The league officially announced: Li Feng is back!
The Celtics could only sigh, this is fate!
Why could Li Feng come back?
This has to be thanks to Jenna.
Li Feng's mother was sent to Beijing Xiehe Hospital, had surgery, and received the best care, recovering quickly.
But Li Feng, as the only son in the family, had to continue to accompany her.
Jenna knew that Li Feng actually missed the NBA very much, and missed the Knicks' playoffs.
So Jenna told Li Feng that she would stay to take care of Li Feng's parents, and let Li Feng return to continue playing in the playoffs.
Li Feng's father, Li Tongshun, also liked to watch the NBA and knew that the Knicks were at a critical moment in the playoffs.
So he also asked Li Feng to hurry back to continue the competition.
Seeing that his mother had recovered very well, and Jenna was quite good at taking care of people, Li Feng sent a translator from Hongxing Sports to accompany Jenna in taking care of his parents here.
After that, Li Feng rushed directly to Boston, USA, to participate in the sixth game of the playoffs.
However, Li Feng was not very confident in his state.
He had to take care of his mother at night in China, so he could only do some simple training in the hotel gym during the day.
But as long as there is a chance, Li Feng still has to strive for it!
After all, in the long history of the NBA, three consecutive championships are also rare.
...
When Li Feng changed into his team uniform and walked onto the court, a small portion of the fans at the Boston North Garden Arena also stood up and applauded Li Feng.
The Celtics players were still angry and did not come to greet Li Feng.
Of course, this is also understandable.
The Celtics all knew what Li Feng's return meant.
As long as they passed the Knicks, the Celtics could dream of the championship.
Yao Ming and Li Feng hugged for the longest time. Today, Yao Ming could not play, so he wore a suit and came to the away game to cheer for his teammates.
He also did not expect Li Feng to make a sudden kingly return.
...
The referee walked over and announced the start of the game.
The Knicks' starting lineup was Li Feng, Chandler, Yi Jianlian, Bill Walker, and Lowry.
The Celtics' starting five were still Garnett, Pierce, Rondo, Ray Allen, and Jermaine O'Neal.
Although Chandler is 30 years old, his height and jumping ability are there, winning the first possession for the Knicks.
Li Feng held the ball in the backcourt, Rondo rushed over and pressed Li Feng.
Starting the game with intensity was clearly Rondo testing Li Feng.
Can Li Feng, who hasn't trained for a week, really maintain his best competitive state?
Everyone had a question mark in their hearts, including Li Feng himself.
Li Feng was very cautious, using a behind-the-back dribble to try to get past Rondo and advance to the frontcourt.
A normally familiar move, but today it resulted in a mistake.
Bang!
Li Feng's behind-the-back dribble actually dribbled the ball to his heel, and it rolled out of bounds.
The Boston fans erupted in loud laughter.
Li Feng also shook his head in annoyance.
The ball possession changed, and the Celtics were inbounding from the frontcourt.
The Knicks teammates all ran over, patted Li Feng, and encouraged him.
Everyone knew that Li Feng had not yet adapted to the intensity of the game.
This is the highest level of basketball in the world, and not training for a day will affect your game state, let alone not training for more than a week.
Li Feng's expression was serious, he took a deep breath, and told himself inwardly that he must regain his form as soon as possible.
The Knicks are already on the verge of a cliff, and they cannot afford to lose again!
When the Celtics players saw Li Feng return, their faces turned ashen, thinking they were doomed.
But seeing Li Feng unable to even dribble properly, they regained their confidence.
Ray Allen inbounded the ball from the sideline and directly passed it to Pierce.
Pierce had been in great form in the last few games. Facing Bill Walker, he easily faked and made a mid-range shot!
2:0!
The Knicks attacked. This time Li Feng did not ask for the ball. He signaled Lowry to come over to receive the pass, dribble forward, and Li Feng himself ran to the sideline near the frontcourt.
Lowry knew that Li Feng needed time to adapt, so he passed the ball to Li Feng again.
Rondo defended Li Feng one-on-one, using his hands to constantly harass him.
After the previous mistake, Li Feng became even more careful. He wanted to use his most familiar step-back to take a shot.
Bang bang!
Unexpectedly, as soon as Li Feng started dribbling, he was half a beat slow and was slapped away by Rondo.
Li Feng rushed to save the ball, but Ray Allen next to him was quick-witted and snatched the ball, launching a counterattack.
