200. The Stalemate

Just as Duncan passed the ball, a hand appeared in front of him and intercepted the pass.

"Fuck, I'm starting to suspect that Li Chen is the one researching psychology, not Tim," Barkley retorted.

"Charles, I feel the same way. He has thoroughly studied Tim's psychology. And this isn't the first time he's done this. I still clearly remember that regular season game between Li Chen first entered the league." Kenny Smith sighed.

"Kenny, look! I bet this is going to be the most exciting NBA Finals ever!"

Suddenly, another unexpected turn of events occurred on the court. Just as Li Chen successfully stole the ball from Duncan, Parker suddenly appeared and stole it from Li Chen as well.

Parker's sudden appearance caught Li Chen off guard.

However, he reacted quickly, and the moment he lost the ball, he immediately took counter-attack measures.

Before Parker could even get a firm grip on the ball, Li Chen reacted swiftly and stole it again.

Parker's joy at gaining possession of the ball froze on his face the moment he did. The sudden change of possession left him with a sense of unreality.

Parker was naturally unwilling to give up, so he also started to try to steal the ball from Li Chen.

At the same time, Duncan also rushed towards Li Chen and joined forces with Parker to attack Li Chen.

There's a saying that goes something like this: the same moves have no effect on a Gold Saint.

Li Chen was careless just now, which allowed Parker to take advantage of the situation. Now he is already on guard, and if he is still intercepted, he would really be a pig brain.

Before the two-man double-team could take hold, Li Chen simply glanced around and immediately identified his target for the pass.

He swiftly passed the ball to JR Smith.

After receiving the ball, JR sprinted towards his team's attacking third like a wild dog.

But just then, a figure caught up with JR Smith in the blink of an eye. This person was none other than Manu, who had just returned to the court.

At the same time, seeing Ginobili following, JR Smith glanced at Ginobili, his eyes seeming to say, "Did you come to watch me dunk?"

At that moment, the two seemed to resonate with each other. Manu Ginobili, unusually, understood JR Smith's eye contact.

"Fuck! That bastard actually trash-talked me!" Ginobili was furious. He had been holding a grudge ever since JR Smith tricked him.

JR Smith's provocation was bound to enrage the hot-blooded young Ginobili.

So when JR Smith tried to make a layup, he grabbed JR Smith's jersey.

This resulted in JR Smith falling to the ground.

Keep in mind that this is Madison Square Garden in New York City. Manu Ginobili's deliberate foul drew a deafening chorus of boos from the entire Madison Square Garden.

At that moment, the referee blew his whistle and gave Ginobili a Flagrant Foul 1.

JR Smith is awarded two free throws and possession.

Ginobili received a flagrant foul 1 right at the start of the game, and Popovich was furious.

The hot-tempered old man immediately called a timeout and then launched into a tirade of abuse at Ginobili for a minute and a half.

Wow, no wonder he's a famous coach with a strong personality; he made Ginobili question his existence.

A moment later, Ginobili was finally free because the timeout had ended.

Meanwhile, Jr. Smith performed admirably, making both free throws.

The Knicks took an early 4-0 lead over the Spurs.

Moreover, the Knicks still had possession of the ball, so it's fair to say that the Spurs suffered a double loss right from the start.

As for JR Smith, he initially lay on the ground pretending to be dead. But after the referee gave Ginobili a flagrant foul 1, his back pain and leg pain disappeared, and he even had energy to walk again. This left the Knicks' team doctor speechless.

Crawford inbounds the ball to Li Chen.

Li Chen dribbled the ball up the court, executed a pick-and-roll with Wang Zhizhi, and broke through to the basket.

Mohammed and Duncan double-teamed Li Chen, who then used his individual skills to force a layup.

He drew a foul from Muhammad in the paint, triggering the [Miracle Shot] skill, and Li Chen scored a 2+1.

At the same time, the fans cheered wildly when Li Chen scored a difficult 2+1.

Li Chen stepped to the free throw line, and "swish!" the basketball swished smoothly through the net.

Less than three minutes into the game, the Knicks went on a 7-0 run against the Spurs.

Popovich, sitting in the Spurs' bench, couldn't sit still any longer and called another timeout.

In the TNT broadcast room.

"Haha! Popovich really has character, calling two timeouts in a row."

Kenny Smith nodded and said, "The Knicks showed a strong offensive drive from the start, especially Li Chen; that difficult layup he just made was absolutely beautiful."

"Kenny, you know my idol's nickname is 'Lucky Boy'!"

