Before the game, James told all his teammates, "We can't lose!"
After half the game, in the visiting team's locker room, Wang Zelin said to his teammates, "We are the strongest, and the Heat can't beat us."
Obviously, neither of them wanted to lose to each other today, especially Wang Zelin.
In the first contest between the Heat and the Trail Blazers this season, Wang Zelin and others lost the game at home. Although they came to the Heat's home court tonight, the Heat already lost one of their generals, Wade, at the beginning. If so, they would still win.
If they can't hit the ball, even if they really break out of the Western Conference and advance to the Finals, they probably won't be a match for the Heat.
After all, the Heat and Trail Blazers are not in the same division. After a regular line, there are only two chances to compete. They have already lost one game first, and they must win this one no matter what.
Fortunately, judging from the first half of the game, the winner was Wang Zelin. He scored 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocks in a single quarter... He got a daunting 5 blocks in the half, directly beating him in the basket.
The strong frame-protecting ability is clearly displayed.
Under the leadership of Wang Zelin, the Trail Blazers scored 31 points in the second quarter and once again limited the Heat's scoring to less than 20 points in a single quarter. They only scored 18 points in the second quarter, which was not even as good as the first quarter.
At halftime, the Trail Blazers led the Heat by 20 points, 57:37.
It is worth mentioning that of the Heat's 37 points in the first half, 17 were scored by James. He also contributed 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 block.
James' performance tonight was definitely eye-catching, but compared with Wang Zelin's terrifying half-time score of 21 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 blocks, it was obviously a step below.
"Wang is right, we can't lose such a game that we shouldn't lose! Facts have proved that our pre-game strategy was correct. Although James scored 17 points alone, we allowed the Heat to only score 37 points.
In the second half, keep your spirits up and stay focused. I don’t want to see a 20-point reversal tonight!”
Coach Terry Stotts struck while the iron was hot and started gesticulating with the tactical board.
Although the Trail Blazers are now 20 points ahead of the Heat, he knows that as the two consecutive NBA champions, the Heat's resilience is by no means comparable to that of ordinary teams. Even without Wade, they still have the two giants James and Bosh.
Now, as long as one of the two accidentally goes berserk in the second half, 20 points is really nothing to a superstar.
Therefore, he believes that it is necessary to pour some cold water appropriately.
At the same time, he believes that as long as the Blazers players make every attack well and focus on every defense, there will be no chance of the Heat reversing.
After all, this year's Trail Blazers are the absolute dominant players throughout the regular season!
The halftime break was either long or short. As the cheerleaders walked off the court, the lineups of both sides in the third quarter couldn't wait to rush forward.
As expected, the Trail Blazers put out their full lineup. They thought that in the next third quarter of the game, one quarter would determine the outcome!
On the Heat's side, the inside duo is Anderson Bosh, and the outside trio is James Ray Allen and Battier.
en, wait a minute, James wants to switch to the No. 1 position?
Obviously, Heat coach Spoelstra's personnel adjustments have left others confused.
Is this to abandon the traditional number one position and directly let James serve as the core organizer?
Well, with James' usual all-encompassing style of play, there's really nothing wrong with playing like this. And in this way, James will have a natural mismatch advantage when facing Lillard.
It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone!
After thinking about it in his mind, coach Terry Stotts looked at Heat coach Spoelstra with a bit of admiration in his eyes: He really deserves to be a championship coach, he has two brushes!
At the same time, the fighting spirit in his heart became even stronger.
Spoelstra didn't know what Terry Stotts was thinking, and he was also worried at this time, because the real initiator of this new lineup plan was not him, but James on the court!
Maybe outsiders don't know how extensive James' power is within the Heat. In fact, in many cases, James, the leader of the team, has more authority than Spoelstra.
And this is precisely the difference between the NCAA and the NBA. In the NBA world, stars are the most important.
But James, among the many leading stars in the league, is one of the most controlling. Therefore, if the two have a dispute, Spoelstra, as the coach of the Heat, must be the first to give in.
What makes Spoelstra feel gratified and mixed with a little helplessness is that James' decision was proved to be correct at critical moments in many of the Heat's past games.
So tonight, I hope you are still right! I hope you can lead the Heat to the final victory!
The above are the complex emotions in Spo's heart.
The Heat took the lead in the first attack of the second half.
James took the ball in the backcourt and advanced quickly, passing Lillard and Matthews all the way. When he wanted to get to the basket to complete the one-stop, he found that King Zero and Aldridge had already returned to the basket.
I had no choice but to give up the idea of hitting the basket.
Wang Zelin was explosive on the defensive end tonight. After halftime, he blocked 5 shots to prove his unshakable position at the basket.
Although James was a little unconvinced and wanted to challenge again, he found that when he saw the figure of Trail Blazers No. 36 standing under the basket like a giant spirit god, he unconsciously felt a little trembling in his heart.
No, I can't be impulsive...
LeBron, you have to organize your teammates and try to let your teammates score. You can't be fooled by the opponent anymore...
James comforted himself in his heart.
In fact, there is some truth in his thinking.
Because the core of the Blazers' defense tonight has been clearly put on the table. They are just focusing on you, LeBron James. If you want to score, you can... but it will never be that easy for you.
As for your other teammates, you can really rely on them to beat the Blazers to death. Terry Stotts and Wang Zelin, who formulated this strategy, also recognized it.
After clarifying his inner thoughts with James, he no longer rushed to break through. Instead, he waited for all his teammates to get into position before starting to make tactical gestures to let his teammates move away and let him beat Lillard in isolation.
He wanted to attract Wang Zelin in the low post on the right wing to double-team him, and then let Anderson get the open space. But Wang Zelin was motionless in the low post, leaving him helpless.
