"The Nets' shooting touch is on fire today, especially Carter. It's hard to believe he's thirty years old,"
Despite favoring the Cavaliers, who have a Dragon Country player, the domestic commentators couldn't help but marvel at Carter's explosive performance.
"I thought the Cavaliers could pull off a miracle!"
Coach Zhang sighed.
Beep!
The game finally saw a shift as Mike Brown called a timeout.
The starting five slumped back to their bench. Mike Brown slammed his clipboard. "Gooden, what are you doing? Snap out of it, this is a game! And you, Big Z, hold onto that damn ball!"
Missed shots could be attributed to a cold shooting hand, but failing to secure defensive rebounds put the team in an even more precarious position.
"How is this my fault?" Gooden shouted at Mike Brown. "I don't even have the ball, what do you expect me to do? Are you saying I'm to blame for missing shots when I *do* have the ball?"
"Gooden, what do you mean?"
Larry Hughes looked at Drew Gooden with displeasure.
During these four minutes, James had taken very few shots, with Larry Hughes taking the most, resulting in a barrage of misses.
He was already in a bad mood, and now Drew Gooden was trying to shift the blame onto him. He wasn't going to stand for it.
"All of you, quiet down."
James glared at the two of them. Their offensive struggles were causing tempers to flare, but that wasn't an excuse for players to point fingers at each other.
If they didn't pull together, the rest of the game would be even tougher.
Mike Brown looked at James. Sometimes, his words carried more weight than his own as coach. The media often called him a "puppet coach."
He, of course, had his own thoughts on the matter.
Just like now, with players arguing amongst themselves, if the head coach intervened, the players might turn their anger towards him. But with the team's leader, it was different. They wouldn't dare disrespect James.
"Our outside shooting isn't good today, so we need to attack the inside."
Mike Brown quickly made adjustments.
"LeBron, draw attention with the ball, then create space for Larry. Larry, after receiving the pass, fake a drive to draw the defender. Then, Big Z will step up to screen the defender, creating a scoring opportunity for LeBron."
Mike Brown looked directly into James's eyes. "LeBron, smash that damn basketball into the hoop!"
"Coach Brown, don't worry! I'll take control of the game from here!"
"Even the Nets can't stop our momentum. Let's go, everyone."
Mike Brown extended his hand, and the starting five joined him.
Returning to the court, the Cavaliers initiated their offense according to the plan.
After Big Z set a screen, James finally had space to drive. He charged towards the basket like a bulldozer!
Clang!
Kostić fell to the ground.
Beep!
A whistle blew. Kostić was called for an offensive foul, and James made both free throws.
But immediately after, Carter responded with a three-pointer.
The teams traded blows. By the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers were trailing by thirteen points, 10-23.
"Coach Brown, let Tang play in the second quarter. We need to focus on our defense first."
"No!"
Mike Brown flatly refused.
"Coach Brown, you can't jeopardize our winning streak with your stubbornness!" James said angrily to Mike Brown.
"LeBron, I am the coach of this team."
Mike Brown's face darkened, his expression turning grim.
"Brown, you..."
James started to speak again, but Big Z stopped him. "LeBron, you should listen to Coach Brown. Brown's plan is not wrong. We played very well in the latter half of the first quarter, and we can catch up."
James looked at Big Z, then after a moment of silence, he nodded.
Beep!
With the referee's whistle, the second quarter began.
During the break, the Nets had clearly adjusted their strategy against the Cavaliers' pick-and-roll. They immediately switched to a zone defense to deny James easier driving lanes.
With their offense stalled and their defensive boards slipping, the Cavaliers quickly found themselves in trouble again in the second quarter.
Just five minutes into the second quarter, the Cavaliers were trailing by a significant margin of twenty-three points, 17-40.
James had scored fifteen of their points.
"It looks like the Cavaliers' winning streak is going to be snapped by the Nets. This is just the regular season. If this is the playoffs, and the Cavaliers can't even grab rebounds, they won't be winning a championship ring this year."
In the ES sports broadcast booth, commentator Jack looked smugly at Nets legend Julius Erving.
Julius's expression was blank. It was clear that at this point, anything he said would sound like an excuse given the massive score difference.
"Basketball is a team sport. You can't go far relying solely on a superstar."
Jack prattled on. The others in the booth, though annoyed, couldn't argue when their team was leading by so much.
Host Jefferson's gaze swept across the Cavaliers' bench, and he suddenly noticed something. "Why isn't Tang playing? Tang has been instrumental in the Cavaliers' winning streak. How could Mike Brown keep him on the bench?"
"The league is investigating, this is to protect Tang."
Dr. J, as a Nets legend, had some insight into internal team information.
"The league is only investigating; he hasn't been suspended. Mike Brown is being too conservative."
Jefferson sighed.
"Even if Tang played, what difference would it make? Is he better than Big Z? I think he's just average, and might even make them lose by more."
"Not necessarily. If Tang were on the court, he could at least share the offensive burden and help secure defensive rebounds. The Nets wouldn't have it this easy."
"I think you're just imagining things. Julius, I think you're being too conservative. Why don't you say Tang will not only catch up but also defeat the Nets!"
Dr. J shot Jack a fierce look, but his expression clearly indicated he didn't believe the Cavaliers could close the gap.
"Look, the Nets scored again."
Another three-pointer from Carter.
The Nets had extended their lead to twenty-six points.
"It seems there's no suspense in this game. I was expecting a 'battle of the century,' and I'm so disappointed."
"Jack, you have to believe in miracles. Maybe the Cavaliers can still pull it off!"
"Believe in miracles?" Jack snorted, bursting into laughter. "If these Cavaliers can still win, I'll eat this broadcast desk!"
"Jack, I advise you to be careful. You shouldn't make such rash vows. Do you remember Barkley kissing the donkey's backside?"
In the studio, everyone's faces instantly changed.
Years ago, Barkley's loose tongue had led to him being thoroughly embarrassed by Yao Ming.
Under Kenny Smith's instigation, he had kissed a donkey's backside in front of millions of viewers.
After that incident, Barkley became more subdued and never dared to mock Yao Ming, either openly or indirectly!
...