Jokic hugged Li Feng and said in his ear, "I did it, I did it!"
Li Feng patted his back, encouraging him, "You did great, keep going, I've always been optimistic about you!"
In the next few possessions, both sides exchanged blows, the score was tight, but the Thunder maintained a lead of 3 to 5 points.
At the end of the first half, the score was 66:62, with the Thunder leading by 4 points.
During the halftime break, Barkley analyzed the first half of the game.
"The Knicks are indeed a championship team that has seen big stages, playing so well in a Christmas game!"
Reggie Miller nodded, "Yeah, Green's defense is truly shocking, and Jokic's flashes of brilliance with his passes are also very good."
Smith sighed, "But they only have potential. If they really want to break out, it will take at least two or three seasons."
O'Neal agreed, "That's for sure. Apart from Duncan, no other rookie big man could dominate the game in his first season."
Barkley added, "However, these two have indeed improved rapidly, especially Green. Look at his help defense, it's pure talent."
O'Neal's defense had always been a weak point, so he was also deeply impressed by Green's defense.
"It's him. His height isn't that great, but his mobility is fast, and his lower body strength is solid. He's a really good inside player."
"The most incredible thing is his passing. In previous games, apart from Li Feng, no one passed to Curry, but Green can pass so well, as if they've been cooperating for many years."
"Let's see. If the Knicks can get their chemistry right before the playoffs, they will definitely make a huge splash in the playoffs."
"I don't think so. This season's finalists will definitely be the Heat and the Thunder. Other teams are just there to make up the numbers."
"The highly favored often fall. I firmly believe this saying. The Heat and the Thunder might not even meet."
...
Not only were the basketball commentators in the United States holding different opinions, but the broadcast room of China Sports Channel was also in heated debate.
Zhang指导, Yu Jia, Yao Ming, and Yang Yi were commentating on the game.
"Zhang指导, do you think the Knicks have a chance to win the championship this season?" Yu Jia asked.
Zhang指导 pondered for a moment and replied, "Not much hope. The main reason is that the inside is too weak. After Yao Ming's retirement, the Knicks' inside became a vacuum, and their offseason signings were also not good."
Both of them looked at Yao Ming, hoping he would say more, as he had won three consecutive championships with the Knicks.
After retiring, Yao Ming didn't rest. He held an important position in the Basketball Association, continuing to contribute to Chinese basketball.
"The Knicks' offseason signings were indeed not strong, but I think it's still too early to draw conclusions. As long as Li Feng is here, the Knicks will not collapse."
Yao Ming knew that many people were using him as a pawn to attack Li Feng.
So, he candidly stated his true feelings in the broadcast room, which was that Li Feng was the only core of the Knicks!
Of course, many fans thought he was being humble, but Yao Ming then elaborated.
"In today's NBA league, Li Feng has the greatest impact on the game. No other superstar can compare to him!"
"In the past three years, the Knicks have won three championships. Although I worked very hard and played at my peak during these three years, the only one who stood out for the Knicks in the most difficult moments was Li Feng!"
This was Yao Ming's first time officially answering the question of who was the core of the three-peat, Li Feng or himself.
Yang Yi, listening from the side, was very angry because he had been using Yao Ming to undermine Li Feng.
After entering the NBA, Yao Ming had maintained contact with Yang Yi because Yang Yi was still an ambitious young basketball player at the time and didn't have so much of a mercenary attitude.
But years later, Yao Ming realized that Yang Yi was just a businessman who profited from star players, so Yao Ming stopped bothering with him.
And Li Feng had always been indifferent to Yang Yi. Despite returning to China so many times, he had never met with Yang Yi, which made Yang Yi hold a grudge.
After Yao Ming finished speaking, Zhang指导 and Yu Jia unconsciously looked at Yang Yi.
The implication was: See? Even Yao Ming admits Li Feng's core status, so outsiders shouldn't make wild guesses.
But they underestimated Yang Yi.
Yang Yi had managed to survive in the basketball circle for so many years and earned a lot of money through his thick skin and sharp, unconventional commentary.
He rubbed his chin and slowly said, "I understand Da Yao very well. He's just too humble..."
Yao Ming heard this and waved his hands repeatedly, "I'm not being humble, I..."
Before he could finish, Yang Yi cut in, "Actually, the Knicks' record this season shows it all. Without Yao Ming, and with Li Feng having Curry now, they are ranked tenth in the East! Isn't that obvious? Do I need to say more?"
