On January 28, 1995, the Suns came to New York, and they will challenge the Knicks away from home on the 29th.
This is the second regular season game against the Knicks this season, and it is also the last one. Last time they lost to the Knicks at home due to an incomplete lineup. They really want to win this away game and stop their losing streak. If they lose again, it will be three games.
Lost streak.
Philadelphia is very close to New York, only more than 100 kilometers away. The Suns didn’t even take a plane, so it took a lot of time to get in and out of the airport. They took the bus directly, which left at around 9 o’clock in the morning, and they checked into New York just after 12 o’clock.
hotel.
In New York at the end of January, the weather was very cold, and there was still a lot of snow on the streets. This winter, some homeless people living on the streets froze to death, and some mole people living in the sewers also froze to death.
At this time in Manhattan's Chinatown, there was a group of Chinese youths playing ball on the open-air basketball court outside the street.
They didn't have this interest and hobby before, but since an old K came out here and became famous in the NBA, a trend has arisen among the young people in this Manhattan Chinatown to play basketball.
If you want to ask who is the most famous on this street now, the first is the Fuqing Gang, which has the pressure on all Chinese people, and the second is Lao K.
Among the group of Chinese young people playing here, some are members of the Fuqing sect.
Now this group of people are playing ball, and those who are not playing are sitting around the sidelines, chatting about various topics.
"This month, two more groups of people came from China, and the gang's business is getting better and better."
"I heard that the boat capsized during a typhoon last month?"
"Well, more than a hundred people were all fed to fish. The gang broke a boat and lost a lot of money."
"Hey, the Suns are playing the Knicks today. I wonder if Old K will come here?"
"Maybe. After all, he is the one who walked out of here. He hasn't come back since he left?"
"I have only met him twice and never spoken to him. Which of you has ever dealt with him?"
"I deal with him every day. He works in my restaurant and washes dishes at night. He takes care of all the leftover rice and vegetables every day. There is no leftovers. He is so big and so delicious." A man wearing a red down jacket said
The girl screamed.
"Xiaoqing, has Mr. K ever dated you?" a young man asked.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Xiaoqing said angrily, her face reddening.
"Now that you're cheating, people won't look down on you. He's only playing with the top female stars in Hollywood." The young man said disdainfully.
"Do you want to die?" the girl said coldly.
The young man's head shrank and he really didn't dare to speak.
This girl is not a good person. She has practiced martial arts and joined the Fuqing Gang at the age of thirteen. Her family is also rich, so she is not someone to be trifled with.
The reason why he provoked people just now was because he chased Xiao Qing, but they looked down on him.
…
After settling in the hotel, Lao Wang asked for leave from the team and planned to go to Manhattan's Chinatown and have lunch there.
At almost one o'clock, he and Liu Changfeng drove the SUV prepared by the hotel to Chinatown and parked just outside the street basketball court that changed his destiny.
Looking over there from the passenger window, he saw a lot of young people playing ball there. What surprised him was that they were all yellow people?
In the past, this basketball court was basically occupied by black people. No one from the Chinatown nearest here came to play here. What is going on now?
These yellow people must be Chinese. When he opened the car window, he could hear the sounds coming from the basketball court. They spoke a variety of Mandarin, Hokkien and Hakka, but he couldn't quite understand them.
"Why do all Chinese people like basketball now?" He was a little confused.
Pushing open the car door, as soon as he got out of the car, his huge physique was immediately noticed by a little girl sitting on the edge of the basketball court.
"Ah, ah, old K..."
Xiaoqing, who was leaning against the iron fence, heard a car parked outside, looked outside, her eyes widened instantly, and then she shouted, and at the same time she jumped up from the ground with very agile movements.
"Old K?"
Everyone looked outside one after another, and their eyes were immediately attracted by a huge strong man. At the same time, they saw the giant smiling and waving hello to them.
Lao Wang stepped onto the curb in one step. Before he could reach the stadium gate, a group of young people swarmed out and surrounded him.
The two tallest people in the group looked less than 1.8 meters tall, only reaching his chest. Several girls crowded in front of him, making them even smaller.
