Li Feng, though coaching the reserves, didn't heavily involve himself in offense. Once they crossed half-court, he'd pass the ball to Billups.
Then Li Feng would stroll around the court, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, keeping the Thunder's defenders on edge.
If you tried to guard him, it was exhausting, as Li Feng ran quite fast.
If you didn't guard him, he'd seize any opportunity to catch and shoot, and he'd make it!
The Thunder's bench players were driven mad.
Fortunately, Harden's firepower was potent. He maintained the Thunder's offense through floaters after drives and step-back threes.
With over five minutes gone in the fourth quarter, the score was 98-97, the Knicks leading by one point.
Brooks looked at Durant. He knew Durant was tired, but this was the final game of the Finals. If Durant didn't step up now, the Thunder were done.
Durant nodded at his coach, tossed off his jacket, and stood up.
Brooks made a substitution, putting the starters back on the court.
The decisive battle had begun!
D'Antoni didn't dare be careless and also fielded his full starting lineup.
Yao Ming, with four fouls, returned to the game!
The home crowd roared, cheering on the Knicks' heroes!
The intense Finals had gone to Game Seven and now the final quarter!
The championship was about to be decided!
Would the new Thunder royalty ascend the throne, or would the Knicks become three-time champions!
The mystery would soon be revealed!
The Knicks were on offense. Li Feng dribbled across half-court, facing a double-team. He looked at Lowry, feigning a pass.
Just as Thabo Sefolosha's attention shifted to intercepting, Li Feng suddenly changed direction and accelerated, blowing past Sefolosha.
Sefolosha cursed inwardly and rushed to catch up, but Li Feng was too fast, heading straight for the paint.
Serge Ibaka had to come over for help defense. Li Feng faked in the air, then passed behind his back, swoosh!
The ball was accurately passed to Yao Ming, who had been resting for a while and was eager to play.
Upon receiving the ball, Yao Ming roared and slammed it down with one hand!
Kendrick Perkins initially intended to contest, but he was intimidated by Yao Ming's momentum and didn't dare to challenge.
If he had, it would have been a three-point play.
100-97, the Knicks led by three points!
The Thunder's offense.
Durant's face was grim, his teeth clenched. As the Thunder's star player, he had to respond forcefully!
The Knicks also knew this possession was crucial; they had to contain Durant and prevent him from getting hot.
Westbrook brought the ball upcourt. Seeing Durant signal for the ball, he immediately passed it over.
As soon as Durant caught the ball, Li Feng pounced, aggressively double-teaming.
Li Feng's hands were incredibly fast, disrupting Durant, who dared not bring the ball down. He had to pass it to Sefolosha.
Sefolosha lacked self-creation ability and passed it back to Westbrook.
Westbrook, at full throttle, drove towards the paint, bang!
Lowry had positioned himself early, blocking Westbrook's driving lane, and was knocked to the ground.
The referee hesitated for a moment, pointed at Lowry, and called a blocking foul.
Lowry was unhappy and started to rush towards the referee, but Li Feng quickly stopped him, telling him to stay calm.
Getting another technical foul at this moment would be too costly.
Westbrook stood at the free-throw line and made one of two shots.
100-98, the Thunder trailed.
The Knicks' offense.
Li Feng held the ball in the backcourt. This time, he directly passed it to Lowry and then ran towards the baseline.
Lowry caught the ball, crossed the half-court line, and made a gesture to Yi Jianlian.
Yi Jianlian came over to screen Westbrook, and Lowry suddenly accelerated towards the baseline, with Durant tightly defending him.
Lowry suddenly executed a behind-the-back bounce pass to Bill Walker!
Only Harden could have made such a pass. After receiving it, Bill Walker took a mid-range shot!
Steady!
Two points!
He was like a mini-Durant!
102-98!
With 3:52 left in the fourth quarter, the Thunder still had a chance to catch up.
Brooks called another timeout, wanting Durant to rest and recover.
Madison Square Garden erupted in cheers, the crowd aiming to put immense pressure on the Thunder players with their deafening noise.
Durant was breathing heavily, constantly wiping his sweat and drinking water.
The timeout ended, and the Thunder were on offense.
The ball once again found Durant's hands. Li Feng went over for the double-team.
This time, Durant didn't want to pass. He leaped forcefully for a pull-up jumper!
The difficulty was immense, as he almost threw it sideways.
Swish!
He made it!
The shot was so difficult that the crowd was stunned.
The Thunder players' morale surged, and they rushed to hug Durant.
102-100!
