Champion, please stay!

Chapter 259, Section 257: The Emperor vs. the Black Mamba (Part 2)

A gorilla flip-flop jump shot?
The image of Ewing's turnaround jump shot flashed through Yi Shui's mind...

He did remember that a few days ago, the opening ceremony of the Ewing Basketball Training Camp was held at Madison Square Garden. Yi Shui, Curry, and David Lee, three All-Stars, gave face to the team legend and went to join in the fun.

That day, they played highlights of Ewing's peak, showcasing his superb skills.

Ewing's turnaround jump shot, like a rabbit leaping up and turning, landing with a twitching motion and then shooting, is still fresh in Yi Shui's memory!

When he thought of that scene, his first instinct was to reject it. Even Curry was complaining at the time—that move was deadly, but too ugly.

But the thought of giving Durant a "face makeover," adding some shoulder width, and lengthening his neck makes his movements incredibly stylish.

Perhaps, the gorilla's rabbit kick is the same?
That's all he could think of. If he felt it was really ugly by then, he would learn the technique first and then adjust the details of the movements.

That move looked really powerful!

Even with his leg so badly injured, Ewing, who was almost 32 years old, could still jump up and create shooting space against Hakeem Olajuwon, who had just won the Defensive Player of the Year award, and made 5 consecutive shots.

The most important thing is the basic skills related to that move. If you can quickly get the hang of it, it will save you a lot of time.

Think about developing a fadeaway jump shot; after two and a half months, it's only in its basic form, and we don't dare to use it lightly unless absolutely necessary. As for Durant's crossover and Anthony's triple threat, although they are supported by the basics of McGrady's version of the triple threat and Beasley's version of mismatch isolation, they can be used in games after a few days of practice, and there is still a big difference.

易水看了眼大屏幕，上面贴着两队表现最好的4名球员的数据——库里5分2助攻、阿泰斯特5分、易水8分1助攻、科比8分1助攻。

Tonight, Old Ironman was just like him, leaving the regular offense to his teammates. He only stepped up for one-on-one shots when necessary, except for catching and shooting. He missed the catching shots, but he made all the one-on-one shots.

他前半节，进了两个中投、两个攻框；科比开局一个攻框、4比9落后的时候一个三分、9比13落后的时候一个2+1。

Good news—Kobe and his teammates, possibly due to fatigue, were not in sync and failed to execute their usual plays, resulting in Kobe missing both of his shot attempts.

Bad news – Kobe was in excellent form in one-on-one situations tonight. Even when Hughes made a mistake while helping on defense, Kobe was still able to make the shot.

Yi Shui glanced at the objective of the "See You in New York" mission, which was to win the game; the first objective of "Reject Milestone Tragedy" was also to win the game...

...

Yi Shui brought Curry, Webster, Barnes, and Ben Wallace onto the court.

Chandler performed well in the first half of the quarter, but the old problem remains – stamina. It's best if his playing time is less than 30 minutes. If he plays more than 30 minutes, his mobility will decline significantly, and the risk of injury will increase.

This is a problem the Knicks need to solve this summer. Right now, Ben Wallace can last for more than ten minutes. After his contract expires, they definitely can't keep him on a minimum salary. Dumars is calling for Wallace to return, but the team will be in trouble if he's on a salary higher than the minimum.

Birdman is good; he can be used to fill in either of the two interior positions where there is a shortage of players, and it's worth keeping him on a long-term contract. However, he cannot be the core of interior defense.

On the opposing side, Phil Jackson substituted Farmar, Kobe, Artest, Odom, and Gasol.

The Lakers' main rotation is almost the same as last season, except that Ariza has been replaced by Artest, and the other nine players remain unchanged.

This is the characteristic of the Zen Master's coaching style: during the championship season, the main rotation is almost unchanged. The advantage is that there is no need for an adjustment period in the new season and the stability is high. The disadvantage... well, it can't be called a disadvantage - it especially tests the quality of the superstars.

After the timeout, the Lakers went on offense.

