NBA: Starting with the undercut by Parker and Bowen

"Guys! We played well in the first half and built a huge lead. But it's a four-quarter, 48-minute game, and we've only won the first half. We can't let our guard down in the second half and we can't give Cleveland any chances."

"By securing these two home games, we've taken control of the Finals. The Jazz are making their third NBA Finals appearance, and it's time for us to bring the Larry O'Brien Trophy back to Utah fans."

During halftime, in the home team's locker room, Jerry Sloan gave his players a wake-up call.

But he didn't nag too much.

After all, we had a huge lead in the first half, and talking too much would have been tedious, not to mention for the players, even we ourselves felt like we were rambling on.

Winning can resolve all conflicts.

With a large lead over their opponents, the Jazz players were all smiles, and the locker room was filled with harmony.

Unlike the relaxed atmosphere in the home team's locker room, the away team's locker room was very quiet.

The Cavaliers players sat quietly, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Especially the players on the fringes of the team, they don't dare to breathe too loudly.

They were afraid that if they accidentally made a sound, they might anger the team's bigwigs.

Right?

That was the sullen, high-achieving king, LeBron James.

A moment of silence.

James scanned the entire locker room with a sharp gaze.

"I don't know what else I need to do to win this damn game. I think I've done enough, and I've tried my best."

"But when I looked at the score at halftime, we were down by 25 points. I showed my value, and you should show yours too."

As he spoke, he looked intently at several key players and criticized them one by one:

"Larry, you're the only player on the team with a salary of over ten million a year. You can't just score two or three points every game. That's not fair to the salary the team pays you."

"Alexander, hitting those open spots, that's where your value lies;"

"Drew, if you can't make an open layup, you shouldn't be in the NBA."

"Zarjunas, you're a veteran on the team, you need to take the lead..."

The implication was clear: I've tried my best, and you bunch of good-for-nothings are hopeless.

"Heh~"

Leaning against the locker, Larry Hughes, his eyes vacant, curled into a mocking smile.

Perhaps the worst decision he ever made was joining the Cleveland Cavaliers and becoming LeBron James' teammate.

In the 04-05 season, he was at the height of his career.

He averaged 22 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.9 steals per game, making him the league's steals leader and earning a spot on the All-Defensive First Team.

Unexpectedly, after switching teams, he was quickly relegated to the mundane world.

The offense lost possession of the ball and became a point of contact for shots.

The problem is he doesn't have a basket; he's a ball-handling attacker.

He is the core of the Cavaliers' defensive system, but it seems that people don't see his contributions.

He made sacrifices, but the media and fans saw it as him holding LeBron James back.

He did gain something, though.

A five-year, $60 million contract was enough to soothe all his grievances.

A mocking look appeared on his face.

It wasn't entirely because of James's words; it was more of a self-deprecating joke.

He hated that he couldn't make shots, and he hated his repeated injuries.

After wiping his face with a towel, Larry Hughes composed himself and stated, "You all know my physical condition."

"All I can say is that I will give it my all in the upcoming games. I will try my best to put the ball in the basket and try my best to guard my defenders."

He thought for a moment, gritted his teeth, and continued:

"LeBron, defense is our foundation. We gave up 58 points in the first half, and we need to step up our defense in the second half."

"You gave Yang too many open looks. He hit five three-pointers in the first half, which directly led to the collapse of our defensive system..."

Before Larry Hughes could finish speaking, James immediately interrupted him with a grim expression:

"I've already tried my best, what more do you want from me?"

"I try my best to attack and defend. My energy is limited, and you can't expect me to do everything on the court."

Larry Hughes opened his mouth, as if to say, "You don't actually need to help defend." But in the end, he remained silent, letting out a sigh.

At that moment, Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown walked in, breaking the somber atmosphere in the locker room.

"Guys! Don't be discouraged, cheer up. The game isn't over yet, and the series has only just begun."

"Winning in Salt Lake City is a tough thing. Victory is great, but defeat is also a valuable experience."

"Our goal is the next three home games and the last two away games."

"Although we're trailing by a large margin in this match, we can't give up. We must continue to fight our opponents and prepare for the matches to come..."

Mike Brown's motivational speech rekindled the Cavaliers' fighting spirit.

As for the tactics for the upcoming game, Brown only made a few casual remarks.

Damn it, he had no other choice.

He had already done everything he could think of during the pause.

He's never been good at offense.

The team's offensive possessions were entirely in James' hands.

If you can't make a shot, you can't make a shot; this isn't something that can be resolved in a few words.

He does have some skills on the defensive end.

But this requires teamwork between players. What can the team leader do if he frequently loses his position?

DNP?

Does he not want to work here anymore?

Amid cheers and laughter from Utah fans, the second half of the game started on time.

14, 23.

The Cavaliers won the opening tip-off, and the Jazz took the lead in the second half.

Seeing James continue to come and defend him, Yang Lin felt that his Finals MVP was getting closer and closer.

In the last game, he hit 6 three-pointers and scored a game-high 23 points.

Yang Lin thought the Cavaliers would tighten their defense against him tonight.

But I never expected this.

James was out of position time and time again in the first half, giving him many open three-point opportunities.

All five of his three-pointers in the first half were wide-open three-pointers.

He hasn't used any of the three guaranteed three-pointers the system gave him; he's saved them all.

Fearing that James would closely guard him, they blocked his open three-pointer.

After the start of the first half, he didn't dare to say much trash talk.

Now that halftime is over and the team has a significant lead, Yang Lin feels he can finally get LeBron James under pressure.

After all, if he makes three sure three-pointers, he'll most likely be clocking out.

"LeBron, is the Kings' anger about letting their defender sink five three-pointers? This is the Kings' generosity, not their anger."

