The Knicks are on offense.
Just after DeAndre Jordan scored with a powerful dunk, he was shouting non-stop in Yao Ming's ear as he retreated on defense.
Yao Ming, being a player of high character and not one for ostentation, completely ignored him.
Li Feng couldn't stand by and watch. He thought to himself, "What about the great Dwight Howard back in the day? Wasn't he much stronger than your DeAndre Jordan, and yet he was still thoroughly dominated by Yao Ming?"
So, Li Feng dribbled the ball past half-court, directly passed the ball to Yao Ming, and made a gesture along with a Chinese phrase:
"Play with him, Big Yao!"
The Clippers players naturally couldn't understand, but they could grasp the general idea from Li Feng's actions and tone.
DeAndre Jordan felt a bit nervous. While he was boisterous, he was aware of Yao Ming's abilities.
He pushed Yao Ming's lower back with his left hand, extended his right hand, and bent his knees slightly, ready to block Yao Ming at any moment.
Yao Ming held the ball, his back to DeAndre Jordan, observing the positioning of the Clippers' defenders.
Due to Li Feng's presence on the perimeter drawing attention, the Clippers' defense wasn't overly tight. Only Blake Griffin was poised to react, constantly shuffling his feet towards Yao Ming in a probing manner.
Yao Ming suddenly turned left, feigning a drive up the middle.
DeAndre Jordan stuck close to Yao Ming, using his strong body to resist and prevent him from driving directly to the basket.
Blake Griffin also moved in, preparing to double-team.
Unexpectedly, Yao Ming suddenly stopped and then executed a right turn, followed by a jump shot!
Truth be told, Yao Ming's vertical leap was average due to his immense height, but his movements were so fluid that DeAndre Jordan didn't even have time to react.
Swish!
A perfect shot!
Even though Blake Griffin had lunged over, he was a half-step too late.
After making the basket, Yao Ming didn't let out a retaliatory shout. He simply smiled at DeAndre Jordan.
This smile carried a hint of disdain, more humiliating than any loud yell. DeAndre Jordan turned and retreated with a grim expression.
The Clippers are on offense.
Chris Paul, the commander of the Clippers, didn't show any emotional reaction to Yao Ming's strong response.
He continued to direct his teammates according to the Clippers' own game plan.
Under Paul's direction, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan executed a cross-cut in the paint.
This was intended to disrupt the attention of the Knicks' defenders.
As expected, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian's close pursuit became hesitant, and Yi Jianlian was left a step behind by Griffin.
Paul seized this opportunity, immediately flicked his right hand, and *whoosh*!
The basketball flew like a cannonball towards Griffin.
The trajectory of this pass was directly over Griffin's head, slightly to the right, away from Yi Jianlian.
Paul, indeed worthy of being called the "Point God," delivered a perfectly timed pass. Griffin could catch and shoot immediately, and Yi Jianlian was just out of reach!
Griffin comfortably received the ball, took a step, and drove to the right side of the basket, leaping up for a powerful dunk!
Bang!
Madison Square Garden fell silent. Griffin's dunk was incredibly dominant.
This dunk also greatly boosted the morale of the Clippers players on the road!
The "White Griffin" roared and ran over to high-five Paul. Li Feng also secretly admired the pass, acknowledging that half the credit for this play belonged to Paul.
The first quarter was a phase of testing the waters. Both teams countered each other's moves, trying to find the opponent's weaknesses and the most effective ways to defeat them.
Currently, Li Feng hadn't found a suitable defensive strategy and therefore needed to play aggressively on offense.
The Knicks are on offense. Li Feng, facing Caron Butler's defense, faked a move and then quickly drove to the basket from the right.
This was the inevitable result of guarding Li Feng with a single defender!
After getting past Butler, Li Feng drove to the vicinity of the baseline, and Blake Griffin immediately came to help defend.
Yi Jianlian smartly retreated to the free-throw line, which was his sweet spot for shooting. Li Feng immediately passed the ball to him.
Swish!
Yi Jianlian immediately took the shot and made another two-pointer!
Paul observed this and also sighed in admiration. Li Feng's passing was surprisingly unpredictable, not much inferior to his own.
With just over five minutes played in the first quarter, the score was 11:10, with the Knicks leading, and it was time for the official timeout.
Although Li Feng only scored 2 points in the first few minutes, he had 3 assists, completely activating the Knicks' offense.
The Clippers were also playing well, with Paul hitting a three-pointer and dishing out 4 assists.
For the neutral fans, this game was incredibly exciting, with both teams playing fluidly.
However, the home Knicks fans were quite worried, as the Clippers appeared to be evenly matched with the Knicks.
