After losing two consecutive Finals games, the Cleveland Cavaliers finally returned to their home court at the Quicken Loans Center.
Soon, the third game of the finals between the two sides started here.
Perhaps learning from the lessons of the previous two games, this time, the Cavaliers played very strongly from the start. From LeBron James to Kyrie Irving, both of them used various means to break into the Timberwolves' goal. Scores continued under the basket.
Kevin Love on the inside also changed his previous playing style and chose to pull out from the outside to shoot a three-pointer from time to time.
His touch was average before, but this time he was surprisingly good, throwing 4 three-pointers in the first half.
On the other hand, the Minnesota Timberwolves seemed a bit "acclimated" when they came to the Quicken Loans Center Arena. Especially in the first half, their condition was not very good.
Zhao Feiyang's touch was pretty good at first, but starting from the second quarter, he gradually faced double-teaming from the Cavaliers' bench. Over time, his touch gradually became less brilliant.
Others are even more so.
The Cavaliers were unable to resist the Timberwolves' three-pointers before. This time, the three-pointers went to the opponent's side, and the positions of the two sides almost changed.
Because of this, the previously sluggish Cavaliers performed outstandingly in this game. They had opened the score to 11 points with less than 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter, which also allowed the Cavaliers to establish an early victory.
By the end of the game, the score between the two sides was 116 to 109.
A 7-point gap ended the third game of the finals between the two sides.
The Cavaliers, who returned home, finally tied the score to 1-2. Even though they were still lagging behind the Timberwolves, the Cavaliers fans had regained the confidence they had lost before.
Everyone didn't wait too long. After the third game, the fourth game came soon as scheduled.
Like the last game, this time the Cavaliers played very proactively from the start. LeBron simply shouldered the team's offensive burden. He changed his previous style of play and took the initiative to dribble the ball and beat Andrew Wiggins in isolation.
The two have long had some "grievances". Wiggins also tried his best to defend LeBron, but the gap between the two sides was difficult to make up in a short time. LeBron kept attacking the basket with his strong body, and Wiggins simply couldn't. Unable to block.
The Timberwolves can't send other players to double-team. After all, there is Kevin Love on the inside to assist LeBron at any time, and there are All-Star guards like Irving on the outside waiting for the opportunity. Therefore, they can only watch LeBron. The ball was scored.
After LeBron led the team to open up the score, Irving started playing singles again.
This time, Zhao Feiyang personally switched defenses with Zach LaVine, leaving him to guard Irving.
The two have also changed from the previous mismatch to a formal confrontation.
The defensive effect is still good. Although Irving will still rely on agile means to break through and score from time to time, his offensive status is generally declining. Zhao Feiyang almost defends him closely, which makes Irving in the second half. It was very uncomfortable to play, especially the three-point shooting percentage which almost plummeted.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhao Feiyang began to increase the number of shots. He asked LaVine to choose more opportunities to break through, while he played off the ball more and used his long-range shooting ability to attack the Cavaliers' basket.
This style of play still has a certain effect.
It also allowed the Timberwolves, led by Zhao Feiyang, to successfully catch up with the Cavaliers. By the end of the third quarter, the scores of the two sides were on the same starting line again.
However, when the fourth quarter came, the Timberwolves did not save the situation as they expected.
As the super core of the team, LeBron continues to dribble the ball in singles. Even if the Timberwolves choose to double-team, it will be difficult to solve this problem.
After all, Irving and Love's Timberwolves can find corresponding people to defend and limit their output, but it is really not easy for a player of LeBron's level.
The forward line is always the weak point of the Timberwolves. Apart from Andrew Wiggins, they really can't find a better replacement.
Therefore, at the last moment of the game, the Timberwolves still failed to withstand LeBron's singles. In the end, the score was 104 to 100. The Cavaliers defeated the Timberwolves with a 4-point gap and won another game.
After the big score was tied at 2-2, the match took place again at the Target Center Arena.
The Timberwolves, who returned to their home court, were full of energy and tried to take advantage of this opportunity to win the game and gain the match point.
Unexpectedly, within a few minutes of the game, Dwight Howard, the team's main center, was forced to leave the game because he accidentally sprained his ankle.
The moment Howard was helped out of the tunnel, fans throughout the arena were in panic.
Everyone knows that Howard is the most important part of the Timberwolves. If he retires due to injury, a team that lacks an All-Star center will definitely have big problems.
It was already difficult to deal with the opponent's Big Three, and now our own combat effectiveness has been weakened. This is really a desperate thing.
The fact is exactly as fans expected. Not long after Howard left, the Cavaliers continued to send the ball to the basket, deliberately creating opportunities for Love and Tristan Thompson.
The two also took this opportunity to bomb the Timberwolves' inside line in various ways, causing the Timberwolves' defense to have loopholes for a period of time, and the Cavaliers seized the opportunity to open up the score.
When the game entered the second half, the situation did not improve at all. In the end, the situation continued to deteriorate as completely as in the first half.
Zhao Feiyang on the outside continued to work hard to score points, increase breakthrough opportunities, and even scored a difficult two-plus-one under LeBron's interference block, but he still could not save the team and still could not solve the team's internal problems.
By the time the game was about to end, the point difference between the two sides had widened to 15 points. Kevin Love also scored the most points in the series with 26 points. Another player, Tristan, also scored 14 points and 10 rebounds. It is said that the two combined accounted for one-third of the Cavaliers' scoring.
Seeing that the Timberwolves' pursuit was hopeless, head coach Norman Thomas could only replace Zhao Feiyang and send all the substitutes on the court to consume the last garbage time.
Zhao Feiyang, who was sitting off the court, scored 34 points and 11 assists alone, but could only watch the team lose in the end.
Beep.
When the timer sounded, the game ended at 117 to 103, and the game ended with a 14-point difference.
With all Timberwolves fans looking forward to it, the Timberwolves not only failed to save the situation, but also lost three consecutive games, allowing the Cavaliers to win the match point at their home court.
After such a game, the support ratings of the two teams almost reversed again, and the highly anticipated Timberwolves were questioned even more than before.