Lowry quickly went to chase, grabbed Ray Allen, and committed a tactical foul. The Celtics fell into a half-court offense again.
Li Feng's two turnovers right after taking the court disappointed many of his fans.
Yi Jianlian walked over and patted Li Feng's shoulder again, comforting him, "It's okay, we'll just defend!"
Li Feng nodded and said nothing more, he was deeply blaming himself.
If they lost the game today due to his poor form, he would become the Knicks' sinner.
The Celtics attacked, and the ball was passed to Garnett.
Garnett, facing Yi Jianlian in the paint, used his signature turn-around jumper.
Li Feng was anxious, lunged from the side, and leaped into the air, wanting to block Garnett's shot.
Based on Li Feng's understanding of his own body, this jump should have easily blocked Garnett's mid-range shot.
Unexpectedly, Li Feng overestimated his jumping ability, and his hand only hit Garnett's elbow.
Beep!
The referee's whistle blew, calling a foul on Li Feng for hitting Garnett's arm, and Garnett was awarded two free throws!
The home crowd burst into laughter again.
Li Feng's performance in the opening few possessions was simply criminal!
Garnett stood smugly at the free-throw line and made both shots!
4:0!
D'Antoni looked solemn on the sidelines. He had always believed in Li Feng.
When he saw Li Feng return just now, he appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was filled with joy.
D'Antoni understood Li Feng's consecutive turnovers at the start of the game, after all, Li Feng hadn't touched a ball for over a week and hadn't slept well.
But D'Antoni believed that Li Feng would find his form, but he didn't know how long it would take.
If he couldn't regain his former form in this game, then the three-peat would turn into a bubble.
Li Feng's expression was a little dazed. He knew his condition would decline, but he didn't expect it to decline so severely.
Seeing that Li Feng couldn't find his rhythm, D'Antoni had to substitute him.
Li Feng's mind went blank. As he walked to the sideline, D'Antoni met him and hugged him tightly.
The coach did not talk to him about tactics but asked him, "How is your mother?"
Li Feng was stunned and replied, "Oh... she's fine, she's much better."
"That's good, you rest for a while."
Saying that, D'Antoni patted Li Feng again, not mentioning the game at all.
Li Feng nodded gratefully at D'Antoni and walked back to the bench.
Yao Ming sat next to Li Feng, chatted with him for a few words, and also comforted him.
After Li Feng went off the court, the other Knicks players struggled on the court.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 36:23, with the Knicks trailing by 13 points.
Li Feng played for over a minute in the first quarter and had 2 turnovers and 1 foul, which was really embarrassing.
In the TNT live broadcast room, Barkley, Smith, and Reggie Miller were commentating on the game.
The three of them also did not expect Li Feng to perform a kingly return today.
So the three of them were filled with expectations for the Knicks' prospects again.
But when Li Feng took the court, his performance was so poor that the three of them were greatly surprised.
"Gentlemen, the Knicks are out of luck today. Li Feng hasn't trained for over a week, and his form is too poor."
Smith also sighed, "Yes, not training during the playoffs, it's bound to be like this. Even superstars can't do it."
Reggie Miller also said, "Yes, when Jordan retired from basketball and played baseball, he failed in the playoffs when he returned. There's nothing that can be done."
Barkley nodded, "Even the elder乔 couldn't adapt, and Li Feng can't avoid it."
"It remains to be seen if a miracle can happen."
"Miracle? That also has to follow the laws of the human body. Li Feng looks like he just got off the plane and rushed over, he hasn't even touched a ball, so he definitely won't adapt that quickly, it will take at least two or three games to recover."
"Alas, two or three games, it's a pity there's no chance. The Knicks lose this game and go straight home."
...
The second quarter of the game began, and Li Feng gathered his courage and asked to play again to try.
D'Antoni immediately agreed, letting Li Feng and the bench players play for a while first.
As a result, after Li Feng came on, he shot 0 for 2 and added another turnover.
Although he had one assist, his overall performance was still very poor.
After playing for more than two minutes, Li Feng was substituted again.
The Celtics fans at the North Garden were all happy. They feared no one but Li Feng.
Now that they saw Li Feng was completely out of form, they were confident!
Anyway, with only one game left, Li Feng had no time to find his form.
Li Feng sat on the bench, covered his head with a towel, and tears couldn't help but flow out.
As a player, Li Feng was not a weak person.
