Because Li Feng's movements were too fast, the fans on the scene didn't see clearly, and thought Kobe had shot an airball himself.
"How did Kobe shoot so crookedly?"
"Is it because Li Feng defended too tightly..."
"Impossible! Kobe's shooting only depends on himself!"
...
The referee also didn't see clearly and immediately awarded the ball to the Knicks.
Although Kobe was very unwilling, he still pointed at Li Feng and said that the ball was pushed out of bounds by Li Feng.
The Lakers players and the fans on the scene looked at Kobe in surprise.
Logically speaking, Kobe wouldn't admit such a shameful thing.
But this game was too important, every possession was crucial, so Kobe told the truth.
The referee had to go to the sideline to check the replay, and the big screen also played the slow motion.
Only then did the audience realize that it was Li Feng who touched the ball, and the scene let out exclamations.
The referee changed the call, Lakers possession!
However, the Lakers only had 2.4 seconds left on the offensive clock.
Gasol inbounded the ball from the baseline, directly passing it to Bynum.
Bynum wanted to go straight for a layup with his height, but Yao Ming refused!
Slap!
Big Yao directly made a block on the backboard!
The basketball was pressed directly onto the backboard and bounced off.
Li Feng, before Kobe, grabbed the ball and launched a counter-attack!
Despite Kobe and Fisher desperately defending, Li Feng and his teammates passed the ball three times and it reached the opponent's basket, where Li Feng received the ball and dunked it!
After all the Lakers' efforts, the Knicks scored first.
In the next few rounds, the Knicks gradually took the lead with their suffocating defense.
With 1 minute and 26 seconds left in overtime, the Knicks were already leading by 7 points.
Lakers fans despaired.
After finally getting into overtime, why were they struggling again?
Phil Jackson called a timeout, his first timeout of overtime.
He had always thought that handing the ball to Kobe would solve the battle, but today's Knicks players, led by Li Feng, had all elevated their defense by two levels.
Kobe only scored 3 points in overtime, while Li Feng scored 8 points.
This was the real reason the Knicks were leading.
After the timeout, Phil Jackson designed a special play, having Gasol and Odom execute a two-man pick-and-roll.
Gallinari was tricked and passed, Gasol drove to the basket and faced an open layup.
Just then, Yao Ming suddenly went around Bynum and rotated to the basket!
Li Feng had been defending Kobe, and upon seeing the Lakers' new play, he was shocked, believing the ball was a sure score!
Just as Li Feng was feeling helpless, Yao Ming actually pushed Bynum aside and rotated to defend!
Li Feng shouted excitedly, "Big Yao! Beautiful!"
Slap!
Big Yao swatted away Gasol's sure basket!
The Knicks' last line of defense!
Gasol's expression was grim. He glanced at his head coach, Phil Jackson, on the sidelines and shook his head.
He had given his best, but the Knicks' defense was endless, and everyone was fighting with all their might!
This block completely suppressed the Lakers' momentum.
In the end, the Knicks defeated the Lakers 118:113 in overtime, tying the series at 2:1!
The significance of this victory was extraordinary!
To win on the Lakers' home court was a major signal to all the Knicks players!
That is to say – we are a team of the same caliber as the Lakers!
In contrast to the dispirited looks of the home fans, the Knicks players were ecstatic. They hugged each other, jumping and laughing wildly.
D'Antoni also breathed a sigh of relief. On the surface, he appeared calm, chatting with his coaching staff.
But in his heart, he was overjoyed.
D'Antoni's run-and-gun offense had been heavily criticized. The media said that the run-and-gun could improve viewership and earn box office revenue.
But the run-and-gun offense couldn't win a championship!
This label had always been stuck on D'Antoni.
Therefore, he was under great pressure.
The Knicks signed D'Antoni without expecting him to win a championship, just to sell tickets!
So, D'Antoni was extremely grateful to Li Feng in his heart.
Without Li Feng, his run-and-gun offense was indeed just a very entertaining style of play.
Li Feng played 39 minutes today, scoring 35 points and dishing out 17 assists.
In this game, Li Feng displayed his organizational skills to the fullest.
And Yao Ming, although he only scored 28 points today, he had 7 blocks!
7 blocks broke Yao Ming's personal block record!
Therefore, after the game, Li Feng and Yao Ming hugged for the longest time. Li Feng and Yao Ming, one inside and one outside, became the Knicks' two defensive gates!
