Teague dribbled past half court and passed the ball to Josh Smith.
Li Feng guarded him one-on-one.
Josh knew Li Feng was tough and didn't dare to drive directly. He called for a screen, and Korver stepped up to block Li Feng.
After the screen, Korver quickly detached. Josh passed the ball to him.
Korvor was best at exploiting mismatches for three-pointers, swish!
He shot a three-pointer, and it went in!
It seemed the Hawks were well-prepared, and the players were decisive in their shots.
The score was tied 3:3!
The Knicks were on offense. Li Feng was a little annoyed and wanted to respond with a three-pointer.
However, he saw Jokic had established a good position near the paint and immediately passed the ball to him.
Jokic had trained rigorously during the offseason, almost sleeping in the gym, so his improvement was significant.
He leaned back, then turned, trying to push past Pachulia to get to the basket.
Unfortunately, Pachulia had more experience. He set his position early, blocking Jokic.
The moment Jokic lunged towards the basket, Pachulia fell to the ground with a crash.
The referee blew his whistle, pointed at Jokic, and called him for an offensive foul!
This was the result of inexperience, too raw.
Jokic was very frustrated, running back with his head down.
Li Feng went over and high-fived him, quietly comforting him, "It's okay, try again next time!"
Sabonis, dressed in a suit, also sat on the sidelines.
He was a strict person and was very displeased with Jokic's action just now, reprimanding him angrily a few times.
The Hawks went on offense.
Teague crossed half court and passed the ball to Horford.
Horford faced Yi Jianlian, feigned a move, then turned and drove into the paint, using a hook shot to score!
Although Yi Jianlian had improved greatly, he still struggled against Horford.
The Hawks led 5:3.
The Knicks' home fans were disappointed with Jokic, and some extreme fans had already started to curse.
They shouted loudly, "We want Yao Ming, not Jokic!"
"Jokic is trash! Idiot! Why did you sign him!"
...
Jokic was only 18 years old this year. When he played in Europe, he was just a minor reserve, and no one paid attention to him.
But here, he had suddenly become the starting center for a three-peat dynasty team, and in the world's largest metropolis, New York, with countless eyes on him, Jokic was truly flustered.
Hearing the curses of the extreme fans, Jokic's legs were trembling.
Li Feng sighed softly. He knew that the move to sign Jokic was a bit rushed, even a bit like pulling seedlings to help them grow.
But he believed in Jokic's potential and his rate of improvement.
The current predicament was only temporary; he needed more games to grow!
D'Antoni even wanted to substitute Jokic out, but as Li Feng passed by D'Antoni, he whispered a few words to him, and D'Antoni had to relent.
In the following few possessions, Li Feng did not shoot, focusing on organizing and defending, giving his teammates opportunities.
Curry drove to the baseline and made a high-arching shot, scoring 2 more points.
Since changing his shooting mechanics, Curry played more comfortably and at ease.
His ankle no longer hurt, and Curry was very grateful for Li Feng's advice.
Jokic still couldn't find his rhythm in the game, playing worse and worse. He not only couldn't handle Pachulia but also couldn't grab rebounds.
After more than five minutes of play, Jokic's stats were 0, 0, 0, 0, 2.2.
The 2 represented two fouls and two turnovers.
The game entered an official timeout. Jokic walked to the sideline with a dazed look, not daring to make eye contact with anyone.
Li Feng knew that Jokic wasn't as bad as his stats suggested, but he was too nervous, lacked experience, and was impatient, eager to perform at home, which led to his poor play.
He sat next to Jokic, constantly comforting him, but Jokic was no longer listening.
It was understandable, he was only eighteen years old!
Since this was just a preseason game, after the official timeout, all the Knicks starters were substituted out, and the reserves came in.
Lin Shuhhao, Chandler, Shumpert, Novak, Green, this was the Knicks' bench lineup for the season.
Old fans knew that this lineup was the foundation of the "Lin Madness" in another parallel world.
Li Feng was full of anticipation for this lineup.
Of course, the media and fans in this world did not know Lin Shuhhao's capabilities. They were very disappointed with the bench this season and were cursing Knicks General Manager Burke, blaming him for not signing good players.
At this moment, the score was 12:7, with the Hawks leading.
The Hawks' bench was filled with talent: Lou Williams, Morrow, Harris, Jenkins, Stevenson.
This lineup ranked among the best in the league.
