"Fuck..."
At the same time, Billy shouted, clutching his foot and sitting on the ground, yelling in pain.
"Pah, you son of a bitch, trying to mess with me? You're not good enough."
Tang Long, who had stepped on Billy's foot, not only didn't apologize but also cursed Billy. The Nets' bench immediately booed Tang Long.
"Beep!"
The referee blew the whistle to stop the game and quickly went back to review the replay.
Just as Tang Long jumped to block Billy, Billy, who had landed a step earlier, directly threw his foot over.
Anyone who has played basketball knows that this kind of person is truly malicious.
When jumping high and landing, if you step on something and twist your ankle, at best you'll be out for weeks; at worst, the entire season could be ruined. This is incredibly vicious.
Even opposing fans despise such actions!
But just as Tang Long was about to land on Billy's foot, he paused for a moment in mid-air, having leaped high.
In that fraction of a second, Tang Long adjusted his position slightly.
This small adjustment allowed Tang Long to avoid injury while his heel stomped hard on Billy's toes.
The big screen replay clearly showed that Billy had intentionally extended his foot, and a smug look was visible on his face.
Flagrant foul!
Three free throws!
The Nets' bench fell silent, heads hanging low, not daring to meet Tang Long's gaze at the free-throw line.
Billy was truly despicable; even his teammates felt ashamed.
Tang Long made all three free throws, giving the Cavaliers a three-point lead.
The Cavaliers players on the bench stood up one by one after Tang Long's third free throw sailed smoothly through the net, waving their towels frantically.
It was incredibly satisfying. The Cavaliers had taken the lead.
"Tang, you are so cool."
"Tang, keep it up, destroy them!"
The entire Quicken Loans Arena erupted in a joyous roar, with fans shouting Tang Long's name.
"Beep!!"
Another whistle blew, signaling a twenty-second timeout.
The Nets needed to adjust their strategy immediately.
Head coach Frank had intended for Billy and Swift to wear down Tang Long's stamina, giving the starters more time. He never expected Billy to resort to such a dirty trick.
With Billy still on the court, the arena was filled with boos.
These bench players were already far inferior to the starters. Now, facing the overwhelming boos, they felt incapable of playing.
Frank reluctantly called a timeout and substituted the starters back in.
"Tang, do you want a few minutes of rest?"
Tang Long hadn't left the court since the last minute of the second quarter. Apart from drinking some water and resting during timeouts, he hadn't had a break for almost two quarters.
Now that the fourth quarter had just begun, James was worried Tang Long's stamina wouldn't last.
"No problem, I can do it!"
As if to reassure James, Tang Long even performed a couple of jumping motions.
After the short timeout, both teams returned to the court.
The Nets had possession.
The Nets were much calmer now, not rushing into an offense-for-offense battle with the Cavaliers. Carter dribbled the ball, observing the Cavaliers' defensive alignment.
Although the Cavaliers were employing man-to-man defense, James clearly wasn't prioritizing defense. Carter felt he had space to drive.
However, driving to the basket meant facing Tang Long.
To be honest, after being blocked by Tang Long, Carter subconsciously didn't want to go to the basket.
Desperate!
He gritted his teeth, faked a spin move to get past James, and pretended to drive inside. As James committed, Carter retreated to the three-point line.
James, having been tricked, quickly changed direction, and Carter then shot a three-pointer.
James instinctively jumped to block.
*Slap!*
James's hand hit Carter's wrist, and the ball flew out.
*Swish!*
A three-pointer, and a three-point play.
The Nets players rushed to celebrate with Carter, who looked triumphantly at James, saying, "LeBron, you fell for it."
James, annoyed, replied, "Carter, don't get too cocky. I'll hit a three back at you later."
"Then I'll be waiting," Carter shrugged and calmly walked to the free-throw line.
His free-throw percentage was around 85%, meaning he could make them almost with his eyes closed.
As it turned out, Carter made the shot after a slight adjustment.
The Nets regained a one-point lead.
The game shifted, and it was the Cavaliers' ball.
Larry Hughes brought the ball past half-court and passed it to James, who, without hesitation, caught and shot.
*Clang!!*
The sound of a missed shot echoed through the arena. Tang Long had only just reached the free-throw line and had no chance to grab the rebound.
After grabbing the rebound, Michael R. picked up the ball and passed it to old Kidd.
Kidd made a long pass directly to Vince Carter, who had crossed half-court.
Drew Gooden rushed back in pursuit, but Carter was like a wild horse unleashed, reaching the basket in a flash!
*Boom!!*
A fierce dunk. The Nets once again led by three points.
"LeBron, you need to calm down. We need to stick to our game plan."
Seeing that James was trying to compete with Carter and was becoming impulsive, Tang Long quickly advised him not to fall for Carter's tricks.
James verbally agreed and didn't immediately shoot a three-pointer. Instead, he drove hard to the basket, only to be met by Kosta Perović.
*Swish swish!*
Perović couldn't withstand the broad-shouldered LeBron and immediately fell to the floor.
"Beep!!"
The referee's whistle blew.
Offensive foul on James. This angered James so much that he wanted to punch the referee.
The Nets initiated their offense again. Fortunately, Kidd's shot missed, and Tang Long successfully secured the rebound.
This time, Tang Long didn't rush to pass. He scanned the players in the frontcourt and passed the ball to Drew Gooden.
"Gooden, pass the ball to me directly in a moment."
Gooden looked at Tang Long, then at James, and nodded, "LeBron, Tang is right. You can't act rashly."
"I know!"
James replied impatiently, then felt he shouldn't lose his temper on the court. The most important thing was to keep the victory in Cleveland.
Tang Long received the pass from Gooden at half-court and, enduring Kosta Perović's defense, made a hook shot.
The ball went in.
"Kosta Perović, don't be half-asleep! You absolutely cannot let that Tang get the ball easily."
Frank yelled frantically from the sideline. Perović had no choice but to play denial defense on Tang Long.
Tang Long couldn't get the ball, so James had to take an outside jump shot.
With Perović playing denial defense, the frontcourt rebound was a contest between Tang Long and Michael R.
Although Michael R. had already established a good position, Tang Long activated his "Absolute Rebound" skill and directly stepped on his head to teach him a lesson.
Before the ball even dropped, Tang Long leaped high and slammed the ball into the hoop!
Michael R. spread his hands in helplessness to his teammates.
This Tang was too formidable; he couldn't be defended by one person.
The Cavaliers regained a one-point lead.
By this point, the Nets' morale had been completely crushed by Tang Long!
...