Lin Yi only played six minutes in the first quarter before D'Antoni subbed him out.
In that short time, he racked up a solid stat line for a rookie: 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. But those numbers didn't tell the full story of his impact—he made the whole Knicks team look sharper.
The Heat saw him as a threat. To slow him down, they threw Haslem at him instead of the aging O'Neal.
Haslem's quicker, sure. But Lin Yi, being smart as ever, didn't bite. He didn't try to force anything. He knew he had the height advantage, but this wasn't the time to start flexing. Lin Yi was saving his energy because once the bench lineup came in, that was his time to shine.
Efficiency is the name of the game—and Lin Yi knows how to make it look easy.
On the sidelines, Spoelstra let out a breath when he saw Lin Yi get subbed out. O'Neal finally got a break. Chasing Lin Yi around isn't great for a big man with old knees.
Meanwhile, Pat Riley was unimpressed. From his perspective, Lin Yi should've been dominating in the post already. "A 221 cm guy being neutralized by someone Haslem's size? That's a failure," he muttered.
Back on the court, D'Antoni sent Nate Robinson in.
Ah, Nate. The 175 cm walking highlight reel. Former dunk champ. The guy who once dared to block Yao Ming. And also… a bit of a headache.
D'Antoni didn't want to play Nate—he was on the trade block—but he gave him a shot anyway.
Instant regret.
Nate was doing his own thing. Gallinari was waiting patiently for the ball, but Nate never passed. The Italian cannon never got a chance to fire. Gallinari looked half-asleep on the wing, wondering when he could tag out and rejoin Lin Yi.
The Knicks had been leading, but with Nate sabotaging the offense, the Heat quickly took control.
By the end of the first quarter, Miami led 26-33.
"D'Antoni probably wants Lin Yi to anchor the bench lineup, like in the preseason," Zhang Reasonable observed.
"Looks like it. Lin Yi meshes well with the second unit," Yu Jia added.
Sure enough, Lin Yi checked back in to start the second quarter, and Nate, despite thinking he was playing great with 2-of-7 shooting, was benched immediately.
Lin Yi remembered that in his past life, the Knicks had shipped Nate to the Celtics. Even someone like D'Antoni couldn't get through to him. That said a lot.
If Nate had just passed the ball occasionally, he could've earned a much better contract. He had insane athleticism, good strength, and top-tier speed.
But the NBA in this era still had room for guys like him. Compared to how unforgiving the league would become later, Nate had it good. Too bad his basketball IQ was stuck in the basement.
Meanwhile, Gallinari, who had played well in the first part of the first quarter, came back in early to rejoin Lin Yi.
D'Antoni liked Gallinari. Not just because they were both Italian, but because the kid could really shoot.
Physically, he was no Novak or Kapono. Gallo had bounce. For a white guy, he was pretty athletic. He could handle the ball, draw fouls, and Lin Yi clearly remembered him averaging 8.2 free throws per game back in 2015–16.
Now, D'Antoni deployed a small-ball lineup:
Lin Yi at the center
Gallinari at power forward
Wilson Chandler at the three
Larry Hughes at shooting guard
Tony Douglas at the one
Spoelstra blinked.
"Wait, this is the small lineup?"
Gallinari's 208 cm. Chandler's 203. What kind of small lineup is this?
On their side, the Heat's backup center, Joel Anthony was only 206. Spoelstra felt robbed.
And right away, Miami felt the pain.
At the start of the second quarter, Lin Yi started operating from the low post.
Joel Anthony wasn't slow, but trying to beat him off the dribble wasn't worth the energy. Lin Yi just settled into the block and went to work.
He wasn't super heavy, but Joel Anthony was even lighter—and shorter.
So Lin Yi got comfy. Turnarounds. Hooks. Footwork on display. Left hand, right hand—he was cooking. The Heat tried doubling him, but it only freed up Gallinari.
Clang. Three. Clang. Another. Swoosh. Third time's the charm.
Lin Yi had officially reactivated the Italian sniper.
The Heat had no choice but to call a timeout and bring the starters back in.
D'Antoni followed suit, subbing in his own starting five. Unless the score got tight, he liked to let the bench cook.
Spoelstra wasn't convinced. He thought Joel Anthony was the weak link and switched back to Haslem to guard Lin Yi.
But Lin Yi wasn't stubborn. He just gave up the ball and cut straight to the rim. Chris Duhon lobbed it up like Liu Wei to Yao back in the day—
BOOM!
The Airlines Arena erupted.
The Heat couldn't keep up. Wade was trying his best, but who was going to help him?
Beasley? Not today. Spoelstra stared at him, wondering if he'd hit a blunt before checking in.
To be fair, it wasn't all on Beasley. The Knicks were throwing Chandler and Harrington at him one after the other. He wasn't quick enough to beat them, wasn't tall enough to shoot over them. All he could do was take contested fadeaways. This wasn't college anymore.
His jumper wasn't falling, not even on open looks.
By halftime, the Knicks had flipped the game: 51-65.
Their sharpshooting shredded the Heat's so-called elite defense.
That's the thing about shooters—when they're hot, there's not much you can do. And today, the Knicks were flaming.
Gallo had already launched 7 threes in the first half, hit 4 of them, and had 14 points and 3 boards.
Al Harrington? 6 attempts, made 3, good for 11 points and 4 rebounds.
Duhon went 1-for-2 from deep.
Chandler went 2-for-4 and chipped in 10 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist.
Tony Douglas made 2 of 3 for 6 points.
The only dud? Nate Robinson, who went 0-for-3 from deep.
Lin Yi didn't even take a three. Still, he quietly stacked up 12 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks.
And those low-post plays? They were a slap in Riley's face.
"Lin Yi played a lot like Yao Ming today," Zhang Reasonable noted.
"He's got real potential as a dominant center," Yu Jia added. "We mainly saw him as a slasher or point center, but his skill set runs deeper than that."
"That's what makes a great player," Zhang said. "He adapts. He leads. And the Knicks? They look like a whole new team today. Everyone's showing improvement."
"Gallinari only averaged six points last season. If he keeps this up, maybe he's got an All-Star run in him," said Yu Jia.
Knicks fans saw it too—this team was starting to look dangerous.
They didn't just play well.
They started to believe they could win, but tempered expectations since it was too soon.
....
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