Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 736 Who is the third greatest team in NBA history? Of course, it's me, Lin Da!

"The game is over!" The first person in the TNT studio to announce the end of the game was, of course, Lin Tian's number one fan, Barkley: "There will be no miracle. A 9-point difference, 30 seconds left, and the Suns didn't call a timeout."

"They need to hit three three-pointers in a row and hope the Knicks make consecutive turnovers or miss consecutive inbound passes in order to tie the game with three three-pointers. If the Knicks make even one free throw, they'll need another three-pointer."

"Reggie's 9.8 seconds aren't enough for them to tie the score!"

"Isn't it a bit impolite to talk about this when the Knicks are about to win the championship?" Miller, whose face was full of impoliteness and who had never been polite in his life, grinned slyly and said that this matter was in the past and that it was best not to mention it.

But judging from his expression, he clearly meant: Don't stop, keep going! This guy loves it!

"I'll never bring this up again in my life, don't worry." Barkley knew exactly what Miller was thinking. He immediately declared that the topic was over and he would never mention it again!

At this point on the court, the timeout ended, and neither side made any substitutions.

At this point, there's not much point in changing players!

When the Suns inbounded the ball, the Knicks didn't put much pressure on their defense, and Nash finally caught the ball this time.

Then, facing Lin Tian's defense, Nash didn't make any extra moves. Instead, when he was still two steps away from the three-point line, he pulled up and forced a three-pointer from a great distance!

"Bang!" With that despairing sound, Nash knew that the Suns' season was over.

This series has also come to an end.

Smith yanked the backboard off the court and then excitedly dribbled the ball in place. Judging from his expression, if the game wasn't still going on, this guy would definitely have jumped onto the scorer's table in excitement!

When Don Nelson saw that the Suns had given up and were no longer putting up any resistance, he immediately called a timeout!

He had to give the Suns players some face; he had to call a timeout for D'Antoni, who didn't have a timeout available, so he could substitute these key players.

There was no need to make these players suffer on the field any longer in the final 20 seconds.

And Nelson quickly sent in the players who hadn't played that night and those with the least playing time.

Vinicius Junior, Mohammed, and Shannon Brown are young players who are not in the team's rotation at all.

Although they are in the team's rotation, they have very little playing time and are almost certain to retire at the end of this season.

The five men walked onto the field together, where they would experience the fans' frenzy one last time.

Especially for Ward and Houston, these two veterans, it was truly the last time they experienced this level of respect and madness as players!

Sure enough, as soon as the two players entered the court, the entire stadium erupted in cheers and shouts, and the previously chaotic Madison was almost instantly replaced by a unified chant.

"One more year! One more year! One more year!"

Despite the fans' shouts and passionate roars, Houston, a former All-Star and All-NBA selection, remained calm and composed, waving and expressing his gratitude. He had hit game-winning shots, played in the Finals, and had plenty of experience and big-game experience.

But Ward next to him couldn't do it.

Ward was already crying his eyes out.

Tears streamed down his face, and he was sobbing uncontrollably.

Ward had never received such treatment in his life!

He entered the industry a year earlier than Lin Tian, ​​and his draft position was actually higher than Lin Tian's. He was a genuine first-round pick!

Since joining the Knicks in the 94-95 season, Ward worked his way up step by step, from the bench to the reserve to the starter, and back again. For a full 13 years, he dedicated his entire career to the Knicks.

He played over 700 games in his career, but started in less than a third of them. His best year in his career was only 8 points and 5 assists.

He only scored 20+ points twice in his career. His most brilliant night was almost 10 years ago when he was thrown to the ground by PJ Brown with an over-the-shoulder throw, which triggered a chaotic brawl between the Heat and the Knicks.

His career can be perfectly described in just two words.

Mediocrity and diligence!

He was never a star player; he was never the one in the spotlight.

From Ewing to Jordan to Houston, and now to Lin Tian.

The superstars and team leaders around him kept changing, but Ward remained the only one.

Now, in the final game of his career, fans finally saw him, finally treated him as the protagonist, and cheered him like a hero.

Ward was completely devastated.

"Alright, Charlie." Houston put an arm around Ward's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Give the ball back to him. It's a 24-second violation. We have a few seconds left, and we can lift the championship trophy again."

"Don't act like you've never seen anything like this before. Don't let people think we've never won a championship."

"The two of us are the two players on this team who have won the most championships with the Knicks! Just the two of us have won three championships with the team!"

"So, show some backbone, put on some spirit!"

