The Fierce Battle Begins! Li Fei Plays Small Forward, Malone Comes Alive!

Half an hour later, it was the Knicks' turn for interviews.

The same question was put to Li Fei.

"Li, has the lockout disrupted the Knicks' rhythm as defending champions? Does the team need time to get back into form?"

Li Fei stood at the center of the court, towering over every reporter around him. He looked down at them, his gaze calm as still water.

He pondered for a moment, as though choosing his words, then slowly spoke. His voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly to everyone's ears.

"A team determined to defend its title will not be affected by matters off the court."

His answer was strikingly similar to Jordan's, but his tone was entirely different. If Jordan's confidence was a king's sharp-edged declaration, Li Fei's was an undeniable statement of fact rooted deep in his bones.

He paused and swept his gaze across the Knicks' championship banners hanging high above the arena. Finally, his eyes settled on the brand-new banner from last season as he continued, "Our goal has never changed since the moment we won last season's championship. The lockout merely made us wait longer. Now, the wait is over."

The league's two greatest superstars had expressed the same resolve in different ways.

At that moment, the tension in the air was completely ignited.

February 5th, New York, Madison Square Garden.

The "Mecca of basketball" was packed to capacity that night. From Hollywood stars to Wall Street financial tycoons, prominent figures from every walk of life had gathered there.

Camera flashes turned the entire arena bright as day. The cheers and roars of the fans merged into a deafening tide of sound, as if they might overturn the historic building itself.

At TNT's broadcast desk, Kevin Harlan straightened his tie and shouted excitedly into