If the Lakers couldn't keep up with the Knicks' pace, the Knicks would have a chance to win.
Li Feng rested for a while, and Lowry came on.
D'Antoni put his arm around Lowry's shoulder and whispered a few words in his ear. Lowry nodded vigorously.
Lowry's rapid growth had greatly surprised D'Antoni.
And it was Li Feng who had specifically asked for Lowry, making D'Antoni very impressed with Li Feng's judgment.
It could be said that without Lowry's rapid development, the Knicks would not have made it to the Finals.
Previously, the Knicks' bench was too weak.
Often, the starters would gain a slight advantage, only for the bench to lose it all.
Upon entering the game, Lowry immediately picked up the pace.
Whether they could score or not, they had to shoot quickly and then quickly get back on defense.
The "Little Steel Cannon" lived up to Li Feng's expectations, fully embodying the essence of the run-and-gun offense.
The Lakers' bench was caught off guard and was hit with a scoring streak by the Knicks.
With just over three minutes into the fourth quarter, the Knicks had a surprising eight-point lead.
Lakers head coach Phil Jackson couldn't sit still and planned to bring back the starters early.
Kobe also stood up, having conserved plenty of energy in the first three quarters, and was ready to give his all in the fourth.
To shut down Lowry, Kobe himself had to step onto the court.
No one else could contain Lowry, as Lowry's strength and speed were simply too overwhelming.
It could be said that with Lowry's current ability, he could start for any other team.
Perhaps in the offseason, some team would make an offer for Lowry.
As media had already reported, at least six teams were interested in Lowry.
But Lowry himself had not responded, wanting only to play well in the Finals and help the Knicks win the championship!
Furthermore, Lowry had stated that he would stay with the Knicks as long as there was a chance.
If for no other reason, it was to be with Li Feng!
Lowry would rather be a backup to Li Feng than start for another team.
...
After Kobe came on, he tightly guarded Lowry.
It had to be said, Kobe's defensive ability was astonishing. When he focused on defense, no one could initiate an attack with ease.
Lowry, the engine of the bench, was immediately stifled.
The Lakers seized the opportunity to close the score gap.
Li Feng sat on the sidelines, furious!
"Good, Kobe, you're picking on our bench when they're vulnerable?"
Li Feng walked over to D'Antoni: "Coach, I'll go in."
D'Antoni was also anxious, and seeing Li Feng volunteer, he was overjoyed.
"Okay, who do you want to replace? Lowry or Larry Hughes?"
"Let's take Larry Hughes out. I'll partner with Lowry in the backcourt!"
"Alright!"
As Li Feng stepped onto the court, Kobe's heart skipped a beat.
Although he had locked down Lowry earlier, it had taken a lot of effort.
Now that Li Feng and Lowry were both on the court, it was like having a plus-version of Lowry, how could they defend that?
As expected, after Li Feng entered the game, he continued to push the pace, making the Lakers uncomfortable.
Kobe had to defend Li Feng, while Fisher guarded Lowry.
Kobe could barely contain Li Feng, but Fisher couldn't defend Lowry at all.
The Knicks began to gain the advantage again.
D'Antoni shouted excitedly from the sidelines.
If they could win this game, the Knicks would lead the series 3-1.
And the next game, back at home, would be the perfect opportunity for the Knicks to lift the championship trophy!
Just as D'Antoni was feeling optimistic, the game's momentum suddenly shifted.
Phil Jackson brought in all the starters and began to slow down the game.
The Knicks were speeding up, so he would slow down.
Every time the Knicks initiated a fast break, the Lakers would rather commit a foul to break up the Knicks' offense.
After a few possessions like this, the Knicks were at a disadvantage.
If Yao Ming were there, it wouldn't matter if the pace was slow; Yao Ming could dominate in the paint.
But Yao Ming wouldn't play today, so slowing down would be akin to suicide for the Knicks.
As expected, after the Lakers forcibly slowed the game, the Knicks lost the effectiveness of their run-and-gun offense.
The Lakers once again caught up in the scoring.
Despite Li Feng and Lowry fighting hard and trying to speed up the game, the Lakers' team execution was too strong.
After a few possessions, the Knicks couldn't play fast anymore.
With just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, the Lakers had a nine-point lead.
Led by Li Feng, the Knicks launched a comeback, but unfortunately, the Lakers played steadily and held on for the win.
