NBA: This center is incredibly strong.

The break ended and the second quarter began.

Both sides brought on their substitutes to transition the next few minutes.

The Knicks truly live up to their reputation as a traditional powerhouse, boasting a deeper bench than the Magic.

Thanks to outstanding performances from players like Kurt Thomas, the score difference was narrowed to within 5 points.

With 4 minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the second quarter, the Magic called a timeout.

After the timeout, the main players from both sides returned to the field.

Armstrong dribbled the ball forward, came to the frontcourt to execute a tactic, and passed the ball out.

McGrady receives the ball on the left high post, probes with a triple threat, and then pulls up for an unreasonable jump shot.

Perhaps due to resting on the bench for too long, he couldn't maintain his hot start.

"Duang!"

The basketball bounced off the rim and went out of bounds.

Seeing the basketball flying in the opposite direction from him, Chen Yan, who was being blocked by Camby, decisively turned around and went back to defend.

He had no chance of getting the ball.

The Knicks secured the defensive rebound, and Mark Jackson dribbled up the court to initiate the offense.

After learning a painful lesson in the first quarter, they didn't focus solely on the paint and instead looked for opportunities on the perimeter.

Allan Houston used a teammate's screen to shake off McGrady's defense, caught the ball, and made a jump shot, narrowing the gap to just 2 points.

On the other hand, Hill drove to the basket with the ball, drew a foul, and made both free throws, stabilizing the situation.

The two sides have once again fallen into a stalemate.

The point difference fluctuated between 4 and 7 points, and every change of possession felt like being ground on a millstone.

Chen Yan remains an insurmountable wall on the defensive end.

But on the offensive end, the situation is completely different.

The Knicks' defensive strategy was clear: not to let Chen Yan receive the ball easily.

When he was positioning himself at the edge of the paint, Camby no longer tried to match his lower body strength against him like he did in the first quarter, which would have been like throwing an egg against a rock.

So they changed their strategy—they went around to the front.

Don't let him receive the ball.

Chen Yan took a step to the left, and Camby immediately turned sideways, one hand firmly pressing against Chen Yan's waist, the other hand raised high to block the passing lane.

Chen Yan moved to the right, but Camby stuck to him like a piece of chewing gum that he couldn't shake off.

The Knicks' weak-side help defense was also tilting in that direction, with Sprewell and Houston glancing into the paint every now and then, as if to say: If you dare to pass, I dare to intercept.

"They've found a way to deal with me. You can't underestimate anyone in the NBA." Chen Yan didn't expect that he would be figured out so quickly.

In fact, Chen Yan did not expose any weaknesses; rather, the Knicks simply applied the same methods they used against O'Neal to him.

"Rookie, keep being arrogant. I only let you off the hook before because I didn't want to bother with you. Now I'm going to get serious and won't let you score again!" Camby vented his frustration from the previous humiliation.

"Dude, if you think this is all I'm capable of, you're underestimating me. I only used half my strength to protect you guys." After boasting, Chen Yan knew he couldn't pose a threat in the penalty area, so he ran out to cover for his teammates.

Camby naturally didn't believe Chen Yan's nonsense and remained in the restricted area to protect the rim.

In the subsequent games, Chen Yan's only two contributions on the offensive end were creating scoring opportunities for his teammates and fighting for offensive rebounds.

As the first half was drawing to a close, he still hadn't shown any outstanding performance on the offensive end.

"Kenny, look at that rookie you've been eyeing lately. He's just doing pointless back-and-forth runs, not scoring a single point. I see now that his scoring methods are too one-dimensional, and he's hard to score when the opponent targets him. I think it's not too late for you to concede," Barkley commented with a smile.

He now looks confident and sure he's going to win.

"Charles, the game isn't over yet, anything can happen." Kenny Smith said this, but he was inwardly apprehensive.

He also discovered Chen Yan's weakness.

"I wonder how this young man will break this deadlock." Kenny Smith still held high hopes for Chen Yan.

On the court, Chen Yan and Armstrong executed a pick-and-roll play at the high post.

Armstrong dribbled down the right flank, but Chen Yan's massive frame blocked Mark Jackson's path like a wall.

The Knicks' interior defense was a beat too slow to switch, and Camby hesitated, unsure whether to close out Armstrong or retreat to the basket.

In that moment of hesitation, Chen Yan had already turned around and strode straight into the penalty area.

Armstrong broke through to the left mid-range, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw that familiar figure rushing towards the basket. Without hesitation, he flicked his right hand and tossed the ball high above the rim.

"Damn it! I used too much power." Armstrong couldn't control his strength the moment he passed the ball, and knew that this alley-oop was going to fail.

That ball was thrown way too high.

