Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 1105 In my whole life, I've only done this one thing well!

The fans booed loudly, using everything they could to hope that Capono would miss.

then.

"Whoosh!"

The basketball swished cleanly, barely touching the net, before crunching into the basket.

"Well done." Lin Tian stepped forward and gave Capono a high-five. "I knew you could do it! Get ready for the interview!"

"I've only ever done this one thing well in my entire life," Capono said firmly. "So I won't let you down at a time like this!"

After speaking, Kapono high-fived his teammates, then stepped back to the free-throw line, caught the ball, took a deep breath, and flicked his wrist again.

"Whoosh!"

With another crisp sound, Capono cleanly made both free throws!

This guy withstood the pressure; he withstood the malice directed at him by the entire stadium, he withstood the boos from the entire stadium, and he withstood the expectations and pressure from the whole world.

After making both free throws, Kapono became the Lakers' twelfth scorer of the night.

Every Lakers player who was registered for the game and was able to play scored points!

At that moment, Brown called his team's final timeout. It was the last chance, the Cavaliers' last chance.

"Brown called a timeout at this point," Van Gundy couldn't help but yell again. "Just go for it! Go for it now! The Lakers have Kapono on the court right now, attack him!"

"At this point, the Lakers were playing their worst defense of the night. Kapono and Terry were both on the court, two terrible defensive guys, plus they didn't have a true inside player. Instead of attacking the Lakers' weaknesses, you called a timeout."

"What are they trying to do? Help the Lakers make adjustments? Help the Lakers make substitutions? Give them the opportunity to make substitutions?"

It's just that Van Gundy didn't know there was a great, selfless person named Lei in faraway China; otherwise, he would definitely have continued to rant and rave.

In his view, Brown's timeout ruined the Cavaliers' best chance!

After this timeout, the Lakers won't field any more vulnerable lineups; they'll definitely bring out their strongest defensive combination to stop the Cavaliers' final offensive attack.

The pause ended quickly.

As expected, the Lakers took both Terry and Kapono off the court and replaced them with Bynum and Barnes.

With the addition of Lin Tian, ​​Kobe, and Durant, the Lakers at this time were at their strongest defensively and fastest, and all five players possessed good physique, height, speed, defensive skills, and defensive willingness.

"How are the Cavaliers going to break through the Lakers' impenetrable defense?" Van Gundy's voice even carried a hint of sarcasm. "We'll see."

The referee blew his whistle, and the basketball was passed back to Anthony on the sideline. Anthony held the ball and waited for his teammates to make their runs.

Lin Tian relentlessly guarded Wade, giving him no space to receive the ball, forcing Wade to run all the way back to his own half of the court, and Lin Tian did not relax his defense against him.

On the other side, Kobe was desperately holding off Chalmers, and no matter how Chalmers dodged and weaved to find an opportunity, he could never get space to receive the ball.

Bynum dominated the paint, and every Cavaliers player who tried to get past him had to be bumped twice, causing a delay. Gasol was also constantly under Bynum's shadow, and he didn't get any open looks.

With Barnes joining Sessions, the Cavaliers players were completely shut down by the Lakers, and despite their best efforts, they couldn't find any opportunities to receive the ball.

Anthony on the sideline was extremely anxious, but no matter how anxious he was, he couldn't just pass the ball out carelessly. If he made a mistake, the team would be finished.

"3, 4..."

The numbers the referee called out were like a death knell, making Anthony increasingly anxious. In the end, Anthony had no choice. With his teammates completely shut down by the Lakers, he could only choose a relatively safe approach. He passed the ball directly back to the backcourt, giving it a significant lead.

Wade, who was already in the backcourt, quickly turned around to chase after Lin Tian, ​​who was originally blocking him from receiving the ball, was now blocked behind Wade.

In the end, Wade barely managed to get the ball near his own baseline, but Lin Tian had him firmly under his control, with his arms outstretched almost hanging on Wade's body. Lin Tian's hands kept probing, looking for an opportunity to steal the ball.

"Get a pass! Get a pass!" Brown on the sidelines was jumping around anxiously, shouting repeatedly, trying to get his players back to help Wade advance the ball.

However, the rest of the Cavaliers players were completely shut down one-on-one by the Lakers. Even if they ran back, it was difficult for them to really help Wade; they only drew more defensive attention to him.

At this point, Wade really gave it his all, trying every possible way to dribble forward and keep trying to advance the ball.

As time went by, he became increasingly anxious and uneasy. Suddenly, Wade made a crossover dribble and felt that Lin Tian had a little more space on his left. Without hesitation, Wade immediately accelerated and left Lin Tian behind in one step!

Excited, Wade didn't have time to think. He immediately accelerated his dribbling and sprinted towards the frontcourt.

They then quickly crossed the center line and entered the frontcourt.

But his happiness came to an end!

Just as he crossed the center line, Wade suddenly realized there was someone in front of him.

Durant!

After interfering with Anthony's inbound pass, this guy followed Anthony, and then suddenly abandoned Anthony and rushed towards Wade, catching up with him just as Wade crossed the center line.

