The game began with a tip-off at center court.
Randolph easily secured the first possession for the Grizzlies.
Conley dribbled past half-court, and Li Feng stepped up to defend him closely.
Conley was actually a very capable player, but in 2009, with Randolph and Marc Gasol as the twin core of the team, Conley could only be a supplementary guard.
Therefore, the Grizzlies were bound to attack the paint in the first play.
Marc Gasol posted up David Lee, reaching for the ball. Conley immediately passed it to him.
There was no alternative; David Lee was inferior to Marc Gasol in height, weight, and skill.
Marc Gasol faked, turned, and drove to the basket. He dunked with one hand before Barron could provide help, easily scoring 2 points!
After scoring, Marc Gasol roared loudly and high-fived Randolph in celebration.
It was terrifying!
This was just "one bear"; the other "black bear," Randolph, hadn't even exerted himself yet.
The Knicks were on offense.
The home crowd at Madison Square Garden was all holding their breath for Li Feng.
*Swish!*
Just as Marc Gasol was roaring, the Knicks had already inbounded the ball from the baseline.
With a long pass, Li Feng received the ball near the center circle.
By the time the Grizzlies reacted, it was too late. Li Feng charged to the basket alone and slammed home a dunk!
This was the Knicks' "run-and-gun" tactic!
Marc Gasol had taken a lot of effort, grunting and groaning for two points.
Meanwhile, Li Feng easily completed an offense that took just over 3 seconds.
Madison Square Garden erupted in cheers, mocking the Grizzlies' slow reaction.
In fact, Conley had already reacted, desperately chasing after Li Feng.
But Li Feng's acceleration left Conley behind.
It was important to note that Conley was a scion of sports talent; his mother was an Olympic sprinter, and his father was a long jumper.
With such genes, Conley's physical fitness was off the charts.
Even so, he couldn't catch up to Li Feng, which showed just how fast Li Feng was!
The Grizzlies' coach's expression changed. He knew D'Antoni's run-and-gun offense was formidable.
But Li Feng's speed made him feel that Li Feng was even more terrifying than Nash.
The Grizzlies were on offense.
They slowly set up in the half-court offense, and this time it was Randolph's turn to post up.
Facing Barron, Randolph once again grunted and groaned his way to a score, making the basket and drawing a foul.
A three-point play!
Randolph was very pleased and shouted a couple of times at Li Feng.
Li Feng remained expressionless, discussing something with his teammates.
Randolph missed the free throw, and Li Feng leaped high to secure the rebound.
Li Feng initiated a fast break with the ball.
The Grizzlies were prepared this time, quickly retreating on defense. Rudy Gay and Conley both rapidly fell back, preventing the Knicks from having a transition opportunity.
Unexpectedly, Li Feng crossed half-court and had no intention of playing a half-court offense.
As soon as he crossed the center line, Li Feng shot a three-pointer.
Conley had a bad feeling and realized it was too late to close out.
*Swish!*
The three-pointer went in!
The shot clock had only 4 seconds left!
The Knicks' home crowd was ecstatic. Li Feng's two possessions had once again overturned the basketball understanding of many fans!
D'Antoni was even more excited on the sidelines.
He had thought that without Nash and Stoudemire, his run-and-gun offense would be difficult to implement.
Now, with Li Feng, D'Antoni was executing the run-and-gun offense even more thoroughly.
Two possessions, five points, taking only seven seconds!
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies' two big centers took about forty seconds, grunting and groaning, to score four points.
The Grizzlies' head coach's face turned ashen with anger. He waved from the sidelines, signaling his players to defend more tightly.
However, the players on the court knew what was happening; it wasn't a defensive problem at all.
Li Feng's style of play was too extreme, completely going against the usual playbook!
The Grizzlies were on offense.
For some reason, Randolph and Gasol no longer wanted the ball, signaling Conley to take a shot.
It was clear that both of them had started to doubt their own playing style.
Conley's three-point shooting was decent, and his floaters were also sharp. Seeing that the twin towers inside weren't taking shots, he called for a screen and drove into the paint.
Just as he was about to take a floater, David Lee suddenly emerged, covering Conley!
Although David Lee's defense was average, under D'Antoni's coaching, his help defense mobility had improved rapidly.
Conley had no choice but to pass the ball to Rudy Gay in the corner.
When Gay first entered the NBA, his template was Tracy McGrady, and he had good skills in all aspects.
After receiving the pass, he went straight up for a pull-up three-pointer, a signature move of McGrady.
Unfortunately, Gay's three-pointer missed, and Barron grabbed the rebound!
Barron reacted extremely quickly. As soon as he secured the rebound, he flung it to Chandler.
Chandler didn't hold the ball and made a cross-court pass to David Lee.
David Lee drove to the baseline and, under Mayo's defense, scored with a bank shot!
The Knicks scored another 2 points.
Although Li Feng didn't touch the ball in this possession, he attracted the attention of the Grizzlies' defenders with his movement.
Therefore, David Lee was able to score so easily.
This possession for the Knicks took 6 seconds!
7:4!
The game had only been underway for 1 minute and 37 seconds, and the Knicks were leading by 3 points.
A 3-point difference wasn't large, but the process was bizarre.
The Knicks' three possessions took a little over 10 seconds, while the Grizzlies' three possessions took over a minute. The comparison in scoring efficiency was unbelievable.
The Grizzlies' coach couldn't stand it anymore and immediately called a timeout.
Li Feng and his teammates were chatting and laughing, high-fiving each other as they returned to the bench.
D'Antoni was high-fiving each player one by one; he was very satisfied with the plays so far.
Previously, Nash and Stoudemire's Suns team took 7 seconds for each offensive possession.
Now, with Li Feng running the run-and-gun, it didn't even take 7 seconds.
While Nash's three-point shooting was good back then, he rarely took transition threes.
From this perspective, the current Knicks were considered run-and-gun 2.0.
The Grizzlies' coach had nothing to set up during the timeout, so he could only tell his players to defend more tightly.
However, was Li Feng someone who could be easily defended?
After the timeout, the Knicks continued their fast-paced whirlwind. The Grizzlies focused their defense on the perimeter, but Li Feng's passing prowess was once again on display.
David Lee and Barron continuously received easy passes from Li Feng and scored effortlessly.
After a few possessions, Randolph and Marc Gasol were panting heavily. The coach, helpless, had no choice but to substitute Marc Gasol out first.
With 7 minutes and 24 seconds left in the first quarter, the score was 21:12, with the Knicks leading by 9 points.
Among them, Li Feng alone had scored 14 points and dished out 3 assists.
Li Feng went to the bench to rest, and both teams began to substitute their reserve players.
The Grizzlies thought that their reserve lineup could close the gap.
Who knew that the Knicks' reserves were also speeding up?
Although their efficiency wasn't as high as Li Feng's, they still played a fast-paced whirlwind game, making the Grizzlies extremely uncomfortable!
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 33:20!
In the TNT broadcast booth, Barkley and Smith were commentating on the game.
Having been proven wrong by Li Feng multiple times, Barkley clearly dared not to criticize Li Feng anymore.
Li Feng's performance in the first quarter today amazed everyone, and Barkley couldn't help but express his feelings.
"I used to think D'Antoni's run-and-gun offense wouldn't succeed. Now it seems Li Feng is going to run this tactic again."