After catching the ball, Li Feng stopped and jumped, swish!
2 points secured.
Although James had prepared to rush over for help defense, he was still a step too slow.
In terms of speed, Li Feng was still faster than James, as he was much lighter.
Cavaliers coach Brown had no choice but to call a timeout to substitute O'Neal out.
During the timeout, Li Feng called his teammates together and instructed them loudly, "Brothers, the Cavaliers are going to play a one-star offense with four shooters. We still need to adopt a man-to-man defense strategy, resolutely denying them open shots."
"Leave James to Jordan Hill. If he takes a mid-range shot, let him shoot!"
Li Feng knew very well that it was impossible to completely lock down a superstar like James; they could only gamble.
Gamble that his shooting touch would be off.
The timeout ended, and the Cavaliers replaced O'Neal with Varejao.
The Knicks players followed Li Feng's instructions, sticking to man-to-man defense, never leaving their opponents!
James began his tank-like drive!
With Jordan Hill guarding the basket, James dared not drive to the hoop.
He wanted to pass, but he was near the paint, looking left and right, and found that his teammates were all tightly defended.
In desperation, he had to opt for a mid-range shot.
Not bad, he made his first mid-range shot.
3:2!
The Knicks players felt a little flustered, it seemed James had a good shooting touch today.
Li Feng loudly reminded his Knicks teammates to continue with the man-to-man tactic, to go all in on the gamble!
The Knicks attacked, Li Feng passed again, and Duhon attempted a three-pointer, but it missed. James secured the rebound and initiated a fast break.
James's fast break was historically top-tier; they absolutely couldn't let him get going.
So, as soon as he crossed half-court, David Lee blocked him, committing a foul.
The foul was worth it, otherwise, James would have definitely scored a layup.
The Cavaliers inbounded the ball from the sideline, and James used a screen to drive into the paint again.
He found he couldn't pass, so he had to try another mid-range shot.
Clang!
Unfortunately, he missed this time. Li Feng leaped high and grabbed the rebound!
Li Feng was overjoyed, realizing that James's shooting touch was average today, and the Knicks' strategy was correct!
Swish!
Li Feng made a long pass to Duhon near half-court. Duhon and Jeffries quickly crossed half-court.
Although Mike Miller and Parker quickly retreated on defense, Duhon and Jeffries coordinated well, with Jeffries ultimately scoring with a bank shot.
4:3, the Knicks led by 1 point again!
Even so, neither team's efficiency was very high, and the score difference remained small.
With 5 minutes and 36 seconds left in the first quarter, the score was 10:9, with the Cavaliers leading by 1 point!
The official timeout was called.
Although the outcome was uncertain, this was the best response the Knicks could have made.
Li Feng continued to encourage his teammates to play like this!
James had a solemn expression; he sensed it would be a closely contested game.
Because he realized the Knicks were letting him take mid-range shots, preventing him from driving or passing.
His shooting had always been inconsistent, so James was worried. He had to find a way to break the Knicks' tactic.
Looking back at James's championship experiences, his team needed a strong penetrator who could break through the opponent's defense with individual ability.
For instance, Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving, or Anthony Davis.
The current Cavaliers lacked such a penetrator, and Mike Miller's ability was not enough to fill that role.
Therefore, once the passing lanes were cut off, it became a bit difficult for James to operate on his own.
Of course, James's shooting ability was also good; when he went all out, he could score forty or fifty points in a game.
However, throughout a playoff series, relying solely on James to carry the team was too difficult.
The timeout ended, and neither team made any lineup changes, both executing their established tactics.
Compared to the Cavaliers, the Knicks' offensive tactics were more diverse.
Although Li Feng's playing style was similar to James', he utilized more off-ball tactics.
He could continuously run around the baseline, disrupting the Cavaliers' defensive formation.
Furthermore, Li Feng frequently set screens and made box-outs for his teammates.
This created a lot of space for his teammates, giving them easier shooting opportunities.
The Knicks players had a good shooting touch today, and Li Feng made several assists.
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, found things difficult. James was 3 of 6 from the field, and the others didn't even get decent shooting opportunities.
The spectators at the Quicken Loans Arena were getting restless.
The Cavaliers had just won seven consecutive games, and they felt confident they could win this one to extend their winning streak to eight!
However, from the on-court action, the Cavaliers' offense was one-dimensional, and the situation looked grim!