Kobe was dribbling past Barnes one-on-one, and perhaps because the defender had changed from a disruptive style to a more physical one, he seemed a little unaccustomed to it. He was getting past Barnes more easily, but his pull-up jumper from the left side of the free-throw line missed!

Turning around, Yi Shui ran out from the baseline, stopped abruptly on the left high post to receive the ball, turned around, and pulled up for a mid-range jumper over Odom who was chasing him... and it went in!
The person defending Yi Shui has changed, from the rough and tumble Artest to the tall and long-armed Odom. But when it comes to rhythm, he is completely unaffected by his skills such as 'tower sniping' and 'braking genius'!
The Knicks extended their lead to 7 points, 23-16!
When it was the Lakers' turn to attack, Kobe continued to dribble and attack. He was outnumbered, and facing Barnes' defense, he adopted a triple threat stance, took a step, pushed, took another step... and pulled up for a fadeaway three-pointer... and it went in!
Barnes' defense made it easier for Kobe to shoot, and he was a little uncomfortable with it. So, if there's no difficulty, he should actively create difficulty!
19 to 23, the gap has narrowed to 4 points again!
After a brief exchange, Yi Shui and Kobe once again tacitly handed over the offensive initiative to their teammates.

However, the two had completely different ideas.

Yi Shui's thought was—if one-on-one attacks can't widen the score gap, then he shouldn't waste his energy.

Kobe's idea was to let his teammates deal with the opposing team's team offense while they were still in good physical condition, and then have the star players take on Embiid one-on-one.

The two teams continued their intense offensive and defensive battle, and both teams changed their playing styles compared to their strongest starting lineups.

The Lakers' second unit has a weaker interior offensive threat, but its tactics are more diverse. When Gasol is defended by Yi Shui, he moves to the outside. When he is defended by Ben Wallace, he sits in the low post and uses his height to attract double teams and organize the offense. Odom and Gasol can also take turns initiating the offense in the paint while the other person facilitates.
On the defensive end, the rim protection has weakened. Gasol is better at disrupting regular drives to the basket than Bynum, but he can't withstand strong attacks. Webster's timing for cutting in is perfect, and he can drive to the basket against Gasol, leaving Gasol helpless. However, Odom and Artest's partnership on the wing has improved their rotation defense, help defense on perimeter shooters, and double-teaming.

The Knicks' second unit played a much simpler offensive game than their opponents. It was just Curry and Ben Wallace starting the offense with pick-and-rolls, with Barnes cutting, Webster receiving the pass, and Yi Shui grabbing the rebound or taking the hit. On the defensive end, they mainly focused on Artest. Either Webster or Barnes could handle Artest's position.

With Curry receiving a pass from Yi Shui on the sideline after a screen from Webster, he hit a three-pointer, giving the Knicks a 36-31 lead over the Lakers at the end of the first quarter!
During the break, Kobe returned to the bench, glanced at the data on the big screen, and then focused his attention on Curry's stats.

6投3中，其中三分球3中2，拿到8分3助攻！

He scored 14 points and 2 assists, while Yi Shui scored 13 points and 3 assists, their performances were similar, but Curry's performance was better than anyone else on their side.

Kobe recalled a rival from the same draft class and asked Phil Jackson, "It seems like the other team is imitating the Suns' style of play?"

The Zen Master nodded and replied, "The opponent's strategy tonight is similar to the Suns' strategy when they played against us last week. The Suns' offensive system was originally left behind by D'Antoni. The new tactics devised by Gentry are within D'Antoni's system framework. D'Antoni can play any tactic that the Suns can play, as long as the conditions are right. The addition of that high school center Chandler is the condition that allows them to execute this strategy."

The main reason is that Yi Jianlian is such a special player. He's so young, yet his playing style is so mature..."

"..."

Old Blacksmith: 凸＝＝凸, if you want to curse me, just curse me directly. Why are you being so sarcastic? Why don't you write a book about it? No, this old guy has already written a book to curse me, 凸凸凸.

Kobe put aside his resentment towards the Zen Master for now; it's their honeymoon period, and he can't think about those things, lest they affect his mood.

