The Knicks have won four consecutive victories since the beginning of March. At present, the Knicks have surpassed the Magic to come to second place in the East. The Magic have 43 wins and 20 losses, and the Knicks have 43 wins and 19 losses.
But in the game on March 8, the Atlanta Hawks ended the Knicks' five-game winning streak. Joe Johnson scored a three-pointer at the buzzer to kill the Knicks.
The game ended at 98 to 99, and the Knicks also lost the game at home.
This game is another rare one without either team scoring over 100 points. It had to do with the defense on both sides, but also with the Knicks underestimating their opponents after their winning streak.
At the beginning of the game, the Knicks' sloppy defensive attitude allowed the Hawks to score consecutively in the first quarter. Until the second quarter, the players except Lian Dao and Holiday still looked half awake.
Lian Dao scored 27 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists in two quarters, accounting for two-thirds of the Knicks' scoring.
At the end of the half, the Knicks were 20 points behind. To be honest, this situation never happened in the games against the Celtics or the Lakers.
This also made Lian Dao angry. During the intermission, he lost his temper in the locker room for the first time.
Lian Dao, who usually had a playful expression, became angry, but it gave everyone a feeling of tension and dread.
"Do we still remember the goal at the beginning? Do we think we can get into the playoffs with 43 wins, or do we think we can beat the Celtics and beat the Cavaliers?"
"Is our inner goal just to make the playoffs?"
"You know everyone is waiting to laugh at us?"
"Before this, do you know what they think of our Knicks? A place of decay, a garbage dump!"
"Do we want to go back in time?"
Lian Dao's series of questions were like thorns, piercing the hearts of all the players.
"No!"
At this moment, all the players raised their heads and shouted.
"I also believe that this is definitely not what we believe in our hearts. I believe that every Knicks fighter is no coward."
"We don't believe that the night is coming, because the torch is in our own hands!"
Lian Dao's words lifted everyone's spirits. He saw the fire return to the eyes of his teammates, and everyone let out a roar.
Lian Dao saw that the motivational speech had done its job, so he reached out his hand, and everyone stood up and gathered around him.
"Knicks!"
"Victory!" "Victory!" "Victory!"
What Lian Dao said left D'Antoni stunned for a while, but then excitement washed over him.
He could not wait to take off his suit and go into battle himself.
At the same time, D'Antoni once again saw the leadership in Lian Dao. A true leader not only leads a team to victory but also pulls teammates out of despair and rebuilds belief when it matters most.
The Knicks came out in the third quarter with renewed energy. As soon as they stepped on the court, the fans in the arena felt a change. Although they were the same players, their presence was completely different.
In the third quarter, the Knicks tightened up their defense. The Hawks felt the shift immediately. The Knicks launched an 8-0 offensive storm at the start.
The Hawks' head coach quickly called a timeout to settle things down.
Although the Hawks tried to respond with their inside advantage, the Knicks kept narrowing the lead.
With 1.5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Knicks finally overtook the score and held the lead until the last five seconds.
However, Joe Johnson, who had been quiet with his three-point shooting, hit a game-winner at the final moment. Both Lian Dao and Chandler had their hands up in his face, but he still sank the shot.
Joe Johnson sealed the win.
After the game, during media interviews, Lian Dao took responsibility for the loss. Even though he worked hard and led a second-half comeback, he admitted that letting the game slip had hurt morale. But what he said in the locker room had already left a deep impression on everyone.
Not long after the game, someone leaked a recording of Lian Dao's speech in the locker room. The media picked it up and widely reported on it.
At first, the media suspected it was a conflict within the team. But after watching the full video, they realized it was a fiery motivational speech.
From the footage, everyone saw another side of Lian Dao—the presence of a leader.
And his line "We don't believe that the long night is coming, because the torch is in our own hands" quickly went viral around the world.
It became a popular signature line online.
Durant: Isn't this my exclusive?
…
New York, Olympic Tower, NBA headquarters.
An assistant knocked on the door of David Stern's office.
"President, this is the latest update on the Knicks."
"What's the matter, another on-court altercation?" Stern rubbed his temples in frustration.
Whenever the Knicks were mentioned, Stern would think of fights or injuries.
It wasn't without reason. Since the beginning of the season, those types of incidents had involved the Knicks more than once. Fortunately, they had all been started by the opposition, so the Knicks had not been punished.
"Uh, no." The assistant hadn't expected Stern to guess wrong.
Stern picked up the folder the assistant handed him and read through the summary. He broke into a smile.
Lian Dao's speech was incredibly inspiring. It was the kind of message that promoted the NBA's image.
Especially since so many people were already quoting Lian Dao's final words.
"This kid can become one of the faces of the NBA in the future. As the Chinese say, he's very handsome."
Stern leisurely puffed on a cigar, not sure whether he was speaking to the assistant or thinking out loud.
Even though the assistant had been trained in maintaining composure, she still looked surprised.
She hadn't expected Stern to be so optimistic about the Knicks' number one. This meant Stern no longer saw Lian Dao as just a marketing opportunity.
…
On March 10, the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs. This time, Popovich didn't dare to use sneaky tactics, and the Spurs' veteran lineup couldn't keep up with the Knicks' pace.
The Spurs aren't afraid of half-court games, but they struggle against teams that play run-and-gun.
The final score was 97 to 87. The Spurs' defense remained solid, keeping the Knicks under 100 points again.
On March 12, the Knicks beat the Grizzlies 128 to 108 on the road. The whole team was on fire. The Grizzlies' basket turned into the ocean. Nearly every Knicks player kept raining down three-pointers.
Lian Dao made 10 of 14 from deep, Wilson Chandler hit 3 of 6, Holiday 2 of 4, Gallinari 5 of 7, Millsap 5 of 8, and David Lee 1 of 2.
The Knicks looked like a real three-point shooting team. They scored 78 points from beyond the arc. With 26 three-pointers, they broke the NBA regular season record for threes in a single game.
In the postgame interview, Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins shook his head in disbelief, repeating the word "incredible."
Meanwhile, D'Antoni was all smiles. The performance reminded him of the future of run-and-gun basketball.
The win over Memphis also avenged a previous loss.
On March 13, the Knicks played back-to-back on the road against the Dallas Mavericks. Fatigue and travel caught up with them, and they lost 108 to 112.
Nowitzki was steady as always, finishing with 28 points and 14 rebounds.
His mid-range shots looked more and more magical. That signature one-legged fadeaway was nearly impossible to guard. Even though Millsap worked hard defensively, Nowitzki toyed with him throughout the game.
But Millsap never lost his spirit. In the fourth quarter, he got braver, even stealing the ball from Nowitzki at one point.
The Knicks still lost, but Lian Dao saw great potential in Millsap.
He believed Millsap would face off against veterans like Nowitzki again one day—and prevail.