Xiaoqing ran the fastest, rushed forward, put her head directly on his stomach, raised her neck and shouted in Mandarin: "Wow, old K, you are still as tall as before, but stronger. You are still
Do you know me? I am Xiaoqing, the one who leaves food for you every day!"
"Leave leftovers?" Lao Wang complained in his heart.
"Bang!"
The people behind rushed up and hit the little girl directly on Lao Wang's stomach, almost squeezing her to death. She was so angry that she vomited and screamed. She pushed the people behind and screamed in Hakka: "Why are you squeezing?"
, please step back, otherwise the protection fee will be doubled next month."
This sentence frightened some of the young people to retreat.
Lao Wang looked at the little girl in front of him speechlessly. He had not seen her for more than two years, and this little girl was still as arrogant and unreasonable as ever!
"You guys go ahead and play, I'll go walk around inside." He greeted.
"Old K, our boss wants to see you." When he was about to leave, Xiaoqing took his hand and shouted.
"No need to talk, you Fuqing Gang and I are on our own terms, don't mess with me." He shook the little girl's hand and shook his head.
"Old K, are you so disrespectful?" Xiao Qing said coldly.
He stared down at Xiaoqing, raised his hand and pointed to Manhattan's Chinatown, which was just around the corner, and said coldly: "What, do you have any objections? Do you believe that with just one call from me, the New York Police Department can dispatch a hundred police cars to sweep this place?"
"Mmp, what's the point of relying on foreigners to bully us?" Xiao Qing's face twitched and she cursed secretly.
She was afraid because 90% of the people in Chinatown had no identity and were all smuggled in by the Fuqing Gang.
These people are the source of funds for the Fuqing Gang. At least half of their income here goes to the Fuqing Gang. If they are repatriated, the Fuqing Gang will lose its foundation. The boss must not kill her and her whole family?
"Aren't you Chinese too?" she said angrily.
"I am Chinese, but the Fuqing Gang cannot represent the Chinese. Don't you know what kind of people you are?" he said disdainfully.
He doesn't want to have anything to do with the Fuqing Gang. This is a group of guys who bully their own people. They bully the weak and avoid the strong, smuggle people from the country, and then continue to exploit these people. The membership fee for each store is three thousand US dollars, and they have to pay protection every month.
Fee, but for foreigners, they kneel down.
Xiao Qing was speechless. He knew exactly what they were doing. If those things were left in China, they would be shot ten times. So they were qualified to represent the Chinese people.
Lao Wang was too lazy to go to Chinatown anymore, which was the territory of the Fuqing Gang. He didn't want to cause trouble, so he just got in the car and left.
Xiao Qing and others did not dare to stop him. With their status, if they provoked Wang Tiejun, and with Wang Tiejun's current influence and status in the American sports world, they would be in big trouble, and they might not be able to get away with it.
"What should I do, Xiaoqing?" someone asked.
"What can I do?" Xiaoqing said in frustration, looking at the car driving away.
The Fuqing Gang has wanted to meet Lao K since last year. They want to establish a relationship with Lao Wang and use Lao Wang's name to do business. They don't need to pay any money from Lao Wang. They are responsible for all the funds, and Lao Wang can still get part of it.
Dividends, simply put, are money laundering.
They have a lot of money in their hands, but it is all black money and cannot be seen in the light. They urgently need more channels to launder it.
For example, they wanted to invest in Lao Wang's martial arts gym.
They had never had the chance to meet Lao Wang before. This time the Suns came to New York to play an away game, which was an opportunity. However, Lao Wang was very resolute and left decisively, which made their plan come to nothing.
Liu Changfeng drove and asked: "Tie Jun, you used to hang out here in New York?"
"Yes, just find something to do in the nearby streets." He nodded.
"Who are those people from the Fuqing Gang just now? Are they all from China?" Liu Changfeng asked curiously.
"Well, most of the Fukujian Youth Gang came here illegally. When I was hanging around here, they came to see me. If I didn't agree to join the gang, they wouldn't let me work in Chinatown." He said.
"What should we do?" Liu Changfeng asked anxiously.
"Langzai is not allowed here, so I went to the next block to find something to do. When I left Chinatown, they could only stare at me," he said with a smile.