Every win is crucial for the Lakers right now, as they are in a critical moment vying with the Suns and Mavericks for the top spot in the Western Conference. Every loss could push them further away from that position.

The Mavericks are alright, but what Kobe is worried about is the Suns, who have returned to their run-and-gun style. With DeAndre Jordan and Alvin Gentry's targeted improvements to the run-and-gun offense, they have given the Suns a lot of trouble every time they face them this season.

Tonight's Knicks team, with the Suns as a reference for their offensive tactics, has become a headache for them. If the Knicks make it to the Finals... Kobe is really looking forward to it.

...

In the first half of the second quarter, Curry, Yi Shui, Kobe, and Gasol were all placed on the bench to rest.

Phil Jackson led the team with a twin towers lineup of Odom and Bynum; Mike D'Antoni led the team with Duhon and David Lee.

D'Antoni was prepared for the point difference to narrow or even be overtaken, and his goal for this half-quarter was to speed up the pace and wear down the Lakers.

The Zen Master also hopes that the twin towers can lead the team to gain an advantage and narrow the gap, and then send in Kobe and Gasol to gain an advantage.

However, Duhon's fast breaks led by Webster, Barnes, and Gibson, and David Lee's mid-range performance against Odom and Josh Powell who came off the bench, were all better than expected.

The Lakers had an absolute advantage at the center position. Bynum had a high success rate in one-on-one situations against Gibson and Birdman who came off the bench. When he passed the ball out, Odom or Luke Walton performed very well in playmaking. Farmar's performance on the drive was also acceptable. However, their offensive momentum was held back by Duhon and David Lee leading the team!

With 6 minutes and 47 seconds left in the game, David Lee posted up Odom in the low post, passed the ball to the sideline, Chalmers received the pass and crossed it to the baseline, Gibson cut in and made a layup, prompting the Lakers to call a timeout!

At halftime, the Lakers were leading 13-15. Their half-court offense was quite effective. With Bynum on the court, they prevented the opponent from really picking up the pace. As a result, the point difference not only did not narrow, but actually widened by two points, reaching 44-51!
However, although he called a timeout, the Zen Master showed no sign of tension, calmly making substitutions and adjusting tactics.

This helped the players, who were struggling under the Knicks' fierce offensive and whose mentality had been somewhat affected by the frenzied atmosphere, to regain their composure.

They have the 'greatest coach in history' and the 'man closest to Jordan'!
Pause back.

The Lakers brought in a lineup of Fisher, Kobe, Artest, Odom, and Gasol.

For the Knicks, Yi Shui, Curry, and Chandler were all substituted in, along with Webster and Barnes.

The Lakers were on offense. Odom had the ball at the top of the key. Artest cut in from the left side of the paint after a screen from Gasol. He received a pass from Odom and passed it back to Gasol.

Kobe turned from a 45-degree angle on the right, dribbled past Barnes, and cut to the basket, receiving a high pass from Gasol. Curry and Yi Shui moved in advance and double-teamed him!

Kobe jumped up despite being double-teamed, and then passed the ball behind his head.

Fisher took two steps up from the right baseline, received the ball in the middle of the sideline, and launched a three-pointer... and it went in!
The Lakers narrowed the gap to 3 points, 47-51.

The Knicks' players who understand the tactics all thought this triangle offense was brilliant!
Artest was the primary offensive weapon, compensating for Gasol and Odom's lack of impact. Gasol and Odom were positioned on the left and right sides of the free-throw line, respectively, giving Artest ample passing options. Kobe drew the defense... All four players were involved in the play, creating open shooting opportunities for Fisher.

However, the complexity of this tactic is something only the Lakers' roster can pull off. They don't have many quality role players, but their star players are truly formidable. The point that draws double teams is also that only Kobe's off-ball movement is so intimidating. Even if you bring in scorers like Wade, Anthony, or Durant, it would be difficult to achieve the same effect.

The Knicks are on offense.

