2:2, Yao Ming breaks the ice for the Knicks.
In the first quarter, the Bulls played more outstandingly, especially Rose, who played with extremely high efficiency.
He shot 5 of 7 from the field, scoring 13 points, and also drew two fouls on Yao Ming, forcing De Antoni to substitute Yao Ming out early.
Yao Ming's exit cast a shadow over the entire Knicks team.
Li Feng had no choice but to strengthen his own offense.
In the latter half of the first quarter, Li Feng scored six consecutive points, halting the team's decline.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 28:26, with the Bulls leading by two points.
Li Feng felt the Bulls were too well-prepared, and it seemed the Knicks had few scoring options besides his isolation plays.
This problem was even more exposed after Yao Ming left the court.
As the second quarter began, the reserve players from both sides faced off.
The Bulls' reserve lineup was very strong, featuring Asik, Kurt Thomas, Brewer, Korver, and Watson.
Although this lineup did not have any famous stars, it had inside and outside threats, defense, and three-point shooting, making them a difficult opponent.
The Knicks' reserves were initially unaccustomed to the situation, with Brewer and Thomas repeatedly driving to the basket for scores.
Meanwhile, Billups struggled to keep up with the opponent's pace.
The point difference gradually widened.
In the second quarter, at 4 minutes and 52 seconds, the score reached 35:29, with the Bulls leading by six points.
De Antoni knew the importance of the first game and, fearing a blowout, quickly brought in the starters.
The Bulls did not immediately substitute their starters. Coach Thibodeau felt the reserves were playing well and wanted them to wear down the Knicks' starters.
Yao Ming did not play, and Jordan Hill continued to play center.
Li Feng knew Thibodeau was trying to provoke him, so he attacked with ferocity.
The Bulls' reserves suffered.
As soon as Li Feng stepped onto the court, he hit a logo three-pointer from near the half-court line!
The deficit instantly shrunk to three points.
The Bulls' reserves did not dare to be careless and immediately employed a double-team strategy against Li Feng.
Facing the double-team, Li Feng still chose to go one-on-one!
Utilizing his speed, he shook off Watson and, before Korver could intercept, executed a sharp change of direction and drove into the paint.
Seeing the danger, Asik quickly came to help defense, but the moment Li Feng's feet touched the ground, he took flight again.
In the regular season, Li Feng had already dunked on Asik.
This time, Asik did not want to be a background prop. He roared and intended to take Li Feng down with him, ball and all.
But Li Feng's explosive power was too fast. Before Asik could reach him, his right arm extended, and with a bang!
He slammed the ball with one hand while firmly gripping the rim.
Asik, with his considerable weight, latched onto Li Feng.
If it were anyone else, they would have been pulled down.
But Li Feng, with a large center hanging on him, floated in the air.
Jordan Hill, fearing Li Feng would get injured, quickly pushed Asik away, and Li Feng landed.
*Beep!*
The referee's whistle blew, pointing at Asik, calling him for a defensive foul!
Asik already had two fouls, so Thibodeau had no choice but to call a timeout and bring in his starters.
The Bulls' reserves were being dismantled by Li Feng.
During the timeout, De Antoni pulled Li Feng aside and instructed him, "You're playing very fiercely, be mindful of your stamina. I think this game will go down to the fourth quarter to decide the winner."
Li Feng nodded and said, "Coach, don't worry, my stamina is fine."
Although Li Feng's stamina had never been an issue this season, in the Eastern Conference Finals, he was almost single-handedly carrying the team forward.
Even an iron man needed to pace himself, and De Antoni did not want Li Feng to get injured.
The timeout ended, and Li Feng stepped up to the free-throw line, sinking the additional free throw!
35 all!
Li Feng's individual offensive surge was immediately effective.
Despite Rose's excellent performance in the first quarter, he was slightly inferior to Li Feng's explosive power.
He came into the game with a mindset of giving his all, so Rose remained calm and unhurried.
As long as they could compete with the Knicks until the end, it would be considered a success.
The teams were back on even footing, and the Bulls had possession.
Rose suddenly realized that Li Feng was guarding him.
He couldn't help but feel tense and dared not drive hard, immediately calling for a screen.
Noah came out to set a screen on Li Feng, and Rose drove to the edge of the paint.
Facing Jordan Hill's help defense, Rose once again used his signature floater.
However, just as the ball left his hands, two large hands appeared from behind and snatched the ball away!