"Brother Yao, you played incredibly well today. Without you, we would have lost today!" Li Feng praised continuously.
Yao Ming shook his head, "No, you are the core and soul of the Knicks. Without you, we wouldn't have reached the Finals!"
...
The Knicks' performance today greatly shocked the media.
Before this game, most betting companies favored the Lakers.
They had even prepared their post-game articles.
But Li Feng severely slapped their faces, throwing the media into disarray.
Although multiple media outlets requested interviews with Li Feng after the game, Li Feng refused them all!
Li Feng's reason was: he needed to focus wholeheartedly on preparing for Game 4.
Everyone knew Li Feng was a training fanatic.
Before Game 4, D'Antoni and Li Feng had a detailed discussion.
"Li Feng, although we won Game 3, it was very tough. Do you think the Lakers will make any adjustments for Game 4?"
D'Antoni discussed strategies with Li Feng because only Li Feng could somewhat contain Kobe.
In Game 3, Kobe scored 47 points, much higher than Li Feng, which showed that Kobe was unstoppable.
And the Knicks' victory proved that Li Feng's philosophy was correct, which was to unleash the potential of the entire team.
"Coach, my biggest concern is that the Lakers might give Kobe less of the offensive focus. If that happens, the entire Lakers team will explode collectively, and Kobe will be even harder to defend."
This was D'Antoni's greatest concern as well.
"If Phil Jackson really does that, how should we respond?"
"Coach, there's no really good solution. The Lakers' overall strength is very strong, we can only fight head-on!"
D'Antoni could see the determination and the unyielding spirit on Li Feng's face.
Skills can be trained, talent can be selected, but this kind of spirit is the most precious.
Many players with extremely high talent have very poor mental attributes, so their careers have not achieved much.
...
Game 4 began!
Having lost their first home game, the Lakers players all had grim expressions and gritted their teeth as they took the court.
The Knicks players were mentally prepared and responded calmly.
Li Feng high-fived every teammate and whispered a few words, telling them not to panic.
The Knicks' starting lineup remained Li Feng, Yao Ming, Gallinari, Scola, and Duhon.
The Lakers' starting five were Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, Odom, and Fisher.
At the start of the first quarter, the Lakers played team basketball.
Kobe no longer demanded the ball for isolation plays but let his teammates touch the ball more, which made Li Feng very nervous.
Swish!
Gasol made a floater!
Bang!
Odom dunked for a score!
The Lakers seemed to have awakened collectively, with everyone stepping up.
And Kobe imitated Li Feng's performance, constantly moving off the ball to create opportunities for his teammates.
On the Knicks' side, led by Li Feng and Yao Ming, they were also scoring.
But their scoring efficiency was not as good as the Lakers.
After all, the overall strength was there.
The home fans at Staples Center finally saw hope of victory and were cheering loudly.
The defending champions' desire to win was the strongest; they did not want their championship to be snatched away!
With 8 minutes and 52 seconds left in the first quarter, the score was 17:13, with the Lakers leading by 4 points.
Although the point difference was not too large, most of the Knicks' scoring came from Li Feng.
Li Feng had 9 points, and Yao Ming had 4 points.
This was not what Li Feng wanted to see.
He most hoped for his teammates to shine all around.
In the previous game, the Knicks won through the team's excellent performance.
Take the stats, I'll keep the victory!
But today, the situation had reversed, and it seemed Phil Jackson was indeed a legendary coach.
Phil had seen the problem with the Lakers' loss.
D'Antoni called a timeout; he was very nervous, as the Lakers' play was exactly as Li Feng had predicted.
During the timeout, Li Feng didn't talk to his teammates; instead, he covered his head with a towel and contemplated.
"Kobe being able to give up offensive focus is truly great, but Kobe is Kobe; he can't hold back for the entire game."
Thinking this, Li Feng threw away the towel and stood up.
"Coach, teammates, don't panic for now. We'll switch defenses later."
D'Antoni was startled and asked, "Our defensive strategy is fine, why switch defenses?"
Li Feng smiled slyly, "Let Duhon defend Kobe later, and I'll defend Fisher."
The teammates were all stunned.
Li Feng was the Knicks' best perimeter defender; only he could somewhat contain Kobe.
Why was Duhon being asked to defend him? Could he even defend him?
