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Chapter 314: Lakers vs Knicks End
🕑 Added 2025-08-23 14:58:21 +0000 UTCFinal score: Lakers 104, Knicks 96.
Kobe Bryant walked out of Madison Square Garden with 46 points to his name, and the Knicks, for all their fight, had to swallow a second straight defeat.
In truth, the turning point came in the second half. The Knicks’ legs simply gave out. After grinding through their brutal schedule, their energy dropped sharply, and against Kobe in that kind of mood, there was no room for mistakes.
The silver lining? New York’s upcoming stretch offered some breathing room. A rare chance to recharge.
Still, it wasn’t the result that captured the night’s headlines. The image plastered across sports pages the next morning was Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal sharing a postgame hug. For a moment, it felt like the years of barbs and egos had melted away. Lin Yi chuckled when he saw it. These two… like a pair of stubborn kids. They’ll probably wait until retirement to finally and fully reconcile properly.
After the game, both Lin Yi and Kobe stood side by side promoting BodyArmour sports drink. The timing couldn’t have been better. Gatorade, once untouchable, was suddenly looking over its shoulder. With more and more stars ready to jump ship after their contracts expired, BodyArmour’s rise seemed inevitable.
Lin Yi, of course, was already plotting. He had investments lined up, including one quirky idea: flaunting his identity as a lifelong Leicester City supporter when the time came. Last ago, he’d tossed a symbolic $10,000 into the club — small change by NBA standards, but enough to create a nice story if Leicester ever had their fairytale moment.
Not every venture went smoothly, though. A few side investments had burned money instead of printing it. Lin Yi knew where his real strength lay.
“Basketball is my biggest advantage. That’s where I’ll always be ahead,” he admitted to himself.
Losing to the Lakers stung, but strangely, it was useful. The Knicks had been flying too high, grabbing too many headlines. A setback here wasn’t the end — it was a reminder. Sometimes it helped to let someone else, maybe even Miami, take the heat of the spotlight.
But as it turned out, the biggest talking point after the game wasn’t the final score. It was Lin Yi’s dunk.
Pau Gasol’s misfortune had gone viral. The Spaniard, trapped helplessly under the rim, had been turned into an unwilling background prop for Lin Yi’s slam. Within hours, the clip was everywhere — social media feeds, video sites, TV highlight reels.
Around the league, the reactions poured in.
Chris Paul tweeted: “That might be the cruelest poster I’ve ever seen.”
Derrick Rose told reporters: “The moment Lin took off, I was already mourning for Pau.”
Kevin Garnett, never shy, went wild: “I love that kid’s game! That dunk? Put it down now as one of the Dunks of the Year!”
Meanwhile, in Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant was fuming. The Thunder had just knocked off the Magic on the road, with Durant himself pouring in 40 points to lead OKC to their fourth straight win on their East trip. He should’ve been the story.
He scrolled the sports sites, smiling at first—until he noticed every front page, every forum thread, was plastered not with his name, but with Lin Yi’s dunk.
Durant slammed his phone down in frustration. “Unbelievable. We win, I drop forty, and still—still it’s Lin Yi everywhere!”
Grumbling, he pulled out a new phone, replayed the Knicks-Lakers highlights, and froze at the moment of impact when Lin Yi detonated on Gasol.
Durant sighed, shaking his head. “…Damn. Okay. That’s exciting.”
...
On January 11th, the Knicks had no scheduled game, so the team enjoyed a rare full day off.
But while Madison Square Garden was quiet, the NBA world certainly wasn’t. After four rounds of fan voting, the starters for the 2011 Los Angeles All-Star Game were officially announced.
Lin Yi once again smashed the All-Star voting record, pulling in a staggering 7,321,287 votes.
For the Eastern Conference, the starting five were locked in: Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Lin Yi, and none other than Shaquille O’Neal.
That last name raised a few eyebrows. Dwight Howard, despite still being one of the league’s most dominant big men, found himself snubbed for the second straight year. The frustration showed—Howard hinted in interviews that maybe Orlando fans weren’t doing enough to back him. Of course, he made sure not to point the finger at O’Neal directly. Even Superman knew better than to poke at Big Aristotle.
In truth, Magic fans had done everything they could. But O’Neal had something Howard didn’t—Lin Yi.
Lin Yi had openly campaigned on social media, rallying fans and essentially gifting O’Neal one last All-Star start before retirement. When the results came out, Shaq was so overjoyed that he literally jumped onto Lin Yi’s back during practice.
“Shaq, can you move already? My back’s about to snap,” Lin Yi groaned, half-laughing, half-serious.
“...” was all O’Neal managed, grinning like a kid who’d just been told Christmas was coming twice this year.
…
Out West, the starters were Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and Yao Ming.
Yao, despite constant injury setbacks, still pulled in more than two million votes. With no serious rival at center in the Western Conference, his spot was secure. Durant, meanwhile, edged out Tim Duncan. And honestly, had The Big Fundamental raised his voice even slightly, the fan base might’ve carried him back into the lineup. But Duncan, being Duncan, he simply shrugged, happy to let the next generation take over.
The All-Star coaching selections added another layer of intrigue. Mike D’Antoni would lead the East, while Gregg Popovich would guide the West. Conspiracy theorists had their fun with that one. Was the league just setting up another round of D’Antoni vs. Popovich chess? Or maybe rewarding both after stellar seasons?
The Knicks and Spurs were leading their conferences anyway, so the choices made sense. Still, Lin Yi figured Tom Thibodeau deserved to be in the conversation. The Bulls’ turnaround under Thibs was nothing short of remarkable. But as always, the NBA loved its storylines.
..
The Knicks recorded a set of Chinese New Year greetings for fans abroad. This season, for the first time, the league had organized a “Spring Festival Game.” The Knicks, Rockets, and Wizards were chosen as the featured teams, each debuting special Chinese-themed jerseys for the occasion.
Lin Yi joked privately that if David Stern had been standing in front of him, he might have smacked the commissioner’s waist with a massage hammer. “It’s the Spring Festival; shouldn’t we be at home with family instead of playing basketball?”
Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian shared his sentiments, but complaints aside, the move highlighted just how much the NBA valued the Chinese market. The early rollout of those jerseys was proof that the league was fully invested in supporting Lin Yi’s presence as a global star.
…
The Knicks returned to action on January 14th, hosting the Sacramento Kings.
Rookie Derrick Favors was eager to test himself against Lin Yi. Ambition is one thing, but reality hit hard. The young big man learned quickly that challenging established stars often ends in bruises—both physical and mental.
The Kings, already in rebuild mode and counting down the days until Ricky Rubio’s arrival the following season, had little to celebrate. Their fans were practically begging to hit the fast-forward button.
Lin Yi dropped 36 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks, shooting 12-of-21 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 at the line.
Favors, meanwhile, managed just 7 points and 4 rebounds.
It wasn’t personal—just business. But for Favors, the experience was a harsh reminder that there’s always a bigger mountain to climb in the NBA. Lin Yi had quietly left yet another psychological scar on the league’s young big men, one that might linger for years.
Final score: Kings 81, Knicks 110.
The win snapped New York’s brief two-game skid and marked the beginning of what promised to be another ruthless run.
