunk was particularly brutal; Yi Shui took a step and jumped from that position and wasn't even blocked. If it were O'Neal or Yao Ming, they would still become the background without a foul.

He was shocked by Yi Shui's breakthrough!
Kobe remembers that it was around mid-January when he watched the 'Second Chinese Derby' and saw Yi Shui use this move for the first time. The defender was none other than McGrady.

At the time, he thought that it was just a young player deliberately using the veteran star's tricks in front of the veteran star. He also liked to do this when he first entered the NBA, but he didn't use this trick when facing Artest's defense.

But when it came to the All-Star Rookie Game, Kobe suddenly realized that Yi Shui had mastered this move!
Although the styles are different—McGrady relies on explosive acceleration and faster second and third steps to shake off his opponent's defense; Yi Shui uses his physical advantages to knock his opponent aside—it is indeed the same technique, only this rookie has modified it to suit his own style.

Kobe found it incredible at that time. He asked Vanessa, who was good with computers, to check it out. According to New York media reports, Yi Shui became interested in this move after playing against McGrady in the Christmas game and then learned it...

It's only been a little over a month since All-Star Weekend, and Yi Shui has already developed his left hand!

While his explosive drives and powerful ball-handling skills can't compare to McGrady's explosive acceleration back in the day, Yi Shui has better static physical attributes!
Kobe tugged at his collar and excitedly ran towards the frontcourt.

He originally thought that Wade, Paul, James, and others would be his new rivals in the later stages of his career.

Unexpectedly, ten years into his professional career, new generation super talents like Roy, Durant, Rose, and Yi Shui have emerged!

He finally understood why Jordan made a comeback when he was almost 40.

How could anyone not be captivated by such a basketball world?
...

Upon reaching the frontcourt, Kobe continued to attack, posting up and turning right. This time it wasn't a fake; he drove straight to the basket, grabbed the ball, turned around, leaned on Anderson, and jumped, avoiding the other side's help defense. In mid-air, he switched the ball to his left hand, dodging Chalmers' attempt to steal the ball, and then launched a left-handed backheel floater... and it went in!
In the transition between offense and defense, Yi Shui attacked with the ball, and Kobe rushed up to defend closely.

Yi Shui didn't dodge, but pressed forward. Just as they were about to collide, he dribbled between his legs and pulled to the side. The moment he received the ball with his left hand, he stepped out with his right foot, drove to the left side of the basket, cut diagonally to the right side of the basket, grabbed the ball facing Mbenga, bent down and stepped up, crouched down and slid along the baseline, took a big step from the right side of the basket to the left side of the basket, and scored with a reverse layup!

Elementary school student-style fast-paced drives + Beasley-style low-post face-up 'small against big'!
Yi Shui and Kobe Bryant delivered consecutive responses!
The cheers at the basketball mecca continued unabated!

Curry's explosive performance in the first half of the quarter had already excited the fans, and this scene has made them even more thrilled!

They couldn't help but shout "Kobe," not to cheer for the other player, but because they wanted to see Yi Shui and Kobe continue their one-on-one battle!

Then... the fans saw Kobe pass the ball.

The Knicks' double-teaming strategy against Kobe had its own rhythm. They relied on positioning and the basics of using five players to double-team and block Kobe from various positions. If they could stop him, they would continue to defend him that way. If they couldn't stop him, they would really use a 5-on-1 defense!

As soon as Kobe received the ball at the high post, Yi Shui double-teamed him. Kobe turned and got past Yi Shui and Da Q's double-team. David Lee and Harrington surrounded him, and Da Q was chasing from behind. He didn't even have room to jump. He could only rely on their understanding to throw the ball to the left side of the free throw line.

It was only because Gasol and Kobe had good chemistry and moved into position in time that no mistakes were made.

But Gasol missed the shot after receiving the ball!

Yi Shui secured the rebound before Mbenga could, and Kobe and Gasol led their teammates in an aggressive defensive retreat, forcing the Knicks into a half-court game.

Harrington received the ball and advanced into the attacking third, then passed it to Yi Shui again.

