Shortly after the second quarter began at Madison Square Garden, Miami launched its counterattack.
Led by LeBron James, the Heat repeatedly attacked the basket. Once James got downhill, the Knicks struggled to contain him. Drive after drive, he either finished at the rim himself or forced the defense to collapse.
D'Antoni tried using Marcus Morris to guard James.
But at this stage of his career, when LeBron was locked in, there was no such thing as stopping him one-on-one.
The only way to slow him down was with disciplined team defense.
Unfortunately for New York, their help defense in the second quarter was nowhere near as good as the first.
Gobert was still young and talented, but he clearly hadn't learned how to manage his fouls. Several times, he had the right idea, only to arrive a fraction too late and bail the Heat out with free throws.
As for Draymond Green?
Watching from home, Lin Yi couldn't help but complain.
"Draymond, who exactly are you trying to block?"
Green's energy was undeniable, but his defense was far too aggressive. He chased every play as if it were a game-winning possession, often putting himself out of position.
At the same time, Lin Yi noticed something else.
Neither Erik Spoelstra, LeBron James, nor Dwyane Wade looked nervous.
Not even a little.
Lin Yi sighed and lightly pinched little Olivia's cheek.
As expected. Without me, the Heat don't feel fear.
The moment the thought appeared, even Lin Yi felt it sounded shameless.
Fear?
The Heat had long since graduated from that stage.
After getting hammered by the Knicks year after year, Miami had become completely numb.
If there was one team in the league with the strongest mentality against New York, it was undoubtedly the Heat.
Of course, Lin Yi's absence played a role.
But the bigger reason was experience.
Miami knew exactly what kind of battle this was.
The Knicks' eleven-point lead in the first quarter had largely been the result of great offensive execution. The core of this roster had been together for years. Their chemistry was second nature by now.
However, once the second quarter began, the Heat raised their defensive intensity to another level.
Passing lanes disappeared.
Driving gaps became smaller.
Every shot became more difficult.
Relying on the chemistry between LeBron and Wade, Miami steadily chipped away at the deficit.
By the middle of the quarter, the Heat had completely seized the momentum.
Before D'Antoni reinserted his starters, the scoreboard read:
Heat 42, Knicks 46.
The eleven-point lead had been reduced to four.
LeBron, meanwhile, appeared to be having the time of his life.
During a timeout, cameras zoomed in on the Heat bench and caught James laughing and joking with Spoelstra.
Lin Yi narrowed his eyes.
Something felt different.
For some reason, tonight's LeBron reminded him of the version he remembered from the 2017-18 season.
Calm.
Confident.
Completely in control.
Almost as if he had figured out basketball's final answer.
"Sigh..."
Watching from home, Lin Yi felt more nervous than when he was actually playing.
To be honest, he now had the urge to drive straight to Madison Square Garden, throw on a uniform, and check himself into the game.
Because, from his perspective, many of the Knicks' mistakes were completely unnecessary.
Take Klay's possession late in the second quarter.
Haslem rotated over to help.
Instead of attacking the basket aggressively, Klay chose to pass.
The result?
Wade immediately anticipated the play. The Flash jumped the passing lane, stole the ball cleanly, and raced away for an uncontested fast-break layup.
Lin Yi almost wanted to smash the table. This drew a harsh reprimand from Olsen for almost waking their daughter up.
"Why pass? Just go right through him." Lin, learning his lesson, whispered to himself.
Then there was Marcus Morris's defense.
Tyson Chandler had already done the hard part by cutting off LeBron's initial driving lane.
All Morris had to do was rotate.
One step.
Just one step.
If he had moved over, it probably would have been a highlight-reel block.
Instead, he stood frozen.
LeBron gathered the ball, cradled it through traffic, and finished a beautiful three-step layup.
As the game continued, the Knicks' biggest weakness without Lin Yi gradually revealed itself.
They were excellent frontrunners.
When they had momentum, they could overwhelm almost anyone, but when they were forced to play from behind, they lacked a true closer.
Because asking Chris Paul to become that player was unrealistic.
In previous years, situations like this had always been simple.
Give the ball to Lin Yi.
Let him create a mismatch.
Problem solved.
Tonight, however, that option didn't exist.
Without Lin Yi, the Knicks' offense began to stall.
The third quarter was filled with wasted possessions, rushed decisions, and missed opportunities.
Watching from home, Lin Yi was practically losing his mind.
