Li Feng shoved Chalmers aside and drove along the baseline, aiming to go up for a layup against Bosh.
But James suddenly sprinted over, blocking Bosh and roaring, "I'll take him!"
Bosh, knowing James and Li Feng were in a direct contest, stepped aside, boxing out Yao Ming to prevent Li Feng from passing.
Seeing James glaring at him, Li Feng understood the situation.
If he passed the ball, his momentum would be broken.
"Here you go, little brother!" Li Feng called out playfully, then faked a drive to the right.
James remained calm, moving his feet quickly and extending his arms to prevent Li Feng from pulling up for a shot.
Li Feng saw James moving swiftly and executed a sharp stop. James also stopped instantly.
James’s ankles were truly incredible; Li Feng’s stop was a classic ankle-breaker.
Yet, James managed to stop himself.
Li Feng suddenly drove again, and James mirrored his movement!
It was James who could do that; anyone else would have been sent sprawling.
While shocked, Li Feng realized there was only a little over a second left on the shot clock.
He abruptly turned and executed a fadeaway jumper.
To be able to perform a fadeaway jumper after a drive, there was no one else but Jordan and Kobe.
This was incredibly difficult!
Not to mention maintaining balance, the calf and ankle muscles would also suffer.
James’s center of gravity had shifted, and he couldn’t recover in time to defend...
Swish!
An empty net hit!
The home crowd in Miami was stunned, their mouths agape.
It went in?
The Knicks players rushed over. Everyone knew how difficult that shot was, especially after a one-on-one against James. It was a huge morale boost.
The showdown between the two teams’ superstars always captivated the fans' attention!
James had been defending with gritted teeth, and his ankles were already faintly aching.
He hadn't fallen because he was forcing himself to stay upright.
He walked away silently, sighing inwardly: Too strong, truly too strong...
After this one-on-one, James's intensity waned.
Although he appeared to be fighting, his eyes betrayed him; he had lost his fierce dominance.
It seemed as though he was merely fulfilling the duties of a professional player, waiting for the game to end.
The first half concluded with the score at 58-47, the Knicks leading by eleven points.
Li Feng had scored 27 points in the first half, James 21, Wade 15, and Yao Ming 16.
Looking at the scores, Li Feng and James seemed close, but anyone who had watched the game understood that their dominance on the court was on entirely different levels.
In the TNT broadcast booth, Barkley repeatedly sighed.
"I'm so disappointed. The Heat played so well in the previous games, the 'Big Three' were amazing, showing a 1+1+1 greater than 3 effect. But today, all three of them are being suppressed by Li Feng..."
Smith also expressed regret. It was supposed to be a clash of titans, a game where the teams were evenly matched in overall strength and similar in rankings.
Most importantly, James and Li Feng were also competing for the fan vote lead.
With so many storylines, and the Heat playing at home, the 'Big Three' were completely outmatched.
"Perhaps it's a matchup issue; it feels like James can't get his game going."
"Aren't you being a bit too subtle? What do you mean he can't get his game going? Isn't it just a gap between him and Li Feng?"
Smith chuckled, not taking the bait. As a commentator, his persona was neutral and objective, unlike Barkley.
So, he could only hint at things.
Barkley, with his big mouth, wouldn't let anyone off the hook, continuing to criticize the Heat.
"It's the second year! The second year of the 'Big Three,' and they still can't beat the Knicks. It's unbelievable!"
"Last year, even if the 'Big Three' had made it out of the East, they still couldn't beat the Mavericks! How dominant was Nowitzki!"
Smith smiled and said, "Indeed, last year's Mavericks were a surprise, almost overturning the Knicks!"
"I think the Heat's 'Big Three' just lacks someone to carry them in crucial moments. If Wade were a few years younger, he'd be fine."
"If they can show dominance in the second half, the game will still have suspense, as the point difference isn't that large."
"The point difference isn't large, but they just can't catch up, which is quite difficult."
...
In the Heat locker room, there was a deathly silence.
They had been behind at halftime before, but the players had never felt so stifled.
Finally, Haslem broke the tense atmosphere.
"It's nothing, just a dozen or so points! We'll catch up in the second half if we push. Don't forget, our Heat fast break is the best in the league!"
As the locker room leader, Haslem's words carried weight, and no one dared to refute them.
