This is the second half, and the two teams are tied for the first time, with 9 minutes and 26 seconds left in the third quarter!
And this goal is very significant, it's another connection between Li Feng and Yao Ming.
Yu Jia shouted excitedly in the live broadcast room, and Coach Zhang also kept shouting.
"Haha, tied! Tied! We're tied!"
"Coach Zhang, I didn't expect this. A 21-point deficit was erased in less than a quarter, all thanks to Li Feng!"
"That's for sure. It's too obvious. As soon as Li Feng locked down Span, I knew Greece was in trouble!"
"Exactly, Span is Greece's engine. Li Feng being able to lock him down means he's contained Greece's offense. Perfect!"
...
Greece's offense, Span drives with the ball again.
Now that Greece's other tactics have been seen through, Span can only rely on himself.
After crossing half-court, Span faced Li Feng and dared not break through. He signaled for a teammate to set a screen.
But Li Feng was prepared. With his fastest first step, he went around the screen and returned to Span's front, extending his long arms to steal the ball!
The entire stadium erupted in cheers again, applauding Li Feng.
Span was enraged. He was completely helpless against Li Feng's defense.
The score was tied, and he had just been stripped of the ball. Span's rage turned into malice!
He closely followed Li Feng from behind, but he didn't intend to steal the ball.
Just as Li Feng was counter-attacking for a layup, Span suddenly stuck his foot out in front of Li Feng's feet.
A trip!
It's unclear if this is a Greek tradition, but in later years, Antetokounmpo injured Irving by tripping him, eliminating the Nets.
This time, Span intended to cripple Li Feng completely by tripping him!
So malicious!
Li Feng, of course, did not expect Span to be so insidious. As he landed, he felt a sharp pain in his ankle and fell to the ground.
His Chinese teammates were terrified when they saw this and rushed over.
Unfortunately, the referees have always been vague and lenient in their calls for tripping, so Span was only given a common foul.
Span even walked over pretending to help Li Feng up.
This penalty completely infuriated the fans and the Chinese coaching staff.
Earlier, Greece's Pelkanos had already been too much, and now Span had personally tripped someone!
It was a complete disgrace to sportsmanship.
China's head coach Jonas was furious. He rushed to the scorer's table, roaring loudly, slamming his hands on the table, and questioning loudly.
Zhu Fangyu couldn't hold back. He suddenly rushed onto the court and threw a straight punch at Span's face!
This punch was very heavy, delivered with all his might. Span couldn't dodge it and immediately collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Chaos erupted in the arena. The referees immediately ejected Zhu Fangyu and called for security to maintain order, otherwise, the fans would have rushed onto the court.
However, the number of security guards was limited, and they couldn't hold back the angry fans. A few tall and strong fans rushed towards the Greek players.
The Greek players were terrified and fled in panic, looking extremely pathetic.
After a long while, the court returned to normal, and the game resumed.
Apart from Zhu Fangyu being ejected, the referees did not penalize anyone else, only giving Jonas a technical foul.
Additionally, the referees gave Span a flagrant 2 foul, and China was awarded two free throws and possession.
Although Li Feng was in pain, he was completely unharmed thanks to the system's damage immunity skill.
After sitting on the ground for a while, Li Feng stood up again.
Span was stunned.
He risked being ejected to do this despicable act, only to find Li Feng unharmed again!
This...
Is this Iron Man?
On the TNT broadcast, Barkley also severely condemned Span's behavior.
"This is too much. Resorting to any means for victory is simply an insult to the sport of basketball!"
Smith did not retort; he also hated tripping.
"Yes, such behavior should be punished with an additional penalty, a suspension! If a potential superstar like Li Feng were to be crippled, it would be a huge loss for the basketball world!"
"I'm so angry, Smith. In our playing days, although the moves looked more aggressive, they were basically aimed at the ball. Such dirty tricks like tripping were rarely used!"
"I think FIBA should pay attention to this and severely punish Span to prevent such behavior from happening again!"
...
Not only TNT condemned Span's tripping, but other media also reported it in real-time and gave severe criticism.
...
Li Feng stood at the free-throw line for two shots.
He made both free throws, and China took a 2-point lead!
Then, China inbounded the ball from the sideline to regroup their offense.
With 17 seconds left in the third quarter, there was enough time for one offensive possession.
After the commotion, the Greek team had lost all fighting spirit.
They lost the game and their dignity!
Moreover, despite using so many dirty tricks, Li Feng was still fine. This shocked the Greek players, and they began to re-examine Li Feng as a player.
He was simply gifted!
Much like a young LeBron James.
James occasionally sprained his ankle, but he didn't care. He would stomp his foot on the ground and then continue to fly and run.
Sun Dasheng inbounded the ball and passed it directly to Yi Jianlian at the 45-degree angle.
Li Feng, using a teammate's screen, ran towards the baseline, and Yi Jianlian made a quick pass, sending the ball to Li Feng.
Li Feng stood at the corner, watching the seconds tick away, not moving.
Span stood in front of Li Feng, arms spread wide, vowing to defend this last shot.
Li Feng paid him no mind. Seeing Span's center of gravity shift backward slightly, he faked a shot.
Span rushed forward, and Li Feng easily drove past him. He reached the basket, faced Greece's center, and executed a Shaq-like spin and dunk!
This was a skill he had just acquired and used for the first time today. It was incredibly powerful.
The tall Greek center was dunked on by Li Feng!
And it was a spin dunk, as if O'Neal had possessed him, unstoppable!
Bang!
Almost simultaneously, the buzzer sounded, and the third quarter ended!
71:67!
At the end of three quarters, China led by 4 points!
The fans today were truly fortunate, witnessing such a thrilling comeback once again.
Those with weak hearts probably couldn't handle it.
The morale of the Chinese players soared, becoming unstoppable. The Greek players were dejected.
Although there was still one quarter left and the deficit was not large, the scales of victory had already tilted towards China.
During the break, Da Yao sat beside Li Feng the whole time.
With Li Feng on the court today, Da Yao's stamina didn't decrease as quickly because Li Feng attracted most of the defense, and Da Yao only needed to defend and finish plays.
When the fourth quarter began, both teams fielded their all-reserve lineups.
Although China's bench was slightly weaker, they fought hard, as if they had been injected with adrenaline.
The players compensated for their lack of skill with sheer grit.
More than four minutes into the fourth quarter, the two teams were tied again!
Although the 4-point lead was erased, the reserves bought valuable rest time for the starters, which was still a good outcome.