Few teams that win championships have a guard as their core.
From Jordan, after their six consecutive championships, it was Wade in '06.
Then came Kobe in '08.
It's a shame Kobe's two consecutive championships were broken by Li Feng.
Now, Li Feng has a strong chance of winning a three-peat, and it's clear to everyone that the Heat's Big Three will be the biggest obstacle in the Knicks' path to a championship.
"Smith, the Heat's Big Three have meshed so well this season, it feels like their offense and defense have improved by several levels. The Knicks are struggling to keep up."
Smith nodded slightly, "Especially the Heat's new signings, they've all been very successful. Battier, and the rookie Cole, have really strengthened the Heat's weaknesses."
"If that's the case, the Knicks are at a disadvantage. Stoudemire's decision to leave is made, and although he's trying his best on the court, it still affects the Knicks."
"A three-peat isn't easy. With internal and external challenges, it all depends on the Knicks' coaching staff and Li Feng's abilities."
...
The second half of the game began.
As soon as LeBron James came onto the court, he used a teammate's screen to drive into the paint and slam dunk for 2 points.
The Heat's momentum was building.
Li Feng was a bit anxious. He could accept defeat, but he couldn't accept being thoroughly outplayed by the Heat.
The entire team's goal this season was to contend for a championship. If they were dominated by the Heat on their home court, how could they talk about winning a championship?
With a score of 64:46, the Heat extended their lead to 18 points.
Li Feng, with the ball in the backcourt, made a gesture to his teammates.
The Knicks teammates were immediately energized because Li Feng's gesture indicated he was going to take over.
Of course, Li Feng's takeover wasn't about him going against five players alone.
It meant he was going to orchestrate the offense.
As soon as Li Feng crossed half-court, Wade and Battier double-teamed him.
Lowry suddenly ran over and blocked Wade.
Li Feng immediately drove towards Battier.
Battier was very tense, spreading his arms to block, but Li Feng used Iverson's crossover, a simple yet effective move, to get past Battier.
Wade knew the double-team had failed and immediately shouted to LeBron, "Help defense, quickly!"
But Li Feng was too fast. After getting past the two defenders, he didn't drive to the paint but headed straight for the baseline.
LeBron and Bosh were positioned on either side of the paint, both ready.
But Li Feng's move towards the baseline made them hesitate. Then, Bosh, who was closer to Li Feng, lunged forward.
At this moment, Yao Ming suddenly shook off Anthony and drove to the basket.
Without Bosh's fronting defense, Yao Ming was like a tiger out of its cage, unstoppable.
Li Feng threw the ball towards the rim with lightning speed, and Yao Ming easily finished the alley-oop with a dunk!
Bang!
After scoring, Yao Ming let out a roar, venting his frustration.
In the first half, Yao Ming had a difficult time. Apart from an easy basket against Anthony on the first play, he was constantly bothered by Bosh's fronting defense.
The score narrowed back to 16 points.
LeBron James looked a bit tense. His biggest worry was Li Feng's explosive performance.
He didn't care if others scored continuously because he knew that besides Li Feng, no one on the Knicks had the ability to take over the game.
For example, Lowry and Stoudemire could at best score seven or eight points consecutively, but as soon as the defense tightened, they struggled.
Li Feng was different. If he exploded, no one could stop him.
"Keep double-teaming!" LeBron shouted, and then he positioned himself behind Wade and Battier.
It was clear that if Li Feng broke the double-team again, he would immediately provide help.
In any case, they couldn't let Li Feng drive past them easily.
Li Feng noticed LeBron's positioning, so he faked a drive, then suddenly passed the ball to Stoudemire, who was near the left sideline.
Without LeBron's help defense, Stoudemire easily drove into the paint.
There's a saying: within three feet of the three-point line, Stoudemire is the best in the world!
Although he was older at 31 and had suffered a major knee injury, Stoudemire's power was still not to be underestimated.
Once in the paint, before Bosh could rotate, Stoudemire hit a mid-range jump shot!
This shot alone was something Yi Jianlian couldn't replicate.
LeBron angrily waved his hand and cursed a couple of times.
The Heat offense.
The deficit was now back to 14 points, and LeBron knew the Knicks were gaining momentum.
Therefore, they had to suppress the Knicks' momentum, otherwise, a 14-point deficit meant nothing.
LeBron dribbled past half-court and made a gesture. Wade immediately came to screen Bill Walker.
Li Feng was shocked. He had seen this tactic last season; the LeBron-Wade pick-and-roll was unbeatable!
He rushed to provide help defense.
