Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 626 Los Angeles' Last Glory! They Still Haven't Given Up

"Let's remember this night! Remember it forever! All the friends who watched this game can brag to everyone around them 20 years from now: I've seen the greatest comeback in NBA history!"

"125:123! Remember these numbers! They will become part of history!" Barkley's excitement continued, his tone still incredibly high.

"Alright, Charles, alright," Kenny said with a laugh, "Let's look at everyone's stats tonight!"

「尼克斯队这边，休斯顿拿到8分2篮板1助攻1抢断，奥库7分6篮板1盖帽，小斯14分8篮板1盖帽，安东尼14分5篮板4助攻，史密斯5分5篮板2盖帽，莫宁2分6篮板3盖帽1抢断。」

"Tonight, all the Knicks' role players gave it their all! Okur and Mourning both fouled out, they fought to the last bullet, they did everything they could! It was their efforts that gave Lin Tian that final chance to go all out!"

「今晚林第一节5投3中拿到6分，第二节16投11中，3分球5投3中，罚球2罚2中，爆砍27分，第三节他9投3中，3分球2投0中，罚球2罚全中，拿到8分。」

「然后，就是最疯狂的第四节！这一节比赛林15投10中，3分13投9中，罚球5罚5中，单节爆砍34分！」

「整个晚上，林疯狂的出手了45次！并且命中了其中的27球！命中率高达60%！并且他3分线外21投12中，光是第四节就命中了9个3分球！以及他9罚9中的罚球。」

"Tonight, Lin Tian proved with an incredibly efficient and phenomenal individual performance that he is still the all-powerful superstar! He doesn't care what tricks you have or what methods you use; he just wants to win!"

"Remember Lin's final stats tonight! 75 points, 16 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 blocks, and 4 steals!"

"A 70-point triple-double! A crazy night! Tonight, Lin is God! He's God!"

"He deserves all the praise; his past arrogance and haughtiness have been proven time and again that he truly has the ability!"

"And most importantly, tonight Lin once again showed his fans what it means to create miracles, what it means to turn the impossible into the possible, and what it means to be the best player in the league!"

"Let's give Lin another round of applause!"

"The Knicks' performance was undeniable, but we still have to praise the Lakers tonight. They played exceptionally well, they almost secured the victory! If it weren't for Lin's incredible performance, and if O'Neal hadn't missed those free throws at the end, the win would most likely have belonged to the Lakers!"

「奥尼尔今晚轰下38分23个篮板5次盖帽的数据，科比也有37分9篮板7助攻的全能表现，普林斯14分，基里连科16分，费舍尔12分！」

"Their five starters combined for 117 points, accounting for almost all of the team's points! The performance of all five starters was impeccable."

"But their bench provided too little help! The Lakers' bench was completely invisible tonight. Whether it was the experienced veterans or the young players who had performed amazingly in previous games, they all played quite poorly."

"The Lakers are almost entirely relying on their five starters. Apart from Kirilenko, who left the game early, the other four players all played more than 40 minutes! Kobe and Shaq even played as many as 45 minutes! I think that excessive playing time is one of the reasons why Shaq missed his free throws at the end."

"He's too tired!"

"But Jackson really couldn't do anything about it. He didn't have enough personnel reserves, and he couldn't put O'Neal on the bench to rest."

"All I can say is that the best Lakers team ran into an even better Knicks team! They lost because there's really nothing they can do; they made almost no mistakes, but they still lost."

"This is basketball! This is competitive sports! This is the magic of the NBA!"

The two commentators were giving rapid summaries, while in a box at Staples Center, Stern's expression was rather indescribable.

He seemed to be laughing, but he couldn't laugh at all. He seemed happy, but he was also clearly quite unhappy.

As for the reason for this dilemma?

In the final moments tonight, the total number of fans watching this NBA game exceeded 6000 million!

The first time in history to be ever made!

This is a first in the entire history of North American sports! Before this, whether it was the Super Bowl, the World Series, or even the World Cup final, there had never been such a crazy number of viewers.

Stern undoubtedly succeeded in turning this game into a phenomenon, a super achievement that stands out in the entire history of North American sports.

And this only accounts for viewership in North America!

If we add fans from Africa, Europe, South America, and especially Asia, this number would probably at least double!

This year's NBA Finals have truly become a global event!

This is where Stern is happy.

But what bothered him was that the Lakers still lost.

The series is now down 0-3!

This means that tonight's frenzy is most likely the last one this year, or even for many years to come.

