Wade was stunned, looking at Li Feng with a bewildered expression.
The Heat continued their offensive.
This time, Wade waved his hand, signaling for James to take the ball.
Battier inbounded the ball from the sideline directly to James.
James received the ball at the top of the arc, facing Bill Walker's defense. He intended to drive directly.
The moment he initiated his move and changed direction, Bill Walker sprinted and knocked James to the ground from the side.
If they had collided head-on, Bill Walker certainly wouldn't have been able to knock James down. However, as a defensive specialist, Walker possessed his own techniques.
As long as he wasn't intentionally trying to injure the opponent, Walker had numerous ways to bring someone down.
James rolled on the ground, then stood up, a furious look on his face.
The referee quickly ran over, stepped between them, blew his whistle, and pointed at Bill Walker!
Less than twenty seconds into the game, and two fouls had already been called, baffling the Heat players.
The home crowd in New York was also stunned. Of course, for the fans, fairness was irrelevant. Seeing two fouls called so early, they erupted in anger!
"You biased ref! What are you calling?"
"Bad calls! Bad calls!"
"Ref, get out of New York!"
The fans' jeers put immense pressure on the referees, who felt wronged.
The Heat players exchanged glances, unsure of what the Knicks were up to.
The Heat continued their offensive, with fourteen seconds on the shot clock.
James held the ball at the top of the arc, influenced by Bill Walker's earlier play. He passed the ball instead of driving.
Bosh received the ball, intending to post up Jokic.
As he caught the ball and turned his back to Jokic, preparing to drive to the basket, Jokic directly wrapped up Bosh and powerfully swung him backward!
With a thud!
Bosh, the Dragon King, landed rather unceremoniously out of bounds.
The referee, with his whistle in his mouth, glared at Jokic. After a moment's thought, he surprisingly did not blow the whistle.
He pointed to the baseline, indicating that the Heat should take the ball out of bounds.
The Heat players were incensed, rushing over, and Bosh stood up, roaring at the referee.
Jokic scratched his head, clearly dissatisfied. He had clearly aimed for a foul, so why wasn't one called?
The referee warned the Heat players that any further commotion would result in a technical foul!
Wade, with his wealth of experience, sensed something was wrong and quickly pulled James and the other Heat teammates away.
"Forget it, let's keep playing!"
The Heat inbounded the ball from the baseline, with only six seconds left on the clock.
Battier passed the ball again to James.
Seeing the limited time remaining, James opted for a long two-pointer.
Perhaps due to frustration, James's shot missed, with a clang!
The ball hit the right side of the rim and bounced out.
Jokic boxed out Bosh and secured the rebound!
In previous games, Jokic had been consistently outplayed by Bosh.
However, today, Jokic seemed like a different player, playing fiercely and with significant physicality.
Since the referee hadn't called a foul earlier, Bosh was also somewhat hesitant, unwilling to commit fully.
This shift allowed Jokic to gain a slight edge in the physical battle.
The Knicks initiated a fast break. Teacher Youke made a long pass to Curry near the half-court line.
Chalmers moved at incredible speed, immediately positioning himself in front of Curry.
Curry remembered Li Feng's words.
Seeing his teammates already picking up a foul, Curry felt anxious!
If that was the case, he wouldn't hold back either!
Curry made up his mind, faked a change of direction, and then drove directly into Chalmers' shoulder.
Chalmers was not a physically imposing player to begin with, and Curry's strength had increased significantly over the past six months.
Combined with his deliberate exertion, Chalmers was directly sent flying, sliding more than two meters away.
Beep!
The referee blew the whistle, surprisingly calling Chalmers for an offensive foul (blocking)!
Chalmers, furious, slammed the floor and cursed, expressing his displeasure.
The referee was unyielding: "I may not dare to call a foul on James, but I certainly dare to call one on you!"
Beep!
The referee immediately followed up with a technical foul on Chalmers.
Curry spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness towards Li Feng, implying: "It's not my fault, the ref didn't call me..."
Li Feng stifled a laugh and gestured for Curry to go shoot the technical foul free throw.
Curry easily sank the technical foul shot, and the Knicks settled into their half-court offense.
Bill Walker inbounded the ball from the sideline to Li Feng.
Facing a double-team from Wade and Battier, Li Feng immediately passed the ball to Green.
James was guarding Green. Green saw Curry running off the ball and Bill Walker setting a screen.
The moment Curry rounded Bill Walker, Green passed him the ball.
The chemistry between these two was growing.
Curry received the ball and, in one fluid motion, unleashed a lightning-fast shot. Swish!
