The second game of the finals.
The two sides continued to battle at Oracle Arena.
After the Cleveland Cavaliers lost the last game, they took the initiative to charge at the beginning of this game. The Big Three headed by LeBron started team cooperation mode, with Kevin Love protecting the basket in the paint, while LeBron James and Zhao Feiyang looked for opportunities to play singles on the outside.
This style of play has a certain effect.
At the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers led the Golden State Warriors by 9 points.
Of course, the Warriors would not let the Cavaliers continue to lead like this. When the second quarter started, the Warriors immediately adjusted their strategy. The breakthrough they are looking for is simple, that is JR. Smith.
In this lineup of the Cavaliers, JR is undoubtedly the best breakthrough.
First of all, LeBron and Zhao Feiyang have very strong offensive and defensive abilities. These two are absolute superstars, and it is not easy to target them; secondly, although JR's offensive ability is good, his state is not stable. , his performance on the defensive end was really not that good.
Choosing him is undoubtedly a risky attempt by the Warriors, but it is also the experience the Warriors summed up after the first game.
Facts have proved that the Warriors made the right choice.
In the following time, the Warriors seized the opportunity to continuously let Clay play JR in isolation, and Draymond Green in the paint also stepped up to cover from time to time. With repeated cooperation, Clay relied on his own ability to get two in front of JR. Count the scores.
This caused JR to be hit hard and his mentality gradually collapsed.
It was also from this time that the Cavaliers were gradually reversed by the Warriors. At the end of the second quarter, the Cavaliers, who originally led by 9 points, were trailed by the Warriors by 7 points.
Half time.
The situation on the court was like this, and there was silence in the Cavaliers' locker room. Head coach Tyronn Lue had a headache. He scanned the locker room several times but could not find a suitable replacement.
As far as the Cavaliers' current lineup is concerned, JR is already the most suitable player to play the second position. If it had been any other young man, he would probably have been beaten to death by Clay and suppressed even more miserably.
"George, wait a minute and you go to position two!"
Tyronn Lue thought for a long time and finally gave the opportunity to George Hill. Hill didn't say anything and nodded calmly.
"well!"
Tyronn Lu also sighed secretly inadvertently.
Today's Cavaliers are completely supported by a group of veterans.
The youngest in the starting lineup is Love, but he is now 30 years old. All other players are older than him, the oldest is Kyle Korver, who is already 37 years old.
As an ordinary person, 37 years old is in the prime of life, but as a professional player, especially a player who is not even a star, he can retire at 37 years old!
Beep.
The second half came quickly.
The Warriors continued to seize the gap in the Cavaliers' second position to play, and the Cavaliers took advantage of this opportunity to launch a counterattack. When LeBron was not feeling well, Zhao Feiyang took the initiative to get the ball and led the team to charge.
Snapped.
The Cavaliers serve.
Zhao Feiyang, who got the ball, advanced with the ball. After halftime, he encountered interference from Stephen Curry at the top of the arc. While Curry was on defense, he motioned for other teammates to double-team. Zhao Feiyang was planning to play, but when he saw everyone else standing on the court with their arms akimbo watching the game, his temper suddenly grew.
He decisively gave up his passing plan and started playing alone with the ball. Facing Curry's marking, he dribbled the basketball and suddenly rushed to the right. It seemed like he was going to make a fake move, but in fact it was just a feint.
Curry was deceived by him, and Zhao Feiyang took advantage of the opportunity to dribble the ball into the basket.
Green stepped up at this time and tried to interfere with Zhao Feiyang's shot. Zhao Feiyang rushed to the basket and threw the ball to avoid him.
boom.
The basketball hit the backboard and hit the basket smoothly.
The ball went in.
Zhao Feiyang just scored a goal here, and the Warriors quickly counterattacked. Durant, who was standing under the basket, threw a long pass directly to the half court.
Thompson received the basketball and made a fast break layup. When he reached the basket, he was interfered by LeBron who was chasing him. Thompson decisively moved the ball to the three-point line in the bottom corner.
Curry didn't know when he was standing there. After receiving the basketball, he raised the basketball and shot it amidst the exclamations of the audience.
Uh-huh.
The ball went in.
A three-pointer fell firmly into the basket.
There were constant exclamations outside the stadium.
Standing in front of the Cavaliers' team table, head coach Tyronn Lue kept shaking his head and sighing.
The game goes on.
After the ball passed half court, LeBron held the ball for a single. Facing Durant's defense, he turned around and pulled away to shoot. Durant failed to interfere with LeBron's shooting, but the ball thrown by LeBron also failed to hit the basket.
boom.
The basketball bounced away.
Love went up to grab the rebound, but JaVale McGee reacted faster than him and slapped him off the rebound before him.
After getting the ball, McGee threw the ball to Durant.
Durant passed half the court with the ball. When he rushed toward the Cavaliers basket, JR and Zhao Feiyang who were guarding the penalty area were unable to stop him.
The two could only watch as Durant leaped high into the air, then smashed the ball into the basket with a one-handed dunk.
LeBron, who was supposed to be keeping an eye on Durant, didn't catch up with Durant after he crossed the half court. He looked tired and stood there without moving, watching as Durant dunked the ball.
This scene was captured on live camera, and many Warriors fans began to boo and taunt LeBron. The head coach Tyronn Lue next to him saw that LeBron was tired and quickly replaced LeBron to rest.
Without LeBron, Zhao Feiyang stood on the court alone and faced the Warriors' indiscriminate bombardment.
However, he did not feel any fear because of this.
Every time the ball comes into his hands, he will try his best to lead the Cavaliers to counterattack. Either you seize the opportunity to shoot a three-pointer, or you look for opportunities to break through.
Or simply use your own breakthrough to attract the opponent to double-team, thereby helping other teammates create opportunities.
Under his leadership, the Cavaliers produced a fairly stable output in the third quarter. However, compared to the Warriors' hot state, this performance could only ensure that the Cavaliers would not be pulled by the opponent's big score. Just open.
call out.
The referee's whistle sounded, and at the end of the third quarter, the score between the two sides was 61 to 72.
The 11-point gap left the Cavaliers in confusion.
In the first three quarters, Zhao Feiyang scored the highest score for the Cavaliers. He personally scored 27 points and provided 7 assists. LeBron played average today. He played a little more than two quarters and scored 18 points.
Compared with his previous performances, his slackness in the third quarter undoubtedly made many fans question it.
