Even though China had tied with the Dream Team at this point, no one believed China could defeat the Dream Team and win the championship.
However, the Chinese fans in the stadium didn't care about that. They cheered desperately for the players. The game was too exciting, and even if they lost in the end, the Chinese men's basketball players were heroes!
Especially Li Feng and Yao Ming, they were heroes among heroes!
...
The timeout ended, and both teams' main players returned to the court.
The Dream Team superstars started to get serious. The playful expressions were gone, replaced by solemnity.
James held the ball at the top of the arc. Anthony suddenly moved to the high post, blocking Zhu Fangyu. James seized the opportunity to drive to the basket.
Just as Yao Ming rotated to defend, James made a split-second pass, feeding the ball to Dwight Howard behind him.
Yao Ming had rotated to the right spot but couldn't intercept James' pass. Howard leaped high and slammed the ball in!
There was nothing they could do. This was the American team's ace strategy, a dimensional reduction attack against teams from other countries.
Li Feng's brow furrowed. He knew clearly in his heart that in the final stages, they could only compete with the American team offensively.
It was impossible to stop the American team from scoring.
So, when China had possession, Li Feng entered a furious scoring mode!
Because Li Feng had activated the [Team Soul] skill earlier and kept passing to his teammates, the American players had relaxed their defense on him.
The previous double-team tactic had been replaced by Paul defending him one-on-one!
This made things much easier for Li Feng.
After crossing half-court, Li Feng looked left and right. The Dream Team thought Li Feng was going to pass, and their players swarmed to intercept, blocking all of Li Feng's passing lanes.
At that moment, Li Feng suddenly pulled up for a step-back three-pointer, a forced shot!
By the time Paul understood what was happening, it was too late.
Swish!
So dominant!
77:76, China still led by one point!
At this moment, with 12 seconds left in the third quarter, the Dream-8 team had their final possession!
Li Feng yelled to his teammates, "Defend this possession! Maintain the lead!"
The players and fans were very excited. This was the best opportunity to lead the Dream Team. Defend these 12 seconds!
Even if they lost in the end,
just leading the Dream-8 team by one point in the first three quarters was a victory!
James held the ball at the top of the arc again, preparing to drive.
Yi Jianlian replaced Zhu Fangyu to defend, as Yi Jianlian had a more solid build.
James dribbled slowly, time ticking away second by second.
With 5 seconds remaining, James accelerated again, suddenly changed direction, and drove into the paint.
Although Yi Jianlian was very careful, he still couldn't stop the "Little Emperor's" drive.
Entering the paint, James leaped into the air, and his tomahawk slam reappeared!
Yao Ming intended to come over for help defense but was blocked by Howard and Anthony.
Helplessly, he could only watch as James completed a tomahawk dunk!
Bang!
78:77!
The American team had retaken the lead!
Almost simultaneously, the buzzer sounded, marking the end of the third quarter, and the referee signaled the basket was good!
The Chinese fans in the stadium let out sighs of regret. There was nothing they could do; James was too fierce, truly unstoppable!
Li Feng also shook his head helplessly. He had intended to help defend earlier.
But once James got going, he was truly unstoppable!
Yao Ming high-fived his teammates, offering encouragement. The current score exceeded his expectations, so they had succeeded.
Younes was also excited. Before the game, he had never dreamed that his team could go back and forth with the Dream-8 team.
In the t.n.t broadcast booth, Barkley fell silent.
Li Feng's performance in the third quarter had completely shut him up.
It could be said that since the second quarter, Li Feng's performance had been on par with any NBA superstar.
Even if China lost, it was due to overall inferior strength; Li Feng was completely fine!
O'Neal asked with a smile, "Barkley, do you think Li Feng can establish himself in the NBA?"
Barkley coughed, "Well... he's okay. Li Feng is playing well..."
Smith suppressed a laugh and said, "Li Feng is truly too important. Without him, China would already be trailing by 20 points."
...
The fans at the Wukesong Stadium were all on their feet, singing the national anthem in unison!
The men's basketball players had showcased their spirit and mettle with their outstanding performance.
The fourth quarter began, and China fielded its entire reserve unit, with Li Feng and Yao Ming resting on the sidelines.
A matchup between the reserve teams. Logically, this should have been the time for the Dream-8 team to pull away.
However, Li Feng had used the [Team Soul] skill. Even though he was on the bench, his teammates were able to perform exceptionally.
The Dream-8 team's reserve lineup was terrifying.
Kidd, Prince, Boozer, Bosh, Deron.
But China's reserves were also playing beyond themselves. Wang Zhizhi, Chen Jianghua, Li Nan, Wang Shipeng, Wang Lei.
Unexpectedly, China's reserves, through tenacious struggle, were not at a disadvantage on the court.
Especially Wang Zhizhi and Chen Jianghua, one inside and one outside, held up China's offense and defense.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Wang Zhizhi gave Bosh a big block, stabilizing the situation.
Then, Chen Jianghua launched an assault from the perimeter.
His talent was originally quite good, but he had lacked refinement.
Under Li Feng's guidance, Chen Jianghua had been playing better and better in these two games.
Combined with the help of [Team Soul], Chen Jianghua was playing like a future Westbrook, unstoppable.
He repeatedly drove into the Dream-8 team's paint, scoring with dunks, as if entering an empty territory.
Li Feng watched from the sidelines, very pleased. He and Yao Ming yelled encouragement to their reserve teammates.
If the reserves could hold on longer, Li Feng and Yao Ming's stamina would recover faster.
Li Feng felt deeply that playing a game against the Dream Team was more tiring than playing two previous games combined.
With 4 minutes and 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the score was 89:87, with the American team leading by 2 points.
However, the Chinese team had also paid a price. Wang Zhizhi had three fouls and was also injured by Bosh.
Wang Shipeng collided with Deron Williams and couldn't get up for a long time; it was too brutal.
Younes saw that it was about time and quickly called a timeout to bring the main players back onto the court.
The Dream Team's reserves were also a bit bewildered. In the past, when they came on, they would simply bully the opposing reserves.
There was a statistic that in the previous few games, the Dream-8 team's reserves had outscored their opponents by an average of 31.4 points per game.
It was like adults bullying children.
This was the first time they had encountered such fierce resistance.
Bosh had been blocked by Wang Zhizhi twice, and Wang Zhizhi had also scored 5 points under Bosh's defense.
Chen Jianghua had scored 4 points and provided 2 assists.
With more than five minutes remaining, it was the decisive stage.
As soon as the Dream Team came back on, James passed to Anthony for a three-pointer!
It seemed to be a statement: as long as we, the Dream Team, play seriously, you have no chance!
However, Yao Ming was not to be outdone. He received a pass from Li Feng in the post and, facing Howard, responded with a short hook shot for 2 points.