Kobe stepped back on defense this time, taking a gamble. Yi Shui received the ball and jumped without hesitation!
Kobe reacted incredibly quickly, leaping high to try and disrupt the play, unaware that his action had made him a sitting duck...

'Tower Sniper' is triggered, compensating for the loss of shooting rhythm caused by pull-up jumpers, and also triggering the chance of having a hot hand!
Yi Shui's three-pointer was like a shot with a scope, hitting the bullseye every time!

The Knicks led 62-55, extending their lead to 7 points!
When it was Kobe's turn to attack, he received the ball directly outside the three-point line, but before he could even lift the ball, Da Q had already stuck to him, and Yi Shui also rushed up from the left side of the top arc.

He dribbled the ball quickly with his left hand, drove past Da Q to the right and broke through. After two steps into the three-point line, he stopped abruptly, jumped to face Yi Shui who was chasing after him after Da Q, passed the ball in mid-air, and made a layup on the left side of the basket. Mbenga scored with an easy layup.

When it was Yi Shui's turn to attack, facing Kobe who was closing in again, he continued to use his rhythmic style to break through.

After a series of matchups, Kobe realized that Yi Shui had not only incorporated his left hand into his 'McGrady-style explosive drives', but also made greater use of his left hand in terms of rhythm and flow, making him even harder to defend.

Mbenga, who had been repeatedly scored on by Yi Shui, blocked the shot this time. Yi Shui passed to the left, and Birdman rushed into the basket to receive the ball and made a layup, which drew a foul from Gasol who was collapsing.

Birdman stepped to the free-throw line, and the Zen Master got up to substitute him.

Farmar replaced Fisher, Ariza replaced Luke Walton, and Josh Powell replaced Gasol. Kobe and Mbenga continued to play.

On the other side, D'Antoni also made personnel adjustments, replacing Harrington with Wilson Chandler and Chalmers with Duhon, while Big Q, Yi Shui, and Birdman continued to play.

Seeing the substitutions made by both teams, the commentator exclaimed, "Jackson and D'Antoni have put Black Mamba and Embiid into a one-on-one lineup!"

This Lakers roster feels like a return to the era two years ago when Kobe was dominating the rotation, paired with a point guard who could drive and push the fast break, a small forward who could drive and shoot, a power forward with a shot, and a blue-collar center who could finish at the rim.

With the Knicks' lineup, Yi Shui was moved directly to the power forward position. No one on the court was taller than him. Big Q and Wilson Chandler could both run and shoot, Birdman could drive, and Duhon could shoot and push the ball.

Birdman made his first free throw, but missed his second. Yi Shui's attempt to steal the ball failed, and he was held off by Mbenga, who was only responsible for boxing out.

Ariza secured the defensive rebound and passed it to Farmar. Just as the commentator predicted, Farmar received the ball and quickly advanced the ball, launching a fast break!
Facing the Lakers' five physically gifted players, the Knicks managed to retreat with their aggressive defense, but they were in disarray. Kobe received the ball, drove straight to the baseline, turned, and jumped to score from the high post.

The Knicks players all collapsed to the basket and baseline, Josh Powell received the ball high up and made a mid-range jumper!

When facing defensive shots, Gasol is far superior to Josh Powell, with a 49% mid-range shooting percentage and a 41% long two-point shooting percentage this season. At the power forward position, only Stoudemire, Nowitzki, and Boozer have better overall mid-range shooting, while David Lee, David West, and others are somewhat inferior.

But Josh Powell is more consistent when it comes to spot-up mid-range shots and long two-pointers!

As a member of the 07 Warriors' "We Believe" team, he was a fringe player with only two strengths: speed and a mid-range shot. He was almost unemployed at one point, but it was precisely these two strengths that caught the eye of Phil Jackson, who signed him to a 3-year, $270 million contract, making him a key rotation player for this championship contender. When it was the Knicks' turn to attack, Yi Shui received the ball, and his defender was now Ariza. Facing Ariza's tight defense, he continued his strong drive… Lakers players were already closing in at close range!

Phil Jackson's purpose in bringing in this lineup was not actually to create better one-on-one opportunities for Kobe or to reduce the strain on Kobe's defense.