"By the way, Brother Tielong and the others are leaving soon, right?" Liu Changfeng asked excitedly.
"Yes, tomorrow's flight will arrive the day after tomorrow. I asked Mr. Hawksman to pick them up in Los Angeles and then send them here." He smiled.
"That's good. When the martial arts school develops in the future, we can bring more people over from home, so we don't have to worry about these people causing trouble." Liu Changfeng said with a smile.
"Don't pay attention to them. We are different from them. We are serious people. They are rats in the gutter. No matter how miserable I am, I don't bother to hang out with them. They bully my own people and break my hands.
Do it." Lao Wang said disdainfully.
"Dragon does not live with snakes, haha!" Liu Changfeng laughed.
January 29, 1995, match day.
In the afternoon, they held team training at Madison Square Garden. After dinner, the Suns prepared for the game in the visiting team's locker room.
The TV was on and tuned to ESPN's NBA channel. The program happened to be news about the All-Star voting, and the host was reading the votes for each position.
"Old K, you have 1.25 million All-Star votes?" Drexler said in surprise while watching the TV.
"The voting ends on the 13th. It should reach 1.3 million. Old K, your starting position is secured." Dan Marley said.
"God, Jordan has already exceeded 2 million votes. Why is the number of votes so high this year?"
"Da Meng is almost reaching one million, so we are chasing him very closely."
"There's no time left, we can't catch up."
"Da Meng's skills are gorgeous and his quality is outstanding, but he is not as violent as Old K. His style of play is more popular with fans, and his topicality is not as popular as that of Old K."
"Old K monopolizes the votes in Arizona, so Dream and the others have no chance at all."
Everyone was talking about it, and Lao Wang was also staring at the TV.
The number of votes this year has indeed exploded, significantly exceeding last year's, which symbolizes that the NBA's status among the four major professional sports leagues in the United States has risen, and it has received more people's attention and support.
Among them, Jordan's contribution is the greatest, he is the biggest brand to promote the NBA, and he has to admit this.
And he is also one of the beneficiaries, because as the NBA's status rises, its commercial value increases. Most obviously, the team's operating income increases, the salary cap increases every year, and so does the player's salary.
As for him personally, not only can he sign a bigger contract, but as the NBA's commercial value becomes greater, his personal commercial value will also be greater.
Therefore, now he can better understand the saying that the NBA is a business, a wise saying.
At eight o'clock, both sides announced the starting lineup.
Suns: Wang Tiejun, AC Green, Drexler, Dan Malley, Elliott Perry
Knicks: Ewing, Charles Smith, Monty Williams, John Starks, Derek Harper
New York is the league's largest ball market, and the Knicks' national live broadcasts can rival those of the league's busiest Bulls. This game was also broadcast live across the country, and the broadcaster was ESPN.
At the same time, CCTV also broadcast the game in real time.
Zhang Lili said in the commentary box at this time: "The Knicks have changed the point guard this season. 34-year-old veteran Derek Harper is the main point guard. He averages 34 minutes per game, 11.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1 steal. His performance is still good.
.”
"Director Zhang, Oakley is seriously injured, and the Knicks' strength has declined. Do you think the Suns are confident in this game?" Su Qun asked.
Zhang Liyi nodded and said: "Perry's strength is not as good as Harper's, but now that Tiejun and Drexler share some organizational functions, the Suns' overall perimeter will not be weaker than that of the Knicks.
In terms of inside numbers, Charles Smith and AC Green are about the same. It just depends on who performs better, K or Ewing.
In addition, Drexler's performance is also crucial. His explosive scoring power is also very strong. He scored 50 last time. He is always getting stronger! If there is an explosion in this game, it will be difficult for the Suns to lose.
But overall, from a paper analysis, the Suns' current strength is actually similar to that of the Knicks. The key lies in how they defend the Iron Army.
If Tiejun can play efficiently in the low post, the Suns should be able to win this game."
Su Qun nodded and said, "When Oakley was here, even if he and Ewing teamed up, they couldn't stop him. Now that Ewing is the only one left, he definitely can't stop him."
The things discussed on the espn side are different from those on the CCTV side.
