Your low-level skills are so embarrassing now, I'm almost hesitant to dominate you?
Hearing Tang Long's words, Howard felt like killing someone.
Although he always prided himself on playing "fun basketball," it didn't mean he allowed others to mock him.
"Tang... you damn guy, I'll get you with a big pot lid block sooner or later, just you wait."
Howard threw the ball out of bounds in frustration. Tang Long had knocked the previous block out of bounds, and it was still the Magic's possession.
With little time left, the ball was passed to Jameer Nelson, who had to rush a shot.
However, luck was on his side. The ball bounced on the rim a few times and finally went in.
"Nelson scores two crucial points, reigniting a spark of hope for the Magic."
Commentator Jeffrey said, "There isn't much time left in the third quarter. Let's see how the Cavaliers handle this possession."
The Cavaliers' offense was much smoother.
Drew Gooden set a screen for James, who drove with the ball and then, covered by Lewis, made a layup from a difficult angle.
"LeBron makes two with an aerial layup. That was a good play, showcasing LeBron's aerial coordination."
The two teams traded blows like this through the third quarter, with the Magic initiating the final possession.
An outside shooter hit a three-pointer, Hedo Türkoğlu scored, and he raised his hands high, celebrating with his teammates.
At the end of the third quarter, the score was 77-70, with the Magic still trailing.
In 2007, the league didn't favor fast-paced small ball; defense was paramount.
Thus, a full game's score barely exceeded a hundred.
It was unlike the small-ball era of later years, where scores often reached 130 or 140.
A score of 120 points in a game was considered exceptional back then.
Scores were generally around the low hundreds.
Then, both teams entered the fourth quarter.
At the start of the quarter, the Magic picked up the pace.
They stopped feeding the ball to Howard in the paint, as he wasn't gaining any advantage inside.
Coach Van Gundy had to utilize his shooters, and with a "one-star, four-shooters" setup, their offense became quite fluid.
Only Howard was stationed near the basket, while Lewis, Türkoğlu, Jameer Nelson, and even Maurice Evans were all decent shooters.
Swish, swish, swish!
The Magic then truly unleashed their offensive power. Evans hit two consecutive three-pointers, tying the score to a mere three-point deficit for the Cavaliers.
In fact, by scoring twos while the opponent scored threes, they naturally gained an advantage in closing the gap.
James realized this couldn't continue.
They needed to strengthen their defense, and they themselves had to attempt more three-pointers.
Mike Brown also became restless, standing up and adjusting his glasses, urging his players to focus on defense.
They couldn't keep letting the Magic hit threes. If a rain of threes started, the Cavaliers wouldn't be able to withstand it.
"Pay attention to their three-pointers, stick to them, don't give them good looks."
As soon as Mike Brown shouted, Delonte West fell for a pump fake.
Evans took a slight step, leaving him completely off-balance.
Then, Evans adjusted his angle, found his rhythm, and shot.
But at that moment, he suddenly saw a figure aggressively rotating to help.
And that tall figure was none other than the 215cm Tang Long.
"Evans, don't panic, pass the ball!"
Van Gundy yelled from the sidelines, but it was too late.
With Murasakibara Atsushi's absolute defensive ability, Tang Long's help defense was incredibly timely.
As soon as Evans faked West out of position, Tang Long arrived.
Such defensive coverage was truly beyond the reach of an ordinary center.
"Bang!"
Instantly, Tang Long leaped up, and Evans' corner three-pointer was swatted away by Tang Long's palm.
"Oh my god!"
Everyone was shocked. No one expected Tang Long to rotate and block at such a distance.
Evans himself was stunned. He didn't think Tang Long would rotate over, but reality hit him hard.
Tang Long flew in and blocked his shot with one hand.
"My God! Is this even human? China Tang is playing that hard? He's even rotating to the perimeter for threes?"
Commentators Jack and Jeffrey were stunned.
Such an active center was rare.
"You thought I couldn't block your threes?"
Tang Long said after blocking Evans' shot.
"Tang... that help defense was really timely. That was my fault just now, I shouldn't have been faked out by him."
West patted Tang Long's shoulder, looking respectful.
With Tang Long cleaning up his mess, he wasn't afraid of being scolded by the coach.
The Magic inbounded the ball from the baseline. Evans passed to Lewis, but James intercepted the pass mid-air.
This steal was perfectly timed, as he anticipated Evans would pass to Lewis.
"LeBron's mid-air interception. This is like handing the ball over to the Cavaliers for free. LeBron is accelerating, is he going for a fast break?"
"Fast breaks have always been LeBron's specialty. He's very fast and drives to the Magic's basket."
"LeBron leaps high, oh my god! This is Superman in the NBA, no one can stop LeBron in the air!"
"LeBron unleashes a god-like dunk!"
"Guys, from now on, we need to play good defense. We can't just rely on Tang alone. No matter how good his help defense is, he's still just one person. What we need to do is prevent the Magic from hitting threes!"
James reminded his teammates not to solely depend on Tang Long.
No matter how good one person is, they can't change the entire game.
After all, basketball is a five-person game!
"LeBron, don't worry, we won't leave threes open easily again."
The Cavaliers' morale received a slight boost from this fast-break dunk.
The Magic were affected. Nelson missed an open three-pointer.
Fortunately, Howard grabbed the offensive rebound and made the put-back dunk.
This was one of Howard's few highlights tonight, out-rebounding Tang Long and making the put-back.
"Dwight is also making a move, grabbing the offensive rebound and making the put-back dunk!"
"The Magic still have a chance. There are just over five minutes left in the final quarter. It all depends on whether the Magic can withstand the pressure."
The Cavaliers took the ball out from under their basket. Larry Hughes dribbled past half-court and delivered a high lob pass directly to Tang Long.
He did this intentionally. Tang Long had lost the rebound battle to Howard earlier, so now he would let Tang Long reclaim his honor on the offensive end.