The Knicks reserves were ecstatic, waving towels from the sidelines, jumping and shouting.
Li Feng high-fived his teammates, urging them to keep pushing.
The Knicks' morale soared, and the home fans were stunned.
They had thought their home advantage would help them turn the tide, but after three quarters, problems resurfaced in the fourth.
Collins yelled at his players, "Get tougher! Are you guys not eating? Do you want to get swept?"
"No!"
"If you don't want to get swept, then pick yourselves up!"
...
After the timeout, the 76ers also put their starters back on the court.
Iguodala was the core of the 76ers' offense and defense, especially on defense where he was the team's anchor.
In the first three quarters, his defense on Li Feng had been fierce but relatively clean.
However, at this point, Iguodala could no longer afford to hold back, and his movements became more aggressive.
Of course, he wasn't trying to injure anyone, but his aggressive play was certainly dangerous.
As Li Feng drove to the basket, Iguodala stuck close, fiercely swatting at the ball.
Iguodala's chase-down blocks were exceptional; many players had experienced the pain of his attempts to strip the ball.
But this time, Li Feng was faster. The moment Iguodala went for the steal, Li Feng turned and left him behind.
Iguodala nearly lost his balance and stumbled. By the time he recovered and tried to chase again, it was too late.
Li Feng charged into the paint and, facing of all people, Hoiles, took flight directly!
Hoiles had caused the Knicks players considerable trouble in the first three quarters; the paint he defended was exceptionally fierce.
Li Feng had been pulled down by him during a layup in the second quarter, but the referee had not called it.
This time, Hoiles tried the same move, intending to bring Li Feng down again.
But Li Feng was prepared. The moment Hoiles reached out, Li Feng ducked in mid-air, crashing into Hoiles.
Simultaneously, he extended his left hand and tossed the ball from the other side of the basket, banking it in.
And this collision landed directly on Hoiles' neck.
It was his Adam's apple!
Li Feng, using the momentum from the collision, flew through the air and landed on the court, looking quite pathetic.
Hoiles, meanwhile, clutched his neck and crouched on the ground in pain.
The referee, again, hadn't clearly seen what happened and had to stop the game to review the replay on the sidelines.
After the review, the referee pointed to Hoiles again, calling a blocking foul on him.
Hoiles felt wronged and appealed to the referee, and Coach Collins also lodged a protest.
But the referee remained unmoved.
Perhaps the referee was also frustrated; they had helped the 76ers so much in the first three quarters, but the players couldn't capitalize.
Why were they always the ones getting hurt?
The previous two points were counted, and Li Feng also received one free throw.
Now, the deficit was reduced to 10 points.
With just over four minutes left in the fourth quarter, a 10-point deficit meant anything was possible!
In the following few possessions, Li Feng made consecutive shots, punishing all the 76ers defenders.
The score continued to narrow, and with 1 minute and 34 seconds left on the clock, the Knicks were only trailing by 4 points.
D'Antoni saw a glimmer of hope for victory and clapped incessantly from the sidelines.
He gained a deeper understanding of Li Feng's extraordinary willpower.
Having such a superstar under his wing made things so much easier!
The 76ers' head coach called another timeout; he wanted to set up a play and ensure they executed it.
With just over a minute left in the game, if they could extend the lead to more than six points, they would likely secure the win.
The Knicks, of course, knew the importance of this possession.
So, D'Antoni reiterated that no matter what, they had to defend this possession successfully!
Having fought this hard, it would be a massive blow to morale if they didn't win.
The timeout ended, and both teams returned to the court.
The 76ers inbounded the ball from the frontcourt, passing it directly to Brand.
Brand and Iguodala were the 76ers' offensive strong points, but Yi Jianlian firmly contained Brand.
Iguodala came up to set a screen, but Li Feng immediately rushed over to impede him.
Brand was more than ten centimeters taller than Li Feng, and all his 11 points today had not been scored against Li Feng's defense.
Therefore, he felt confident he could score against Li Feng, who was half a head shorter.
Collins' strategy was for his players to avoid Li Feng, but Brand was actually challenging Li Feng to a one-on-one, and Collins was furious, cursing from the sidelines.
But Brand was caught up in the moment, relying on his height and strength, intending to post up.
Brand faked, bumped into Li Feng, and then turned to take a jump shot.
This was pure bullying.
Unfortunately, he was facing Li Feng.
The moment Brand turned to jump, Li Feng ghosted to Brand's other side and swiped the ball!
Li Feng's long arms extended, and he stole the ball.
