But it was too difficult for Sun Da Sheng to defend Durant.
Durant didn't use any fancy moves, just dribbled the ball, then directly pulled up and shot!
Swish!
A three-pointer!
The Dream Team struck first, their offense flowing like water.
The English and American fans in the stadium cheered excitedly, as if the Dream Team was playing effortlessly!
Li Feng raised his hand to signal his teammates, telling them not to panic.
China's offense.
Li Feng didn't let Chen Jiang Hua dribble, but took the ball himself across half court.
Kobe stepped up to defend him one-on-one.
In fact, Kobe knew he couldn't defend Li Feng one-on-one, but he still wanted to try in the first possession.
Li Feng was very focused. His opponent was the Dream Team!
If he couldn't step up and respond early, his Chinese teammates would lose confidence.
Seeing Kobe defending him one-on-one, Li Feng dribbled the ball slowly, then suddenly accelerated to the right.
Kobe immediately chased after him, but he didn't go all out.
He knew Li Feng's pull-up jump shot was powerful, so he prepared for both possibilities.
Li Feng took three or four quick steps, then suddenly stopped, turned, and dribbled, leaving Kobe behind.
Kobe was also a top defender and had studied Li Feng thoroughly, so he immediately caught up.
Unexpectedly, Li Feng, halfway through his turn, turned back again.
It was too surprising.
By the time Kobe tried to chase again, he was already half a beat too late.
Li Feng stopped and shot!
Swish!
A three-pointer!
Li Feng's shot also earned thunderous applause.
Even the English and American fans were amazed by Li Feng's combination of moves and applauded enthusiastically!
Kobe shook his head and smiled, even patting Li Feng's shoulder in admiration.
Li Feng was no longer a rookie in the NBA. He had won over too many people in the past three years, and NBA superstars respected Li Feng greatly.
Even if they didn't admit it verbally, they respected him in their hearts.
3:3 tie!
This opening already indicated that for China to compete with the Dream Team, Li Feng would have to perform exceptionally well!
The USA's offense.
This time, Paul didn't have the ball; he let LeBron James bring it up to the frontcourt.
Yi Jian Lian stepped up to defend him closely. James called for a screen, and Anthony Davis came up to screen for Yi Lian.
James took advantage of the situation and drove into the paint.
However, James didn't attempt a layup because Yao Ming was guarding the basket, and his defensive deterrence was too great.
Whoosh!
James also passed the ball to Durant.
Durant tried the same move again, attempting a pull-up three-pointer, but Li Feng suddenly appeared on his right side, flashed forward like lightning, and stole the ball.
Sun Da Sheng immediately gained control of the ball and initiated a counterattack.
Durant only then saw that Li Feng had somehow run to his right side.
Sun Da Sheng dribbled to near mid-court, and Kobe chased after him.
With Kobe's defensive ability, it was too difficult for Sun Da Sheng to go coast-to-coast for a layup.
So Sun Da Sheng wisely passed to Chen Jiang Hua on the left.
Paul was defending Chen Jiang Hua.
If it devolved into a half-court set, Chen Jiang Hua would indeed not be able to get past Paul.
But in a fast break, Chen Jiang Hua's speed advantage came into play. He sprinted forward, driving to the basket, and Paul couldn't catch up at all.
Chen Jiang Hua made a layup, 5:3!
China had taken the lead!
The Chinese fans in the stadium were ecstatic, cheering loudly, and the Chinese flag fluttered everywhere, further exciting the Chinese players!
The Dream Team continued their offense. James had the ball at the top of the arc, ran a pick-and-roll with Paul, and then suddenly passed to Anthony Davis, who was boxing out inside!
Anthony Davis, believing he had extraordinary talent and top-notch skills, wanted to show off in front of Yao Ming.
He had started as a guard, so he made two consecutive crossover dribbles to get past Yao Ming.
Who knew that after losing weight, Yao Ming was much more agile and didn't fall for the bait.
Anthony Davis feinted several times but couldn't get past Yao Ming, so he was forced to take a difficult shot.
This was also Anthony Davis's specialty; his shooting was very strong, with a three-point percentage around 40%.
However, Yao Ming gave him no chance. The moment Anthony Davis forced up the shot, Yao Ming stretched out his arm, *smack*!
The Yao Family's little fire extinguisher reappeared!
The ball was directly swatted out of bounds. Anthony Davis's face darkened.
It's worth noting that Anthony Davis was only in his twenties this year, while Yao Ming was already in his thirties.
Being blocked by Yao Ming on the Olympic stage, with fans worldwide watching, was indeed embarrassing.
The basketball was directly batted out of bounds. The US team inbounded the ball, but only 1.6 seconds were left on the shot clock.
James inbounded the ball to Durant, who took a rushed shot, *clang*!