The Knicks' offense. Li Feng raised his hand, signaling his teammates not to panic.
Near mid-court, Li Feng suddenly put his right hand on his head.
This was a secret signal from a Knicks team huddle. Bill Walker and Yi Jianlian suddenly came up, screening Westbrook and Sefolosha.
A double screen!
Li Feng seized the opportunity, stepped sideways, and launched a super deep three-pointer!
Swish!
A long-range three-pointer!
Just as the Thunder were about to build momentum, Li Feng stepped up again!
105-100!
In the following few possessions, both teams traded blows, essentially a shootout between Li Feng and Durant.
Li Feng performed exceptionally, and Durant gritted his teeth and held on.
With 1:45 left in the fourth quarter, Li Feng drove past two defenders, reaching the paint.
Perkins came to front him, and Li Feng took off, dunking over Perkins!
Bang!
At the same time, the referee's whistle blew, calling Perkins' sixth foul, disqualifying him.
This thunderous dunk extended the Knicks' lead to seven points.
Li Feng then made the subsequent free throw, making the score 113-105, with the Knicks leading by eight.
Brooks had to call another timeout.
The Thunder's situation was dire. If they didn't score soon, they were finished.
Li Feng noticed that Yi Jianlian, Bill Walker, and Lowry's stamina bars were nearing empty.
The benefits of the system came with drawbacks that had to be endured.
Li Feng saw the three players stumbling on the court, unable to run.
Although they were all gritting their teeth and persevering, willpower couldn't solve the fundamental issue of energy depletion.
D'Antoni also noticed and walked over to the three, asking, "How are you guys, can you still go?"
The three sat slumped on the bench, finding it difficult to even stand up.
Li Feng sighed and said, "How about this, I'll lead the reserves with Yao Ming. We have a lead now, so we should be able to hold on for this minute or so."
D'Antoni thought it was feasible. With an eight-point lead and Li Feng and Yao Ming on the court, winning the game wouldn't be difficult.
After the timeout, the Thunder fielded their most offensively potent lineup:
Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka, and Sefolosha!
The Knicks' lineup was Li Feng, Yao Ming, Novak, Shumpert, and Marion.
Upon seeing the Knicks bench three starters, the Thunder players were taken aback, unsure of D'Antoni's strategy.
The game resumed. Durant got the ball again. Facing Marion's defense, he effortlessly hit a step-back three, swish!
The three-pointer went in, narrowing the deficit to five points.
With 1:03 left, the Knicks still held the advantage.
The Knicks were on offense. Li Feng was double-teamed even more fiercely, forcing him to pass to Novak.
Novak's open threes were accurate, but the Thunder's help defense was timely, with Ibaka immediately closing in.
Shumpert rushed to receive the pass. Novak's pass was a bit slow and was intercepted by Ibaka.
Ibaka immediately passed the ball to Durant, who sped across half-court and hit a trailing three-pointer, another one!
In less than 30 seconds, the Knicks' lead was reduced to just two points.
113-111!
With 47 seconds remaining!
D'Antoni was starting to panic. Durant's sudden outburst meant no one on the Knicks could match him.
Without Bill Walker and Yi Jianlian, Durant seemed to have shed his restraints and was on fire!
The three players, Yi Jianlian, Bill Walker, and Lowry, felt terrible, wanting to play, but D'Antoni refused.
He believed that as long as Li Feng was on the court, victory was certain!
The Knicks' offense. Li Feng's expression was stern. He told his teammates not to panic and to hold on for the final forty-plus seconds.
Facing a double-team, Li Feng didn't pass but called for a screen.
Yao Ming and Shumpert moved to the high post, blocking Sefolosha and Westbrook.
Just as Li Feng was about to step sideways, Durant rushed over again, seemingly prepared.
Swoosh!
Li Feng changed direction with a crossover, shaking off Durant, and drove towards the baseline.
Ibaka immediately moved to intercept.
Bang!
Ibaka made a strong move, knocking Li Feng out of bounds.
Players from both sides looked at the referee. To everyone's surprise, the referee called Li Feng for stepping out of bounds!
Li Feng shook his head in frustration, and the Knicks players rushed towards the referee, but Yao Ming quickly pulled his teammates away.
In the crucial final moments, they couldn't afford a technical foul; every point was precious.
The Knicks inbounded the ball from the baseline, but only had two seconds of offensive time left.
Marion inbounded the ball directly to Yao Ming, who threw up a hurried shot that bounced off the rim.
Ibaka grabbed the rebound and passed it to Westbrook, who sped across half-court and dunked!