But after the timeout, Li Feng put the Knicks fans' minds at ease.
This was because, during the timeout, D'Antoni and Li Feng discussed tactical adjustments with the players.
The Clippers are on offense, and Paul suddenly noticed that his defender had changed from Raymond Felton to Li Feng!
This wasn't the first time Paul and Li Feng had faced each other. Paul had a history of losing more than winning against Li Feng, but Paul was also a tenacious player who had been studying Li Feng.
Coming prepared today, Paul's spirits lifted when he saw Li Feng and called for a screen.
DeAndre Jordan moved up to the high post, preparing to screen Li Feng, but Li Feng moved preemptively, managing to navigate around DeAndre Jordan.
Paul, who had already intended to drive to the basket, found Li Feng in his path again.
Li Feng's ability to fight through screens was exceptional. Paul was shocked, realizing that despite his prolonged study of Li Feng, Li Feng was still improving.
Paul tried several methods to shake Li Feng's defense but failed each time.
Not only was Li Feng's defense tight, but the passing lanes were also completely sealed off by the Knicks' players.
With no other options, Paul was forced to take a contested shot.
Unfortunately, Paul's height was a disadvantage. As soon as he released the ball, Li Feng, with a slight leap, intercepted it.
This was utterly humiliating…
Although Li Feng was only slightly taller than Paul, the difference wasn't significant.
Yet, Li Feng was able to effortlessly catch the ball!
If he had simply swatted it away or just touched it, it would have been considered normal.
But Li Feng executed a clean catch!
Paul was enraged and immediately tried to wrap up Li Feng, willing to commit a foul.
However, Li Feng didn't even give him the chance to foul, blazing past half-court like a whirlwind.
Blake Griffin reacted quickly.
While Li Feng was engaging Paul, Griffin had been constantly moving, trying to get open to receive a pass from Paul.
Seeing Paul's shot blocked, Griffin and Li Feng both accelerated, racing past half-court.
Li Feng felt someone pursuing him from behind. A quick glance out of the corner of his eye revealed it was Griffin!
Griffin had been playing well in recent years, establishing himself as a star in the league, but he had always been overshadowed by Li Feng.
He was also harboring a sense of rivalry.
This was a prime opportunity for him to deliver a thunderous block on Li Feng and crush the Knicks' morale.
Li Feng was prepared and shouted, "Little Fen Fen, bring it on!"
Griffin was furious. This was a direct challenge!
*Swish!*
The moment Li Feng stepped inside the three-point line with his left foot, he went up for a three-step layup.
Griffin adjusted his stride, preparing to deliver a rim-rocking block on Li Feng.
As Li Feng took off for a dunk, Griffin also jumped.
Li Feng, who was originally holding the ball in his right hand and driving towards the basket, suddenly switched the ball to his left hand as Griffin's short arms swiped at him. Griffin missed completely.
*Crash!*
Li Feng's vertical leap was astonishing. He performed several moves in mid-air.
He managed to switch the ball to his left hand and still slam it into the basket!
*Beep!*
The referee's whistle blew, calling a blocking foul on Griffin.
Griffin was indignant and rushed towards the referee, claiming he was wrongly penalized.
In reality, he knew he had committed a foul, but he couldn't save face.
The referee didn't indulge him and immediately called a technical foul.
DeAndre Jordan and Earl Barron quickly stepped in to pull Griffin away.
Li Feng calmly stepped to the free-throw line and made the shot!
In the subsequent play, the Knicks' defensive intensity suddenly increased, and Li Feng's help defense was omnipresent.
The Clippers were caught off guard.
Paul committed 4 turnovers in the latter half of the first quarter!
This was a huge humiliation for Paul, who was known as the "Point God"!
Paul's assist-to-turnover ratio had always been exceptionally low, leading all point guards.
However, today, under Li Feng's suffocating defense, he was in disarray.
The Knicks slowly took the lead. By the end of the first quarter, the score was 32:24, an 8-point lead for the Knicks.
Li Feng scored 6 points in the first quarter, dished out 5 assists, and recorded an astonishing 3 steals, all against Paul.
The Knicks' home fans were overjoyed and jubilant. The Clippers had a strong record this season, ranking fourth in the Western Conference.
Defeating the Clippers would make the Knicks' journey to a championship even more meaningful.
As the second quarter began, the bench units for both teams took to the court. The Clippers' bench included Nick Young, Mo Williams, Kenyon Martin, and Al-Farouq Aminu.
This bench unit was rather ordinary in the league. Mo Williams and Kenyon Martin were aging, and Nick Young was a isolation player, so the Warriors' bench held their own.
The game was close, with the score remaining around 10 points.