But at this moment, LeBron used Wade's screen to drive into the paint.
Li Feng appeared in front of LeBron, who easily passed the ball.
Bosh, at the 45-degree angle, quickly retreated to the three-point line and received LeBron's pass.
The moment Bosh caught the ball, Stoudemire suddenly appeared in front of him.
Li Feng turned and saw this, and was pleasantly surprised.
Although Stoudemire's defense had improved, his individual defense had improved significantly, but his help defense awareness was still average.
However, this help defense today was a masterful move.
Bosh was shocked to find his open shot opportunity gone, but with the shot clock winding down, he had to force a shot.
Clang!
The ball hit the front rim and bounced out.
Yao Ming blocked Anthony, and Li Feng secured the rebound.
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Li Feng, upon grabbing the rebound, flicked it backward!
Lowry was near the half-court line and received Li Feng's pass, initiating a fast break.
The pass was so sudden that the Heat players hadn't reacted when Lowry started his move.
So Lowry easily scored two points!
This run of 6 consecutive points brought the deficit back to 12 points, 64:52.
The Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden were ecstatic. They had been suppressed for too long in the first half.
The Knicks had been trailing, and many fans thought they were going to lose today.
"Li Feng is awesome, come back!"
"Big comeback! Big comeback!"
"Chinese Trio, go!"
...
The home-court advantage of the Knicks came into play again, and the players were also encouraged, as if they had been injected with adrenaline.
Spoelstra, seeing the situation turn south, quickly called a timeout.
In games against the Knicks, not a single moment could be taken lightly; they had to break this momentum.
Li Feng high-fived his teammates, encouraging everyone. Whether they could complete the comeback today still depended on the entire team's effort.
LeBron sat on the chair, taking two sips of water. He didn't listen to what Spoelstra was saying, only thinking about how to limit Li Feng.
Spoelstra turned to LeBron and said, "You should stop helping defend Li Feng. The paint needs you more."
He was subtly blaming LeBron because LeBron's help defense on Li Feng had left the paint exposed.
LeBron felt resentful and threw his towel to the ground.
This was a small internal conflict within the Heat; LeBron's occasional defiance of Spoelstra was an open secret.
But everyone knew that LeBron was the absolute core of the Heat, so Spoelstra couldn't resist.
He cleared his throat and continued, "Let Wade and Battier handle the perimeter. If they hit threes and kill us, so be it, but the paint must be protected!"
LeBron still didn't speak, only nodded.
The timeout ended, and the Heat went on offense.
LeBron again used a screen to drive into the paint.
But this time, he didn't pass. Instead, he used his strong physique to push past Stoudemire.
Yao Ming came to help defend, but Bosh tightly blocked Yao Ming's path.
LeBron took the opportunity to drive to the basket and score 2 points off the glass!
66:52, the deficit was back to 14 points.
This basket was crucial, breaking the Heat's scoring drought and halting the Knicks' offensive momentum.
After scoring, LeBron let out a roar and performed his signature celebration.
Two hands down, the "King's Stride" walk!
Wade rushed over and chest-bumped LeBron in celebration.
The Heat players were also energized, their momentum regained.
Li Feng knew in his heart that this was the time for the star players to go head-to-head. If they could withstand it, victory would be within reach; if not, they would lose for sure.
Li Feng dribbled past half-court and faced a double-team. He once again had Lowry set a screen.
Wade was smart; he tried to go around the screen before Lowry could set it.
Unexpectedly, Li Feng reacted faster. As Wade went to go around the screen, Li Feng suddenly accelerated and blew past Wade.
Wade felt a blur in his vision, and Li Feng was already past him. Realizing something was wrong, he quickly gave chase.
Li Feng got past Wade and saw that LeBron wasn't coming to help. He knew LeBron was guarding the paint.
So Li Feng directly pulled up for a jumper, a long two-pointer!
There was nothing he could do; Li Feng's offensive range was too vast.
From half-court onwards, he was a scoring threat.
Swish!
The Knicks scored two more points.
Beep!
At the same time, the referee's whistle blew.
Wade, chasing from behind, had come in too hard and collided with Li Feng.
2+1!
Wade put his hands on his hips and shook his head in frustration, but he had great admiration for Li Feng in his heart.
Li Feng's quick acceleration in the moment of Lowry's screen was simply brilliant.
In the less than a second of confrontation, Li Feng had clearly outplayed Wade, who had been a bit careless.
LeBron looked at Spoelstra on the sideline and glared, his meaning clear: because Spoelstra had told him not to help defend, Li Feng had scored.