Wade, the soul of the Heat, couldn't let his teammates' spirits sink, so he chimed in, "Well said, a dozen or so points is nothing. In the second half, we'll intensify our defense and stop them from scoring. We can catch up in five minutes!"
"That's right, defense in the second half must be intense! Anyone who doesn't fight, I'll kick their butt!" Bosh also joked.
Everyone had expressed their stance, except for James, who sat there, silent.
Wade felt James's mood was off. How could such a dominant player be so listless?
"LeBron, it's all on you in the second half. We two must ramp up the fast break!"
James seemed lost in thought and was startled back to reality by Wade's pat on his shoulder—
"Right, right... ramp up the fast break, absolutely!"
His teammates found James's behavior unusual today, which was very strange.
...
The second half began, and Spoelstra made tactical adjustments.
He could see that James lacked the fighting spirit, so he shifted the primary offensive focus to Wade.
If it were Wade from a couple of years ago, he might have indeed mounted a comeback.
But Wade in '12 was heavily affected by his knee injury, often feeling powerless.
Even with the knee injury, Wade still showed explosive bursts of energy in short periods.
At the start of the third quarter, Wade repeatedly attacked the Knicks' paint, narrowing the gap to five points.
Li Feng's defensive focus was on James, but Wade's continuous bursts of brilliance caught Li Feng off guard.
D'Antoni quickly called a timeout; he needed to re-strategize their defensive focus.
"The Heat's 'Big Three' advantage is showing; if one isn't firing, another is. Wade is now the primary scorer, so our defensive formation needs to change. Li Feng, you'll guard Wade, and James will be handled by Bill Walker and Yi Jianlian."
In fact, even if D'Antoni hadn't called this timeout, Li Feng would have made adjustments on the court. But the situation on the court was indeed chaotic, and before Li Feng could say anything, the coach called the timeout.
Spoelstra was pleased with Wade's performance. He didn't say much verbally, but he walked up and patted Wade's shoulder.
James felt a complex mix of emotions. Since joining the Heat, his status had been somewhat awkward.
The Heat had always been Wade's team. After he arrived, no matter how well he played, the majority of the cheers from the fans still went to Wade.
This season was the second year of the "Big Three," and this situation hadn't changed; Wade was still the soul of the Heat!
The timeout ended, and the game resumed.
The Knicks were on offense. Li Feng called for a double screen, with Lowry and Bill Walker setting screens on Battier and Wade respectively. Li Feng then hit a super-long three-pointer!
After returning the favor with a shot, the Heat inbounded the ball from the baseline. Wade brought the ball up from the backcourt, and Li Feng suddenly surged forward, positioning himself in front of Wade.
Wade was surprised. He knew Li Feng's defensive pressure was immense.
As a superstar, the "Jordan who is five centimeters shorter," he certainly couldn't back down.
So, Wade used two quick crossovers to get past half-court.
Li Feng admired Wade's ball-handling skills; they were truly exceptional. His movements were large, making it difficult to defend him with single coverage.
However, although Li Feng was beaten by Wade, he didn't lose his position because Li Feng's speed was too great.
After crossing half-court, Wade found Li Feng still in front of him, and his confidence began to waver.
But seeing that James and the others weren't asking for the ball, he had to attack recklessly.
Facing Li Feng, he unleashed a series of large crossovers, utilizing his low-to-the-ground flight technique.
In terms of driving, Wade's skills were historically great.
Especially in the 2008 Olympics, Wade showcased his driving skills to perfection.
Even Kobe ceded possession, placing the primary offensive burden on Wade.
Li Feng couldn't guard Wade one-on-one and could only grimly chase behind him, preventing him from getting to the basket.
Swoosh!
Upon reaching the paint, Wade suddenly went for a low layup.
If someone else were defending, they would be helpless.
But Li Feng's leaping ability came into play again.
The moment Wade gathered the ball, Li Feng anticipated the shot and jumped preemptively.
Wade leaned in for the layup, and Li Feng's hand was already close to touching the backboard.
Bam!
A chase-down block off the glass!
Wade was shocked and turned to look. Li Feng was still in the air, his body tilted, completely disregarding his own balance.
After the block, Li Feng landed almost sideways, rolled, and crashed out of bounds, colliding with a photographer.
Li Feng was truly giving his all.