Unlike Kobe, who chose to use his own gravity to create shooting opportunities for his teammates, Yi Shui would take the ball and do it himself!
Yi Shui dribbled past Odom and drove into the paint. He grabbed the ball at close range, took a step to avoid Gasol who was coming to help, jumped, and in the air, he clashed with Kobe who was coming in. Using his height and wingspan advantage, he floated the ball during the contact... and it went in!
53 to 47, the difference is 6 points.

Webster and Curry both made two three-pointers tonight, the former 2 of 4 and the latter 2 of 3. Standing on the left and right, they were both very strong in terms of influence, so Yi Shui naturally had to attack on his own.

Besides the favorable objective conditions, Yi Shui also wanted to provoke the old blacksmith, to make him go toe-to-toe with him like they did at the end of last season.

But when it came to the Lakers' offense, Kobe still focused on team offense.

The main offensive player this time was Odom, who positioned himself in the low post to draw Yi Shui's attention. Kobe then set a screen for Artest, who cut to the basket and scored two points.

The psychological warfare failed, which surprised Yi Shui. After winning his fourth championship, Kobe was more composed than in the past two seasons and more willing to trust his teammates. When the team's offense was open and the score was not far behind, Kobe would often not come out to take possession of the ball. Of course, he did not expect that Phil Jackson had already taken precautions during the break to prevent a repeat of the situation in their second encounter last season.

...

The two teams continued their back-and-forth battle, with the score difference hovering around 5 points.

Kobe didn't step up and take the lead, so the Lakers' ceiling couldn't be raised, but their floor was already very high.

With a 10-man rotation, five players averaged double-digit points and three role players averaged over seven points per game. Phil Jackson also managed the playing time very well. The four frontcourt stars, Artest, Odom, Gasol, and Bynum, rotated in two or three players each, with playing time ranging from 30 to 34 minutes, and their teamwork was excellent.

For the Knicks, their guards shot accurately tonight, had good drawing power, and provided good offensive opportunities when Yi Shui was one-on-one.

Chandler's pick-and-roll execution was well-timed and his screens were solid, preventing Kobe from easily chasing Curry around the ceiling. After the screens were broken, his drives were sharp, and he could also take Kobe away in time, preventing Curry from getting double-teamed. Curry also performed very well when initiating pick-and-roll offenses.

Overall, the two teams fought a back-and-forth battle.

With four seconds left in the second quarter, Kobe rushed to the frontcourt, received the ball, dribbled two steps, and jumped at the three-point line. Due to inertia, he glided through the air and made a buzzer-beating mid-range jumper.

At halftime, the score was 62-65, with the Lakers narrowing the gap to 3 points!
Chandler, who couldn't catch up, was cursing as he walked toward the player tunnel: "Damn Kobe, how could he score that!"

With 4 seconds left, Barnes made a layup, giving the Knicks 14 points in a little over 5 minutes of play in the second half and limiting the Knicks' regular offense to 16 points. It seemed like they could go into halftime with a 5-point lead, but then Kobe made that shot!

This infuriated Chandler, who had been eager to crush his hometown team.

It wasn't just Chandler; many Knicks players were also terrified by Kobe. He was great at regular isolation plays and passing, and he could even score on shots that didn't even stop properly!
Curry chimed in, "Don't worry, we're still in the lead. If he can make that shot, we can make it too."

As he spoke, Curry glanced at Yi Shui, who was being interviewed at halftime by reporters from CCTV at the entrance of the players' tunnel.

Curry's teammates followed his gaze to Yi Shui... The anxiety and impatience caused by not being able to fully control the initiative and Kobe narrowing the gap every time they were about to gain a clear advantage instantly lessened a lot.

对面科比今晚表现很好，首节14分2助攻、第二节半节5分3助攻，半场19+5；

但他们的老大表现同样好！首节13分3助攻、第二节半节7分1助攻，半场20分4助攻，还外加5板2盖帽！

D'Antoni, who was following behind, saw this scene and sighed. They were clearly the ones in the lead and had the upper hand from the start, but they were more unsettled than the other side.

There's nothing we can do. This is the third year the opposing team has been vying for the championship, and the Black Mamba has been selected to the All-NBA team for eleven years since his first selection. His ability to command the court is probably only surpassed by his basic skills in the entire NBA.

