On February 13, the New York Knicks hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder at Madison Square Garden.
Because the game fell during Chinese New Year, the Knicks leaned into the celebration. The arena was decorated in bright Chinese red, with lanterns hanging around the concourses and banners placed along the sidelines.
Many Chinese fans watching the broadcast couldn't help smiling. For some of them, watching an NBA game had become one of the few ways to still feel the festive atmosphere of the New Year.
Before tip-off, Klay Thompson was interviewed courtside by Penguin Sports. With NBA All-Star Weekend approaching, the outlet had already sent its reporting team to New York to cover the highly anticipated matchup between the Knicks and Thunder.
As commentator Yang Yi joked during the broadcast, "With the size of Penguin's budget, they'd better make the most of every trip. No resources wasted tonight."
Klay's Mandarin immediately impressed viewers watching the live stream. His shoe sponsor, Anta, was probably celebrating somewhere in the background. The man truly took his endorsement duties seriously.
Tonight's interviewer was Wu Xiaolei, who had recently joined Penguin Sports.
She smiled at Klay and asked, "Klay, this is your first time being selected as an All-Star. How does it feel?"
Klay gave a shy smile and answered.
"I have wanted to be in the All-Star Game for a very, very long time."
His slightly awkward grammar made Wu Xiaolei laugh.
"Klay, your Mandarin keeps improving. How do you usually study?"
Klay thought about it for a moment.
"I read 'The Analects of Confucius' from Kai."
Wu Xiaolei blinked in surprise.
"The Analects?"
She wasn't sure whether he was serious.
Whether Klay actually understood the book was another matter entirely.
The truth was that earlier in the season, Lin Yi had jokingly punished him by making him copy passages from The Analects after a particularly dumb mistake during practice.
Wu Xiaolei decided to test him.
"Then you must know this one," she said with a playful smile. "What comes after 'Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters?'"
Klay paused for a second, making sure he had understood the question.
Then he grinned proudly.
"Oh, I know this one."
He cleared his throat and recited with confidence.
"When friends come from afar… even if they are far… they must be punished."
For a moment, the Chinese fans watching the broadcast were completely silent.
Punished?
Did we all learn the wrong version in school?
Then the chat rooms exploded with laughter.
Everyone immediately understood what had happened.
This had Lin Yi written all over it.
Wu Xiaolei tried her best to stay professional, but inside, she was already imagining throwing her high heels at Lin Yi for spreading nonsense again.
From the commentary booth, Yang Yi chuckled.
"Well, technically, Klay isn't wrong," he said. "Tonight the Thunder really are friends coming from afar."
His partner Wang Meng laughed.
"Exactly, Yang. And tonight Lin Yi is going for ten straight 40-point games. So maybe Klay's version fits perfectly. Friends who travel this far… might indeed get punished."
Back on the court, the cheerleaders finished their routine and stepped aside as the starting players from both teams began walking toward center court.
Tonight, the Knicks decided to rest Tyson Chandler. Coach Mike D'Antoni wanted to give the All-Star reserve a small break.
Ever since Lin Yi upgraded his core abilities earlier in the season, he had developed a habit of asking teammates for one-on-one practice sessions.
And his favorite sparring partner had been Chandler.
Back to the game.
The Knicks' starting lineup tonight featured Draymond Green, Marcus Morris, Lin Yi, Tony Allen, and Chris Paul.
Across from them, the Thunder starters stepped onto the court: Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka, Kevin Durant, Thabo Sefolosha, and Russell Westbrook.
The arena lights dimmed slightly as the crowd grew louder.
The stage was set.
When Kevin Durant saw the Knicks' starting lineup on the big screen, the corners of his usually calm face twitched ever so slightly.
Sure, he stood more than ten centimeters taller than Tony Allen.
But height had never helped much against Tony Allen's defense.
From the commentary booth, Wang Meng sounded excited.
"Wow, the Knicks' rotation is really bold tonight! They're starting Draymond Green at center again, and they've also inserted Tony Allen, who hasn't seen much playing time this season."