The timing was almost perfect, because Wade was right behind the center line, so he couldn't retreat, and to his right was Lin Tian, ​​whom he hadn't shaken off. Wade's three directions were completely restricted, leaving him with nowhere to go.

What about the left side?

There's no road to the left either!

On the left is the sideline!

Unbeknownst to Wade, Lin Tian had forced him to the sideline. However, he had been so focused on advancing that he had overlooked the fact that he was almost moving along the sideline.

At this point, Wade finally understood why Lin Tian had revealed an opening, allowing him to break through so easily.

It's a trap! A blatant trap.

I just didn't notice it.

Although Wade has now discovered this, he is already in dire straits.

He was surrounded on all sides and found himself in a desperate situation.

Unwilling to give up, Wade knew he could no longer dribble. He could only jump with all his might, raise his hands above his head, find a direction, and then smash the ball out with all his might!

Use the strongest force and the fastest ball speed to forcefully break through the double team.

Wade used all his strength in that shot, and even if Lin Tian or Durant intercepted the ball when it was thrown, they would have a hard time keeping it, and the ball would most likely bounce out of bounds.

At that point, the Cavaliers would have another chance to inbound the ball and catch their breath.

But Wade was clearly too naive!

There's absolutely no need for Lin Tian and Durant to exert themselves!

After seeing Wade jump, Durant immediately guessed what he was going to do and went a step further, sticking right up to Wade. Durant's height and wingspan helped him to better block Wade's passes.

Just as Wade was throwing the ball with all his might, Durant's hands landed right on the basketball.

It's firmly pressed down!

This was just like two people handing each other over, so harmonious!

Before Wade could even get a chance to put any force into the basketball, it was immediately blocked.

To make matters worse, Wade did it in the air, so he couldn't generate enough power to get the ball back.

He didn't even have a chance to create a contest.

Durant intercepted the ball and took possession of it.

Then Durant threw the basketball towards the frontcourt, because he saw that Lin Tian had already started charging towards the frontcourt while he and Wade were entangled.

Lin Tian grabbed the basketball and sprinted towards the Cavaliers' basket. But as he reached the basket, instead of jumping to dunk, he glanced back.

He noticed that Sessions was already sprinting towards him, ready to foul him.

Then, after waiting for about a second, Lin Tian suddenly changed direction again and ran towards the bottom corner.

After reaching the baseline, Lin Tian turned back again, making a surprise attack and returning to the basket.

This sudden turn of events caused the Cavaliers players to curse loudly. They never expected Lin Tian to do something like this. They lost track of Lin Tian once again and could only follow him as he turned back to the basket, continuing to chase him and try to foul him.

But catching up with Lin Tian is not that easy.

This guy got the basketball and kept making several passing and changing-direction fakes along the way, making life miserable for the Cavaliers players chasing behind him.

Just when it seemed they were about to completely block Lin Tian in the other corner, Lin Tian suddenly jumped up and passed the ball again.

He threw the basketball directly to Kobe, who was following up in the middle.

Kobe, who was outside the three-point line, caught the ball and turned to run towards the center.

There are no Cavaliers players left in that direction at this moment.

Kobe dribbled the ball all the way to the spot where Wade had just made a mistake. The difference was that Durant and Lin Tian were waiting to double-team Wade, while Kobe was all alone, with one of them on one side and the other on the other.

But this is already a world of difference.

Kobe didn't pass the ball again, but waited for the Cavaliers players to approach him. Then, he cheekily crossed his arms and called a timeout.

The Lakers used their last timeout.

But for the Cavaliers, this was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

They had just given it their all, relentlessly chasing and blocking, and were about to commit a foul when the Lakers used a timeout to nullify all their efforts.

Dejected, powerless, desperate, and listless.

A mix of negative emotions welled up in the Cavaliers players' hearts.

Although no one said it out loud, everyone already knew what was going on.

We lost.

The Cavaliers lost this game.

With only 7 seconds left in the game, a significant amount of time has been wasted on Wade's drives and Lin Tian and Kobe's ball possession. The Cavaliers now only have 7 seconds left.

All they could do now was pray for a miracle to happen.

They need to make a steal, score a basket, then make another steal, and score another basket.

They need to make two steals and score two points within seven seconds to have a chance to win or go into overtime.

too difficult.

Everyone knows it's too difficult.

Because the Cavaliers didn't have a timeout, they didn't have enough time to advance the ball or shoot within 7 seconds. So they had to make two steals. If they failed to make one steal, the Lakers would be sent to the free-throw line.

Then advancing from the backfield would waste almost all of their time.

In short, aside from a miracle and the Lakers' self-destruction, they have nothing left to hope for.

Soon, the Lakers' timeout ended, and both teams returned to the court.

The Lakers' positioning this time was quite spread out. Lin Tian was standing in the backcourt near the basket, while Kobe and Durant were standing near the midcourt line. In addition, Terry was standing under the basket for the Cavaliers. The four Lakers players were almost spread across the entire court.

