The Cavaliers' offense had fallen into a deadlock.
The 17-point deficit was far beyond anyone's expectations.
The Rockets were indeed a formidable team, and they were playing exceptionally well.
But the Cavaliers were the league's top team, having previously achieved a 15-game winning streak.
No one could have imagined that the Cavaliers would suddenly collapse so completely.
At this moment, all the Cavaliers players had accepted the reality of being crushed by the Rockets.
After all, they were already trailing by 17 points by the second quarter.
If they continued at this pace, the deficit could easily exceed thirty or forty points by the end of the game.
Under such circumstances, a comeback was nearly impossible.
This included head coach Mike Brown.
As a coach primarily focused on defense, Mike Brown's offensive strategy was not as strong as people might have imagined.
In the current situation, Mike Brown was actually the coach most accepting of a Cavaliers loss.
After all, the consecutive games had left the players feeling fatigued.
Everyone had given their all to secure victory.
In the long NBA regular season, effective management of energy was crucial.
However.
There were still two players on the Cavaliers who had not given up on victory: James and Tang Long.
James's performance was average, and his shooting touch was even slightly lacking.
Yet, he was very determined to win this game, while Tang Long, on the other hand, was in excellent shooting form and condition.
As of now, Tang Long had scored the most points for the team.
A total of seventeen points, making him the highest scorer for both teams.
Even facing Yao Ming's defense, Tang Long continued to deliver a brilliant performance.
Despite this, they were still trailing by a significant 17 points.
Tang Long felt a sense of powerlessness; the point difference was simply too large.
Although Tang Long deeply believed that the Cavaliers could overcome this challenge from the Rockets.
The score gap continued to widen, and Coach Brown realized this couldn't go on.
In desperation, he called a timeout.
He intended to use the timeout to cool down the hot hands of the Rockets players.
Then, in the huddle, Mike Brown delivered a motivational speech, akin to a "chicken soup for the soul," to encourage the Cavaliers players on the court.
In his heart, even though the chance of winning this game seemed slim, James on the court had not given up, so he, too, could not choose to concede.
Although their 16-game winning streak was enough to rank among the top in NBA history.
Mike Brown would rather selectively concede this game than focus solely on historical records.
After all, the Cavaliers were not at their best at this moment.
Both in terms of roster configuration and tactical ideas, the Cavaliers had significant room for improvement.
It was truly difficult to reverse the game and win at this point.
Of course, Coach Brown's timeout adjustment played a crucial role in shifting the momentum of the game.
After the timeout, the Rockets players' shooting touch noticeably declined.
Especially McGrady, whose subsequent two pull-up jumpers both missed.
On the Cavaliers' side, the inside-outside combination of Tang Long and James became more consistent in scoring.
Tang Long, in particular, was capable of driving and shooting.
After the timeout, Tang Long first hit an uncontested mid-range jumper.
He then followed it up with a beautiful layup after a strong cut to the basket.
As the anchor in the paint, Yao Ming could not easily rotate to cover the mid-range area.
It's worth noting that even though James's shooting touch was terrible in this game.
His driving ability was still the most threatening in the league.
If Yao Ming chose to defend Tang Long in the mid-range, James's drives could completely break open the Rockets' defense.
Seizing the defensive vulnerability of the Rockets, the Cavaliers managed to claw back five points.
The Rockets immediately made adjustments, the most critical being swapping Battier and McGrady.
Battier was tasked with defending James, allowing McGrady to focus more on offense.
However, this adjustment yielded minimal results. How could Tang Long, who had found his rhythm, easily let go of an opportunity to close the gap?
The Cavaliers' comeback had clearly not ended.
The Rockets' possession.
Alston brought the ball to the top of the arc.
Standing at the perimeter, he chose to pass the ball to Yao Ming, who was sealing his position in the paint.
Their biggest reliance now was Yao Ming.
McGrady's shooting touch had declined; after the timeout, his form was clearly not as good as before.
He had missed two consecutive shots.
And Yao Ming, as a first-class center in the league, his interior offense was absolutely reliable.
However.
Alston's pass was a bit too casual.
James seized the crucial opportunity and immediately chose to trap Yao Ming.
Yao Ming could sense the problem with Alston's pass; it hadn't been a solid pass to him.
James, opting for a trap defense, immediately cut off the passing lane and snatched the ball.
"Push the fast break, let's go!"
James shouted and sprinted towards his own half.
"T/
"Tang Long's dunk, that's the same old flavor! Alston is still trying to guard Tang Long one-on-one. I'm so sorry, he's too short. Tang Long turned and dunked, completely ignoring him."
In the Chinese sports channel's broadcast studio, Yang Yi chuckled, and Zhang Weiping shared the same smile.
Alston defending Tang Long one-on-one was simply asking for trouble!