Quicken Loans Center.
The game is about to enter the second half.
After a fierce battle between the two sides, the Cleveland Cavaliers maintained their lead. They relied on the overall performance of the team to lead the Boston Celtics by 14 points at the end of the first half.
The one who scored the most was naturally LeBron James. He scored 23 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and sent 2 chasing blocks. As the core of the team, he played his role as a leader well.
The second highest scorer is Zhao Feiyang.
After scoring 10 points in the first quarter, he continued to maintain his rhythm in the second quarter. When the team's condition was stable, he continued to organize the team's offense and assist other teammates. By the end of the first half, his score reached 16 points and his assists increased to 14 times.
JR. Smith's performance in the first half today was average. Although he also hit a few difficult goals, he overall failed to perform like before.
Kevin Love protects rebounds well in the paint.
He played 16 minutes in the first half, scored 11 points, and grabbed 10 rebounds. It can be said that he is a major contributor to the Cavaliers on the defensive end.
On the other hand, for the Celtics, Kyrie Irving was still the top scorer, with 31 points at halftime.
The number of individual shots he took was no less than in the first quarter, but his condition declined slightly, especially the three-pointers that he did not feel as good as before.
While Irving performed outstandingly, other Celtics players did not benefit from this. On the contrary, the ball rights occupied by Irving caused dissatisfaction among some young players within the Celtics.
After the two sides entered the locker room, these dissatisfactions appeared publicly. However, the Celtics management supported Irving at this time. Even if they were a little unconvinced, the young players had to acquiesce that Irving would continue to control the ball. right to this fact.
Beep.
The live timer sounded, signaling the arrival of the second half.
Players from both sides appear again.
The third quarter begins.
The Cavaliers, who had a double-digit lead, were not in a hurry to send out the core lineup, but instead used a mixed lineup of main players and substitutes.
The Celtics, who were lagging behind, had no extra options. The team's head coach Brad Stevens continued to send Irving, and Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum also continued to appear.
call out.
The referee whistle sounded.
The Celtics served the ball, and Irving, who got the ball, held the ball across half court. After arriving at half court, he observed the situation on the court at the top of the arc.
Irving gestured for Tatum on the flank to come up and cover. However, this time the opponent did not intend to cooperate at all. He just stood there and stared at him coldly.
"Jason, what are you doing?"
Owen complained unhappily.
Tatum refused to cooperate, so Irving looked at Brown aside. Brown has also helped him cover before, perhaps attracting the attention of other defensive players.
"Brown."
Owen shouted and made a tactical gesture towards the former.
Brown was a little impatient, but he hesitated and came around from the left. With his block, Irving seized the opportunity and rushed to the basket. Unfortunately, he was quickly double-teamed by the Cavaliers' defensive players. Irving saw this and had to pass the ball.
Snapped.
The basketball came to Brown.
Irving was about to play alone again. He returned to the three-point line and prepared to ask for the ball, but as soon as he got into position, Brown, who got the ball, quickly rushed out with the ball.
Brown broke through to the left looking for an opportunity and reached the penalty area. However, he did not take a shot. He only transferred the ball to Tatum who followed up in the corner at the last moment.
Tatum dribbled to the other side of the basket and put the ball in with a backhand dunk before the Cavs players could react.
boom.
The ball went in.
Tatum and Brown high-fived excitedly under the basket.
Owen, who was standing on one side, pursed his lips and shook his head with a cold face.
It was the Cavaliers' turn to fight back.
Jordan Clarkson and others quickly served the ball, and the ball quickly transferred to the half court. Rodney Hood finally shot from the three-point line in the bottom corner.
Uh-huh.
This time he felt good and hit a three-pointer steadily into the basket.
As soon as the ball entered the basket, Tatum immediately went to the basket to serve. Instead of giving the ball to Irving, he threw a long pass to Brown.
Brown got the ball and ran towards the half court. He was very fast. After rushing into the penalty area, he made a layup and sent the ball steadily into the basket.
Uh-huh.
The ball went in.
Although both goals were scored steadily, Irving was obviously dissatisfied with this behavior.
Before the Cavaliers could counterattack again, he walked up to Brown and yelled, "Hey, Jaylen, what the hell do you want to do?"
"Give me the ball! I am the core of the team. If the basketball does not pass through my hands, then why is there any need to continue the game?"
Brown, like Irving, is both a young man. From the beginning of Irving joining the team, he was the one who was most unconvinced. After Irving continued to stick to the ball, Brown's attitude completely changed. He responded impatiently to Irving, "You want the ball? Then grab it yourself!"
Owen couldn't help but sneer.
"Oh! How interesting! If so, do you want to do this too?"
After all, Irving organizes the team's offense and the ball is in his hands most of the time. If he doesn't pass the ball to Brown at all, Brown's situation on the court will undoubtedly be more embarrassing.
Unexpectedly, Brown didn't care at all about such a "threat".
"Do you think you passed the ball to me a lot?"
"Save it! Kairi!"
From this moment on, chaos began within the Celtics. Brown and Tatum seemed to have an agreement. The two began to cooperate more on the court, and the number of shots they took was also higher than before.
When they got the ball, they rarely chose to cooperate with Irving, and did not even take the initiative to pass the ball to Irving. Even the previous screens were completely abandoned, allowing Irving to face the Cavaliers' double-teams on his own.
call out.
When the referee's whistle sounded at the end of the third quarter, the score between the Cavaliers and Celtics was 86 to 71.
The Cavaliers lead by 15 points.
The Celtics originally thought that the addition of the main lineup would allow the team to narrow the gap with the Cavaliers, but unexpectedly, this arrangement had the opposite effect.
After falling behind by a big score, a quarrel broke out within the Celtics team.
As the team leader, Irving came off the field and quickly criticized these two teammates for not cooperating with him. Of course, these two people were not to be outdone and had an argument with Irving on the team bench.
"Shut up! Brown! Jason! My special code is the super core of the team... I am still an All-Star player, and you? Just two role players..."
"Kelly, you are the one who should shut up! Do you think you are the core when you say you are? You are only when we agree with you..."