If the series is 2-1, then the next game will definitely have a lot of viewers! Even more viewers.

But 3-0?

Stern is quite pessimistic about the ratings for the next game, and he is even prepared for the number of viewers to be halved or even halved twice in a row.

Nobody likes watching a one-sided series; nobody likes watching a sweep.

Therefore, the focus of the next match is not even on how well the two sides will perform or what level they will reach.

No matter how well the two teams play in the next match, with a score of 3-0, not many people will watch the game anymore.

unless……

Should the referee intervene again to bring the score to 3-3?

Stern only thought about it for a moment before he couldn't help but shudder.

He could withstand the pressure and public opinion even with such a game, but tonight the hype was so extreme that the Knicks still managed to pull off a 30-point comeback.

If you blow like that again next time, it will surely incur the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people!

With this going on, Stern worried that his office building might be bombed by angry New York fans with missiles.

After all, the NBA headquarters is in New York, so it's quite convenient for locals to make a move!

It's worth mentioning that at the press conference after the game, the Knicks did not cancel the entertainment program prepared for halftime.

"Their officiating is utter crap! My grandma, with her eyes closed, in a wheelchair with her back to the court, could officiate better than them! Tonight's calls will be a joke, and like this game, they'll be forever nailed to the pillar of shame!" Carmelo Anthony, the most hot-tempered of the three, was the first to fire.

Then Stoudemire immediately chimed in: "The referees ruined the game, and they almost ruined our winning streak! Let me tell you, I've been playing since elementary school, but in all these years, I've never seen such shameless officiating! I even suspect that someone on our team has offended the referees."

"That's why we're being targeted!"

"But seriously, if someone really offended the referee, I hope it was by sleeping with the referee's wife and, while they were at it, their daughter too! FUXX! Those damn bastards deserve this! They deserve it."

After his two disciples had spoken, Old Nelson said calmly, "I have prepared a lot of checks. This money will definitely be used to pay fines to the league. But what I want to say is that if the referees are short of money, they can just tell me."

"I could have simply given it to the refereeing department and satisfied their desires. They could have just said what they wanted! Instead of subjecting us to this filthy and disgusting officiating, making our night a nightmare!"

"We New Yorkers won't skimp on a single penny when it's necessary! So next time, just give me a call!"

After the three people finished speaking, everyone looked at Lin Tian, ​​who was sitting in the middle of the three.

Lin Tian didn't disappoint everyone. He cleared his throat, coughed once, and said, "They ruined what was supposed to be a wonderful night. They ruined all my plans for tonight! I was supposed to be very happy tonight, and I was supposed to be able to reap a victory."

"But I'm in a really bad mood right now. I feel like the world has betrayed me. I've spent half of my night thinking, well, I'm thinking, is what Amaret said true? I'm thinking, did I really touch someone I shouldn't have?"

"I don't know if you've ever had such moments of self-doubt, but tonight my entire worldview has been shattered. I've suffered a huge blow. My plan now is to make an appointment with a psychologist immediately and have a good talk with him."

"I hope this isn't a permanent effect, and I hope it won't leave me with any irreversible shadows."

"That's all I wanted to say. I'm in a terrible mood."

"A 30-point comeback doesn't make you happy, Yao Lin? A 70+ point triple-double and the biggest comeback in history, don't these make you happy?"

"It's not about the reversal, nor is it about the data. I'm just really upset. If you want me to say it, I think if such outrageous officiating happens again, I will definitely retire."

"Since the referees don't want me to win the championship, and since the referees want me to lose, then I'm not playing anymore. My leaving the league might make everyone happy."

Lin Tian sighed as he spoke, then lowered his head, looking dejected.

And then?

Then he couldn't help but laugh.

I really couldn't hold it in.

But Lin Tian's smile clearly did not dampen the reporters' enthusiasm.

The speeches given by these four people tonight were absolutely explosive!

Two of them hurled profanities, one implied the league accepted bribes, and the last used retirement as a threat.

It's all money! For journalists, it's all big sums of money and tons of online traffic!

Today is indeed a good day!

At almost the same time, at the Lakers' press conference next door, the atmosphere was far less enthusiastic than that of the Knicks.

That's to be expected. No one can laugh when they're down 3-0, and no one can act nonchalant at this point.

OK duo and Jackson sat on the bench. None of the three seemed very enthusiastic. After answering several questions rather perfunctorily, they were about to leave when a reporter stood up again, indicating that he wanted to ask one last question.

"Have you given up? Do you think this series is over?"