However, the ball was knocked out of bounds, and the 76ers retained possession.
Brand was not convinced!
He didn't learn his lesson and, ignoring his coach's shouts from the sideline, continued to attack Li Feng.
At this point, Yi Jianlian and Bill Walker wanted to come over and help.
Li Feng waved them away and shouted, "No need, I'll guard him myself!"
The two were clearly competing.
The home crowd also cheered; fans most wanted to see such one-on-one showdowns.
The 76ers had only 7 seconds of shot clock remaining, leaving Brand little time.
After receiving the ball, Brand abandoned the post-up play. Relying on his height and long strides, he took just one dribble and drove towards the middle.
It had to be said, Brand was quite clever; this move was very practical. Even if Li Feng was formidable, he couldn't defend this.
Just as Brand was preparing for a floater, Li Feng suddenly sealed off Hoiles. Yi Jianlian charged forward, jumped, and swatted the ball!
Yi Jianlian's physical attributes were only slightly inferior to Yao Ming's.
During his one-on-one defense earlier, Li Feng had already given Yi Jianlian a signal.
The ball hit the backboard and bounced to the three-point line, where Lowry snatched it and initiated a fast break.
The 76ers players were completely caught off guard and could only watch as Lowry easily scored two points.
107:105!
The Knicks were now only trailing by 2 points.
The game clock showed 1 minute and 07 seconds remaining.
Collins buried his head in his hands on the sideline, his face turning green with anger.
The 76ers launched another offense.
Brand finally realized Li Feng's prowess and stopped taking the ball.
Iguodala initiated the offense.
But Iguodala was smart; he had his teammates screen Li Feng and then drove at Bill Walker.
Walker was also a tenacious defender, but Iguodala's offense was equally strong. The two began to compete.
Just as Iguodala was about to take a mid-range shot, Li Feng flew in from the side again.
The player who had been tangled up with Li Feng was Holiday.
He still tried to hold Li Feng, but Li Feng bumped Holiday with his backside, shaking him off.
Good heavens, Holiday was already quite strong.
But Li Feng's shove sent Holiday flying!
Iguodala was furious and turned to look at Holiday, seeing him grimacing as he struggled to get up.
The Knicks launched another counter-attack, with Lowry and Yi Jianlian driving past half-court.
Despite Iguodala and Brand's frantic chase, they were still a step too slow.
Finally, Lowry passed to Yi Jianlian, who drove in for a thunderous dunk.
107 all!
With 45 seconds left, the score was tied!
Incredible, a 21-point lead had been erased in less than a quarter.
The Knicks players were overjoyed, slamming chests and roaring.
But the 76ers players and fans were utterly bewildered.
Many female fans covered their eyes, unable to watch the game.
Collins called a short timeout; the 76ers absolutely had to score on this possession, or they would lose.
The Knicks had Li Feng; as long as he had time, he would most likely score.
The final moments of the All-Star Game were still fresh in their minds.
Collins did not want the 76ers to become the background for another Li Feng game-winner.
The timeout ended, and the 76ers inbounded the ball from the frontcourt. Iguodala once again received the ball.
This time, Holiday and Brand teamed up to block Li Feng.
Iguodala seized the opportunity and scored on a baseline jumper!
109:107!
The 76ers took the lead again!
The home crowd erupted in deafening cheers!
Defeating the reigning champions on their home court was the best gift for the fans!
With 13 seconds left, D'Antoni called a timeout.
In reality, D'Antoni didn't have any specific plays; he just wanted to get the ball to Li Feng.
Li Feng gathered his teammates and said loudly, "Whoever gets the ball from me later, shoot it decisively. Don't look for me! If the ball is with me, help me set screens, understand?"
The reason for not having specific plays was that Li Feng knew his teammates well.
The Knicks players tended to play too cleanly. In the final moments, during designed plays, they would often be pushed aside or knocked down by opponents.
Therefore, the plays often couldn't be executed.
Rather than that, it was better to let them play simpler basketball: set screens and shoot, no need for such complicated tactics.
Of course, this was also based on the Knicks having a superstar like Li Feng.
The timeout ended, and the Knicks inbounded the ball from the frontcourt.
Yi Jianlian stood on the sideline, wanting to pass to Li Feng, but Iguodala and Brand tightly guarded Li Feng.
With the 5-second countdown imminent, Yi Jianlian had no choice but to pass the ball to Bill Walker.
Walker's offensive capability was indeed average, so he passed the ball back to Lowry.
Lowry had no defender in front of him. He remembered Li Feng's words and immediately shot a three-pointer!
