Yao Ming was preparing to cover the basket, but as soon as he reached the three-point line, he saw Li Feng drive to the basket.
He blurted out, "Good shot!"
Li Feng's change of direction was fast, but what came next was even more explosive.
Li Feng leaped high, his body like a drawn bow, and with a mighty swing, slammed the ball into the hoop!
Bang!
The sound of the powerful dunk echoed throughout the stadium!
The Chinese fans finally erupted in excited cheers.
How long had it been since they had a star player this explosive?
The last Chinese player capable of a powerful dunk in a game was Xu Yong.
Unfortunately, that damn injury ruined the potential of that physically explosive star player.
But regardless, Xu Yong was still a forward over two meters tall.
Li Feng, on the other hand, was just a guard, yet he could pull off such an astonishing drive and powerful dunk – it was simply divine!
The excitement of the fans present was instantly ignited!
The Lithuanian head coach frowned, thinking to himself, "Li Feng really has something. I truly underestimated him."
However, Lithuania was still leading by a large margin, so he didn't panic. He simply waved his hand, signaling his players to continue their offense.
In international competitions, a 20-point lead is indeed a difficult gap to overcome, with a low probability of a comeback.
Li Feng scored 2 points, and the deficit returned to 18 points.
Although Li Feng's basket boosted morale, with only half the game left, most fans dared not hope for a reversal.
But that's the charm of sports; even in defeat, one must go out with a bang, playing with passion!
Lithuania inbounded the ball and began their offense.
After high-fiving his teammates, Li Feng shouted loudly, urging everyone to defend hard.
With the team trailing, they needed to strengthen their defense to catch up.
Otherwise, if they scored 2 points and the opponent scored 3, the deficit would remain, but time would be lost.
Da Yao greatly admired Li Feng's composure, believing that Li Feng, as an 18-year-old, was terrifyingly mature.
So he also rallied his teammates, "Yes, defense!"
Kaukėnas dribbled past half-court and directly passed the ball to Lavrinovičius.
Lavrinovičius had a good mid-range jump shot and had scored 7 points in the first half, so his touch was still good.
He intended to continue scoring in the second half.
Unfortunately, under Li Feng's help defense, his mid-range shot missed.
The Lithuanian players felt a bit flustered, but then they remembered their huge 18-point lead and thought, "What's there to fear?"
Javtokas, mimicking Li Feng's tone, yelled to his teammates, "Defense! Don't let anyone get open!"
The Lithuanian team possessed high tactical discipline, with their zone defense covering a wide area and excellent coordination.
Many national teams had suffered greatly when playing against them.
Under their defense, there wasn't even space for open three-pointers.
In the first half, Zhu Fangyu and Yi Jianlian both fell victim to this, unable to get a clean shot opportunity and resorting to difficult contested shots.
The efficiency of contested shots was naturally very low, which was why China was trailing by so much.
However, Li Feng was unfazed by Lithuania's zone defense because he now possessed his signature weapon.
That was the fastest first step in the league!
It was a potent tool for breaking down zone defenses!
Li Feng held the ball at the top of the arc, facing Javtokas's tight defense, executing a triple-threat stance.
Just as the "Demon Pig" was intently focused on Li Feng, Li Feng suddenly drove from the right.
Logically, Li Feng hadn't performed any fancy moves; it was a sudden burst of acceleration.
But Javtokas simply didn't react in time. He felt a blur before his eyes, and Li Feng was gone.
He had been knocked flying by Li Feng earlier and had taken a moment to recover, fortunately without injury.
Therefore, he decided not to engage Li Feng physically, as he truly couldn't match him in brute force.
This time, he intended to use his excellent defensive skills to shut down Li Feng's penetration.
Who knew that Li Feng's speed and skill far exceeded his imagination, leaving him no time to react?
This was too humiliating!
Li Feng didn't call for screens or use fancy moves; with a simple burst of acceleration, he blew past him cleanly!
After getting past Javtokas, Li Feng didn't forget to whisper two words in his ear!
"Trash!"
Javtokas suffered a massive blow, feeling like he was about to collapse.
His proud physique and skills were all inferior to Li Feng's. How could he possibly continue playing?
Li Feng drove into the paint, once again drawing the opponent's defense to collapse.
This was the brilliance of Lithuania's defense, their ability to adjust according to the opponent's offensive strategy at any time.
Li Feng was immediately swarmed.
Yonas watched from the sideline, his heart tightening.
Although Li Feng had performed explosively in the last two games, it seemed he relied more on brute force.
Now surrounded by the zone defense, Li Feng was bound to suffer.
Just as he was worrying, Li Feng suddenly changed his strategy!
Instead of forcing a drive himself, he passed the ball through the gaps to Yao Ming near the baseline!
Yao Ming, who had been waiting, received the pass, drove to the basket, and slammed it home!
The crowd roared again; no one expected Yao Ming to get an easy basket!
In the first half, every score for Da Yao was a hard-fought battle, as he had to carve out opportunities from the opponent's defense, which was like reinforced concrete.
Even after scoring, he was drenched in sweat from exhaustion.
But Li Feng, through his individual prowess, managed to draw the opponent's defensive attention, allowing Da Yao to easily score!
After the basket, Da Yao was the first to rush to Li Feng, high-fiving him fiercely, and shouting, "Beautiful! That pass was incredible!"
The teammates were also exhilarated. In the first half, they had been helpless against Lithuania's defense.
Consequently, China's offense in the first half was very one-dimensional, relying solely on Da Yao.
But in the second half, the tide turned. Li Feng, with his fastest first step, shattered Lithuania's impenetrable defense.
Although the deficit was still large at 16 points, the Chinese players saw a glimmer of hope for a comeback.
In the ensuing game, Li Feng seamlessly switched between two modes.
Sometimes he attacked himself, and sometimes he drove and passed.
Li Feng's penetration completely broke down Lithuania's defense!
And the Chinese players, after being listless for half the game, were all activated by Li Feng!
In the first half, open shots were rare, but in the second half, they were everywhere.
As long as they ran to the right spots, Li Feng would reliably pass the ball comfortably into his teammates' hands!
Zhu Fangyu, three-pointer made!
Yi Jianlian, mid-range successful!
Da Yao, received Li Feng's pass under the basket and hit the boards for a score!
The offensive surge fueled defensive intensity.
Led by Li Feng, China's defense also became formidable, forcing Lithuania into numerous turnovers!
With over seven minutes played in the second half, the deficit narrowed to 11 points.
68:57!
Lithuania's lead was only 11 points.
The Lithuanian head coach reluctantly called a timeout, shaking his head repeatedly, unable to comprehend Li Feng's performance.
Yonas was ecstatic; he hadn't sat down at all, constantly waving and shouting excitedly from the sidelines.
Every drive and pass from Li Feng filled him with exhilaration!