The Miami Heat had just strung together a three-ga winning streak.
LeBron leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh — the kind that carries both relief and disbelief.
When did winning three gas in a row beco sothing to celebrate?
The answer was simple: when the pressure from every corner of the basketball world had been this suffocating.
If you looked closely, you could almost count a few new wrinkles on King Jas' forehead. Give it another month, and people might start calling him the King Oden instead. Stress affects everyone — not sparing superstars.
Still, a win was a win. And with this streak in the bag, LeBron could finally walk into a press conference without feeling like the walls were closing in.
He was in good spirits that night — joking with reporters, trading lighthearted jabs, and generally looking like a man who had shrugged off a heavy coat. It was enough to irritate a few mbers of the press who had been hoping for another tense, headline-making soundbite.
They got their chance when soone asked about the recent surge of the New York Knicks and Lin Yi, along with tomorrow's marquee matchup against the Boston Celtics.
"I don't pay attention to how other teams are playing," LeBron said, his tone asured but relaxed. "We're on the right track right now, and I just want to focus on us."
The room gave a polite ripple of applause. Classic LeBron — stay in your lane, keep it professional.
...
Evening.
Boston vs Knicks.
Miami, Dwyane Wade Mansion.
"Dwyane, can you change the channel already? The Knicks-Celtics ga is about to start," LeBron called out from the couch.
Wade, sprawled in his chair and halfway through so questionable late-night cody show, reluctantly grabbed the remote. "Man, you're acting like it's the Finals."
"It might as well be," LeBron said with a grin, but there was no mistaking the seriousness behind his eyes.
The Heat were off this night, but LeBron wasn't here to relax. The Knicks had humiliated Miami in the season opener, and he hadn't forgotten. For the Heat's championship ambitions to be taken seriously, those kinds of missteps couldn't happen again — especially not when the Christmas Day rematch was looming. That ga wasn't just another date on the calendar for him. It was circled, underlined, and written in bold red ink: Revenge.
Whenever he had a spare mont, LeBron pulled up Knicks film. He knew what he was looking for, too — weaknesses, tendencies, tiny cracks in their armor. The more he studied, the more he realized this wasn't the kind of team you could underestimate.
"They're tricky," he muttered as the Garden broadcast flickered to life. "Real tricky."
...
Madison Square Garden, Midtown Manhattan, New York.
New York fans didn't need a hype man tonight — the opponent alone was enough. The Celtics had been their roadblock last year, slamming the door on their Eastern Conference Final dreams.
The sumr had been frustrating for Knicks supporters, with the front office appearing inactive in free agency. But the new season had brought a different story. The Knicks were a top-three team in ESPN's power rankings, playing with swagger and precision. The city was buzzing again, and Dolan — usually keeping to his owner's box — had the urge to stand up and cheer like the rest of the Garden.
The arena's big screen flashed the starting fives:
Celtics:
Kendrick Perkins
Kevin Garnett
Paul Pierce
Ray Allen
Rajon Rondo
Knicks:
Tyson Chandler
Lin Yi
Danilo Gallinari
Tony Allen
Chauncey Billups
..
In Miami, LeBron gave a small nod. "Hmm, with Billups running the point, they don't have any glaring weak spots."
"Especially with Tyson, Tony, and Lin locking down the defense," Wade agreed.
...
On the court, Lin Yi and Perkins stepped into the circle for the tip-off. Celtics coach Doc Rivers stood with his arms folded, his face calm, but his thoughts restless. He knew this core — Garnett, Pierce, Allen — was nearing the twilight. The Celtics had been the Eastern Conference's gatekeepers for years, holding back the younger generation. But now those younger teams were stronger, hungrier, and Boston's window was closing fast.
The whistle blew. Lin Yi out-jumped Perkins with ease, the ball floating into Billups' hands.
On the far end, Garnett pounded his chest three tis — a defiant gesture that said, Co at .
When steel t fire again, Lin Yi didn't flinch.
He wasn't just playing for himself in that mont — he carried a tradition, the stubborn pride of a city that refused to back down. A city, no matter how beaten down, got back up.
Three hard dribbles — thud, thud, thud — and he made his move.
The crowd seed to hold its breath as he rose, all long limbs and calm control, before sending the ball softly off the glass and in.
Garnett, a year older but still burning with fight, couldn't get there in ti. The Knicks were on the board first.
Madison Square Garden roared, Lin Yi's na echoing from every corner. You could feel the vibration under your feet, the kind of noise that makes your ribs hum.
.
On a couch in Miami, LeBron leaned forward. "It's tough for KG to keep up with that first step, huh?"
Wade gave a wry chuckle. "I'll tell you sothing, Bron. The guy's a nightmare to cover. The Knicks played with and swept us with no effort in the playoffs last year. Playoff Lin is a different species."
LeBron nodded slowly. It wasn't that he feared Lin Yi the way he might fear a Kobe in his pri — it was that height combined with guard-like agility. A bad combination for anyone on the wrong side of it.
.
At the Garden, Paul Pierce answered without hesitation.
He'd worked all sumr to shed weight, though a little belly here and there, Pierce had a shot smoother than a Friday-night jazz set. He stepped into a three with barely a glance at the rim, and it splashed through, cutting through the roar in an instant.
The Knicks didn't waver. Billups, calm as ever, brought the ball up, used Lin Yi for a clean pick, and slipped him a perfect pass on the roll. Lin Yi cut into space, and Garnett couldn't close the gap. The pass was placed so perfectly that it might as well have been gift-wrapped. Lin Yi rose and slamd it ho, the rim rattling in protest.
Garnett wiped his brow. He could still battle, but his legs didn't move like they used to. He knew it. Lin Yi knew it. But there was no bitterness — only respect.
.
Wade tilted his head. "You notice Kevin never really talks trash to Lin?"
"Yeah," LeBron said, "I've been wondering the sa thing."
Around the league, other young stars — Curry, Harden, Griffin, DeRozan, Wall — had their monts with Lin, but none drew the sa strange mixture of competitiveness and admiration from the oldies..
LeBron's mind was seeing the patterns in the Knicks' pick-and-roll. It wasn't that he didn't trust Spoelstra to make adjustnts… but when you're wired like LeBron, the gears never stop turning.
Suddenly, he sat up straighter. "Dwyane, I think I've got sothing."
Wade glanced over, one eyebrow raised. "Don't tell you just cracked it."
LeBron nodded. "Let's just say… Christmas might be a little more interesting."
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