It bounced off the rim, and Yi Jian Lian secured the rebound to start a fast break.
Li Feng and Chen Jiang Hua raced across half court, and Yi Jian Lian passed directly to Li Feng.
James and Kobe were in hot pursuit.
With their world-class defense, even though Li Feng was very strong, he couldn't guarantee scoring on a strong drive against them.
So Li Feng didn't charge recklessly but passed the ball to Chen Jiang Hua.
James reacted quickly, immediately abandoning Li Feng to block Chen Jiang Hua.
The Dream Team players had studied China's previous games for many days. James knew Chen Jiang Hua was a hothead and thought he wouldn't pass again.
Unexpectedly, after receiving the ball, Chen Jiang Hua advanced from the left. The moment James closed in, he suddenly made a cross-court pass, lobbing the ball towards the basket.
Li Feng stepped forward, soared into the air, and before Kobe could block him, slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!
This was China's classic two-man game.
Li Feng had practiced countless times with his teammates during training before the Olympics, and he was already very familiar with it.
James was furious. He stared at Chen Jiang Hua, thinking, why wasn't this kid reckless anymore?
7:3!
The Chinese team continued to extend their lead. Coach K of the Dream Team finally couldn't sit still and immediately called a timeout.
Only the Chinese team could force the Dream Team to call a timeout within the first minute of the game.
Li Feng and his teammates bumped fists and roared, motivating each other.
In the previous few possessions, every Chinese player had played at an extremely high level, which was inspiring!
Del Harris clenched his fists and jumped excitedly, as if he wasn't the head coach but a Chinese fan.
He knew very well that Li Feng was the most important factor in China's lead!
Coach K was shouting on the sidelines.
He wasn't holding a clipboard because he knew it wasn't a matter of tactics but of underestimating the opponent.
The performance of China's other players exceeded expectations, making the Dream Team players uncomfortable.
This was exactly the effect Li Feng wanted.
Superstars are human too; they experience psychological fluctuations, especially a hastily assembled team like the Dream Team, filled with superstars.
They had to build momentum from the start, making the Dream Team stars feel that their opponents were on a similar level.
This would also lower their shooting confidence.
Coach K understood this principle, so he loudly encouraged these superstars to rally and not to underestimate their opponents.
After the timeout, Coach K made a substitution, replacing Durant with Anthony.
James brought the ball across half court and passed it to Anthony.
"Melo" Anthony and Durant were both offensive weapons in international competitions.
This was because their shooting was top-notch.
The reason Coach K made this substitution was that Anthony had an advantage over Durant: stronger physical confrontation.
After receiving the ball, Anthony faced Sun Da Sheng and used his back to shove him twice, *bang, bang*!
Although Sun Da Sheng had good defense, he was better at steals and blocks. While his physique wasn't weak, it was significantly inferior to Anthony's.
He was pushed back by Anthony twice.
Then Anthony took advantage of the situation and turned for a jump shot!
It was incredibly smooth.
Swish!
A long two-pointer.
7:5, the Dream Team tightly held onto the score.
China's offense. This time, Li Feng advanced to half court and passed the ball to Yi Jian Lian.
Yi Jian Lian faced LeBron James, probed a couple of times, found no good opportunity, and had to pass the ball to Yao Ming again.
Anthony Davis was firmly blocking Yao Ming.
He had been blocked by Yao Ming earlier, and this time he had to get it back.
Who knew that Yao Ming's post-up skills were too refined? As long as he had sufficient stamina, any center would be helpless against Yao Ming.
Swish!
Yao Ming, with his huge frame, actually executed a fadeaway jump shot!
Perfect!
A two-pointer!
Anthony could only watch the ball go in with regret.
To win this game, the perimeter would rely on Li Feng, and the interior on Yao Ming!
The strategy was clear!
In the next few possessions, the Dream Team scored, and Li Feng and Yao Ming made 3 out of 4 shots.
After more than five minutes of play, the score was 14:12, with the Dream Team leading.
Coach K indeed had skill. Bringing Anthony onto the court had a better effect.
Durant sat on the bench with an unhappy expression.
Del Harris called a timeout, seeing that Yao Ming seemed a bit uncomfortable, which made his heart tighten.
Yao Ming walked towards the sideline, and Del Harris met him, asking in a low voice, "Yao Ming, your body... are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Coach. Just got hit in the thigh. It's a bruise, nothing serious."
Del Harris breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Yao Ming was fine, he still sat on the bench to rest after the timeout, and Zhang Zhao Xu was substituted in.
Li Feng continued to play.
After Yao Ming left the court, China's interior defense started to falter again, and Anthony Davis began to exert his strength.
Anthony and Anthony Davis became the two strongest scoring threats in this lineup.
Zhang Zhao Xu couldn't defend Anthony Davis and committed two fouls.
