Chapter 674: Coach Chen Is Online
The Knicks continuous scoring placed real psychological pressure on the Celtics.
Under that pressure, Boston's offense began to stall. On the next possession, Stoudemire's mid range jumper missed.
Rivers, ever the strategist, did not call a timeout.
He believed his players could adjust on their own.
Chen Yan liked coaches with that kind of approach, because it gave him the chance to lead his team and quickly extend the lead to double digits.
At halftime, the Knicks led 59 to 48, an 11 point advantage.
In the 2nd half, Durant continuously initiated high post isolation plays.
Durant's touch was inconsistent tonight. Under Battier's hand in the face defense, his shooting percentage was very unstable.
To improve his efficiency, Durant could only resolutely attack the basket.
However, the Knicks deployed a 2 to 3 zone defense, primarily aiming to stop his drives. Through quick collapses, they forced Durant to do what he was least comfortable doing.
Passing.
If Durant forced the shot, it would be a contested attempt, and his accuracy could not be guaranteed.
Durant could only keep setting up pick and rolls with his teammates on the perimeter, searching for opportunities.
The Knicks defense in the 2nd half was very successful.
Kenyon Martin guarded the paint firmly.
Battier contested Durant's jumpers.
Keeping a big man near the basket to protect rebounds was a classic principle of man to man defense.
Durant had a tough time in the 3rd quarter.
If Stoudemire had not stepped up to score repeatedly, the 4th quarter might have entered garbage time early.
In the final quarter, Kenyon Martin immediately picked up a foul while fighting for a rebound.
It was his 4th foul of the game.
Nelson roared furiously from the sideline.
He thought the call was outrageous. Kenyon Martin's movement had been slightly aggressive, but it was still within the rules.
The next second, the referee blew his whistle and called a technical foul on Nelson.
Nelson wanted to argue further, but an assistant coach quickly held him back.
Tonight's lead referee was Bald Crawford.
If Nelson truly angered him, that bald head would really eject him from the Knicks home court.
This would not be the first time Crawford had done something like that.
In Game 2 of the 2003 Western Conference Finals, Crawford had given Nelson, then the head coach of the Mavericks, 2 technical fouls and directly ejected him.
The reason was absurd.
Simply because Nelson was not sitting on the bench.
After that, Crawford also ejected Mavericks assistant coach Harris, completely clearing out the Mavericks bench.
This man's officiating had reached an arbitrary level.
Whoever displeased him, he would deal with.
Even the King of Heaven would not be spared.
In 2007, the NBA began implementing a zero tolerance policy, aimed at protecting the authority of referees.
In a game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Mavericks, Duncan was directly ejected by Crawford for laughing on the bench.
The reason given was insulting the referee.
Duncan was left speechless.
Could he not even remember something funny?
Afterward, NBA executives investigated the bald referee, resulting in an indefinite suspension. Crawford missed the entire 2007 season.
To put it nicely, Crawford's officiating style was individualistic.
To put it bluntly, he was insane.
A complete lunatic.
After seeing Kenyon Martin accumulate 4 fouls, Rivers immediately adjusted his strategy, instructing his players to intentionally attack him and draw more fouls.
Kenyon Martin was not only the defensive pillar of the Knicks interior, but also their rebounding pillar.
If he left the game, Boston would gain many more offensive opportunities.
1 minute later, Rose drove straight to the basket from the top of the arc after using a screen.
It was less that Rose was driving to the rim and more that he was driving toward Kenyon Martin.
Kenyon Martin had been in the NBA for 10 years and had played in the NBA Finals.
He was an experienced veteran and immediately saw through Rose's intention, so he did not jump when facing the aggressive drive.
Kenyon Martin straightened his body and raised both hands high.
"Beep!"
The next moment, the referee's baffling whistle sounded.
Kenyon Martin looked innocent as he appealed to the referee.
If that was called a foul, he would have 5 fouls, which would be a fatal blow to the Knicks.
Crawford stuck to his original call.
Nelson could not hold back and let out another furious roar.
Nelson was very emotional, and the assistant coach could not cover his mouth in time.
Crawford glanced at Nelson and expressionlessly gave him his 2nd technical foul of the game.
History repeated itself.
Nelson was ejected.
David Stern was fuming when he saw this scene.
The Knicks home court showed a close up of Crawford, and a chorus of boos erupted.
The bald referee seemed to have excellent mental fortitude. He was not afraid of pressure from the home fans.
If he had truly been afraid, he would not have ejected Nelson.
2 possessions later, Kenyon Martin picked up his 6th personal foul and was ejected from the game.
With both the interior defensive ace and the head coach gone, the game instantly changed dramatically.
Boston seized the opportunity and unleashed an offensive surge.
David Stern wanted to kill Crawford.
He had single handedly changed the momentum of this game.
If the Knicks lost, the momentum of the entire series might change.
Over the next 2 minutes, Crawford continuously called 2 fouls on Turiaf, who had replaced Kenyon Martin.
If even Turiaf fouled out, the Knicks would truly have no one left inside.
Crawford seemed to be challenging the fans.
The more the home crowd booed and insulted him, the harsher his whistle became against New York.
What else could this be except a complete psychopath?
The Knicks called timeout.
The current score was 101 to 99, with New York still holding the lead, but the momentum was completely with Boston.
Turiaf could not help complaining, "Damn it. Is he sick? This is Madison Square Garden. This is our home court. Why are the calls stricter against us?"
"Damn it, does that guy want to be the main character?" Al Harrington also grumbled. "Or is he betting on the game? We should suggest the league investigate him after the game."
Chen Yan glanced at the teammates around him.
Everyone's mood was off.
Their attention had clearly shifted away from the court and toward clashing with the referee.
Chen Yan knew he had to do something.
After 3 seconds of silence, he clapped his hands loudly.
"Guys, put everything else aside."
Everyone looked at him.
"This Crawford guy is disgusting, but right now, we have something more important to do. We have to win this game."
Chen Yan paused, then swept his determined gaze over his teammates.
"The coach was ejected. Kenyon was ejected. But that does not mean we give up this game. On the contrary, we have to fight. Fight for them. Fight for the home fans supporting us. We still have a 2 point lead right now. Throw away every distraction and focus all your attention on securing this win."
After speaking, Chen Yan locked his gaze on Turiaf.
"Ronny, control your temper. Do not make unnecessary movements. If even you foul out, our interior is finished. Understood?"
Turiaf nodded after listening.
Chen Yan continued, "What we need to do now is maintain our offensive rhythm. As long as we stay on track, they cannot beat us. We need to defend their pick and rolls well, switch quickly, and absolutely not give Durant and Rose clean jump shot opportunities. Also, we cannot allow Boston to get too many second chance chances. That requires all of us working together. Every one of us must help front the post and protect the rebounds."
Chen Yan's voice rose.
"Let's win this damn game together."
Chen Yan's words reignited the morale of the entire team.
The image of him holding the tactic board and shouting was also broadcast live by the cameras.
When fans saw this scene, they gasped in surprise.
Then, almost at the same time, countless people exclaimed.
"Coach Chen is online!"
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]