May 6, Boston's New Garden.
The first game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals officially kicked off between the two long-time rival cities of Boston and New York.
At the end of the tunnel in the home team's locker room, Jeff Van Gundy, sporting his signature dark circles, gripped the tactical board tightly. He looked like he hadn't slept for three days, but his eyes shone with a fanatical fervor.
"Slow down! Keep each round under 20 seconds!" Van Gundy gave his final pep talk before the fight. "Give them physical contact! Keep the score under 80 points, finish them off in the mud!"
In the first quarter, the Knicks did indeed strictly execute the head coach's tactics.
Knicks point guard Mark Jackson attempted to slow down the pace to the extreme, using his back to the basket and cutting down the clock by turning past his defender on the outside of the three-point line. But against Boston's "historic" defense, this slow offense was nothing short of a slow suicide.
Gary Payton and Bruce Bowen's perimeter pressure made it a luxury for the Knicks ' dynamic duo (Allan Houston and Sprewell ) to even receive the ball comfortably. Camby and veteran Larry Bird Johnson battled fiercely with Garnett and Ben Wallace in the paint, but they still couldn't gain any advantage in Boston's restricted area.
The first quarter ended with a score of 22-12.
The Knicks scored only 12 points in the quarter, shooting less than 30% from the field. Despite the extremely ugly and sluggish game, Van Gundy still clapped his hands vigorously on the sidelines. Being down by 10 points was still within his acceptable range; as long as the game could be dragged into a quagmire, he believed in New York's resilience.
However, a distinguished guest in the adjacent luxury private room had already lost patience.
LeBron James Dolan, the owner of the New York Knicks and the absolute ruler of Madison Square Garden, was sitting in the visiting team's VIP box. He held a glass of whiskey in his hand, his tie was loose, and his slightly chubby face was flushed red with anger.
"Is this the 'iron-blooded basketball' he promised me?" Dolan slammed his glass on the table, splattering ice and liquor everywhere.
He turned his head and stared at Scott Layden, the Knicks' general manager, who was standing nervously to the side.
"We spent the highest salaries in the league to assemble this roster. Patrick Ewing is gone, we should have played better! And what did we do? 12 points in a single quarter? Against these hillbillies in Boston, we're like a bunch of clowns who can't even dribble!" Dolan's roar echoed in the box.
As the league's most hot-tempered and face-conscious owner, Dolan finds it most intolerable to lose face on the home turf of his arch-rival, Boston.
" LeBron James, this is only the first quarter..." Layden wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, trying to explain, " Jeff's ( Van Gundy's ) tactics are a war of attrition, and in the second half..."
"The second half?" Dolan scoffed. "You can pray they score a few more goals in the second half, or I swear I'll fire that bald Jeff Van Gundy on the flight back to New York!"
The second quarter began. Layden's prayers not only failed to be answered, but instead plunged him into an even deeper abyss of despair.
Rick Carlisle replaced his lineup with a five-outcourt stretch lineup consisting of Chauncey Billups Billups, Michael Redd, Ron Artest, Rasheed Wallace, and Wang Zhizhi.
Layden initially thought that without Garnett, the Knicks could finally breathe a sigh of relief in the paint. But he was wrong.
When Rasheed and Wang Zhizhi both moved to the three-point line, the Knicks ' interior defense, including Camby and Kurt Thomas, became completely ineffective. If they went out to defend, their interior defense was breached by Redd and Billups. If they stayed inside, Wang Zhizhi and Rasheed's three-pointers rained down on them.
Even more deadly was the defensive end, where Artest completely unleashed his power. On the flank, he was like a heavy armored vehicle, smashing Sprewell, who was trying to break through, to the ground.
The Celtics scored 36 points in the second quarter alone!
At halftime, the score was 58-28.
The massive 30-point deficit sent the New Garden into a frenzy, while the Knicks ' bench was deathly silent, like a morgue. Allan Houston shot 2-for-11 in the first half, and the Knicks' dynamic duo went completely cold.
In the home team's box, Lin Qi held a glass of red wine, looking down at LeBron James Dolan, who was in a fit of impotent rage in the opposite box.
" Rick ( Rick Carlisle )," Lin Qi picked up the walkie-talkie on the table and connected directly to the assistant coach's bench, "Last December, how many points did the Knicks score on the road against the Utah Jazz?"
Rick Carlisle's calm voice came through the walkie-talkie. "58 points, boss. That's the lowest single-game score in modern basketball history."
"Very good." Lin Qi gently swirled his wine glass, a cruel smile playing on his lips. " LeBron James Dolan is a man who loves making history. Since he's come to Boston to watch the game in person today, let's give him a big gift."
The second half of the game turned into a complete humiliation for New York.
Even with their third-string lineup, the Celtics ' defensive intensity didn't drop much, and they were still able to limit the Knicks ' offense.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the television cameras repeatedly focused on Jeff Van Gundy. The defensive mastermind was holding his head in his hands, staring blankly at the scoreboard, his face filled with despair that seemed to overflow the screen.
"Beep--"
The final whistle finally blew.
The score on the big screen froze at [number].
101:57.
A massive 44-point margin! And the New York Knicks were held to just 57 points throughout the entire game!
This not only broke the Knicks' franchise record of 58 points set just six months earlier in Salt Lake City, but also cemented New York's pride, Van Gundy's system, and Dolan's self-esteem on the pillar of shame.
In the away team's box, LeBron James Dolan, his face ashen, kicked over the coffee table in front of him. The sound of shattering glass was particularly jarring in the quiet box.
" Scott." Dolan turned, glaring at General Manager Layden like an enraged boar. "Give Jeff Van Gundy an ultimatum. If he continues to let us get thrashed like idiots on national television in the next game..."
Dolan straightened his disheveled suit, pushed open the door, and strode out, leaving behind a cold remark.
"Then let him never come back to Madison Square Garden!"