He made the three-pointer!
This was the offensive set Curry enjoyed playing the most, and with his hot hand, he gave the Knicks the first points!
3-0!
The home crowd was ecstatic. The Knicks' play style today was peculiar, but the fans were thoroughly entertained!
Spoelstra, on the sideline, frowned deeply. He noticed that the Knicks players' state today was completely different from before.
They seemed unafraid of committing fouls; why was that?
Were they just giving up?
That seemed unlikely...
The Heat initiated their offensive. Wade dribbled the ball in the backcourt and signaled to his teammates.
After crossing half-court, James suddenly came up to set a screen on Li Feng, and Wade immediately drove to the paint.
Just as he was preparing to shoot a floater, Green suddenly charged forward and, with a bang!
He knocked Wade to the ground!
This was Wade's second time being knocked down. He sat on the ground, shaking his head with a bitter smile.
Beep!
The referee pointed at Green, calling him for a foul.
Green was satisfied. Finally, a foul was called! He wasn't angry; instead, he grinned broadly.
The Heat players were utterly confused.
What kind of strategy was this?
The Knicks' series of unusual plays cast a shadow over the Heat players' minds.
Their passing and dribbling were tentative, as they constantly felt that a Knicks player might suddenly charge at them.
With this apprehension, their movements became awkward.
The Heat continued their offense. Wade passed the ball to Bosh.
Bosh no longer dared to drive forcefully to the basket and opted for a turnaround jumper.
However, the jump shot didn't escape Jokic's "claws"!
Bang!
Jokic ended up leaning all over Bosh, and both of them fell to the ground.
Beep!
The referee blew the whistle and called Jokic for an offensive foul (blocking)!
Finally, a foul was called! Jokic let out a long sigh, nodding repeatedly, and even gave Li Feng an "OK" gesture over his shoulder.
Bosh was on the verge of tears, sitting on the ground, gasping for air, his face full of confusion.
The Heat continued their offensive.
They began to play timidly, their passing and shooting becoming hesitant.
Battier received a pass from James and took a corner three-pointer.
As Bill Walker aggressively closed out on the side, Battier flinched, his shooting form faltering, resulting in an air ball.
Green grabbed the ball and, without hesitation, made a long pass directly to Curry at half-court.
Curry drove past half-court. Chalmers wasn't defending him closely; he was somewhat scared.
As a result, Curry took a three-pointer from more than a meter beyond the three-point line!
Swish!
The confident shot found its mark, extending Curry's hot streak with another three-pointer!
6-0!
Just over a minute into the game, the Knicks had jumped out to a 6-0 lead!
So far, four of the Knicks' starting five, excluding Curry, had each committed one foul.
Spoelstra felt something was amiss and quickly called a timeout.
The Heat players walked to the sideline with dazed expressions, still failing to understand why the Knicks were playing with such physicality today.
Even increasing the intensity of the play didn't warrant this level of aggression; it was simply baffling.
"Since the Knicks players are being so physical, you shouldn't hold back either! Go at them directly! Do you understand?" Spoelstra had never witnessed such a play style before and could only resort to his usual experience of responding with aggression.
However, the mindset of retaliating with aggression was already flawed.
This mindset would further impact the players' execution.
Indeed, after the timeout, the Heat players increased their physical play.
Bang!
Wade knocked Li Feng to the ground, and the referee pointed at Wade, calling him for a foul.
With a thud!
James knocked Green down again, and beep, the referee called James for a foul.
As a result, in less than three minutes of play, the Heat players had also accumulated several fouls.
This put the Heat in a difficult position.
Wade had 1 foul, James had 2 fouls, Chalmers had 2 fouls, and Battier had 1 foul.
James and Chalmers had to go to the bench to rest, with Haslem and Cole entering the game.
Li Feng secretly rejoiced, knowing that an opportunity had arrived.
Although Wade was formidable and in excellent form, without James, their defense would suffer, and their offense would become too predictable.
In the ensuing possessions, the Knicks completely gained the upper hand, and the Heat's lineup became disorganized.
Furthermore, the Knicks' playing style led to an increase in the Heat's unforced errors.
At 7 minutes and 43 seconds into the first quarter, the score was 17-9, with the Knicks leading by eight points.
This was the first time the Knicks had led by such a margin since entering the playoffs.
And based on their on-court performance, the Knicks held the advantage, playing with newfound vigor.
In contrast, the Heat players were playing tentatively, appearing lost and confused.