Tied!
113 all!
Silence fell over the New York home crowd...
The eight-point lead had vanished in an instant.
23 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
There was just enough time for one more possession.
D'Antoni had to call another timeout.
This Game Seven was truly a decisive battle, keeping the suspense until the very end.
Li Feng was also exhausted, but he could still hold on. The situation was dire, and Li Feng was prepared for overtime.
On the Thunder's side, the players were also tense. Li Feng's ability was too strong; he could deliver a fatal blow in the remaining 23 seconds!
"No matter what it takes, lock down Li Feng. Double-team him, triple-team him, use whatever you have!"
The previous call had given the Thunder defenders courage. They figured they could play a bit rougher, be a bit more physical, and the referees wouldn't call it.
The timeout ended, and the game resumed.
Two players were tightly guarding Li Feng, preventing him from receiving the ball.
Novak inbounded the ball from the sideline, having to pass it to Marion, who then passed it to Yao Ming.
Yao Ming held the ball, looking for Li Feng, but Li Feng was being held by Sefolosha, and Westbrook was also grabbing him, preventing him from moving.
Yao Ming was helpless. Ibaka and Durant were defending him, giving him no space to shoot.
At this point, he could only pass the ball to the open Shumpert.
Suddenly, Li Feng faked and then slipped between Sefolosha and Westbrook. Shumpert, delighted, quickly passed him the ball.
With only four seconds left on the shot clock, Li Feng caught the ball and, for safety, drove towards the paint.
Durant lunged at Li Feng, having made up his mind to tackle him if necessary to prevent him from shooting!
Ibaka also abandoned Yao Ming to provide help defense.
At the same time, Sefolosha moved to cut him off from behind, not giving Li Feng space for a step-back.
With pursuers in front and blockers behind, there was no space even to pass.
Just as everyone thought the game was heading into overtime, Li Feng suddenly leaped like a helicopter, holding the ball with his right hand, and made a shooting motion.
Durant roared and swiped at Li Feng's ball with both hands.
With his height and long arms, he could completely block Li Feng's shot.
Just as Durant was about to swat the ball, Li Feng suddenly switched it from his right hand to his left, snap!
Durant's hands hit Li Feng's right hand, while Li Feng pushed the ball with his left, swoosh!
It was an unconventional shot, but it dodged the block.
Thud!
Li Feng was knocked to the ground by Durant.
But the referee didn't blow the whistle.
If the shot missed, the referee wouldn't call anything, and the game would go into overtime.
As Li Feng shot, the red buzzer lit up.
Bounce... bounce...
The ball bounced off the rim several times. The entire crowd and players held their breath, staring at the ball.
Madison Square Garden fell into absolute silence!
Bounce...
After four or five bounces, the ball dropped into the basket!
It went in!
The Knicks had won!
Boom! The entire arena erupted in a deafening cheer, and everyone jumped up!
The Knicks players rushed over and piled on top of Li Feng, celebrating their victory!
Three-peat!
A glorious three-peat had been achieved!
Zhang Zhi and Yu Jia forgot they were commentators and jumped up, shouting repeatedly:
"Champions! Champions!"
"New York Knicks are champions! New York Knicks are champions!"
"Li Feng is amazing!"
"Li Feng hit the buzzer-beater!"
...
The deafening cheers from the entire arena turned Madison Square Garden into an ocean of joy.
The arena DJ started playing championship music, and confetti rained down!
Li Feng and the Knicks players were in tears, their eyes welling up.
This victory had been hard-won!
Two home losses, nearly losing the third game, it was a nail-biter!
But through the collective effort of Li Feng and his teammates, they had finally achieved the great comeback and emerged victorious!
The Thunder players sat on the sidelines in dejection. Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka, their faces filled with sorrow.
It was their first time in the Finals, and they had pushed the seemingly invincible opponent to a Game Seven. It was already quite an achievement.
After the Knicks players celebrated for a few minutes, the Thunder players walked over to congratulate their opponents.
Durant was the first to approach Li Feng, and they embraced tightly.
"Li Feng, congratulations. A three-peat is incredible. You're amazing!"
Durant's eyes held a complex mix of reluctance and admiration.
Li Feng said sincerely, "Thank you. You guys were great too. I hope we can battle again in the Finals next year."
Durant gave a bitter smile. The Western Conference was too strong; emerging from it was incredibly difficult.
"Okay, I hope to meet you in the Finals again next year. Your final shot just now was incredible. I'll be rewatching the footage."