Hearing Barkley's words, Kenny Smith laughed too; luck is something you can't really reason with.

After the timeout, the Spurs launched a sharp counterattack. Parker drove to the basket and scored, drawing a foul on Allan Houston and converting it into a 2+1 play.

The Knicks are on offense.

Li Chen once again broke through Bowen's defense and successfully drove to the basket. Under Duncan's full-force defense, he cleverly passed the ball to Crawford at the baseline three-point line.

With Parker pressing him closely, Crawford swiftly swished the ball through the net.

However, Parker then argued with the referee, saying that Crawford had stepped out of bounds on that last shot.

A short while later, after reviewing the replay, the referee confirmed that Crawford had indeed stepped out of bounds.

The Knicks still lead the Spurs by six points, 9-3.

Next, Ginobili hit two consecutive three-pointers, helping the Spurs tie the game.

The game then became very close, with intense defense significantly reducing the shooting percentage of both teams.

In the final quarter of the first quarter, Ginobili hit another three-pointer from just beyond the arc, a buzzer-beating long-range three-pointer that gave the Spurs a 25-23 lead over the Knicks.

During the break, Alvin Gentry laid out the tactics for the second quarter.

In the first quarter, the Knicks' defense wasn't strong enough, which is why they couldn't maintain their lead until the end.

Shortly after the start of the second quarter, Li Chen capitalized on Bowen's defensive lapse, hitting a three-pointer and drawing a foul on Bowen for a three-point play, successfully turning the score around.

Li Chen stepped to the free-throw line, let out a long breath to calm himself, and then steadily released the basketball.

"Swish!" The basketball pierced the net with pinpoint accuracy.

The Knicks regained the lead, 36-34.

Meanwhile, the Knicks' defensive intensity also increased significantly, forcing the Spurs into a series of turnovers.

However, the Knicks' offense was unsatisfactory, and Li Chen's several excellent passes failed to result in points.

Alvin Gentry hesitated on the sidelines. He wanted to call a timeout to rearrange the offensive tactics, but unfortunately, he had limited knowledge and had no idea what to do.

So he returned to his seat, looking completely calm and composed, as if he had everything under control.

This scene was witnessed by Popovich in the Spurs' bench. He wondered to himself, "Why is Alvin so calm? Does he have some other trick up his sleeve?"

No, I have to be careful, so he began to constantly observe the situation on the field.

Meanwhile, the Spurs consistently failed to capitalize on the Knicks' dips in shooting percentage, widening the score gap and greatly displeasing Popovich.

So he started cursing and swearing outside the sideline, and finally called a timeout.

Popovich first launched into a tirade of profanities before beginning to outline offensive tactics.

Alvin Gentry's tactics for the Knicks were very direct and brutal.

"Chen, you need to attack more; we need to score."

Li Chen nodded, but inwardly he was complaining: without teammates like [Unrestrained] and [God's Blessing], things really weren't going well! Especially that unpredictable JR.

After the timeout, Parker and Duncan executed a pick-and-roll on the court.

With Duncan's screen, he successfully made a mid-range jumper, tying the game again at Spurs.

The Knicks weren't going to back down either, and Li Chen drove to the basket again.

He once again drew the attention of the vast majority of the Spurs' defenders.

This time, Li Chen didn't insist on shooting a three-pointer, but instead passed the ball to Wang Zhizhi.

After receiving the ball, Wang Zhizhi shot it out before Duncan could help defend, but he still underestimated the ability of the player who would later be hailed as the greatest Power Forward in NBA history.

Although Duncan was a step too late and failed to block Wang Zhizhi's shot, his fingertips still touched the basketball.

Thud! The basketball bounced off the rim and went out of bounds.

Duncan turned to grab the rebound, but at that moment, Li Chen leaped high and secured the precious rebound.

Duncan charged at Li Chen again.

At this point, Li Chen also became stubborn and passed the ball to Wang Zhizhi again instead of shooting.

Duncan was speechless. Even with a master's degree in psychology, he couldn't understand Li Chen's thought process this time.

That's so unreasonable! The ball shouldn't have been passed!

Unexpectedly, Duncan failed to jump up and block Wang Zhizhi again this time; he simply stretched out his hand symbolically.

Thump! The basketball slammed against the rim again and bounced back, but Wang Zhizhi seemed to be lucky, and the basketball finally fell into the Nets again.

The Knicks led the Spurs again by two points, 38-36.

