The psychological shadow of losing seven consecutive games last season once again loomed over the hearts of the Cavaliers players...
By the third quarter, the Bobcats had not made any effective adjustments, and it was the Cavaliers’ offense that collapsed on its own!
James played for nine minutes, going 1 for 4 from the field plus 3 for 4 from the free throw line for 5 points; Hughes went 1 for 3, plus 2 for 2 from the free throw line for 4 points. Besides them, only Donnell Marshall made a three-pointer, Snow sank a completely unguarded mid-range shot, and big Z scored a putback for two points, leaving the Cavaliers with just 16 points for the quarter.
On the Bobcats’ side, their set offense still faced restrictions in the third quarter, but they took off on the counterattack!
Zhang Yang played nine minutes and scored 8 points, Gerald Wallace and the substitute Millsap each got 5 points, along with Okafor’s one 2+1, and Rondo’s drive for a layup, allowing the Bobcats to outscore the Cavaliers 23 to 16. From trailing by two points, they moved ahead by five, making the score 69 to 64!
In the last quarter, an unreconciled James furiously swung away, throwing caution to the wind.
He went 1 for 4 on drive attacks, 1 for 4 on threes, and drew fouls three times for 5 successful free throws out of 6 attempted, shooting 11 times but scoring only 10 points in the quarter.
The Cavaliers reverted to a one-star and four-shooter strategy, and if James couldn’t break through, the whole Cavaliers team couldn’t possibly break through, with the team going 6 for 20 in the final period, scoring only 18 points! James made 2 of 8, and the others combined went 4 for 12.
On the Bobcats’ side, the final quarter’s scoring was still concentrated. Felton and Okafor carried the set offense while Zhang Yang and Gerald Wallace led the counterattacks. Zhang Yang scored 4 points, Gerald Wallace 7 points, Felton 5 points, Okafor 5 points, plus a dunk by substitute Millsap netting two points... 23 to 18 for the quarter!
Scoring 5 points in the first quarter, 6 in the second, 8 in the third, and 4 in the fourth, Zhang Yang played 33 minutes, shooting 9 from 19, including 0 for 2 on threes, plus 5 for 5 from the free throw line, tallying 23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.
Gerald Wallace had 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks; Okafor had 14 points and 10 rebounds; Rondo scored 4 points, had 7 rebounds and 5 assists; Felton added 15 points and 6 assists... The Bobcats reversed the game and defeated the Cavaliers 92 to 82!
James scored 8 in the first quarter, 6 in the second, 5 in the third, and 10 in the fourth, going 8 for 23 from the field, including 2 for 8 from three-point range, and 11 for 14 from the free throw line, which added up to 29 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.
After the final buzzer sounded and he saw the score on the big screen... why did things turn out this way?
He had worked harder than last season, made more preparations. Why did it feel even tougher to win? He got excited only in the first quarter, but the following three, especially the last, were even more difficult!
In the last quarter, when he switched back to the one-star and four-shooter strategy, every drive felt as if elbows of iron were flying in from all directions! In a moment, he mistakenly thought he was battling the Pistons’ front line from last season.
He looked towards the other side...
Millsap, Okafor, Muhammad, Perkins, Rondo... This ruthlessly tough interior line-up had definitely come targeting him!
At that moment, James saw Rufus, the Bobcats mascot, riding a motorcycle into the arena to distribute gifts to the fans.
The first time James had seen the Bobcats mascot during the 04-05 season, he thought it was ugly, but he liked it because he loved cats.
However, with each loss to the Bobcats, he found the mascot increasingly loathsome. Seeing it this time, he felt a sudden sense of horror...