Chapter 606: Only One Opponent Remains

Only those who believe in miracles can create miracles.

It is obvious that the Rockets players do not believe in miracles.

Their eyes had no light in them.

Speaking objectively, the Knicks did not play well in the first quarter, including Fan Xi, whose touch was far less precise than in the third game.

Other Knicks players were caught up in the huge excitement of being on the verge of winning the championship, and in some tactical plays they also appeared rash.

If the Rockets could calm down, if they were determined to press forward, they would have a chance.

But they did not do that; they seemed to have resigned themselves.

They responded in the midst of the huge cheers at Madison Square Garden with a silent and decadent attitude.

This left the commentators feeling disappointed.

In the first quarter, the Knicks took a 7-point lead with a score of 35 to 28.

At the start of the second quarter, Fan Xi corrected his playing style, constantly driving with the ball into the paint, continually challenging the Rockets' paint. In the situation where his touch was poor, this was the best way to maintain aggression.

Asik was quickly knocked out of the game, and his foul count increased.

After Asik left the court, Terrence Jones came in.

A so-so forward, an unfortunate soul… this guy is the cousin of the little flying squirrel STAT, a big forward from Kentucky; if he had entered the draft in 2011, he could have been a top-three pick, but he only entered the league in 2012, and his draft position fell to 18.

Moreover, that wasted year did not allow his skills to continue improving.

He is somewhat so-so.

He has a build somewhat like a power forward but plays like a small forward. Moreover, his shooting is not very accurate.

A so-so forward has a notable trait: they might be completely incapable, or they might suddenly become all-around capable.

Tonight, for Terrence Jones, is a night of miracles.

He first set a screen for Harden beyond the three-point line; Harden passed the ball to him, intending to give him a transition, but JR Smith tangled with Harden.

He could not pass the ball back, so he simply launched a three-pointer… Swish!

Three-pointer made.

Terrence Jones made the Rockets' first three-pointer of the night.

Subsequently, Fan Xi passed the ball to STAT driving into the paint; as he went up for a layup, Terrence Jones ambushed him from behind, slapping away the layup of STAT, who was avoiding Howard.

Terrence, holding the ball, sprinted all the way.

On the Knicks' side, nobody went to guard Jones; Josh Smith and JR Smith, as they crossed paths, both inadvertently missed Terrence.

This allowed Jones to take the ball straight to the three-point line and then shoot… by the time Fan Xi lunged over to defend, it was already too late.

Swish!

Three-pointer made.

Jones hit consecutive three-pointers, instantly shrinking the deficit to 3 points.

Larry Brown hurriedly called a timeout; now that the stage is all set, we cannot let this suddenly emerged nobody ruin the championship ceremony.

"Hey, what have these guys been doing all this time? Why not put this guy on the court earlier? Why is D'Antoni so conservative? If they had used Terrence in the first game… maybe they'd already have at least one or two wins in their pocket." Shaq O'Neal shouted on TV.

He is someone who loves excitement.

The Rockets fans in front of the TV also agreed wholeheartedly, deciding that Terrence Jones was simply unstoppable—he could hit threes, block shots, handle the ball and advance, and still make three-pointers.

The Rockets desperately need a player like him.

At least, he's better than Asik constantly loitering in the paint.

Terrence Jones gave hope to many people that night.

Actually, his two three-pointers also gave the Rockets players some hope—what if?

After Larry Brown consulted with Fan Xi on the bench, he adjusted the lineup.

He paired Kevin Garnett and Josh Smith in the paint, and on the perimeter he matched up Belinelli and Joe Johnson.

This is a four-forward lineup.

It is highly mobile, and the interior defense also remains resilient.

After the timeout, Josh Smith stuck to Terrence Jones. Jones had just begun to show promise, and was immediately marked. In terms of being so-so, Josh Smith is ahead of him.

Moreover, Fan Xi came in and drove straight into the paint, using an up-and-down move to fake out the defender, then slammed a one-handed dunk, boosting the team's momentum.