Commentator Winston Rollin said: "Coach Pat Riley has come to the Knicks from the Lakers for three seasons. This is the fourth season. He has built a strong team here, but if he doesn't come out again,
I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay any longer due to my results.”
Carter Oldman nodded and said: "The Knicks are dominated by the Bulls in the East and have no hope of breaking out of the East. This is really frustrating."
Just as he said that, he started playing.
As an enemy, Lao Wang appeared on the stage and received huge boos and applause at the same time, which surprised him.
He took a look and saw that there were many Chinese people on the field.
There will always be some Chinese at Phoenix's home stadium, but not many. There are very few Chinese there, far less than in New York.
At half past eight, the game starts.
Lao Wang and Ewing jumped the ball and stood opposite each other.
Ewing suffered a serious knee injury in his early years, but he still possesses extremely outstanding athletic talent. This innate talent makes him drool.
"Crack!"
However, he took the lead and took the lead to move the ball away, allowing the Suns to attack.
Entering the paint area from the free throw line is now his main style of play. From the beginning, he compresses the opponent's defense directly towards the basket and creates space for the outside.
Ewing's confrontation ability is not as good as Dameng, but he is worse than David Robinson. However, compared with him, he is much weaker. With his chest and elbows, he can barely withstand his aggression.
He squeezed down one or two meters from the free throw line and stopped pushing about two meters away from the basket, because if he pushed further he might get a three-second violation.
Turn around, put his left elbow against Ewing behind him, and ask for the ball outside.
Under the defense of Derek Harper, Perry pushed the ball one position away from the top of the arc. Seeing that Old K had obtained the receiving position, he lobbed the ball in.
Lao Wang shouldered the push from Ewing behind him, grabbed the ball with one hand with his right hand, and made a backhand hit with his back. After knocking Ewing's center of gravity off with his left shoulder, he immediately turned right while dribbling the ball.
.
Turning right, he avoided the double-team of Charles Smith from the right wing, then knocked away the small forward Monty Williams who passed by the double-team from the left wing, and elbowed Ewing away when he came back, and then
He took a step forward, swung his arms, and banged the Knicks' basket.
"Crack!"
Ewing turned around to block the shot, took off half a beat slower, and hit his arm.
"Beep!"
The referee blew the whistle, ran over and pointed at Ewing, indicating that the score was valid and an extra free throw was added.
With one against three, in addition to breaking the double team, he also beat Ewing with a two plus one. This attack by Wang immediately extinguished the momentum of the Knicks' home court and cooled down the temperature of the arena.
Zhang Liangli said excitedly: "This ball is beautiful. The technical movements of turning around after catching the ball are clean and very coherent. Moreover, even with one breaking three and three double teams, he couldn't stop his dunk. It's so morale-boosting."
!
Su Qun smiled and said: "Old K's turns are already very fast now. Even a super center like Ewing can't keep up with his rhythm as long as his reaction is a little slow.
Director Zhang, now K often doesn’t go to the low wings anymore, but just takes position right in front of the basket. What does this change mean?”
Zhang Lili smiled and said: "It shows that he is more confident in himself."
"Why?" Su Qun asked.
Zhang Lili explained: "The advantage of the two wings in the low post is that that position is far away from the outside and away from the weak side. It is difficult to double-team him. You need faster defense speed, and you can get more singles opportunities there.
The Tiejun often don't go to the low post now, but just sit a little below the free throw line. This position is more vulnerable to double teams.
If you look at the defender in the high position, he can double-team him by turning around and taking one or two steps. The defenders on the left and right wings can double-team him faster by taking two steps laterally.
Just now, Charles Smith on the right wing and Monty Williams on the left wing basically double-teamed, but they just failed. It is very difficult to pin down this giant beast of the Iron Army.
The fact that Tie Jun has increased the importance of this position shows that his self-confidence has increased. I will wait here for you to double-team, but you just can't double-team me.
He can attract more double-teams here. If he can't hit the ball himself, he can completely distribute the ball, leaving more open spaces for his teammates.
I think there is another reason. It is closer to the high post. The lightning has not come back. He is closer to the outside here and can connect with Perry and control the ball himself."
"brush!"
Lao Wang made the extra free throw, and the Suns started with a 3-0 lead.