James relied on his strong personal ability to score consecutive points in the third quarter, and his animal-like physical fitness was undoubtedly revealed.
The Clippers relied more on their overall team, led by Curry, and played steadily with Randolph's low-post offense as the core.
Randolph's performance in the first half was average. The chaos between the two sides prevented him from finding many good scoring opportunities.
In the third quarter, Dunleavy regrouped the team at halftime and gave Randolph more opportunities to attack in the low post.
Randolph also firmly grasped the situation. Facing Hickson, he adopted a shallow position and faced the basket to attack hard.
The advantage of having your back to the basket is that you can face teammates on the outside, facilitate passing the ball, and cooperate with teammates inside and outside.
Therefore, the core big centers in history have mainly used back-to-the-basket skills, and outside players revolve around him.
The advantage of facing the basket is that the offense is more lethal, and facing the basket is not easily interfered by help defenders.
In the 1998 Finals, if Karl Malone received the ball and turned towards the basket, Michael Jordan would not steal the ball from behind.
Gasol has a certain mid-range shooting ability. He pulled O'Neal away and handed the basket to Randolph for attack.
James rushed inside one after another and succeeded, and Randolph also used his solid footsteps and excellent body to score inside the Cavaliers.
Randolph's physical fitness is not as explosive as James, but his skills are delicate enough, and his footsteps and touch are top-notch.
Since renewing his contract in advance, Randolph has calmed down to polish himself seriously and maintain a stable and good condition.
Regardless of whether the team wins or loses, he can produce a pretty good stat sheet, and his performance on the field is nothing to mention.
Min Congda watched as Randolph, the drunk king in "Wine, Sex, Fortune", changed his ways and returned to his right ways, and the game got better and better.
There was regret in his heart, but what was the use of regret? It can't be traded, and it can't be cut.
He has settled down in Los Angeles, and his girlfriend may get married in the next two years, and he can earn a salary by playing ball steadily.
There was no reasonable reason to send him away. Min Congda really dug a hole for himself.
Relying on Randolph's performance, the Clippers always dominated the Cavaliers in the score until 76:77.
The Clippers are still one point ahead of the Cavaliers, and the offensive power is in the hands of the Clippers.
The ball was once again given to Randolph in the low post, still in a shallow position. After receiving the ball, he immediately turned to the basket.
Hickson is really scared of being beaten. Randolph has already scored 18 points on him.
He scored 10 points in the third quarter alone. This fat guy is really unstoppable.
Randolph slumped his shoulders and observed the defense. The Cavaliers seemed to have no intention of double-teaming.
Take the middle road and attack!
Hickson was pushed all the way in and did not dare to take the initiative to exert force. Taking the initiative to exert force would be a foul.
But he couldn't stop him. At this time, Big Z on the other side came to help defend and attacked Randolph from the front.
As a result, Randolph resisted the double-teaming of two people, threw a high shot with his left hand, hit the board high, and bounced into the basket!
Score two points!
76:79, the Clippers maintain a 3-point lead.
LeBron James once again broke into the Clippers' paint like a bull.
If he only has this kind of bull rush, Randolph and Gasol can stop him by knocking on the door.
But Gasol helped defend, and the 45-degree Z on the right was free, and James made a deft no-look pass.
The ball was given to Big Z, who slowly took a three-pointer and hit it to tie the score.
This is the scary thing about James. You see, he is physically strong, his skills are a little rough, and his playing is a bit ugly.
But his passing vision is historic. (His vision in running the basketball business is also historic)
He has a rough body and a Wu-like appearance, but he also has outstanding vision and exquisite passing skills.
LeBron James is a basketball machine that combines many contradictions.
At least half of the Clippers fans at the scene support James and the Cavaliers.
After hitting the shot and tying the game, the Clippers called a timeout and the crowd cheered.
Min Congda listened to the cheering fans wearing the No. 23 jersey and cursed in his heart with disdain: "Humph, you traitors!"
I don’t know where he got the nerve to call people traitors.
At this time, Siakam Jr. admired James's playing style even more.
He can make sudden moves and shoot, and his passing is so good. He basically supports the team's offense by himself.
Excited, he kept telling his father, "I want to be a player like LeBron James in the future!"
Chamo smiled and touched his son's head and said: "Becoming James is not an easy task, but you can catch up now."
Siakam Jr. nodded. He had already decided that he would start playing basketball seriously after returning to Cameroon.
After the Cavaliers and Clippers tied at the end of the third quarter, the psychological advantage gradually tilted towards the Cavaliers.
When James was off the court, the Cavaliers came off the bench to play the Clippers' second team for a 7-0 spurt.
Dunleavy's timeout was in vain. Fortunately, Ricky Davis stepped up again and broke through the basket for a layup, causing an inside foul and going to the free throw line.
At this time, Ricky Davis can make people see the ball-handling ability of a player who once averaged 20+ points per game.
Two free throws were made to stop the Clippers' bleeding slightly. The third quarter ended quickly. The Cavaliers led the Clippers by 5 points 86:81 entering the fourth quarter.
In the final battle of the fourth quarter, both sides ran and fought randomly for a whole game, and finally got a little tired and slowed down.
The two sides started to fight one after another, and I didn't hit even if I didn't hit. I didn't push for a fast break when I grabbed the rebound. It was just a matter of time and effort without any mistakes.
And all of this is in preparation for the final sprint for the main force, and not making mistakes is the most important thing.
At this time, the Cavaliers made a mistake. West passed the ball at the top of the arc and was intercepted by PJ Tucker.
After the steal, the Clippers launched a fast-break counterattack. Gordon rushed to the frontcourt and caught the ball for an easy layup.
86:83, the score difference became 3 points. James shook his head as he watched, the pass was too imprudent.
With 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the two sides were tied at 88:84, with the Cavaliers leading by 4 points, and the main players of both sides reappeared.
At this time, LeBron James had scored 27 points. He was omnipotent on the offensive end, shooting 10 of 16 from the field.
For the Clippers, Randolph scored 18 points and Curry scored 14 points. Except for the three-pointer at the buzzer, his performance in this game was far less impressive than James's fans.
But Curry is about to use his personal performance in the fourth quarter to reverse this impression gap.
Min Congda watched Curry catch and dribble the ball in the backcourt and suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.
"Oops! Curry seems to have been holding back tonight and not throwing three-pointers seriously! But to be honest with the Cavaliers' defense... Mike Brown, you call a timeout and rearrange the defense!"
Min Congda now especially wants to pass a small note to Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown, telling him to "strengthen the defense of the back line!"
(End of chapter)
