The second half of the game was about to begin, and the 16-point difference was a bit dazzling.
The Heat's confidence was high after a disastrous defeat in the last game. During the midfield interview, Shaquille O'Neal even revealed the reason why they were able to take the lead in this game.
"I was too tired in the last game, and we lost miserably. After that, I rested for a long time and did not participate in training, so I came back with full blood for this game!"
Shaquille O'Neal, who returned full of blood, scored 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks in the first half, performing well.
During the discussion in the commentary box, Kenny Smith made a guess: "Shaq is indeed too tired. He is already 35 years old and weighs more than 300 pounds. Under the current playoff rules, it is indeed difficult for him.
Continuous dedication and outstanding personal performance.”
"But in this game, Shaq performed very well. Together with Dwayne, he led Miami to refuse to sweep."
When Kenny Smith said this, Charles Barkley immediately became unhappy: "Hey, Kenny, the game isn't over yet, it's too early to say this."
Kenny Smith spread his hands. Because of his previous bet, he only accepted the result that the Heat refused to sweep the game. Other results would be a slap in his face.
The second half of the game started quickly in the Cavaliers' backcourt, with Lin Yu and LeBron James partnering on the wings, plus the two shooters of Daniel Gibson and Rashard Lewis, as well as the flexible Anderson Varejao.
The Cavaliers' goal is naturally to come back and win the game. This one-star and three-shooter lineup also demonstrates their goal, because this is a point-chasing lineup.
On the Heat's side, Pat Riley was already preparing for the next game. Shaquille O'Neal did not play and stayed off the court to rest. Wade faced Lin Yu and James alone.
Lin Yu controlled the ball and steadily advanced to the frontcourt.
When controlling the top of the arc in the frontcourt, LeBron James went around to the top of the arc and received the ball. Anderson Varejao immediately rushed over and provided a screen.
Lin Yu rushed to the right without the ball, but James used the screen to quickly get into the three-point line.
A regular offensive play seemed to have no changes. When LeBron James rushed to the free throw line, he was immediately flanked.
He immediately distributed the ball, and Lin Yu received the ball on the unnoticed weak side.
But there were unexpectedly two more defensive players in front of him, which confused the commentators who had not paid attention to the weak side before. They only saw Lin Yu receiving the ball and then scoring the ball, directly finding Rasha in the right corner.
De Lewis.
Lewis, who has been in average form since the Eastern Conference semifinals, raised his hand and shot a three-pointer... Whoops!
The basketball got into the basket steadily. Given the wide open opportunity, Lewis' shooting was still very steady. He did not miss this crucial three-pointer!
"At 60:47, the point difference was narrowed to 13 points. We did not see the cooperation of the Cavaliers' weak side very clearly. Now there is a replay, let us see what happened..."
What happened on the weak side? In fact, it was just a very simple off-ball pick-and-roll between Lin Yu and Rashard Lewis. After the split, Lin Yu seemed to have a suction force, immediately sucking away the two Heat defensive players.
.
Pat Riley, who witnessed all this, was furious: "Keep an eye on your people!"
The target of the roar was Udonis Haslem. Haslem was helpless. Shaq was not present, but Mourning was present. He was required to make up for and assist in defense. He had to mark people, but he needed to mark Lewis.
Jumping to the outside is not a defensive method he is good at.
The Cavaliers recovered a three-pointer like this, but the key to chasing points was defense.
Without the old shark present, Lin Yu seemed even more unscrupulous when guarding Wade alone. He rushed forward to fight for the ball. Wade immediately broke through and was blocked by James in the mid-range.
In this game, Wade shot with the feel of a long-distance shot, so he took the shot without hesitation. However, he did not expect that Lin Yu's defense suddenly became more aggressive than in the first half.
The whole person rushed forward to interfere, and Lin Yu successfully prevented a fine iron shot.
With a bang, the basketball smashed out of the frame!
Varejao didn't even get stuck under the basket. He jumped up and grabbed the rebound before Mourning. Then he passed the ball to James.
"Fight back!"
James turned back to promote the fast break, and the Cavaliers' counterattack was as smooth as running water. From the perspective of the commentary box, they saw Lin Yu and Rashad Lewis sprinting from the left and right.
In the middle is James, who opens the way like a tank. He attracts most of the defense.
Then he passed the ball to one side, and Lin Yu caught the basketball amidst the screams of the American Airlines Center. The constant screams were not because Lin Yu got an open position.
Instead, Wade, who was guarding him, was unable to turn back and gave Lin Yu a space to shoot, and Lin Yu took action directly!
"China Lin's three points..."
Against Wade's somewhat feeble interference, Lin Yu threw the ball, oh!
The crisp sound of wiping the net was like thunder, hitting the head of every Heat fan. This ball was a bit crucial, because after this ball, the point difference was only 10 points!
"At the beginning of the second half, the Cleveland Cavaliers scored three consecutive points. Now, the point difference has been narrowed to 10 points!"
Kenny Smith was a little anxious. In the first two or three rounds of the second half, the Heat were obviously suppressed.
"Pat Riley should let Shaq come on the court early, Dwayne is a little alone on the court..."
But Pat Riley had no intention of making a substitution, and even after losing 6 points in a row, he had no intention of pausing for adjustments. The game just continued.
Wade faced the Cavaliers' siege and hit another iron. The fiery touch in the first half seemed to be gone forever.
During the Cavaliers' counterattack, James rushed to the frontcourt with the ball and first passed the ball to Lin Yu. As a result, Lin Yu from the outside caught the ball and immediately attracted everyone's attention.
He scored another point and passed it to James. James broke into the penalty area and dunked successfully.
Just like that, in the first three offensive rounds of the second half, Lin Yu broke out...
"Another assist, LeBron James dunked, 60:52, the point difference is only 8 points!"
The subject of Charles Barkley's commentary was Lin Yu, and he then started boasting: "China Lin broke out again. He is simply the key man of the Cleveland Cavaliers. When the Cavaliers continued to chase points, he scored 3 points and 2 assists.
Dominated the Cavaliers' 8:0 offensive wave!"
Pat Riley called a timeout and adjusted his tactics without making any substitutions.
His adjustment was effective, and the Heat instantly became patient, looking for opportunities by attacking back and forth, scoring two goals in a row, and stabilizing the situation.
But the point difference was narrowed to 8 points, and Kenny Smith kept silent and refused to sweep.
Because compared to the huge score difference of 16 points, the score difference of 8 points made this game suspense again. The Cavaliers only need to exert a little effort to recover the deficit in two or three rounds.
Just like they did at the beginning of the second half.
Charles Barkley felt Kenny Smith's change, and he immediately said: "With an 8-point difference, the Cavaliers' comeback is in progress. It seems that they are not ready to let the game return to Cleveland!"
