Terrence Williams was far too confident.
Guarded by Lian Dao throughout the second quarter, he hadn't had a chance to shoot. So why was he chucking a three-pointer from beyond the arc now? Instead of driving inside to find his rhythm, his brain took a detour and launched a deep shot.
Did he think he was Stephen Curry?
Or maybe he was auditioning to open a blacksmith shop in Los Angeles!
Millsap grabbed the rebound. Yi Jianlian, smothered by Lian Dao's defense, had no shot at the board, and Lopez was boxed out by Milicic, unable to jump. Williams' blind heave was a gift to the Knicks.
Every Nets player on the court shot him a death stare.
Nets coach Kiki Vandeweghe rubbed his weathered face with both hands, helpless. Yi Jianlian had no chance against Lian Dao's suffocating defense, and Williams' bizarre shot selection was killing them. Was this guy a traitor sent by the Knicks?
As Vandeweghe stewed, Lian Dao caught a pass from Larry Hughes at the top of the arc and drained another three-pointer. After the shot, he pressed his thumb against his index finger's nail, forming a circle, extended his other three fingers, and placed the circle over his right eye. He shot a glance at Williams, then held the pose, scanning the crowd.
Three points. Simple. Domineering.
The arena erupted in cheers. Many were Nets fans, but Lian Dao's flair won them over, turning them into traitors cheering for the enemy. The Nets players felt the sting of their fans' defection, but their team's dismal play this season left them speechless.
The Knicks' bench exploded, waving towels and howling for Lian Dao.
"Sickle's celebration is too cool," Danilo Gallinari said, waving a towel on the bench. "I'm stealing that move when I hit a three."
The others watched the replay on the jumbotron and nodded in agreement. It was undeniably slick.
If Lian Dao kept using it, that gesture could become his signature, like Iverson's ear-cupping, Garnett's chest-thumping, Kobe's airplane glide, or James' chalk-toss strut.
The Nets' bench was a graveyard. No disappointment, no spark, just blank stares, as if the blowout had nothing to do with them.
Vandeweghe glanced at his lifeless reserves and sighed. This was rock bottom. Poor performance kills morale, and when a team stops caring about winning, it loses its soul. The Sacramento Kings were proof: perennial losers who'd grown numb to defeat, where players shrugged off losses like another day.
Vandeweghe knew his days were numbered. The Nets' 18-game losing streak to start the season had soured management. Once Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov finalized his purchase, Vandeweghe would likely be the first to go. You can't blame fate when life's tough, nor society when you've messed up.
Vandeweghe called a timeout and tore into Williams, his frustration boiling over.
The score: 48-25. The Knicks led by 23 with five minutes left in the second quarter.
Vandeweghe sent out his full starting lineup: Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Trenton Hassell, Yi Jianlian, and Brook Lopez. If they didn't fight back now, the game was over.
For the Knicks, D'Antoni matched with his main unit, keeping Milicic on to contain Lopez, whose mid-range game faltered under Milicic's relentless pressure. D'Antoni aimed to bury the Nets before halftime.
And they did. With Yi Jianlian locked down by Lian Dao, Harris hounded by Jrue Holiday, and Lopez wrestling Milicic in the paint, the Nets' offense sputtered. Their shooting percentage tanked.
The Knicks were on fire. Wilson Chandler splashed two threes, Millsap threw down dunks off Lian Dao's feeds, and Lian Dao capped the half with a buzzer-beating, ultra-long three.
Halftime score: 64-30. A 34-point Knicks lead.
During the break, Chinese fans tuned in, buzzing over Yi Jianlian's hot start: 5-for-5 for 10 points in the first quarter. His form was electric, a beacon for domestic audiences. But when Lian Dao switched to guard him, the talent gap was stark. Strength, speed, defensive tenacity, Lian Dao outclassed Yi Jianlian, cutting off his touches entirely.
Fans sighed: That's why he's the No. 1 pick.
Yi Jianlian led the Nets with 18 points and 4 rebounds at the half, a stat line screaming potential. By Jordan rules, 10 points in a game means 40 for the night, so he was on pace for 36. But Lian Dao's halftime numbers stole the show: 28 points, 12 assists, a double-double befitting an All-Star.
In the third quarter, Lian Dao rested on the bench, watching his teammates roll. Jrue Holiday's promotion to starter had transformed the Knicks. Even without Lian Dao, their offense and organization hummed, thanks to Holiday's playmaking. His defense matched Chris Duhon's, but his vision and scoring far surpassed the veteran's.
D'Antoni was thrilled with Holiday's growth. He'd also embraced defensive coach Mike Woodson's suggestions this season, adopting an aggressive, switch-heavy scheme. The Knicks' defense wasn't elite, but it was far better than years past.
Without Lian Dao's smothering defense, Yi Jianlian rediscovered his groove in the third quarter. He sank mid-range jumpers, powered to the rim for a dunk, and swished a three. When his shot was on, he was unstoppable.
But the Nets couldn't close the gap. Outside of Yi Jianlian, their roster was a disaster, with teammates clanking shots like they were allergic to the rim. The Knicks held a steady 30-point lead.
Seeing the blowout, D'Antoni checked with Lian Dao and kept him on the bench for the third quarter's remainder. Vandeweghe, watching Yi Jianlian pour in 16 points yet fail to dent the deficit, waved the white flag, pulling his starters.
D'Antoni followed suit, going all-bench. Lian Dao savored the rare joy of clocking out at halftime.
Who says no to leaving work early?