NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 660: "Inner Demon" Haunted. (Daily Chapter)
On June 2009, 6, as the game was about to end, many Los Angeles fans in the Staples Center stood up and left. No one wanted to witness the birth of the record in person.

Some extreme gamblers were still cursing. As time went by, the cursing became louder and louder. They really couldn't win a single game. The hope they had before the game had all turned into anger.

Although Li You respected his opponent very much, he went off the court to rest when the score difference approached 40 points. On the Lakers side, Kobe still dared to fight and led the Knicks to gradually widen the score difference.

Seeing Kobe in the right block again, facing the three-man group of Marion, Raja Bell, and Diaw, and missing the drifting jumper, some Los Angeles fans were furious and started a new round of foul language:

"Fuck! Fuck!"

"Get out of here! Stop shooting!"

"We need Parker and Ginobili"

There were not many fans left in the screaming seats, but they were all angry guys. They cursed from the second quarter to the fourth quarter. If they were not wearing Lakers jerseys, they might have been kicked out by security personnel long ago.

Kobe, who was still trying to narrow the gap, naturally could not hear the shouting and cursing of the fans in the distance, but he could hear the cheers from the Knicks bench, and he could also clearly see the expression of Chalmers who received the ball at the baseline.

To show respect, Gasol was still on the court at this time. With only 1 minute and 26 seconds left in the game, D'Antoni saw that his opponent was slow to call a timeout for substitutions, so he couldn't help but pace on the sidelines, looking around from time to time.

There were no defensive cheers, and the neat shouts only lasted for one quarter. The home team's performance was so bad that most of those who could persist were not die-hard fans.

Farmar retreated to the half court and looked back at his boss from time to time. Kobe still had a ferocious "man-eating" expression on his face and didn't seem to want to leave the court.

Barnes and Luke Walton also wanted to give up, and Odom, who remained on the court, had already stopped working.

As for Duncan, he asked to leave the court after playing for only three minutes in the fourth quarter. At this time, he was sitting on the bench with a towel covering his head.
After changing to a small lineup, the Lakers' offensive space seemed to be much better, but the three-pointers just couldn't go in, with Odom and Kobe taking the lead in missing shots, which caused the game to deteriorate to a point where it was out of control.

"shush"

Boos reappeared in the Staples Center. On the ABC commentary booth, three people noticed that the Knicks were already standing on the sidelines waiting to celebrate. For a moment, only Mike Breen praised in a light tone:

"Tonight we have the opportunity to witness the birth of a new record, and the Knicks boys delivered a perfect answer!"

“They completely dominated the game”

Dio received the ball at the top of the arc and pretended to pass it to the basket. Then he suddenly turned around quickly, led the ball forward with his right hand, broke through Luke Walton's defense again, and went straight to the basket from the right elbow area.

The Lakers fans who saw this scene couldn't hold it anymore. They watched Marion screen Chalmers. When the newbie ran to the left corner, Farmar had already lost his defensive position.

With a low cry, Dio made a fake pass and swung the ball with his right hand in the paint area. Odom under the basket was too lazy to even stretch out his hand, and the basketball fell accurately into the hands of the rookie without any interference.

Chalmers did not show any mercy, and after a slight adjustment, he decisively took a jump shot, and it seemed that he felt good. Before the basketball fell into the net, he turned around, raised his right arm, and raised three fingers to celebrate the goal in advance.

"Swish"

The ball went into the net again. On the commentary stand, Mark Jackson didn't know what to say. The Knicks' rotation lineup had blown up their opponents again. The offense in the fourth quarter was smooth and fluent:

"It's unbelievable that every Knicks player scored. They played so well tonight!"

Phil Jackson finally requested a timeout. The old man walked from the sidelines to the bench with a blank expression on his face. He seemed to have no desire to speak. His despairing look made Van Gundy in a good mood:

"This is the strength of the defending champion. The Knicks led by Lee are only one step away from winning their eighth consecutive championship. There is no doubt that they are capable of achieving this achievement!"

"The Lakers should consider rebuilding. They need to bring in more talent. It turns out that Kobe can't be a true leader."

All the members of the Knicks team came to the venue and high-fived to celebrate. On the other side, Kobe had a dark face and walked quickly to the bench. He kicked over a chair and caused another commotion.

Duncan, who was sitting at the very edge of the field, still didn't look up. The MVP seemed to be completely autistic, hiding himself in the towel and not saying a word about what was happening around him.

"Good job!"

Having changed into the Knicks' blue away training uniform, Li You encouraged his teammates who were walking to the bench with a smile on his face. Chalmers was so happy that he jumped up and down. He became a "historical participant":
"Boss, I beat up those wimps!"

After making a set of fancy hand gestures, Chalmers shouted repeatedly, and Li You patted the newbie on the shoulder, saying that he did contribute to the new record.

After the timeout, Gasol, Marion and Raja Bell were also substituted out, followed by Thaddeus Young and Gary Neal;

On the Lakers side, Kobe was finally substituted off the court and the game officially entered real garbage time.