This…
This was too humiliating!
If the shot had been blocked or swatted away, it would have been acceptable.
But to have the ball literally plucked away, who was it?
Rose looked back and saw Li Feng already driving with the ball to half-court.
It was him, as expected…
Rose sighed; he couldn't catch up.
Only Bogans was desperately chasing.
This was why the Bulls were the league's top team this season: every player gave their all.
Bogans closely followed Li Feng.
Relying on his height of 196cm, he wanted to block Li Feng's shot and avenge his leader, Rose.
Li Feng heard the footsteps behind him, but he didn't rush, instead slowing down his pace.
As Bogans caught up to Li Feng, Li Feng suddenly made a sharp turn and drove towards the baseline.
Bogans was focused on defending the basket and had not expected Li Feng to run towards the three-point line.
In that moment of hesitation, Li Feng's feet landed outside the three-point line, and he released the shot at lightning speed!
*Swish!*
The three-pointer went through the net, untouched!
The entire arena fell silent.
Who plays basketball like this?
They didn't want two points, they wanted three?
This showed how much confidence they had in their three-point shooting!
Bogans, having been faked out by Li Feng, couldn't keep up and was entirely focused on the basket.
So he could only watch helplessly as Li Feng practiced his three-point shooting.
Li Feng's Knicks teammates were overjoyed. Lowry rushed over and chest-bumped Li Feng in celebration!
Rose watched from afar and sighed again.
Before getting to know Li Feng, Rose had always considered himself the most explosive guard and was confident he could make a name for himself in the NBA.
At least on the guard line, there was no one who could compare to him.
But last year, Li Feng emerged and delivered a crushing blow.
Not only was Li Feng more explosive in his drives, but his three-point shooting was also phenomenal.
This was a generational superstar, and Rose felt a sense of helplessness…
In the following few possessions, Li Feng continued to control the game, and the score difference further widened.
At halftime, the score was 57:45, with the Knicks leading by 12 points.
Although Li Feng only scored 6 points in the first quarter, he scored 14 points in the latter half of the second quarter, totaling 20 points in the first half!
Rose also played well, scoring 17 points, but his performance in the second quarter was completely overshadowed by Li Feng.
Yao Ming got into foul trouble in the first half, playing only 11 minutes and scoring 9 points.
…
In the China Sports live broadcast room, Yu Jia and Coach Zhang were providing commentary for the game.
Yang Yi was supposed to be the commentator, but after his last commentary, he was severely criticized online.
No matter how thick-skinned Yang Yi was, he couldn't take it anymore.
So he privately discussed with Yu Jia and decided not to commentate.
"Coach Zhang, Li Feng still has the same habit: organizing in the first quarter and exploding in the second. It's the same familiar feeling!"
Coach Zhang smiled and nodded, "Yes, Yao Ming had a few too many fouls, so Li Feng stepped up. If they can win this away game, the Knicks' chances of advancing will be much higher."
"Perhaps after playing against the Miami Big Three, they feel a bit more relaxed against the Bulls."
"Indeed. Before the game, I was concerned about their stamina, but it seems I was overthinking it."
"After last year's Finals, the Knicks players have sufficient stamina reserves. They used an 11-man rotation in the first two rounds of the playoffs; the coach is very bold!"
"In a way, there are pros and cons. I always feel that if Coach D'Antoni had used a seven-man rotation in the second round, they wouldn't have needed to play seven games against the Heat."
"Coach Zhang, what do you mean by that?" Yu Jia seemed a little confused.
"In the first few games, the Knicks' bench players had a negative plus-minus, clearly dragging the team down. In my opinion, only Billups and Jordan Hill were qualified to play."
Yu Jia nodded slightly, feeling that Coach Zhang's words made a lot of sense.
Of course, the head coach had his own ideas. If they really only used seven players, and they got tired and injured, it would be a loss.
…
The second half of the game began.
The Bulls did not want to lose their home-court advantage, so they began to counterattack at the start of the third quarter.
Rose, using his driving ability, continuously fed his teammates the ball.
This was rarely seen in Rose's early games; he would usually drive himself.
And the other Bulls players were excellent, receiving the pass and shooting, and their shots were going in!
Boozer, Gibson, and Luol Deng all had hot hands.
Even Noah's little floaters were making it in.
Even with the Knicks' fierce defense, they couldn't stop the opponent when they were shooting so well!
Within the first four minutes of the quarter, the Bulls had scored 8 points.
