Buckley suddenly snapped back to reality—wait a second, the third quarter isn't even over yet.
Even though the game's a total blowout, Lin Yi is still out there doing work in the third.
He's already dropped 50 points… and there's still 6 minutes and 21 seconds left. How high can this kid go tonight?
Yeah, the Nets aren't exactly title contenders right now, but no one's gonna care about that down the line. What they will remember is that on one wild night in the NBA, Lin Yi went nuclear.
Honestly, ask any fan who Kobe was playing when he scored 81. Most can't name the team, let alone who was guarding him.
At the Izod Centre, more and more fans were packing the seats again. Even some Nets fans who were about to head out stopped in their tracks. Why? Simple. They came back for the record.
The Nets? Yeah, they're toast tonight. Everyone in New Jersey knows this season's a mess. Their fans aren't even mad anymore. They're just...numb.
So, hey, if you're gonna watch your team get cooked, might as well stick around and see how crazy Lin Yi's numbers can get.
Meanwhile, Lin Yi's mini-duel with Ryan Anderson just cemented something in his mind—if Yi Jianlian didn't have that weird hitch in his game, he could still ball in the NBA.
Anderson's slower than Yi, no question. The guy works hard on defense, but slow is slow. Plus, his shots were not that quick either—not that it matters when Lin Yi's flying around like a spring.
Back on the court, Anderson tried driving into the paint. David Lee couldn't even be bothered to chase him, which opened the door for Lin Yi to swoop in. Anderson went for the floater...and Lin just spiked it out of the air like a mosquito.
Chandler scooped up the rebound, and Lin was already sprinting down the court like a wide receiver. In Knicks trainer Mark Dubo's eyes, Lin was basically a small forward trapped in a center's body.
Funny thing is, Dubo didn't know there'd be a real-life version of that someday—Giannis. The Greek Freak kept growing after entering the league. He's fast, explosive, and his wingspan is straight-up unfair.
But Lin? He's 8 cm taller than Giannis. In this version of the NBA? No one's ready for that. Even when teams like the Cavs put LeBron on him, Coach Mike Brown still looked like he wasn't sure what to do. The outdated defense made Lin's life even easier.
Chandler's pass was perfect, and Lin Yi finished it off like a running back powering into the end zone.
52 points.
Chinese fans watching at home were going nuts. Some students even snuck out during class, using the bathroom excuse to run to the school gate's convenience store to watch the game on the tiny TV with the shop owner.
Knicks fans were straight-up buzzing. Fans love seeing their guy go off. Years from now, even when Devin Booker drops 70, fans will still bring this up.
Just like how Kobe fans always shut down haters with that one line:
"81."
And that's the end of the conversation.
....
Beijing, China.
In the middle of a boring math class, Zhang Xiaowei, a die-hard Lin Yi fan known online as Suifengmeng, was sneakily following the game on his phone under the desk.
Stupid ENet! he screamed internally.
Zhang made a note to go get a new 2G card tomorrow.
He was practically trembling with excitement. His deskmate didn't have a phone, so he kept leaning over. Kids in the back kept asking, "How many points now? How many?"
"54! 54! He hit another one!" Zhang Xiaowei whispered, picturing the highlight in his mind.
But just as the hype was peaking, the math teacher noticed something off and walked over.
"Zhang Xiaowei! Are you planning to take the college entrance exam or not? With your grades, even getting into a third-tier school would be a miracle...wait, Lin Yi has 57 points?!"
He'd confiscated the phone mid-rant, only to freeze mid-sentence when he saw the stat.
The whole class erupted.
"WHAT?! 57?!"
Zhang Xiaowei wasn't even mad anymore. He quietly asked, "Teacher Wang… you watch NBA too?"
Mr. Wang coughed awkwardly. "Don't use your phone in class next time."
Huh?
The whole class was stunned. Mr. Wang, one of the strictest teachers in the school, let it slide? No phone confiscation?
Right then, Zhang Xiaowei couldn't hold it in.
"61! 61!! Lin Yi has 61 points!!"
Mr. Wang shot him a glare… then casually pulled out his phone to check the score.
"Damn," he muttered under his breath, "why'd I have class this morning…"
...
Back in the arena, Lin Yi finally took a seat on the bench as the fourth quarter started.
The Nets fans were torn between awe and heartbreak.
61 points. In three quarters.
Meanwhile, their entire team had scored just 59.
104 to 59—that's the score after three quarters.
Buckley flipped through his notes like a kid on Christmas.
"Lin played fewer minutes than Kobe did when he dropped 62 in three quarters!"
Kobe logged 33 minutes that night. Lin? Just 31 minutes and 25 seconds.
This performance was already being compared to Kobe's. People were debating: who was more efficient? Who had it harder?
Kenny Smith jumped in, "Wait, didn't Lin just break a bunch of records?"
"Yep!" Buckley grinned. "At 19 years and 360 days, he's now the youngest player ever to score 50+ and 60+ in a game."
"Plus, he just passed Bernard King to become the Knicks' all-time single-game scoring leader."
And what about Brandon Jennings? The guy who claimed to be better than Lin before the game?
Welp… that take aged like milk.
After tonight, all the talk would be about Lin. Stats. Analysis. Headlines.
Lin Yi is the story.
Final score:
138–80.
On November 22nd, the Knicks obliterated the Nets by 58 points, securing their ninth win of the season.
That 58-point margin? It's a new Knicks franchise record.
And Lin Yi's statline?
31 minutes and 25 seconds.
30 shots. 9/14 from two. 8/16 from three. 19/21 from the line.
61 points. 11 rebounds. 4 assists. 4 blocks. 2 steals.
He didn't even play in the fourth.
The moment the buzzer sounded, the entire basketball world exploded.
...
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