After a tough road stretch, the Knicks were finally back in New York.
That four-game win streak had lifted the team's spirits. The earlier slump had dented morale—nobody was saying it out loud, but you could feel it in the locker room.
....
In his apartment, Lin Yi glanced at the system badge tracker on his screen.
"Just four more tough buckets to max this badge," he muttered, eyeing the silver-level Tough Shot badge. With that and the gold-level Ankle Breaker already unlocked, he was closing in on having two elite badges in his arsenal.
The evolution isn't over yet... still gotta grind, comrades. He thought, amused.
Feeling good, Lin logged into the Knicks' internal stats platform to check his numbers. "Should be doable. But I've gotta keep pushing," he said, nodding at the data. The back half of the schedule looked soft. If he wanted to rack up accolades, now was the time.
Gallinari—nicknamed SBC by the team—had once joked, "If Lin chased girls like he chased rebounds, he'd be married by now."
Naturally, Lin punched him for that. Lightly. Probably.
Gallinari's antics had warped the entire team's vibe. Lately, Lin had been feeling it too. He made a mental note: This summer, I'm getting a girlfriend. Or they'll never let me live it down.
"Four straight triple-doubles. Not bad." Lin pulled up his game log. Back in his 2K days, nothing beat reviewing his highlight reel.
The Knicks' internal platform wasn't just stats—it also included coaches' notes and player feedback, giving everyone a clear idea of what they were doing well and what needed work.
Speaking of work... Gallinari had gone out the night they got back. And surprise—he sprained his ankle.
Knicks medical staff cleared him, but D'Antoni wasn't risking it. Gallinari was benched for the next game, and D'Antoni made sure he knew he wasn't pleased.
Old friends with his pops, so Gallinari still had to call him 'Uncle Mike.' But D'Antoni didn't cut him any slack. "You've got the looks, sure," he told him. "But don't waste the talent."
Gallinari's injury, however, opened the door for Danny Green to get more minutes—something that had Lin quietly excited. Green had been working on his spot-up threes and defensive fundamentals since joining the team.
If he keeps grinding this summer, Lin thought after practice, "we might see a better version of the Deadshot next season."
...
March 19, 2010
Madison Square Garden. The final matchup of the season between the Knicks and the 76ers.
Lin scanned the opposing lineup. No Dalembert. No Elton Brand.
He sighed. "Come on, guys. You're messing with my stats here."
Still, despite the depleted roster, the 76ers posed little threat.
The Knicks took the win, 112–97, extending their streak to five games.
Lin played 37 minutes and posted another triple-double: 30 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists. For good measure, he added 3 blocks and 2 steals.
Fans online joked he should open a photocopy shop.
"Lin's fifth triple-double, Charles!" Kenny Smith exclaimed during the postgame wrap-up.
Barkley nodded. "He's going for MJ's record, no doubt. Seven straight? I think he's serious."
Kenny added, "And look at how the team's playing. They're helping him—on purpose."
The Knicks weren't just chasing wins anymore. They were rallying around Lin Yi's growing legend.
When David Lee secured the defensive rebound, he didn't hesitate—if Lin Yi was nearby, he'd get the ball.
It had become second nature for the Knicks. Anytime Lin Yi passed the ball out to the perimeter, the shooters didn't think twice—they fired.
Lin's playmaking had gone up a level. After recent system upgrades, his passing was sharper, more unpredictable, almost like he'd unlocked some secret passing algorithm usually reserved for elite guards.
"Hey Kenny," Barkley drawled mid-broadcast, "remember when you said Lin would struggle to score 15 a game?"
Kenny Smith groaned. "Charles, don't start that again."
But Barkley wasn't done. "You gave me grief for calling him a 15-point guy, and now he's averaging nearly a triple-double. Turns out I underestimated him."
Kenny shot him a side-eye. "Yeah, yeah. Rub it in."
Since Barkley had hitched himself to Lin Yi's rising star, Kenny hadn't had much room to breathe. Between Lin's breakout performances and Charles' endless gloating, he'd started seriously considering retirement.
To be fair, Kenny had seen the potential early on. He just didn't expect this level of dominance so soon.
And while the Knicks had endured that tough losing streak not long ago, Lin Yi came out swinging with five straight triple-doubles. It was the perfect way to silence the doubters.
Some critics on the internet as they call themselves claimed his stats were padded. That the team was helping him chase numbers. But wins were wins. And Lin's numbers weren't just big—they were efficient, meaningful.
Besides, rebounding was part of a center's job. What was he supposed to do, not grab boards?
As for the assists?
Well, the Knicks' offense ran through Lin. He was ranked top-15 in the league in assists for a reason. The ball moved better with him orchestrating from the high post or elbow.
Some fans even started compiling highlight reels of Lin's pinpoint passes that led to missed shots—just to prove how many potential assists he'd lost due to poor finishing.
"If half those bricks went in," one popular fan post read, "he'd be leading the league in assists by now."
The critics had run out of excuses. Five straight triple-doubles couldn't be waved away. And the thought of Lin tying Michael Jordan's legendary run of seven straight triple-doubles? That had them sweating.
...
On March 21, all their prayers fell flat.
Back at Madison Square Garden, facing the Houston Rockets, Lin Yi went to work. He played 38 minutes, dropping 33 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal.
Triple-double number six.
And just like that, the entire basketball world was on alert.
Talk shows, podcasts, and sports channels had the same question: would Lin Yi tie—or even break—Jordan's hallowed streak?
Jordan hadn't just tallied seven in a row; he notched ten triple-doubles in eleven games during that stretch. Back then, it was a statement—proof he wasn't just a scorer, but a complete player.
Now, Lin Yi was doing something eerily similar—except as a center with guard skills.
Fadeaways. Step-backs. Logo threes. No shot seemed too wild.
"How many records is this guy gonna break in one season?" someone asked on ESPN.
Plenty of old-school fans weren't thrilled. To them, a center belonged in the paint. This modern, perimeter-heavy style felt like blasphemy.
But whether they liked it or not, Lin Yi was redefining the role.
And so, their final hope rested on the Denver Nuggets.
...
March 23, 2010
Knicks vs. Nuggets.
The team from Colorado was fighting for a top-four seed in the West.
Their coach, George Karl, was away undergoing treatment for throat cancer, and the team was struggling without him. Assistant coaches couldn't rein in Carmelo Anthony, who looked more and more out of sync lately.
Lin Yi? He wasn't letting this opportunity slip.
Before tip-off, he gifted each of his teammates a bottle of fine red wine—worth over $10,000 apiece.
"Tonight, we make history," Lin said, standing in the locker room.
The team nodded.
The message was clear.
...
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