However, on the slow-motion replay, it seemed Rondo hadn't fouled.
James's ball had come loose before Rondo touched his wrist.
Therefore, the referee ruled Rondo without a foul, and James, due to the turnover, allowed the Celtics to tie the score by two points.
"Damn it!"
James was furious, incessantly chattering at the referee.
Tang Long stepped forward then, patting James's shoulder, signaling him to calm down. 138Reading.net
The Cavaliers were still leading; losing two points to the Celtics was no big deal. But if James angered the referee and got ejected, the Cavaliers would suffer a great loss.
In the next possession, they continued to battle, and James aimed to regain his pride.
He drove and aggressively went for a layup, completing a three-point play.
At crucial moments, James was reliable. With this basket, James made a gesture towards the Celtics.
That gesture seemed to tell everyone in the TD Garden that they couldn't stop him.
Then, stepping up to the free-throw line, James calmly sank the free throw.
With James unleashed and dominating the game, Tang Long felt much more comfortable.
At this moment, James, with a combination of drives and shots, scored five points.
When it was the Celtics' turn to attack, Pierce's three-point attempt missed.
The rebound again went to Tang Long. In the paint, Garnett and Perkins couldn't out-rebound Tang Long.
Head coach Rivers, seeing this, turned ashen-faced, constantly yelling to secure the defensive rebounds.
Tang Long grabbed the offensive rebound and went up for a layup himself.
Before he could even jump, Garnett grabbed him and said, "Kid, you think you can easily get two points from us? Not so easy. Step up to the line, I bet you miss the free throw!"
"KG, that will disappoint you. My free throws are almost as good as Yao's."
"Heh... you mean Yao?" Garnett chuckled.
Tang Long claiming his free-throw percentage was similar to Yao Ming's was something he couldn't believe.
In the NBA, the steadiest free-throw shooters among centers were rare, and Garnett had only seen Yao Ming be that consistent.
Tang Long's free throws were definitely not as steady as Yao's.
"Kid, it's not that I look down on you, but even though you are both from Longguo, your free throws surely can't compare to Yao's. Let's bet if you don't believe me."
"Okay, let's bet!"
Tang Long didn't dawdle. He stepped up to the free-throw line and made the first shot.
Garnett, standing nearby, tried to distract Tang Long's free throws, muttering something under his breath.
Without trying to hear, one knew he was muttering trash talk to disrupt Tang Long's free throws and make him miss.
But he was truly disappointed; both free throws were made.
Tang Long looked at Garnett with a smile and said, "KG, didn't I tell you I'd disappoint you? You didn't believe me. I made both free throws. Do you believe me now?"
"Kid, you just got lucky. You won't be so lucky next time you shoot free throws."
"Your mouth is tough, but it's useless."
Tang Long muttered, continuing to battle the Celtics.
Ray Allen hit a three-pointer, narrowing the score again.
Time flew by. In the fourth quarter, with 7 minutes and 22 seconds remaining, the score was 90-81, with the Celtics trailing by nine points.
"Beep!"
Head coach Rivers called a timeout. With a nine-point deficit, he needed to devise a plan to catch up quickly.
He had initially thought beating the Cavaliers would be a walk in the park, but playing against them revealed that with Tang Long's rise, it had become extremely difficult.
After the timeout, the Celtics focused on three-pointers.
Rondo orchestrated the offense, passing the ball to Pierce and Ray Allen.
On this Celtics squad, Pierce and Ray Allen were the most consistent scoring threats from the field.
After finding their rhythm, they each hit a crucial three-pointer.
The Cavaliers, seeing this, refused to be outdone.
James first tried his luck with a shot from the top of the arc, but unfortunately, it was a miss. Tang Long followed up with a put-back dunk.
On the next possession, Larry Hughes used his skillful dribbling to get past Rondo and hit a three-pointer from the left 45-degree angle.
Mike Brown also made a substitution, replacing Alexander with Delonte West.
Although West looked somewhat sickly, his shooting ability was decent.
Later in his career, he even played in the CBA.
However, due to his use of illicit substances, he eventually left the court and ended up begging on the streets.
It was a kind passerby who recognized the former Delonte West and sent him to the hospital for treatment.
West's inability to continue in the NBA was mainly due to the "mom affair" incident, which severely strained his relationship with James.
Of course, in 2007, Delonte West was still a key player for the Cavaliers, and Mike Brown gave him significant playing time.
West performed well after coming on.
He hit a long two-pointer and then assisted James on a powerful dunk.
As the game progressed, the Celtics found themselves struggling more and more.
Especially in terms of rebounding, Garnett and Perkins were being dominated by Tang Long.
As the saying goes, "The team that controls the boards controls the game," and in this era of big ball, the league emphasized defense and rebounding.
Tang Long's rebounding ability had suppressed the Celtics' frontcourt.
"Damn it, we're losing to the Cavaliers tonight, and Perkins and KG are to blame. They were out-rebounded by that Longguo guy! Damn it!"
The fans in the TD Garden were unhappy, claiming that Garnett and Perkins were responsible for the night's loss.
The fact was indeed so; Tang Long had already grabbed 15 rebounds.
This "Absolute Rebounding" skill was too effective, and suppressing the Celtics' two interior players on the boards was effortless.
With 10 minutes and 6 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers extended their lead.
Pierce turned the ball over while driving. Delonte West was guarding him.
Securing the possession, West passed to James, who was streaking down the court. The two executed a perfect alley-oop, smoothly scoring.
"Oh my god! LeBron's vertical leap is at rim level! He's so fierce!"
"The Cavaliers have seized another fast-break opportunity, executing a classic alley-oop combination."
"This game is likely grim for the Celtics."
"They are already trailing the Cavaliers by 14 points. However, Coach Rivers still has one timeout left. I wonder if Coach Rivers will use it?"
After the commentators at the scorer's table finished speaking, Rivers did not call a timeout.
It was already too late to recover. With just over a minute left and trailing by fourteen points, no amount of timeouts could change the outcome of this game.
Ultimately, the Cavaliers defeated the Celtics on the road, winning the series 105-91 and extending their winning streak to three games.
In this game, Tang Long's stats were the most impressive, with 35 points, 16 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 4 assists.
Just as he had told Garnett before the game, he would score 35 points at the TD Garden and dominate the Celtics.
The Longguo man kept his word, delivering a lesson to the Celtics with his dazzling statistics!
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