Second quarter action, and Zhao Dong slid over to shooting guard since Houston was resting, Starks was suspended, and the squad was thin at the two-spot.
John Wallace filled in at small forward, Herb Williams and rookie Walter McCarty held down the paint, and Charlie was running the point.
Orlando, down but desperate, kept their starters in—no one was getting a breather.
Magic possession.
Penny took it strong, got into the lane, and finished over McCarty plus the foul. And-1.
Bucket. Free throw. Three-point play. Knicks' lead shrunk.
25-21, New York up by four.
"Orlando's pushin' back," Marv Albert called. "The Knicks got their bench in—frontcourt's all reserves. Backcourt? Not much better. Charlie isn't on that level. Only real star on the floor? Zhao Dong. Knicks are outmatched right now."
Knicks ball.
Zhao Dong caught it two steps behind the arc on the right wing. Instant double-team. Gerald Wilkins rotated over for help.
Quick pass—Zhao swung it to John Wallace, wide open from three.
Miss.
Seikaly snatched the board. Magic on the break.
Penny pulled up. Money.
25-23. Knicks only up by two.
"Knicks gotta figure something out," Doug Collins said.
Zhao Dong wasn't about to wait.
As soon as he crossed half-court, he called for the rock, took it straight at Charlie, and pushed the pace.
Blew past the first defender, forcing Orlando's wings to collapse in. The paint was packed.
Kick-out to Charlie—wide open from deep.
Brick.
Zhao shook his head. Alright, time to take over.
Magic back on offense.
Gerald Wilkins got the ball on the right wing, facing up against Zhao.
Tried a fake drive—Zhao read it, swiped clean.
Loose ball.
Wilkins lunged, but Zhao had already scooped it up and was GONE.
Breakaway.
Anderson and Penny sprinted back, but Zhao Dong wasn't slowing down.
Took it straight down the left side, rose up, and—
BOOM!
Another poster.
Magic timeout.
Thousands of Knicks fans in the building erupted. Orlando was in trouble.
From there, the Magic went full-pressure on Zhao Dong. No matter where he was, they doubled. If he touched the paint? Triple-team.
Still, he kept working. In half a quarter:
10 PTS (3/7 FG, 4/5 FT)
2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2 TO, 1 FOUL
"He's puttin' pressure on Orlando," Zhang Heli said. "Even with turnovers, the Magic can't contain him. He's drawing so much attention that he's creating for others."
"39-35, Knicks still up four," Ma Jian added. "Zhao Dong is givin' Ewing time to rest without losing the lead."
Second Half Starts.
Knicks adjusted.
Ewing checked back in, Buck Williams replaced Herb, Houston returned. Starters were back.
Zhao Dong shifted gears. Instead of forcing shots, he focused on facilitating.
2 points. 2 dimes. Kept the squad moving.
At halftime:
Knicks up 7. 53-46.
"Orlando's got a problem," Marv said. "They've played their starters the whole first half. If the Knicks keep up this pace, Magic might be gassed by the fourth."
"Ewing's had an easy night," Matt added. "Zhao Dong is setting him up for everything. If this keeps up, we should start talking about the Knicks' second-round matchup with Miami."
Van Gundy wasn't letting up.
In the locker room, he laid out the third-quarter strategy.
"Keep it steady. Play tough defense—"
Zhao Dong cut in. "Coach, Orlando's exhausted. If we slow the game down now, we're letting them off the hook. Let's keep attacking. We can break 'em."
Van Gundy hesitated, then nodded. "Can you handle that pace?"
"I'm good, Coach. Barely played the second half, still got over ten minutes of rest. I can go," Zhao Dong said.
Thibodeau chimed in. "So what's the plan?"
"Give me a few minutes," Zhao Dong said, voice steady. "I wanna push the pace—run the break hard and see if I can break their spirit."
Van Gundy hesitated. Fast breaks burn energy. Zhao Dong played heavy minutes in the first half, didn't get much rest the night before. If this gamble backfired? Knicks could gas out and get run outta the gym.
"Coach, just three minutes. If it ain't working, we lock in on defense," Zhao Dong pressed.
Van Gundy thought it over—third quarter was just starting, still a whole fourth left. Finally, he nodded. "Alright. Three minutes. Make 'em count."
---
Third Quarter Begins – Magic Possession
Penny pulls up—bucket.
Zhao Dong grabbed the inbound and took off.
Orlando's bigs couldn't keep up, their guards hesitated. Nobody wanted to step in front of him.
Like a damn freight train, he bulldozed through the Magic's defense.
BOOM!
One of the nastiest dunks of the night. Magic fans? Dead silent. Knicks fans? Going wild.
Next play? Same thing.
Another stop, another explosive fast break. Magic looked lost.
Three minutes straight, Zhao Dong didn't hold back. Back-to-back-to-back rim-rocking dunks.
Magic crowd? Quiet. Knicks fans? Took over the building.
Meanwhile, Orlando? Completely rattled.
Turnover. Miss. Turnover. Knicks' defense clamped up.
Score gap jumped to 13.
Then—
Zhao Dong drove again, slashed through the defense, floated it up—bucket.
Magic center Seikaly hit the floor.
Zhao Dong stood under the hoop, catching his breath. Then—he turned to his teammates, voice loud and clear:
"SWEEP! LET'S SWEEP 'EM!"
"SWEEP! SWEEP!"
Knicks fans in the crowd picked up the chant.
In New York, Oakley and the squad were turnt up in a nightclub.