The score began to widen, and the Chinese team started to struggle.
By the end of the first quarter, the score was 31:23, with the Dream Six team leading by 8 points!
The Chinese fans in the stadium were panicked. They saw that besides Li Feng, others were indeed struggling against the Dream Team's powerful offense.
Zhang Zhao Xu had two fouls, Yi Jian Lian had two fouls, Sun Da Sheng had one foul, and even Li Feng had one foul.
If they continued to play like this, the gap would only widen.
Li Feng scored 12 points in the first quarter, Anthony scored 9 points, and Anthony Davis scored 10 points.
Although Li Feng was the highest scorer for both teams, apart from Li Feng, the other Chinese players had scattered scoring, not providing enough support.
The excitement of the Chinese players had disappeared, and they all hung their heads.
Li Feng, Yao Ming, and Yi Jian Lian were anxious, sitting on the sidelines and constantly encouraging their teammates.
At the start of the second quarter, in the matchup between the reserve lineups, China's disadvantage became even more apparent.
Looking at the Dream Team's lineup, China's reserves were truly far inferior.
Chandler, Durant, Harden, Westbrook, Love!
On China's side were Zhou Peng, Zhang Zhao Xu, Liu Wei, Guo Ai Lun, and Yi Li.
Within the first three minutes of the second quarter, the score gap had reached 15 points!
Harden and Durant made consecutive shots, like adults bullying children.
Del Harris stood on the sideline with his arms crossed, helpless.
After all, the difference in strength was evident, and no matter how hard they fought, it couldn't bridge the gap.
Li Feng, Yao Ming, and Yi Jian Lian all stood up. As active NBA players, they would definitely go all out in the final match!
Del Harris had no choice but to send the Chinese trio back onto the court.
As soon as the three took the court, they immediately stabilized the situation.
Li Feng and Yao Ming executed a pick-and-roll, driving to the basket, and then Li Feng tossed the ball high, with Yao Ming overpowering his teammate Chandler for a thunderous dunk!
Although Chandler and Yao Ming had a good relationship in their club, giving their all on the court was the best way to show respect!
Then, on the Dream Team's offensive possession, Li Feng and Yi Jian Lian suddenly double-teamed Durant, forcing him into a turnover.
The Chinese team initiated a fast break, with Yi Jian Lian and Chen Jiang Hua driving to the basket again, scoring 2 points.
The score gap instantly returned to 11 points.
Coach K, seeing the situation turn unfavorable, quickly called a timeout.
Li Feng's stamina was amazing; he had only rested for three minutes.
In fact, according to Li Feng's wishes, he didn't want to rest for even a minute, but Del Harris forcefully kept him on the bench.
This was characteristic of American coaches; they rarely overused their main players.
Of course, there were exceptions, such as Thibodeau, and in another parallel world, Tyronn Lue, who played LeBron James for 48 minutes.
The Chinese trio stood their ground, blocking the Dream Team!
This was the strongest guarantee of the Chinese men's basketball team standing on the world stage, and the fans in the stadium cheered excitedly, their voices choked with tears.
The Dream Team was not to be trifled with either, and they also began to exert their strength, with fierce competition.
The score gap between the two teams hovered between seven and eight points.
After more than eight minutes into the second quarter, the score was 52:45, with the Dream Team still leading by 7 points.
Coach K called another timeout. He wanted to bring out the strongest lineup for a final push in the first half.
Li Feng was fine, but Yao Ming's stamina was greatly depleted, and he was panting heavily.
Del Harris issued an order that Yao Ming would not play in the first half.
But Yao Ming disagreed and insisted on playing.
The scene was very touching.
Just as the two sides were in a stalemate, Wang Da Zhi stepped forward.
"Coach, Da Yao, stop arguing. Let me go up and hold on for a while!"
Del Harris and Yao Ming's eyes lit up!
In the quarterfinals, Wang Da Zhi had a sudden outburst, exhausting his body to help China men's basketball make a comeback.
As a veteran, for making such a significant contribution, Da Zhi received high praise from players and fans alike.
After a few days of rest, he surprisingly requested to play again, moving everyone present!
Del Harris asked worriedly, "Da Zhi, your body... are you really okay?"
"Heh heh, I'm fine. After resting for so many days, I can play for a few minutes without any problem!"
Saying that, he even jumped a couple of times deliberately.
It had to be said that he jumped quite high, and Yao Ming couldn't help but laugh and embrace Da Zhi.
The two, as the dominant centers of China from different generations, were now at the end of their careers, giving their all for the national team!
The eyes of the Chinese players were moist, and Del Harris was also very moved. He patted Da Zhi's shoulder and cautioned, "Alright, then go on. Be careful, don't get injured!"
"Don't worry, Coach!"