The Rockets had no solution against Fan Xi.

The little momentum they had just built up was quickly shattered, and soon they were utterly deflated.

The balance of the game tipped toward the Knicks.

At halftime, the Knicks led by 12 points.

During halftime, the Knicks arranged a performance. James Dolan went all out tonight; he never even considered playing a fifth game.

So, he invited Selena to come perform.

This even exceeded Fan Xi's expectations; Selena had told him the night before, when they talked on the phone, that she was recording a new album.

As it turned out, she now appeared at Madison Square Garden, and moreover, her performance was staggered with Taylor Swift's.

After Selena's performance ended, this Disney princess also ran to the sidelines and hugged Fan Xi, leaving a generous red mark on his forehead.

This made O'Neal slam the table and shout: "What kind of relationship is this? Why, after Taylor Swift kissed him, does it now turn to Selena to kiss him?"

He was very jealous.

His face was full of envy: "How many girlfriends does Fan Xi actually have? This is an age-old mystery. I'd like to say he might not have a single 'Fan girl,' but reality tells me he very well could be juggling… or at least have dated them one after another!"

O'Neal's interest shifted from the game to other matters. Speaking as a detective, he said: "First, the Kardashian family definitely has a woman who is with him. This can be seen from the Clippers' equity structure—if he weren't with the Kardashians' little sister, why would he accept Kanye West's investment? And he still keeps in touch with the Kardashian family."

"Second, he definitely was together with Si Jia Li. Si Jia Li has left too many traces showing she is a woman who vies for affection and gets jealous; she has quarreled over Jie Ke and many other women."

"Of course, the most certain of all is the bedside-table war god, Taylor Swift."

"Furthermore, I feel Selena should be unrequitedly in love. Selena turned down Justin Bieber, which was a wise choice. She definitely loves Jie Ke very, very, very much…"

"……"

O'Neal knows Fan Xi's love affairs inside out.

Of course, he also missed some. After all, Fan Xi is a guy oozing charm from head to toe. A walking hormone, even a great detective couldn't count how many charming female stars have fallen under his shorts.

Kenny says: "Shaq, researching these things does you no good. You can't even hold onto your own legitimate wife……"

Smith's comment is pretty harsh.

O'Neal wasn't angry either; he's not sensitive about this, and neither are Americans. He said: "The only thing I regret is not learning from Reggie Miller. That guy can even make money from marriage; he always settles his property in advance, no woman can take wealth from Reggie Miller... his legal team is too professional."

"'By the way, will Jack's wealth be taken by these women?' O'Neal suddenly wondered."

Barkley corrected him: "Jack is currently unmarried. Moreover, the way he's better than you is that he dates only famous, wealthy women. If you add up the income of all his rumored girlfriends, it even exceeds some countries' GDP."

Speaking of this, Barkley spread his hands and said: "Today's basketball stars are far crazier than we were back then. Jieke Fan is even the owner of a team, a major shareholder of the world's third-largest basketball shoe brand, and an endorser for over 100 brands worldwide... This guy has been in the NBA for four years and has already earned as much as many superstars combined earn in a lifetime."

"'I even think Michael's wealth can't outweigh Jieke Fan.'"

"This is far more practical than the empty fame of Thus we include: English."

Barkley said sourly.

However, Kenny beside him reminded him: "No, the fame of the Basketball God is still important. If Jack becomes the Basketball God, he'll earn even more. Moreover, who doesn't want to be the GOAT of a field? Don't you want that? Charles, you just lack the ability."

Barkley's face flushed.

He couldn't speak for a long while.

……

The second half continued.

The Rockets didn't create a miracle; they just went through the motions, lukewarm.

It's like a frog jumping into warm water on its own, not expecting to escape.

Even if New York's celebratory stance is meant to humiliate them.

But they know their ability is lacking. Moreover, morale has long completely collapsed, and besides, no one wants to endure Fan Xi's wrath like Chris Paul.

After the third quarter, victory was already clear.

