Under Mike Brown's command, the Cavaliers began to frequently attack the basket.
James and Larry Hughes, players not known for their shooting and excelling in drives, now found themselves in their element.
Intimidated by Tang Long, Bogut, hesitant to use cheap tricks, was completely unable to cope with the situation, his defense crumbling.
Yi Jianlian, whose physicality was already below average, struggled even more.
Fortunately, their offense remained on point, with Michael Redd and Yi Jianlian consistently hitting their shots.
With six minutes left in the third quarter, the Cavaliers trailed by four points, 62-66.
As the score drew closer, Bogut started acting up again.
After a pick-and-roll between Larry Hughes and Tang Long, a successful switch occurred.
Facing Bogut, Larry Hughes faked to his left and accelerated, intending to use his speed advantage to get past him.
Bogut couldn't keep up and subtly used his left knee to trip Larry Hughes.
Larry Hughes fell out of bounds.
This enraged the Cavaliers players, who angrily surrounded Bogut.
The referee immediately intervened and gave Bogut a flagrant foul.
This finally calmed the Cavaliers' anger, and they dispersed.
Larry Hughes stood at the free-throw line, looking to find his rhythm.
Tang Long walked directly in front of Bogut and said menacingly, "It seems you haven't learned your lesson. One fall wasn't enough, was it?"
Bogut put on his signature innocent face, but his eyes glinted with ferocity.
"Tang, while your physical conditioning is explosive, there are always some vulnerable spots, like joints, right?"
Tang Long chuckled, staring intently at Bogut and closing in, looking like a fierce beast.
"Then by all means, come and try. I can't guarantee you'll be able to play again this season."
The referee, seeing the two clashing again, was about to intervene, but Tang Long and Bogut separated on their own.
Bogut even went up to complain, fanning the flames by accusing Tang Long of threatening him.
The referee naturally paid no attention to someone with such a prior record.
Larry Hughes' touch was indeed ordinary today, missing both free throws.
Fortunately, the Cavaliers retained possession.
James passed the ball directly to Tang Long.
Tang Long didn't hesitate, initiating a post-up from the three-point line.
Bogut dared not get too close, retreating on his own. Under the basket, he completely vacated the space, allowing Tang Long to dunk.
It seemed Bogut had given up on defense, but his eyes remained fixed on Tang Long's ankles.
The moment Tang Long was about to land, Bogut deliberately stuck out his leg.
The move was incredibly subtle, even fooling the referee.
James noticed this and immediately rushed forward, trying to embrace Tang Long and prevent further injury.
But Tang Long had already landed; it was too late!
"Ah!!!"
A scream echoed. James was furious and ready to fight.
Bogut actually resorted to such dirty tactics!
Big Z was still recovering from his injury, and now Tang Long had been undercut!
Whatever it took, Bogut would be beaten today, even if it meant getting suspended.
James rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight, when he suddenly saw Tang Long standing on the floor unharmed, even with a smile on his face.
Instead, it was Bogut who clutched his leg and rolled to the side.
The 2.13-meter giant curled up, letting out a heart-wrenching roar.
The Bucks' medical staff rushed onto the court. After a preliminary assessment, it was at least a fracture.
Further examination would be needed at the hospital to determine the exact extent of the injury.
"Referee, Tang undercut him, that was an intentional foul!"
As Bogut was being carried off the court, he couldn't resist slandering Tang Long.
The referee reviewed the replay at the scorer's table, and the Chinese TV broadcast was also replaying the recent footage.
"Tang Long was performing a normal post-up, then turned for a dunk!"
"Look closely at Bogut's eyes; he was constantly staring at Tang Long's feet!"
"The moment Tang Long was about to land, he took a step forward, when he should have been playing defense."
"He placed his foot where Tang Long was landing. This was clearly an attempted undercut."
"Who would focus their entire defensive attention on an offensive player's feet? Unless they have malicious intentions!"
"This was clearly an undercut, but it was Bogut who got injured!"
"Tang Long's foot stomped directly onto Bogut's foot."
"Tang Long's ankle didn't even bend at an angle; he stomped straight down!"
"He actually stomped Bogut's foot and caused a fracture?"
"This is simply an iron ankle, terrifying!"
"Tang Long's body isn't human; he's like the Terminator, with bones harder than steel!"
"Bogut brought this upon himself. Let's look forward to his injury report!"
Zhang Weiping and Su Qun marveled, thinking that if Tang Long had been injured, his future would have been uncertain, having just started to emerge.
Fortunately, Tang Long's physical conditioning was truly astonishing!
Bogut's malicious undercut resulted in Tang Long's massive frame stomping on his foot and causing a fracture?
What kind of iron body is this?!
At the Bradley Center, the referees also reviewed the replay repeatedly and determined that Tang Long was completely blameless.
The home crowd remained silent, as it was clearly Bogut's fault.
They felt disgusted having such a foul player on their own team.
Many fans even wanted to praise Tang Long for doing a good job cleaning up the NBA, but such words couldn't be spoken aloud.
The game soon resumed.
Without their starting center, the Bucks were no longer able to withstand the Cavaliers.
While Bogut was ineffective, he at least reduced the Cavaliers' driving-to-the-basket success rate. Now, the Cavaliers were basically scoring on every drive.
Yi Jianlian, who had been decent at rim protection, was trapped by Drew Gooden and Tang Long, leaving him helpless.
The game quickly lost its suspense. Tang Long dominated the paint, and drives by James and Larry Hughes were like entering an unmanned territory!
In the middle of the fourth quarter, coach Chris Jent regretfully substituted the starters for the reserves.
Of course, Villanueva remained on the bench.
Losing to the Cavaliers was a regrettable game. They had once held a fifteen-point lead, only to be reversed and defeated.
However, today wasn't entirely without gains; at least they saw Yi Jianlian's growth.
Upon returning, they could contact a strength and conditioning coach to develop a specialized training plan for him.
In the end, the Cavaliers defeated the Bucks 94-87, completing a massive comeback!
Tang Long scored 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, continuing his streak of impressive double-doubles.
James added 29 points and 8 rebounds. Today, the victory relied heavily on the combined efforts of James and Tang Long.
Together, they scored 62 points and led the team to victory.
This is the difference between top stars and ordinary players, maintaining excellent performance levels even after playing back-to-back games.
When their shooting was cold, they scored by driving to the basket and drawing fouls.
On the Bucks' side, their two guards, Michael Redd and Williams, contributed 13 points each, respectable figures.
Yi Jianlian's inner universe exploded, scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, achieving his first career double-double in the NBA!
Thus, the Cavaliers extended their winning streak to twelve games!
...