Although the home crowd in Miami didn't erupt in applause, many onlookers' eyes were filled with admiration!
For victory, Li Feng had done everything he could!
The Knicks teammates quickly rushed over to help Li Feng up.
Although the photographer was knocked down, his camera had clearly captured the spectacular moment of Li Feng's chase-down block on Wade!
His angle was the most dramatic.
On the big screen, the replay of Li Feng blocking Wade was shown repeatedly.
Wade, like James earlier, had a grim expression.
A sure basket was blocked, so it was natural for him to be upset.
The Heat initiated offense again, inbounding from the baseline.
With only a little over a second left on the shot clock, James passed directly from the baseline to Bosh. Bosh took a hurried shot, but once again, he couldn't escape Yao Ming's block!
Li Feng's and Yao Ming's two blocks completely stifled the Heat's momentum, energizing the entire Knicks team.
The Knicks seized the opportunity to go on a run, regaining a lead of over ten points.
Spoelstra stood by the sidelines, arms crossed, his expression blank.
He wondered how many coaches in the league envied him, having the 'Big Three' like him.
But who could understand his inner turmoil?
In the Eastern Conference, the Heat were so thoroughly suppressed by the Knicks that there was no hope in sight.
Spoelstra stopped calling timeouts, seeming to accept fate, and even stopped shouting from the sidelines.
At the end of the third quarter, the score was 87-74.
Was the score difference large? Not entirely.
But the Heat players all felt a sense of despair, a powerlessness; they just couldn't catch up...
D'Antoni was very pleased with Li Feng's performance. He noticed that Li Feng's command of the game had become more seasoned.
Whether they could achieve the goal of winning a third consecutive championship this year depended on Li Feng.
Although Yao Ming still possessed dominance in the paint, two consecutive seasons of playoffs and finals had taken a significant toll on him.
Yao Ming now had many injury concerns and was in and out of the lineup during the regular season.
While everyone hoped for players' health, in the playoffs with such intensity, no one could guarantee that Yao Ming could last until the end.
Yi Jianlian had improved significantly, but his experience was limited. While he could put up good numbers in the regular season, his performance in the playoffs remained uncertain.
The other positions had weakened compared to last year, so the hope for a three-peat rested entirely on Li Feng.
The fourth quarter began with a matchup between the reserve players.
The Heat's reserves seemed to have a stronger competitive spirit; they played aggressively, clearly wanting to shrink the deficit.
The Knicks' reserves were being bumped around, leading to increased turnovers.
The referees, however, seemed to turn a blind eye.
The Knicks' reserves were not to be trifled with either.
Billups, the former core of the Rockets, was a very tough player.
Center Chandler, with his fiery temper, had already won a championship with the Mavericks in another parallel universe.
And Marion and Shumpert were fierce players.
Seeing the referees relax their foul calls, these guys didn't hold back!
Bang!
Thump!
Clang...
Both sides began playing rough, refusing to yield!
The fans were thrilled; the intensity of the game felt like a return to decades ago, to the era of the "Bad Boy Pistons."
As both sides played rougher, the tension escalated.
During a shot attempt, LeBron James's teammate James Jones was fouled hard by the Knicks' Shumpert. As he got up, he charged towards Shumpert.
The Knicks teammates were very united; Chandler immediately stepped in front of Shumpert, shoving James Jones.
Last season, James Jones had tried to attack Li Feng, but he was instantly subdued by a sleeper hold from Douglas, who was on the bench.
Douglas was not on the court this time.
But seeing James Jones acting up again, Douglas took off his jacket and stood by the sideline, ready to enter the game.
Jones instantly became submissive, mumbled a few words, and turned to leave...
D'Antoni stifled a laugh and waved Douglas back.
Amidst the fierce competition, the point difference didn't change much. After more than five minutes into the fourth quarter, the score was 98-87, with the Knicks still leading by eleven points.
Both teams, as if by mutual understanding, substituted their starting lineups.
The Heat's 'Big Three' returned to the court, making a final desperate push.
At this point, James had only scored 17 points, while Li Feng had already amassed 29 points.
Even in rebounds, Li Feng had 3 more than James, totaling 8, with 4 offensive rebounds!
James's strong suit, assists, was equal to Li Feng's, with 7 each.
It could be said that today, Li Feng had completely outplayed James!