"Don't worry, LeBron, I won't fall for it. I'll teach him how to behave later."
Though a bit heated, Tang Long knew the Mavericks were clever players. If he lost his cool and they drew fouls on him, it would be difficult to handle.
It was a battle of who could keep their composure better, so bring it on!
Tang Long gritted his teeth and no longer held back.
The Cavaliers attacked the Mavericks' basket again. Howard came up to double-team James, and Dampier moved to the inside. It was as if the Mavericks had seen through Tang Long's plan to get revenge on Howard and deliberately denied him the opportunity.
Tang Long wouldn't fall for it. He was confident in a one-on-one against Dampier.
He faked and got past Dampier, then turned for an easy shot.
Two points valid.
Immediately after, the Mavericks hit a three-pointer.
The two teams exchanged blows, trading baskets. At this point, neither side dared to bring in their bench players.
Because whoever sent in the reserves first would mean they were falling behind in score. With such a close game, no one was confident they could fall behind significantly and still catch up.
They played until the end of the third quarter, with neither side's starters leaving the court.
81:80.
The Cavaliers led by one point.
Next, it was the Mavericks' ball possession, so this one-point lead could disappear at any moment if they failed to defend the Mavericks' offense.
"Big Z, you're up for the fourth quarter."
As Tang Long and the others sat down, Mike Brown had already decided to send in the bench lineup at the start of the fourth quarter. The starters needed some rest.
"When you're on the court, scoring is secondary. The most important thing is defense. If the Mavericks are still playing their starters, don't let them score easily. Even if it means fouling, don't give them easy shots."
"If they also put in their reserves, then you must play steadily on offense and absolutely not waste any scoring opportunities. Whether we can get our 23rd consecutive win depends on your performance."
Mike Brown was firing up the reserve players again.
And surprisingly, it was quite effective. At least the reserve players were full of fighting spirit.
Looking at the Mavericks' reserves, they also seemed eager to play, clearly having benefited from their coach's pep talks.
BEEP!
A whistle blew, and the second units of both teams took to the court.
After a brief exchange of hand taps, neither side rushed into offense, all looking for the best opportunity, even taking twenty seconds without any haste.
Tang Long frowned slightly. It was clear that the Mavericks' coach and Mike Brown had the same idea.
"See? The Mavericks are using us to practice!"
LeBron nudged Tang Long's arm and gestured towards the court.
At this moment, both teams were employing zone defense and dared not advance recklessly on offense. Especially the Mavericks, they were using pick-and-rolls, drives, and passes to open players, employing tactics very specifically and frequently changing them.
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, were much more reserved. Although they could still keep pace in scoring, the Mavericks were laying the groundwork for the playoffs. The Cavaliers were too focused on the winning streak, leading to hesitant play.
"No, this can't continue. I'll go up first, and you guys can follow later."
The recent winning streak had accumulated a lot of points. Tang Long planned to redeem a stamina potion from the system store.
When the opponent saw him panting and unable to run, and preparing to attack with smugness, a powerful block would surely make the opponent question life.
Thinking about the dumbfounded expressions of the Mavericks players, Tang Long felt incredibly satisfied.
Damn Howard, you were so smug, weren't you? Now I'll show you what a cheat code life is!
Tang Long first redeemed a stamina potion from the system store, then walked up to Mike Brown and said, "Coach Brown, although we're evenly matched with the Mavericks right now, we lack an explosive point in the middle. Big Z has good defense but is a bit weak on offense. Let me go in!"
"Tang, do you know you played a full ten minutes in the third quarter?"
Mike Brown retorted unhappily, "If you play at this high intensity, not only will your career be shortened, but you won't even have the stamina to jump in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter."
"Don't worry, Coach Brown, I'll conserve my energy, and I promise that even if the Mavericks' starters come back on the court, I'll still be able to surprise them!"
Mike Brown stared intently into Tang Long's eyes.
This kid was indeed a handful sometimes, and a bit of a troublemaker, but Tang Long was definitely not a reckless hothead who didn't know his limits.
"Alright, I agree to let you continue playing."
Mike Brown nodded helplessly, choosing to trust Tang Long.
He subbed out Big Z, and Tang Long reappeared on the court. The Mavericks' reserve players were taken aback. They didn't expect the Cavaliers to still put Tang Long in at this point.
Against Big Z just now, his physical fitness and explosiveness were superior to Big Z's, which made the Cavaliers struggle significantly on both offensive and defensive rebounds.
But then, DeSagana Diop became excited.
Tang Long was currently making waves in the league. If he could make this kid a background prop in a matchup against Tang Long, let alone a starting position, he would be an indispensable strong player at the center position in the future.
"You're that arrogant Tang, huh?"
DeSagana Diop already saw Tang Long as a stepping stone on his path forward. With a dismissive look, he said, "Kid, you should go home and eat more meat to gain some weight. Be careful, or the wind will blow you away."
"What good is being fat? I think you just grew a body without a brain?" Tang Long retorted without hesitation.
"Kid, what are you talking about?"
DeSagana Diop charged forward, ready to argue with Tang Long.
BEEP BEEP!
The referee quickly intervened to stop them.
Then, both received a technical foul.
Tang Long took the free throw and made it steadily.
As DeSagana Diop took his free throw, Tang Long continued to taunt him from the side.
"If a center can't even make a free throw, then staying under the basket to grab rebounds is more your style."
Saying that, Tang Long sighed again, "No, someone like you can't even jump that high. Rebounds are still mine."
"You damn guy, you remember what you just said."
Diop cursed, and whether it was because Tang Long affected his mindset, he actually missed the free throw.
"You still dare to play center after this? You're a disgrace to us centers!"
"Kid, you're dead!!"
DeSagana Diop glared fiercely at Tang Long. When the Cavaliers brought the ball past half-court and passed it to Tang Long, he didn't hesitate and went in hard!
With a weight of 254 pounds, the big guy stuck close to Tang Long, trash-talking him on defense.
"Diop, you're too soft. Watch me teach you how to lay up."
Diop quickly jumped up. Only when he jumped did he realize that this guy, Tang Long, was truly wicked. He just wanted to draw a foul!
...