On the court, with only five players, their attention was focused on blocking passing lanes, which meant an opportunity for Li Feng to attack.
While looking around, Li Feng suddenly rose and took a jump shot.
By the time the Lithuanian defender tried to reach out and block it, it was too late.
Swish!
Two points!
90:88!
This was also the first time the Chinese team had taken the lead in the game!
The entire stadium went wild. Not a single fan was sitting; everyone stood up, jumping and cheering!
The commentators from China Sports Channel, Yu Jia and Coach Zhang, were also excitedly losing their composure.
Yu Jia stood up, waving his hands, his voice cracking.
"They've taken the lead! They've taken the lead! The Chinese team has finally overtaken them, I can hardly believe it!"
Coach Zhang was also excitedly incoherent, shouting, "That was so smart, Li Feng played so smart! Giving the ball to Li Feng is the smartest move!"
"Yes, Li Feng descended like a god in the second half, almost single-handedly pulling the Chinese team back from the brink of the cliff. I don't think anyone would disagree with me saying that, would they?"
Coach Zhang repeatedly shook his head, "No disagreement, you've described it perfectly! We don't deny the contributions of the other players, but Li Feng is undoubtedly a pillar of strength!"
"Right, right, a pillar, that nickname is very fitting!"
"Perhaps some Yao Ming fans might be unhappy, but in this game today, Li Feng deserves any praise!"
The viewers in front of their televisions agreed with the commentators; no one raised an objection.
The Lithuanian players had faces ashen. They realized that Li Feng had dominated them on both offense and defense.
With few timeouts remaining, they could only grit their teeth and play.
Meanwhile, the morale of the Chinese players had reached its peak. Everyone wanted to fight for the remaining two minutes and more.
In reality, all the Chinese players' stamina was severely depleted, including Li Feng's.
Although Li Feng only entered the game in the second half, he had already scored 32 points. The efficiency was astonishing!
After all, their opponents were the Lithuanian team, a top-five team in the world!
To score 30+ points under this intensity was simply a superstar performance!
The Lithuanian players were completely bewildered, not knowing how to exert their efforts.
Li Feng could attack, defend, and organize; he was simply impossible to defend.
Now, the Lithuanian players were just hoping for the game to end quickly.
Their mentality had been driven to the brink of madness by Li Feng.
The game resumed, with Lithuania on offense. Kokonas crossed the half-court line.
Because Li Feng was so terrifying, Kokonas deliberately passed the ball to the side far from Li Feng.
This was the first time in the Olympics that a player was feared to this extent.
The ball went to Lavrinovic. With a change of direction, he drove towards the baseline.
Big Yao was also giving his all. Although his stamina was greatly depleted and his legs felt heavy, he would not slacken at the critical moment.
Whoosh! Big Yao rushed forward, blocking Lavrinovic, spreading his arms to deny him any space to drive.
Lavrinovic tried to break through from the left and right but could not get past Big Yao's defense.
This was ability!
Yao Ming being called the Great Wall of China was very accurate.
Helpless, Lavrinovic passed the ball to Hughes in the corner.
Just as Hughes was about to shoot a three-pointer, Sun Dasheng had already rotated to cover, denying him shooting space.
At this point, only 4 seconds remained on Lithuania's shot clock. Hughes could only grit his teeth and force a shot!
The basketball flew out, didn't touch the rim, and landed directly in Big Yao's hands.
Seeing Li Feng already beyond the three-point line, Big Yao immediately passed the ball to him.
Because Big Yao's passing intention was a bit too obvious, Kokonas leaped to try and steal the ball.
But Li Feng had anticipated it. Before Kokonas could steal the ball, he leaped higher, snatching the ball into his arms.
Kokonas couldn't stop his momentum and collided directly with Li Feng.
Beep!
The referee's whistle blew, calling a foul on Kokonas. Li Feng was in his position, and Kokonas had invaded Li Feng's cylinder.
It was truly one misfortune after another.
The Lithuanian head coach slumped into his chair, his body going limp. He knew that as long as Li Feng was on the court for China, they couldn't lose today.
Their foul count was already maxed out, and Li Feng was awarded two free throws.
However, Li Feng was not satisfied, as he felt he might have had a chance to score three points through the offensive play.
Only scoring two points now didn't mean much.
That's how confident he was!
Li Feng stood at the free-throw line, took a deep breath, and made the first shot!
But his second shot missed.
Even though he missed the second free throw, Dazhi desperately grabbed the offensive rebound!
From this rebound, it was clear that the Lithuanian players' mentality had completely collapsed; they couldn't even protect their own defensive boards.
After Dazhi secured the ball, he turned and made a layup off the glass!
This was Dazhi's specialty; his footwork in the paint was very delicate.
In terms of close-range skills, he was not inferior to Big Yao, only his physical condition was somewhat lacking compared to Yao Ming.
Yao Ming's physical attributes were truly one in several hundred years.
92:88, the Chinese team now led by four points.
Lithuania showed signs of collapsing.
With only 1 minute and 38 seconds left in the game, a four-point difference.
Logically, there was still enough time, and a four-point deficit was not insurmountable.
But the morale difference between the two teams was too great. China was pushing forward, and Lithuania couldn't resist!
Only now did the Chinese fans truly see the dawn of victory. They cheered and roared with all their might!
"Li Feng is awesome!"
"Li Feng, I love you!"
"Li Feng, I want to have your babies!"
"China will win, defeat Lithuania!"
...
In the long history of clashes between China and Lithuania, before 2008, the Chinese team had never won!
Not only had they not won, but the point difference was usually over 20 points.
Therefore, in the eyes of the Chinese people, Lithuania was an insurmountable mountain for the Chinese team.
But today, right today, victory was within reach.
Many fans had tears in their eyes, standing there, their hearts pounding, just waiting for the end of the game, the final whistle.
The Lithuanian head coach did not call a timeout; he had also lost confidence, but as the head coach, he had to make a final effort.
So he stood on the sidelines, pretending to make gestures, telling his players not to give up.
In reality, from the coach to the players, their mentality had already collapsed.
Lithuania resumed their offense, and Kokonas dribbled past half-court.
Li Feng pressed up to defend. Kokonas stumbled, almost losing the ball to Li Feng.
Kokonas passed the ball inside, wanting to take another gamble, as Big Yao's stamina was clearly declining rapidly.
But Krezas's offensive move was once again seen through by Big Yao!
Even though Big Yao was exhausted, his experience and awareness were still there. So Big Yao lunged with all his might, stole the ball, and passed it to Li Feng!
The fans cheered again: You can always trust Yao Ming!