In fact, this couldn't be blamed on Spoelstra; he was taking a gamble.
Against a versatile superstar like Li Feng, one had to gamble on one aspect.
There were only five players on the court, and they couldn't all guard Li Feng.
In the next few possessions, the two teams entered a stalemate again. The scores alternated, but the deficit remained above 10 points.
Li Feng was getting anxious.
Currently, the Heat couldn't limit Li Feng, and the Knicks couldn't limit LeBron.
Furthermore, although Wade had fewer possessions, when opportunities arose, he could still score.
As a result, it remained difficult for the Knicks to catch up.
As the third quarter reached 6 minutes and 26 seconds, the score was 77:65, with the deficit still at 12 points.
At this moment, coach D'Antoni suddenly made a substitution, bringing in Yi Jianlian for Stoudemire.
The relationship between these two players was already sensitive in the eyes of the fans, so this substitution caused a wave of boos from the home crowd.
Stoudemire's expression changed, but he said nothing. He simply didn't high-five Yi Jianlian when he came off the court.
After Yi Jianlian came on, he whispered a few words to Li Feng.
Li Feng nodded. He understood; D'Antoni was going to implement a new tactic.
That is, to use Yi Jianlian's three-point ability to break open the Heat's defense and catch up quickly.
Currently, Yi Jianlian was still completely outplayed by Stoudemire, but there was one area where he was better: Yi Jianlian's three-point shooting was superior to Stoudemire's.
During the scoring pursuit, more three-pointers were needed.
The Heat didn't pay much attention to Yi Jianlian's appearance and didn't make any targeted adjustments.
The Knicks offense.
After Li Feng crossed half-court, he didn't pass to Yi Jianlian but instead passed to Lowry.
Then, Li Feng ran towards Yi Jianlian.
The Heat were too sensitive to Li Feng's movement, and Bosh, who was defending Yi Jianlian, had his attention drawn by Li Feng.
At this moment, Yi Jianlian suddenly retreated to the three-point line, and Lowry, with quick hands, passed him the ball.
As Bosh was about to chase, Li Feng suddenly appeared in front of him.
He had to go around Li Feng to chase Yi Jianlian.
This gave Yi Jianlian ample shooting space.
Swish!
Yi Jianlian shot a three-pointer and smoothly made it!
LeBron James was shocked!
Although Yi Jianlian had made a few three-pointers in recent games, his hit rate was clearly not high.
How could he be so accurate today?
The Heat offense. LeBron and Battier ran a pick-and-roll, intending for Battier to hit a three-pointer in return.
But Li Feng provided help defense and sealed off Battier's shooting space. Battier had no choice but to pass the ball back to LeBron.
LeBron saw the shot clock winding down and passed to Wade again.
Wade shot in a hurry, and the ball hit the rim and bounced out.
Yao Ming secured the rebound and immediately passed it to Bill Walker.
Bill Walker, Li Feng, and Lowry all sprinted past half-court simultaneously.
The three of them passed the ball a few times, and finally, Li Feng soared for a dunk, scoring two more points!
77:70!
D'Antoni's substitution had a great effect. In the blink of an eye, they had scored 5 points, and the deficit was only 7 points.
Spoelstra was a bit flustered and called another timeout.
The Knicks had clearly adapted to the Heat's offensive and defensive rhythm in the past few minutes, playing their own game and continuously closing the gap.
Spoelstra had no good solution; he was gambling earlier, not letting the Knicks score inside.
But if the Knicks' outside shooting opened up, what could they do?
However, the Heat were still leading, so Spoelstra emphasized offense again.
As long as both teams could open up their offense, the Heat would still have the advantage.
"Everyone needs to be more decisive with their shots. Wade, don't hesitate. If you have a chance, shoot. Bosh too, no hesitation..."
Spoelstra thought about having multiple players contribute.
Although LeBron's passing was excellent, his teammates weren't decisive when they received the ball and shot.
After the timeout, the game continued.
The Heat players shot much faster, and their shooting percentage improved.
The deficit widened back to 16 points.
The home fans were once again in despair. The third quarter was almost over, and the Knicks still couldn't catch up. It seemed like the game was going to be lost.
With 19 seconds left in the third quarter, the score was 87:71.
The Knicks were on offense, theoretically with only one last chance to score.
Battier again played full-court defense. Li Feng slowly crossed half-court.
Suddenly, Yi Jianlian moved up high, screening Battier.
Li Feng drove to the left. Just as Wade was tightly guarding him, Li Feng suddenly tossed the ball behind his head.