Du Hong kept spewing trash talk, intending to provoke Kobe into isolation plays.
However, Kobe had just been reprimanded by his coach and knew he had made a mistake, so he held back and didn't force any more isolation plays!
For the Lakers, Kobe's playstyle was becoming more reasonable, but the Lakers fans were not happy.
They came to the stadium to watch Kobe's picture-perfect isolation plays.
But now, Kobe was running off the ball more, and even when he received the ball, he passed it quickly.
Who would want to watch a Kobe like this?
The fans at the Staples Center began to boo.
"Give Kobe the ball for isolation!"
"We want to see Kobe's beautiful scoring!"
"Pass the ball to Kobe!"
"Kobe! Kobe!"
...
Facing the dissatisfaction of the home crowd, Coach Phil Jackson remained unmoved.
This was the Finals, and he wanted team victory, not a star's performance.
Perhaps at a crucial moment, Kobe would need to step up.
But for now, the most reasonable approach was for Kobe to relinquish some of the ball and shot opportunities, allowing his teammates to shine.
The Lakers once again took the lead, outplaying the Knicks on the court.
Li Feng had tried his best, scoring, organizing, and defending when his teammates were not performing well.
His stats were impressive, but the team was gradually falling behind.
"This won't do!" Li Feng muttered to himself, deciding to provoke Kobe personally.
Du Hong, after all, was too insignificant. As long as Kobe kept his composure, he could completely ignore Du Hong.
But Li Feng was different.
He was the regular season MVP this year.
"I think Phil Jackson will handle Kobe's mindset. He coached Jordan!"
"Alas, in terms of stubbornness, Kobe might be even more stubborn than Jordan."
"Although I really like Li Feng, I also don't want the Lakers to collapse quickly. Like the fans, I hope the game is more exciting."
...
In the Knicks' locker room, the players were all excited because the Knicks were currently leading.
The players were very interested in the trash talk between Li Feng and Kobe.
"Li Feng, will Kobe continue to go head-to-head with you in the second half?" Du Hong asked curiously.
Li Feng was not that optimistic. He knew that Phil Jackson would absolutely not let Kobe continue to make mistakes.
Especially in the latter half of the second quarter, when Phil Jackson dared to keep Kobe on the bench, it showed that the coach had strong control.
"Brothers, the second half will be very tough. Everyone needs to be mentally prepared and play team basketball."
Although Li Feng was trash-talking Kobe on the surface, he was actually trying his best to inspire the team's potential.
Unfortunately, the Knicks players' talent was what it was. Facing the Lakers, they were still a bit lacking.
Only Li Feng and Yao Ming were slightly at an advantage.
...
In the Lakers' locker room, there was dead silence. No one spoke.
Phil Jackson also didn't come to the locker room, which was very unusual.
It indicated that the coach was truly angry.
Kobe sat for a while, then suddenly stood up and walked out of the locker room.
The Lakers players were a bit worried that Kobe would argue with the coach, so they quickly followed him out.
They weren't wrong; Kobe did go out to find the coach.
The coaching staff was analyzing the first half situation when they were startled by Kobe's sudden entrance.
Only the Zen Master remained unfazed, watching Kobe calmly.
"Coach, I... I was wrong!" Kobe began with an apology.
The coaching staff all smiled and nodded slightly.
Kobe had changed; his perspective had broadened, and he was now proactively apologizing to the coach.
Phil Jackson's anger disappeared from his face, replaced by a benevolent smile like an elder.
"Kobe, don't be like that. You're not wrong. Isolation is your strength, you just didn't use it at the right time."
Kobe nodded and said, "I understand. In the second half, I will strictly follow the coach's instructions and not play recklessly!"
The coaching staff applauded, praising, "Kobe, Coach Phil was just praising you. If you can execute the strategy, the Lakers are still champions!"
Kobe said shamefacedly, "Coach, I got carried away. In the second half, I absolutely will not pay attention to the Knicks players."
The Zen Master smiled and patted Kobe, "You must remember, you are a superstar. You will be affected during the game. Li Feng will definitely continue his trash talk, you don't need to pay attention to him!"
After the heart-to-heart talk, Kobe felt relieved.
...
The second half of the game began.
The Lakers once again played team basketball. Kobe was like a deaf-mute, completely ignoring the various provocations from Li Feng and Du Hong.
Li Feng kept provoking Kobe, not only on offense, where he specifically targeted Kobe,
but also on defense, where he engaged in various scuffles with Kobe, making him very uncomfortable.
But Kobe paid no attention, continuing to execute plays with his teammates according to plan.
The Lakers stabilized the situation with their overall strength, but the Knicks played with confidence and had high efficiency.
Therefore, the Knicks still held the lead.
If the trend continued like this, the Knicks would still have a good chance of winning.
However, at 6 minutes and 24 seconds into the third quarter, Bynum suddenly charged towards Yao Ming from the back and side.
The move was somewhat dirty, and Yao Ming didn't expect it at all.
If it were just a normal collision, Yao Ming would have rolled on the ground for a bit, gotten up, and been fine.
But as Bynum hit Yao Ming, he stepped on Yao Ming's ankle from below.
This created a situation where his ankle was forced into an unnatural angle. Yao Ming felt a sharp pain in his ankle and sat down.
Seeing Yao Ming covered in sweat, clutching his ankle in pain, Li Feng's heart tightened.
The team doctor quickly ran over to check Yao Ming's injury.
Li Feng prayed in his heart, hoping that Yao Ming wouldn't get injured. He would rather lose the game than have Yao Ming injured.
After Yao Ming left the court, the team doctor soon announced that Yao Ming would not play for the rest of the game.
This news cast a shadow over the Knicks players.
After Yao Ming left the court, Knicks coach had to substitute Jordan Hill.
Jordan Hill's defense was decent, but his offense was much worse than Yao Ming's.
The Lakers took the opportunity to start closing the score gap.
By the end of the third quarter, the score was 82:80, with the Knicks only leading by 2 points.
After Yao Ming left the court, Bynum and Gasol wreaked havoc in the Knicks' paint, quickly catching up to the score.
Despite Li Feng scoring 14 points in the third quarter, while Kobe only got 6 points, the other Lakers players executed their team tactics very well.
Before the start of the fourth quarter, D'Antoni's face looked very grim.
The Lakers had played at their peak in the third quarter, showcasing the overall strength of a defending champion.
Combined with Yao Ming's injury, the Knicks were unable to hold on.
However, D'Antoni also had his countermeasures.
Since Yao Ming was injured, they would pick up the pace!
The essence of the run-and-gun offense was speed!