Before the Los Angeles fans at the scene had time to breathe a sigh of relief, Josh Powell missed the ball under the basket and Gadzuric grabbed the rebound and made another long throw.

Gary Neal, who had just come on the court, received the ball on the left wing, dribbled two steps, then immediately stopped and made a decisive jump shot from outside the three-point line!
Seeing the basketball go into the net, the Knicks bench was boiling again. Marion didn't even bother to put on his training clothes. He was waving his towel and shouting with joy on the sidelines. He finally experienced the joy of bullying the weak in the finals.

"God! The Knicks showed a historic offense!"

Mark Jackson didn't expect that the player at the end of the bench would also perform well after coming on the court. When he saw Luke Walton's breakthrough layup was blocked, he simply stopped commenting and waited quietly for the game to end.

In the transition offense, Thaddeus Young cut in from the right wing and was fouled, and was at the free throw line again.

At one point, the Los Angeles fans who were still watching the game also stood up. No one wanted to watch the poor performance anymore. They spent money to be uncomfortable. This was a terrible experience!

With both free throws made, the Lakers gave up the attack. The boos in the Staples Center became louder and louder. The game time passed quickly, and a large number of sports reporters began to prepare for the "charge."

"buzz"

Amid the buzzing sound, the lights at the basket lit up. 130:75, the Knicks defeated their opponents in Game 4 and swept the Lakers again.

Chalmers, holding the ball, looked up and shouted, now he is the "double champion", a complete winner in life, and excitedly hugged the rushing atmosphere.

On the other side, Li You was also hugging and greeting Marion and others. The veteran who won the championship for the first time was a little excited and kept saying "Thank you".

The sports reporters who were working in a cooperative relationship rushed to Li You's side and squeezed to the Lakers' bench. Worried about Duncan and Kobe's player passage, they blocked the two of them early and pressed their shutters.

In the fourth quarter, Duncan, who had been wearing a towel over his head, tried to squeeze out of the crowd, but the sports reporters didn't want to miss this opportunity and rushed over again, shouting:

“Tim, will you apply for the trade again?”

"With 0 wins and 6 losses in the finals, do you think you can break Elgin Baylor's winless streak in the finals?"

"Why did you abandon the game early, Tim? What happened in the locker room at halftime?"

"."

Questions came one after another, but Duncan remained silent, which made the sports reporters want to know the answers even more. They wanted to stuff recording equipment and microphones into the MVP's mouth, and more and more people began to make a noise.

Finally, under the escort of the stadium security personnel, Duncan was protected and entered the player tunnel. Although the Lakers fans did not insult him, the MVP was about to collapse emotionally after losing again. The Lakers staff on both sides were loudly comforting Duncan. In front of the locker room, Amy, who was wearing her husband's jersey and wearing more and more delicate makeup, stepped forward to comfort him immediately:

"It's okay, honey, everything will be fine."

Duncan hugged his wife, his heart was filled with emotions, he could no longer control himself, while hugging Amy, he covered his face and choked up and whispered:

“Maybe I was really wrong and God is punishing me for my betrayal”

Duncan couldn't stop his tears from flowing down. He cried sadly. The defeat in G3 hurt him greatly. Li You's words kept echoing in his mind. God always helped his opponents.

The eyes of the Lakers staff who saw this scene around them also became red. Many of them had not experienced the defeat of the Lakers in the "ancient times", but history is a circle, and now they have all experienced it.

The low-key Duncan is very popular. Seeing the MVP crying like this, everyone felt bad. Assistant coach Rambis, who returned to the locker room early, took off his glasses and sighed in a low voice:

"Basketball is always going to be painful."

Kobe sat on the bench with his head down, not moving at all, allowing the sports reporters around him to take pictures. The cheers in the center of the venue told him that his "mortal enemy" had won again. At this moment, he just wanted time to go back.

出场45分钟，30中10，三分线外9中3，罚球9中7，30分5篮板4助攻1抢断3失误，科比系列赛第一次拿到30分，结果迎来惨败。

Phil Jackson also sat on the bench without saying a word. The old man had long been autistic. He held his knees with his hands, stared at the floor, and looked like he was deeply shocked.

The "master and disciple" said nothing and did not respond no matter how the sports reporters around them greeted them.

In the center of the venue, Li Youzheng kept hugging and greeting all the Lakers players. Fisher was not as sad as the two core players. The old fish seemed to have returned to the Knicks, smiling and greeting everyone.

When he arrived in front of Li You, Fisher resumed his flattering nature, and he began to praise him as if it had become his instinct:
"You did it Lee! Many people are discussing your physical condition, but I know that you are the real superman!"

"Congratulations, Bro. It's my honor to be your opponent! It's my greatest luck to be a part of your championship!"

"."

Ariza, who was behind him, was completely dumbfounded when he heard Fisher's loud flattery. As the leader of the Lakers locker room, Fisher is still very impressive in his daily life, and he is neither humble nor arrogant in front of Duncan and Kobe.

