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Chapter 229 A Stunning Comeback, Never Give Up on Life! (Another short and weak update)
Under Qin Yue's years of brutal beatings
James, who has always believed that "no one understands the Qin Dynasty better than me," is showing signs of turning into a "cowardly lizard" in front of his opponent.

Why is James so afraid of Qin Yue?
because
He scored 67 points in three quarters of the finals.

He scored 55 points in one game and 58 points in the other at the Olympics.

There was also a record-breaking 101 points in a single NBA game.

Indeed, the above records are all memorable moments that Qin Yue achieved in his matches against James.

If these memorable moments are still not enough to prove that James is Qin Yue's Xingnu.

That can only be said
People's expectations of LeBron James have now been so low that as long as he doesn't pick up trash from the ground and eat it, he can call himself the GOAT.

However.
Deceiving yourself is pointless on the basketball court.

The only good news for James in the second quarter was
The Warriors fielded a second-string lineup consisting of Qin Yue, Barnes, Livingston, Dunleavy, and Curry.

Therefore, in order to ensure the team's interior defense, Qin Yue did not choose to match up against James on the defensive end.

This gave James a slight sense of relief.

and
The Knicks' first offensive possession.

Upon noticing that the Warriors' slender Livingston was responsible for guarding him, James immediately transformed from a timid lizard into a raging golden lion.

From young LeBron to full-fledged LeBron.

This is James' unparalleled ability to evolve on the court.

The high post on the right wing didn't even call a pick-and-roll.

Upon receiving the pass from Harden, James eagerly dribbled past Livingston's defense.

just
Even though Livingston played intermittently during the regular season, Malone still defied public opinion and selected him for the team's playoff roster, valuing his ability to switch onto the frontcourt for one-on-one defense.

Livingston's lack of strength is indeed a major weakness.

But in his eagerness, James clearly forgot why Livingston was the fourth overall pick in the NBA draft in the first round, the moment he left Livingston behind.

Of course, it's that outstanding talent in both static and dynamic aspects!
Perhaps, relentless injuries have taken away Livingston's once-proud athleticism.

but
Livingston's excellent physical attributes and the defensive awareness he developed during his development period ensured that he rarely suffered when playing as a small forward.

On the court, James, momentarily careless and forgetting to switch positions, had the ball stolen from his hands by Livingston from behind and out of bounds just as he was about to collect it.

LeBron James's seemingly inevitable shot was calmly thwarted by Livingston.

This made James, who had initially viewed the other party as a great gift, somewhat embarrassed at this moment.

However, after the ball was inbounded again, James calmly completed a bank shot over Livingston.

Although LeBron James's overexertion ultimately resulted in an assist, this powerful, hard-hitting shot was enough to demonstrate his omnipresent dominance.

what?
You call this dominance?
So here's the question: even if Qin Yue is known for his accuracy inside the three-point line, has he never missed a shot?

Oh, so this means that Qin Yue's bad shooting is stylish and cool, while James' bad shooting is due to a lack of hard-hitting solutions?
In the Warriors' paint, Qin Yue, feeling the bounty of nature, grabbed the rebound and quickly launched a fast break.

The Knicks players retreated quickly on defense.

James stuck to Qin Yue tightly, perfectly demonstrating his selfless team spirit and willingness to do anything for the team on defense ever since he joined the Knicks.

Although this was a choice James was forced to make because he had to bow his head under someone else's roof.

But in the NBA, where actions speak louder than intentions, James absolutely deserves respect.

Qin Yue, who was in charge of the ball, immediately called Curry over to set a screen for him.

Upon witnessing this scene, Barkley of TNT chuckled, "This is a tactic the Warriors have been using this season. They've changed the usual practice in basketball where big men always screen for smaller men."

At the top of the arc, Curry's Ghost screen was executed perfectly.

Because James's eyes never left Qin Yue, he didn't help Harden delay the shot in time, and Curry easily created an excellent three-point shooting opportunity.

The next second, Curry swiftly brought down the knife, swish!
During this defensive play, Harden, who is relatively low-key among the Knicks' young trio, wanted to raise his hand to indicate that he hadn't been able to keep up with Curry.

But before Harden could even raise his hand
On the sidelines, Westbrook, known for his straightforward personality, jumped up and yelled at James, "Delay! Delay! Brown! You have to delay for your teammates!"

Delay?

If I choose to delay Curry, and Qin Yue takes the opportunity to score in front of me, then you'll ask again why Qin Yue can score so many points under my defense.

In the past, James usually only "stubbornly blocked both ends" for his teammates and made them take the blame.
Who would have thought that he would one day be blocked by his teammates who were stubborn and inflexible?
At that moment, James even felt that even breathing air was wrong.

