Madison Square Garden Was Home-Losing Here Would Disappoint the Fans!

Three minutes later.

Both teams' starters returned to the court.

George faced Humphries. A flurry of dazzling ball-handling left Humphries rooted to the spot.

"Whoosh!"

George burst past Humphries like a gust of wind, drove into the paint, and slammed it home.

And Bynum was waiting under the basket.

George barely seemed to notice Little Shaq's defense. He cocked the ball back and threw down the dunk.

"Huh?! That confident?!"

Bynum was impressed, but anger quickly spread across his face. "You think you can just look down on me?

I'm playing this well, and you still look down on me? I'll make you pay for it!!!"

The teams switched ends.

Bynum sought out George, backing him down fiercely in the paint. He powered his way into the lane, then... leaped with all his might, looking to dunk right over George.

George gritted his teeth and jumped just as hard. His incredible wingspan and solid leaping ability let him stop Bynum's attempt to dunk over him.

"WTF?!"

Bynum was stunned. "Why are you suddenly playing so well?!"

"Heh!"

George pursed his lips, then smiled confidently. "Losing at home is embarrassing. It would let the fans down.

I'm not going to do that."

The camera panned to the other end.

"Swish!"

Curry drilled a three-pointer over Paul, then roared, "You're not the only ones who want the championship.

We want it too.

This is Madison Square Garden. This is our home court. We're not handing you the win!"

The Knicks were fired up, every one of them.

Paul gathered himself. Curry's fired-up intensity didn't faze him; his own fighting spirit kept rising too.

"Basketball isn't about talking big. You prove yourself on the court."

As he spoke,

Paul used his polished ball-handling to shake Curry and lined up a mid-range shot to