In the end, the Lakers defeated the Knicks on their home court with a score of 113:105, tying the series at 2-2!
It was a truly suffocating Finals, incredibly intense.
The series was tied again, with both teams back at square one.
The next game, the crucial Game 5, would be back at the Knicks' home court.
Li Feng played 37 minutes today, scoring 42 points, a stellar performance.
Kobe played 38 minutes today, scoring 33 points.
Although the score wasn't high, he took very few shots today, achieving extreme efficiency.
17 shots, 13 made!
Therefore, Kobe was named the Player of the Game.
Although Li Feng was dejected, he was still worried about Yao Ming.
Yao Ming's health was too crucial for the Knicks.
The official status of Yao Ming's condition had not yet been released, as he was undergoing examination, with results expected the following day.
The entire Knicks team returned to New York with heavy hearts.
Yao Ming's examination results came out: his ankle had no structural damage, but it was still swollen and painful.
For safety reasons, he would definitely not play in the next game.
Upon hearing this, Li Feng finally felt relieved.
No structural damage meant Yao Ming's career was still going strong.
Even if he missed the Finals, he could return healthy next season!
Although Yao Ming was not seriously injured, the Knicks still had to prepare for the crucial Game 5.
D'Antoni's face remained grim during practice.
Due to Yao Ming's absence, he had little confidence in Game 5.
Pushing the pace had proven to be a failure, and now they could only hope for Li Feng.
However, under Kobe's full defensive attention, Li Feng could only play at half his potential.
In such a situation, others had to step up.
Li Feng saw how troubled D'Antoni was and suddenly had an idea.
"Coach, move Lowry to the starting lineup. Lowry and I can be the dual engines!"
Hearing Li Feng say this, D'Antoni's eyes lit up!
Without Yao Ming, Li Feng became the sole playmaker.
In this scenario, if Kobe focused entirely on defending Li Feng, the Knicks' offense would be suppressed.
Lowry was currently equivalent to sixty percent of Li Feng. With him on the court, Kobe would have to focus on Li Feng.
This would allow Lowry to function as another offensive threat.
"Okay, then you two play a scrimmage, and I'll see how it works!"
D'Antoni divided the players into two groups, placing Lowry with the starters and Duhon on the bench.
Duhon was a bit disappointed because he had always been a starter and had a good understanding with Li Feng.
However, in the NBA, talent was paramount.
Some people, with their inherent talent, could surpass those with less talent if they worked hard enough.
Lowry was such a player; his strength, speed, and three-point ability were superior to Duhon's, and there was nothing to be done about it.
The starting lineup gained an absolute advantage from the beginning.
Li Feng and Lowry pushed the pace, and the bench lineup couldn't stop them.
Although Li Feng and Lowry had occasionally played together before, they hadn't had much tactical coordination.
But today, the two of them had practiced several specific tactics, and the results were quite good.
For example, when Li Feng drove to the basket and encountered a collapsing defense, Lowry would quickly run to the corner or make a cut.
This allowed Li Feng to decide in an instant whether to attack himself or pass the ball.
The starting lineup led by 24 points in the first half, showing no mercy and going for the kill!
Li Feng and Lowry were having a blast, almost single-handedly scoring for the starting lineup.
More importantly, Li Feng had 8 assists, and Lowry had 9 assists!
This indicated that the dual-engine tactic was entirely feasible.
Li Feng remembered the "Splash Brothers" from the Warriors in his previous life.
That Warriors team was guard-oriented, with the interior players purely being role players whose main tasks were screens and rim protection.
Now, with Yao Ming out, the Knicks could completely emulate that Warriors team. Li Feng and Lowry were the new Splash Brothers!
During halftime, Li Feng and Lowry communicated for a long time, summarizing some of the errors from the first half.
Both were intelligent individuals with extremely high basketball IQs, grasping things quickly.
Therefore, their coordination became even more seamless when the second half began.
In just over two minutes into the third quarter, Lowry even threw an alley-oop pass to Li Feng!
Normally, only forwards could execute such plays, but Li Feng's aerial dunks were no less impressive than those of the forwards, and even more powerful!
D'Antoni watched from the sidelines, overjoyed.
He hadn't expected Lowry to come alive so much when moved to the starting lineup!
By the end of the scrimmage, the starters had defeated the bench by 37 points.
Lowry was extremely excited, having learned a lot from Li Feng.
Before coming to the Knicks, Lowry couldn't have imagined playing this way.
