124: The cage of Tianwang Mountain!

It wasn't booing.

Yet it was more suffocating than any booing could ever be.

The entire AT&T Center felt like a silent, massive tomb prepared specifically for them.

"What the hell..."

Dwight Howard was the first to step onto the court. Looking at the dense, dark circles of the crowd surrounding them, he felt a chill run down the back of his neck.

This feeling was far too eerie.

It was like walking into a deserted battlefield where the air was thick with the scent of gunpowder and blood, yet not a single gunshot could be heard.

"Are they... observing a moment of silence for us?"

Nick Young forced a joke, but his smile looked worse than a crying face.

Lin Feng walked at the front, his gaze sweeping across those expressionless faces.

He didn't say a word.

But Kobe's warning echoed with increasing clarity in his mind.

"He will use the way you least expect to attack your strongest point."

This silent, pressure-filled welcoming ceremony was the first card Gregg Popovich had played.

A trump card of psychological warfare that struck directly at the heart.

In the first row of the stands.

Yoona wore a white coat that stood out against her surroundings, her hands clenched tightly, palms drenched in sweat.

She could feel the silent gazes around her, like countless invisible needles piercing the figure in the center of the court.

She didn't understand basketball.

But she could feel the oppression, like the calm before a brewing storm.

"Beep—!"

The whistle to start the game shattered the hair-raising silence.

Tim Duncan, with his eternally unchanging poker face, easily won the opening tip-off for the San Antonio Spurs.

The ball was handed to Tony Parker.

The San Antonio Spurs' first attack was exceptionally simple.

There were no fancy tactical movements.

Tony Parker lobbed the ball to Tim Duncan in the low post.

Tim Duncan caught the ball, backed down, leaned against Pau Gasol, and performed a classic turn for a 45-degree bank shot.

"Swish."

The basketball fell cleanly through the net.

2:0.

The entire process was smooth as flowing water, simple and efficient.

After the goal, the AT&T Center remained silent.

No cheers, no applause.

Those nearly twenty thousand black-clad spectators were like a group of cold executioners, merely watching everything with indifference.

The Los Angeles Lakers' possession.

Steve Blake dribbled past half-court and handed the ball to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng received the ball.

He looked up at the opposing defensive formation.

Everything seemed no different from the last game.

Kawhi Leonard was stuck to him like a shadow.

Danny Green was roaming on his flank.

Lin Feng began to dribble, preparing to pin down the opponent's defense through movement, just as he had in the previous game.

The moment he took his very first step.

A sudden change occurred!

Kawhi Leonard, like a hunting cheetah, suddenly lunged forward a step and slammed his chest hard against Lin Feng!

Simultaneously, Danny Green on the flank collapsed inward, acting like a pair of iron pliers to block Lin Feng's path to the right!

And that wasn't all!

The San Antonio Spurs' power forward, Tiago Splitter, who should have been defending Dwight Howard in the paint, ghosted up from the free-throw line at that exact moment!

He circled behind Lin Feng, sealing off all his paths of retreat!

Kawhi Leonard in front.

Danny Green to the right.

Splitter behind.

The moment Lin Feng stepped over the half-court line, the three of them formed a moving triangular cage made of flesh and blood!

They trapped Lin Feng firmly in the middle!

At the commentator's desk.

Charles Barkley suddenly stood up from his seat, his eyes wide.

"My god! What is this?!"

"Three people! The San Antonio Spurs are using three people to triple-team Lin Feng just as he crosses half-court!"

"Has Popovich gone mad?!"

Kenny Smith was also shocked, pointing at the screen with a trembling voice.

"No! This isn't a simple double-team!"

"Look at their positioning! This isn't to steal the ball! This is purely for... imprisonment!"

On the court.

The moment Lin Feng was surrounded, he felt something was wrong.

This wasn't the tight man-to-man pressure from G4.

This was pure, regardless-of-cost physical confrontation!

Kawhi Leonard's chest was like an iron plate, firmly pressing against him.

Danny Green's arms were like vines, constantly entangling and interfering with his dribble.

Splitter, behind him, used his weight and strength to repeatedly bump the back of Lin Feng's thighs with his knees!

Pushing!

Squeezing!

Bumping!

Blocking!

The three of them were like three hungry wolves smelling blood, using every part of their bodies to frantically drain Lin Feng's physical energy.

They gave him no comfortable space to move!

They gave him no rhythm to adjust his breathing!

"Beep!"

Lin Feng was hit hard by Kawhi Leonard and stumbled, nearly losing the ball.

He looked at the referee.

The referee simply shook his head, signaling for the game to continue.

The officiating!

The referee's officiating standard was clearly favoring the home team!

They were turning a blind eye to this gray-area physical contact that could almost be called "football-style defense"!

Popovich stood on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets.

His face remained as calm as still water.

But in his deep-set eyes, there was a cold, cruel glint of a successful scheme.

This was the final trump card he had prepared for Lin Feng!

"Cage Tactics"!

A crazy gamble that abandoned the team's overall defensive rotation to use three people to grind one person to death!

"Pass the ball! Lin!"

D'Antoni shouted from the sidelines in a panic.

Of course Lin Feng wanted to pass!

However, in a space squeezed so tightly by three people that there were almost no gaps, every pass became incredibly difficult!

His vision was blocked!

His shooting space was compressed!

Relying on the super perception granted by the Eye of the Heavenly Emperor, he barely found a gap and used an awkward posture to pass the ball to Nick Young on the perimeter!

The ball was passed out.

But the ball speed was slow.

The arc was high.

By the time Nick Young caught the ball, the rotating Spurs defender, Tony Parker, had already lunged in front of him!

The optimal attacking opportunity had been missed!

Nick Young was forced to take a hurried shot.

"Clang!"

The basketball hit the front rim hard and bounced out!

Tim Duncan boxed out Dwight Howard in the paint and easily collected the rebound.

The first round.

The Los Angeles Lakers' attack came to nothing.

But scarier than this result was how Lin Feng felt.

From just this one round of confrontation.

He felt as if a giant rock was pressing against his chest; every breath brought a burning pain.

His legs were already starting to feel sore under Splitter's non-stop small movements.

He looked up at the old man on the sidelines.

Popovich was also looking at him.

Their eyes met.

Lin Feng understood everything from the other man's calm gaze.

Kobe's warning exploded in his mind like a thunderclap.

He was wrong.

He thought he was being vigilant enough.

But he had still underestimated the madness and ruthlessness of this old fox.

Popovich wasn't attacking his shooting technique at all.

What he wanted to destroy was the most fundamental prerequisite for Lin Feng to complete a shot!

It was his stamina!

And his space!