Seeing Yi Jianlian's labored breathing, Chris Koveiac immediately opted for a substitution.
Yi Jianlian had already scored 11 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, and that was just data from the first half.
The second half was bound to be another tough battle, and they couldn't let Yi Jianlian exhaust his stamina so early.
The eyebrow-less wonder, Villanueva, finally got his chance to play. During the substitution, he didn't even high-five Yi Jianlian, outright ignoring the hand Yi Jianlian extended.
His hostility was unconcealed!
However, coach Chris Koveiac did shake Yi Jianlian's hand.
"Yi, good job, get some rest."
Yi Jianlian nodded slightly and high-fived his other teammates one by one.
Far away in China, Zhang Weiping and Su Qun also noticed Villanueva's animosity.
"Villanueva's actions are quite inappropriate!"
"Yes, as a teammate, acting this way is rather narrow-minded!"
"Perhaps it's because A Lian's performance today was too outstanding, and he's worried about losing his starting position."
"Let's see how Villanueva performs on the court next; this will determine the competition for the starting spot between the two."
"I hope A Lian can maintain this level of performance in every game going forward!"
"Even if he can't make it with the Bucks, other teams will still throw olive branches his way."
Back on the court, Bogut stood by the sideline to inbound the ball, and Villanueva signaled for it from the baseline.
He was ready to take on someone immediately to prove his worth.
After receiving the ball, Villanueva signaled his teammates to spread out; he wanted to go one-on-one in the low post.
Williams' displeasure was evident on his face, but there was nothing he could do, so he silently spread out.
Drew Gooden, who was defending Villanueva, was seething with anger.
When Yi Jianlian was on the court, I had to guard him, and now you're jumping into the fray too?
Do you really think I'm a pushover?
After all, I'm a starting power forward for a strong team, do you think you can handle me so easily?
Furious, Drew Gooden pressed hard against Villanueva's back, intending to teach him a lesson.
Villanueva pushed back with force but found it a bit difficult; Drew Gooden seemed much stronger than before.
With no other option, Villanueva resorted to frequent half-turn fakes to establish position inside, followed by a jump shot.
However, Drew Gooden's footwork was quick, and he stayed extremely close, his large hands almost touching Villanueva's face, disrupting him effectively.
The ball didn't even touch the rim, only brushing against the net.
Tang Long easily secured the rebound and turned to mock Villanueva with a smile, "Your rebounds are really easy to snatch; I just need to wait under the basket."
On the sideline, Chris Koveiac's face was darkened. This guy was too disruptive to team chemistry, forcing isolation plays right off the bat.
Were the tactics he devised just being ignored?
The game continued, James brought the ball up. Since the Cavaliers were trailing, he pushed the pace very quickly.
Upon reaching the frontcourt, he exchanged glances with Tang Long, who immediately came up to set a screen.
James feigned a drive then pulled back, successfully switching onto Bogut.
Facing Bogut, James didn't even bother with a fake, driving hard to his right.
Bogut's footwork couldn't keep up with James, so he resorted to a desperate hold.
Bogut tightly grabbed James' jersey, forcefully pulling him down.
"What kind of move is that? F**k!"
Bogut immediately spread his hands, looking innocent as if he hadn't done anything.
James' temper flared, and he was about to push Bogut hard when Tang Long pulled him back from behind.
The referee also rushed over to prevent further escalation of the conflict and, at the same time, called a foul on Bogut.
However, this call immediately drew dissatisfaction from the Cavaliers.
"This is just a common foul? This should have been a flagrant foul! That was a dangerous play, and he didn't even attempt to protect himself!"
"You can't make calls like this just because it's a home game; this is too much!"
"This clearly should have been two free throws and possession, you can't call it like this!"
Facing the aggressive Cavaliers players, the referee shook his head slightly, maintaining his original call.
Pavlovic pulled his teammates back, fearing anyone might get a technical foul.
Fortunately, the referee also knew his call was a bit biased towards the home team and didn't escalate further.
James walked to the free-throw line with frustration, perhaps affected mentally, and made one of two free throws.
39:31
The score was still an eight-point difference.
It was the Bucks' ball. Villanueva again demanded the ball, wanting to go one-on-one, but Williams ignored him and passed the ball to Michael Redd.
Redd faced Pavlovic, faked a change of direction to his left to create space, and shot, but unfortunately, the power was a bit off, and the ball hit the front iron.
Tang Long activated his [Absolute Rebound] skill, judged the trajectory of the rebound, and easily boxed out to secure the ball.
Bogut was currently just running back and forth on offense, while Villanueva continuously complained to Williams.
"You should have passed me the ball on that play; I would have made it if you had!"
Williams didn't give him a good look. "So you can miss again with a three-airball?"
Villanueva was left speechless and could only go back to his defensive position.
James had the ball at the top of the arc. Just as he was about to take on his defender, he saw Tang Long actively call for the ball.
Without a word, James sent the bounce pass out.
Tang Long caught the ball, and the Cavaliers players instinctively backed off.
Bogut's foul earlier had angered all the Cavaliers players, so now they naturally wanted to teach him a lesson.
Tang Long taking him on was the best option.
Bogut started his little tricks again, his hand hidden behind Tang Long, constantly pulling.
At the same time, his leg was wedged behind Tang Long's knee, preventing him from exerting force smoothly.
But in the face of absolute strength, all petty tricks were futile!
Tang Long took a dribble and adjusted his stance, then forcefully charged sideways towards Bogut!
This time, Tang Long held back nothing, using ten-tenths of his strength!
Bogut felt like he was hit by a truck; his chest was severely impacted by Tang Long's shoulder, almost causing internal bleeding!
Tang Long's shoulder was practically made of steel!
Bogut grunted in pain, staggered, and fell directly to the ground.
The referee was about to blow his whistle but realized Tang Long hadn't fouled and had to let the game continue.
There was no shoulder check, no elbow, just a pure power dominance.
If this could be considered a foul, then Shaq would have been ejected long ago.
After knocking Bogut down, Tang Long immediately turned and powerfully dunked the ball!
Upon landing, Tang Long glared ferociously at Bogut, standing in front of him for a full five seconds.
Bogut felt like a ferocious dragon was standing before him; if he dared to make any move, he would be devoured!
It wasn't until Larry Hughes came over to pull Tang Long away that he turned and left.
The residual power of [Carry the Ball While Fighting] had thoroughly intimidated Bogut!
For a short period, he wouldn't dare to cause any trouble!
...