Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 102 You are the challenger

James found a reason to comfort himself.

However, the game is not over yet. They still have a fourth quarter to play. The Cavaliers need to get through a crucial moment, which is the first few minutes of the fourth quarter when James is resting on the bench, waiting for the final battle. The Cavaliers need to hold on to the game during these few minutes.

The Grizzlies certainly wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by. Mark Jaffaroni substituted Lowry, Ariza, Howard, Warrick, and Radmanovic, instructing them: "Speed ​​up the pace! Attack the paint! Try to extend the lead before LeBron returns!"

On the Cavaliers' side, trailing by double digits and lacking LeBron James to stabilize morale, their play naturally became chaotic and disorganized.

Delonte West remains one of the variables for the Cavaliers, but the Grizzlies have a bunch of garbage time specialists on the court, with Josh Howard being the most outstanding. When he was in Dallas, he was a standard wing isolation scorer and defender. This style of play is sometimes effective and sometimes not, but it often works against the opponent's second unit.

Less than three minutes into the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies went on a 9-2 run, extending their lead to 94-76, a total of 18 points.

The Quicken Loans Arena was deathly silent; a sense of despair began to spread.

Many home fans were holding their heads in disbelief at what was happening.

At the time, almost everyone thought the competition might be over.

Mark Jaffaroni thought to himself, "Is this garbage time?"

The Cavaliers weren't ready to give up, so they brought in LeBron James for one last push.

Along with LeBron James, wing shooter Alexander Pavlovic was also substituted into the game.

To viewers unfamiliar with the Cavaliers' system, this adjustment might seem like an attempt to increase height at the small forward position to counter the Grizzlies' Ariza and Howard. However, Pavlovic has actually been a crucial rotation member for the Cavaliers since last season, and was a key piece in the team's impressive run through the playoffs last season.

His appearance was very significant for James: the perimeter finally had a reliable shooter with a 40% field goal percentage.

Sure enough, in the first possession after entering the game, James astutely found Pavlovic, who had moved to the wing. Pavlovic received the ball and, without hesitation, launched a three-pointer.

"Shh!"

On the sidelines, Marc Jaffaroni immediately waved, and Xu Ling and Kidd stood up and headed towards the scorer's table to prepare to go on the field. However, according to the rules, they needed to wait for a dead ball opportunity, so they had to stop and wait.

At that moment, the ball fell to Josh Howard. He faced James at the high post, adopting his once-renowned signature one-on-one stance. When he was fully healthy, he even inspired Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson to consider building a team around him, with Nowitzki as a supporting player. Then injuries struck, and he became a witness to last season's humiliating upset by the eighth seed.

However, against James, his one-on-one skills, lacking refinement and explosiveness, appeared so pale and powerless. James didn't even lower his center of gravity completely; he simply used his powerful core strength to withstand every post-up attempt and used his long arms to completely block his shooting space.

Howard's turnaround jump shot went wildly off target due to severe interference.

The Cavaliers quickly secured the rebound and launched a counterattack. James, like a train speeding forward, was at the forefront, receiving the ball and slamming it home with a tomahawk dunk.

In the transition between offense and defense, perhaps spurred by his previous defeat, Howard once again reached for the ball in the low post, attempting to overpower James and salvage some pride. But this time, his turn was too obvious, and James anticipated it perfectly, releasing a quick shot.

"Snapped!"

A clean and crisp slice! The basketball slipped from his hand and rolled out of bounds.

The good news is that Xu Ling and Kidd no longer have to watch Howard squander the team's lead with his inefficient isolation plays.

The bad news is that if Howard fails to return to his best form, he could become the most disappointing asset in this sensational four-way trade that rocked the league.

This seems to have become a tired, formulaic story. You can always see similar trajectories in countless geniuses: they are exceptionally talented, rise rapidly upon entering the league, amass great wealth, and then begin making all sorts of unwise decisions. Then, they gradually lose control of themselves, hidden dangers quietly emerge, and their weight continues to increase. Although they still have the strength to fight, even the occasional flashbacks of brilliance can never reach the average level of their prime.

Seeing this, you might think I'm talking about Skylar Vox, but unfortunately, this is the harsh reality that Josh Howard is facing.

Xu Ling and Kidd's entry into the game immediately changed the Grizzlies' offensive rhythm.

Kidd received the inbound pass and calmly assessed the situation. Xu Ling, like a blue lightning bolt, first feigned a move towards the perimeter to pull Delonte West, then made a swift back cut, penetrating the Cavaliers' vulnerable defense.

Kidd's bounce pass, as if calculated, landed perfectly in the hands of Xu Ling, who was starting at full speed.

Xu Ling received the ball and jumped, deftly dodging Varejao's belated block in mid-air, and gently flicked the ball towards the backboard with his wrist.

"Bang, swish"

"Jason Kidd's 11th assist tonight helped Eli score his 32nd point!"

"Look at these two, they're like a golden partnership that's been working together for many years!"

Brin and Van Gundy spoke one after the other.

Mark Jackson laughed and said, "You know what, the best thing is that Eli might actually be the kind of natural scorer Jason has been looking for his whole life!"

Xu Ling ran past the king again.

He seemed arrogant, as if the Grizzlies had already secured the victory.

But what annoyed James even more was that the other person acted as if he were the one in a higher position.

The Kings' response was swift and direct. LeBron James received the inbound pass at the baseline, dribbling forward with a cold expression. After crossing half-court, he waved for his team to spread out, his eyes fixed on Xu Ling, who was guarding him.

Instead of using complicated techniques, James backed down Xu Ling in the mid-range and used his strength to slowly drive into the paint. Xu Ling tried his best to defend, but when James was one step inside the free-throw line, he suddenly pivoted on his left foot, swiftly turned to the right, and launched a fadeaway jump shot.

