Reborn in 96, I started by taking charge of the Dallas Mavericks.

The holiday break is over.

The second quarter continued.

The Knicks had possession of the ball right from the start.

Allan Houston received the ball near the free-throw line and drove hard to the basket, only to be stopped by Yao Ming's help defense.

Allan Houston was forced to pass the ball to Charlie Ward on the perimeter.

Charlie Ward received the ball but found he had no chance to shoot, so he had to pass it to Ewing again.

After receiving the ball, Ewing immediately launched himself up for a powerful dunk, scoring 2 points.

From the latter half of the first quarter onwards, only Ewing was able to score for the Knicks.

The others either failed miserably or were completely contained.

This was also an adjustment made by Chen Fang on short notice.

He originally wanted Yao Ming and Nowitzki to limit Ewing's performance, but today Ewing was like he was on steroids, throwing down all sorts of powerful dunks under the basket.

Since Chen Fang realized he couldn't control Ewing, he simply decided not to.

Instead, they focused on limiting the other Knicks players, allowing Ewing to play freely on his own.

Anyway, Ewing isn't Kobe, so it's impossible for him to defeat the Kirin team on his own.

In addition, Ewing is getting old now, so even if he goes all out, how long can he last?

He overexerted himself in the first half; he might be out of commission in the second half.

Sure enough, in the following rounds...

The Knicks still have to rely on Ewing's individual ability to score, but as his stamina wanes, Ewing's offense becomes more and more difficult.

It wasn't until he missed an easy layup that the Knicks' head coach called a timeout and substituted Ewing out.

At this point, the Knicks' offense completely stalled in a scoring drought.

The Kirin team also took advantage of Ewing's absence to quickly widen the score gap.

Halftime is over.

The Kirin team is now leading the Knicks by 16 points, 68-52.

……

"Guys, even if we lose, we can't lose so badly!"

Inside the Knicks' locker room during halftime.

"Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy said, tapping his clipboard."

The gap in strength between the two sides cannot be bridged by tactics alone.

In addition, the Knicks players were ice-cold tonight, so losing the game was inevitable.

But he didn't want to lose the game too badly.

Jeff Van Gundy glanced around and finally fixed his gaze on Ewing.

“Patrick, I need you to step up in the second half.”

"Besides offense, I need you to help out more on defense!"

Looking at the Knicks' current roster, all they can rely on is Ewing.

Unfortunately, Ewing is already 37 years old this year. Can he really be relied upon?

"Jeff, I..."

If it were at the very beginning of the game, Ewing would definitely have confidently said, "Leave it to me, no problem."

But after playing half the game, he found that his physical strength was severely depleted.

He knew very well that if he continued playing like this in the second half, he wouldn't be able to hold on until the end.

Once people reach a certain age, they can't deny that they're getting old.

Ewing knew it was time for him to accept his age.

Then, Ewing sighed and said, "Jeff, I'm afraid my physical condition won't allow me to continue playing like I did in the first half."

"Perhaps we can try more three-pointers!"

Why was the Qilin team able to quickly widen the score gap? It was all thanks to their three-pointers.

If that's the case, can't they also rely on three-pointers to close the gap?

……

The second half of the game continued.

When the players from both teams returned to the court, people were surprised to find that the Knicks did not field their starting five.

"Huh, are the Knicks giving up on the game?"

"No, they've changed their formation. They've brought on Latrell Sprewell and Chris Childs."

"It seems they're trying to make a fuss about the outside."

In addition to these two, Jeff Van Gundy also brought Marcus Camby into the game to help Ewing relieve some pressure in the paint.

As the on-site commentator said.

At the start of the second half, the Knicks shifted their offensive focus to the perimeter.

With Larry Johnson added, the Knicks now have three players on the court with a three-point shooting percentage of over 40%.

They also brought in Marcus Camby to increase their rebounding ability.

It must be said that this round of personnel changes has indeed yielded remarkable results.

I don't know if it's because the Knicks' shooting touch has improved, or if the Kirin team underestimated the Knicks.

In short, the Knicks went on an 18-6 run in the first half of the third quarter.

They narrowed the gap to just 4 points in one fell swoop.

However, in Chen Fang's view, the Knicks were only making a last-ditch effort.

When it comes to three-pointers, the Qilin team has never been afraid of anyone.

After Chen Fang called a timeout, he quickly adjusted his tactics, switching to a one-star-four-shooter strategy.

Soon, the Qilin team retaliated with a 12-4 scoring run.

They widened the gap to double digits again.

By the end of the third quarter, the score difference between the two teams had reached 20 points.

Madison Square Garden.

By this time, many fans had already begun to leave the stadium.

Such an ugly match was simply unbearable for them to continue watching.

Whether you watch it or not, the fourth quarter will be garbage time anyway.

The Knicks have no chance of a comeback in the final quarter.

Instead of doing that, it's better to go home and sleep early.

When the fourth quarter began.

Two-thirds of the seats in the stadium are now empty.

Of those who stayed, more than half were Chinese with black hair and yellow skin.

They were all local Chinese and international students in New York who came specifically to cheer on Yao Ming.

Ultimately, seeing no hope of catching up, Jeff Van Gundy substituted all his starters with just over eight minutes remaining in the game.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Fang substituted all of his main players off the field.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the game.

The final score was 119-100, with the Qilin team securing a resounding victory over the New York Knicks on the road.

They also secured their first victory after the All-Star Game.

They continue to narrow the gap with the San Antonio Spurs.

Meanwhile, in Indiana, a game that just ended.

The Spurs lost to the Pacers 107-118 on the road, bringing their lead over the Kirin to just two games.

In the remainder of the season, the Spurs will embark on a series of road games against strong opponents, including back-to-back games.

Conversely, the Kirin team's schedule afterward was very easy, with opponents being among the weakest teams in the league.

It's no exaggeration to say that it's only a matter of time before the Qilin team rises to the top of the Western Conference.

Perhaps it won't be long before the two teams switch positions.