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Chapter 205: Bulls vs Knicks End
🕑 Added 2025-06-30 15:24:04 +0000 UTC“I didn’t expect Pat to handle the pressure this well,” Kenny Smith said from the TNT booth.
“Opportunity doesn’t play favorites,” Barkley replied. “In this league, the ones who can step up when it counts—those are the ones who stick.”
...
The Bulls had the ball, and Derrick Rose, looking sharp and focused, was determined to take matters into his own hands.
Pat Ewing Jr. might never be as good as his father, but he wasn’t making it easy. Rose was starting to get annoyed—Pat stuck to him like glue, refusing to give him even half a step.
To be clear, Rose wasn’t underestimating him. Starting for the Knicks wasn’t something you just stumbled into. If Ewing Jr. was out there, it meant he earned it.
In Rose’s mind, the Knicks were up there with the Lakers and Celtics now—a legit powerhouse. That loss earlier in the season? He chalked it up to New York's stacked roster.
What Rose didn’t know was that Lin Yi would’ve loved to correct him:
It’s not that the Knicks are too strong… it’s that I’m too strong.
Because Lin Yi wasn’t just built different. He knew it.
Rose shifted gears, ready to explode past Pat.
He trusted his speed. That first step? Deadly. Most defenders couldn’t react fast enough when he hit the gas.
He went for it.
But Pat didn’t quit. Not here. Not now. This was his first NBA start—his big moment. And he wasn’t about to let it pass him by.
While Rose pushed forward, Pat reached out with sharp instincts—
Swipe!
Steal!
Derrick Rose, caught off guard, watched the ball get stripped clean from his hands.
Before he could even react, Pat Ewing Jr. was already sprinting toward the Bulls’ half, dribbling with purpose.
It wasn’t Rose’s first turnover. But to get picked like that by a guy barely on the scouting report? It stung. Bad.
He turned, chasing with everything he had.
Pat could feel him coming. Fast. Furious.
“If you don’t know what to do, just give me the ball.”
Lin Yi’s voice echoed in Pat’s mind.
He glanced over—Lin was already charging up the floor like a runaway train.
Pat didn’t hesitate. He lobbed the ball high, almost desperate.
Rose, thinking Pat was going for a layup, went up early—but the ball arced over him.
What the—?
Noah, already back in the paint, tracked the ball and prepared to grab it once it dropped.
“Watch it!” Rose shouted—too late.
BOOM.
Joakim Noah, the 6'11" center, felt the impact before he even saw it.
Lin Yi came flying in, hammering the ball through the rim with a two-handed tomahawk that shook the entire arena. The backboard stung, and the crowd erupted.
Noah stumbled backward, nearly collapsing under the force, barely avoiding the stanchion. He turned to glare, only to find Lin Yi hanging on the rim, staring right back at him.
By the time Lin dropped down, Pat had already run over and wrapped him in a bear hug, nearly lifting him off the ground.
Lin simply looked down at Noah, then glanced around.
“This is my city,” he said calmly.
Madison Square Garden exploded.
“M-V-P! M-V-P!”
“Liiiin Yiiii!!!”
In the TNT booth, Barkley shouted, “Get the replay up! Come on! Show that again!”
On the slow-motion replay, Lin Yi’s body soared through the air, arching, curling, and then uncoiling like a spring. That dunk wasn’t just highlight-worthy—it was a message.
Noah had gotten crushed.
But in the restricted zone? All legal.
And honestly, at this point, even if Noah screamed his lungs out, no one was listening.
...
Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro hesitated on the sideline, unsure whether to burn a timeout. But the Knicks didn’t stop.
The Bulls brought it back up, Rose attacking again—but Pat stayed with him just long enough to funnel him into the paint.
Lin Yi was waiting.
SMACK.
A vicious block sent the ball flying, and Chandler grabbed it, immediately pushing up the court.
Ronald Murray retreated fast, but Chandler wasn’t slowing down.
BOOM!
Another slam, and this time it was Chandler screaming at Murray, who earned nearly triple his salary.
“This is New York!” he roared.
And that was that.
Two fast breaks. Two dunks. One timeout forced.
Del Negro had no choice now.
Their core, Derrick Rose, had been blocked once, and after back-to-back Knicks fast breaks ending in thunderous dunks, the Bulls’ energy dropped like a stone.
...
Pat Ewing Jr. was still catching his breath on the bench, surrounded by his teammates. He couldn’t stop grinning. This—this was what it felt like to be a Knick.
Earl Barron tossed him a Gatorade, and Pat chuckled. Not long ago, he was the one handing out drinks and towels. Now he was the one getting them.
“Lin,” David Lee said, laughing, “that ‘This is my city’ line? Cold. So cold. I’ve got chills.”
Lin Yi shrugged, spreading his hands with a sly smile. “Don’t ask me why. I just… had to let it out today.”
Why was he showing off?
Well, Danilo Gallinari, who knew Lin better than most, leaned over to Louis Williams with a smirk. “You know why he’s like this, right? Home game. Three girls in the crowd were watching him play. He’s buzzing. Happens to all the boys.”
Lou grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. “Certified.”
...
Back on the floor, the Bulls looked deflated. Even with Rose pushing for points, their rhythm was broken.
Pat did his best, but Rose found his gear again. The Knicks couldn’t hold him down for the full game, but it didn’t matter. The rest of the Bulls couldn’t keep up.
Second quarter? Same story.
Coach Vinny Del Negro looked like he was about to snap his clipboard in half.
Why?
He’d explicitly told the team to slow things down in the second quarter. Don’t try to outrun the Knicks. Control the pace.
And yet… nothing worked.
At halftime, Coach D’Antoni turned to Lin Yi, his brow furrowed. “Why aren’t they adjusting? It’s like they’re walking into a buzzsaw.”
Lin gave a small smile, eyes calm. “Overthinking it, Coach. Not everyone is as adaptable as you.”
This is the price of outdated basketball.
Down the line, teams would try the same tactic against the Warriors, Grizzlies, Spurs, you name it. People always assumed slowing the tempo was the solution to a fast-paced offense.
But it wasn’t that simple.
The Bulls weren’t just bad at defending in transition. They couldn’t shoot threes well enough to catch up, even if they slowed the game down. And if the Knicks built a lead? The Bulls weren’t built to close that gap.
Even worse?
If the Bulls did get ahead, Lin and the Knicks could erase it with just a few clean perimeter shots. That’s how fragile the game became when one side couldn’t space the floor.
Final score: Knicks 109, Bulls 89.
New York swept the Bulls in the regular season.
...
After the game, Derrick Rose sat quietly. He had 28 points, but it felt empty.
He couldn’t stop thinking about that early steal from Pat Ewing Jr., about Chandler’s slam, about the way the Garden had erupted.
We need help this summer, Rose thought grimly.
The Knicks are just too strong.
Ewing Jr., meanwhile, had a career night in his first start: 9 points, 4 assists. Shot five times from beyond the arc, hitting three.
That was Lin’s advice—cut down on wild drives. He had to find smarter angles.
And Lin?
21 points. 12 rebounds. 7 assists. 4 blocks.
He nearly added one more swat to that total—but Rose’s hang time made that final layup nearly unblockable.
Still, Lin was satisfied.
And for the fans at MSG?
They’d witnessed something special.
This was New York.
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Not just a new Knicks, Pat Jr showed he could move beyond the paint