Xu Ling reacted extremely quickly, jumping up to try and block the shot, but James's jump height and backward lean were so great that the basketball still drew a super high arc.

"Shh!"

“Remember this!” James said coldly, “You are the challenger!”

It seemed King James no longer wanted to be friends with him. Xu Ling responded to James's declaration with an almost inaudible hum, a sound that startled Kidd, who felt he had heard that sarcastic hum somewhere before.

However, Xu Ling only made that sound without responding. Although he liked to trash talk, he also knew that he had the advantage now and James was playing at a disadvantage. He didn't need to follow the opponent's rhythm at all. Taking action to fight back was more powerful than any words.

It was Xu Ling's attitude that annoyed James more than any trash talk—it was an almost indifferent disdain, as if the king's anger was just a scene in a drama, and he was the mastermind behind it all.

Kidd keenly sensed the change in James's emotions and decisively passed the ball to Xu Ling after crossing half-court.

James has completely abandoned his original matchup and is now specifically guarding Xu Ling.

Xu Ling understood immediately. He seemingly dribbled lazily toward the weak-side corner, but in reality, he was observing the movements in other positions. Kidd gave a subtle tactical signal, and Howard, using Radmanovic's screen, suddenly cut into the paint from the other side.

In that instant, Xu Ling seemed to be completely locked down by James's tight defense. He even turned to look at Kidd, pretending to pass the ball back to reorganize the game.

James's subconscious reaction was barely perceptible—perhaps even he himself was unaware of it—a lapse in vigilance lasting less than half a second.

In that split second, Xu Ling suddenly exerted his strength, lifting the ball up in front of him. His movement resembled an unreasonable, forceful shot, but in reality, it was a precise high-arcing pass straight to the top of the basket!

Howard leaped into the air, comfortably caught the ball mid-air, and then unleashed a powerful two-handed dunk over the basket!

James turned around helplessly, spread his hands in front of Zydrunas Ilgauskas who was walking over to inbound the ball, his tone clearly showing dissatisfaction and accusation, as if complaining about the defensive communication failure just now.

Xu Ling then proactively met up with James while retreating on defense, casually remarking, "Looks like your teammates also 'need to play another 100 games to understand this league'?"

James immediately recognized these as the exact words he had spoken to Xu Ling in front of the media not long ago.

He believed his remarks were beyond reproach, but there are always people in this world who enjoy misinterpreting his meaning.

Unfortunately, Xu Ling's way of distorting the truth is ten times more cunning and sarcastic than those media outlets.

The surge of anger instantly overwhelmed James's reason; his only thought now was to score a point over Xu Ling.

After receiving the ball, the King accelerated to break through, attempting to overpower his opponent with sheer strength—however, Xu Ling seemed to have anticipated his movements, shifting laterally in advance and precisely blocking his position, forcefully stopping James's powerful attack.

With the shot clock ticking away, James was forced to stop the ball and was surrounded. With the clock about to expire, he had no choice but to throw the ball out for a three-pointer in the final moments.

Delonte West received the ball two steps away from the three-point line. With almost no time to adjust, he could only jump and twist his body to throw the ball toward the basket.

"Shh!"

The fact that such a hot ball could be thrown in made Xu Ling look at West even more closely; this guy really played well tonight.

The Quicken Loans Arena, which had been eerily silent as if no one had survived in the stands, came alive again after that play.

Fans seemed to completely ignore the fact that Xu Ling had just successfully defended against James in one possession. Instead, they praised LeBron's "passing the buck" behavior in the final seconds and vented their anger on Xu Ling in the form of personal attacks.

"LeBron can defeat you, you arrogant jerk, simply by passing the ball!"

"Hey, you yellow-skinned bastard, you think you can be king in Cleveland? LeBron will beat the shit out of you!"

In some ways, Xu Ling's disregard for the fans' playing habits allows him to minimize external interference in this environment.

However, not being disturbed doesn't mean he doesn't know what these people are saying.

The harsh insults still echoed in Xu Ling's ears.

He didn't look up, but just exhaled softly, as if he were exhaling all the foul language as if it were air.

Kidd advanced to the frontcourt, and the Cavaliers' defense noticeably collapsed, fearing that the Grizzlies' off-ball players would cut to the basket.

The Grizzlies' tactics at this moment are very simple: let Xu Ling and Kidd dominate the ball and maximize the pressure on the Cavaliers' defense.

"Spread out! Spread out!" Kidd commanded as he handed the ball to Xu Ling.

James remained close by, his face contorted with rage.

He no longer cared about the overall tactical arrangements; his only goal was to save face in front of everyone and overshadow Xu Ling.

Xu Ling smiled but didn't rush to move.

He dribbled the ball while deliberately slowing down the pace.

The louder the noise from the audience, the more composed he became, as if telling everyone: I know this is your territory, LeBron, and that's why I'm determined to control it.

James did his best to stop Xu Ling. He had never been so focused on defense in the regular season. But he was still young and had not yet grown into the player who could team up with his limited-time teammate Wade on the defensive end to create a disastrous three minutes for the season's MVP, Derrick Rose.

Xu Ling suddenly surged forward, seemingly about to recklessly break through. James reacted, confident that he could stop him, but he didn't expect Xu Ling to take the initiative to retreat. And it wasn't just a single step back, but a quick second retreat at the moment the ball was suspended, instantly creating a wide shooting space and launching an unconventional long-range three-pointer in front of James.

"Shh!"

"Eli has once again successfully outmaneuvered James!"

James's expression was stiff; he gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down.

However, the fans in the stands became increasingly hysterical, as if only cursing Xu Ling could alleviate their inner panic.

(End of this chapter)