The echo of the final buzzer still reverberated beneath the rafters of Madison Square Garden. The frenzied fans refused to leave for a long time, chanting Li Fei's name over and over as if they wanted to carve their passion into the arena's dome.
Beside the visiting team's bench, Gregg Popovich was as calm as the eye of a storm.
Instead of immediately turning for the locker room as he usually did after a loss, he remained where he was, his gaze passing through the celebrating crowd toward the number 23 surrounded by his teammates.
There was no anger on his face, no frustration, not even the slightest trace of regret.
In those deep-set eyes gleamed an almost coldly analytical light.
He tucked the clipboard under his arm as his mind, like a supercomputer, relentlessly replayed every possession of the second half.
Li Fei's thunderous dunk over the twin towers, his ghostlike lateral slide to help block Parker, the deadly passes he delivered through double teams, and that step-back jumper that killed the game in the closing moments... every scene was crystal clear.
Popovich had to admit that when Li Fei entered that unreasonable, unstoppable individual attack mode, no team in the league—not even his San Antonio Spurs—could truly contain him.
But...
The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly before returning to its trademark sternness.
He had seen something else.
Last season, the Knicks had Larry Johnson on their roster.
Though the former Grandmama had long been plagued by injuries, his toughness, experience, and all-around ability at the power forward position had provided the Knicks' frontcourt with a solid barrier while shouldering much of Li Fei's defensive burden.
But this season, the Knicks' interior partner had become Arvydas Sabonis.
This Lithuanian legendary center possessed some of the finest