The Knicks have won four consecutive games since entering March. Currently, the Knicks have surpassed the Magic and are second in the Eastern Conference. The Magic has 43 wins and 20 losses, and the Knicks have 43 wins and 19 losses.
However, in the game on March 8, the Atlanta Hawks ended the Knicks' five-game winning streak. Joe Johnson hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to kill the Knicks.
The game ended at 98:99, and the Knicks also lost this game at home.
This game was another rare game in which the score did not exceed 100. It was due to the defense of both sides and the reason why the Knicks underestimated the opponent after their four-game winning streak.
At the beginning of the game, the Knicks' sloppy defensive attitude allowed the Hawks to score consecutively in the first quarter. Until the second quarter, the players except Lian Dao and Holiday still looked sleepy.
Lian Dao scored 27 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists in two quarters, accounting for 2/3 of the Knicks' total points.
At halftime, the Knicks trailed the opponent by 20 points. To be honest, this situation has never happened even in games against the Celtics and Lakers.
This also made Lian Dao feel angry. During the halftime break, Lian Dao also got angry in the locker room for the first time.
Lian Dao, who usually had a playful expression, had an angry expression on his face, but it gave everyone a feeling of terror and depression.
"Do we still remember the goal at the beginning? Do we think that with 43 wins, we feel that we are safe in the playoffs, or do we think that we can defeat the Celtics and the Cavaliers?"
"Is our innermost goal just to make the playoffs?"
"You know everyone's waiting to laugh at us?"
"Before this, do you know what they thought of us, the Knicks? A place of decay, a garbage shelter!"
"Do we want to go back to the past?"
Lian Dao's series of questions were like a thorn that penetrated deeply into the hearts of all the players.
"No!"
At this time, all the players raised their heads and roared loudly.
"I also believe that this is definitely not what we think in our hearts. I believe that every Knicks soldier will not be a coward."
"We don't believe that the long night is coming, because the torch is in our own hands!"
Lian Dao's words also made all the players in the locker room raise their heads. Lian Dao also saw fighting spirit again in the eyes of these teammates, and everyone roared.
Lian Dao saw that the chicken soup was almost full, so Lian Dao stretched out his hand, and everyone stood up and gathered around.
"Knicks!"
"Victory!" "Victory!" "Victory!"
What Lian Dao said made D'Antoni stunned for a moment, and D'Antoni's blood boiled when he heard it.
I can't wait to take off my suit and go into battle.
At the same time, D'Antoni once again saw leadership qualities in Lian Dao. A leader must not only lead the team to victory, but he must also help his teammates get out of the quagmire at critical moments and rebuild the team's confidence.
The Knicks came back from halftime and in the third quarter, as soon as they came on the field, the fans in the audience obviously felt that there was a big difference. Although they were still the same players, their momentum was not comparable to before.
The Knicks strengthened their defense in the third quarter, and the Hawks clearly felt very different from the first half. At the beginning of the third quarter, the Knicks launched an 8-0 offensive storm.
The Eagles' head coach hurriedly called a timeout to stabilize the position.
Although the Eagles, who had regained their composure, were using their inside advantage to resist, the Eagles' score advantage was still shrinking little by little.
In the last minute and a half of the fourth quarter, the Knicks finally took the lead and maintained their advantage until the last 5 seconds.
However, Joe Johnson, who had a three-pointer in this game, made the winning shot at the last moment. Both Lian Dao and Chandler put their hands on Joe Johnson's face, but he still threw the ball at the last second.
.
Joe Johnson completed the buzzer beater.
After the game, in the media interview, Lian Dao also took the responsibility for the failure of the entire game on himself. Although he worked hard in the second half, he lost the game in the end, which hurt his morale, but what Lian Dao said in the locker room during the midfield was disappointing.
It is deeply engraved in the hearts of all players.
Not long after the game, someone secretly recorded what Lian Dao said in the locker room and it was posted on video. The media also reported it extensively.