Swish!
He actually made it!
The moment the ball went through the hoop, the red game clock lit up, signaling the end of the game!
A game-winner!
Lowry, overjoyed, sprinted around the court and then rushed towards Li Feng. The two hugged tightly.
This was Lowry's first game-winning shot, and he knew Li Feng was giving his teammates opportunities to build confidence.
And the open look Lowry got was because Li Feng drew the attention of two, or even three, defenders with his intense double-teams.
He also knew that if Li Feng truly wanted to break free from the double-team, he could also find a chance to shoot.
The Knicks players huddled together, celebrating wildly.
D'Antoni excitedly embraced his assistant coach.
The 76ers players were devastated. They had fought hard all game, even leading by 21 points after three quarters, only to be stunned by a game-winner...
The home crowd was even more despondent, holding their heads in their hands, finding it unbelievable. Some fans were even crying from sadness.
Although this was only the first round of the playoffs, the series between the Knicks and the 76ers had the highest viewership ratings.
With this win, the Knicks took a commanding 3:0 lead in the series.
Historically, no team had ever come back from a 0:3 deficit to win.
Furthermore, the Knicks were inherently stronger than the 76ers.
...
The other playoff series were also intensely competitive.
In the Eastern Conference: the Heat led the Magic 2:1, the Bulls trailed the Hawks 1:2, and the Pacers trailed the Celtics 1:2.
In the Western Conference: the Spurs led the Jazz 3:0, the Thunder led the Mavericks 3:0, the Lakers led the Nuggets 2:1, and the Clippers led the Grizzlies 2:1.
The 76ers, having lost the third game, were completely deflated. In the fourth game, they showed none of the intensity they had displayed in the third.
Ultimately, the Knicks easily won the fourth game, advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals with a 4:0 sweep.
The Knicks' next opponent would be decided between the Pacers and the Celtics.
The current score in that series was 3:1, with the Celtics leading.
Despite the Pacers having many talented players, they couldn't withstand the Celtics' veteran core in the playoffs.
As the first team to advance to the second round, the Knicks had several extra days of rest.
Two days later, the Celtics secured another victory against the Pacers, advancing to the second round.
The Knicks' second-round opponent was an old rival: the Celtics' aging Big Three.
However, this year's Celtics didn't rely solely on the Big Three; they had a considerable influx of new talent.
Bradley, Pietrus, and Brandon Bass had all grown into important forces for the Celtics.
Therefore, this series once again became a focal point of attention.
...
At the pre-game press conference, Li Feng and Yao Ming were interviewed.
A reporter asked, "Mr. Li Feng, the Celtics defeated the Pacers 4:1 and are in good form. What do you think of the two teams' strengths?"
Li Feng nodded and said, "I watched the Celtics' game footage. They are indeed very good. The Celtics have a good blend of old and new players, rich tactics, and balanced stamina. I believe the games will be very tough."
Seeing Li Feng's objective assessment, the reporter continued, "Garnett said before the first round that they must reach the Eastern Conference Finals. What are your thoughts on that?"
Li Feng smiled and said, "Garnett is the absolute core of the Celtics, so anything he says is not surprising. But for the past few years, we've made it out of the East every time, so Garnett's words... well, they're just for listening to!"
The reporters burst into laughter. Li Feng's words, while soft, carried a hidden barb, subtly mocking Garnett.
Yao Ming greatly admired Li Feng's response and high-fived him with a smile.
The reporter turned to Yao Ming and asked, "Mr. Yao, how is your health? Will you be able to play in the second round?"
Yao Ming nodded and replied, "No problem, my body has fully recovered."
The reporter asked in surprise, "Mr. Yao, this is your third consecutive Finals appearance, and your physical condition is excellent since joining the Knicks!"
"Yes, New York is my lucky place, haha!" Yao Ming joked.
...
On the Celtics' side, the press conference was not as harmonious.
Perhaps due to being suppressed by the Knicks for too long, Garnett and Pierce were particularly arrogant.
"Garnett, the Celtics haven't won a championship since 2008, while the Knicks have won two consecutive titles. Do you still have hope?"
Garnett snorted and shouted, "This is the year we win back the championship. The past two years, the Knicks just got lucky; we had injuries."
The reporter was taken aback and asked, "Did you have injuries last year?"
Garnett stammered, "Of... of course, we had injuries. We were all playing through injuries."
Another reporter couldn't help but ask, "I recall the Knicks also had injured players. Yao Ming missed several games due to injury last year."