His angle was indeed very sharp, fitting the direction of sophistry.
Zhang指导 shook his head, "No, Yao Ming is indeed very important, but it's normal for the team's record to be affected by a major overhaul. They need time to gel!"
"Gelling? You can check how many games the Knicks won when Da Yao first joined the team!"
Yang Yi's ability to reach this point wasn't entirely due to his thick skin; he was indeed very good at organizing and analyzing data.
Yao Ming felt a bit embarrassed; he blushed when Yang Yi praised him so directly.
"Yang Yi, you can't say that. I had already played for the Rockets for many years back then, and Jokic was only 18 years old and just joined the NBA. He indeed needed time to develop."
"Then I'll use Da Yao's statistics from his first NBA season for comparison!"
Yang Yi flipped through the few pages of paper in his hand and found Yao Ming's statistics from his first NBA season.
*Slam!*
He slapped Yao Ming's stats from several seasons onto the table.
"In his first season, Da Yao averaged 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, with a 50% field goal percentage, and 1.8 blocks!"
"In his second season, he averaged 17.5 points, 9 rebounds, with a 53% field goal percentage, and 1.9 blocks!"
"Look, just look! This is the strength of a top center!"
Yao Ming scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Alas, a good man doesn't boast of his past glories. Why are you bringing this up?"
Yang Yi continued, "I'm not saying this with any other intention. I just want to say that Da Yao is the core of the Knicks, at least a dual-core!"
Good heavens, this topic was already fiery, and with Yang Yi fanning the flames, it became even more lively!
Yu Jia, being a good friend of Yang Yi, felt that what Yang Yi said had some merit.
"Teacher Yang Yi is speaking with data, and it's not wrong. At least in many cases, data alone doesn't tell the whole story. Let's put it this way: if the Knicks don't even make the playoffs this season, the question of who is the core, Li Feng or Yao Ming, will definitely continue to be debated!"
Yao Ming's expression darkened, and he said, "What is there to discuss? Li Feng is the core. I'm just his helper."
But others wouldn't pay attention to Yao Ming's words; they would say Yao Ming was being humble.
...
The second half of the game began.
In the third quarter, the Thunder launched another fierce attack.
Westbrook frequently drove to the basket, drawing fouls on Jokic.
Durant also shot wildly, scoring continuously.
But on the Knicks' side, the Splash Brothers also stepped up. With the screens and assists from Green and Jokic, they got many good looks.
The Splash Brothers and the Thunder's dynamic duo went head-to-head, making the game incredibly exciting.
*Swish!*
Durant hit a standing three-pointer!
*Swish!*
Curry's three-pointer from the corner swished through the net!
*Bang!*
Westbrook slammed the ball at the rim!
*Swish!*
Li Feng hit a super long three-pointer!
...
This Christmas game was too exciting, much more so than the first game between the Heat and the Magic.
Neutral fans were the happiest. They didn't care who won or lost; they were satisfied just seeing the stars perform well.
After more than seven minutes of the third quarter, the score was 83:81, with the Thunder leading by only 2 points.
Brooks called a timeout.
He noticed that Durant's stamina was once again becoming an issue.
There was no way around it; Durant was like this. Like Westbrook, he tended to get carried away.
In the first three quarters, as long as he took too many shots, his stamina in the fourth quarter would definitely not keep up.
So, Coach Brooks quickly substituted him out and brought in Harden, letting Harden be the organizer for the next phase.
On the Knicks' side, Jokic had already committed 4 fouls. D'Antoni substituted him out early and brought in Chandler.
Harden immediately made an impact after coming on. Facing Curry, he used the step-back three-pointer that Li Feng had taught him. *Swish!*
He hit the three-pointer!
The bearded man had a good feel for the shot and immediately extended the lead to 5 points.
Curry, with his strong competitive spirit, certainly wouldn't let Harden have all the glory. On the next possession, he dribbled past half-court and, facing Harden's defense, faked a drive.
The moment Harden shifted his weight forward, Curry suddenly pulled the ball to the left and pulled up for a three-pointer!
*Swish!*
He returned the favor with a three-pointer!
This game was truly spectacular!
Curry and Harden started trading blows again.
Li Feng ran over to high-five Curry and shouted, "Keep shooting like that, you have that ability!"
In his previous life, Curry's three-point ability had not been fully unleashed. It was in the first two seasons under Coach Kerr that Curry enjoyed playing the most.