Fortunately, they also have the Great One! Although Yi Shui hasn't yet reached the level of Duncan and Kobe's ability to naturally instill confidence in his teammates, just mentioning him reduces the pressure on his teammates and boosts their confidence!
Kobe and Duncan's ability to command the court was built up little by little through years of individual and team honors. In D'Antoni's view, it's only a matter of time before Yi Shui achieves the same level of dominance.

...

After halftime, D'Antoni put Yi Shui on the bench to rest.

As Kobe and Phil Jackson analyzed, D'Antoni's strategy tonight was largely based on the Suns' tactics in their recent game against the Lakers.

The effect was excellent; they made good use of the center position's mobility advantage. Chandler, Birdman, and Ben Wallace were all faster than Gasol and Bynum.

Of course, the main reason is that they have Yi Shui on their side, who can, like Stoudemire, dominate Odom at close range when there is no big center under the basket.

The reason they dared to let Yi Shui rest on the sidelines was because of this.

If Kobe were to unleash his scoring prowess, Gasol wouldn't be a good fit on the court. Gasol is the slowest of the Lakers' three big men and needs the most space to utilize his playmaking abilities. Bynum, on the other hand, is good for back-to-back games and following along, and his stamina would wear off after a few minutes of playing consecutively. Only Odom, who can both create space and receive passes in the paint, is best suited to go on a scoring spree with Kobe, just like how he dominated the Mavericks and Raptors in the 05-06 season.

If the opposing team immediately puts the Kobe + Odom combination on the court to score at the start of the third quarter, then just substitute Yi Shui in immediately. Bynum definitely won't be on the court right away in the third quarter.

D'Antoni's prediction was correct. Instead of continuing to field Kobe, the opposing Phil Jackson used Odom and Gasol as a twin towers, along with Farmar, Vujacic, and Artest.

In the Zen master's view, although they were at a disadvantage, their disadvantage was not that great.

As long as two of the twin towers are on the court, a pitcher, a penetrator, or a forward can withstand the opponent's regular offense.

Regarding adjustments, although he only made specific instructions during official timeouts and breaks, the team members had worked together for many years and had excellent teamwork. The newcomer, Artest, was willing to listen to the instructions of someone stronger than him, and the team made good adjustments on its own. There wasn't much room for minor adjustments. They were only suppressed by the opponent due to factors such as physical strength and the touch of some players.

Moreover, the other party is constantly making adjustments, so theoretically there isn't much room for further adjustments.

Given this, the Zen Master was unwilling to take the risk of dragging things out and waiting for the star players to face off; that would be a better option for them.

In the first half of the third quarter, Curry's defense against split-plays, David Lee's isolation plays, and his offensive rebounding were all excellent.

库里拿到3分2助攻、大卫-李拿到5分，帮助查尔莫斯进了一个三分球、帮鸟人和钱德勒各吃了一饼，率队打出15比13的半节比分。

The Knicks led the Lakers 80-75 at the start of the official timeout!
Yi Shui got up, took off his training clothes, and stretched. He glanced at the other side and saw that Kobe had also gotten up. Without even taking off his training clothes, Kobe rushed onto the court, picked up the ball, turned his back to the basket, and made a long two-pointer.

Yi Shui was inexplicably a little exasperated—why didn't the old blacksmith's backward leaning posture resemble that of the one hailed as the strongest high school student in history?

Why did he have the chance to get the rabbit kick here?

No way! No matter what, after mastering the basic skills, I must make the movements look cool.

...

The Lakers brought in a lineup of Fisher, Shannon Brown, Kobe, Artest, and Bynum.

The Knicks brought in a lineup of Duhon, Webster, Barnes, Yi Shui, and Chandler.

Yi Shui looked at the opposing lineup and was very excited. Next, it would be time for him and the old blacksmith to go head-to-head!

Fisher, Shannon Brown, and Artest are all potential support players.

Bynum's success rate in one-on-one against Chandler was higher than Kobe's in one-on-one against Barnes or him, but that didn't play a decisive role in the game.

