The live audience felt Li Feng's terrifying presence. Was the most shocking scoring performance in history about to begin?
The Spurs players tried to calm themselves and initiated an attack.
When players were most flustered, the ball had to be given to Duncan, as he was the Spurs' anchor.
Duncan secured his position, received the ball, and prepared to drive against David Lee again.
The Knicks also made adjustments. David Lee guarded Duncan from behind, while Jeffries came from the side for help defense.
An interesting scene unfolded: the Spurs double-teamed Li Feng, while the Knicks double-teamed Duncan.
Both were their teams' most stable scoring threats and were receiving special attention!
Facing the double-team, Duncan remained unfazed. With a fake, he quickly squeezed between the two defenders and drove to the basket.
His technique was too refined; the Knicks' two interior players were helpless.
Just as Duncan went up for an up-and-under layup, Li Feng, from seemingly nowhere, flew in and swatted the ball away with a loud *smack*!
He had blocked Duncan's sure-thing shot off the backboard!
A nail-the-backboard block!
The Spurs home crowd erupted in gasps. It was unbelievable!
Where did Li Feng come from?
In fact, when Duncan received the ball earlier, Li Feng already knew that Duncan would decisively drive to boost morale.
So, Li Feng abandoned his assignment on Parker and hid behind Gallinari.
As expected, the wily Duncan didn't notice Li Feng and once again became a background figure for Li Feng's massive block.
The ball bounced near the three-point line, and Du Hong grabbed it, initiating a fast break.
Gallinari quickly positioned himself at the 45-degree angle outside the three-point line, and Du Hong passed him the ball.
Swish!
Gallinari sank the shot steadily!
With Li Feng's momentum, his teammates felt less pressure and their shooting touch returned.
Li Feng watched from the backcourt, excitedly raising his hands to cheer for his teammates' basket!
65:51, the deficit narrowed further!
The live audience was stunned. Could they really make a comeback?
Popovich didn't call a timeout. He knew a timeout wouldn't help. Li Feng was dominating the game on both ends of the court.
All he could do now was quietly watch Li Feng's performance, and his position was the best seat in the house, courtside VIP seats.
In the next few possessions, Li Feng played with even more ease. Offensively, he could drive, shoot, or pass. Defensively, he employed his rim protection and stealing abilities, disrupting the Spurs' attacks time and again.
Led by Li Feng, the Knicks unleashed a 34:5 run.
By 8 minutes and 35 seconds into the third quarter, the Knicks had surprisingly tied the score!
76:76!
Popovich finally called a timeout.
He called the timeout not because he had figured out a strategy to stop Li Feng, but to give his players a rest and prepare to bring in the reserves.
Li Feng and his teammates high-fived and shouted excitedly. He hadn't expected to tie the score before the end of the quarter.
That was a 31-point deficit!
…
In the TNT broadcast booth, Barkley's eyes bulged, his mouth agape, as he watched the Knicks' stunning comeback.
Smith, abandoning his usual calm and composed demeanor, repeatedly shouted, "Embiid, come to me, Embiid, come to me!"
"I apologize for my previous remarks. Li Feng is amazing! He is the future superstar, no, he is a superstar right now!"
The stubborn Barkley was finally convinced by Li Feng.
…
Li Feng was also substituted out to rest.
Although Li Feng's training intensity was high and his endurance improved, these more than 8 minutes of explosive play left him gasping for air.
D'Antoni stood on the sideline, his face beaming as he welcomed Li Feng and embraced him in congratulation.
"Li Feng, it's incredible, you are God today!"
Coach D'Antoni didn't know what else to say.
Li Feng didn't say much, just smiled and returned to his seat to rest.
The battle between the reserves was where the Spurs were much stronger.
Because the Spurs had a strong collective spirit, and players didn't care about starting or reserve roles, their bench unit was also very strong.
Ginobili led the reserves and regained the lead.
Li Feng sat on the sidelines, feeling a bit helpless. However, after a short rest, he still stood up to cheer for his reserve teammates.
He only hoped that the deficit wouldn't widen too much, so that when he returned in the fourth quarter, there would still be a chance to turn the game around.
The Knicks reserves played hard. Although they were trailing, they didn't let the deficit grow too large.
At the end of the third quarter, the score was 87:82, with the Knicks trailing by 5 points!
D'Antoni was in a difficult position. Li Feng was indeed working hard, but if Li Feng continued to rest in the fourth quarter, the deficit might reach double digits.
Li Feng saw his dilemma and proactively volunteered to play at the start of the fourth quarter.
"Li Feng, this game is very important for us. You've worked hard!" Coach D'Antoni patted Li Feng's shoulder.
"It's okay, my stamina is still good!"
Li Feng, after resting for just over 2 minutes, returned to the court.
Popovich thought Li Feng would rest until the middle of the fourth quarter and had arranged his lineup to extend the lead.
When he saw Li Feng back on the court, he sighed, knowing that they were destined to lose today.
As soon as Li Feng stepped onto the court in the fourth quarter, he didn't force his own offense but focused on driving his teammates, because he knew he couldn't play the entire 12 minutes of the fourth quarter in every game.
The season was long, and the team needed to grow quickly to smoothly enter the playoffs!
Li Feng's return to the court filled the Spurs players and fans with despair.
At this moment, Popovich pointed to a player on the bench—Cedric Jackson.
He was an unremarkable role player for the Spurs, signed to a one-year minimum contract.
Usually, he only played a few minutes during garbage time.
However, he had a very important role: to play dirty.
The Spurs were undoubtedly great, and Duncan's importance was unquestionable, but the Spurs' defense was always controversial.
The most famous was Bowen, who targeted many star players. Carter and Ray Allen, among others, suffered greatly from his actions.
What D'Antoni found most difficult to accept was that glorious Run-and-Gun 1.0 Suns team from years ago.
The various "intentional or unintentional" mutual injuries between the two teams caused much controversy.
For example, Parker accidentally headbutted Nash's nose, and Bowen deliberately tripped Stoudemire.
Marion committed a malicious foul on Ginobili, and so on.
Generally, the Spurs' tough defensive tactics were used in the playoffs, not so much in the regular season.
But today, Popovich couldn't stand it anymore because Li Feng was simply too powerful.
He had to teach this young man, Li Feng, a lesson!
Jackson took off his warm-up pants and walked to the sideline.
Li Feng didn't even notice this Spurs guard and was still communicating with his teammates.
The game started, and the Spurs attacked. Li Feng and his teammates defended successfully.
Li Feng possessed the ball in the backcourt and dribbled past halfcourt.
Suddenly, he realized that the Spurs were not double-teaming him. Li Feng sensed that something was wrong.
The only player guarding Li Feng one-on-one was Cedric Jackson, who was making his first appearance in the game.
Li Feng didn't pay him any mind. With a change of direction and a burst of speed, he left his opponent behind.