At this moment, the two teams were in a melee under the basket. Drew Gooden, coming from the top of the arc, shook off his defender.
He ran along the baseline to the other side, where Tang Long had already handed him the basketball.
Drew Gooden, without hesitation, passed the ball directly to James, who shot effortlessly with no one guarding him.
Everyone's attention was focused on the players battling it out under the basket. Their massive bodies perfectly blocked Tang Long's view when he passed to Gooden. It wasn't until James leaped that everyone realized, in a daze, that the ball was already in James' hands.
"This play was absolutely brilliant."
The commentator cheered along with the fans. As a live commentator, he should have maintained objectivity, but as a fan, personal preferences were inevitable.
Tang Long was undoubtedly his favorite player.
After dozens of games, as the commentator closest to the players, they could certainly feel Tang Long's sincerity.
Mike Brown, on the sidelines, nodded with satisfaction. This was the offensive style he wanted to see.
When the outside wasn't working, they attacked the inside. When the inside was contained, James would drive. When the opponent set up a zone defense.
The outside would then have openings. As long as the ball was given to James, the shooting percentage was quite reliable.
While Mike Brown was happy, Byron Scott was inevitably gloomy.
However, it couldn't be said that the players weren't trying. In fact, after the Hornets intensified their defense, they did manage to limit the Cavaliers' scoring ability for a period, but it was simply because the players on the other team were more outstanding.
He looked enviously at James and Tang Long.
Especially Tang Long.
Since Tang Long joined the Cavaliers, their record had skyrocketed, and they were now on a 29-game winning streak.
If his team had a player like Tang Long, paired with Paul and West, let alone the Celtics, even the Lakers, who were currently leading the Western Conference, would not be a match for the Hornets.
Of course, whether to sign Tang Long would be a decision made after the game.
Currently, the score difference was only 5 points, and the Hornets still had a chance. Therefore, Byron Scott stood on the sidelines patiently, shouting to his players, "Maintain our rhythm, don't be affected by their scoring. They can't keep playing like this forever."
"Coach, don't worry, we'll let the Cavaliers know how good we are."
Paul nodded calmly at Byron.
Byron Scott felt relieved, his expression softening considerably.
As long as the team maintained morale and rhythm, who would win or lose was still unknown.
The Hornets underestimated the Cavaliers' determination to win. After the restart, the Hornets encountered the Cavaliers' full-court press.
Paul dodged Pavlovic's block and, just as he was about to charge forward, Larry Hughes came over to intercept. Pavlovic, behind him, quickly switched with Larry Hughes.
Paul had to slow down his rhythm, looking for a suitable passing lane.
Tang Long preferred a slower pace.
Firstly, it helped him observe the situation on the court. Secondly, when the opponent slowed down their offensive rhythm, the pressure on the perimeter defense decreased. The opponent could only opt for contested shots or drives to the basket, which undoubtedly allowed him to better utilize the [Heavenly God Block] skill.
Frankly speaking, Tang Long had very few blocks in this game, which directly lowered his average.
And so it was.
When Paul found no particularly good passing lanes, more than ten seconds had passed. Chandler stood in front of Tang Long, holding his position, which was a decent passing option.
Paul hesitated for a moment and passed the ball to Chandler.
Chandler received the ball and tried to turn, but Tang Long's stance was firm, and his hands were raised, clearly anticipating his layup.
Chandler had no choice but to pass the ball back to West, who faced James and attempted a pull-up jumper.
"Clang!!"
The ball bounced out, and Tang Long calmly secured the rebound.
As possession changed, Tang Long once again received the pass in the paint and matched up against Chandler.
Chandler imitated Tang Long's previous move, but he was also worried about Tang Long passing to James. His thoughts were too complex, and his movements became hesitant.
Tang Long felt the pressure from behind stagnate and abruptly drove forward.
West had already come to help.
The three players leaped into the air almost simultaneously. West and Chandler aggressively swiped at the basketball in Tang Long's hands.
Who would have thought that Tang Long's shot was fake? As the two players went for the block, he used a quick dribble to switch the ball to his left hand.
He also dodged West's block and followed up with a left-handed floater over Chandler's reach.
A simple little floater was successful.
"This play was amazing!"
In the Chinese broadcast booth, Yang Yi exclaimed with joy.
"Indeed, there are many players in the league who can perform such moves, but to execute such a spectacular play against a double-team, especially from players like Chandler and West, is extremely rare."
Yu Jia excitedly said to Yang Yi, "I was always worried about how Tang Long and Yao Ming would coexist in the national team, but now it seems Tang Long can play multiple positions."
"Speaking of which, I heard that they have already started contacting Tang Long about joining the national team, but there has been no news yet."
"There's no need to rush. Tang Long joining the national team is just a matter of time. The All-Star Game hasn't even started yet. After the All-Star Game, the roster will likely be finalized."
Yang Yi glanced at Coach Zhang and asked, "Coach Zhang, what position do you think is best for Tang Long in the national team?"
Just as Coach Zhang was about to respond, the fans in the Quicken Loans Arena had already risen to their feet, and some were dancing without regard for their image.
Tang Long's spectacular dunk had left the Hornets players looking dejected. The Cavaliers had completely seized control of the game.
Scarlett and the other two, disregarding their appearances, shouted Tang Long's name. When the camera panned over, Gal Gadot boldly blew a kiss.
At this moment, the referee blew the whistle to end the third quarter.
Cavaliers 71-62, leading by nine points!
...
Wu Rongzhao had just reviewed the annual report for this year's Hongxing Erke.
This year's sales reached 2 billion, catching up to brands like Anta and Li Ning, with optimistic growth. The company was already an Asia Top 500 brand.
However, Wu Rongzhao's ambitions clearly extended beyond domestic markets.
Returning from studying abroad, his goal was to emulate brands like Nike and Adidas, but he had always lacked a suitable breakthrough point.
Hearing the excited voice of the commentator from the computer, Wu Rongzhao watched the replays of Tang Long's brilliant performances in the NBA, and his eyes lit up!
Tang Long's trajectory in the NBA was clearly on an upward surge.
If he could sign Tang Long, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous boost for the company's brand to enter the global market!
However, after searching online carefully, Wu Rongzhao fell silent again.
For no other reason than Tang Long's current asking price was simply too high!