D'Antoni watched from the sideline. While he said nothing outwardly, he was inwardly in awe of Li Feng's strategy.
This move was truly brilliant.
By actively drawing fouls, the Knicks actually had more fouls called against the Heat than themselves.
More importantly, the Heat players experienced a psychological imbalance, losing control of their physical execution.
Every time they passed or shot, they felt as if a Knicks player might suddenly charge out and knock them down.
With this mental apprehension, their shooting lacked the confidence of a clear mind, and their accuracy plummeted.
With their starters off the court, the substitutes continued the same strategy.
Jeremy Lin pushed Cole, a Heat reserve, to the ground.
For Jeremy Lin, doing so was difficult, as his personality was too gentle.
Previously, even if he was bleeding from an opponent's foul, Jeremy Lin wouldn't retaliate; it was his nature.
However, today, Li Feng had given him a mission, and Jeremy Lin had to complete it.
When Jeremy Lin committed the foul, Li Feng and his teammates were delighted. It was the first time they had seen Jeremy Lin act so "assertively."
Subsequently, the Knicks' reserves also employed this strategy, completely shattering the mentality of the Heat players.
Four minutes and some seconds into the second quarter, the Knicks had a sixteen-point lead.
39-23!
Spoelstra kept shaking his head. He could never have imagined such a scenario unfolding.
He had no choice but to bring his starters back into the game.
Spoelstra had assumed the Knicks would show some restraint in the second quarter, as accumulating too many fouls would weaken the team.
To his surprise, the Knicks players showed no restraint at all, even vying with each other to commit fouls.
Since Curry had not yet committed a foul, he eagerly joined his teammates in seeking out fouls.
The sight was almost comical.
As Li Feng was guarding Wade, Wade was about to initiate a drive when Curry rushed over and aggressively bumped Wade.
Fortunately, Wade was mentally prepared, and he was significantly stronger than Curry, so he didn't fall.
Beep!
The referee blew the whistle and pointed at Curry.
Curry had achieved his desire; he raised his hands and made a "victory" sign. He had finally committed a foul!
Wade put his hands on his hips, glanced at Curry, then at Li Feng, truly speechless...
Under the Knicks' unconventional tactics, the Heat players seemed to have forgotten how to play basketball; their strategy was in disarray, and their teamwork had vanished.
Li Feng seized the opportunity to lead his teammates in an offensive surge.
Jokic made a mid-range jumper!
Green received a pass from Li Feng and slammed home a dunk at the rim!
Bill Walker scored on a fast break!
Curry hit a high-arching layup!
Li Feng drove to the basket and finished with a scoop layup!
With the collective effort of the Knicks, the score difference widened.
At halftime, the score was 64-41, with the Knicks leading by a remarkable twenty-three points!
...
In the China Sports channel broadcast booth, Zhang指导 (Zhang Zhidao) and Yu Jia were commentating on the game, joined by Yang Yi.
Before the game, the three of them had not been very optimistic about the Knicks' prospects, given the excellent form of the Heat's Big Three this season.
However, while Zhang Zhidao and Yu Jia lacked confidence in the Knicks, they still offered encouragement and support to Li Feng.
Yang Yi, on the other hand, harbored resentment towards Li Feng.
During the Knicks' three consecutive championships, Yang Yi had sarcastically attributed all the credit to Yao Ming.
This season, with Yao Ming retired, the Knicks' performance had plummeted, providing Yang Yi with an opportunity.
Therefore, in the first three games, Yang Yi had been shamelessly critical, constantly belittling Li Feng.
Even after the Knicks won the second game, Yang Yi did not change his tune.
He even made the outrageous claim that the Heat had deliberately lost to the Knicks in one game to gain an extra home game and help the owner sell tickets!
On this day, Yang Yi went even further, declaring that the Heat would definitely win the series 3-1 and take a commanding lead back to Miami!
"Yang Yi, the half-time break is over, please analyze the game. How have the two teams performed?" Zhang Zhidao deliberately put Yang Yi on the spot.
Yu Jia, worried about an argument, quickly interjected, "The Knicks are in good form today. Teacher Yang Yi, please give us a brief analysis."
Yang Yi showed no signs of embarrassment or awkwardness; he was never afraid of being proven wrong.
"Although the Knicks are leading at halftime, they still have a hidden danger: their high foul count. They will surely be caught up in the second half!"
Yang Yi declared boldly.
Zhang Zhidao sneered, "Are you relying on first impressions? Except for the first quarter, when the Knicks players had a higher foul count, by the end of the half, the Heat's foul count was actually similar to the Knicks'."