This made him increasingly anxious, which in turn affected his offense.

James' three-point attempt from the outside missed.

It was Qin Yue's rebound again.

On the Knicks' bench, Iguodala immediately spread his hands in a helpless manner towards James.

That expression, that look, clearly said:
Why did you shoot that ball in such a hurry?
James noticed the emotion Iguodala was trying to convey to him as he retreated on defense.

But this only made James even angrier.

Because in the first quarter, Westbrook clearly took quite a few unreasonable shots.

Why should he be allowed to evade blame by claiming that "the child is just being immature"?

And yet, as a child myself, I had to accept the pressure from my teammates?

James wanted to denounce Iguodala's double standard of putting pressure on him only in order to get along with the Knicks' young trio.

However, Qin Yue, who quickly dribbled the ball towards the Knicks' half of the court, interrupted James's thought.

In the Knicks' halftime, Qin Yue, who had been chasing James all the way to the inside, switched to his left hand and made a layup.

To be fair, this was a powerful individual attack by James, who defended it perfectly.

But since James is currently the one guarding Qin Yue...
"It's my fault, I didn't defend well."

On the court, James unusually took the blame, saying, "I let him have it too easy."

The Knicks then launch their attack.

Harden, who didn't underestimate James despite James missing two consecutive shots, once again became James's quick fix.

Although in his previous life, even after Qin Yue transmigrated, Harden never obtained the championship ring he longed for.

But to be objective and fair...
The two stars of the 09 draft class, whether it's Curry or Harden, are the kind of teammates you'd want to play with.

On the court, James, who knew that as long as he set a screen for Harden, he would definitely get a basket, was just like Capela and Zubac in later generations.

The king without a crown scored a layup thanks to a brilliant pass from Harden, before Qin Yue could arrive to help defend.

This perfect pick-and-roll play even drew admiring glances from Qin Yue.

only.
Qin Yue was still somewhat unaccustomed to James being so humble and subservient.

In his memory, LeBron James of the same historical period was a player who exuded domineering power in every move.

What drove LeBron James to this state?
Turning back, it's the Warriors' offensive possession.

First, he changed direction in front of the perimeter to create space for a breakthrough, then strode into the Knicks' paint and scored two points.

Meanwhile, James, who no longer wanted to defend himself, simply raised his right hand.

mine!

It's all my fault, it's all my fault!
Are you satisfied now?

no doubt
This is definitely the most aggrieved episode for James since he entered the league.

Even as an opponent, Qin Yue wanted to comfort James at this moment.

However.
Since James had already distanced himself from Qin Yue, how could Qin Yue possibly tell James that, in fact, James was the one Qin Yue most wanted to win that night?
On the offensive end, James only started touching the ball frequently after Harden came on, having previously been working tirelessly for his teammates.

Conversely, he also bears the heaviest defensive pressure.

Although James' off-ball defense does have significant problems.

However, despite his willingness to play defense, the Knicks consistently failed to provide him with sufficient support and assistance.

However, considering that this is a team managed by D'Antoni.
James's best days are clearly yet to come.

In the second quarter, as Qin Yue once again broke through James' defense, D'Antoni decisively called a timeout at the scorer's table.

After the timeout, to prevent the team from collapsing in the first half, D'Antoni substituted Durant and Iguodala.

For James
The good news is that as soon as Iguodala entered the game, in the next offensive possession for the Warriors, Qin Yue delivered a stunning tomahawk dunk over Iguodala.

The bad news is...
After Qin Yue's spike against Iguodala, the point difference between the two teams on the court had reached 16 points.

Even if it means sacrificing personal gain, James was determined to prove himself, and he then hit a game-saving three-pointer from the outside to keep the Knicks in the game.

But before the Knicks fans in front of their TVs could even cheer, Qin Yue immediately blasted an Answer Ball over Iguodala's defense.

"When you appeared in front of me with that confident look, I thought you were a really good player." After scoring, looking at Iguodala, Qin Yue said, "As Antoine said, if LeBron is a Rottweiler next to 'KD,' then what are you? A Chihuahua?"

At that moment, faced with Qin Yue's mockery, Iguodala instantly blushed.

Meanwhile, James, who had always disliked Qin Yue, was in a daze when he realized...
Why does his former best friend speak so eloquently?
To be honest, at that moment, the resentment that James had been unable to vent in his chest dissipated considerably.

And then there was Iguodala, who was rendered speechless by Qin Yue's retort.
James, who had always thought that Qin Yue was targeting him, also realized that Qin Yue simply attacked every opponent equally without any moral bottom line.