In the modern basketball era, only four centers, along with Tim Duncan during his first and second peak years, have consistently served as the core scorer at the center position.

For a center to be a core scorer, he needs to have a high shooting percentage and take at least 15 shots per game. Yao Ming only achieved this in the 06-07 season when he averaged 25 points per game.

Even Howard doesn't have that ability. If you let Beast swing 15 times every night, he'll throw a tantrum from a different angle.

At only 22 years old, Bynum didn't have that ability anymore. He could only output efficiently within a limited range of shots, averaging 15+ points per game. His career high was 42 points against the Clippers last season. At that time, Kaman was out for the season. Bynum sat on Camby for the first three quarters and scored 36 points in 27 minutes with a terrifying shooting percentage of 15 of 19. However, he couldn't hold on in the final quarter. In garbage time, he played 9 minutes and scored 6 points with 2 of 5 shots and 2 of 4 free throws, racking up a 40+ point game.

It was only because Bynum was big, had a notorious history of misconduct, and was in the final year of his rookie contract at the time, only 21 years old, that the Clippers' backup big men would have resorted to violence that night.

The current Bynum can only serve as an excellent offensive initiator when Odom or Gasol are on the court. When neither of them are on the court, his role is limited to protecting the rim and receiving passes from Kobe.

After the timeout, the Lakers went on offense.

Kobe came up and immediately started swinging the ball!

With a crossover and aggressive contact, Kobe tricked Barnes into lowering his center of gravity, completely outmaneuvering him. Barnes couldn't even manage a follow-up delay. Kobe quickly moved to the right side of the free-throw line, stopped abruptly, and launched a jump shot before Yi Shui could close in... and it went in!
When the Knicks were on offense, Du Hong passed the ball to Yi Shui in the frontcourt and moved towards the strong sideline.

Yi Shui faced Artest one-on-one. He thought that Artest would choose to spread out and defend because he had been repeatedly beaten by the pressure defense in the first half. However, Artest, as a former Defensive Player of the Year, still had this awareness and did not give up his advantages to do something he was not good at.

Yi Shui took a half-step back, and taking advantage of the rhythm difference when Artest pressed forward, he changed direction and took a step to block the position and rush forward.

As Yi Shui had predicted, Shannon Blanty from the left came to block him at mid-range, but he was faster than his opponent and ran him over without slowing down.

Although Shannon Brown's block was ineffective, the physical contact still affected Yi Shui's speed to some extent, forcing Yi Shui to attack the basket from the right side... Bynum under the basket and Kobe on the right side seized the opportunity to block the right side of the rim!

Seeing that he was about to be torn between two men, in a flash, Yi Shui grabbed the ball and threw it toward the basket.

Bynum spotted Webster cutting in from the left, quickly turned around, and took a long stride to block him.

The nickname "Little Shark" is no exaggeration; he's known as the "most talented high school center." While his long-distance movement may not be as good as Chandler or Howard, his short-distance burst speed has a bit of a Shark-like feel. He successfully blocked the slower Webster on the left side of the restricted area.

But the ball didn't fall as Bynum expected. Instead, it hit the back of the basket above and behind his head, part of it hitting the backboard and bouncing towards him!
Bynum turned his head and saw Yi Shui take a step to the front of the basket, jump, and slam the ball into the basket over Kobe who was pressing down on him!

82 to 77, the score difference is back to 5 points!
The cheers from the crowd were deafening!
Previously, we always saw Kobe dunk over big men. Yao Ming and Howard were both dunked on. Curry, another "Little Shaq" who once thrilled New York fans, also experienced the humiliation of being dunked over by Kobe. However, it is very rare for Kobe to be dunked on, after all, he is an outside player and does not often stay under the basket on the defensive end. Tonight, they saw it with their own eyes!
The Great Emperor threw the ball up and grabbed it himself, then dunked over the Black Mamba!
Normally, New York fans don't acknowledge Yi Shui as an inside player, but at this moment, Yi Shui is an inside player. Between the two teams, besides Gasol, Bynum, and Chandler, who is taller than Yi Shui?