The Clippers' head coach was also helpless. He knew the Clippers had a top-heavy roster, with strong starters but often a weak bench that dug them into holes.
However, the starters couldn't play 48 minutes, so they could only grit their teeth and persevere.
Of course, Doc Rivers had a plan. About two minutes into the second quarter, Paul came back into the game, intending to lead the bench for a few minutes.
Fortunately, Chauncey Billups and Paul were familiar with each other, and Billups was able to limit Paul's effectiveness.
The Clippers narrowed the gap by a few points, but the score was once again tied.
D'Antoni felt it was time and brought the starters back onto the court.
Upon entering the game, Li Feng stood in front of Paul and smiled, saying, "Baby, I'm back!"
Paul was speechless. He truly had no good answers for Li Feng.
Later, during a pass by Paul, Li Feng again poked the ball away.
However, after the poke, the ball was recovered by Raymond Felton, so the steal was credited to Felton.
Li Feng didn't care about the statistics, but Paul's expression became even more grim.
With 7 minutes and 24 seconds left in the second quarter, the Knicks led by 15 points, forcing Rivers to substitute Paul out for a rest again.
Without Paul's playmaking, the Clippers' offense descended into chaos.
Blake Griffin attempted to shoulder the responsibility of a point forward, taking over for Paul, but he had overestimated his capabilities.
Li Feng not only increased his help defense but also directed his teammates to limit the Clippers' offense entirely.
Griffin's passes were either disrupted or inaccurate, making it uncomfortable for his teammates to catch the ball.
As a result, at the end of the first half, the Knicks had a 22-point lead.
Li Feng's scoring in the first half wasn't high, with 17 points, but he recorded 9 assists and 6 steals.
Raymond Felton also had 4 steals.
When a team's two guards combine for 10 steals in a half, it's indicative of how disordered the opposing offense must have been.
In the TNT broadcast booth, Charles Barkley expressed great disappointment in Paul.
"I thought Paul joining the Clippers with such a good roster would allow him to start collecting accolades. But unexpectedly, whenever he faces the Knicks and Li Feng, he can't even lift his head."
Reggie Miller, the guest commentator for the day, disagreed with Barkley's assessment.
"Paul is not bad; it's just that Li Feng is too strong. He is extremely aggressive on both offense and defense. There isn't a guard in the league who can withstand Li Feng's one-on-one defense for now!"
Charles Smith nodded in agreement with Reggie Miller's statement. "You're not wrong, but Paul is indeed not having a good day. He actually had 7 turnovers today. My goodness, I don't recall him ever having so many turnovers."
Barkley continued, "Yes, this is the first time I've seen him commit so many turnovers by halftime. His condition is too poor!"
"We'll see if the Clippers can show more grit in the second half. Their offense is being limited, which is understandable, but their defense is too lax; that's unacceptable!"
From their conversation, it was clear that Paul held a high status among the older generation of basketball legends.
Some legends were not as impressed with newer guards like Li Feng and Stephen Curry, but they were very fond of Paul.
...
The second half of the game began.
As predicted by the basketball commentators, the Clippers increased their defensive intensity and incorporated more subtle tactics.
Paul already employed many small tactics, but he had restrained himself in the first half.
It was because Li Feng's physical strength was too great, and his subtle moves didn't gain any advantage; instead, they often resulted in pain for him.
In the second half, Paul escalated his tactics, not only increasing his "Eurostep" drives on offense but also resorting to elbowing and tripping.
Li Feng was fouled a couple of times by Paul, and although he wasn't injured, he committed two turnovers.
The Clippers took advantage of this to reduce the deficit to 19 points.
The home crowd grew anxious and began booing Paul loudly, with some extreme fans even resorting to curses.
D'Antoni had to call a timeout.
Although the Knicks players were experienced, they were still unaccustomed to Paul's subtle tactics.
After all, Paul wasn't very tall, and the referees sometimes overlooked his minor infractions.
D'Antoni was very familiar with Paul and had no particular solution. He could only instruct his players to handle the ball more efficiently, hold it less, and pass more.
Li Feng did not indulge Paul. From the start of the game, he met Paul's aggression with his own.
It takes one devil to catch another!
During one offensive play, Li Feng, with a sharp change of direction, drove past Paul, preparing to attack the paint.
Unexpectedly, Paul suddenly extended his foot and stepped on Li Feng's toes.
If Li Feng hadn't been cautious, he would have undoubtedly fallen.
But Li Feng sensed it, so he hooked his toes inward and forcefully pushed forward!
Paul found himself in an awkward situation.
His left leg was extended straight forward, and his trailing leg couldn't keep up, causing him to split his legs wide open due to Li Feng.