De'Anthoni looked at Li Feng in surprise. As a coach, he was so well-informed, yet he didn't know about Wade's condition. How did Li Feng know?
Of course, he was shocked because Li Feng was a transmigrator.
Wade's injury was only revealed in his previous life in 2014, and no one knew about it at the time.
The surgery on his meniscus was known to fans and the media, but Wade kept the knee fluid drainage during the Finals a secret.
So, when Wade exploded just now, Li Feng had been staring at Wade's running posture.
If Wade could play like this for the entire game, the Knicks would admit defeat.
After all, he was the Flash who led a team to a championship as the sole star, he had the ability!
Unfortunately, after making a surge in the third quarter, Wade's knee began to ache again.
Although Wade tried his best to conceal it, the observant Li Feng still discovered it.
"Wade, you've done your best, but your knees aren't cooperating. I'm sorry, but I still have to take the victory!"
Li Feng silently recited in his heart, then re-entered the court.
Just as the Heat fans were cheering and preparing to welcome victory, the situation on the court changed drastically!
Li Feng increased the defensive intensity on Wade, and Wade's condition began to decline rapidly.
*Swish!*
Wade used a screen from a teammate and drove into the paint, intending to take a floater.
But Li Feng繞過 the screen and appeared in front of Wade again.
If it were a healthy Wade, he could have faked a shot, then suddenly shot the floater to score.
Even with Li Feng's strong defense, he might not have been able to stop Wade's floater, because Wade's release was very tricky and very fast.
Unfortunately, his knee pain restricted his performance.
Under Li Feng's defense, his floater missed, hitting the right side of the rim and bouncing out. Yi Jianlian secured the rebound.
Then, the Knicks launched a fast break, with Yi Jianlian passing to Li Feng, who then made a quick pass to Lowry for a layup.
Wade's return defense was no longer as timely as before; he was having trouble running.
Li Feng saw this, which further strengthened his confidence, and he led the Knicks players in a fierce comeback.
James also realized Wade's problem and took over the offensive responsibility, but his individual offensive ability was indeed not as sharp as Wade's.
Moreover, the Knicks' defense was highly targeted, completely preventing James from driving.
Therefore, the point difference between the two teams gradually narrowed.
By the end of the third quarter, the Knicks were only trailing by 2 points, 87:85!
The home crowd quieted down again, and Spoelstra's face turned ashen.
Although the Heat were still leading, such a large advantage had vanished in an instant, and the momentum had shifted to the Knicks.
In the fourth quarter, it was the time for the reserve players of both teams to face off, but Li Feng did not rest and surprisingly remained on the court.
And James of the Heat also did not rest.
Both teams had the same idea.
When James and the reserve players walked onto the court and saw Li Feng there, James helplessly shook his head.
This subtle action was precisely captured by the camera.
Fans exclaimed: "Old Zhan seems to be very wary of Li Feng..."
Under Li Feng's leadership, the Knicks caught up to the score.
With Li Feng assisting Novak for a corner three-pointer, the Knicks took the lead.
James was severely limited by Marion, and Shumpert was always ready to block his driving path when he started.
This prevented James from driving effectively.
Although the referees gave him several free throws, James's touch suddenly turned ice-cold, hitting 3 out of 6, far below his average.
At 5 minutes and 31 seconds into the fourth quarter, the score became 98:94, with the Knicks leading by 4 points.
Spoelstra had no choice but to put all the starters back on the court, while the Knicks, surprisingly, did not make any substitutions!
In the crucial moments of the fourth quarter, the Knicks were still fielding their reserve lineup?
Even though Li Feng was still on the court, it was too presumptuous.
This was the Knicks' substitution habit; if the reserves played well, they would be allowed to play longer as a reward.
Instead of substituting according to the clock.
The benefit of this was to maximize the potential of the reserves and motivate them to fight!
As expected, after the Heat brought their starters back, they did not gain much advantage.
With Billups, Marion, Novak, and Shumpert, under Li Feng's orchestration, they played exceptionally well, excelling in both offense and defense!
If it weren't for Bosh, who took advantage of the Knicks' lack of height to score 5 points from two strong drives, the Heat would have surrendered early.
With 2 minutes and 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the score was 112:109, with the Knicks leading by 3 points.
De'Anthoni called a timeout.
Judging by this, Coach D'Antoni finally remembered to substitute the starting lineup.
Spoelstra was furious; the Knicks were truly looking down on them!