This question brought a moment of silence to the room.

Because, how should I put it?

Everyone already guessed the outcome of the series. You think you can turn things around after being down 0-3?

If you could turn the tide, you wouldn't have been beaten 0-3, right?

However, despite the fact that I guessed it, no one asked this question all night.

Besides the fact that this is Los Angeles' home ground and many of the reporters here are their own people, it's also because everyone already knows the answer, and no reporter wants to ask these pointless questions.

In particular, asking this question would most likely enrage Kobe, Shaq, and others, like rubbing salt into a wound.

Nobody wants to do that, since they still have to make a living in Los Angeles, right?

We all know the unspoken agreement!

But now, as the press conference was about to end, someone finally asked the question.

"Of course we haven't given up," Kobe replied without hesitation. "The game isn't over yet, why would we give up? We still have two home games. As long as we defend our home court, the series will remain suspenseful!"

Did the Knicks give up when they were down by 30 points? No!

"We're only down 0-3, why give up?"

"In three games, we only lost by a hair's breadth, the difference was minuscule. Are we really that far behind the Knicks?"

"Are we really completely inferior to the Knicks? Were we at the level where they swept us?"

"Obviously not! We just lacked a bit of luck; we simply weren't as good at seizing crucial moments as the Knicks."

"What if we get lucky in the next four games? What if we win four in a row? The Knicks can come back from a 30-point deficit to win a game, so why can't we win four in a row?"

"From now on, we will unleash our full potential, we will give 120% of our energy, we will give everything to win this match! This series is definitely not over yet!"

"This series has only just begun! For us, for the championship, and for the glory of Los Angeles! We will not give up!"

"What if the series ends like this? What if you get swept?"

"That just proves I'm still terrible. I'll go back and keep training!"

"We'll win it back next year."

After saying this, Kobe didn't give the reporters another chance to ask questions. Instead, he stood up and left the scene.

Clearly, he was in a terrible mood.

Kobe is gone, but Shaq hasn't left yet. That big guy is still sitting there, I wonder what he's thinking.

The reporters at the scene immediately seized the opportunity and asked O'Neal again: "Shaq, do you agree with what Kobe said? Do you think you can turn this around?"

"I don't know." O'Neal's answer was more pragmatic, but his next words left the reporters with a bitter taste: "But I hope we can win back, I hope we can win."

"This is our last chance, and everyone knows what I'm talking about. This is our last chance! I've played for the Lakers for 10 years. I love this place, I love Los Angeles, and I can say with my hand on my heart that I've done my best. I really did my best here."

"But, but... but my Lakers career, or rather my entire career, was a failure."

"I'm disappointed that I haven't won a single championship, I haven't won a single Finals game."

"What I want to say in the end is that I don't know if we can win four straight games, I don't know if we can win the series, I don't even dare to say if we can win Game 4 of the series."

"All I can say is that I will give it my all. As Kobe said, I will give it my all and fight tooth and nail to win Game 4!"

"I don't want the next game to be the last game of my Lakers career!"

After O'Neal finished speaking, he also stood up and followed Kobe out of the press conference.

The reporters in the audience were truly stunned this time.

Although rumors of the Lakers breaking up the team have been circulating for a full year, this is the first time that the person involved has said it himself.

The fact that someone would say something like that at this time proves one thing.

They were truly driven to despair by Lin Tian's beating.

After losing a 30-point lead, what else can the Lakers do to secure a victory?

"Me too, I don't want the next game to be my last game with the Lakers." Jackson, who was still sitting in his seat, also pursed his lips, which was unusual for him. He was not as dashing and relaxed as he used to be, nor as indifferent and casual as he used to be.

He looked down at the microphone in front of him as if it were the lovely Jenny Buss, then nodded, said nothing more, stood up, and left the scene.

Two of the Lakers' three most important players have made statements that are almost like declarations of leaving the team. They are now truly pushed to the edge of a cliff.

This also illustrates the Lakers' current predicament.

They're not just on the brink of elimination in this series.

This lineup has pushed the team to the brink of collapse.

The Lakers could break up and rebuild at any time!

Or rather, if they fail to win four consecutive games to come back and win the championship, they will definitely have to disband completely!

This team might not have a single player who is not available for sale, except for Kobe, who is in his prime.

Everyone else will likely face the possibility of being sold by the team.

This team, which persisted for 10 years, fighting against Lin since the beginning of the new century, and giving their all to win a championship, has truly made it to the end.

For this Lakers team now, they are truly fighting for glory! (End of Chapter)