The Hammer of Destruction
Tang Long shouldered Tim Duncan, and Duncan felt a force like a collapsing mountain surge towards him!
His body swayed, clearly unable to hold his ground, and Tang Long had already turned and jumped.
Seeing Tang Long about to dunk, Duncan instinctively grabbed Tang Long's arm.
BEEP!
Duncan had no choice but to foul.
At this moment, Tang Long, after hanging in the air, threw the ball, which spun around the rim and still dropped steadily into the net.
2+1.
"Tang Long's handling of this play was masterful. By drawing a foul on Duncan after turning, he gets 2+1 if he makes it, and free throws if he misses. Regardless of anything else, his basketball IQ alone is far beyond that of many NBA players."
Director Zhang began his usual "praise."
Yang Yi agreed, "The NBA has many talented players, but very few are as excellent at reading the game as Tang Long. This also clearly shows the role Tang Long plays on the Cavaliers."
While the two were speaking, Tang Long had already stepped up to the free-throw line.
His free-throw percentage had reached 85%, on par with Yao Ming. This shot was naturally a sure hit, and the Cavaliers once again took a two-point lead.
"Tim, it's okay, it's just one 2+1. We'll draw fouls on them later."
Oberto came over to comfort Duncan.
Duncan shook his head. He had been a bit hot-headed after being pushed aside by Tang Long and had instinctively reached out to grab him, which had given Tang Long the opportunity to score 2+1.
He couldn't be so careless later.
On the next possession, he would make Tang Long pay.
Duncan glanced at his teammates and passed the ball to Bruce Bowen, who brought it across half-court. There were no good penetration lanes, so he circled around the court and finally passed the ball to Oberto.
Oberto took a mid-range jump shot.
CLANG!
The ball hit the rim and bounced out.
Duncan's positioning wasn't as good as Tang Long's, and the rebound landed in Tang Long's hands. Without stopping, he tossed the ball across half-court, and the ball was steadily passed to James.
James, facing Tony Parker's defense, went straight for a tomahawk dunk.
BOOM!
A spectacular dunk, and the Cavaliers' bench erupted.
"James's dunk was absolutely ferocious. Parker knew he couldn't stop James, so he didn't even attempt to block him, which was wise. Otherwise, it would have been another 2+1."
"Tang Long's pass on this play was also brilliant. Duncan and Oberto were still running back, and the ball went over their heads, finding James precisely."
Yang Yi had almost become a "Tang Long fanboy," and he didn't hesitate to praise Tang Long when he was involved in a score.
"It's too early to praise them. The Cavaliers have exposed some issues during this period: their offense relies too heavily on James or Tang Long. The other players don't move much without the ball; they're all waiting for the ball."
"If they can't solve this problem, the Cavaliers might have a difficult time against teams with more focused defense in the playoffs!"
"That's unavoidable. Most teams with superstars are like this."
Everyone is accustomed to giving the ball to the team's stars to handle, which leads to less off-ball movement and ultimately relies on the stars to solve problems.
As the two spoke, several possessions had already passed between the Cavaliers and the Spurs, but both teams were missing shots, and their hands were getting colder.
"Give the ball to Tang, and play through the post!"
Seeing that the offense was not opening up on the perimeter, and with the Spurs' current cold shooting, this was an opportunity to widen the gap. Yet, the Cavaliers were also missing shots, which made Mike Brown a bit restless, and he yelled from the sidelines.
Larry Hughes, who was dribbling, directly passed the ball to Tang Long in the paint.
Duncan was initially with his back to Tang Long. As the ball came, he intended to steal it, but it landed in Tang Long's arms. Duncan was out of position, giving Tang Long a good scoring opportunity.
He smoothly turned and jumped for a dunk, the entire sequence seamless and fluid!
Two consecutive dunks, and they had extended their lead over the Spurs by six points.
Duncan's face was already a bit dark, and now it was even darker.
Last time he could use the excuse that the replay was a bit slow, but this time Tang Long dunked directly on him. This was a direct slap in the face!
Oberto opened his mouth, intending to comfort Duncan again.
After thinking for a moment, he swallowed his words.
Less than a minute remained until the end of the first quarter.
The Spurs decided to take two offensive possessions and one defensive possession to end the quarter, so Parker was dribbling slowly.
It wasn't until the shot clock passed seventeen seconds that he decided to drive inside.
However, Larry Hughes was in front of him, so Parker could only try to pass the ball to Oberto.
Oberto received the ball and also tried to drive inside, but was defended by Pavlović.
The clock reached twenty-one seconds, and Oberto had no choice but to take a rushed shot.
CLANG!
Another miss.
The Spurs' misses in the first quarter could have built a suit of armor.
At this point, the Spurs finally understood that the Cavaliers' winning streak was not just luck. Although they also missed shots initially, Tang Long was there to grab defensive rebounds and also appeared to get offensive rebounds, effectively launching second-chance opportunities.
Tang Long glanced at the clock; there were less than thirty seconds left.
If they could stall for about twenty seconds, leaving the Spurs with about ten seconds for an offensive possession, they might still be able to defend.
His teammates clearly thought the same.
In the past, when James had the ball, he would either look for an opportunity to drive or draw a foul. Now, James was simply dribbling outside the three-point line, showing no immediate intention to attack.
Bowen saw this and stepped forward to foul James.
The Spurs clearly did not want James to waste time like this.
Fortunately, James's free throws were solid; he made both steadily.
Next, there were twenty-six seconds left on the clock.
The Spurs had possession.
This time, the Spurs did not choose to stall. Parker dribbled all the way to the Cavaliers' basket, executing a seven-second fast break.
Although this basket was made, the Spurs' play left the Cavaliers a bit confused.
"What are these guys trying to do?"
Larry Hughes, waiting for Tang Long to inbound the ball, asked casually.
"Who cares? We just need to play our game."
Tang Long said and passed the ball to Larry Hughes.
Then, everyone realized what the Spurs were trying to do.
Full-court press!
As soon as Larry Hughes got the ball, Finley stepped up to block him.
The Spurs executed a 2-3 zone defense. Finley and Parker stationed themselves in the Cavaliers' half, preventing the Cavaliers from easily bringing the ball across.
Finley even tried to steal the ball. Larry Hughes was trapped outside half-court, and Finley blocked his passing lanes. The Cavaliers couldn't even pass back to get the ball over half-court.
Larry Hughes quickly glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that Pavlović was open. He quickly passed the ball to him.
Unexpectedly, Oberto seemed to be waiting for him to pass like this, and he leaped forward to intercept the ball.
Parker and Finley, with lightning speed, rushed to the Cavaliers' basket!
Their zone defense was indeed not to be underestimated. Against the Spurs, one had to be fully focused and could not afford any carelessness!
...