That's right, considering Qin Yue's aggressive nature—he'd kick even a dog that just happened to walk by on the street—
Looking back, James only now realizes how much dignity Qin Yue actually showed him during their games. For example, after the game, did Qin Yue repeatedly boast to the media about the high points he scored over James?
"If the NBA is a giant circus, then we are all just clowns in its eyes."

Anthony once described Qin Yue like this: "Apart from his teammates, no opponent can avoid being 'humiliated' by him."

After completely falling out with Qin Yue, James asked Anthony, "What's the point of him 'humiliating' his opponent like this?"

"Meaning? There's no particular meaning. He just likes to 'humiliate' his opponents for fun," Anthony replied to James. "Of course, if you're not happy about it, you can choose to 'humiliate' him too, but you'll have to bear the consequences."

On the court, the Knicks' offensive possession.

Iguodala, whom Qin Yue jokingly called a "Chihuahua," used Big Z's screen and, as if he had lost his mind, dribbled the ball toward the Warriors' paint where Qin Yue had already rotated to position himself.

结果
When Iguodala attempted a powerful dunk in front of him, Qin Yue slapped him to the floor as easily as swatting a mosquito.

BOOM——!
This is the consequence of challenging Qin Yue.

"Trying to dunk in front of me?" Looking down at Iguodala, Qin Yue said disdainfully, "Why don't you take a piss and look in the mirror to see what you're really made of?"

This was undoubtedly another sarcastic remark that brought James immense pleasure.

The only drawback is
While James was delighted that Iguodala had been brutally beaten by Qin Yue, the first half ended with the score at 54-78.

In the first half, the Knicks trailed the Warriors by a staggering 24 points.

Qin Yue's perfect performance in the second quarter stunned every player on the Knicks roster.

When this young Knicks team stormed through the wild East to reach the Finals—in just one half, Qin Yue made them understand why Western superstars had been moving to the East for the past two years.

During halftime, Iguodala, who had been completely demoralized by Qin Yue, fell into silence.

Westbrook, who had previously believed that James' poor defense was the reason the Knicks lost in the first quarter, now kept quiet.

Because when the GOAT started to exert his strength, Westbrook, who went 0-for-4 in the second half of the second quarter, was simply a booster for Qin Yue's soaring success.

"He truly cannot be contained."

In the away team's locker room, Iguodala, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "I am no match for him."

Upon hearing this, James, who was thinking to himself, "Now you know how hard it is to defend against the Qin Dynasty," was actually thinking to himself.
After noticing that his teammates and coaches were all turning their attention to him, he said, "I don't think Andrei needs to blame himself so much, because in my opinion, Andrei's defense against Messiah tonight was still successful."

success?

At that moment, the Knicks players all felt a sense of disbelief from James's words.

因为就以秦岳半场总计砍下的30分11篮板8助攻3封盖1抢断而言，伊戈达拉对秦岳的防守算得上哪门子成功？
"Didn't we already realize before the finals even started that Messiah couldn't be contained?"

James rationally and objectively analyzed the situation for his teammates and coaches: "The main reason we lost in the first half of this game was that our offense didn't go well and we failed to defend the other Warriors players."

After a pause, James even reflected on himself, saying, "For example, I allowed Antawn Jamison to score 14 points in the first quarter."

First, they encouraged and comforted Iguodala.

Then, he objectively pointed out the reasons for the Knicks' loss in the first half.

Finally, he even took part of the responsibility for the Knicks' halftime loss.

Again.

What exactly drove LeBron James to this state?
After halftime, the Knicks still had Iguodala primarily responsible for guarding Qin Yue.

Although, when Qin Yue was ruthlessly humiliating Iguodala on the court, James really wanted to tell him, "Is this what you said about needing to strengthen your defense to beat the Warriors?"
However, whenever Iguodala's mood was about to sink to rock bottom, James would become the player responsible for comforting Iguodala.

“You’ve done a great job, Andre,” James said. “It’s not your fault that I couldn’t stop him, it’s my fault for being too slow in helping him.”

No kidding, at this moment, the comfort from James made Iguodala even more ashamed.

However.
James, who finally got a chance to retaliate against Westbrook, who was still inefficient in the second half, said during a timeout: "If we can't pass the ball to our teammates who are more efficient on offense, then we are destined to never beat this Warriors team."

Up to this timeout, who is the Knicks' most efficient offensive player?

Of course, it's Durant who made 8 of 14 shots and James who made 5 of 10 shots.

And who is the least efficient player?

Besides Russell Westbrook, who else could it be but 4-for-15 shooting?

That night, when James felt he had reached a dead end, a new path opened up before him. He realized that this game was the perfect opportunity for him to snatch that damned "tiger tally" from Westbrook, and without hesitation, he launched this "locker room coup."

Life's ups and downs can come so suddenly.