When he was with the Rockets, Lowry was just a traditional point guard, and the coach didn't let him shoot threes.
Breaking down defenses and passing wasn't his role either.
Therefore, in his previous life, Lowry only started to emerge after joining the Raptors.
The crucial Game 5 was about to begin.
Li Feng attended the pre-game press conference.
Because he and Lowry had developed such good chemistry, Li Feng was in a great mood.
Seeing Li Feng's beaming face, the reporters were quite surprised.
"Mr. Li Feng, you seem to be in a very good mood today. Why is that? Isn't Yao Ming unable to play today?"
Li Feng patiently explained, "Yao Ming is indeed unable to play today, but his ankle has no structural damage, and he will need at most a few days of rest, so I am in a good mood."
The reporters were also relieved, as everyone hoped to see players avoid injury.
Especially Yao Ming, who had experienced a resurgence with the Knicks. As a traditional big center, there were fewer and fewer of them in the league.
"Mr. Li Feng, with Yao Ming unable to play, will you be making any tactical or personnel adjustments?"
Li Feng did not hide anything and answered directly, "We have made some adjustments. Lowry and Jordan Hill will be starting."
The reporters had anticipated Jordan Hill moving into the starting lineup.
However, Lowry starting was quite unexpected.
"Lowry starting? What about Duhon? Is he injured?"
"No, he's not injured, it's just that Lowry needs to bring his offensive aggression to the starting lineup!"
The reporters whispered amongst themselves.
Lowry's offensive aggression was indeed much stronger than Duhon's, but Duhon also had the advantage of being exceptionally stable.
Seeing that the reporters didn't understand, Li Feng explained, "Without Yao Ming, we need to adapt. So, with Lowry starting, it will cause some trouble for the Lakers, and that's our goal."
The reporters nodded, realizing that the Knicks had prepared thoroughly for Game 5.
"Li Feng, in the previous game, the Lakers displayed immense overall strength. What do you think are the Knicks' chances of winning today?"
Li Feng shrugged and replied casually, "I'm not a statistician, so I don't know how to answer that, but I can guarantee that today's game will be very exciting!"
The reporters all laughed. Li Feng was indeed in a good mood today, not snapping back at the media at all.
...
The Lakers' press conference did not have such a relaxed atmosphere.
Kobe and Gasol accepted interviews.
Despite winning the previous game, Kobe's face showed no smiles.
"Kobe, can the Lakers seize the momentum and win today's crucial Game 5?"
Kobe remained expressionless and replied, "We must win. As long as we Lakers don't make mistakes, no one can beat us!"
"In the previous game, you were benched by the coach in the second quarter. What was the reason for that?"
The reporter was asking a question he already knew the answer to, and Kobe was a bit annoyed.
"It was the coach's decision. As players, we just need to obey! What's there to ask about?"
Kobe retorted at the reporter, and the reporter dared not ask further.
Another reporter asked Gasol a question.
"Mr. Gasol, it's rumored that Yao Ming cannot play in this game. Does this indicate a significant advantage for the Lakers in the paint?"
Gasol was a very kind person, and he said solemnly, "I regret Yao Ming's absence. I hope he can return to the court quickly. Facing strong opponents only ignites our fighting spirit!"
Gasol's answer earned applause from the reporters.
Kobe also nodded vigorously; he too did not wish Yao Ming to be injured.
The reporter then asked, "Mr. Kobe, is Li Feng the strongest opponent you have ever faced?"
Kobe thought for a moment and nodded slightly, "Yes, Li Feng, as a rookie, shows a maturity in his game that is rarely seen."
"Then, can it be said that whoever between you and Li Feng plays better will determine which side wins the game?"
Kobe shook his head, "No, the Finals are about the team as a whole. For the Lakers to win the championship, it doesn't depend on me alone, but on my teammates!"
As he spoke, he gestured towards Gasol.
Kobe had indeed matured, showing great perspective and always emphasizing teamwork.
...
The highly anticipated Game 5 of the Finals finally kicked off!
The Knicks' starting lineup had been adjusted: Li Feng, Jordan Hill, Danilo Gallinari, Luis Scola, and Lowry.
The Lakers fielded their usual starting five: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, and Derek Fisher.
At the center tip-off, Bynum secured the first possession for the Lakers.
Fisher brought the ball past half-court. Kobe did not ask for the ball but instead ran to the baseline corner.