"Hahaha, that was definitely a mistake." Camby didn't even jump because, based on his experience, he knew no one could catch the ball at that height, and it would fly directly out of bounds.

But Chen Yan jumped.

He mustered all his strength, his legs like springs compressed to their limit suddenly released, his long arms stretched upwards, and his whole body rose into the air like a rocket that had been ignited.

Time seemed to slow down at that moment.

He moved so slowly that everyone could clearly see the position of his chin—at a height almost level with the basketball hoop, or even slightly above it.

It was so slow that you could clearly see the exaggerated arc his body formed in the air, his waist and abdomen tightened, his core power engaged, and his whole body instantly switched from a "catching the ball" posture to a "finishing" posture.

Then, he slammed the ball hard into the basket.

This was no ordinary dunk.

It was a cathartic release with destructive power, a violent aesthetic of gravity being temporarily deceived and then returned in double measure.

The moment the basketball was slammed into the hoop, the entire backboard shook violently, and the tempered glass backboard trembled violently, emitting a muffled "hum".

Immediately afterwards, a chilling sound echoed throughout the stadium.

"Snap!"

The edge of the rim had detached from the backboard, hanging there crookedly along with the springs and connectors.

The basketball bounced off the net, tumbled a few times on the floor, and made a series of hollow "thump, thump" sounds that were particularly jarring in the deathly quiet arena.

When Chen Yan landed, he stumbled at first, but then stood firmly on his feet.

"Holy crap! This is such poor quality, it almost hurt me." He glanced back at the crooked rim, a slightly confused expression on his face, as if he didn't quite understand why this thing was so fragile.

Charles Barkley was shocked, emotion points +100.

McGrady is shocked, emotion points +100.

[Hill is shocked, Emotion Points +100]

Allan Houston was shocked, his emotional points increased by 60.

......

Madison Square Garden erupted—not with cheers, but with a cacophony of shock, disbelief, and a touch of awe.

Some people stood up from their seats, some covered their mouths, and a middle-aged man wearing an Ewing jersey stared wide-eyed, his lips moving as if to say, "This is impossible."

On the TNT broadcast, Maverick Albert excitedly shouted, "He dunked the basket! An 18-year-old rookie, at Madison Square Garden, dunked the basket! I've been commentating on basketball for fifteen years, and I've never—I've never seen anything like it!"

On the sidelines, Rivers paused for a second, then abruptly turned to assistant coach Van Gundy, repeating the same phrase over and over: "Did you see that? Did you fucking see that?"

"I told you long ago that he's a monster like no other, and I wouldn't be surprised by anything he does," Van Gundy said without changing his expression, but his slightly trembling body betrayed him.

On the bench, the Magic players went wild.

Amic stood up excitedly, raising his hands in celebration; Otero held his head in his hands, his face showing an expression as if he had seen an alien; the fringe players excitedly tossed their towels into the air.

On the field, Armstrong ran over, patted Chen Yan on the back, and shouted excitedly, "You passed it too high! I thought you couldn't catch it!"

Chen Yan glanced down at him and said something that almost made Armstrong burst out laughing: "Next time, you can go even higher. Don't forget, you still owe me a meal."

"OK, I'll take you out for a big meal after the game." Armstrong never expected his casual remark to become a reality, so he naturally had to keep his promise.

On the Knicks' side, Camby stood still, his eyes fixed on the crooked basket, his expression a complex mix of emotions, as if he wanted to curse but didn't know who to curse.

Larry Jensen was the first to react, spreading his hands at the referee and muttering something, but even he couldn't tell whether it was a foul or not.

Because there are absolutely no rules that prohibit players from damaging the rim.

Crawford blew his whistle, not to call a penalty, but to signal a pause in the game.

He hadn't expected this rookie to be so troublesome, and he found officiating this guy's games exhausting.

Staff rushed into the court carrying ladders and began emergency repairs on the basketball hoops.

The entire repair process took at least ten minutes, forcing the players from both teams to return to their respective halves of the field for a long and bizarre wait.

The large screen at the scene began to replay the scene that had just occurred.

Through slow-motion replays from different angles, people finally got a clear view of the dunk.

The height of Chen Yan's feet when he jumped, the moment his chin was above the rim, the composure when he caught the ball with one hand, and the almost brute force output when he dunked.

In the TNT commentary booth, Barkley stared at the replay, remained silent for two seconds, and said regretfully, "Can I take back my bet? This rookie, he doesn't belong on this planet!"

He didn't expect to be proven wrong so quickly.

"Charles, I still prefer your old, unruly self. Please come back to your old self," Kenny Smith teased.

Chen Yan has broken the deadlock.

This bet is a sure thing!