"But it was different from the last game."
Bill Walton picked up the thread, adding excitedly, "Last game, you could say the Spurs lost to Li Fei's unbelievable shooting touch. He made those impossible shots while being double-teamed. But tonight, when Popovich set an inescapable trap in the final moments and sent three men to swarm him, Li Fei activated his teammates with lethal passes. He told the whole world that he could kill you not only with scoring, but with passing as well."
"So," Kevin Harlan's voice trembled slightly, "in the last game, the Spurs lost to Li Fei's hands. But in this one, they lost completely and utterly to Li Fei himself. He dominated the final five minutes in two entirely different ways. He was like an omniscient, omnipotent god, seeing through every one of your defensive schemes before choosing the one way you could least accept to defeat you. Popovich's second lesson? No, I think Li Fei is the one giving this legendary coach a proper lesson now."
The final buzzer sounded, and the numbers on the electronic scoreboard froze at 102:94.
The crimson digits were like brands, burned deep into the hearts of every San Antonio Spurs player.
The giant screen at center court quickly displayed the key statistics for both teams.
Knicks:
Li Fei: 46 minutes played, 11-of-20 shooting, 2-of-4 from three, 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, 30 points, 18 rebounds, 18 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks. Another earth-shattering triple-double—and a 3×18 triple-double in the Finals, no less.
Allan Houston: 8-of-18 shooting for 21 points, 15 of them coming off Li Fei's assists.
Larry Johnson: 7-of-15 shooting for 16 points and 9 rebounds. On the defensive end, he had practically wrestled Duncan all game long.
Madman Sprewell: Coming off the bench, he contributed 14