"Yeah, I understand." Ward gave a smile that resembled Ewing's, then passed the ball to the referee who had been waiting nearby.

Obviously, 24 seconds had passed, but it was no longer relevant to the outcome of the game, so neither the Suns players nor the referees protested or gave any punishment.

They waited quietly, waiting for Houston to recover from his excitement and for him to give them the basketball.

The cheers from the audience grew even louder; they applauded, cheered, and shouted for everyone.

Tonight is absolutely a perfect night for the Knicks!

"Buzz!"

With the sound of a buzzer, the match officially ended!

With 30 seconds left and a 9-point deficit, neither team continued their attack, instead waiting for the remaining 30 seconds to expire.

As the whistle blew, the Knicks players went wild. They no longer held back and rushed onto the court, starting their celebration and shouting!

The fans at the scene sang and danced, celebrating wildly with the players!

"Championship! We've won!" Barkley waved his hands excitedly and shouted.

Miller, as Lin Tian's former teammate, was naturally excited about his buddy's championship win and shouted along with Barkley, while Payton and Kenny next to him remained calm.

Kenny said casually, "An incredibly exciting Finals series! An exhilarating Finals series! A Finals series we'll remember and cheer for for a long time! This Finals series is definitely one of the most high-scoring offensive battles in NBA history!"

"Both teams possess offensive capabilities that are absolutely top-tier throughout history! Their performances are simply astonishing! The high-scoring duel between the two teams is incredibly exciting and satisfying to watch!"

Payton added, "I think this Finals series between these two teams has successfully shattered the old adage that offense wins the box office and defense wins the championship! Both teams almost ignored defense, relied on offense to get to this point, and gave us such a wonderful Finals series."

"Thanks, Suns!" Barkley said with a smile, recovering from his excitement. "It's their amazing performance that made this series so exciting! They were in dire straits, down 0-2 and 3-1 at one point."

"But they didn't give up, they remained tenacious, and at one point they made a Game 7 possible! They were just so close!"

"Their key players have all delivered absolutely spectacular performances! Nash once again racked up a super double-double of 33 points and 22 assists tonight! His performance in this series has been so dominant it's almost unbelievable!"

"He's had 40+15, and he's twice racked up 30+20! Nash gave everything in this series! He gave it his all! He was just a hair's breadth away from bringing the Suns their first-ever championship!"

"Pierce's performance was equally brilliant! This guy, who is often overlooked because of his playing style, has no individual honors this year and was auctioned off by the team twice, once delivered a perfect performance in Game 3 of the series, saving the team from the brink of defeat."

"He also hit the game-winner in Game 2 of the series! He scored 38 points and grabbed 11 rebounds tonight, and he's scored 40+ points twice in this series! He's the Suns' number one playmaker when their offense isn't working, and he's the team's most reliable one-on-one scorer!"

「当然也不能忘记马里昂，这个系列赛场均轰下24分14篮板4助攻2抢断2盖帽的全能锋线虽然没有纳什和皮尔斯那幺炸裂的表现，但他胜在稳定和高效！」

"He'll do everything the team needs him to do, and he'll do everything the coach asks him to do! Well, except for defending Lin!"

"Of course, we mustn't forget the contributions and sacrifices of Barbosa, Jones, Martin, Thomas, and others! They never slacked off; they were always giving it their all!"

"They were just a tiny bit short!"

"But regardless, let's remember this Suns team! Let's remember the great performances they gave us this year!"

"Then, let's see what the newly crowned champions, the Knicks, have brought us tonight!" Miller quickly chimed in after Barkley finished speaking, wanting to introduce the Knicks himself!

"Lin scored 50+ again tonight! He delivered an incredible triple-double of 51 points, 21 assists, and 15 rebounds! He continues his terrifying and unstoppable performance!"

"He scored like crazy in the first quarter, he kept finding his teammates in the second quarter, and he helped the team with his offense, defense, and everything else in the decisive moments! He's the best player in this series! He's the best player in the league today! He's the best basketball player of all time in the world!"

"Lin broke countless records in this series! He scored 50+ points in five consecutive games in this series, a unique feat in history. He also scored 70 points in a single game in the Finals, a unique achievement in NBA history! He averaged 54.2 points per game in six games, the highest in NBA history! Of course, he also broke his own records from years ago!"

"This is the third time Lin has averaged 40+ points per game in the Finals! That's the most in history."

"Furthermore, Lin also became the player with the most free throws and three-pointers made in a single Finals series during these six games!"

