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Chapter 261 - 134. It’s all Hughes’s fault for holding us back!_2

Chapter 261: 134. It’s all Hughes’s fault for holding us back!_2

In the last two minutes of the first quarter, the Bobcats scored only 3 points, but the Cavaliers didn’t do much better. They relied on James to break into the paint for a 2+1, and Varejao made two free throws from a second-chance play to score 5 points.

At the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers caught up to 15 to 20.

After the break, the Cavaliers subbed in Donnell Marshall, Damon Jones, and Big Z. James and Hughes continued to play.

On the Bobcats’ side, Bickerstaff anticipated the rotation plan of the opponent. They had faced each other three times in the past three months, and Mike Brown’s strategies were too easy to figure out.

He didn’t put in Zhang Yang; instead, he sent out Felton, Alan Anderson, Gerald Wallace, Melvin Ely, and Brezec.

When the second quarter started, the Cavaliers’ offense greatly improved. Damon Jones and Donnell Marshall each hit a three-pointer in the first half, creating better opportunities for James and Hughes to attack the basket. The Cavaliers played to a half-quarter score of 12 to 8.

Mike Brown’s defensive strategy remained effective, as the physical confrontation from the first quarter was taking its toll. Felton put his heart into defense. Okafor was subbed out to rest, leaving only Gerald Wallace, who couldn’t carry the offense alone.

By the time of the official timeout, the Bobcats’ lead had been cut to just 1 point.

But after the timeout, Zhang Yang returned to the court. Facing James, who backed off a step on defense, he decisively jumped and took a three-pointer... and it went in!

This time, James’s "measure others by oneself" style of defense left Hughes utterly speechless.

Hughes wanted to tell James, "Just because you hesitate to shoot when left open doesn’t mean others will!" They’d worked so hard to cut the deficit to 1 point, only to widen it back to 4 points!

But he only dared to think about it, not say it out loud.

*Look at Ricky Davis’s miserable end...*

This time when Zhang Yang came back in, his task was still to shoot, shoot, shoot.

Bickerstaff used him, referencing Ginobili from the 2005 Finals.

While Zhang Yang’s scoring ability couldn’t match Ginobili’s, the Cavaliers’ defense was far weaker than the Pistons’!

In the latter half of the second quarter, Zhang Yang’s scoring efficiency wasn’t as exaggerated as in the latter half of the first quarter. He went 2 for 4 in half-court offense, but also scored on a fast break, accumulating 7 points personally!

Plus, after James switched to guarding Felton, Felton hit a step-back three-pointer in isolation, and the returning Okafor scored a 2+1 in the paint.

Zhang Yang, Felton, and Okafor joined forces to give the Cavaliers a 13-to-8 half-quarter score in return.

At halftime, the score reached 41 to 35, and the Bobcats regained a 6-point lead!

*After fighting hard for a whole quarter and not closing the gap, instead having it widen by a point,* James couldn’t stay calm by the third quarter.

By the third quarter, in over 9 minutes of playtime, James drove to the basket repeatedly but only managed a 1 for 5 shooting performance, and 2 for 4 on free throws, scoring 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 turnovers.

The Cavaliers only scored 10 points during this period.

Instead, after James was subbed out, Hughes led the team alone for over two minutes, scoring 4 points... not because Hughes’s scoring ability was greater than James’s, but because whenever one was off the court, the other’s offense became much easier. This had been proved during the regular season.

The Cavaliers scored only 14 points in the third quarter, while the Bobcats’ offense remained steady. Zhang Yang played 7 minutes this quarter and scored only 3 points as he was double-teamed, but the cutting Gerald Wallace had more opportunities, as did Jumaine Jones on the wing and Okafor under the basket. The Bobcats continued to score 20 points in the single quarter.

By the end of three quarters, the score was 61 to 49, and the Bobcats extended their lead to 12 points!

This time after the break between quarters, at the Cavaliers’ bench, the tactics board in Mike Brown’s hand flew over to KING James.

He subbed out Larry Hughes, leading the team himself with Damon Jones, Ronald Murray, Donnell Marshall, and Big Z.