The media initially thought it was a conflict between Knicks players, but after watching the full video, they discovered that this was entirely a passionate speech.
From the video, everyone also realized the other side of Lian Dao, the aura of a leader!
And Lian Dao's sentence "We don't believe that the long night is coming, because the torch is in our own hands!" also quickly became popular all over the world!
This sentence has quickly become the online signature of many people.
Durant: Isn’t this just for me?
…
New York, Olympic Building, NBA Headquarters.
The assistant here knocked on David Stern's office door.
"President, here is the latest situation with the Knicks!"
"What's wrong? Is there another conflict on the court?" Stern rubbed his temples with a headache.
When it comes to the Knicks, what's on David Stern's mind right now is: there was another on-court brawl, or another player was accidentally injured.
It’s no wonder that Stern thinks so. Since the beginning of the season, the above-mentioned incidents have happened to the Knicks not once or twice. Fortunately, they are all the fault of the other party, so so far no Knicks players have been punished for it.
"Uh, no!" The assistant didn't expect that Stern would get it wrong.
Stern picked up the folder handed over by his assistant and smiled happily after reading all the summaries.
Lian Dao's words are so positive that it can be said to be a business card to promote the NBA.
In particular, many people regard Lian Dao's last sentence as a famous quote.
"This kid can become one of the faces of the NBA in the future. In Chinese terms, he has the demeanor of a general!"
Stern took a leisurely puff of his cigar at this time, not sure if he was talking to his assistant or talking to himself.
Although the assistant had been trained in expression management, there was still some surprise on his face at this time.
She didn't expect Stern to be so optimistic about the Knicks' No. 1. This sentence meant that Stern no longer just regarded Lian Dao as a cash cow.
…
On March 10, the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs. Popovich did not dare to use small tricks this time, and the Spurs' senior group really couldn't keep up with the Knicks' running and gunning pace.
The Spurs are not afraid of positional warfare, but they are afraid of a run-and-gun team.
97:87, the Spurs' defense is still very commendable, and the Knicks' scoring was once again limited to less than 100 points.
On March 12, the Knicks defeated the Grizzlies 128:108 on the road. All the Knicks players felt hot. The Memphis Grizzlies basket completely transformed into the sea. Basically, many Knicks players continued to hit three-pointers from the outside. point.
Lian Dao made 10 of 14 three-pointers, Wilson Chandler made 3 of 6 three-pointers, Holiday made 2 of 4 three-pointers, Gallinari made 5 of 7 three-pointers, and Millsap made 3-pointers. David Lee made 5 of 8 shots and 1 of 2 three-pointers.
Really a three-point team, the Knicks scored 78 points just from outside three-pointers. The Knicks made 26 three-pointers in the whole game, and also broke the NBA regular season single-game three-pointer record. .
During the post-game interview, Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins couldn't help but shake his head, with helplessness written all over his face, and he kept saying "incredible".
But D'Antoni was smiling all over his face. It can be said that today's Knicks seem to have allowed D'Antoni to see the new direction of "run and gun" tactics in the future.
Defeating the Memphis Grizzlies can be regarded as revenge for the previous defeat.
On March 13, they played back-to-back games against the Dallas Mavericks. Due to the away game and back-to-back reasons, the Knicks lost to the Dallas Mavericks 108:112.
Nowitzki still played steadily throughout the game, scoring a double-double with 28 points and 14 rebounds.
It has to be said that Nowitzki's mid-range shots are becoming more and more amazing, especially his Golden Rooster independence. It is really difficult to defend. Although Millsap defended hard, he was toyed by Nowitzki throughout the game. Between the palms of your hands.
But fortunately, Millsap's fighting spirit was not broken by Nowitzki. Especially in the fourth quarter, Millsap became more and more courageous as he fought. He actually completed a steal while Nowitzki was not paying attention during an offense. The Knicks still lost this game, but Lian Dao saw endless potential in Millsap.
Millsap will definitely meet the Weathering Dragon in the future.