"With a 25-point deficit at halftime, if we don't attack in the third quarter, you won't be able to catch up."

「上半场你罚球9中5，真是缘分，我的三分也是9中5。我们有着相当的命中率，可为什幺我17分你却只有13分呢？」

"During halftime, did you complain about your teammates? Is it possible that you're the cancer to the Cleveland Cavaliers?"

"He dominated the ball on offense, but kept missing shots; on defense, he kept losing his position, allowing me, a rookie who had only played a few games, to hit 5 three-pointers in the first half."

"..."

chatter.

Yang Lin's words were like sharp blades, deeply piercing LeBron James.

With 24 seconds remaining on the Jazz's offensive possession in the third minute of the second half, the clock was about to expire.

Yang Lin made a quick move and approached Kirilenko, asking for the pot.

"Andrei, over here."

He received a pass from Kirilenko and ignored James's pursuit.

Without making any adjustments, Yang Lin jumped up and launched a three-pointer.

"Beep~~"

"Whoosh~~"

A buzzer-beating three-pointer went in.

"LeBron, your teammates played really well on defense! They almost stopped a 24-second shot clock."

"But this defensive lapse of yours has made all their efforts in the previous 23 seconds go to waste."

James pursed his lips and remained silent, his face grim.

He began to doubt himself.

After the start of the second half, when he relinquished possession and tried to catch up on defense, they actually gained the upper hand on the field.

Four minutes later, Yang Lin took over again, sinking a sure-fire three-pointer.

Another buzzer-beating three-pointer, and the Energy Solutions Arena started to get noisy.

James accommodated the team, and the Cavaliers players united as one;

The Jazz had a huge lead in the first half, and the players relaxed a bit.

Despite the influence of various factors, even with Yang Lin's three-pointer, the Cavaliers still led 21-18 after more than eight minutes, a three-point lead in the quarter.

It's worth noting that if you remove Yang Lin's two sure-fire three-pointers, the Cavaliers would have outscored the Cavaliers 21-12 in the quarter, almost a double-digit lead.

"Strengthen your defense, stay alert, and don't relax too much."

Sloan didn't know Yang Lin's sure-fire three-pointer; he only knew that the team still had a 20+ point lead.

But the players on the field were clearly a bit relaxed, which made him have to urge them on.

The spitting worked wonders; the Jazz defended successfully in the next possession.

Back on offense, Yang Lin immediately called for the ball from Deron Williams, seizing the opportunity to kick him while he was down.

And we're about to enter the rotation period, so if things go wrong, we might not be able to get back up.

Upon receiving a pass from Deron Williams, Yang Lin once again recklessly launched a three-pointer.

The moment the basketball soared through the air, the Energy Solutions Arena seemed to fall into a momentary silence.

"Whoosh~~"

Basketball shot.

In an instant, the stadium erupted in cheers as loud as a landslide.

"Yang~~MVP~~Yang~~MVP~~Yang~~MVP~~"

What's going on here?

The sudden cheers left Yang Lin somewhat bewildered.

Look up at the big screen above the stadium.

He suddenly realized that he had unknowingly set a record.

Finals single-game three-pointer:

Yang Lin, 06-07 season, Game 2, 8, Utah Jazz.

Below his name are the previous record holders:

Kenny Smith, 94-95 season, Game 1, 7, Houston Rockets;

Scottie Pippen, 96-97 season, Game 3, 7, Chicago Bulls.

Pippen's Finals record was set against the Utah Jazz.

However, the Utah Jazz won that game 104-93 at home, which was also the Jazz's first win in NBA Finals history.

Amid cheers from the fans, Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown called a timeout to prepare for player rotations.

The score difference is too large; there's no need to rely solely on the main players.

Mike Brown was quite satisfied with the team's performance during the third quarter.

Despite the score being 21-21 after nine minutes, the Cavaliers failed to recover even a single point.

But that's because there's an unreasonable player on the other side who slams in three three-pointers!

If the Cavaliers can maintain this level of intensity for those nine minutes, Mike Brown feels that winning three home games shouldn't be a problem.

Hmm~~

As long as no one plays recklessly, the two teams are evenly matched.

With three minutes remaining in the third quarter, the two teams were tied 8-8, and the quarter ended in a 29-29 tie, resulting in a draw.

Trailing by 25 points after three quarters, the Cavaliers should have conceded defeat.

Surprisingly, LeBron James almost played the entire fourth quarter.

He was substituted by Ira Newbell in the final 54 seconds.

数据是显着的，勒布朗-詹姆斯末节出场11分06秒，7投3中豪取8分3板3助攻。

Thanks to James' efforts, the Cavaliers outscored the Jazz 30-16 in a single quarter, giving the Jazz a 14-point quarter in return.

The Utah Jazz ultimately won 103-92, securing another double-digit victory and defending their home court.

勒布朗-詹姆斯全场21投9中，罚球11中7，砍下了25分7板6助攻。

The only slight flaw was that he committed 6 turnovers in this game.

Yang Lin also played for a few minutes in the final quarter. After all, if the opponent can rack up points, why can't he?

In the final quarter, he hit another open three-pointer, raising his Finals single-game three-point record to nine.

Tsk tsk~~

It's worth noting that a certain elementary school student in later years, who was just shaking his head, set a three-point record in the finals that was only this many.

In this game, Yang Lin secretly scored the highest points for the team and the entire game again, with 33 points.

他的效率依旧惊人，18投11中，三分球14中9，罚球2中2。

Yang Lin: Thank you, system god, it gave me three sure-fire three-pointers;

Thanks to LeBron James, it was his defense in the first half that allowed me to steal five open three-pointers.