Duhon also had no confidence. He thought Li Feng was dissatisfied with him and deliberately trying to embarrass him.
"Li Feng, Coach, I... I can't defend Kobe," Duhon said aggrievedly.
Li Feng walked over with a smile, patted his shoulder, and comforted him, "This is the strategy I thought of. It's to make Kobe feel the difficulty has decreased and ignite his desire to win through isolation."
D'Antoni suddenly understood and smiled, "I get it. You have Duhon defend him, Kobe will get an itch, and then he'll increase his isolation plays, and the other Lakers players won't be able to touch the ball."
The Knicks players all understood and nodded in agreement.
"Li Feng, you're really sharp!"
"Heh heh, I can't believe you thought of that, it's amazing."
...
The teammates praised him one after another.
The timeout ended, and the game resumed.
Kobe was full of confidence. He found that when his teammates played, the team played more smoothly.
Just as he was preparing to continue moving off the ball, he suddenly realized that the defender guarding him had become Duhon.
Kobe was stunned and felt a bit annoyed.
"Are they looking down on me? Letting the defensively mediocre Duhon defend me?"
Duhon also started to "stir up trouble," provoking Kobe.
"Kobe, it's enough for me to defend you, there's no need for Li Feng! You and Li Feng are not on the same level!"
Kobe had been holding back just moments ago, but provoked by Duhon, he couldn't help himself.
"Duhon, who do you think you are? Can you defend me?"
"Of course, I can defend you. Try me if you don't believe me!"
The two began to exchange trash talk.
The Lakers attacked. Kobe crossed half-court and asked for the ball again.
Phil Jackson watched from the sidelines, his brow furrowed. He shook his head gently, knowing Kobe had fallen for the trap again.
But Kobe was the Lakers' top star and leading scorer; he had the supreme right to isolation plays.
Kobe faced Duhon and launched a fierce attack.
Li Feng watched from afar, immensely amused, and immediately went to double-team.
Kobe was too used to facing double-teams and didn't care, stubbornly continuing his isolation.
As a result, besides a fadeaway jump shot that he barely managed to make, Kobe's subsequent attempts all failed.
The Knicks took the opportunity to narrow the score to 1 point.
Kobe was furious, realizing he had been tricked.
But his competitive spirit made him unable to stop.
Phil Jackson immediately called a timeout; he was truly angry.
If this were his early coaching days, he would have definitely berated Kobe.
But as he got older, Phil's temper had become much milder.
"Kobe, why did you get worked up again?" Phil asked with a stern face.
Kobe knew he had been tricked and felt guilty. He lowered his head and said, "I thought the Knicks switched their defense on me, and I could score on Duhon a few times."
"Duhon's defense is indeed average, but Li Feng has been helping defend. Don't you see that?"
"I saw it..."
"Now the score has been caught up by the Knicks, are you satisfied?" Phil Jackson became angrier as he spoke.
Seeing Kobe remain silent, Phil Jackson simply put Kobe on the bench to let him calm down.
Farmar replaced Kobe on the court.
Li Feng was very satisfied to see Kobe go to the sidelines to rest.
He led the Knicks players to launch a counter-attack and immediately overtook the score.
Li Feng played the entire first quarter and scored 16 points.
Kobe, on the other hand, played for more than 8 minutes in the first quarter and only scored 5 points.
It could be said that Kobe's isolation plays had completely disrupted the Lakers' overall strategy.
Li Feng rested at the start of the second quarter, with Lowry leading the bench unit against the Lakers' reserves.
Both teams fought hard, and the scores rose alternately.
With 5 minutes and 47 seconds left in the second quarter, the score reached 38:35, with the Knicks leading by 3 points.
At this point, Phil Jackson felt it was about time and put Kobe and other starters back on the court.
D'Antoni also brought back Li Feng and other starters, but he did not immediately bring Yao Ming back.
Yao Ming's stamina was crucial for the team, and they had to ensure he could go all out in the fourth quarter.
After Li Feng entered the game, he still did not defend Kobe; Duhon once again stood in front of Kobe.
Kobe felt uncomfortable, but for the sake of the team's victory, he endured it.
The other Lakers players initiated their offense, but Li Feng had freed up his hands, so with Li Feng's help defense, the Lakers' offense was not as smooth.
The score remained tight, with both teams exchanging leads.
Kobe watched Duhon constantly swaying around him, feeling very annoyed.