Chapter 117

In the third quarter, he tried every means possible to score, but against the Pistons’ nearly perfect defense, he had no options at all, wasting numerous scoring opportunities and leading to the team’s current situation. Amare Stoudemire felt extremely guilty and helpless, as although it was he who wasted those opportunities, under the Pistons’ man-to-man defense, he could hardly find any chances to pass to his teammates, and even when he managed to pass, the shots often missed. That’s why he forced himself to take shots himself, but his shooting percentage of less than 45% left him deeply disappointed. Amare Stoudemire felt guilty, but the Knicks’ head coach, Mike D’Antoni, did not blame him. He knew that aside from Stoudemire, the Knicks had almost no other players they could rely on. So, D’Antoni had no intention of blaming Stoudemire; all he felt was helplessness. “I didn’t expect that Chinese kid to have such outstanding offensive skills. No wonder John was so confident,” D’Antoni mused. “Ladies and gentlemen, the game between the Pistons and Knicks has now reached a critical stage. The Pistons have completely dominated the Knicks, keeping their shooting percentage at just 38.3% throughout the third quarter. Additionally, Zhou Yi, playing as the shooting guard, has succeeded repeatedly thanks to the Pistons’ excellent teamwork, achieving an astonishing shooting percentage of 66.6%. If this continues, the Knicks are definitely doomed to lose. Can they find a way to turn the game around as home team? No one knows, but I believe most fans still hope the Pistons will win…” Yu Jia’s final words reflected the true thoughts of the fans. The Knicks’ home fans also lost much of their enthusiasm. By now, the Knicks’ performance in the third quarter could only be described as terrible—not only was their shooting percentage low, but their defense was virtually non-existent. They were already 14 points behind the Pistons at the end of the third quarter. If things continued like this, wouldn’t they lose by 20 or 30 points by the end of the fourth quarter?

For this very reason, many of the fans sitting in front of their TVs, supporting Kyrie and the Knicks, have turned away from the screens to attend to their own affairs. The fans in Madison Square Garden have also lost interest in continuing to watch the game, with a few even falling asleep. The fans have given up hope—have the Knicks players given up? No, definitely not. They will never allow themselves to fail. Whether it’s for their own dreams or out of professionalism, they will not give up on the hope of winning.