At Arco Arena, the few remaining Kings fans watched helplessly as Klay Thompson turned the game into his own personal shooting exhibition.
But strangely enough...
Klay was not even the main character at the start of the night.
That title belonged to Lin Yi.
From the opening minutes, Lin Yi continued displaying the dominant form he had shown recently. The Kings had built a strong interior defense with Hassan Whiteside and Tristan Thompson, but Lin Yi had no intention of backing down.
Every time Sacramento tried to challenge him at the rim, Lin Yi responded.
Every time the Kings tried to make him uncomfortable, he attacked even harder.
George Karl could only watch from the sideline, frustrated and repeatedly calling adjustments.
Despite being an inexperienced roster, the Kings played with impressive energy.
They had nothing to lose.
And sometimes, teams with nothing to lose were the most dangerous opponents.
Late in the first half, Sacramento made one final push.
A 20-point deficit was reduced to single digits.
The score became 68-61.
The Knicks' comfortable advantage had suddenly shrunk to seven points.
Then the third quarter began.
And Klay Thompson took over.
Nobody knew what happened during halftime.
Maybe he drank something unusual.
Maybe he simply decided that he had seen enough.
With 10:21 remaining in the third quarter, the usually quiet and composed Klay suddenly became the center of attention.
It started with a simple play.
Klay slipped along the baseline and cut behind the defense.
Marcus Thornton tried to follow, but he was a step late.
Lin Yi found him.
Klay caught the ball.
Three points.
The shot went in.
The Kings tried to respond immediately, but their fast break failed.
Klay grabbed the rebound before Lin Yi and pushed the ball himself.
Everyone knew Klay was not a traditional ball-handler.
That was not his game.
But after crossing half court, with Thornton still in front of him, Klay suddenly pulled up.
No hesitation.
No setup.
Just a shot.
Thornton wanted to complain.
He was convinced he had defended perfectly.
His hand was right in Klay's face.
The shot still went in.
Again.
At that moment, Thornton probably considered calling for help. Unfortunately, there was nobody who could stop a player who had entered that zone.
The three-pointer extended New York's lead.
And George Karl made the mistake that changed the game.
He waited too long to call a timeout.
The Kings attacked inside, but Tristan Thompson's attempt missed.
Lin Yi secured the rebound.
Instead of pushing himself, he immediately looked for the hottest shooter on the floor.
Klay.
The ball reached him at the top of the arc.
Two steps behind the three-point line.
Klay calmly raised his right hand toward Lin Yi.
A signal.
A screen.
Lin Yi smiled.
For an assist, he was more than happy to help.
He moved toward Klay.
But before Lin Yi even reached him...
Klay shot.
Lin Yi stopped.
"..."
Only Klay Thompson could ask for a screen that was never needed.
The truth was simple.
Klay was feeling it.
And once Klay started feeling it, even he could not stop himself.
The three straight three-pointers finally forced Sacramento to call a timeout.
But it was already too late.
The rhythm was gone.
Klay had found his rhythm.
Over the next four minutes, he hit five more three-pointers.
One of them came from the corner, through contact, resulting in a four-point play.
The Kings players looked completely lost.
This was no longer a shooting streak.
It was an air raid.
One three-pointer after another.
The Knicks players quickly understood what was happening.
They kept feeding Klay.
Lin Yi had no reason to interrupt.
This was Klay's moment.
And watching his teammate explode like this, Lin Yi finally understood something.
Years later, when Stephen Curry celebrated Klay's incredible shooting nights more than his own, it was not an exaggeration.
Because watching someone catch fire like this was unbelievable.
One moment, the game was competitive.
The next...
You looked at the scoreboard and realized you were almost 30 points ahead.
How was that even possible?
The entire third quarter belonged to Klay.
Eleven three-point attempts.
Ten makes.
Three additional mid-range shots.
One free throw.
Thirty-seven points in a single quarter.
The only reason Lin Yi's newly established single-quarter scoring record of 38 points survived was that Klay's final three-point attempt missed.
Basketball is ridiculous, and I love it, Lin Yi thought.
Klay Thompson was not a player who cared about logic.
When he got hot, he simply ignored everything.
Defense.
Pressure.
The scoreboard.
Nothing mattered.
Lin Yi had watched countless highlights of Klay's famous 37-point quarter in the future.
But this performance was arguably even more impressive.
13-for-14 shooting.
51 points overall.
A player who had scored only 14 points in the first half exploded into one of the greatest shooting performances anyone had ever seen.
On TNT, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith eventually ran out of words.
What could they even say?
The Knicks were already known as Lin Yi's team.
His dominance was so overwhelming that people sometimes forgot how terrifying his second-in-command was.