Yang Yi chuckled.
"Coach Mike D'Antoni has always been a tactical gambler. Let's see how the Knicks plan to use this lineup to deal with the Thunder tonight."
At center court, the jump ball went up.
Determined to push his streak to ten straight 40-point games, Lin Yi exploded upward and beat Serge Ibaka cleanly to the tip.
The Knicks secured the first possession.
But something felt different immediately.
Just as Lin Yi moved to slip out for the ball and set up an isolation, Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha rushed over at the same time.
Instant double team.
On the sideline, Thunder head coach Scott Brooks nodded with satisfaction.
He didn't care about any bulls**t Lin Yi Rule.
In Brooks' mind, if you wanted to beat the Knicks, the answer was simple:
Stop Lin Yi.
At all costs.
Pinned by the aggressive trap, Lin Yi glanced up toward the arena ceiling.
He understood exactly what the Thunder were doing.
This wasn't because Tony Allen was a weak offensive player.
They were leaving him open—on purpose.
Even if Klay Thompson had been standing there instead, the Thunder probably would've doubled Lin Yi the same way.
Because tonight, the Thunder clearly had one goal:
They refused to be the background of someone else's highlight reel.
People watching Lin Yi's nine straight 40-point games might think the streak had come easily.
It hadn't.
The deeper the streak went, the harder the defenses became.
In the last game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, a few particularly enthusiastic huskies had practically treated Lin Yi like a scratching post, leaving several claw marks near his lower back.
And now this.
Back on the court, the wide-open Tony Allen caught a pass from Chris Paul at the free-throw line.
No hesitation.
Swish.
0–2. Knicks on the board first.
Wang Meng immediately pointed it out.
"The Thunder are doubling Lin Yi tonight, which means the rest of the Knicks have to step up."
Yang Yi nodded.
"That was a confident shot by Tony Allen. Actually, Lin Yi usually likes it when teams double-team him—he's excellent at creating opportunities for teammates."
Unfortunately, Lin Yi couldn't hear the broadcast.
If he could, he would probably sigh and explain that the commentators had misunderstood him completely.
In the past, sure.
When teams doubled him, Lin Yi was thrilled.
Why?
Because double teams usually meant easy assists.
Triple-doubles were practically delivered to his doorstep.
But tonight was different.
Tonight, Lin Yi had a very simple dream.
He wanted to unplug the pass button, channel a little bit of Kobe Bryant energy, and enjoy the pure satisfaction of scoring.
Quietly basking in the praise afterward would be nice, too.
Sadly, Lin Yi had underestimated just how stubborn this Thunder team was.
And right as he was thinking about how to crack their defense—
Something unexpected happened.
On the court, Durant suddenly passed the ball… directly to him.
Lin Yi froze for half a second.
Wait… is this real?
I can get stats without even moving now?
Durant: "..."
Just like that, Lin Yi casually added a steal to his stat sheet.
Seeing the play, Lin Yi's fans online immediately started joking.
"So this is what people mean when they say Durant can pass and organize the offense?"
Fortunately for Durant, the Knicks didn't convert the fast break.
After receiving Lin Yi's pass, Chris Paul drove toward the basket but ran straight into a charging Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook didn't block the shot, but his contest was enough to throw Paul off balance.
The layup rolled out.
Westbrook landed, spun around instantly, and snatched the rebound with authority.
The look on his face practically said:
Best defensive guard in the league. No debate.
Ball secured, Westbrook exploded into transition.
Zoom.
In his mind, the message was simple.
I, Westbrook, am unstoppable.
Meanwhile, jogging back on defense, Lin Yi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
It was becoming increasingly clear…
Tonight's game had already drifted far away from the script he had imagined.
. . .
Please do leave a review and powerstones, which helps with the book's exposure.
Feel like joining a Patreon for free and subscribing to advanced chapters?
Visit the link:
[email protected]/GRANDMAESTA_30
Change @ to a