With 9 minutes and 22 seconds left in the first quarter, the score was 23:20, with the Knicks leading.
Li Feng had scored 7 points, and James had 9 points.
From the score alone, James had the advantage, but their strategies differed.
The Knicks were allowing James mid-range shots, while the Cavaliers were doubling Li Feng with all their might.
Li Feng only took 4 shots in the first quarter, making 3 of them.
James, however, took 10 shots and made 4.
James, always known for his all-around game, had no assists in the first quarter!
Li Feng, on the other hand, had 5 assists!
This game was getting interesting; Li Feng was playing like James!
And James was channeling his inner Kobe, only able to keep shooting and shooting!
Cavaliers head coach Brown frowned, constantly looking at D'Antoni.
He didn't know if this was D'Antoni's tactical arrangement or Li Feng's on-court command.
Because Brown saw Li Feng constantly shouting on the court, directing his teammates to run plays.
"This rookie is truly too mature, unbelievable..."
Brown muttered to himself.
The teams began to substitute in their reserve lineups.
The Cavaliers' reserves had strong scoring capabilities, with West, Gibson, and Jamison all being formidable players.
The Knicks' reserves, led by Larry Hughes, were struggling to hold on, trying to avoid falling too far behind.
After more than 4 minutes into the second quarter, the Knicks trailed by 2 points.
D'Antoni quickly called a timeout and brought the starters back onto the court. Brown also brought back James and the other starters.
James's basketball IQ was truly high; after resting for a while, he came up with a counter-strategy.
He kept Gibson in the starting lineup and then started running pick-and-rolls with Gibson.
Gibson's mid-range shot was very stable, and James and Gibson screened for each other, effectively sharing half the shooting opportunities!
This tactic was very successful, with Gibson finding his rhythm and making five consecutive shots, including a three-pointer.
The Knicks were stunned by this Cavaliers tactic, and the score difference widened instantly.
D'Antoni was bewildered and had to call a timeout.
Faced with the pick-and-roll between James and Gibson, D'Antoni could only arrange a switching defense strategy.
However, the Knicks lacked strong defensive forwards, so the switching defense was not very effective.
At this point, they could only have Jeffries and Bill Walker switch defensively, as they were the best defenders on the Knicks.
After the timeout, the game resumed.
James saw the Knicks' substitution and knew they had a plan, but he wasn't afraid, as his pick-and-roll with Gibson was very practiced and powerful.
The Knicks attacked, and Li Feng, through off-ball movement, received the ball and made a corner three-pointer, a response to the Cavaliers' surge.
Then, the Cavaliers continued to run pick-and-rolls.
As James screened for Gibson, Jeffries switched onto James, and Bill Walker immediately picked up Gibson.
This defensive combination was much faster than the previous one with Gallinari, and James was greatly alarmed.
Gibson wanted to shoot, but Bill Walker's fierce close defense denied him the opportunity.
In desperation, he had to pass the ball to James.
Jeffries screened in front of James, defending the drive but not the shot.
With less than 3 seconds left on the shot clock, James had to resort to a fadeaway jumper.
However, his shooting touch was indeed ordinary; clang, it hit the rim and bounced out.
David Lee grabbed the rebound and initiated a fast break.
Li Feng received the ball at the top of the arc, drove past half-court, and at over ten feet from the three-point line, he quickly released the shot!
Swish!
He made the three-pointer!
After the timeout, the Knicks' defensive strategy proved successful!
James's expression was grim; he hadn't expected the Knicks to find a counter-strategy so quickly.
And defend so well.
In the next few possessions, James was again forced to take shots with low shooting percentages.
Meanwhile, Li Feng and his teammates were firing on all cylinders, retaking the lead.
At halftime, the score was 59:54, with the Knicks leading by 5 points.
The Quicken Loans Arena crowd fell silent.
The Knicks' execution of their game plan today was too strong; after every timeout, they responded with the toughest counter-measures.
This made the Cavaliers fans uneasy.
...
Barkley praised the Knicks' performance today, believing their chemistry had finally clicked.
"Smith, the Knicks players have changed so much; last season they were a cellar-dwelling team."
Smith also felt the same, "Yes, I still think Li Feng has brought about the most significant change to the team."
Barkley nodded vigorously, "Exactly, I think Li Feng has a great leadership demeanor. I often see him comforting his teammates on the court, directing them, and never belittling them."