Li Feng, leading the reserves, had almost played the entire fourth quarter.
Yao Ming's stamina had recovered significantly, and he returned to the court after the timeout.
The Heat's starting lineup, on the other hand, appeared very fatigued, especially Wade, whose knee was hurting more and more, and he was practically dragging his leg on the court.
Wade had given up on driving; he could only run for open shots and occasionally take one.
Knicks offense, Li Feng dribbled the ball from the backcourt and passed it directly to Lowry near the half-court line, making a gesture.
Lowry understood, feigned a drive, but instead made a long pass to Yao Ming, who had established position inside.
By the time Bosh went to double-team, it was too late; Lowry's pass was very concealed and fast!
Yao Ming easily made a small hook shot!
The Knicks extended their lead to 5 points.
Heat offense, James dribbled the ball past half-court, he was truly anxious.
Facing the defense of Bill Walker, James surprisingly did not call for a screen and initiated a drive.
Because he started so fast, the help defenders couldn't keep up, and James drove to the basket like a tank.
Yao Ming was also boxed out, and James flew up for a thunderous dunk, roaring at the sky!
This dunk was crucial, reigniting the atmosphere of the Heat's home court.
The Heat players desperately needed an energetic offensive play.
114:111, still a 3-point difference.
Knicks offense, Li Feng passed the ball to Lowry again.
Li Feng was also human and would get tired; he hadn't rested for even a minute in the second half, so now he was resting on the court.
This was also a sophisticated resting method for a star player.
Although Li Feng was resting on the court, he wasn't not shooting or tanking.
As long as he was on the court, he could attract a lot of defensive attention.
This would give his Knicks teammates opportunities for 1-on-1 matchups.
Lowry naturally understood Li Feng's intention, so he didn't pass the ball back to Li Feng and instead executed a play with Yi Jianlian.
Yi Jianlian had also rested for a long time and was full of energy, hitting a long two-pointer against Bosh!
Bosh was indeed tired; his matchups with Yao Ming were too physically demanding.
The point difference widened to 5 points again.
In the next few possessions, the Knicks consistently managed to score.
Even though James continuously drove and scored, the point difference remained around 5 points, and they couldn't catch up.
With 52 seconds left in the game, Li Feng hit a step-back three-pointer, extending the lead to 8 points, and the Heat's fate was sealed.
Finally, the Knicks defeated the Heat on the road, 124:117!
With a 3:1 lead in the series, the Knicks took the match point!
At the moment the game ended, Wade crouched on the ground, his expression filled with pain.
The Heat teammates hadn't realized that Wade's injury had worsened and assumed he was just upset about losing.
Only Li Feng noticed Wade's pained expression.
He quickly walked over, helped Wade up, and asked in a low voice, "Wade, how's your knee?"
Wade was startled and looked up at Li Feng, full of questions...
"Go get treatment quickly and rest more," Li Feng said as he helped Wade towards the player tunnel.
The Heat team doctor and players finally came over, pushed Li Feng aside, and helped Wade inside.
Li Feng watched Wade's staggering back and sighed.
He remembered his world before transmigration, the famous scene of Wade pouring champagne on his knee after the Heat's Big Three won the championship.
He couldn't imagine what heights Wade's career would have reached if his knee hadn't been injured, if he hadn't had his meniscus removed in college!
After securing match point, the next game would be played at the Knicks' home court!
At this point, all media and fans changed their tune.
Hardly anyone believed the Heat could still make a comeback.
Not only because the Knicks had a significant lead, but more terrifyingly, it was the dominance the Knicks displayed on the court.
Even when the Heat were leading, the Knicks played at their own pace, unhurried.
This was the confidence of a potential champion.
Especially when the score was close, Li Feng always stepped up to deliver a fatal blow to the Heat!
Such a Li Feng was too terrifying, too despair-inducing for the opponents!
What made opponents even more desperate was that the Knicks' starting players didn't play that many minutes.
Besides Li Feng, who played 40 minutes, the other starters averaged only about 28 minutes.
This indicated that the Knicks had good stamina and were in good health!
Li Feng did not become complacent after securing match point; during team practice, he still urged his teammates: "Treat this fifth game as a Game 7!"
The Western Conference Finals were very intense.
The young Thunder team, after losing the first two games, managed to win two consecutive games, tying the series at 2:2!
...
The Heat were in a do-or-die situation!
Arriving at their home court in New York, the Heat's Big Three refused all interviews and focused on preparing for the game.
