After being ridiculed by Van Gundy, the Magic players finally regained some form.
Jamal systematically orchestrated the team's offense, passing the ball to Lewis, who was making an off-ball cut.
Drew Gooden rapidly closed in, attempting to disrupt his shot.
Lewis used a spin move to get past Drew Gooden and sank a three-pointer!
The score was within one point!
"It's okay, your defense was great!"
James patted Drew Gooden's shoulder in comfort.
He then gave Tang Long a meaningful look, and the latter nodded in understanding.
Upon reaching the frontcourt, Tang Long set a screen.
Having learned their lesson, the Magic players did not leave LeBron James open this time. However, they were too aggressive, with both players rushing towards LeBron.
Seeing this, LeBron threw the ball high into the air.
Tang Long leaped up and slammed the ball fiercely into the basket!
An alley-oop!
The LeBron-Tang connection was on display again, crushing the Magic's morale.
Van Gundy felt his heart condition was about to act up.
"Switch! Switch! Can't you even do something this simple?"
Despite Van Gundy's repeated instructions, the Magic seemed lost, unable to find their rhythm in the game.
Their perimeter players also lost their shooting touch.
Howard in the paint was, of course, completely suppressed by Tang Long, unable to even grab an offensive rebound.
The "one star, four shooters" system is a very mature strategy, where the post player draws double teams, and the outside shooters get open looks.
Even if they miss, there's an opportunity to grab offensive rebounds.
However, Howard lacked low-post skills and was no match for Tang Long.
The foundation of the "one star, four shooters" system was crumbling. They had to rely solely on their shooters.
If the shooters were on fire, it would be fine. But once they lost their touch, and the interior players couldn't get rebounds, the team was destined to collapse!
The Magic continued to play worse and worse, ultimately losing the game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic 99-87.
Tang Long scored a massive double-double of 33 points and 16 rebounds, leading his team to victory!
In contrast, his opponent Howard only managed 13 points and 7 rebounds, leaving him dejected.
Howard had boasted before the game that he would score 30 points, but he couldn't achieve that against Tang Long.
James also had a commendable performance, scoring 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists, forming a formidable duo with Tang Long.
Three other Cavaliers players scored in double figures, and the team's overall performance was excellent.
For the Magic, only Jamal and Lewis performed well, scoring 25 and 19 points respectively. 138 Read Net
The poor performance of their teammates led to the Magic's unfortunate defeat.
Most fans couldn't bear to watch and left the Amway Arena early.
The Magic players also felt too ashamed to remain on the court and returned to the locker room crestfallen.
Van Gundy was furious and left without shaking hands with Mike Brown.
Only the Cavaliers players were celebrating wildly on the court.
This was just a regular season game, but their opponent was the formidable Magic!
A strong contender for the championship!
They had initially thought that after Big Z's injury, the Cavaliers wouldn't even have a chance to make the playoffs.
But who knew Tang Long would emerge, saving the team.
"Thanks to you, Tang! You're our good luck charm!"
LeBron excitedly hugged Tang Long, admitting they might not have won this game without him.
"Yeah! Tang! Your performance was incredible! Dwight looked like a clown in front of you!"
Larry Hughes also embraced Tang Long, stating that if not for Tang Long's exceptional defense, he wouldn't have been able to play so aggressively against Jamal's shooting.
He might have been shredded himself in this game!
Thanks to Tang Long!
During the post-game interviews, Howard refused to appear, with only Van Gundy and Jamal present.
"The Magic played very poorly tonight. Who do you think is primarily responsible?"
Although the "Happy Big Boy" wasn't there, the reporters wouldn't let him off the hook.
Van Gundy's answer was astute: "The primary responsibility lies with me. My lineup and strategy were flawed. When a team loses, the head coach is certainly responsible."
Seeing that this approach was ineffective, the reporter asked, "Cleveland's China Tang had an outstanding performance tonight. How would you assess him?"
Van Gundy frowned, this reporter was really relentless!
"Tang's skills are exceptional. We underestimated his abilities! However, the next time he faces the Magic, we will make him pay!"
With that, he left with Jamal.
On the other side, the atmosphere at the Cavaliers' post-game interview was much more pleasant.
Tang Long and LeBron attended together.
"LeBron, fans are now calling you the new duo, the Zhan-Long combination. How do you feel about that name?"
LeBron laughed heartily and nodded: "I really like that name, and I really like my new partner. He's a very reliable teammate, and I'm looking forward to a great season record together!"
The reporters, infected by LeBron's smile, also chuckled: "So, how do you evaluate Dwight's performance in this game?"
Tang Long smiled slightly: "After this game, I think there's no need to discuss who has better athleticism between Dwight and me, right?"
"As for his performance, I can only say he needs to work harder! Of course, I gave him some advice during the game, and I hope he'll seriously consider it."
The reporters became excited, eager to know what Tang Long's advice was.
Tang Long, with a mysterious smile, left with LeBron.
The reporters, of course, wouldn't give up and searched everywhere, even asking Howard himself.
Howard was initially confused, not understanding what the reporters were talking about.
After some prompting, his face visibly turned red.
"Fuck!! What kind of bullshit advice is that! That was pure trash talk! He told me to go to Houston to ask Yao!"
"Just you wait! I'll crush him in our next meeting! This first-year kid!"
Upon learning the truth, the reporters burst into laughter, reporting the embarrassing incident overnight.
Fans also had a good laugh: "Tang Long is too funny! Giving Howard such sincere advice!"
"I think Howard really should go and ask Big Yao for advice. His low-post game is truly terrible!"
"Tang Long is such a humorous Chinese person. Are all Chinese people this humorous?"
"Howard must be so angry! The Happy Big Boy isn't happy anymore, boohoo!"
"..."
In addition to the fans' teasing, many media outlets also officially acknowledged Tang Long's strength.
[Tang Long crushed Dwight in their direct matchup! Dwight had no room to fight back!]
[Poor Dwight became a clown! His stats are less than half of China Tang's!]
[We all underestimated China Tang's strength. The landscape of NBA centers might be about to change!]