"Of course, he's not the player with the most free throw attempts in a single series. The player with the most free throw attempts is still our dear Shaq!"

"Tonight, no! This round, this Finals! Throughout this entire playoff run and this entire year, Lin's performance has been impeccable! He's been perfect!"

"Lin this year has been unbelievably strong! His scoring form, his average stats, the energy he's shown from the regular season to the playoffs—I think it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this year 'the first-ever one-man show'!"

"Well, another thing worth mentioning is that I think the only ones who can compete with this year's Lin for the title of strongest in history might be Lin from other years."

"He's already far ahead of all the other players!"

"Alright, lastly, let me formally congratulate Lin on his successful title defense! Let's wish him another Finals MVP! And let's congratulate the Knicks on their upcoming fifth NBA championship!"

"The first two championships came in the early 70s! Since then, the Knicks have never won a championship, no matter who it was, no one could take them to the top! It wasn't until recent years, with Jordan and Ewing, and Lin Tian and his teammates, that the Knicks were able to ascend to the highest throne three times in succession!"

"The Celtics and Lakers may still be the top two teams in the league, but the battle for the third spot is becoming increasingly fierce!"

"Is it the Bulls who won 5 championships in the 90s with Lin and Jordan? Or the Pacers who won 6 championships with Lin? Or the Knicks who now have 5 championships and are looking towards a three-peat?"

"I think one thing we can all notice is that Lin's influence is evident in all three teams! He contributed at least two championship trophies to each of them!"

"All I can say is that Lin's career has been absolutely insane!"

"He's just one ring away from becoming 'The Lord of the Rings' Russell! Two with the Knicks, two with the Bulls, six with the Pacers! Ten championships, ten of them!"

"And he was the absolute core player every time, winning the Most Valuable Player award eight times!"

"Including two back-to-back titles and one five-peat! An incredible career! An amazing career record."

"If I were Lin, I would have retired long ago to enjoy life! He manages to keep himself constantly hungry and pushing forward!"

"Let me, let us, let everyone, once again pay tribute to Lin!"

"Lin's performance this round was truly terrifying!" Payton added, "I have to admit, I'm glad that when I met him 10 years ago, he wasn't this strong or this terrifying, so I wasn't completely crushed."

"If it were Lin this year, I really don't know how badly I would have been beaten!"

Kenny said, "Speaking of which, I'm sure many people will say: Lin's stats are good because he played against the Suns, against the team with the worst defense in the league, that's why he racked up such good numbers!"

"But what I want to say is that the Suns' defense didn't just get bad in the Finals, and the Suns didn't suddenly become a fast-paced, offensive team in the Finals."

"Over the years, how many regular season games and series have they played? How many players have scored 50 points against them, and how many have dominated them in a series?"

"The strong will always be strong! Only the weak make excuses for others' success! Lin's performance this year has been unparalleled! Absolutely insane!"

Barkley added, "From today onwards, no more bastards will ever say that Michael scored 40 points against us in four consecutive games!"

"From now on, everyone will just say Lin scored 50 points in five consecutive games! That's why I love Lin! He always manages to save his guys; he always pulls them out of painful and unfortunate situations!"

Miller added, "It's unbelievable! Tenth championship! Lin has won 10 championships in the last 12 years! Ten times! I think I have to give a wake-up call to all the active players who haven't won a championship yet."

"That means if you want to win the championship, there are only two paths you can take."

"1. Join Lin; 2. Wait for Lin to retire."

"Out of goodwill, I suggest everyone choose option 1, because given Lin's current form, who knows how many more years he can play? Anyway, I think his form won't decline much within the next 5 years!"

"He can rule this league for at least another five years!"

"Actually, there's a third way," Barkley suddenly said. "What if Lin gets bored? What if he finds something new to enjoy? Maybe he'll leave the league!"

"So, guys, if you want a championship but can't outlast Lin, and you're not willing to swallow your pride and join him, then go find him some other fun!"

"Let him go somewhere else and cause trouble for others!"

……

The old guys in the studio kept praising Lin Tian, ​​recounting his god-like performance in this series and in the past.

Yes, there are no words to describe Lin Tian's performance in this round other than "Godlike".

While they were excitedly discussing Lin Tian and how others had won the championship, Stern had already walked onto the court and stood on the podium.

Then came a string of nonsense and boos specially provided for him by the fans.

Finally, Lin Tian lifted the championship trophy and the FMVP trophy.

The New York Knicks have officially been crowned the 2006-2007 NBA champions! (End of Chapter)