Meanwhile, Magic fans? Nothing but sighs, frustration, and curses.
---
NBC Broadcast
"Magic are done," Matt Goukas said flatly. "Their morale is shattered. Zhao Dong at small forward? Straight-up unstoppable. No one in the league can match that kind of power on the wing."
"From the start of the third, Zhao Dong flipped the switch," Marv Albert added. "He crushed Orlando's perimeter defense, then went inside and broke them down from the paint. Dunk after dunk after dunk—this is pure domination."
---
Chicago Bulls Locker Room
Bulls had the night off. Phil Jackson gathered the squad to watch.
"Orlando has to stop his transition game," Phil said, eyes locked on the screen. "That kind of fast break is deadly. If he gets going, teams fall apart."
Jordan, though? Unbothered.
Magic couldn't stop Zhao? Neither could the Bulls. But MJ wasn't worried. Because the Bulls had him.
If Zhao Dong tried this against Chicago?
Jordan smirked. He'd run right back at him.
Both teams pushing the tempo? Zhao was bigger, but Jordan was faster. Eventually, Knicks would gas out first.
Phil Jackson sighed. "A generational talent. But with Michael here? He was never gonna belong to the Bulls."
---
Riley wasn't as calm as Phil. Watching Zhao Dong tear through Orlando? That had him on edge.
Heat's frontcourt? They had nobody who could stop him.
What's the move?
"Gotta keep the team's morale in check," Riley thought. "Eventually, his energy runs out. When that happens, we strike."
Heat weren't the Magic. They had Alonzo Mourning—a leader, an enforcer. Heat wouldn't fold. They'd weather the storm and hit back.
---
Back to the Game
Another fast break.
But this time, Zhao Dong slowed. Legs weren't as fresh. Magic's defense got back faster.
They walled him off—but he pulled up.
Swish.
Riley sat forward.
"Damn… why is his pull-up jumper that smooth?"
That? That was dangerous.
A pull-up mid-break? If Zhao Dong mastered that, he'd be damn near unguardable.
Under Zhao Dong's lead, the Knicks turned up in the third quarter and straight-up buried the Magic.
He shot 8-for-11, knocked down 3 of 4 free throws, and ran 7 fast breaks—finishing 6 of them. Dropped 19 points in the quarter, setting his personal playoff high and a new postseason record for single-quarter scoring.
With his monster performance, the Knicks exploded for 33 points in the quarter, holding Orlando to just 15.
Score? 86-61. Knicks up 25.
Still a full quarter left, but this game was already cooked.
Magic fans knew it too. Before the fourth even started, half the crowd dipped. More kept leaving.
Final score? 110-80. Knicks by 30.
Series over. Knicks sweep.
---
Zhao Dong's Stat Line:
Played just two minutes in the fourth. In 38 minutes total:
16-for-25 FG (64%)
9-for-11 FT
41 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists
3 steals, 4 blocks, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls
Back-to-back triple-doubles.
Averaged a triple-double for the entire series.
---
NBC Broadcast
"Three games, three dominant performances," Matt said in awe. "Zhao Dong averaged 41 minutes a night, shot nearly 60% from the field, 78% from the line, and put up 34.3 points, 12.6 boards, 11.3 assists, 2.3 steals, and 4 blocks per game. That's straight-up insane."
"A triple-double average in his first playoff series?!" Marv Albert added. "This man's numbers are scarier than Magic Johnson's rookie year."
Matt Goukas nodded. "Back then, Magic led the Lakers past Philly. Now, Zhao Dong is trying to take the Knicks through a tougher road. First, they gotta get past Miami. Then, they gotta deal with the Bulls. Even with these crazy performances, beating Jordan? That's gonna be the real test."
Marv Albert agreed. "No doubt, the Knicks are celebrating now. But if they wanna win it all, this was just the beginning."
---
Post-Game – Zhao Dong Interview
Cameras flashed as Zhao Dong celebrated with his teammates, soaking in the moment.
"Zhao Dong, congrats on averaging a triple-double this series!"
"Appreciate it," he grinned, looking at the camera. "Shoutout to all the fans in New York and back home! Keep riding with us—we're gonna keep grinding, take down the Heat, and punch our ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals!"
Knicks team reporter Thomas jumped in.
"Zhao, what do you think was the biggest key to sweeping the Magic?"
Zhao Dong smirked. "Simple. We're just better."
"Did you face any real challenges on the wing this series?"
"Nah. They ain't got anybody on the perimeter who could handle me."
"Do you think your game is on the level of Magic Johnson's rookie season?"
Zhao Dong raised an eyebrow. "Magic's rookie year?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's keep it real—I'm definitely on that level."
The reporters gasped.
"So… do you think you can win the championship and Finals MVP like Magic did as a rookie?"
Zhao Dong gave a quick smirk. "I know we can take down the Bulls and Jordan."
With that, he wrapped up the interview.
---
Locker Room Celebration – Champagne Showers
Back in the locker room? Champagne was already popping.
As soon as Zhao Dong walked in—he got drenched.
Patrick Ewing laughed. "Damn shame Dita ain't here to give us a proper champagne bath."
Knicks owner James Dolan was in the room, grinning. "If we win a championship, I'll pay her whatever it takes to come do it. How's that sound?"
"OOOOHHH!"
The whole squad went crazy.
Zhao Dong laughed, shaking his head. "Boss, you might wanna drop that news before the Finals—just to let Jordan know what he's really up against."
The locker room exploded with laughter.
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