Champion Creed
Chapter 183 - 183 092 Man I've beaten him four times this season!

183: 092: Man, I’ve beaten him four times this season!

(Vote for monthly ticket!) 183: 092: Man, I’ve beaten him four times this season!

(Vote for monthly ticket!) An extraordinary alley-oop finally allowed the Magic to break through the Knicks’ defensive positions in the fourth quarter, and ultimately, the Magic completed a major comeback of 17 points.

Pat Riley’s face turned as red as Sun Wukong’s behind.

It’s normal for men to have flushed faces, but to do so in front of so many people is undoubtedly very embarrassing.

Now the whole world knows, Riley was brutally killed by Roger.

And, this was the second time.

Riley used to be stopped only by Jordan.

Now, he has another nemesis.

Before the fourth quarter began, when Riley held a 17-point lead, he never thought he would lose.

He was very, very confident in his team’s defense.

In fact, Riley was not blindly confident.

Throughout the fourth quarter, aside from free throws, the Knicks allowed the Magic to score on only one field goal.

But that one time was the deadliest of all.

Riley was acutely aware of the importance of this game.

If lost, it would deal a lethal blow to the Knicks’ morale.

The team had just clawed back two games.

If the momentum was interrupted at this point, it might not be possible to regain it.

During the timeout, as the Knicks’ players walked off the court, Pat Riley roared desperately, “Patrick, don’t leave Shaq’s side for a second; we can’t give them any more chances like that!

John, be decisive, both with your passes and your shots, be decisive!”

Riley was agitated, not just because he was about to lose this critical game.

Also, because all those things he longed for—power, money, the foundation for creating his basketball empire, and surpassing Phil Jackson’s legacy… Everything was bursting like bubbles, one after another.

If he couldn’t even get past the Magic, if he couldn’t even break through the East semifinals, then Riley could forget about controlling the Knicks, let alone securing that 50 million contract.

Ewing nodded as always, and so did John Starks.

The Knicks were still intently listening to Riley give orders.

But suddenly, Riley felt that everything was already over.

Ewing, Starks, Oakley…

All the Knicks’ players had unease written in their eyes.

The cheers from the Orlando fans at the venue magnified this sentiment.

True, they were only one point behind.

It wasn’t the end of the world.

But the process from being 17 points ahead to one point behind had dealt a catastrophic blow to the Knicks players’ confidence.

Riley had already lost control of the situation; the game was now completely dominated by Roger and Shaq.

In the luxury suite, an overly excited Pat Williams finally reached a sage moment.

He realized that his response had been a bit over the top.

Like most men who have reached a sage moment, he straightened out his clothes, full of regret.

“Sir…

I’m sorry, I got too excited just now.”

DeVos chuckled and shook his head, “That was a moment well worth the excitement, Pat.”

“You’re right, amazing!

Roger and Shaq, they saved the team, they saved this round of the playoffs!”

At that moment, DeVos’s assistant interjected, “Sir, if we don’t leave now, we might hit traffic during the peak hour.”

“Forget that damn traffic, Anton.

I want to watch the end of this game, I want to proudly watch this game.

You see?

On the court, it’s my team thrashing the Knicks, my team!

Ha!”

In that moment, Pat Williams knew that Roger and Shaq had not only conquered the fans and the opponents but had also completely won over the owner.

“By the way, Pat, what was the contract value that Roger’s agent wants this summer?” DeVos inquired.

“They said they want to use Patrick Ewing as the standard, which means at least ten million annual salary.

The renewal with New York and Ewing will definitely not be less than 10 million.”

“Ten million annual salary?

That’s bold to say; in the past decades, there has never been an NBA player with an annual salary of ten million,” DeVos frowned, “but we should do our utmost to keep Roger.

That’s the smart move.”

Pat Williams nodded with a smile.

If even DeVos was softening up, then the negotiation for Roger’s renewal this summer wouldn’t be that tough.

Pat Williams suddenly remembered that just before the fourth quarter started, DeVos was still saying to consider carefully the renewal for Roger and Shaq.

But now, he was saying to do their utmost to keep Roger.

This is competitive sports, where strength speaks.

The size of the contract you can grasp depends entirely on your ability.

On the court, the timeout soon ended, and the game continued.

Riley’s premonition wasn’t wrong; the Knicks didn’t lose by a point, but by their will to win.

In this offense, Ewing passed the ball to Charles Smith amidst a double team.

As Ron Harper switched up on defense, Charles Smith passed it to Derek Harper.

In this rotation, McKey was a step behind, his drained stamina slowing his pace.

This gave Derek Harper an almost open shooting opportunity.

In this defensive battle, such chances were rare.

If he could just capitalize on the easiest shot of the night, he could put the Knicks back in the lead.

But the ball bounced off the rim, and Derek Harper was defeated by himself.

His shooting was rushed; his heart was tense and fearful.