NBA: The Basketball Miracle

The Jazz watched a lot of game videos before the game, but after the match they found that the Knicks' offense had changed a lot.

At 18:28, the first quarter ended and the Knicks led by 10 points.

Jerry Sloan seemed to think that his players were too soft, and he said in a low voice with a stern face:

"No excuses, in the next game, I just want to see a strong response from you!"

"John, I'll leave that rookie to you."

Stockton heard the coach's instructions and nodded calmly.

Although he is 34 years old, Stockton is still in very good physical condition. He was hit in the thigh and recovered after resting for half a quarter.

The atmosphere in Madison Square Garden became increasingly heated, and many fans were still savoring Lee's dribbling pass.

"18th pick? I can now be sure that Lee is definitely underestimated!"

"How did we get him? With such dribbling ability and accurate shooting, he should definitely be selected in the top 10."

In the MSG commentary booth, commentator John Andaris couldn't stop talking.

3 of 5, 2 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, 1 of 1 free throws, 9 points, 1 rebound and 4 assists. After Lee came on the court, he completely dominated the Knicks' offense.

Commentator Marv Albert also thinks the Knicks are lucky. Compared to Charlie Ward, Clay Lee has better talent and is younger:

"Maybe Coach Van Gundy is right. We have a chance to make it to the finals again!"

The home commentator naturally praised the team a lot. As long as the results were good, the rookie coach's boasting would become credible.

In the rotation phase of the second quarter, the Jazz had Stockton and Shandon Anderson as their backcourt partners, Adam Keefe and Antoine Carr as their forwards, and Greg Foster as the center.

The Knicks' Lee and Starks partnered in the backcourt, with John Wallace and Larry Johnson on the front line and Buck Williams as the center.

Compared with the Jazz, the Knicks' inside players are shorter. Foster on the opposite side is 2.11 meters tall. Obviously, Jerry Sloan intends to win by height.

The New York fans at the scene were expecting Lee to continue his performance, but when facing Stockton's defense, Lee became very cautious.

There was no fancy dribbling, no exaggerated changes of direction in front of the body. For several consecutive rounds, Lee honestly ran the tactics with his teammates on the court.

Stockton didn't have a good solution for this. He just became more aggressive when squeezing through the screen, using his hands and feet to prevent Lee from getting easy shooting opportunities.

During the Knicks' attack, Larry Johnson saw the opportunity and suddenly cut in from the middle.

Lee circled around the inside and came to the paint area. He passed the ball behind his back with his left hand. The "Grandmama" caught the ball and easily made a layup!

The cheers from the scene made Stockton's face more gloomy. The old guy did not say any trash talk, but just strengthened his defense.

On the left side of the offensive end, Stockton used Antoine Carr's screen and hit a mid-range jump shot near the baseline.

After the ball was sent from the baseline, Stockton suddenly took over the defense and took advantage of Lee's turning around to steal the ball fiercely.

Lee reacted quickly. The hand protecting the ball first blocked the opponent's hidden pull with his left hand, then immediately lowered his shoulders and accelerated, crashing into the opponent.

The two men collided physically, but Stockton did not take the opportunity to fall to the ground. In this era, those who fake falls are considered sissy, and the referees also condone such actions.

Coming to the left wing outside the three-point line, Lee used the screen of veteran Buck Williams and accelerated the breakthrough with the ball in his left hand.

Compared with the first quarter, the Jazz did not choose to switch defense. Stockton swiftly squeezed through the screen, and when Lee made a quick stop and jump shot in the left blocking area, he immediately pulled him secretly, then turned sideways and raised his arms to indicate that he had no movement.

"!"

The basketball hit the rim and the rebound was caught by Foster. Lee cursed inwardly, this old guy had too many small moves that always affected his offensive rhythm.

"Shhh!!"

The boos from the fans seemed to have worked. In the transition offense, Shandon Anderson's layup was interfered by Starks who was returning to defense and the ball hit the rim and bounced out.

After protecting the rebound, Starks immediately launched a counterattack.

This time Lee no longer held the ball, but quickly slid from left to right along the baseline, and with the help of the screen of veteran Buck Williams near the right baseline, he briefly got rid of Stockton.

Coming to the right blocking area, Lee received a pass from Starks and drifted to the right for a jump shot!

"Swish!" A steady hit from mid-range!

24:34, more than 3 minutes into the second quarter, the scoring efficiency of both sides declined, but the Knicks still withstood the pressure.

Jeff Van Gundy was very satisfied with the team's performance. Despite the lack of height, the Jazz's big men found it difficult to finish at the basket thanks to their "iron-blooded" defense:

"That's it! Protect the rebounds!"

Jerry Sloan also discovered the problem. The Jazz could indeed score at the basket with the help of their big men, but their efficiency was a problem.

The Jazz played the ball more often inside, and on the Knicks side, Lee no longer held the ball and began to increase his off-ball running.

This time, Lee received the ball in the left blocking area. Stockton's pursuit was delayed by Larry Johnson's back screen near the left baseline. In the end, he could only watch Lee receive the ball and make a mid-range jump shot!

The old guy had already noticed Lee's intention and immediately called out to his teammates:

"Carr, remember to help defend next time!"

Big Dawg Antoine Carr, who came off the bench, nodded to indicate that he understood. The Jazz players responded to each other and quickly changed their defensive strategy.

After scoring two goals in a row, Lee began to applaud passionately while retreating, continuing to show off.

The scores of both sides began to rise slowly. With Jerry Sloan's loud reminder, the Jazz's defensive intensity "rose" again. In the transition offense, Lee was forced to mop the floor.

Jeff Van Gundy saw Starks pull Lee up, and his body seemed to be unharmed. He turned around and complained to the referee:

"This is not the first time this has happened. Every time he lays up, he is pulled by the opponent. This is definitely a malicious foul!"

The referee simply calmed down the excited Van Gundy and did not change the decision.

The fans at the scene were also very dissatisfied, they wanted to see more awesome goals:

"Referee Sucks! Referee Sucks! Referee Sucks!"

The audience expressed their feelings freely, and even when their team was leading, they still cursed the referee to vent their dissatisfaction.

Both free throws were made. Halfway through the second quarter, Jeff Van Gundy quickly replaced Lee and both sides began to replace their main players.

Back on the bench, assistant coach Don Chaney happily handed Lee a towel:

"Good job, Lee! But sometimes there's no need to compete with each other. We don't want to see you get hurt!"

Lee moved his right arm and felt a dull pain in his buttocks. He understood why Iverson always had minor injuries:

"A defender without a breakthrough threat cannot organize an effective offense. It's no big deal if he falls a few times in a game!"

Hearing Lee's words, Don Chaney patted him on the shoulder to show encouragement, and at the same time made a gesture to Jeff Van Gundy to indicate that there was no problem here.

Starks has been in the league for many years, and at this time he also reminded Lee:

"Lee, you need to gain muscle! I guarantee that you will face more rough defense in the next games. I went through the same thing back then."

"Muscles can better protect your joints, but of course, they may also make your shooting feel worse."

Lee nodded. He really wanted to make his muscles bigger.

Seeing Karl Malone, who was full of muscles, hit consecutive shots after entering the court, Lee couldn't help but start to associate:

"Is Karl Malone's muscles also a talent?"

"."

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