The heat of the New York playoffs had yet to fade as the Knicks and Bucks faced off in Game 2 of their series.
After only one day, Madison Square Garden was packed to capacity once again.
Fans across the United States remained focused on this Eastern Conference showdown.
Ray Allen had poured everything into Game 1 for forty-one points, yet still could not prevent the loss.
The outside world still held onto a faint hope that the Bucks could adjust and mount a comeback.
Many basketball commentators published analyses, believing the Bucks had merely made too many adjustment errors in the first game.
As long as they increased the speed of their rotations and cut down on pointless turnovers, they still had a chance to steal a win.
But those in the industry who truly understood the game had already seen the outcome of this series clearly.
Tactical advantages on paper could never overcome a genuine gap in raw strength.
The Bucks' only advantages were their outside threes and fast breaks. Their style was one-dimensional, with an extremely low margin for error.
Once Ray Allen was specifically contained, the entire team had virtually no second reliable scoring option.
The Knicks, on the other hand, had an offensive and defensive system so complete that it was nearly impossible to crack, without a single weakness.
Before Game 2, the atmosphere in the Bucks' locker room was oppressive to the extreme.
The players looked grave, their high spirits from before the first game nowhere to be seen.
Giving their all in Game 1 only to suffer a crushing defeat had completely shattered most of the players' confidence.
Ray Allen remained resolute, constantly encouraging his teammates to adjust their mindsets and go all out.
But he knew perfectly well that there was no