The Knicks, meanwhile, took individual heroism to the absolute extreme.
Their strategy was simple to the point of brutality—give the ball to Li Fei.
When Li Fei was in the low post, he became the most ruthless back-to-the-basket scoring machine. Whether it was Horry or Glen Rice, they were as fragile as children before him.
When he was at the high post, he became a super turret with elite court vision. His height allowed him to ignore any defense and deliver the ball wherever he wanted. And when he chose to attack himself, his textbook fadeaway jumper left the Lakers helpless.
The score between the two teams seemed tied together by an invisible rope, locked in a fierce tug-of-war with neither side able to pull away.
By the end of the third quarter, it was 78–78. The two teams were tied.
"This is practically a Mars-colliding-with-Earth kind of game!"
Zhang Weiping was so excited in the domestic broadcast studio that his face had turned red. "Two completely different basketball philosophies, two extreme team styles, colliding here to create the most dazzling sparks! The Lakers play as a team, within a system—everyone is a component in the machine. On the Knicks' side, it's all about the stars circling the moon. Li Fei is the sun, and everyone else is a planet revolving around him! Hey, you know what? Both styles have been taken to the extreme. This is just incredible to watch!"
After a brief rest, the decisive fourth quarter finally arrived.
The atmosphere inside Staples Center had grown tense to the extreme. The air was thick with anxiety, as though a single match could ignite it all.
As everyone had expected, the game entered its most brutal, meat-grinder stage.
Every shot was contested, and every drive to the basket risked