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Chapter 466: The gap is even bigger than last year.

Chapter 466: The gap is even bigger than last year.

When it was time for someone to step up and score in one-on-one, they proactively took the lead, but not every shot could strike as the last attack of the first quarter did.

Just before the official timeout of the second quarter, the James-Hughes duo launched a counterattack again. Yang missed two consecutive one-on-one shots, but the overall strategy of the Bobcats was not affected. Sometimes, the key one-on-one plays don’t necessarily have to score to be useful. After all, even players like Jordan and Kobe didn’t make every clutch shot; most of the time, they missed.

At that time, it was commendable when someone dared to absorb a wave of pressure by taking on those shots and continuing the offensive rhythm for their team.

Yang handled the two shots before the official timeout without disrupting his team’s offensive flow. After the timeout, the Bobcats widened the gap created by the 7-2 spurt from the James-Hughes duo by 5 points.

In the first half of the second quarter, the Cavaliers reduced the gap by 5 points, 15 to 10, but in the latter half, the Bobcats responded with a 17-11 run, extending a 1-point gap to 7 points.

By halftime, the Bobcats were leading the Cavaliers 56 to 49!

The Bobcats scored 27 points to the Cavaliers’ 26 in the second quarter. They didn’t gain a significant advantage mainly because Okafor didn’t play in the early part, and Yang also rested for 3 minutes before returning to the game.

After the halftime break, the Bobcats reintroduced their starting lineup. In the first half of the third quarter, they fiercely outscored the Cavaliers 15 to 7, expanding the gap to 15 points, 71 to 56!

At the official timeout, Mike Brown made an adjustment by bringing on a purely defensive lineup, abandoning team offense and letting James and Hughes take turns Driving Attacks and grinding on defense.

Mike Brown’s defensive acumen was indeed high, and with the physicality of playoff confrontation, the Bobcats struggled to execute their team offense after the timeout.

At that moment, Yang stood up again, positioning Perkins for an easy catch near the basket, sending Gerald Wallace to hustle, and Felton to spread out in the corner waiting to shoot ... He and Okafor took turns in isolation plays!

Yang couldn’t withstand the James-Hughes combination in the middle of the second quarter, but this time, he held his ground!

James and Hughes took turns driving and drawing fouls, together scoring 10 points in 5 minutes and 44 seconds.

In half a quarter, Yang made 2 of 5 shots, plus drawing a foul on a counterattack, hitting both free throws for a total of 6 points; Okafor, close to the basket, scored 4 points on 2 of 4 shooting; adding to that, Gerald Wallace seized an offensive rebound and passed it to Felton, who hit a three-pointer from the corner... The Bobcats scored 13 points in half a quarter!

After three quarters, the Bobcats led the Cavaliers 84 to 66!

The Cavaliers tried to use intense defense to create a turnaround opportunity, but not only did it not succeed, but the gap also increased by 3 points, the Bobcats’ lead expanding to 18 points!

Entering the break between quarters, Larry Hughes, holding his energy drink, boastfully displayed his frustration thinking about James guarding Yang!

It was only because the mischievous Jack was just 18 years old. If he were 23 or 24, his stamina might not be as good as Ray Allen’s or Alan Houston’s, but he could still manage high-post plays impressively.

James was truly unguardable one-on-one from mid-range!

Hughes actually acknowledged the speed of KING’s improvements in defense. That teammate, with his all-encompassing playing style, managed to improve his defense in a year to a point where it didn’t lag in regular games, a talent that truly made him envious.

But the mischievous Jack had improved even more on the offensive end!

Hughes thought back to the night of the rookie challenge when he thought of James guarding Yang.

After he saw Kobe score 81 points, he too dreamed of scoring even more... but the mischievous Jack turned his dream into reality, even if it was just the rookie challenge against the historically weakest rookies, it still struck him as crazy and unbelievable. He also realized how determined Jack was.

Team defense was even more disastrous, James would always collapse too deep under the basket, from where he couldn’t recover when Yang got around for a shooting opportunity.

James had the physical qualities and a proactive defense attitude, but mainly lacked awareness, not knowing what to do next after a certain point in defense.

The ability to restrict the Bobcats from delivering high-post artillery in the latter half of the third quarter was mainly because Varejao came up, sparing the James-Hughes duo the need to tighten their defense. Varejao was able to cover the interior near Big Z.

Of course, having been around several teams for years, Hughes could understand why, in his fourth year, James still had such basic defensive skills and awareness. In his early years, the Cavaliers never tasked James with defense, only asking him to handle scoring and passing. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have spent so much money to sign him back, a defensive specialist, or offer above-market salaries to Gooden and Snow...

Understandable as it may be, when faced with the Bobcats, a team that counters James well, Hughes felt truly exhausted!

In the final quarter, Bickerstaff rested Felton, Gerald Wallace, and Perkins, who had the toughest three quarters, keeping them on the bench.

Rondo, Yang, and Okafor played the entire final quarter. Alan Anderson and Herrmann rotated at the small forward position. Millsap came on, and Okafor played as the center. When Muhammad came on, Okafor shifted to power forward.

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