"Yes, for a star player, that's very difficult to achieve. If teammates play poorly, some stars can lose their composure."
"This indicates that Li Feng laid a solid foundation in college, with strong team attributes, which is very rare."
"Indeed, I think he's similar to Duncan in some aspects."
"Now that you mention it, I feel the same way. Li Feng can be considered a foundational star player."
...
In the Cavaliers' locker room, James had no smile on his face.
The other teammates dared not speak, and the locker room was quiet.
Brown walked into the locker room; he knew James well.
If the game wasn't going smoothly, James would sulk, and his teammates would be at a loss.
So, Coach Brown had to come in to pump them up.
"Kids, don't be discouraged. We still have a chance. If we improve our shooting in the second half, we can definitely turn this around!"
James said, "Coach, we need to be confident in our shooting in the second half. Brothers, you all need to take more shots; you can't just rely on me!"
Brown agreed, "Indeed, you can't just let James do all the work; you need to increase your ability to take contested shots!"
The other teammates lowered their heads in silence.
Except for Mike Miller, everyone else's ability to take contested shots was very average.
And Mike Miller, due to his height limitations, was not effective at contested shots under Li Feng's defense.
...
The second half of the game began.
The Cavaliers made another change, with other players increasing their attempts to take contested shots.
Li Feng saw this and almost burst out laughing; this was exactly what he had hoped for.
Because the Knicks were playing man-to-man defense, the Cavaliers had no easy shooting opportunities.
Now, with other players forcing shots, their shooting percentages were truly abysmal.
Furthermore, Li Feng's help defense coverage was too vast; many Cavaliers players were stripped by Li Feng before they could even shoot.
However, the Cavaliers' defense also strengthened, making it harder for the Knicks to attack.
The third quarter saw both teams in a stalemate, with neither side showing high offensive efficiency.
The Knicks maintained a lead of about 5 points, but they couldn't pull away.
At the end of the third quarter, the score was 83:77, with the Knicks leading.
Li Feng was very satisfied with his Knicks teammates today. As he walked off the court, he high-fived his teammates and encouraged them loudly.
D'Antoni was excited because the Cavaliers were a championship-contending team, and he had never dreamed that with just the addition of Li Feng this season, they could be in such a closely contested game against the Cavaliers.
However, the Cavaliers' reserves suddenly exploded, with West scoring consecutive isolation baskets.
The score difference was once again erased.
West, despite his later mental struggles, possessed strong individual isolation scoring ability.
Especially in team practice games, reporters revealed that no one on the Cavaliers could defeat West in a one-on-one matchup.
Li Feng sat on the sidelines, starting to worry. If the score difference widened, the fourth quarter would be dangerous.
"Coach, let me go in. I'll defend West!"
D'Antoni had no other options; no one else could defend West's isolation plays.
After Li Feng entered the game, he stood in front of West.
In terms of height, they were about the same, so West snorted.
He had always wanted to challenge Li Feng, but West was a reserve, so Li Feng had gone to rest when he came onto the court.
Now that Li Feng had deliberately come out to match up with him, West was very excited.
"Hey, Li Feng, I'm going to destroy you, you Chinese kid, today. You'd better get out of the NBA!"
Li Feng knew he was a bit unstable mentally, so he didn't pay much attention, just smiled at him.
"Alright, come on, let's see how you're going to destroy me! I'm going to defend you until you question your sanity!"
"Hahaha, with you? Come on, come on!"
West was extremely arrogant. He received the ball from his teammate and prepared to drive.
Li Feng also concentrated fully, spreading his arms.
Suddenly, West faked a move and then rapidly shifted his weight to drive left.
His fake was too realistic; the other Knicks players were easily fooled by West.
Unfortunately, he was facing Li Feng, and his move wouldn't work.
Swoosh!
Li Feng slid his feet, blocking West's driving lane.
West was shocked and quickly pulled the ball back, then dribbled behind his back, trying to drive from the right side.
It had to be said that West's two moves were connected seamlessly, incredibly smooth.
If it were anyone else, they would have surely driven past.
But Li Feng made West experience despair!
Swoosh!
Li Feng, like lightning, reappeared in front of him again.
"You..."
West was on the verge of breaking down.
At this point, there were only 6 seconds left on the shot clock.
West used his last resort.
That was the step-back jump shot.