Chapter 159 James has transformed and the Cavaliers are facing a strong challenge!

James really can't lose anymore, he can't afford to lose!
If the Lakers can beat the Cavaliers in this regular season finale and James performs well, it will be of great benefit to the Lakers' playoffs and even the finals.

Both the player morale and the team's revenue will be greatly improved.

In the pre-match press conference, James made a bold statement:

"The Lakers are the only team in the league that can stop the Cavaliers from breaking the record!"

"The Cavaliers should forget about beating us again. They just got lucky when they won in overtime last time!"

"Not only will the Lakers win this game, but if we meet the Cavaliers in the finals, we will also defeat them!"

It seems that the Lakers' recent victories over strong opponents have given James great confidence.

Kobe is a bit low-key because he feels that breaking out of the West is the top priority, rather than challenging the Cavaliers.

Unlike the high-profile James, Wang Yan is very low-key.

He even told reporters: "This is just a regular season game. We can win or lose. We won't discriminate. We just have to do our best!"

This is what Wang Yan said and did.

The team did not prepare for the game as if it were a major event. Scott asked his teammates to just do normal training and watch the Lakers game video for half an hour.

Apart from focusing on Kobe, no one else was considered.

7:30 p.m.

Quicken Loans Center in Cleveland.

The Cavaliers faced the aggressive Lakers at home.

This is the penultimate game of the regular season and is attracting much attention.

Because these two teams are likely to be opponents in the finals.

The Lakers' starting lineup is Kobe, James, Nash, Jordan Hill, and Metta World Peace (Artest).

The Cavaliers' starting five is still Wang Yan, TT, Jamison, Butler and Irving.

After all, the Lakers are the second-ranked team in the league, so the Cavaliers also played with all their players without any rest.

This is also a good opportunity to train troops.

Jump ball in the center circle.

The Lakers gave up the fight, and Wang Yan easily got the first ball possession for the Cavaliers.

All the home fans stood up, waiting for Wang Yan's opening show.

Even after watching so many games, Cavaliers fans still enjoy it. They just love watching this and can’t get enough!

Wang Yan did not disappoint the fans. Facing Jordan Hill's defense, he still easily slammed the ball!
boom!
The Lakers seemed to be prepared and didn't react. They immediately served the ball and organized an attack.

James advances with the ball.

The Cavaliers still implemented one-on-one defense on James, but they provided various assists and waited for opportunities to provide backup defense on Kobe.

Instead of passing the ball to Kobe, James called a screen, moved Jordan Hill to the high post, and then set a pick-and-roll and drove into the paint.

However, with Wang Yan guarding the restricted area, James did not dare to shoot.

After breaking through, James used his wide vision to pass the ball to Nash who was in an open position.

As a point guard, Nash has become a three-point shooter when playing with James.

Boom!
Maybe it was because of the wrong rhythm, Nash's three-pointer bounced out of the basket.

The basketball bounced right to Metta World Peace, who got the ball and passed it to Kobe.

It was Butler who was defending Kobe, but Irving and Jamison next to him were ready at any time.

As soon as Kobe got the ball, two people immediately rushed over and double-teamed Kobe!

Even when Kobe was in his 30s, he was still taken care of strictly.

Not only the Cavaliers did this, other teams also did this when facing the Lakers.

Kobe had little chance to shoot, so he had no choice but to pass the ball to Nash who was in an open position.

This time Nash did not miss the opportunity and shot the three-pointer calmly, whoosh!
Three point hit!

This is one of the reasons why the Lakers have been winning games recently, that is, when Kobe is double-teamed, he no longer insists on stealing the shot.

After all, he is not young anymore and his legs lack strength, so Kobe will pass the ball in time according to the situation on the court.

3:2
Cavaliers attack.

Wang Yan transformed into Bai Qiao again and started the passing show.

Perhaps he wanted to compete with James in passing skills, so as soon as Wang Yan came on, he imitated James and made a tank breakthrough.

Wang Yan’s tank breakthrough was not a reckless charge, but relied on speed and feints.

Of course, you must have a healthy body, after all, the closer you get to the restricted area, the denser the crowds.

boom!
Wang Yan finally pushed Jordan Hill away and passed the ball to TT.

The conspiracy has no solution!

If Wang Yan wasn't stopped, he would have gone straight for the layup.

TT successfully scored a dunk!
4:3
Of course, James was not willing to be outdone, and in return he also made a tank breakthrough.

Strangely, the Cavaliers' defense did not shrink, allowing James to get to the basket.

James kept looking at Wang Yan out of the corner of his eye.