Therefore, Hawks coach Drew was full of confidence, believing that the reserves would definitely widen the point difference.
Who would have thought that in the first possession, Lin Shuhhao, through a pick-and-roll, drove to the basket at full speed and scored two points.
His speed was too fast; the Hawks' reserves didn't even react.
However, the Hawks' reserves were indeed strong. Lou Will crossed half court, shot a three-pointer from the 45-degree angle, and it went in!
Lou Will later winning the Sixth Man of the Year award was indeed a testament to his scoring ability.
The score became 15:9, with the Hawks still holding the advantage.
Turning back, Lin Shuhhao continued to perform. This time, he didn't drive but executed a pick-and-roll with Chandler, and between two defenders, he tossed the ball to Chandler under the basket!
The Boxer caught the ball comfortably and dunked!
This assist was very sweet!
During the "Lin Madness" era, the pick-and-roll between the Boxer and Lin Shuhhao was practically invincible, tearing apart countless team defenses.
Now, in their first cooperation, they had produced a brilliant play, and the home crowd let out a gasp!
Li Feng was very proud. As a transmigrator, he knew that this was just a regular play for Lin Shuhhao and nothing to be surprised about.
Lin Shuhhao played with increasing confidence, leading the reserves to play team basketball, with solid offense and defense, and the Hawks' reserves couldn't cope.
With a drive-and-kick from Lin Shuhhao, Novak, stationed at the corner, calmly shot a three-pointer, swish!
It went in again!
At 19:17, the Knicks had actually come back to take the lead within 3 minutes!
The New York home crowd erupted, and all the fans were extremely excited.
The Knicks' bench, which they thought was weak, was playing such flowing offense and impenetrable defense!
D'Antoni was completely convinced. He glanced at Li Feng, thinking: It's miraculous, how did Li Feng know Lin Shuhhao would play so well?
Li Feng also knew D'Antoni was looking at him and guessed what he was thinking.
"Heh heh, old man, you wouldn't believe it if I told you, you accidentally discovered Lin Madness yourself..."
Li Feng chuckled inwardly.
Hawks head coach Drew had to call a timeout.
This run had stunned the Hawks' reserves.
Li Feng and his teammates stood on the sidelines, high-fiving and chest-bumping with the reserve teammates, shouting excitedly.
This season, the Knicks' bench would shock the world!
Lin Shuhhao was also very excited. He had been in the NBA for over a year and had never been given significant playing time.
Coming here, it was the first time he was given the ball and made the core of the offense, so he was particularly grateful.
Jokic sat on the sidelines, still in a dazed state.
The pressure on him was truly immense.
Seeing his teammates playing so well, he blamed himself even more, unconsciously raising his fist and hitting his head twice.
Old Sabonis stood beside him and noticed Jokic's demeanor. His heart suddenly twitched.
Back then, he had landed in the NBA at the advanced age of 33 and had also faced countless taunts from fans.
As Jokic's coach, he initially didn't have high hopes for Jokic, doing it just as a favor to Li Feng.
However, as he interacted with Jokic more in practice, he discovered that Jokic truly possessed qualities different from other NBA players.
For example, his touch on shots around the basket was very soft, and on fast breaks, his court vision was wide, and his passes were subtle.
Furthermore, his long-range shooting was also decent, allowing him to serve as a stretch big man at any time.
These advantages were the foundation for his future stability in the NBA.
However, his shortcomings were also very obvious: his tempo was slow, his defense was always a beat late, and he tended to foul.
Of course, these were all things that required a lot of games to improve. Sometimes the mind understood, but the hands and feet couldn't keep up.
"Jokic, this is just your first game. Don't be discouraged. If you're a man, face yourself bravely!"
Sabonis's motivational words were unique, with a deep rumble, hitting Jokic's heart like a sledgehammer.
"Coach, I..."
Jokic looked up at Sabonis, seemingly moved.
"You were too nervous just now, so you didn't play to your potential. You know, this is just a preseason game. Relax, okay? Relax!"
Under Sabonis's persuasion, Jokic's emotions gradually calmed down, and his confidence increased.
By the end of the first quarter, the score was 28:23, with the Knicks leading by 5 points.
D'Antoni didn't want to put Jokic on the court again, but Li Feng said a few words in his ear, and he had to put Jokic back on the court at the start of the second quarter.
However, this was with the reserve players.