If not for Li Feng and Yao Ming making two baskets, the Bulls would have tied the score.
De Antoni was furious and immediately called a timeout.
He actually knew in his heart that the players hadn't made any mistakes, but Rose's driving threat was too great.
However, Coach D'Antoni continued to shout, his objective being to increase the players' focus. The game was still ongoing, and the Bulls couldn't keep shooting this well.
Thibodeau saw a glimmer of hope for a comeback. During the timeout, he encouraged his players and told Rose to keep driving, draw fouls, and ideally force Yao Ming out of the game.
Rose was truly giving it his all. He changed direction without slowing down, all to increase the power of his drives.
With Rose's talent, using this occasionally was fine.
As long as he didn't do it all game, it would be okay; after all, he was still young.
The timeout ended, and the game continued, with Rose resuming his role as the primary driver.
However, the Knicks' defensive formation had changed.
Rose discovered that it was no longer so easy for him to initiate his drives.
The Knicks had shifted their defensive focus outwards, to the three-point line.
Even when Rose used screens, he was constantly being intercepted.
Without his speed, Rose's threat was significantly diminished.
Although his shooting had improved greatly, it was still far from being able to break through the Knicks' defense with long-range shots.
So, Rose had no choice but to pass the ball to Boozer.
Boozer had a mid-range shooting ability and could finish the play.
Just as Boozer was about to shoot, Stoudemire suddenly appeared in front of him.
Through their relentless running, the Knicks players made it impossible for the Bulls players to find open looks.
Boozer was skilled at post-up shots after pick-and-rolls. Facing the towering Amar'e Stoudemire, he lacked confidence.
But with the shot clock about to expire, he had to force up a fadeaway shot!
With Stoudemire's tenacious defense, the ball didn't even touch the rim and was directly collected by Yao Ming!
Yao Ming did not hesitate and immediately threw a long pass to Lowry, who was near half-court.
The "Little Cannon" crossed half-court and, taking advantage of the Bulls' slow transition defense, drove to the basket for an easy score!
This was the philosophy of the basketball court: when you defend with all your might, your offense becomes more efficient.
With the entire Knicks team putting in the effort, the Bulls' offense became sluggish, and the Knicks, in turn, played fluid offense, widening the lead once again.
This was the difference between a superstar and an ultra-superstar.
When being heavily guarded, an ultra-superstar could still produce, but a superstar might falter.
Rose was somewhat frustrated and began to increase his shooting attempts.
However, his shooting consistency was indeed unstable. He missed consecutive shots in the third quarter, forcing Thibodeau to reluctantly substitute him out.
Korver checked in.
As the Bulls' most reliable sharpshooter, Korver answered the call of duty and performed well.
As soon as he entered the game, he received a pass from Luol Deng and hit a three-pointer.
Then, through active movement, he received a pass from Noah at the top of the arc and hit another three-pointer!
As soon as Korver entered the game, he narrowed the deficit again.
The Bulls home crowd was extremely excited, as if they saw the reincarnation of Klay Thompson on the court.
De Antoni did not panic. He waved his hand, signaling Bill Walker to stick close to Korver and Li Feng to help defend.
This defensive strategy was very effective. The Knicks often employed this tactic against sharpshooters.
They used it against shooters like Ray Allen and JJ Redick.
Under the Knicks' defensive tactics, Korver could no longer receive the ball. Even when he occasionally got it, he had no space to shoot.
Li Feng even stole the ball from him, leaving Korver flustered.
The Knicks took advantage of the situation and widened the lead again.
The Bulls played well in the third quarter, and several tactical adjustments were effective, narrowing the score, and even at one point trailing by only one point.
However, the Knicks' response was timely, meeting each challenge and maintaining their lead.
At the end of the third quarter, the score was 82:73, with the Knicks leading by nine points.
The difference was not that large, and there was still a quarter left to play.
However, with Li Feng's ability to control the game, it would be very difficult for the Bulls to win.
Before the fourth quarter began, Thibodeau suddenly waved his hand, coming up with another strategy.
He called Rose to his side and pointed to the tactical board, saying, "You come out early, attack the paint, pass the ball as little as possible, and just draw fouls."
Thibodeau was a good coach, but his shortcomings were also obvious: he overused his players.
He never considered the players' stamina. As long as his tactics required it, players were expected to be ready to play 48 minutes.
Therefore, under Thibodeau's coaching, many players became exhausted and suffered injuries.