Rash, relying on his few extra centimeters of height over Li Feng, intended to block Li Feng’s shot.
However, Li Feng’s speed was too great. After crossing half-court, he accelerated and left Rash a full body length behind.
*Bang!*
Li Feng drove to the basket and slammed down a powerful dunk, adding another two points for the Knicks.
4:0!
With only 40-plus seconds into the game, the Knicks had already taken a 4-point lead.
Yao Ming had come out in peak form from the start, dazzling everyone!
One could imagine the potential opponents, seeing Yao Ming’s performance, sighing: The Knicks are too strong…
The Pacers’ head coach frowned, shaking his head slightly. He knew in his heart that with the combined strength of Yao Ming and Li Feng, the Pacers’ chances of winning today were slim.
In the following exchanges, the Knicks completely dominated the court.
The Pacers could only manage to score a few points thanks to Granger and Murphy.
Under Li Feng’s organization, the Knicks attacked both inside and out, going on a scoring run.
At 5 minutes and 16 seconds into the game, the score was 13:5, with the Knicks leading by 8 points!
Entering the official timeout, the Knicks players walked off the court for a rest, laughing and chatting.
D’Antoni’s face was beaming. Standing on the sidelines, he was the first to high-five Yao Ming.
The interior that had been bullied by everyone for half a season had finally turned the tables!
In just five minutes, Yao Ming had 2 blocks, scored 4 points, and grabbed 3 rebounds, truly a behemoth in the paint!
Li Feng was happy for Yao Ming, but he still sat beside him and quietly asked, “Brother Yao, how’s your body? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, hehe. After losing the weight, I feel as light as a swallow!”
As they chatted happily, reporters’ cameras focused on them, capturing the harmonious moment of the two Chinese superstars.
The Pacers’ head coach was agitated, holding his tactical board and shouting continuously.
He knew clearly that the main reason for their passive play today was the disadvantage in the paint.
In previous matchups against the Knicks, as long as they sent heavy reinforcements to double-team Li Feng, it was equivalent to winning the game.
Hibbert could wreak havoc in the paint, scoring at will.
But today, Li Feng was still formidable, and Yao Ming displayed a dominant performance inside.
With the interior unlocked, Li Feng played even more freely on the perimeter.
He could score himself or pass, making the Knicks’ play incredibly smooth!
Although the head coach had been shouting for a while, he had no real good solutions.
Double-teaming was useless. There were only five players on the court. If you double-teamed Li Feng, and then double-teamed Yao Ming, how could the others play?
Defending three players with one?
Therefore, it was an unsolvable problem!
The timeout ended, and the game resumed. The Pacers showed no improvement, still being dominated by the Knicks.
Scola and Gallinari were both playing at their season-best level.
The defensive pressure was all on Yao Ming and Li Feng, allowing the other players to play as if it were a practice session.
To protect Yao Ming, the Knicks substituted him out with over 6 minutes and 34 seconds left in the game.
After Yao Ming left the court, Jordan Hill replaced him.
Jordan Hill was also a rookie, significantly less skilled than Yao Ming, but his defense was passable.
Hibbert finally got some breathing room, but he still didn’t feel comfortable playing.
At the end of the third quarter, the score was 32:21, with the Knicks leading by 11 points.
Li Feng played the entire first quarter, playing with ease and comfort.
At the start of the second quarter, both teams fielded their reserve lineups.
The Knicks’ Lowry entered the game.
Since joining the Knicks, he had been training together with Li Feng.
Knowing Lowry’s immense potential, Li Feng had already begun to unlock it.
D’Antoni found it strange, not understanding why Li Feng had such high regard for Lowry.
He felt Lowry was just a bit sturdier, his shooting was inconsistent, and he was just an ordinary small guard.
But since Li Feng was optimistic, D’Antoni decided to give Lowry a chance.
Thus, in the reserve lineup, Lowry became the core, handling the playmaking, while Larry Hughes focused on scoring.
Lowry was very grateful to Li Feng. He had high aspirations and hoped to achieve something significant in the NBA.
He had learned a lot from Li Feng, and his shooting had improved rapidly.
In his previous life, Lowry had only gradually developed his shooting after joining the Raptors.
The Knicks’ reserve lineup still held the advantage, and the Pacers couldn’t withstand it.
The Pacers’ reserve lineup featured Dunleavy and Jones as their core. Their strength was decent, but the Knicks’ reserve playing style was very advanced, with a high proportion of three-point shots.
Moreover, Lowry’s defense was tenacious, making Dunleavy very uncomfortable.
The Pacers’ head coach was puzzled on the sidelines, wondering how these players the Knicks had acquired from the Rockets were all so strong.
Before coming to the Knicks, Yao Ming had a stop-and-go career, looking like he was about to retire.
Scola was also constantly plagued by injuries.
Lowry was a rough-playing backup point guard.
Who would have thought that after arriving at the Knicks, they would all be reborn, like they were different people?
With over 5 minutes played in the second quarter, the Knicks had already extended their lead to 16 points!
The Pacers’ head coach reluctantly called a timeout, preparing to bring in his starters.
Li Feng was very pleased; he finally saw the team possessing the championship swagger and strength.
For the first time, he felt a sense of peace and ease sitting on the bench, no longer worried about the reserves being overtaken.
The starters from both teams returned to the court, and Li Feng and Yao Ming stood up, laughing and talking.
The fans at Madison Square Garden all rose to their feet and cheered.
To them, Li Feng and Yao Ming were their “OK” combination, destined to sweep the league!
Many Chinese fans had come up with several nicknames for this duo.
Some called them the “Feng Ming” combination, a reference to traditional Chinese culture.
Others simply called them F
The Knicks faced the Lakers.
The Knicks’ starting lineup was Li Feng, Yao Ming, Scola, Gallinari, and Duhon.
The Lakers’ starting five were Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, Odom, and Fisher.