This was the first time Ariza had seen him act like a flatterer. He finally understood why Fish could be the guild leader.
"It was a great series indeed, Bro, give them my regards, you know I respect every opponent!"

Li You smiled and hugged Fisher, who smiled and patted his chest to promise that he would bring "respect" back to the locker room.

Barnes was not too depressed. Life in Los Angeles was good. Although they lost the game, for role players, being able to reach the finals was a success.

"Our championship experience failed to change the Lakers, Lee, only you are the real winner, you will definitely achieve 8 consecutive championships!"

Ariza was numb when he heard Barnes' flattery. This tough guy was not like this in the Lakers locker room, but he turned into a flatterer in front of Li You.

"Bro, you are always welcome to the Knicks!"

Li You warmly hugged his former teammate and made a promise, which made Ariza's eyes light up behind him.

As long as the US dollars are in place, Ariza, known as the defensive gate of the Lakers, doesn't mind going to New York to play, but unfortunately, Li You did not give him any special treatment and ended the greetings with a few polite words.

Odom was the last one to say hello. Although he lost the game, he still gained Kardashian this season, so it was not a complete loss.

Perhaps remembering the opportunity to play in New York, Odom and Li You simply fist-bumped and then joked self-deprecatingly:
"This is the NBA, choice is more important than hard work! Congratulations, man!"

The surrounding sports reporters took the opportunity to squeeze in beside the two again. Some of them began to gossip about the midfield conflict in the Lakers locker room. Li You laughed softly:
"Don't make things difficult for him, go ask Derek, he is the leader in the locker room!"

When talking about the embarrassing things in the team, Odom shrugged his shoulders. He would be put on the shelf almost every season. Even if there was a fight in the locker room, he didn't care much. Now he just wanted to focus on Kardashian and return to his life.

In the noisy arena, many Lakers fans were still leaving, while others shouted Li You's name.

“Lee! Lee!”

Kobe stood up and walked towards the player tunnel without congratulating his "mortal enemy". The shouting and cursing from fans on both sides made his face even uglier.

After entering the passage, Kobe noticed that the staff all had a look of pity on their faces. He pursed his lips, almost unable to control the surging emotions in his heart, and finally said angrily:
"Help me get the basketball ready! I need to practice shooting more!"

The staff around were all shocked, and everyone suspected that they had heard it wrong, but Kobe stopped and glared at them and said angrily again:

"I have no interest in seeing them lift the trophy on my home turf! After the press conference, I'm going to get back to training!"

In 4 games, Kobe's shooting percentage was 37.1%. After two consecutive games of efficient performances in the first quarter, he fell to the bottom. Naturally, he was very dissatisfied with his performance. After thinking about it, he had no choice but to continue practicing hard.

Looking at Kobe's departing back, the Lakers staff looked at each other, and no one knew what to say for a moment.

In the Lakers locker room, everyone gathered around the sad Duncan, and when Kobe returned to his seat, no one greeted Mamba.

Vujacic was also a little depressed. He didn't get many opportunities to play. But seeing Duncan so sad, he still followed his teammates and shouted encouragement:

"It's okay, Tim. No one can win all the time, including Lee. Maybe in two years, he will choose to leave. We will help you win the championship."

Shannon Brown clapped along. He also didn’t get many chances in the finals. It was his first time experiencing such a big scene, and he ended up seeing a sad scene. This also made him appreciate Li You’s dominance even more deeply:
"Tim, we will always support you! After the award ceremony, everyone will accompany you to the visiting team's locker room. Don't let Li laugh at us."

Finally controlling the surging emotions in his heart, Duncan thanked his teammates repeatedly after hearing their support, and his face returned to its usual expressionless look.

Just thinking about having to see Li You's smiling face next, he felt even worse. He really didn't want to accept the "Champion Champagne" anymore.
There were still many Lakers fans in the Staples Center at this time. The award ceremony was not unfamiliar to them. They had witnessed it too many times, both here and at the Great Western Forum.

But when some Los Angeles fans saw James Dolan and Li You, wearing orange championship T-shirts, raising the golden O'Brien Cup together, their defense was broken, but more people chose to cheer out loud.

Kobe quietly walked to the exit of the player tunnel and looked at his opponents who were cheering on each other in the center of the court, his eyes full of desire.

".Averaging 43.5 points per game, Lee broke his own record for scoring in the Finals! We all witnessed this great moment together tonight"

David Stern's brisk voice reached Kobe's ears, and Mamba turned and left. Without any suspense, his "mortal enemy" once again won the FMVP trophy he had always dreamed of.

Although the distance was far, the Lakers staff were also looking at it. The cheers indicated that Li You had raised the trophy. Kobe seemed to be unable to bear it. He stopped and shouted again:
"As soon as that damn award ceremony is over, I'm going to start shooting practice. My offseason starts now!"

"."

Everyone was speechless again, but seeing the "ferocious" look on Kobe's face, everyone responded loudly, until Mamba's back disappeared from sight again, someone sighed in a low voice:
"Kobe must be crazy! Maybe we should hire a psychiatrist as soon as possible!"

"."

(End of this chapter)