Before going on the court, Li Feng specifically put his arm around Jokic's shoulder and comforted him, "Just treat it like a practice game, don't think too much. I'll always support you!"
Jokic nodded vigorously, keeping Li Feng's and Sabonis's words in mind.
Upon returning to the court, Jokic decided to start by grabbing rebounds, doing the dirty work, and integrating into the team.
This decision was very smart. After coming on, he screened for his teammates on offense and battled for rebounds, acting as a blue-collar player.
After playing for more than 2 minutes, he had already grabbed 2 defensive rebounds and dished out 1 assist.
Li Feng and his teammates were very happy, waving towels on the sidelines, cheering him on!
Finally, Lin Shuhhao executed a pick-and-roll with Jokic and tossed the ball to Jokic. Jokic braced himself against Hawks center Petro and threw up a right-handed shot, banking it in!
2 points!
This basket earned scattered applause from the audience.
Li Feng was the most excited, jumping up and down, shouting loudly, "Jokic is awesome, well done!"
Although this basket broke Jokic's scoring drought, his subsequent performance was still unsatisfactory.
The opponents began to target Jokic, making it very difficult for him to play.
Lin Shuhhao was very patient and executed several plays with Jokic, but Jokic's physical strength was still too weak. He was pushed around by the opponent's center, distorting his movements.
As a result, after 6 minutes in the second quarter, Jokic still only scored 2 points and was sadly substituted off.
The audience on the sidelines again mocked Jokic—
"He was never good enough, why force him to play?"
"No vertical leap, no speed. I really don't know what the team signed him for!"
"Even if you can't find another Yao Ming, you shouldn't find someone like this!"
...
Jokic was once again lost in confusion...
The starters from both teams began to enter the court, and Li Feng and Curry started to exert their dominance.
In this parallel world, Li Feng and Curry were the Splash Brothers. They were a great pairing in college.
However, due to unforeseen circumstances, they never played on the same team.
Three years later, the two finally reunited on the Knicks!
Li Feng decided to show everyone how terrifying the Splash Brothers were!
So Li Feng and Curry started executing pick-and-rolls.
Good heavens, their pick-and-rolls were like two machine guns.
Swish!
Swish!
...
The three-point rain continued to fall!
The chemistry between Li Feng and Curry was too perfect. As soon as one of them was double-teamed, the ball was immediately passed out, and the other would always find an open spot.
Catch and shoot, as fast as lightning!
Curry's shooting speed was extremely fast, and Li Feng was similar.
As long as the defenders hesitated for a moment, they couldn't keep up.
The New York home crowd was going wild, their voices hoarse from shouting!
Just 9 minutes into the second quarter, the Knicks had a 17-point lead. Li Feng and Curry had each hit 3 three-pointers!
Previously, only Li Feng shot like this for the Knicks. Although Lowry's three-point shot was good, he was just an ordinary shooter.
Now that Curry had arrived, he and Li Feng combined their powers, shattering the fans' imaginations, it was too shocking!
Some fans at the scene, who were still reminiscing about Lowry, even held up signs below saying, "Give us back Lowry, we don't need Curry!"
"The Little Cannon is the best point guard, Curry go back to the Warriors!"
"Curry the skinny monkey..."
...
These short-sighted fans were severely proven wrong!
With Curry's three-pointers, Lowry could never perform like this.
Li Feng knew that Curry was also under a lot of pressure. After all, his previous impression on the fans was that he was skinny, injury-prone, and couldn't handle tough games.
Today, Curry had truly held back his frustration and finally unleashed it.
The Hawks' coach was on the verge of tears. He could never have imagined that basketball could be played like this.
Helplessly, he had to call another timeout.
The Knicks' reserve players rushed over, laughing and celebrating wildly with Li Feng and Curry!
"Holy crap! Stephen, your threes are so sick!"
"Haha, the Splash Brothers have finally teamed up!"
"Li Feng, no team will dare to double-team you from now on!"
...
The commentators were all stunned by the magical game played by the Knicks, who were not favored in the offseason.
Especially Barkley, who was very dissatisfied with the Knicks' offseason moves.
As everyone knows, he is now a super fan of Li Feng, so he hopes Li Feng can achieve a four-peat.
However, the Knicks did not sign any big-name players in the offseason, and Barkley was very disappointed.
He even publicly criticized the Knicks' management, cursing them, calling their management criminal!