Immediately after, the referee blew his whistle and gave the ball to Barnes. Barnes held the ball and calmly watched his teammates run. Although he had always been a role player, he had seen his fair share of big moments. He had experienced many life-or-death situations when he was with the Knicks.

Barnes calmly observed his teammates' movements, then suddenly passed the ball to Durant, who had run all the way back to his own basket from the center line and switched positions with Lin Tian.

After Durant got the ball, he didn't risk dribbling anymore. His center of gravity was too high, and in this full-court press, the risk of him dribbling was too high. Even when he held the basketball high, he stood still.

If the Cavaliers don't foul, those 7 seconds will be completely used up, and the Cavaliers have no choice.

Anthony could only reluctantly grab Durant and send him to the free-throw line.

With six seconds left, the Cavaliers, having failed to make the steal, had little hope left.

By this point, the Quicken Loans Arena fans had finally resigned themselves to their fate. They no longer had the energy or passion to boo Durant at the free-throw line. They simply watched Durant walk to the free-throw line and let out some scattered boos that weren't very effective.

"Swish! Swish!"

With two crisp clicks, Durant calmly sank both free throws, widening the gap between the two sides to 6 points.

The Cavaliers then inbounded the ball from the baseline, and this time the Lakers barely defended.

There's no need for that. If the Cavaliers just dribble past the Lakers and then shoot a three-pointer, it will take at least 4-5 seconds. If the Lakers don't defend, it doesn't matter if they make the shot, but if they manage to score a three-point play or something, that would be hilarious.

So the Lakers players started celebrating early, hugging and high-fiving each other, ignoring Chalmers as he dribbled to the frontcourt and desperately threw out his final shot.

With a loud thud, Chalmers' shot missed, and the game ended.

As time ticked away, no matter how unwilling or reluctant the Cavaliers players were to accept it, the fact remained.

They lost!

They lost two consecutive games at home, going from a commanding 2-1 lead to a 2-3 deficit. You can imagine how frustrated the Cavaliers players must be.

What's even more painful is that the Cavaliers don't seem to have done anything wrong.

Their performance was fine, their star players shone throughout the game, and their role players fulfilled their responsibilities.

Aside from a few poorly timed timeouts by head coach Brown, the Cavaliers were almost flawless.

But even with such a near-perfect performance, they still lost, losing the crucial game on home soil.

When the final buzzer sounded, all that remained for the Cavaliers players was pain and despair.

If we lose after playing like this, what makes us think we can win in Los Angeles?

What chance do we have of winning the game?

This thought crossed everyone's mind, including the most competitive Wade and Anthony, who had the exact same idea in their minds.

We're done for, we're done for, our season is over, and we've lost the championship.

"Exhilarating! Twists and turns! Almost perfect! A match so tense you could barely blink! There's no better game than this, and I think it's definitely the most exciting match in recent years!" Van Gundy, as usual, began his analysis after the match.

"The Cavaliers deserve a 9 out of 10 for their performance tonight," Miller said. "99% of teams don't even have a single 9-point game in a season, but the Cavaliers did, yet they still lost—to the Lakers who scored 10 tonight!"

"What can the Cavaliers say? They simply couldn't do anything. They gave it their all, but they still lost. I completely understand that feeling. But I can't even say that the Cavaliers died standing up, or that they can leave the arena with their heads held high."

"Because that was really too painful for them."

"But you still said it," Jackson said, as usual, then added, "But Reggie's other points were correct. The Cavaliers did their best."

「韦德今晚30投17中，3分球8投5中，罚球12罚11中，轰下50分7篮板7助攻的恐怖数据。安东尼34投18中，3分球6投3中，罚球11罚全中，也轰下50分5篮板3助攻。」

"Two star players combined for 100 points! And both were incredibly efficient, but they still lost."

"What else can they do? Can they blame the role players for not playing well? But the others played great too, making all the shots they were supposed to make. Yes, all the other players combined can't match the score of either Wade or Anthony alone."

"But they didn't take many shots either. The Cavaliers were playing their core tactics tonight, and the other players were supporting them as much as possible."

Van Gundy said, "The Cavaliers lost because of Brown. Several ill-timed timeouts ruined the Cavaliers' efforts. Maybe they should consider replacing him with a head coach who is quicker to react and better at in-game coaching. If it were someone else, the outcome tonight might not have been like this."

Miller said, "The Cavaliers also lost because the Lakers' performance was equally insane. Not to mention Lin's 30+20+20 triple-double, that's already a mythical stat line."

"Besides Lin, Kobe, Durant and Terry all scored 20+ points, and the Lakers' four players also combined for 100 points. In addition, Bynum had 11 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double. Six Lakers players scored in double figures, and all 12 players scored. Even Kapono made the two most crucial free throws."

"What else can be said? The near-perfect Cavaliers team met the flawless Lakers team."

"All of these factors combined led to the Cavaliers' defeat tonight."

"2:3".

"The Lakers have a match point, and they only need one more win to win this year's championship. The remaining two games will be played at the Lakers' home court."

"After this victory, I think that apart from the most die-hard Cavaliers fans, no one else believes the Cavaliers can win this year's championship." (End of Chapter)