The fourth quarter had barely started when it entered garbage time, with both sides just engaging in boring offense and defense to kill time.

Before the game ended, the Knicks' staff had already brought some championship T-shirts and distributed them to the Knicks players.

At the same time, fans in Madison Square Garden also began shouting, "We are the champions!"

The camera panned over, and everyone's face showed excitement.

Many old fans even had tears on their faces.

To them, this championship had been awaited for far too many years.

Their last championship even dates back to the distant 1970s, when Frazier and Reed were on the team.

They had won two championships before, in 1969 and 1973. It's been 41 years since then.

That's a generation's time.

In between, the Knicks led by Ewing twice reached the finals in the 90s, losing to the Houston Rockets in the 93–94 season and to the Spurs in the 98–99 season.

This season, after acquiring Fan Xi, they finally made it back to the finals and avenged a loss from ten years ago against the Rockets.

The Knicks were about to lift the championship trophy.

Patrick Ewing on the sidelines, moved, lowered his head, like a monkey silently wiping tears.

Other veteran Knicks players were also very moved, they kept raising their heads to look at the prepared historical recap... Although the game hadn't ended yet, they had already stirred up their emotions.

The Knicks were a bit overeager.

But it's understandable, after all they've waited so many years.

After many years, the daughter-in-law finally became the mother-in-law.

The game's whistle finally ended amidst the Knicks fans' eager anticipation.

133:110

The verdict is in.

The Knicks swept the Rockets 4-0 to become the 2013-2014 season champions, winning their third championship trophy in franchise history.

At the moment the whistle blew, players and staff rushed toward Fan Xi, and Coach Larry Brown doused him with a bucket of Gatorade.

Next, Fan Xi was lifted up by the excited teammates and tossed into the air.

The whole Madison Square Garden was shouting: MVP! MVP! MVP!

At the same time, Earl Johnson read the stats on TV: '... This year's Finals MVP is no longer in doubt. Jieke Fan averaged 42.5 points, 11.5 assists, 10.2 rebounds, 3.5 steals, 3 blocks. This is an unprecedented 40+ triple-double in NBA Finals history, setting a new record.'

"'So, is there still any doubt about the Finals MVP?'"

"'Jieke Fan will become the first player in NBA history to win four consecutive championships with three different teams, and also the only player with four straight Finals MVPs. Moreover, he breaks all youngest records; this is his fourth season. He holds an undefeated Finals record and maintains the championship dominance record since entering the league.'"

"'Even if we compare with data from ancient times, Jieke Fan is still a one-of-a-kind existence.'"

Earl Johnson read from the script; this was a contingency prepared by TNT. If Fan Xi hadn't won tonight, he had another script.

It's like the testament of Wang Duo Yu Ye, and also like Schrödinger's cat.

Shaq O'Neal looked at the court where Fan Xi was being chased by everyone, and said: 'I have to say, Jack is the most dominant superstar since myself. He dominates the game's defense uniquely. Although I've never been his teammate, I must say his greatness surpasses any guard I've ever partnered with.'

"'Including Kobe? Including LeBron James!' Charles Barkley tried to stir up some news."

O'Neal said confidently: 'Of course. No need to mention LeBron—he's already lost too many victories to Jack. You can ask Kobe. Although Kobe now has five championships, he only has one Finals MVP. Whereas Fan Xi has four, and Fan Xi is the active player with the most Finals MVPs.'

Kobe Bryant sitting in front of the TV is a fiercely competitive person, he stubbornly believes in himself. But this time, he didn't feel O'Neal was slighting him. Because he also thinks that.

Now, the only opponent facing Fan Xi is Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan is the undisputed first in NBA history.

Fan Xi now wants to seize that chair.

The Knicks' staff finally cleared the court, and the new NBA commissioner Adam Silver also walked to the center of the court with a smile.

He will present tonight's championship trophy and Finals MVP.

Although, there is no suspense for either.

But the due sense of ceremony should still be there.

…