After the first quarter, both sides began to make adjustments to their team lineups.
The Cleveland Cavaliers replaced LeBron James and Kevin Love, temporarily allowing Zhao Feiyang to organize the offense on the court, while sending JR Smith up to score.
The Minnesota Timberwolves replaced all the main players, letting Gorgui Dieng and Adrian Ennis be in charge of the team's interior, and Isaiah Thomas was in charge of the backcourt, while Jeff Teague and him partner.
Ricky Rubio, who originally contributed to the team, did not play in this game and was not even in the team's lineup.
Because of the arrival of Jeff Teague, the opponent was better than him in scoring ability, and coupled with the presence of Thomas Jr., the Timberwolves decided to make adjustments to the crowded backcourt. Therefore, Rubio, a meritorious veteran, was managed by the team. The layer was sent away.
He was sent to the Utah Jazz.
Although he has not officially handed over to the other party, he is no longer a member of the Timberwolves, so naturally he will not be able to attend such a game.
call out.
After the lineup was arranged, the referee's whistle just sounded, and the second quarter of the two sides officially started.
The ball still belongs to the Cavaliers.
Snapped.
His teammates gave the ball to Zhao Feiyang, who dribbled the ball while signaling to others. Just before halftime, Thomas came to his side.
As the object of the exchange, although Thomas Jr. had no grudges with Zhao Feiyang, the two seemed to be on opposite sides. Not only did they not communicate much, but they also seemed to be unconvinced by each other.
Thomas rarely made any provocation, but every move he made on defense was full of confrontation, and there were not a lot of movements on his hands.
Zhao Feiyang was not afraid, but kept colliding with him.
The two of them haven't officially fought yet, but the secret competition has already begun!
After halftime, Zhao Feiyang did not choose to play by himself, but organized other teammates to move. JR received the ball on the left again this time. After getting the ball, he took the opportunity to get inside. He thought he could easily put the ball in. Unexpectedly, the moment he threw the basketball, Adrian, who came up to defend, flew directly towards him. Pounce.
Snapped.
Adrian was not polite at all, and just slapped JR's layup and blocked it.
The whole audience exclaimed.
Many fans stood up and cheered for Adrian excitedly.
"Oh! God! This guy's performance this season already has the potential of an All-Star forward! Who would have thought that he was just an undrafted second-round pick!"
"Unfortunately, Adrian was also brought out by Zhao. If Zhao hadn't been willing to spend money to help him find Olajuwon for training, Adrian might not even be able to play basketball now... This again It is an important asset that Zhao left to the Timberwolves..."
"Looking at the management like this, it's a piece of shit! Fuck Locke, screw Daniel, these two guys don't know anything but mess around... It really seems stupid and inhumane... ....."
His eyes returned to the field.
Adrian's big block fanned the ball out of bounds, and the ball was still in the hands of the Cavaliers. JR stood on the sidelines and quickly released the ball. Bang, the basketball fell into Zhao Feiyang's hands again.
This time when he wanted to catch the ball again, Jeff was already close to him.
Helpless, Zhao Feiyang had to look for other possible opportunities. After observing a circle, he found that other players did not move out of the appropriate position.
Thomas was still reaching out to interfere. Zhao Feiyang pretended to pass the ball, but in fact he suddenly dribbled the ball out the next second. Compared with the explosive rhythm before, he is obviously much slower now.
However, with a slow and slow style of play, facing a shorter player like Thomas, Zhao Feiyang decisively used his body to push him away and entered the two zones. When he was approaching the basket, Jeff Green came up to help Zhao Feiyang block it. Take advantage of the situation and take a step forward to throw the ball.
Snapped.
The basketball hit the backboard and fell firmly into the basket.
The ball went in.
There was constant applause.
Although Zhao Feiyang's breakthrough is no longer the same as before, the fans are still moved and excited by his goal.
After Zhao Feiyang scored, Thomas Jr. was not to be outdone.
Soon the Timberwolves counterattacked, and Thomas, who got the ball, sprinted directly with the ball. He was still very fast. After halftime, he went straight to the basket. Zhao Feiyang caught up in time, but he didn't expect Thomas to throw the ball with a backhand layup at the critical moment.
Snapped.
The basketball fell steadily into the basket.
The remaining time almost became a performance moment for Thomas Jr. and Zhao Feiyang.
The difference between the two is that Thomas continues to take more shots by taking advantage of his opportunities to control the ball. Even if his shooting rate is not high in some cases, he does not change anything and continues to maintain his state and style of play.
Zhao Feiyang is completely different.
Most of the time, he would organize the team's offense, or use the pass to guide others, and occasionally he would seize the opportunity to take action. After playing this way for a period of time, although his personal scoring data was surpassed by Thomas Jr., he led The Cavaliers overtook the Timberwolves in score.
call out.
At the end of the first half, the score between the two sides was 67 to 61, with the Cavaliers leading the Timberwolves by 6 points.
Thomas scored 17 points throughout the second quarter, taking up most of the team's shots and making three undue mistakes.
Zhao Feiyang played 18 minutes in the first two quarters and scored 14 points. The data was not high, but his number of assists came to 11. It can be said that the Cavaliers had many wonderful goals in the first half of the offense. It is led by him.
Especially his tacit cooperation with JR has completely allowed JR to perform at an All-Star level in these games.
Entering halftime.
Before the players headed to the locker room, a video was played on the big screen at Target Center. This video was spontaneously recorded by Timberwolves fans. It was initially initiated by a fan named Sean.
He and his family are die-hard fans of the Timberwolves, and they are also die-hard supporters of Zhao Feiyang.
In one of the regular seasons of that championship season, Sean, who was not a die-hard Zhao Feiyang fan at that time, brought his terminally ill young son Andy to watch the game.
Andy likes Zhao Feiyang very much and has always wanted his autograph. After this matter reached Zhao Feiyang’s ears through the staff, Zhao Feiyang personally found them before the game. Not only did he give Andy his autographed team and sneakers, he also took a photo with him and said many things to encourage him. if.
He even expressed his willingness to pay for Andy's treatment, even if it was just to extend his life as much as possible.
Although Andy did not survive and did not see Zhao Feiyang lead the team to win the championship, what Zhao Feiyang did made Sean, as a father, grateful.
Since then, their whole family has become a die-hard supporter of Zhao Feiyang, expressing their support for Zhao Feiyang with their seemingly small actions at all times.
This time is no exception.
After Sean learned that Zhao Feiyang was coming back, he contacted other fans some time in advance to start the filming plan.
As a result, a video about Timberwolves fans was successfully filmed.
In the video, Sean held a camera and took photos with many fans, recording all their gratitude and blessings for Zhao Feiyang.
"Thank you, Zhao, you are the hero who saved this city!"
After the final words of the video were played, fans in the entire arena spontaneously stood up and applauded.
The live camera also focused on Sean who initiated the video shooting. Under the watchful eyes of all the fans, Sean stood up with his eldest son and second daughter. Accompanied by live music, Sean's family of three shouted at Zhao Feiyang performed a passionate dance.
The fans at the scene applauded because of this heartwarming scene, and even Zhao Feiyang couldn't help laughing.
Of course, he who likes to be funny occasionally would not miss such an opportunity, so amidst the laughter, he also danced with the Sean family with his own dance.
The atmosphere at the scene became more lively.
When the music ended, Zhao Feiyang beat his chest with his hand and made a gesture of response to Sean's family.
"I love you all."
"I love the fans in Minneapolis."
When the on-site cameraman came to Zhao Feiyang, he said this to the camera.
