Lin Yu scored 2 points and 1 assist in two singles, and the Celtics' defense was broken again.
They had to continue the defensive strategy in the middle of the first quarter, pulling in the defense and focusing on James at close range and Lin Yu at mid-to-long range.
The effect of this adjustment is still there. Lin Yu's long-range shots began to be limited, and in this game, his shooting rate was a bit bad. After making 2 of 2 shots in the beginning, he only made 1 of 3 shots.
In the middle of the second quarter, he made another 1-for-4 shot, plus the 2-for-2 shot just now.
Now, Lin Yu's shooting percentage is 5 of 11.
The Celtics changed their defensive strategy, and Lin Yu immediately hit the target, and his shooting data further dropped to 5-for-12.
On the other side, LeBron James' offensive efficiency has also dropped significantly.
After the Celtics pulled their defense in, the scoring opportunities James could get were concentrated in the mid-to-long range.
In this game, facing a very aggressive defense, even in single defense, his mid- and long-range shots were not very accurate.
And James, who has always been known for his reasonableness, simply stopped shooting and used various passing arrangements.
But in this case, the burden of scoring all fell on Lin Yu.
Therefore, even if his shooting percentage continued to decline, Lin Yu did not stop taking shots.
At halftime, Lin Yu, who made 7 of 17 shots, led the Cavaliers to 54:52, leading the Celtics by 2 points and entering the intermission.
When the second half restarted, the Celtics, who had made reasonable rotations and retained their main strength, began to exert their strength.
Lin Yu's two consecutive irons failed to tear apart the Celtics' defense. The role of the pick-and-roll and pass-and-cut was suddenly gone. The ball returned to James' hands, and the Cavaliers restarted their somewhat old break-up system.
Obviously, the breakthrough system is more difficult to tear apart the Celtics' defense.
So, after a month and a half, the Celtics, the favorites for the new season's championship, once again faced the Cavaliers, who easily defeated them in the season opener, and finally showed the defensive intensity they deserve.
In the third quarter, the Celtics took the lead.
"67:71, the tenacious Celtics relied on their explosion in the second half to overtake the score. The fourth quarter is about to begin. The Celtics hold a 4-point lead. At the same time, they firmly grasp the situation of the game.
, entering the fourth quarter of the game with an even greater advantage than the score!"
In the decisive battle of the fourth quarter, the deficit was only 4 points.
The Cavaliers were not impatient. When the offense was difficult to gain momentum, Mike Brown chose to strengthen the defense.
So, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the game turned into a defensive battle.
It is difficult for the Cavaliers' offense to break through the Celtics' iron wall, and it is difficult for the Celtics' already poor offense to take advantage of the Cavaliers' defense.
The game continued anxiously to the end of the fourth quarter, and the Celtics still held a 4-point lead.
"With the last 3 minutes and 27 seconds left in the game, the Celtics maintained a 4-point lead at 87:83. At the same time, the Cleveland Cavaliers had the ball and they had the opportunity to close the deficit to 2 points."
2 points equals a goal. Once the score drops back to 2 points, this game will become a game that everyone has a chance to win.
However, the Cavaliers failed to seize this opportunity because LeBron James took advantage.
"In this game, even though everyone's shooting percentage is poor, LeBron still maintains a high efficiency. So far, he has made 7 of 12 shots, and his shooting percentage is even higher than 50%."
With a shooting percentage higher than 50%, James still had a solid space to hit, so he took the shot very simply, and then, with a bang, the basketball hit the frame and came out.
"LeBron missed the mid-range shot, and the Celtics grabbed the rebound. They were very patient, and Ragnarok Rondo slowly controlled the ball past half court."
The Celtics' offense, facing the Cavaliers' man-to-man defense, gave the ball to Pierce.
In this game, Pierce's shooting percentage is the same as Lin Yu's, and it is also very bad. So far, he has only made 6 of 16 shots. However, when everyone is shooting poorly, his singles with the ball is still the most effective for the Celtics.
Grasp the scoring method.
"Paul Pierce, for his breakthrough, chose to push forward with his back, suddenly turned his back, made a fake shot, shook off LeBron James, continued to break through, and succeeded with a mid-range throw!"
TD North Shore Garden Arena erupted into violent cheers. At the critical moment, when the Celtics needed to score the most, Pierce stood up.
"He is truly a kaleidoscope on the offensive end and a big heart at critical moments!"
Lin Yu frowned. At this stage of the game, even he felt it was a bit tricky.
After the Celtics played this ball, the game time had completely entered the last three minutes, and the game had reached the final moment.
There was a beep and Mike Brown called a timeout.
Everyone filed to the sidelines, and Mike Brown grabbed the tactical board and started making tactical adjustments at the last moment of the game.
"LeBron, you are in great shape in this game. Next, you must take more balls to attack the Celtics' defense. We are already 6 points behind, and we need to score!"
Lin Yu stood in the middle of the crowd with a somewhat complicated expression.
Give the ball to James at the critical moment?
It's really not that he is bad. James's personal ability at critical moments is probably not even that of an All-Star.
Shaking his head secretly, Mike Brown adjusted his arrangement like this, and he had to start the mode of taking over the game.
The characteristic of "Give me the ball" is very clear. As long as Lin Yu wants the ball, his teammates will give it to Lin Yu at the first time without any hesitation.
Therefore, Lin Yu has already thought about how to play the next game.
At the end of the timeout, at the referee's whistle, the Cavaliers kicked the ball out from the sideline. James took the ball without hesitation. He also asked for a screen just like Mike Brown adjusted the arrangement, directly facing the Celtics defense.
An attack was launched.
At that moment, he even seemed a little brave and not afraid of death.
But when they rushed to the free throw line, the Celtics' defense showed some integrity and shifted towards James' side, James suddenly passed the ball.
"A pass through the crowd is too dangerous!"
A very dangerous pass was almost intercepted. Lin Yu rushed two steps and caught the ball.
Then, the North Shore Garden Arena erupted with exclamations and screams, because as long as Lin Yu caught the ball, it would definitely be a golden opportunity.
"Raga Rondo's follow-up was a little slow, giving China Lin room to take a shot and hit a three-pointer!"
Whoosh!
There was a crisp sound of the net being wiped, and the basketball shot straight through the heart and into the basket!
At that moment, the TD North Shore Garden Arena was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
"At the critical moment, it was China Lin again, who took a three-point shot and successfully hit it. He was too tough!"
"China Lin was too tough at the critical moment. After hitting a three-pointer, the Cavaliers successfully reduced the score to 3 points!"