On the court, the game continued.
The Spurs were clearly shaken by Li Fei's earlier performance on both ends of the floor, and their offense began to grow hesitant.
Parker no longer dared to attack the paint so easily, while Robinson's mid-range jumper missed under Li Fei's pressure.
Meanwhile, the Knicks' offense had fully entered "Li Fei mode."
At times, he bullied Duncan in the low post, using his unstoppable back-to-the-basket moves and footwork to score again and again; at other times, he moved up high to work a twin-towers setup with Sabonis, his scalpel-precise passes always finding open teammates.
By the midway point of the third quarter, Li Fei had scored 12 points on his own, handed out 3 assists, and added 2 blocks. The Knicks had also successfully taken back the lead, building a six-point advantage.
Popovich was forced to call a timeout. Looking at Li Fei's outrageous numbers on the stat sheet, even his usually composed face showed a grave expression. He knew that the sleeping beast had fully awakened.
After the timeout, the Spurs tightened their defense on Li Fei, beginning to double-team and even triple-team him.
But against Li Fei, who possessed elite court vision and passing ability, that defensive strategy was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst.
On one possession, Li Fei was double-teamed in the low post by Duncan and Robinson. Rather than force a shot, he threaded a precise pass through the gap to Donyell Marshall in the corner, and Marshall calmly knocked down the three.
On the next possession, wary of the Knicks' perimeter shooters, the Spurs hesitated slightly on the double-team. Li Fei immediately seized the opportunity, spun into a fadeaway jumper, and the basketball traced a beautiful arc before dropping through the net, drawing a foul from