After the timeout, the Cavaliers sent out Damon Jones, Pavlovic, Hughes, James, and Donnell Marshall.
The Bobcats put Felton, Alan Anderson, Keith Bogans, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor on the floor to strengthen their defense and substituted Zhang Yang out.
The Cavaliers attacked, and Damon Jones, facing the defense of Alan Anderson, grimacingly threw up an outlandish three-pointer outside the arc, hitting the rim but not going in.
The Bobcats grabbed the rebound. Felton pushed to the frontcourt but did not attack. With over 20 seconds left and a seven-point difference, the Cavaliers chose not to foul. If that shot had gone in, it might have been possible; otherwise, they just had to give up.
Soon, the game countdown hit zero.
James tonight made 9 of 22 shots, including making 1 of 4 three-pointers, and, with 23 free throws, made 17, scoring 36 points, grabbing 15 rebounds, providing 8 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, yet still couldn’t prevent the lopsided loss from becoming 0-3.
Felton scored 13 points and provided 6 assists, Gerald Wallace scored 22 points with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, Okafor 18 points and 14 rebounds with 2 blocks, and Zhang Yang scoring 21 points with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block... The Bobcats team united and, with a score of 89-82, overcame the Cavaliers, leading the series 3-0, with one foot in the second round!
After the final whistle, the arena erupted once more with crazy cheers, antagonizing the players as in the third quarter alone, 21 free throws were given. Yet, in the end, they still won!
The Bobcats players also celebrated wildly.
Reporters flooded onto the court. Felton was exhausted, having defended James for 44 minutes, but on seeing the microphone, he suddenly perked up, straightened up like a little brother, chest out, butt out, and was about to blast into the camera... when someone holding a boiled egg rushed in front of him, blocking the camera.
Felton was annoyed, and so was Zhang Yang, who was also struggling for screen time and position with the boss.
The two exchanged glances: What’s up with the boss? What’s up with the senior? Just because they can grab the camera? Must take it back!
But then, both swallowed nervously together. The senior is awesome! The boss is mighty!
Zhang Yang: "The boss was cursing fiercely, is that okay?"
Felton: "No... no problem... maybe? After all, he is the God of Basketball."
Zhang Yang: "Right, he even dares to curse the referees when he’s playing, so it should be fine... maybe?"
While facing several cameras and a bunch of microphones, Jordan, with spittle flying, said, "Do me a favor and ask the referees, are their mouths assholes? All night long they kept buzzing, but when they should actually make a sound, they are utterly silent. Gerald’s nose was bloodied, but their assholes don’t twitch a muscle. The sweat gets wiped off the opponents, and their assholes won’t stop buzzing. Did their assholes get remote control devices? Was it their boss controlling the remote? Or did they mistake that bastard with the ball for their boss’s head, and the hands that lifted the ball as the royal scepter carrying their boss’s head..."
The Bobcats led the series 3-0 against the Cavaliers, with an upset sweep imminent!
This situation was within the expectations of most fans. After the first two games, most fans thought the Cavaliers had no hope this year, except Cavs fans who felt it was just bad luck, thinking they should have been leading 2-0.
Now, trailing 0-3, the Cavaliers’ fans still believed they should have won, attributing it to unfair officiating — 21 free throws in the first three quarters and only two in the last quarter, the referees controlling the game at critical times, leading to James’s loss.
As for James getting many free throws in the first three quarters, ESPN analyzed every foul against him, and according to the rules, they were indeed fouls by the opponents.
Compared to the game’s outcome, Jordan’s post-game rant about the referees and Stern drew even more heat.
Cavaliers fans were broken, furiously cursing Jordan, rushing to dig up data, looking for points to criticize... and they found it!
In his first three years of his career, Jordan was eliminated in the first round three times, swept twice, and continuously lost against the Pistons... As for what came later, they initially chose to ignore it.
But when James gave an interview the next morning, the Cavs fans had a new way to criticize Jordan from the 90s — Jordan could only win in the playoffs with good teammates...
On the Bobcats’ side, they conducted a defensive training session on the rest day in the afternoon.
They prepared in advance for possibly getting into foul trouble again in G4 inside the lines.
Training content: If facing the same whistle as last night, from the beginning, fight hard on the perimeter, disrupt and compact the defense inside, and strive on offense.
Last night was too risky. If it weren’t for the precise shooting of the perimeter players in the first half, and the fierce charges by Gerald Wallace and Okafor in the second half, and Zhang Yang’s crucial plays, they would have certainly lost, and every element was indispensable.
This time, they were ready to fully prepare, whether or not they could outscore their opponents in an offensive battle, it was something to be addressed later. For now, they needed to be ready to reduce the number of fouls.
Their inside players, accumulating shooting and common fouls against James, reached 15 times, which could potentially disqualify 2.5 players from the inside.
Bickerstaff felt that after trading Brevin Knight, who had an average of 10 points and 10 assists per game, for a blue-collar high school student had finally paid off after this game.
Without Perkins, the only option left to block crucial shots would have been Okafor. If Okafor were to get into foul trouble, their inside offense would be completely paralyzed.
Zhang Yang in the mid-distance created great scoring conditions for Okafor and Gerald Wallace. Conversely, because Okafor was a close threat, Zhang Yang could afford high-position shooting and daring drives near the basket, as the opposing inside players didn’t dare to cover up until he was close under the basket.