The second quarter of the game begins.
After the main players of both sides fought fiercely for a quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers took the lead in making adjustments. LeBron James took a rest, and Kevin Love also temporarily sat on the bench. Only Kyrie Irving, one of the Big Three, was left on the court to lead the team's offense.
In other positions, Channing Frye and Iman Shumpert stepped up, shouldering the burden without the two giants LeBron and Love on the court.
For the Timberwolves, head coach Thibodeau is always a maverick.
This time he was not as stubborn as before. He replaced Derrick Rose at No. 1 and asked Zach LaVine to take his place.
However, Zhao Feiyang was still in the second position and failed to get a chance to rest.
The same goes for Andrew Wiggins at No. 3. Only Serge Ibaka at No. 4 was temporarily replaced and Adrian Ennis came on as a substitute.
The worst thing is Dwight Howard at the fifth position. Originally, his physical fitness was not as good as before, but now coach Thibodeau is still unwilling to replace him. This makes Howard look unhappy and always mutter some strange things. Words, I don’t know if I am greeting someone!
call out.
The game begins again.
Cavaliers offense.
Irving held the ball past half-court, and he hit LaVine one-on-one at the top of the arc. The two met each other, and Irving made a cross-step to shake LaVine away and rushed to the right. After entering the wing position, facing Wiggins who was coming to defend him, Irving pretended to shoot, but in fact he made a "Bowing to the Buddha" action. out.
Wiggins was sent flying by Irving.
The scene was filled with exclamations of surprise.
Irving's offense was not over yet. He took advantage of the situation and switched hands to his left hand and rushed toward the basket. Just as he was about to raise the basketball and take a shot, Howard under the basket also rushed over to defend, leaping high to try to intercept his layup.
Unfortunately, Irving hit the ball on the backboard with a high throw, and the basketball rebounded and fell into the basket.
Snapped.
The ball went in.
Of course, he was helpless when he failed to guard Owen Howard, but he tried his best. After all, he is not in the state of explosive physical fitness when he was young, and Irving is not an ordinary player, so it is not surprising that he cannot guard him.
But when the Timberwolves counterattacked and Howard ran across half court, Coach Thibodeau, who was standing on the sidelines, began to shout and question Howard.
"Dwight, what are you doing? You could have guarded him on that shot just now!"
"Open your eyes...this is not a place for you to sleepwalk..."
Howard rolled his eyes angrily when he heard this. He glanced at Thibodeau and said to the latter in an extremely unhappy tone, "Tom, if you can take me off to rest, let alone Kyrie, even if it's Michael." I can hold him down..."
call out.
As soon as Howard finished speaking, coach Thibodeau directly rushed to the referee to indicate a substitution.
The sudden whistle also made many people at the scene confused, especially Howard. He had just reached the three-point line and had not even had time to enter the basket.
"You want to rest? I'll give it to you! Go to the bench and get enough rest!"
Thibodeau folded his hands on his chest, looking indifferent and doing a party, Howard said.
Although being replaced was a bit sudden, Howard didn't care so much. Unhappy as he was, he walked to the bench to rest with a sense of satisfaction.
Gorgui Dieng replaced Howard.
The game continues on the court.
Without Rose on the court, Zhao Feiyang is the absolute core of the Timberwolves. After LaVine was stared at by Irving, Zhao Feiyang went up from the wing to get the ball in time.
Snapped.
LaVine did not hesitate to give the ball to Zhao Feiyang.
Zhao Feiyang got the ball and beat Fry one-on-one on the court. The two met each other, Zhao Feiyang first tested Frye with his steps, and then easily shook him away with a sudden change of direction in the next second.
Frye watched helplessly as Zhao Feiyang rushed into the two zones. At this time, Cavaliers player Tristan on the inside also came up to interfere. Facing this big player, Zhao Feiyang did not give in but faced the opponent with a difficult pull shot. The ball is thrown into the basket.
Snapped.
The basketball hit the backboard and bounced into it.
"nice shot."
"Well done!"
There was applause from the Timberwolves bench.
Head coach Thibodeau, who originally stood up to watch the game, saw this scene. Not only did he not applaud, but he sat down on the team bench.
Coincidentally, Rose was sitting next to him. When he noticed Rose clapping along with him, Thibodeau couldn't help but hold his hand.
"Derek, what are you happy about? Such a goal should have been scored by you..."
Ross looked confused.
"Zhao is my teammate. He plays so well. Can't I cheer for him?"
Thibodeau shook his head in disappointment.
"It seems you still don't understand anything..."
The game continues on the court.
The Timberwolves are playing better and better under the leadership of Zhao Feiyang, especially when he cooperates with LaVine, and they have a very exciting cooperation like last season.
Coach Thibodeau is capable on the defensive end, but on the offensive end, his various tactics are obviously not so satisfactory to the players.
Therefore, with the strong performance in this quarter, the Timberwolves players on the field also performed like never before since Thibodeau coached.
By the end of halftime, the Timberwolves continued to maintain their lead, suppressing the Cavaliers with a 7-point gap.
Soon, the second half came.
Rose was replaced again, and so was Ibaka. Zhao Feiyang still failed to get off the field and insisted on continuing to play on the court with Wiggins.
On the Cavaliers' side, LeBron and Love were replaced one after another after they had had enough rest. Irving, who had played for a long time, temporarily went down to rest, and J.R. Smith organized the team's offense.
In the third quarter, the Timberwolves' performance was obviously not as good as before.
Zhao Feiyang and Wiggins are both taking fewer shots.
Zhao Feiyang is fine, but Wiggins' condition is not good. He who originally liked to play healthy basketball was so destroyed on the court that he already had the idea of disappearing.
Therefore, in the third quarter, in the face of LeBron's repeated strong attacks, Wiggins could only be crushed. Sometimes, once the first step was passed, Wiggins did not catch up at all. LeBron rushes into the penalty area and forces a shot.
When the status of these two people changes, players in other positions are also affected.
Rose's shots and breakthroughs were restricted, and Howard on the inside was repeatedly suppressed by Love's soft touch.
When the game entered the final quarter, the leading Timberwolves had been recovered, and the Cavaliers gradually overtook the lead under the leadership of LeBron and other giants.
call out.
The referee whistle sounded.
The Timberwolves called their next timeout.
At this time, there were only 4 minutes and 19 seconds left before the end of the game. The score between the two sides was 100 to 108. The Timberwolves were 8 points behind the Cavaliers.
At this time, coach Thibodeau finally "discovered his conscience."
"Zhao, Andrew, you have worked hard! Go to the bench and have a good rest!"
"Derek, I need you to drive the ball to their basket..."