Had he not been busy feeding his daughter after waking up, he might have called Chris Paul just to yell at him.
Rocking his daughter gently in his arms, Lin Yi continued watching.
. .
On TNT, Charles Barkley happened to be making a point.
According to Barkley, the Knicks without Lin Yi looked like nothing more than an ordinary playoff team.
Hearing that, Lin Yi's face turned slightly red.
The number one Lin supporter remained the number one Lin supporter.
Even when Lin Yi wasn't playing, Barkley still found a way to praise him.
Of course, Barkley was exaggerating. Lin Yi knew the strength of this roster better than anyone. Even without him, this Knicks team was still more than capable of winning fifty games in the Eastern Conference and getting to a Conference Final.
Their real problem tonight wasn't talent. It was late-game offense. Lin Yi's ability to create mismatches simply couldn't be replicated.
Against Miami's suffocating man-to-man defense, that missing element became painfully obvious.
Still, Lin Yi didn't view it as entirely negative.
Maybe this struggle was necessary. Maybe these overconfident teammates needed a reminder that basketball wasn't just about talent.
. . .
Back at Madison Square Garden, the break between the third and fourth quarters felt unusually tense.
The Knicks' bench was silent. Momentum had swung toward Miami.
Everyone could feel it.
Chris Paul stood up and gathered his teammates together.
Then he asked a simple question.
"Guys."
"If we lose tonight, what do you think Lin is going to say when he gets back?"
Instantly, Klay Thompson stiffened.
Tyson Chandler's expression changed.
Markieff Morris felt a chill run down his spine.
Even Chandler Parsons suddenly looked uncomfortable.
Images of Lin Yi's endless trash talk immediately flashed through their minds.
No.
Absolutely not.
They could lose to anyone.
But they could not lose and then spend the next month listening to Lin Yi remind them about it.
No matter what happened.
No matter how difficult it became.
They had to win tonight.
Even if it killed them.
Which led to a very important question.
If a team lacked a dominant isolation scorer in crunch time, how could it steal a victory against the Miami Heat?
The answer would soon be written by Chris Paul and Klay Thompson.
. .
In the fourth quarter, LeBron James, who had been sitting on the bench chatting casually with Dwyane Wade, suddenly sensed something was wrong.
The New York Knicks had entered the final quarter trailing by nine points.
Then, without warning, the game turned into a storm.
Klay Thompson came out firing.
One three.
Then another.
Then another.
No hesitation or buildup needed beyond the ball touching his hands.
When Klay Thompson entered that state, defensive schemes stopped mattering. Closeouts became late. Contesting became symbolic. The only real decision left was whether to accept it early or accept it late.
The arena felt it immediately.
Kenny Smith's voice cut through the broadcast.
"Wow! Another three from Klay! And look, we might have underestimated this Knicks team. Don't forget, Game 5 of last season's Finals, Klay Thompson hit nine threes in one game!"
Coach Spoelstra called a timeout before the Heat could even settle into the fourth quarter.
LeBron and Wade checked in quickly.
Wade picked up Klay full court, bodying him at every step, trying to break his rhythm before he could catch it. LeBron, meanwhile, stepped into help rotations, erasing driving lanes and forcing New York into tougher reads.
For a moment, Miami looked like it had stabilized everything.
Then Chris Paul walked into the game.
Calm expression with no panic in his eyes.
On the very first possession, he saw daylight; he pulled up.
Chalmers closed late. The ball went up anyway.
Swish.
A clean three.
Chalmers exhaled, almost helpless.
That was not a defensive mistake, but was simply a superstar decision. Because when it goes in, there is no counter.
On TNT, Shaquille O'Neal leaned forward.
"People are underrating this Knicks team. They are the defending champions. Even without Lin Yi, this is still a Finals-level roster."
Meanwhile, Klay Thompson kept going.
Catch. Shoot. Score.
The Heat tried everything.
Switches. Stunts. Denials. Late doubles.
Nothing held.
By the middle of the fourth quarter, Klay had already dropped 19 points in the period alone.
The Knicks had erased the deficit and taken control.
LeBron stood at the sideline, expression unreadable, watching the game slip into a different rhythm than expected.
Too many threes.
Too fast.
Too clean.
Final buzzer.
New York closed it out.
Victory at Madison Square Garden.
In the postgame interview, Chris Paul spoke with steady confidence.
"This win came from our unity. We proved no one can pull up to MSG for an easy double W in the absence of Lin. We are the Champs for a reason."
. . .
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