He was overjoyed when he found that Wang Yan did not follow him.

Just when he was about to make a layup, a big hand reached out, snap!

Nailboard hat!

James was shocked. Who else could block him except Wang Yan?

After landing, James turned around and saw that it was TT!

Although TT is not a top inside player, his speed and enthusiasm are also good.

Under Wang Yan's training, his understanding of defense has improved several levels.

Even without Wang Yan, TT can still defend hard against James' breakthrough.

After all, he is an inside player!

James was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

However, James did not continue to be frustrated, but immediately started to chase and defend.

This is James' recent change.

If it were the James of the past, after being blocked, he would definitely rush to the referee and spread his hands to call a foul.

If the referee doesn't care, James will walk back slowly with a frustrated look on his face and will not participate in the defense.

But in the Lakers, Kobe won't spoil him.

At the beginning of the season, Kobe scolded James several times before James made changes.

Of course, his change was not entirely for Kobe, but because the Lakers were finding it increasingly difficult to play in the wild Western Conference, with more losses than wins during that period.

James must take the initiative to make changes, otherwise he will run away again.

Because James and Kobe were very active in returning to defense, the Cavaliers were unable to launch a fast break and fell into a positional battle.

Wang Yan saw this and was secretly shocked.

It seems that James has changed a lot. After being blocked, he did not go to find the referee, but lowered his head and chased after him!

This game is not easy to play...

Wang Yan organized the offense, dribbled the ball sideways, and suddenly started to attract the focus of the defense.

Then he passed the ball without looking at anyone, whoosh!

The basketball accurately found Jamison in the open space between the players.

Jamison took a mid-range shot, whoosh!
Jamison is comfortable catching the ball and has a good sense of rhythm, so his shooting percentage is still very high.

6: 3!

The Cavaliers' lead began to expand.

However, looking back, Kobe took advantage of the screen and made a fade away three-pointer.

Despite being double-teamed, Kobe still made this difficult three-pointer.

Swish!
So fierce!
The Cavaliers' home fans were moved by Kobe's dominance, and some of them even applauded and cheered for Kobe's goal.

In fact, even the opponents on the field wanted to applaud, but now it was a competition, so everyone could only keep a blank expression.

第一节战至8分27秒，双方比分来到23:21，湖人领先2分。

Apart from the opening show, Wang Yan did not take any shots, but got 5 assists and 2 blocks.

Although he didn't score, Wang Yan still helped the team a lot.

In addition, both the passes and blocks drew applause from the fans, making the game still very entertaining.

The Lakers also performed very well.

In addition to Kobe's 11 points, James also had 3 assists, scored 5 points, and had 1 steal on the defensive end.

Both sides began to deploy their troops and bring in substitutes one after another.

Wang Yan continued to stay on the court. It was his habit to play the entire first quarter.

After coming on as a substitute, Wang Yan continued to pass the ball to them, assisted them, set screens and positioned them.

Otherwise, why do people say that the Cavaliers players are like they are full of energy when they take the court?

If the team leader is so "approachable", how can the others not risk their lives?

The Lakers also have a very deep bench, and after a season of running-in, they are in good shape.

The score is still very tense.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 35:32, with the Cavaliers leading by 3 points.

Wang Yan went off the field to rest, and substitutes from both teams continued the battle.

However, the Lakers replaced James and asked him to lead the bench for a while.

This was a temporary change made by the Lakers.

It has a bit of the flavor of Tian Ji's horse racing.

James led the substitutes, suppressed the Cavaliers, and quickly reversed the score.

The home fans were shouting Wang Yan's name again.

Because they know that Wang Yan will go on a killing spree in the second quarter!
But Scott was not in a hurry and still let Wang Yan rest on the sidelines. After all, Wang Yan played the entire first quarter.

The second quarter lasted for more than 5 minutes, and the score was 47:40.
The Lakers' lead reached 7 points, and the Cavaliers head coach slowly called a timeout and prepared to make a substitution.

James was very excited. He pounded his chest and walked to the sidelines. His teammates came up to him and high-fived him.

The game was great in the last few minutes, giving the Lakers a chance to win.

Kobe was the first to rush over and hugged James tightly. The unity of the two is the foundation of the Lakers.

Although there have been many reports in the media about discord between the two, the team's victory is the best weapon to eliminate all conflicts.

Besides, both of them have the same desire for the championship. Whether it is true or not, they must fully cooperate and win the championship, which will be of great benefit to everyone.

The main lineups of both sides face off again!

