The Bobcats were on the offense, Felton, overly excited after blocking James, rushed his near-distance floater after a pick-and-roll and was too hasty, which allowed the retreating Gooden to swat it away.
The crowd let out a sigh, but when James advanced to the frontcourt, the fans cheered for Felton again.
James continued to drive but was again stopped outside the three-second area.
For him, it was a deadlock situation unless his jump shot after a quick stop could succeed, otherwise, there was no play. In facing Felton, he couldn’t grab and go like he did against Gerald Wallace, force a start to attack the basket, with Perkins, a stalwart, beneath the basket and unable to shake off Felton’s tight defense...
This time James didn’t force the shot, instead, relying on Felton to find a teammate... found one... passed the ball... alas!
Running around the top arc to the right 45-degree angle was Snow!
Ronald Murray, covered tightly by Keith Bogans, couldn’t get free.
With Snow receiving the ball, Gerald Wallace who was guarding him backed off immediately, cutting off James’s route to receive the ball again.
Snow didn’t stop the ball; having played in the finals with Iverson, he knew stopping would completely disrupt the offensive rhythm, he took a wide-open three-point shot...
With a career three-point shooting percentage of only 20% and averaging 0.1 three-pointers per game, he didn’t make it!
Perkins was in an excellent position for the rebound, Felton inside the three-second area, Gerald Wallace immediately dashed forward... unfortunately, Gooden rushed in and knocked the ball out of bounds, the referee’s whistle sounded, Bobcats’ ball in the backcourt.
The crowd expressed their disappointment but cheered for Felton once again!
It was really unexpected that this little chunky guy could actually "single-handedly" defend against James!
During the dead ball, both coaches made substitutions.
New lineup for the Cavaliers: Damon Jones, Ronald Murray, James, Donnell Marshall, Big Z.
New lineup for the Bobcats: Felton, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, Okafor, Brezec.
Bickerstaff had intended to bring Zhang Yang in later as a fresh force.
But having performed poorly in two defensive counterattacks, the first with Felton unable to break through the defense, and the second with Gerald Wallace as the spearhead but lacking rebounding strength, along with their starting lineup’s shooting options being limited to the top arc area, close distance, and beneath the basket, where the opponents’ defense was getting stronger, Bickerstaff had no choice but to send in Zhang Yang earlier.
One must admit the opponents were a 50-win level team; their last victory was smooth because it was the first time they used such a defensive strategy against James, catching the opponents off guard and lacking in immediate adaptability, which allowed them to succeed so smoothly.
This time, the opponents were better prepared defensively.
After the timeout, just one play later, Bickerstaff was glad he had brought in Zhang Yang earlier!
In Zhang Yang’s first offensive play after coming in, he ran around the pillar to the free-throw line, facing the onrushing James, he made a mid-range shot.
But turning back, James, after being blocked by Felton and Okafor on the right low post, lobbed the ball over Brezec stationed on the left bottom line of the three-second area to Donnell Marshall who was on the sideline, who took a three-point shot... and made it!
to 13, the Cavaliers closed in on the score!
Donnell Marshall, who had matched Kobe Bryant’s single-game three-point record by making 12 out of 19 attempts last season with the Toronto Raptors!
Mike Brown might not be a mediocre coach, otherwise, he wouldn’t last so many years as the head coach of the Cavaliers, or lead the team to the playoffs with two 60+ win seasons.
He lacked a strong offensive system and the ability for immediate adjustments, but with preparation time, his fundamental tactics were strong, and in forming lineups, he had learned the essence from Popovich, knowing how to match players around the core players.
Last time Mike Brown was caught off guard, unsure how to adjust, but with so much preparation time this time, he had the rotations ready in advance!
When the Bobcat’s offense began, Felton spread out, Gerald Wallace also slowed down, and Zhang Yang dribbled against Damon Jones.
Damon Jones, a fan of Payton, but his defense was nothing like his idol’s; Zhang Yang fooled him with a shoulder fake and easily broke inside.
James rushed to defend but was only moderately effective, blocking the man but not the ball!
Zhang Yang, before being closed down, pushed the ball out... he didn’t pass to Gerald Wallace, who James had left open to cut in, but to Brezec on the left side of the three-second area!
Big Z moved one step towards the cutting Gerald Wallace, then quickly turned to defend Brezec, but he was too slow...
Facing the crisis of being benched and against an Eastern European center, buff stacked! Brezec slammed the ball over Big Z into the basket!
The shot was good; the referee also blew the whistle for a pushing foul on Big Z, Brezec’s additional free throw was good too, 16 to 12, Bobcats lead by 4 points!
On the Cavaliers’ offense, Brezec consciously extended some distance to block James’s passes, Damon Jones actively ran to the left sideline, using Marshall’s screen.
Zhang Yang was forced to switch and guard Donnell Marshall, and Brezec could only chase after Damon Jones.
Damon Jones, unable to shake off Zhang Yang’s pursuit due to the speed difference, being slow for a 190 cm guard, but quite fast compared to the 218 cm center Brezec, received James’s pass in the corner and quickly took a three-point shot...