Yi Shui was also extremely excited and celebrated with Webster, who cut in at the right time and attracted Bynum's defensive attention, by bumping chests.

He hadn't actually noticed Webster's movements; his attention was completely drawn to Shannon Brown blocking him, Bynum double-teaming him on the right side of the basket, and Kobe. If Webster had stayed put on the left side of the mid-range, his self-alley-oop and rebound might have become a laughing stock.

After retreating to the backcourt, Yi Shui saw Kobe running towards him with gritted teeth and a murderous aura.

"How fierce," Yi Shui thought with pity as she looked at Barnes, who was guarding Kobe's path.

But this teammate's silhouette... seems eager to try? Very competitive!
With a player like that, will he be lured away by the opposing team's old blacksmith next year?
It's hard to say. Although he has been coached by Birdman, Harrington, and others, Barnes doesn't have the same bad relationship with everyone as he did with the Suns last season, but it's not exactly good either, especially his relationship with the management.

I don't know what Barnes was thinking. He thought he had the ability to be the second defensive striker on the wing and that he had secured a starting rotation position, so he was extremely rude to Walsh, Dolan and others.

Being neither arrogant nor humble will earn you respect. It's fine not to curry favor with management for a raise, but that doesn't mean you can be impolite. For example, if you receive a gift, you shouldn't just say thank you, or at least give an expression like, "How could such a big boss only give me this little?"

It's also possible that the cost of living in New York is simply too high...

After Kobe arrived, he immediately called for the ball on the perimeter and started beating Barnes.

There was nothing they could do; neither he nor Yi Shui could defend against the other, so they stopped defending each other and could only torment their own defenders.

Yi Shui couldn't help Barnes much either. His defensive fundamentals were getting better and better, but his ability to collapse and help protect the rim was greater than his ability to help protect the rim from mid-range and long-range. In fact, they were not even in the same league. One reason was that he had the skills to collapse and protect the rim, and the other reason was that the team needed him to protect the rim. His defensive training mainly focused on one-on-one defense and rim protection. This was due to the objective environment.

Therefore, Yi Shui chose to dominate Artest on offense, giving Barnes a chance to vent his anger.

Artest's defensive impact throughout the season may be stronger than that of James and Josh Smith, two players who are likely to be selected to the All-Defensive Team this season.

But when it comes to defending Yi Shui... Artest's defensive impact is really not as strong as James, who gets really into it when defending Yi Shui, or Josh Smith, who has good physical attributes and a good defensive attitude. Even Prince and Kirilenko are more effective at defending Yi Shui.

Similar to Gerald Wallace, Artest was at a disadvantage in terms of height and wingspan against Yi Shui. His defensive style was also mainly physical, which was exactly the kind of defense that Yi Shui was good at dealing with. James also mainly relied on physical attacks, but at least he was not at a disadvantage in terms of height and wingspan as Artest, and he was also more athletic.

Yi Shui and Kobe engaged in a fierce offensive battle!
Kobe drove to the basket, using his "best midfield in the league" to twist and turn in the air and dribble past Chandler;

Yi Shui then drove into the paint, using his "small-to-big" skills to find opportunities, and then used his height and wingspan, which were not much weaker than Bynum's, to put the ball into the basket.

Yi Shui made a clean and elegant jump shot with a crossover dribble and a sudden stop.
Kobe backed down Barnes at the high post and made a beautiful turnaround jump shot.

Kobe broke through to close range and displayed a jumping ability that Yi Shui envied. He twisted in the air like a pretzel, tilted his body, and pushed the ball past Chandler's fingertips, which fell into the basket.

Yi Shui, who had just rushed from the high post to the left side of the basket to block Shannon Brown's cut, triggered his "Charge Ahead" tactic, started at full speed, and rushed to the frontcourt amidst the incredulous gazes of Kobe and Shannon Brown, who were chasing him, and received a lob pass from Duhon and slammed it home with a powerful dunk...

The cheers at the scene never stopped from the moment the official suspension began.