In the first few rounds, Kobe was at a disadvantage in one-on-one situations, not because of his ability, but because of the offensive environment. The Knicks' team defense couldn't stop him, and they just double-teamed him without thinking.

Phil Jackson knew that Kobe was already on fire and couldn't be stopped. Substituting players wouldn't create better scoring opportunities for Kobe. The opposing team could leave even an All-Star like Gasol open, let alone players like Josh Powell and Ariza.

His purpose in making the substitution was to make it more difficult for Yi Shui to score!

Fisher and Gasol, from the 96 and 01 classes respectively, are both veterans with a steady playing style. Even if you assign them mindless double-teaming, they might not be able to stick to it.

So he brought on the young and impulsive Farmar and Ariza, and the defensively hapless Josh Powell! He also brought on the equally impulsive Mbenga, who spread out early, to surround Yi Shui!
However, something unexpected happened to the Zen master.

Facing the triple threat, Yi Shui didn't pass the ball. Instead, he braked and, facing a three-man defense from Josh Powell, Mbenga, and Farmar, launched a close-range jump shot...

Wilson Chandler and Birdman are charging towards the basket along both baselines! A basket in this situation would be a steal, 2 points and 1 rebound!
And this time, the strong shot went in!

Yi Shui scored 9 consecutive points, bringing his total to 21!
65 to 57, a difference of 8 points!
The Zen Master's approach is sound; this kind of defense is effective against other scorers, even Wade, Iverson in his prime, or Kobe and Jordan in their prime.

But Yi Shui is clearly not the conventional type of player. He insists on shooting. As long as he has the opportunity to lift the ball, whether it goes in or not is another matter. But just shooting... no one can stop him from throwing the ball out!

When the Lakers' more impulsive defensive players used their speed to block Yi Shui and didn't even give him a chance to jump and lift the ball, Yi Shui wasn't stupid; he passed the ball when he needed to.

As Phil Jackson predicted, Kobe's scoring environment did not improve with the change to a lineup more suited to isolation plays and passing; in fact, it worsened when the opposing team brought in another small forward.

Of course, Kobe wasn't as clueless as before; he still passed the ball when he needed to. However, Farmar and Ariza, who were outside the three-point line, performed far worse than Duhon and Big Q on the other side!

Josh Powell is very accurate, but he scored a goal only to have it blocked.

Even if the Knicks don't care about defense anymore, they'll still try to cover for a player if they see him standing on the left side of the three-second zone.

Such one-on-one situations are actually not suitable for mid-range catchers like Josh Powell. D'Antoni avoided this problem well by replacing all the catchers with three-point shooters.

After a few rounds, the Knicks extended their lead to double digits!

When it was the Lakers' turn to attack, Kobe glanced at the big screen as he ran up the court. He had worked so hard on his drive-and-dish game, and the score was 65-76, down by 11 points! They were down 11-8!

He has scored 8 points since coming on in the second half of the quarter, bringing his total to 13 points. On the other hand, Yi Shui has already scored 13 points in this half-quarter and has a total of 25 points!

Kobe got serious. He came to the frontcourt, received the ball at the top of the arc, ran around the three-point line, rushed to the right 45-degree angle, stopped abruptly, turned and jumped, facing the chasing defenders, Big Q and Wilson Chandler, and launched a fadeaway three-pointer... It went in!
Forget about spreading the word, just do it yourself!
Kobe scored 11 points in the first half of the quarter, bringing the score to 68-76, narrowing the gap to 8 points!
Du Hong received the serve and quickly advanced the ball.

A strong counterattack!

The Lakers' worst performance in defending Yi Shui in these past few possessions has been in defending fast breaks!
When defending a fast break, the Knicks didn't hesitate to close out the paint, shut down Kobe, and leave other players open, but the Lakers' role players couldn't do that. Their athleticism was usually used to coordinate with the stars to control the opponent's pace.

The Knicks' defense crumbled at the slightest provocation, but their offensive formation was impeccable, especially during Duhon's fast breaks, with Big Q and Wilson Chandler flying down the wings and Birdman pushing up the middle.