In the fourth quarter, the Bobcats were indeed caught off guard, getting hit for a 9-to-4 run in three minutes. The Cavaliers narrowed the score to 58 to 65, cutting the deficit to 7 points!

Bickerstaff reacted quickly, subbing Zhang Yang and Okafor back in and going for an all-out attack!

The Cavaliers’ road to chasing the score ended here. In the following 9 minutes, the Cavaliers scored 20 points, playing quite well, but defense...,

James had his best quarter of the night in the final quarter, shooting 2 for 4, plus 4 for 6 on free throws, scoring 8 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal, leading the team to an explosive 29 points. Damon Jones, Ronald Murray, and Donnell Marshall, the three-point shooters, performed excellently, combining to hit 4 three-pointers in a single quarter.

But the Bobcats scored 22 points in the last 9 minutes, a single-quarter score of 26 points, and maintained their lead to the end!

James’s playoff debut: 6 for 18 shooting, including 1 for 5 on three-pointers, plus 7 for 11 on free throws, scoring 20 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block... plus 5 turnovers.

Zhang Yang’s playoff debut: 8 points in the first quarter, 7 points in the second, 3 in the third, and 4 in the final quarter... 8 for 15 shooting, including 2 for 4 on three-pointers, plus 4 for 5 on free throws, scoring a game-high 22 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals!

Along with Felton’s 6 points and 7 assists, Gerald Wallace’s 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 5 blocks, Okafor’s 12 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks, Brezec’s 8 points, Jumaine Jones’s 6 points...

to 78, the Bobcats defeated the Cavaliers by a 9-point margin!

...

The Bobcats conquered the challengers in the first game, snatched home-court advantage, and led the series 1 to 0.

This gave the media, who touted Hughes’s return and the Cavaliers’ vengeance, a resounding slap in the face!

But reporters were shameless, immediately switching their stance to disparage the Cavaliers.

Bobcats fans, as well as those who disliked the Cavaliers or James, banded together to attack James’s fan base.

Actually, after the last regular-season meeting, Cavaliers fans had already come to terms with James being contained by the Bobcats.

They were the last team to want to see the Bobcats win a farewell game. That night, countless Cavaliers fans transformed into Pacers fans, praying for the Pacers to win...

But before the playoffs started, the media hyped up Hughes’s return, claiming the Cavaliers were a 50-win championship contender.

The reasoning was sound: Hughes, with an average of 20+ points last season, a major defensive player, and an average 14 million US dollars per year, almost top-tier in salary.

Swayed by media, Cavaliers fans actually believed it! But reality delivered a critical hit...

Just when some fans began to doubt James, ESPN took action!

They pointed fingers at—Larry Hughes!

ESPN compared James’s stats and the Cavaliers’ scoring performance when both he and Larry Hughes were on the court in the first three quarters, with those when Hughes warmed the bench in the fourth quarter.

Conclusion—Hughes dragged James down.

Cavaliers fans immediately found their spirit and berated Hughes mercilessly!

The next day at noon, Zhang Yang, Okafor, and Alan Anderson came to Felton’s room for lunch, watching sports news on TV and browsing forums on their computers.

They thought that after the Cavaliers got hammered in the first game, James would be criticized.

Yet to their surprise, not only did James escape criticism, but his 8 points and 3 assists in the final quarter, which reduced the deficit by 3 points, were praised to the skies!

Just those 12 minutes managed to overshadow Zhang Yang’s 27-minute, 22-point performance!

Felton was stunned, "Didn’t they see when James went out at the end of the third quarter, Hughes solo-led offense was similar?"

Okafor, who’d taken some psychology courses in college, analyzed, "James’s fans finally saw information favorable to them. Their brains actively filtered out the negative information."

Zhang Yang agreed, "Exactly, they’re afraid they couldn’t handle reality, lest they hurt themselves."

Felton asked, "Huh? The brain can have its own thoughts?"

Zhang Yang replied, "That’s what the books say, it should be like that."

Felton queried, "That’s incredible! I really need to read more books..."

Okafor: ???

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Games are harmful, said I would play for just 1 hour this morning... Back to writing, writing...