As soon as Wang Yan came on the court, he made a passing match with Butler, and finally Wang Yan rushed into the penalty area and slammed the ball, getting 2 points.

Afterwards, the Lakers were not willing to be outdone. James and Kobe played a pick-and-roll, and then Kobe made a quick shot and scored, also 2 points!
The game is about to start!

However, Wang Yan, who came next, picked up the three-point skill package again.

He no longer breaks through or only uses mid-range shots, but instead shoots directly from beyond the three-point line.

The Lakers were also prepared. Jordan Hill and Metta World Peace double-teamed Wang Yan madly and defended him closely to prevent him from shooting.

It even starts near the midline.

But this does not pose a problem for Wang Yan.

He would make a false breakthrough, choose the slower moving side, and force a breakthrough.

At the moment when the two people were tricked into moving, Wang Yan would suddenly take a step back, or change direction, jump outside the three-point line, and shoot at the speed of light!
With Wang Yan's height and speed, even double-teaming him couldn't stop his three-point shot!
The gap is gradually narrowing.

Although Kobe also tried to shoot more three-pointers, his stability was obviously not as good as Wang Yan's. Moreover, he was older and his physical strength did not support him to shoot three-pointers continuously.

With 1 minute and 33 seconds left in the second quarter, the Cavaliers took the lead thanks to a big three-pointer from Wang Yan.

58: 56!

The Cavaliers fans all cheered, and the Quicken Loans Arena was filled with cheers.

This was the first time the Cavaliers took the lead in the second quarter.

It has to be Wang Yan!

Only if Wang Yan exerts his strength can the score be reversed.

But the Lakers are also strong. James and Kobe made a special gesture, ready to cooperate.

James used the screen to get to the baseline and pretended to break through and make a layup.

At the moment when Wang Yan rushed forward to assist in defense, James made a difficult pass from inside to outside, directly passing the ball to Nash.

Nash is in good shape today and has made 3 three-pointers.

So Irving and Butler immediately stepped forward to interfere.

Nash was quick to pass the ball to Kobe near the right sideline.

This is the purpose of James' passing.

It can be seen that James did make changes. If this tactic is successful, James will not have assists.

The assist was credited to Nash.

But James no longer plays for statistics, but becomes an offensive engine.

Kobe made a quick three-pointer!

59:58, the Lakers overtook by 1 point again.

The home stadium was instantly quiet.

Kobe also had a ferocious look on his face, and kept roaring at the Cavaliers fans.

Even when playing away from home, Kobe showed no weakness.

If no one from the Cavaliers stands up to respond, the Lakers' momentum will rise and the Cavaliers will be in danger.

Wang Yan's face was solemn. He would not allow this to happen!
This is the Cavaliers' home court, this is my territory!

Wang Yan held the ball in the midfield, went beyond the three-point line, and suddenly looked up at the basket.

Jordan Hill and Artest both thought Wang Yan was going to shoot another three-pointer.

The two men rushed forward reflexively, raised their hands high, trying to block Wang Yan's three-point shot.

Unexpectedly, Wang Yan's move was just a fake. He glanced at the basket but didn't catch the ball!
There is no way, Wang Yan’s shooting speed is too fast, that is the shooting speed of peak Curry, it is necessary to block it in advance!
Seeing the two men jumping up, Wang Yan bent down easily and rushed over.

Leaving the two of them alone and confused in the air.

The other Lakers players didn't expect Wang Yan to be able to get inside the three-point line in an instant, because he was just throwing three-pointers just now.

By the time James and Kobe rushed over to defend, it was too late.

Wang Yan rushed to the free throw line and took off directly!
A dunk from the free throw line in actual combat, a re-enactment of the scene!

boom!
Wang Yan flew towards the basket like a golden-winged roc and completed an extremely smooth Wang-style slam dunk!

The home fans instantly burst into thunderous roars!
"Wang Yan Niubi!"

"I love you Wang Yan!"

"Wang Yan! I want to give birth to a baby for you!"

. . . .

When the score is close, a slam dunk can really boost the morale of the entire team instantly.

The other Cavaliers players were actually suppressed by the combination of James and Kobe, and the game was a bit dull.

After all, the opponent is a wealthy team, and both James and Kobe are superstars.

But Wang Yan's amazing dunk told his teammates what a true superstar is!

60:59, the Cavaliers overtook by 1 point!
James and Kobe were also shocked, but they looked at each other with firm eyes.

The Lakers have to be able to continue to respond.

There are 37 seconds left in the second quarter.

Each side has one attack opportunity.

(End of this chapter)