In March, Lin Yi's numbers kept climbing.
He was now averaging 36.8 points per game, just 0.3 behind Michael Jordan's 37.1.
Knicks fans were tracking two things at once. The team's chase for history, and Lin Yi's push to pass one of the most untouchable scoring marks ever.
Somewhere out there, Jordan would probably just shake his head.
"Did I do something to all of you?" he might say. "Why is everyone coming after my records?"
The answer was simple.
"Because you set the ceiling," someone would reply. "If you're chasing greatness, that's where it ends."
. . .
Inside the Knicks locker room, the approach was much simpler.
Shoot.
Mike D'Antoni did not hesitate when the record was this close.
"Thirty shots a night, minimum," he told Lin Yi. "No second-guessing."
In this league, if you earned that level of trust, everything else followed.
No one pushed back.
Wilson Chandler grinned when it came up. "Coach, he can take fifty if he wants. We're good with that."
Lin Yi laughed and gave him a light tap on the head. "Fifty? You trying to retire me early?"
He paused for a second, then thought.
Imagine I tell Kobe Bryant that. He might not take it well.
After a beat, he shook his head. Yeah, let's not start any trouble.
He had heard enough about the situation in Los Angeles. No need to add fuel to that fire.
He then pulled up from the three.
"Kobe."
Swish
…
April 2nd, Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks hosted the Celtics, and once the gap opened up, the game turned into a steady flow of touches for Lin Yi.
On the other side, Kevin Garnett had come in fired up.
Because Lin Yi had already put belt-to-ass to the Celtics in the paint the last time they met, the tone before this game was different.
Kevin Garnett took it on himself to lift the room.
He clapped his hands, stepped into the middle, and spoke with that familiar edge.
"I'm not where I used to be," he said, voice steady. "I know that. But I've still got enough left to compete."
He paused, scanning his teammates.
"So don't worry about me. I'm going at him. Every possession. I'll make him earn everything tonight."
Lin Yi heard about it and just nodded.
On the court, the gap was obvious.
Garnett still had the instincts, the voice, the presence. But physically, he was running on experience.
Lin Yi was operating at full speed.
Possession after possession, it showed.
A pull-up here. A quick post move. A clean cut to the rim. A fadeaway that barely touched the net.
At one point, Lin Yi caught Garnett on a switch, rose, and hit another jumper.
Lin Yi stared Garnett down as the beautiful sound of the net was made
"Wake up to reality, KG. Time to retire."
Garnett's little energy was taken out of him, as he hung his head low.
No drama. Just acceptance.
Garnett teammate, exhaled, and said quietly, "Yeah… that's tough."
By the fourth quarter, the Celtics' bench had gone quiet. The energy had shifted completely.
Lin Yi kept going.
He finished with 51 points and 18 rebounds, shooting 21 for 33 from the field.
In a season with only nine 50-point games across the league, he already had five of them.
…
After the game, the Celtics locker room told its own story.
Garnett sat at his spot, towel over his shoulders, staring ahead.
A younger teammate tried to lighten the mood. "You were still out there battling, man."
Garnett gave a reply. "More like I was getting hustled. Thanks though.."
…
Among Celtics fans, though, the reaction was louder.
Some saw it as payback for his rookie year exit.
Lin Yi would have laughed if he had heard that.
Petty?
He considered it for a second.
Then shook his head.
"One game isn't revenge," he said later to Paul with a small smile. "If you're doing it properly, you don't stop at one."
Paul raised an eyebrow as he packed his stuff. "So what, you're keeping count now?"
"Not exactly," Lin Yi replied. "I just don't forget."
…
On April 3rd, the league announced the monthly awards.
LeBron James took Eastern Conference Player of the Month, even with the streak-ending loss.
Out West, it went to Kevin Durant.
The rookie awards followed. Draymond Green picked one up in the East, while Damian Lillard continued to own the West.
…
April 4th, Miami.
The Heat responded, taking the win at home and snapping their skid against the Knicks.
The context mattered.
