The Rockets didn't put up much of a fight in the end. The only thing that brought the ho crowd any joy was McGrady dropping 16 points.
Although that made McGrady happy, he wondered.
"Man… since when did 16 points get champagne treatnt?"
Final score: 109–96.
The Knicks walked out of Houston with an easy win.
Rockets coach Rick Adelman looked like soone had stolen his ga plan—and in a way, they kind of did. Before the ga, he'd spent hours putting together what he thought were solid tactics to shut down the Knicks.
But the Knicks ended up with 11 more free throws than the Rockets...
Not that Adelman was out here blaming the refs. He knew the Knicks were attacking the paint way more than his team, and that was part of the problem.
It wasn't until the third quarter that Rick Forever Hopeful Adelman realized he'd been too optimistic. He'd believed 6'6" Chuck Hayes could slow Lin Yi down.
Yeah, no.
Hayes could defend—no one's denying that—but he needed the right matchup. Lin wasn't just catching the ball and going through the motions. He was attacking, and Hayes looked like he was stuck in mud.
To make things worse, Lin figured sothing out mid-ga: the refs were calling fouls tight. A little bump? Blown whistle.
Lin slled blood.
So, he decided to go full Harden-before-Harden. Drive, get bumped, throw his arms up, yell like he just got stabbed—boom, free throws.
Too bad Lin didn't have a big beard. Would've sold it even better.
But seriously—ref bias? Not really.
The refs were just calling what they saw. Back then, the league hadn't tweaked the rules to crack down on foul-baiting, and Lin's defenders were fouling him. So Adelman, for all his frustration, didn't bla the stripes.
Sotis those borderline calls go against you, even at ho.
Lin finished with a line that made stat-heads drool:
15 shots, 34 points.
2-of-6 from three, 5-of-9 on twos, and a whopping 18-of-20 from the line.
Add in 11 boards, 5 dis, and a block. That's surgical efficiency.
Scoring 34 on just 15 attempts? That's Harden-level stuff. In the future, people would get used to Harden scoring 25 even when he shot 3-of-14—but Lin was already showing how it's done.
Postga, the dia were buzzing about sothing else too: that logo-range three Lin hit.
According to ESPN, Lin had made 61 three-pointers from 28 feet this season, most in the league. Even crazier, he was hitting 37.7% on those. That's elite.
Sure, it's not Curry numbers—yet—but for an era where jacking up 30-footers was still taboo, Lin was way ahead of the curve.
"Will you be in the three-point contest, Lin?" a reporter asked.
Lin just smiled.
He didn't say yes.
Didn't say no either.
The idea was tempting, though.
Three-point champ and dunk champ?
That's legacy talk.
He kept it vague, laughed it off. But he was thinking about it.
...
After wrapping up in Houston and saying their goodbyes to Yao, the Knicks hopped on a flight bound for Oklahoma.
Next up: the upstart Thunder.
anwhile, Thunder GM Sam Presti was sowhere kicking himself.
Why didn't I pull the trigger last sumr?
He'd had a shot—he knew about Lin's talent before most. If he'd just been bolder, maybe he could've traded Westbrook for Lin Yi.
And now? Watching Lin carry the Knicks in his rookie year while Durant was still finding his groove... it stung.
Presti didn't hate Westbrook. He believed in Durant. But Lin? Lin had a superstar ceiling.
He kept thinking about that insane 61-point third quarter. Sure, KD could explode when he got hot—but Lin's potential?
Quadruple-double potential? That's generational.
I was the first to scout him, Presti thought. How did I not make it happen?
That day, Presti dropped by the Thunder's training facility.
Coach Scott Brooks was in good spirits. No need to fake it—this season had been good to him. His young core was starting to click.
The Thunder were sitting above .500. KD had found his rhythm after two learning seasons. Now, he was putting up 30.1 points per ga on 47.6% shooting—and averaging 20 shots a night.
The guy led the league in scoring. Total points too.
Brooks was hyped. Having a scoring champ made his job easier. No need to draw up elaborate sets—just get the ball to Kevin and let him cook.
If it weren't for Lin Yi's breakout, Durant would've been the headline guy this year.
Then again, Brooks kind of wished KD hadn't said that weird thing about wanting to drink Scarlett Johansson's bathwater…
Presti rembered that one too.
Yeah… not the best dia mont.
anwhile, Westbrook? The guy had all the confidence in the world. Constantly joking with gan Fox on Twitter. Sohow, he always got her to laugh.
Presti gave Brooks a light pat on the shoulder.
"How's everything looking?"
"Real solid," Brooks grinned. "The team's in a good spot. If we can bring in a strong wing defender next year, we'll take another step. Kevin, Russ, Jas... those three? Sky's the limit."
...
Alternate Title: What If?
...
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