But in this parallel world, Curry's peak arrived earlier.
Li Feng not only helped Curry with his ankle injury but also gave him the freedom to shoot threes at any time!
This was Li Feng's vision.
If it were a different team's leader, a new deputy shooting like this unreasonably would surely cause anger.
By the end of the third quarter, the Thunder were leading by 7 points.
Harden had evolved further; he was not only capable of scoring himself but also more adept at organizing.
Thabo Sefolosha and Jeremy Lamb, receiving passes from Harden, made consecutive shots, widening the gap again.
The home fans in New York were disappointed.
The Splash Brothers had played exceptionally well, but the Thunder's "Big Four" played more cohesively.
Moreover, in terms of talent, the Thunder's "Big Four" were configured more reasonably.
They had guards, small forwards, and power forwards, all of whom were top players in the league.
However, on the Knicks' side, apart from Green's help defense, the other inside players were too weak.
This was the impact of Yao Ming's retirement; it was indeed difficult to compensate for in a short period.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the reserves from both teams faced off.
Lin Shuhao began to receive more attention. Westbrook deliberately came to the bench unit, focusing on Lin Shuhao.
Although Lin Shuhao was fast, Westbrook was not slow and was also stronger, so Lin Shuhao's offense was restricted.
The Knicks' reserve lineup was originally built around Lin Shuhao; apart from him, the others lacked organizational ability.
Therefore, the Thunder's bench once again extended the lead.
After four minutes into the fourth quarter, the Thunder were already leading by 12 points.
99:87!
D'Antoni sighed; it seemed difficult to win today. He thought that if they could close the gap by a few points in the final minutes and make the game exciting, that would be enough.
But Li Feng's expression was grim at this moment, his eyes turning red!
He didn't want to lose, especially not to the Thunder!
This was the team that had defeated him in the finals just half a year ago!
Now, if they lost at home, the post-game commentary would undoubtedly be a widespread criticism of the Knicks and Li Feng.
Li Feng was not a rookie; he wasn't afraid of being scolded, but he knew that if they lost this game, everyone in the Knicks would lose confidence.
This was different from losing to the Heat.
Losing to the Heat was at the beginning of the season; a loss was just a loss.
But now that one-third of the season had passed, if they lost to the Thunder again, the Thunder would surely gain tremendous momentum.
Li Feng stood up, threw his towel forcefully to the ground, and walked up to D'Antoni, saying, "Coach, let our starters play. We must win this game!"
D'Antoni nodded vigorously. Having coached Li Feng for three years, he knew that Li Feng was about to unleash his full potential!
The starters from both sides entered the court.
Li Feng gathered his teammates, extended his right hand, and shouted loudly, "Win this game!"
For the first time, his starting teammates looked at Li Feng, stunned.
Bill Walker, being more familiar with Li Feng, quickly extended his hand and placed it on Li Feng's.
The other three also extended their hands and stacked them together.
"Win this game!"
"Win this game!"
...
The Thunder players watched from afar, feeling a sense of ominous foreboding.
Although they were still leading by 12 points, Li Feng always seemed to create miracles. Could it be that today he...
Durant felt a chill run down his spine.
The game continued.
Li Feng held the ball in the backcourt and advanced it to the frontcourt.
Perhaps it was due to seeing Li Feng's determined expression just now, but Sefolosha decided to provoke him intentionally and played full-court defense.
The Swiss Army knife's defense had been decent before, and Li Feng's offense had not been fully unleashed.
But this time, Li Feng didn't indulge him. He made a sharp change of direction, then accelerated, *swoosh!*
Sefolosha was almost tripped by Li Feng's move!
Too fast!
Durant's heart tightened. He silently thought: Li Feng is going to take over the game!
As expected, Li Feng crossed half-court, and facing Westbrook's help defense, he had no intention of passing. He spun around.
Westbrook still wanted to use his strong physique to push Li Feng towards the sideline.
But Li Feng's strength was greater. With a *bang!*
Westbrook was pushed aside, coincidentally tripping over Ibaka's leg and falling to the ground with a *thump*.
Li Feng continued to drive at high speed into the paint.
Durant knew Li Feng wouldn't pass anymore, so he abandoned Bill Walker and quickly rotated to defend the basket.
Actually, Durant's defense was quite good and was underestimated.
Although he had never been selected to the All-Defensive team, his height and long arms, coupled with his active defense, made him an important interior defender on any team.
Facing Durant's defense, Li Feng dared not be careless.