The tears today were a sense of powerlessness that welled up in Li Feng's heart, making him feel too wronged.
But what could be done now that things had come to this? He could only accept the arrangement of fate.
Thinking about the Heat's two consecutive championships and the Warriors' two consecutive championships in his previous life, neither of them managed to achieve a three-peat. It seemed that this three-peat was really too difficult.
Thinking about Jordan back then, after winning three consecutive championships, he played baseball for two years and then won another three consecutive championships. It was truly unprecedented and amazing!
...
Fortunately, in the second quarter, the Celtics players' shooting touch was average, and the Knicks' bench players played well.
Novak and Shumpert made several three-pointers, keeping the score close.
Li Feng did not play again until the end of the second quarter.
At halftime, the score was 64:42, with the Celtics leading by 22 points.
This point difference basically meant that the Knicks had been announced to be eliminated early.
With Li Feng in such poor form and others not performing well, the Knicks could only face the fate of elimination.
Knicks locker room.
The other players knew that Li Feng was very self-reproaching, so no one spoke. They let Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian persuade Li Feng.
"Brothers, don't worry about me. We admit defeat in this playoff, and I, Li Feng, bear the greatest responsibility. I've let everyone down!"
Saying that, Li Feng stood up and bowed to everyone.
His teammates quickly walked over and hugged Li Feng tightly.
"Brother Feng, don't say that. We've come this far because of you. Everyone knows that. We understand that you had family matters this time. It's okay, we'll fight back next year!"
"That's right, Li Feng, it's just a championship. We already have two, and we'll continue next year!"
...
Listening to his teammates comfort him in a flurry of words, Li Feng was deeply moved, and his eyes were once again covered with a layer of mist...
In the live commentary booth, Zhang指导 and Yu Jia were commentating on the game.
"It seems Li Feng really hasn't touched a ball these few days. He can't keep up with the intensity of the playoffs at all, alas."
"Yes, Zhang指导. Li Feng returned to China to take care of his mother, so he definitely didn't have time to train. And he flew for more than ten hours to rush back for the game, he hasn't even adjusted to the time difference. It's no wonder he can't play well."
"The Knicks are really unlucky. Yao Ming is injured, and Li Feng has family matters. The three-peat is slipping away."
"It's indeed difficult to win three consecutive championships in a team. Various problems will arise in the team, which are unpredictable."
"It would be great if Li Feng could slowly regain his form in the second half."
"It's difficult. Generally speaking, players need more than three games to gradually recover. It's only halftime now."
...
The second half of the game began.
Li Feng and the main players walked onto the court.
The fans at the North Garden Arena cheered loudly, already celebrating their victory.
The home team was leading by a large margin, and Li Feng was out of form. There was no suspense in the game.
Pierce also walked to Li Feng with a sly smile and taunted, "Li Feng? Still arrogant? Can't do it now, huh? Heh heh, just wait and see us cheer later!"
Li Feng's veins bulged in anger, but he didn't respond. He could only pretend not to hear.
He didn't like trash talk, especially when he was really playing poorly.
Players should respond with their performance on the court, but today...
The Celtics attacked.
Garnett received the ball in the paint, faced Yi Jianlian, and made another turn-around jumper, even drawing a foul from Yi Jianlian!
2+1!
Garnett excitedly did push-ups on the floor again.
Yi Jianlian was very annoyed and kept shaking his head.
Garnett made the free throw, and the score became 67:42, with the Knicks trailing by 25 points, completely finished.
The Celtics fans were already celebrating, and even Rivers and the assistant coach began to hug each other, already considering the next opponent.
[Ding, the system has issued a new mission to the host!]
A system prompt suddenly sounded in Li Feng's mind.
Since Li Feng's various skill values had almost reached their maximum, the system had rarely appeared.
Perhaps the system felt that it had given everything it could, and the accumulation of honor from now on had to rely on Li Feng himself.
However, in the past two years of series, the Knicks had encountered force majeure, causing Li Feng to be unable to find his optimal state, and the system finally intervened.
Li Feng was overjoyed and clenched his fists excitedly.
"System, tell me quickly! What's the mission?"
[Ding, the host jumps onto the technical table and shouts loudly: As long as I, Li Feng, am here, you cannot advance!]
Li Feng was initially quite excited, but when he heard the mission issued by the system, he grinned.
"System, this... this is too chuunibyo, is it necessary? Can you change the mission?"