Originally, the most frustrated player in the entire first half should have been James.

But after years of brutal beatings by Qin Yue...
Because James, known for his selfless teamwork within the Knicks, possesses a significantly stronger ability to adjust himself than others, he offered D'Antoni a seemingly reasonable suggestion at an opportune moment.
With Westbrook's brain, which is so naive that he'd probably be sold off to pick cotton and the person who paid for it would count the money, how could he possibly be a match for James?

Moreover, the key to James's successful coup lies in...
He understands head coach Mike D'Antoni's mind better than anyone else on the team.

James knew very well that D'Antoni had always favored Harden over Westbrook.

therefore
After he calmed down and found the right moment to cut in, he, who had been isolated and helpless within the Knicks team in the first half, received support from the team's head coach and teammates almost instantly.

That night, D'Antoni stopped Westbrook from playing starting in the second half of the third quarter.

Furthermore, in the second half, regardless of James's motives for comforting Iguodala...
His "generosity" in making Iguodala feel ashamed allowed him to get more passes from Iguodala, the Knicks' primary playmaker.

Besides
James's previous "turtle-like tactics" against Westbrook and Iguodala in order to keep a low profile earned him a lot of goodwill from Durant.

after all
In a basketball game, if one side keeps shrugging and complaining about their teammates, while the other side not only silently shoulders everything but also comforts their teammates with a positive attitude, it's a truly heartwarming situation.
Anyone would feel disgusted by the former and agree with the latter, regardless of who they are.

Although James's second-half coup attempt couldn't help the Knicks win the game that night.

But who could have imagined it?
At the end of the first quarter, James, who seemed to want to take the whole world down with him, was able to pull off this amazing comeback off the court?
This shows that no one should give up on life easily.

The final score was 108 to 135.

The Knicks suffered a crushing defeat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Warriors on the road.

However, after the match...
James, who rallied in the second half after a dramatic turn of events, said in an interview: "This was a tough battle. The Warriors are a team with far more Finals experience than us. I know this crushing defeat will be disheartening for the fans, but I believe we can definitely play our best in the games to come."

At the press conference, under the subtle influence of James, D'Antoni, who believed that the Knicks really needed to change their lineup to match the Warriors' offensive firepower, said: "This game does not represent our true level because some of our young players made really bad offensive choices in the game."

At this moment, D'Antoni was only missing Westbrook's name.

而球场上，被为勇士砍下48分18篮板14助攻5封盖2抢断的秦岳险些给打自闭的伊戈达拉则是说道：“你们尽情批评我吧，我知道正是我的糟糕防守导致了我们大比分输球。”

After the match, Iguodala, feeling guilty, chose to take the blame.

Head coach Mike D'Antoni promised the media that he would try to change the Knicks' starting lineup in the next game.

Even Durant believes that Westbrook should tone down his nonsensical offense and his tendency to complain about his teammates.

Did you think James lost that night?

No.

He won.

And it was a huge win.

Even though he only scored 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists for the Knicks in this first game of the Finals, it couldn't dampen James's good mood.

Even if a fierce wind rises, life will never be abandoned!
"Have you noticed that your good friend, your former buddy, is in an exceptionally good mood tonight?" Brown asked Qin Yue in the home team's locker room after the game.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yue, who was unaware of what had happened within the Knicks, said, "I don't care how he feels, but how do you know he's in a good mood?"

“Because normally, he wouldn’t give an interview when the team suffers a big loss,” Brown said. “But tonight he not only gave an interview, he even admitted the gap between him and you.”

Qin Yue asked, puzzled, "Does that mean he's in a good mood?"

"I know him better than you do."

Brown said, "Believe me, something big must have happened within the Knicks, otherwise, knowing him as I do, he would never be this happy."

Seeing this, Qin Yue was amused.

Although he did not agree with Brown's speculation.

But looking at Brown's confident demeanor, Qin Yue felt that it was a great loss to the world of detectives that Brown didn't become a detective.

However, what Qin Yue didn't know was...
Brown actually guessed the correct answer.

"It was no accident that the Knicks selected DNP Russell in the third quarter."

Brown continued to speculate: "I think they will likely start Harden instead of Russell in the next game and give LeBron more touches."

Qin Yue shook his head and said, "You're having some unrealistic ideas, Kua Mei."

"How about we make a bet?"

"What do you want to bet on?"

"If I'm right, you'll have to be my bag carrier for one night and tie my shoelaces."

"no problem."

……

①: The Furious Golden Lion is a popular boss among gamers in the Monster Hunter game.

PS: Today's updates are still sluggish. Tomorrow, I'll try my best to finish this round of the finals in one go and start a new storyline.

(End of this chapter)