If the enemy can't move, let me move over there!
After thinking about it, James changed direction and his intention was very obvious. Lillard moved laterally and defended him. Unfortunately...
"boom!"
In the physical collision, James was like an invincible tank, easily knocking Lillard away, and then accelerated toward the basket.
At this moment, Lillard began to understand Batum's desperation when defending James.
This guy's body energy is so terrifying!
Fortunately, Wang Zelin reacted quickly and came up with defense in time. Seeing James jumping up, ready to dunk, Wang Zelin's eyes were not afraid, and he jumped up with a fierce expression, taking off to block the shot.
However, he was fooled.
James did not dunk, but took the ball back to his waist. After a short period of time in the air, he sidestepped Wang Zelin's block and passed the ball behind Wang Zelin's voice.
Anderson received the pass under the basket, immediately pulled out the green onions and dunked with both hands.
At 57:39, the Heat scored the first attack of the second half.
"Yeah!!! A wonderful assist, LeBron was in the air and Anderson dunked hard with both hands on the spot, reducing the point difference to 18 points."
Kenny Smith said excitedly.
Although after this goal was scored, the score difference between the two teams was still very different, and the Heat may not necessarily be able to prevent the Trail Blazers' next offensive, but in any case, this magical pass was indeed extremely exciting, which made
Smith, who has always had a stable personality, couldn't help but exclaimed.
"This shot was very good, but how to defend the Blazers' offense next is the real challenge for LeBron and the Heat."
After this goal, Barkley no longer doubted James' ability at the No. 1 position, but from his tone, he was still not optimistic about the Heat's eventual reversal.
"Let's wait and see."
Kenny Smith said calmly.
Trail Blazers offense.
Lillard also wanted to make a quick break, but as soon as he caught the ball, he was blocked by a figure in front of him.
James!
Full court press?
Lillard was a little surprised, and then sneered.
It seems that my ability to control the ball has been underestimated!
But in the next few seconds, James' unilateral ability exceeded Liad's imagination. How could he maintain such excellent agility and movement speed despite being so big?
God, this old man is too partial to James!
After trying to overtake several times without success, and seeing an eight-second violation in the backcourt, a loud shout came from the frontcourt, scaring many fans in front of the TV.
"Damien, here!"
It turned out that Batum saw that Lillard was still unable to pass halftime and hurriedly came to the center circle to assist.
Seeing this, Lillard quickly jumped up and passed the ball.
At this moment, a figure wearing jersey No. 31 appeared on the passing line.
"Oops!"
"Not good!"
"Return to defense quickly!"
For a moment, Butler, Wang Zelin and Terry Stotts on the sidelines couldn't help but scream.
Looking again, there was a "pop" sound, Lillard's pass had been blocked by Heat No. 31.
Shane Battier!
Completed a very crucial steal.
"LeBron"
At this time, Battier suddenly roared, and everyone in Li came back to his senses instantly.
Unfortunately, it's too late.
After Battier stole the ball, he took two steps towards the Heat half, stopped two steps away from the three-point line, grabbed the ball with both hands, passed it over Lillard's head and threw it in.
On James' side, the moment Battier roared after the steal, James understood the situation and turned around and rushed towards the basket at full speed.
"boom!"
One step, two steps... Finally, James caught the trajectory of the basketball, jumped up, grabbed the ball with his left hand, and slammed it into the frame.
"hiss!!!!"
Through the replay on the big screen, people were surprised to find that after James ran and took off at full speed without the ball, his head was flat at the highest point.
"LeBron James!!!"
The next moment, the blast of the home DJ shocked the nearly 20,000 fans in the American Airlines Arena, and then the cheers of MVP swept through again.
The Heat's morale, with the blessing of this dunk, soared rapidly in a way that was difficult for outsiders to understand.
This can't go on like this!
Looking at the scenes around him, Wang Zelin knew that the key to this game was the competition with the stars.
In other words, it lies in the play between him and James.
In the two rounds after returning from the second half, the Heat's performance was amazing. So, as an excellent socialist successor, it is time for him to return the favor.
"Brothers, give me the ball and I will take you home!"
Picking up the basketball that was hanging low, Wang Zelin stood up, turned to look at all his teammates, and said one of the Black Mamba's classic quotes.
"king……"
I have to say that the force of these words is indeed invincible. After hearing this, Lillard and others were stunned for a moment and looked at Wang Zelin stupidly.
"It's time to end this game!"
After another word, Wang Zelin sent the sideline ball to Lillard.
"Yeah! I know what to do."
The latter nodded in response and advanced the ball unhurriedly.
Arriving in the frontcourt, Wang Zelin caught the ball in the high post and gestured to his teammates to initiate a cut without the ball strategy.
As the current leader of the league, some of the regular tactics that the Trail Blazers have used frequently this season have already been written down in notebooks by the coaching staff of the other 29 teams, and they have instructed their players one by one.
Seeing other Trail Blazers players starting to move around Wang Zelin without the ball, James signaled his teammates with his eyes. The four teammates understood the situation and stayed close to their defenders. When the defenders were doing pick-and-rolls without the ball, they could quickly switch defenses.
For a while, the Heat were able to prevent leaks, and it was obvious that they had really worked hard.
However, the Heat still underestimated one point.
That is Wang Zelin!
When his teammates restrained the Heat's four players, it also meant that Wang Zelin got a 1-on-1 singles opportunity.
Once he was in the open position, Wang Zelin showed no mercy. He hit Anderson with his back, then suddenly turned outward, shot, and the ball went in.
This is another reason why the Blazers frequently use this tactic. It doesn't matter if other players can't get out of the open space. As long as Wang Zelin gets a 1-on-1 singles opportunity, he can transform from the strongest shield on the defensive end into the strongest offensive end.