Lin Yi didn't keep the fans in the arena or the millions watching on television waiting long.
The Knicks players understood him perfectly. No one needed to say anything. When Lin Yi started pushing the tempo, everyone already knew the plan.
If the boss wanted to chase a stat line, the team was more than happy to help.
The moment Lin Yi shifted into attack mode, the Knicks' defense changed as well, spreading out into an amoeba-like formation that covered the entire court.
To be fair, after Lin Yi picked up his eighth and ninth steals, the Thunder actually tried to slow things down. They started playing more carefully, working the ball and avoiding risky passes.
It didn't matter.
The Knicks' full-court pressure kept squeezing them.
With 6 minutes and 59 seconds left in the third quarter, Charles Barkley suddenly stood up at the commentary table and declared to the entire country:
"Ladies and gentlemen, you might as well get ready to celebrate. Lin Yi just recorded the fourth consecutive seasonal quadruple-double of his career!"
Barkley slapped the desk in excitement.
"And this one comes from steals!"
At the same time, on the Chinese broadcast, Yang Yi and Wang Meng were relaying the moment to millions of viewers back home.
"Madison Square Garden really is a magical arena," Wang Meng said with emotion. "And New York truly lives up to its reputation as one of the greatest cities in the world. A magical arena witnessing a historic night. Right now, the entire city is shining because of Lin Yi. We are blessed to witness this era of competition between greats."
He paused for a second, clearly moved.
"I feel like writing a poem."
Yang Yi laughed before continuing.
"Back in his rookie year, the famous CCTV commentator Yu Jia once said, 'Please, make the shot that decides the game.' In his second year, Yao Ming said Lin Yi was climbing toward a peak even he had never reached."
He raised his voice slightly.
"In his third season, Charles Barkley called him the best active player in the league. And tonight, we're watching him lead us to a view we've never seen before."
Yang Yi didn't hold back.
"If he isn't the MVP, then who is?"
Inside Madison Square Garden, the noise had already reached another level.
The fourth quadruple-double of Lin Yi's career.
Following what fans jokingly called Lin Yi's Birthday Magic, Lin Yi had now delivered another moment; people were starting to call it TheLin Yi Quadruple Standard.
Four quadruple-doubles.
No player in NBA history had ever done it.
When the stat became official, Mike D'Antoni immediately called a timeout.
Not for strategy.
He simply wanted Lin Yi to stand there and take in the moment.
Lin Yi closed his eyes and raised his hands as he soaked up all the adoration.
The entire arena rose to its feet.
"MVP!"
"MVP!"
"MVP!"
More than twenty thousand voices echoed through Madison Square Garden.
Donnie Walsh, who had just been named NBA Executive of the Year for the third straight season, sat quietly in his seat for a moment. He felt strangely grateful that years ago, his judgment had been just a little sharper than the Clippers' front office.
James Dolan was even more emotional.
Since buying the Knicks, he had never experienced anything like this.
After Lin Yi signed his early extension the previous summer, Dolan had joked with reporters:
"Do I really need to think about extending Lin Yi's contract? Honestly, the only annoying thing about it is that the salary cap and contract limits exist."
Tonight, Lin Yi was standing at center court, accepting the admiration of over twenty thousand fans and hundreds of millions of viewers watching around the world.
At the broadcast table, Barkley suddenly jumped down with surprising speed for a man his size.
He ran straight toward Lin Yi and dramatically dropped to one knee in a mock gesture of worship.
Back at the desk, Kenny Smith turned to the empty chair beside him.
"Hey Shaq," Kenny said, laughing, "you just missed Barkley avoiding the most embarrassing moment of his career."
Shaquille O'Neal spread his hands helplessly.
"What can I do?" he said. "I tried."
Earlier at halftime, Shaq had made a new bet with Barkley. If Lin Yi actually pulled off a quadruple-double tonight, Barkley wouldn't have to take off his eyebrows on the show.
Big Diesel had quietly thrown his old friend a lifeline.
Meanwhile, ESPN had already double-checked the official numbers.
Everything was confirmed.
Even if Lin Yi sat out the rest of the game, the quadruple-double was locked in.
In the press section, Wu Xiaolei quietly pinched her own thigh.
The pain reminded her this wasn't a dream.
For some reason, she suddenly missed the days when Qi Jun used to sit beside her, constantly asking questions during games.
She murmured to herself, almost like she was explaining it to him again.
"A quadruple-double means reaching double digits in four of the five major statistical categories… points, rebounds, assists, blocks, or steals."
She swallowed softly.
"And this… this is only the second steals-based quadruple-double in NBA history."
Twenty-seven years since the last one.
Qi Jun was no longer sitting beside her, but she still finished the explanation quietly.
All around her, the arena was shaking.
Listen to those cheers.
Look at the faces of the fans.
One city. One player.
Four years ago, Lin Yi arrived in New York like the first light before sunrise, breaking through years of darkness.
Eli Manning, the quarterback who once beat Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, said it best.
Lin Yi was the face of New York.
Playing in a foreign country, no one really knew what those four years had been like for him.
Choosing New York as the starting point of his career was already the hardest difficulty setting imaginable.
And the Knicks front office, famous for its chaos, hadn't exactly given him the easiest roster to work with either.
Wu Xiaolei wiped her eyes.
"It must have been so hard for him…"
Unfortunately for her, Lin Yi couldn't hear that.
If he did, even someone as thick-skinned as he might have turned a little red.
After all, in Lin Yi's mind, things weren't nearly that dramatic or tough.
Right now, he was just thinking about one thing.
Can't wait to get home and f...
. . .
LeBron James, chilling at home on his day off and catching the East vs. West top-seed showdown, suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia. He missed home.
Not that he'd ever admit it to the media, but it was clear—he was born in Akron, right near Cleveland. And today, more than ever, that hometown pull hit him.
Over in Oakland, Stephen Curry quietly turned off the TV. Ayesha tilted her head. "Stephen, aren't you going to watch the rest?"
Curry shook his head, unusually intense. His killer instinct was flickering back to life. "What's there to watch? That's Lin's show, not mine."
He remembered something Lin Yi had once told him: "Stephen, people think some records are impossible. They aren't."
Just like Usain Bolt inspired generations of sprinters, Lin Yi was now rewriting what basketball could be. Look around—college big men are practicing their handles, guards are crashing the boards like forwards, and everyone's extending their range.
Who said centers had to stay in the paint?
Who said guards couldn't rebound like a 7-footer?
Who said three-pointers had to sit right on the line?
History was full of self-imposed rules. And the future would prove even more: rules are just excuses for mediocrity.
20 points, 21 rebounds, 20 assists, 11 steals.
Three "20+" stats would have been enough to blow minds, but tonight Lin Yi wasn't here to play small.
Sure, fans were a little bummed he didn't extend his streak of 40+ point games—but a quadruple-double? That more than made up for it.
And he's only 23. If he doesn't leave records now, how will he break them later?
"Lin, how are you feeling after the game?" an ESPN reporter asked.
"Really happy," Lin Yi said with a calm smile.
"Anything you want to say to your opponents tonight?" she pressed.
Lin Yi paused, a playful glint in his eyes. "I'm sorry."
The reporter frowned. "Sorry…?"
"I'm sorry because any opponent who steps on this court never knows when they'll end up on the wrong side of history. And I fully intend to be here in Madison Square Garden for a long time."
. . .
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