Yi Shui followed up with a pass from Du Hong and drove straight to the basket. When the Lakers players surrounded him, Yi Shui had already dribbled to the right position, raised the ball, and laid it off to score against the onrushing Josh Powell!
The Knicks lead 78-68, a 10-point advantage! Yi Shui has scored 15 points in just half a quarter!
It was the Lakers' turn to attack again. Kobe received the ball and sprinted around the three-point line. Big Q and Wilson Chandler chased after him and tried to defend him. Kobe turned and drove forward, and the two of them blocked him. Kobe stopped abruptly, gathered the ball, retreated to the three-point line, and pulled up for a shot... and it went in again!
The moment the ball hit the basket, the referee blew his whistle, calling a foul on Wilson Chandler for hitting Kobe's arm the instant after he released the ball!

CCTV commentator Wei Ping-Bryant exclaimed, "He dared to shoot like that... Hey, it went in! Kobe time!"

With Kobe making the free throw and completing a 3+1 play, the score reached 72-78, narrowing the gap to 6 points. He also tied Yi Shui's score in half a quarter, reaching 15 points!
While Kobe was shooting free throws, Phil Jackson made a lineup rotation, bringing on Fisher, Odom, and Gasol, while Ariza remained on the court, bringing back the starting lineup!
At this point, the Zen Master regretted it. They were no longer suited to the mindless style of play they had used two or three years ago. Playing like that had only put them in the rhythm that the opponent liked.

Fortunately, Kobe went on a scoring spree, racking up 7 points and bringing the deficit back to single digits. The opposing team held on for the last possession, so they didn't lose too much in this half-quarter of the battle.

D'Antoni didn't make any substitutions. Duhon is their most accurate spot-up shooter, Big Q is their most consistent player for catching and shooting, Wilson Chandler has good opportunities to cut into the opponent's power forward in mismatch situations, and Birdman is their second-best player in second-chance points after Yi Shui... This lineup is very suitable for Yi Shui to execute the final attack.

With only 17 seconds left in the first half, Du Hong received the serve and advanced to the frontcourt, protected the ball, and ran down the clock. With 8 seconds left, he passed the ball to Yi Shui and pulled away to the left sideline.

Yi Shui was making a one-on-one move from the right side at a 45-degree angle, and the one guarding him was none other than Kobe!

Facing Kobe's relentless pressure, Yi Shui changed direction and charged forward!

Kobe stepped back sharply after Yi Shui entered the three-point line, but Yi Shui's advance was not fast. He took a big step into the three-point line and stopped, gathering the ball. Kobe exerted his strength in advance, pushed back, and pounced on him!

At this distance, if Yi Shui takes a step back and shoots, Kobe is confident he can withstand the impact on Yi Shui's lower body when Yi Shui jumps.

If Yi Shui's catch was a feint and he got past him, Kobe would confidently pass the ball behind his back to Fisher, Odom, and Gasol.

However, Yi Shui actually caught the ball, and immediately made a shooting motion, not giving Kobe a chance to close the gap. He jumped and launched a long two-pointer over the onrushing Kobe...

Kobe exerted force at the distance of the three-point line and couldn't stop, colliding with Yi Shui. Yi Shui had already released the ball before the contact arrived!
Yi Shui and Kobe both fell to the ground. The referee blew his whistle, and the two men on the floor looked at the referee's gesture, but their emotions were completely different!

Yi Shui rolled over, moving a little away from Kobe, then lifted his legs and sprang up from the floor like a carp leaping out of water.

Kobe, in a fit of rage, slammed his fist on the floor.

The referee indicated that Kobe committed a defensive foul, Yi Shui's goal was valid, and an additional penalty was awarded!
After Yi Shuichi made the free throw after a few seconds of slow adjustment, Kobe missed a three-pointer from the center circle...

At halftime, the score was 81-72, with the Knicks leading the Lakers by 9 points going into the break.

易水第二节9投6中、其中三分球2中1，加上5中5的罚球，半节狂轰18分！
力压9投5中、其中三分球3中2、加上3中3的罚球半节拿到15分的科比！

(End of this chapter)