New York fans have fallen into their old habit again. When the opponent plays well and it's clear that they are really going toe-to-toe with Yi Shui, they start cheering for the opponent. Every time Yi Shui scores, they chant "Kobe" to provoke Kobe and Yi Shui to continue their battle.

They seem to disregard the well-being of their own star players...

Fortunately, D'Antoni made bold lineup adjustments tonight, resting Yi Shui in the second quarter and the first half of the third quarter. He also executed the tactics borrowed from the Suns very well. Curry, David Lee, Chandler, Webster and others took on most of the offensive tasks in regulation time, allowing Yi Shui to have the energy to go head-to-head with the physically strong Old Ironman.

The fans at the scene were delighted, and the other players on both teams did their best to support the two's "performance." The Knicks players had blind faith in Yi Shui, and the Lakers players had blind faith in Kobe.

The intimidating presence of "the man closest to Jordan" in the minds of Knicks players, and the pressure of "the most talented player in history" on Lakers players, are far less than their effects on players from other teams.

They all firmly believed that their leader was the strongest!

By the end of the third quarter, the Lakers had narrowed the gap to two points and had possession of the ball.

With little time left in the quarter, Kobe decided to go all out!
Despite being at a height disadvantage, Kobe dribbled to the right 45-degree angle, directly confronted Barnes and forcefully jumped, attempting to avoid Barnes' interference with a fadeaway jumper.

But Barnes reacted even faster than Kobe had imagined, leaping up and making a precise interception!
Kobe was already at a disadvantage in height and wingspan compared to Barnes, forcing him to increase the angle of his fadeaway... The three-pointer was too short! It bounced off the front of the rim!

Chandler tightly marked Bynum, Webster grabbed the defensive rebound, and passed it to Duhon.

Barnes committed a foul, but Kobe had no time or inclination to complain. Before he could even get his footing, he dashed towards Yi Shui, who was trying to launch a fast break. He held off Yi Shui, creating time for his teammates in the paint to retreat and successfully forcing the Knicks into a half-court offense.

Yi Shui slowed down and ran towards the right at a 45-degree angle.

Having been partners for almost two years, Duhon has been able to read Yi Shui's body language at certain times. After advancing to the frontcourt, he beckoned to Chandler for a screen. Chandler brought Bynum out and screened Fisher on the left... Duhon suddenly grabbed the ball and pushed it to the right!

Just as Yi Shui reached the right 45-degree angle, the ball came to him. He received the ball, turned around, and jumped!
Artest reacted faster than Barnes. Faced with Duhon's sudden pass and Yi Shui's direct pull-up jumper, Artest reacted immediately and closed in, interfering with Yi Shui's jump.

But Yi Shui didn't need to lean back; he focused on controlling his core strength and threw the ball...

'Tower Sniper' is triggered, greatly compensating for the rhythm loss caused by pull-up shots.

The ball flew across the entire three-point line, drawing a beautiful parabola before falling into the basket!

The cheers from the crowd rose even higher!
In the same position, facing the same strong challenge, the Black Mamba missed, while their Emperor made the shot!

The commentators were all marveling at how tall people truly are!
Kobe passed the ball to Fisher amidst a double-team, Fisher ran to receive the pass but missed a three-pointer...

The Lakers scored 17 points in the second half of the third quarter, with Kobe Bryant accounting for 11 of them, plus two assists to Andrew Bynum. Apart from Shannon Brown being fouled on a putback dunk and making both free throws, all the other points were related to Kobe.

Just like in that game around the same time last year, Kobe once again demonstrated his unparalleled individual ability in the league.

On Yi Shui's side, with his "Snake Heart" activated, he was even more "selfish" than Kobe. He didn't have a single assist in half a quarter, except for Chandler grabbing an offensive rebound and passing it to Duhon, who then hit a three-pointer.

但易水半节时间9投5中，其中三分球2中1，加上3中3的罚球，狂砍14分！
After three quarters, the score was 97-92, with the Knicks holding onto a 5-point lead!
Yi Shui scored 34 points in three quarters, surpassing Kobe's 30 points in three quarters!

(End of this chapter)