From their attitude, it was clear they were going all out for this game!
...
At 7:30 PM, at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The fifth game of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and the Heat commenced!
Neither team changed their starting lineup. The Heat played with a ferocious intensity in the first quarter, displaying a very high level of play on both offense and defense.
Especially Wade, who had drained fluid from his knee before the game, played as if he were revitalized.
In the first 5 minutes of the first quarter, the score was 16:8, with the Heat leading.
It was time for the official timeout.
Li Feng remained calm; he knew very well that the Heat were not a weak team; they were a historic Big Three.
Complete suppression of the opponent was impossible, especially at a match point, where the Heat, like cornered beasts, were absolutely not to be trifled with.
However, whether the Heat could maintain such intensity for the entire game was still a question mark.
The Knicks' starting players played for a short time in the first quarter, being subbed out around the seven or eight-minute mark.
It was evident that Coach D'Antoni was aiming for a long game.
By the end of the quarter, the score was 29:17, with the Heat leading by 12 points.
At the start of the second quarter, Li Feng once again led the reserve lineup onto the court.
A strategy of using lesser players against the opponent's stronger players to gain an overall advantage!
The Heat, on the other hand, could only field their reserves, as their starters had played almost the entire first quarter and had given their all.
The Knicks' strategic lineup change proved to be quite effective, with Li Feng leading the reserves to quickly narrow the score.
Although Novak was an accurate three-point shooter, his defense was generally weak. Before this season, he was almost out of the league.
However, this season, after joining the Knicks, he had delivered many highlight-reel performances.
The Knicks' overall strong defense compensated for Novak's defensive shortcomings.
Especially when he was on the court with Li Feng, Li Feng's active help defense had covered up for Novak's mistakes many times.
In just over 4 minutes of the second quarter, the score was 36:33, with the Knicks only trailing by 3 points.
Spoelstra let out a wry smile, thinking that the advantage his starters had built in the first quarter was once again squandered by the reserves.
There was nothing he could do about it; the Heat's Big Three salaries accounted for the majority of their payroll, so having this lineup of reserves was already quite good for the Heat.
After all, they couldn't expect both starters and reserves to be All-Stars...
In his helplessness, Spoelstra had no choice but to put the starters back on the court, while the Knicks, once again, had Li Feng leading the reserves.
James was truly anxious; facing the Knicks' reserves, he drove relentlessly, scoring consecutive points.
Although Shumpert drew an offensive foul on him, an activated James was unstoppable.
Li Feng's value was evident; he was the team's stabilizing anchor.
As soon as James scored 4 points, Li Feng hit an ultra-long three-pointer, extinguishing the Heat's momentum.
Overall, the Heat did have an advantage, as their Big Three were all present.
However, it wasn't easy for the Heat to extend their lead; midway through the second quarter, the Heat were only leading by 6 points.
45:39!
With more than half of the second quarter elapsed, De'Anthoni finally called a timeout and substituted in the starters.
Li Feng remained on the court.
The well-rested Lowry took on the role of the team's offensive engine.
After crossing half-court, Lowry made a gesture to Yi Jianlian and then drove to the right. Yi Jianlian suddenly screened Bosh.
Yi Jianlian's purpose in screening Bosh was to allow Yao Ming to single-handedly guard the opposing center.
Lowry immediately passed the ball to Yao Ming. Bosh tried to double-team, but it was too late; Yi Jianlian's screen was very effective and held him tight.
Yao Ming easily made a jump shot.
Li Feng had played for a long time, leisurely strolling around the 45-degree angle.
But Battier dared not relax and stayed close to him defensively, not even looking at the ball.
This was Li Feng's deterrence; as long as he was on the court, even if he was just standing in the corner smoking, someone would hand him an ashtray.
Even if he just moved, two people would follow him.
By the end of the second quarter, the Knicks had taken a 5-point lead, 57:52.
This was the Knicks' largest lead of the game.
The Heat players were very dejected; they had given their all, but in front of the Knicks, it felt like punching cotton, always unable to exert their full strength.
The live commentary from China Sports Channel, commentator Zhang and Yu Jia, were extremely excited.
Although the game was not over yet, it was obvious to everyone that the Knicks had dominated the game.
"Commentator Zhang, the chemistry between the three Chinese players of the Knicks is amazing! Their small plays are so easy and effective!"
"It's a shame for the Heat's Big Three; if they hadn't encountered Li Feng, they might have already won two championships."