Time ticked by, and the score remained close as the two teams traded baskets.

With 3 seconds remaining in the final stages of the first half, the game was nearing its end.

The Knicks trailed the Spurs by one point, 53-54.

The Knicks have one offensive possession remaining.

Li Chen never forgot his goal, so he decided to pass the ball to JR Smith.

He made a long pass to JR Smith, who was eager to make a move near the center line.

After receiving the ball, JR Smith released it without hesitation. The basketball traced a beautiful arc as it fell towards the backboard.

The moment the basketball swished through the Nets, Madison Square Garden erupted in cheers.

With Li Chen's help, JR Smith made an incredible three-pointer, giving the Knicks a 56-54 lead at halftime.

In the second half, the Spurs gradually found their offensive rhythm.

Parker repeatedly broke through the Knicks' defense with crossovers, while Duncan demonstrated his dominance in the paint.

Meanwhile, other Spurs players also performed well. Ginobili was very active on the perimeter, hitting consecutive three-pointers. The outstanding performances of the two players helped the Spurs take the lead.

On the Knicks' side, Li Chen frequently created opportunities through breakthroughs and passes, helping the Knicks keep the score close. The two sides continued the close game from the first half, with the score fluctuating back and forth.

At the end of the third quarter, the Spurs led 74-71.

During the break between the third and fourth quarters, Alvin Gentry decided to bring Ariza back into the game after he had rested for a while.

After Allan Houston made a series of mistakes, he knew he was really exhausted, so he had no choice but to bring on Ariza, who was more reliable on defense.

As the game entered the fourth quarter, both sides gave it their all, and the competition became increasingly fierce, reaching its climax.

Knicks fans also became tense, and some female fans even started praying.

Meanwhile, the players on both sides became increasingly aggressive, especially Ginobili and JR Smith, who had a history of conflict, both fouling out.

Even Li Chen, who rarely commits fouls, committed three fouls.

Duncan had four fouls, let's just say that! Basically, every player on the court had four fouls.

However, there were two unexpected incidents. One was Li Chen, who committed three fouls, and the other was someone who was completely unexpected by everyone: Bowen.

Both teams are now playing with a frenzy, especially Li Chen, who charges in like a suicide squad every time he attacks, pushing past two or three players.

Bowen would grimace every time Li Chen bumped into him. He couldn't understand why Li Chen, who didn't look very strong, was so powerful, almost as strong as James.

However, Popovich noticed Bowen's inaction and promptly called a timeout.

A moment later, Popovich roared, "Bruce, the Spurs need you. Show us your true defensive prowess!"

Bowen nodded vigorously and said, "Coach, I understand." As he spoke, a ferocious and ruthless look appeared on his face.

Popovich was very satisfied to see this.

After the timeout, Duncan drew fouls repeatedly in the low post, Spurs extended their lead to 5 points through free throws.

The Knicks rallied, and Li Chen Pull-up Jumper a three-pointer, narrowing the Knicks to two points. At this point, there were two minutes left in the game.

Meanwhile, Popovich really wanted to rush onto the court, and Bowen, that bastard, promised to do it, but he messed up as soon as he got on the court.

Thinking of this, Popovich couldn't help but shout a reminder: "Bruce, guard Li Chen."

Li Chen had excellent hearing, and after hearing Popovich's words, he became suspicious.

Then, glancing at a certain spot in Bowen, a meaningful smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.

That devilish smile sent shivers down Bowen's spine.

Meanwhile, the Spurs tightened their defense and successfully stopped the Knicks' offense.

On the offensive end, the French Pocket Rocket Parker once again played a key role, using his speed advantage to create scoring opportunities in the paint.

The Knicks tried double-teaming, but couldn't break through effectively, which frustrated Alvin Gentry, so the old man gave up.

Since the Knicks had three wins, he refused to believe that the Spurs could pull off a comeback from 3 to 4.

With one minute remaining in the game, the Spurs led the Knicks 94-92.

The Knicks called a timeout.

This timeout serves two purposes: first, to allow the players to catch their breath, and second, to plan the offensive tactics for the next minute.

In fact, Alvin Gentry's tactic was simply to pass the ball to Li Chen.

Sure enough, Alvin Gentry then said, "Chen, you're in charge of the attack now." After thinking for a moment, he added, "Chen, this is a crucial moment, so don't pass the ball anymore."

Li Chen's lips twitched slightly, but he finally nodded.

The match had reached a fever pitch, and the outcome was about to be revealed.