The Knicks rested Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler, prioritizing the bigger picture.
After the game, the reactions were mixed.
"Good win," a reporter told LeBron.
He nodded, but did not look fully convinced. "We'll take it. But we know they weren't at full strength."
Even so, one stretch stuck with everyone.
Midway through the third quarter, Lin Yi pulled up from deep.
Then again.
Then a third time.
Three straight from well beyond the arc.
LeBron glanced at Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Wade just shook his head. "That's not normal."
Despite the loss, Lin Yi dropped 48.
But without Paul and Chandler, the Knicks ran out of structure late. Miami closed it out, 110 to 104.
…
Back in the locker room, Lin Yi sat quietly for a moment, replaying that third quarter in his head.
For some reason, Lin Yi had started to notice a pattern.
Whenever he played the Miami Heat, the chances of triggering the Hot status and spinning for God Mode came more easily.
At first, he thought it was just a hot streak. But the more he thought about it, the more it felt consistent.
"It's not just my shooting," Lin Yi said quietly.
He paused, thinking it through.
Maybe it's the excitement. When the opponent is strong, I'm more focused. Everything feels clearer.
That was when it clicked.
"Maybe the system wasn't talking about touch at all," he murmured. "Maybe it's about how locked in I am."
Lin Yi shook his head.
So I've been looking at it the wrong way this whole time.
…
On April 5th, the Knicks went into Atlanta and picked up their 68th win of the season.
Josh Smith had taken on the label of the Hawks' franchise guy, but his condition told a different story.
He was a year younger than LeBron James, yet the gap in physical shape was obvious.
Lin Yi felt it the moment they matched up.
"This isn't just me improving," he said afterward. "He's not taking care of himself."
It was not a rare case.
Plenty of players got paid and relaxed. Some enjoyed the lifestyle a bit too much, and others simply stopped pushing.
Smith still had enough talent to get by, but that only went so far.
If a player relies too much on athleticism and doesn't develop other parts of his game, the decline comes quickly.
At the same time, if someone can dominate purely on talent, it's understandable why they might not feel the need to push themselves every day.
…
On the 7th, the Knicks handled the Bucks on the road.
Brandon Jennings tried to turn it into a scoring duel, but the context around him told its own story.
Milwaukee had shifted toward a rebuild, and the leash on Jennings had grown longer.
At one point, during a rough stretch, he had even gone to the coaching staff.
"I can scale it back," he said. "If that helps us win."
The response he got was not what he expected.
"Win?" the coach replied, half smiling. "Brandon, you're our guy. You've got to keep shooting."
Another coach added, "If anything, you should be taking more. Thirty a night. That's how we stay competitive."
Jennings took that to heart.
"They trust me," he told a teammate later. "I can't hold back."
The problem was that the numbers did not back it up.
Efficiency never followed the volume. And over time, it became clear the organization had already made its evaluation.
Against the Knicks, it showed.
Jennings put up 29 shots and only hit 4.
After one miss that bounced long, he jogged back on defense, shaking his head.
"Man, one of these has to drop," he muttered.
The Bucks were tanking with efficiency.
Across from him, Lin Yi kept it simple.
By the end of the night, Lin Yi had 41, and the Knicks walked away with a comfortable win.
…
On the 8th, the Knicks returned home to face the Wizards.
Yi Jianlian was back from injury, trying to help a Washington team fighting to hold onto a playoff spot.
After the game, he sat in the locker room, a towel draped over his shoulders, thinking it through.
"We gave everything tonight," he said. "But if we see them in a series like this… it's going to be tough."
No one argued.
Even on an off night by his standards, Lin Yi still controlled the flow when it mattered.
He was not at his peak in this one, and that was fine.
No one expected perfection every night.
What mattered more was what came after.
Back in the locker room, Lin Yi sat quietly, going through the game in his head.
Then something shifted.
He straightened slightly, a hint of surprise in his expression.
"…Didn't expect that," he murmured.
Just before the playoffs, he had found something new.
Another option.
. . .
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