This season, Klay Thompson was averaging:
22.9 points.
3.6 rebounds.
2.9 assists.
49.1 percent shooting.
46.8 percent from three.
According to ESPN's advanced statistics, Klay also spent the least time controlling the ball among almost every team's second option.
This game was the perfect example.
During the entire third quarter, Klay held the ball for only 47 seconds.
That was it.
Thirty-seven points.
Less than a minute of possession.
After the Knicks destroyed Sacramento 134-97, Klay admitted his only regret.
"The last shot."
"If I had made that three, I could have broken Lin's record."
Reporters laughed.
But Klay was serious.
When asked about his relationship with Lin Yi, Klay answered calmly.
"Lin is the leader of this team. There is no competition between us."
"He is too great. Honestly, his 38-point quarter was harder because the opponent was the Lakers."
Lin Yi also praised his teammate.
"If there is one teammate on this team I trust the most, it's definitely Klay Thompson."
The reporters nodded.
Then Lin Yi smiled.
"Of course, the teammate I trust the least is also Klay Thompson."
Everyone laughed.
"Because you never know when he'll suddenly decide the game is over and send everyone home early."
The answer earned applause from the media.
Later on ESPN, Chris Webber discussed the chemistry of the Knicks.
"This team is difficult to criticize."
"They do not have the internal conflicts that destroyed other super teams."
"And Klay Thompson is not the type of player who demands to be the face of the franchise."
"He simply plays his role."
"And when his role is to destroy opponents, he does that too."
"Tonight was the perfect example," Webber continued. "When Klay got hot, Lin had no problem stepping aside and letting him take over."
He shook his head with admiration.
"That kind of leadership is rare. If every superstar could lead like that, I'd want a dozen of them."
The chemistry inside the Knicks locker room was something the rest of the league could only envy.
There was no jealousy.
No power struggle.
No constant debate about who deserved the spotlight.
Everyone understood their role.
Everyone trusted each other.
Of course, that did not stop Lin Yi from having a little fun after the game.
As soon as the final buzzer sounded, Lin Yi immediately called Chris Paul.
Again.
And again.
Paul looked at his phone, then stared blankly into the distance. Unfortunately for Paul, being one of the best point guards in the NBA did not protect him from Lin Yi's teasing.
After the game, Klay also accepted an exclusive interview with Tencent Sports.
His relaxed personality quickly became the highlight of the conversation.
Unlike many NBA stars who carefully managed every word they said in public, Klay was naturally entertaining. He joked with reporters, laughed at himself, and never seemed uncomfortable in front of the camera.
That easygoing personality was one of the reasons he had become so popular with fans around the world.
During the interview, the conversation eventually turned toward his popularity and personal life.
The reporter smiled.
"With your popularity, do you think you'll ever settle down?"
Klay laughed.
"I guess I'll know when I meet the right person."
Then, after a brief pause, he added with a grin:
"Maybe I'll be joining Lin in the dad club sooner than people expect."
The reporter laughed, and the moment quickly became one of the most entertaining clips from the night.
Watching from nearby, Lin Yi could only shake his head.
Seriously, Klay?
He sighed.
I'm not even that much older than you, and somehow you're making me feel like an old man.
. . .
Klay's incredible third-quarter explosion sent a shockwave through the basketball world.
The first people to panic were the developers of NBA 2K.
Within days, Klay Thompson's three-point rating was bumped up to 97.
The developers had run into an unusual problem.
Reality was becoming harder to simulate than the game itself.
When actual NBA players started producing performances that looked impossible in a video game, there was only so much a developer could do.
The Knicks had become a nightmare for basketball simulations.
But maybe the real problem was not the Knicks.
Maybe the problem was trying to create a game realistic enough to keep up with them.
After all, Lin Yi had already turned down the chance to appear on the cover of NBA 2K15.
His explanation was simple.
He had been on too many covers already.
According to Lin Yi, he was simply giving other players a chance to enjoy the spotlight.
Whether anyone believed that excuse was another matter.
. . .
On December 22nd, after another impressive winning streak, the Knicks finally returned to New York.
With Christmas approaching, the team had no more games before Christmas Eve.
The league usually scheduled New York for the Christmas Day showcase every year, so for once, the Knicks were given a rare break beforehand.
For Lin Yi, it was a chance to spend time with his family.
At home, he played with his daughter while preparing mentally for the Christmas Day matchup against the Miami Heat.
The entire league would be watching.
The stage would be bigger than usual.
The opponent would be one of the best teams in basketball.
And Lin Yi knew exactly what kind of game it would be.
Christmas was coming.
It was time to show everyone something special.
. . .
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