The referee quickly stepped forward and pulled James and Barnes apart.
James didn't bother anymore. After controlling his emotions, James silently picked up the hair tie.
He knows that this is Phoenix and he can't get any benefits.
The finals against Phoenix were harder than he imagined!
Mike Brown's plan to let James lead the second team to chase points did not go well. James' impact was very strong, but the Suns' substitutes also had excellent touch tonight.
After three and a half minutes of play in the second quarter, the score difference between the two sides remained at double digits.
After the dead ball, the Suns' main force returned to the field.
For the Cavaliers, James is still on the court. Mike Brown knows the importance of James and dare not let him rest casually.
During the regular season, James averaged 40.4 minutes per game, ranking third among all players.
In the playoffs, this number increased to 42.5. It's no wonder that fans jokingly called him James' nanny.
Mike Brown relies too much on James!
James couldn't even catch up with the point difference when playing with the Suns' second team, so it would be even harder to play with the main team.
But fortunately, Mike Brown, the big bald man, had an idea. He removed Big Z Ilgauskas and replaced Varejao, thus avoiding the tragedy of O'Neal being endlessly switched in singles.
The pressure on the defensive end was relieved, which allowed O'Pang to use his hands and feet on the offensive end. In this quarter, he made 4 of 6 shots and scored 9 points with free throws, which was very efficient.
However, in the face of the full firepower of the Suns, the Cavaliers still trailed by 14 points, 47 to 61, at halftime.
The second half started quickly.
Suns starting lineup: Nash, Chen Yan, Grant Hill, Diaw, Stoudemire
Cavaliers starting lineup: Gibson, Larry Hughes, James, Varejao, Big Z Ilgauskas
"They sent out their strongest offensive lineup, and it seems they are planning to widen the gap in the third quarter." Kenny Smith analyzed before the start of the second half.
Barkley nodded: "Yes, this is their usual rhythm. The Cavaliers removed O'Neal who performed well in the second quarter."
Kenny Smith said: "O'Neal is still a devastating beast in the penalty area, but he is 36 years old and his physical fitness is his biggest enemy."
Kenny Smith is right. O'Neal's average playing time this season is only 28 minutes per game, which is the lowest in his career. His huge body makes O'Neal consume a huge amount of physical energy every step he runs.
In the first attack of the second half, James chose a high jump shot.
"Clang!"
Missed!
Varejao grabbed the offensive rebound and handed it to James again.
James dribbled the ball laterally and shot again.
"Whoa!"
Hit!
49 to 62.
In the early days of James' career, mid-range was a finishing method that accounted for a high proportion of his shots. In the past few seasons, James' mid-range shots accounted for more than 30%.
This is also related to the environment of the league. At this time, small ball has not yet become popular. Instead of three-pointers, the outside players of each team prefer to use mid-range shots to end the offense.
However, the Suns' offense runs counter to the league's traditional offensive philosophy. Their players will shoot from beyond the three-point line whenever they get a chance, showing no mercy.
"Whoa!"
Looking back, Chen Yan quickly responded to James with a three-pointer.
The Cavaliers attacked, and James used double screens to force the basket and draw fouls, winning two free throws.
It can be seen that James strengthened his personal offense in the second half.
James made one of two free throws and the ball was transferred.
Nash quickly advanced with the ball and passed the ball accurately to find Chen Yan.
After receiving the ball, Chen Yan took two steps and passed the ball around the waist through Varejao to Stoudemire who came in behind.
Stoudemire succeeded in a strong dunk!
The audience was instantly excited. This was a typical Sun Trident attack method.
Knight's attack round.
James forced his way to the basket and was surrounded by three people. Finally, his body lost its center of gravity and fell to the baseline.
James spread his hands, indicating that there are no rules?
The referee ignored James. This kind of ball can be whistled or not. In addition, this is the home court of the Suns, so the referee's whistle will naturally be appropriately biased towards them.
The Suns switched offense and defense. Chen Yan used his agile steps to avoid Larry Hughes and then blitzed to the basket. A light master layup and scored two points!
Knight's attack round.
Big Z's inside position is strong and he plays hard.
James has attacked for three consecutive rounds, and his teammates must also give him some support.
Big Z is a traditional European stand-up center. He has good skills and a certain mid-range shooting ability, but his biggest advantage on the court is his 221cm size.
Ilgauskas squeezed Stoudemire and turned around, preparing to use his height to eat him!
But Big Z was too soft, he just barely squeezed out the layup space and couldn't completely drive away Stoudemire.
Seeing the staggering big Z, Chen Yan decisively let go of the defensive player and rushed out of his blind spot.
"Bang!"
Pin the board directly!
Show no mercy!
The most outrageous thing is that Chen Yan nails the board with his right hand and collects the ball from the air with his left hand.
Take it with the cover in one go!
As soon as he landed, Chen Yan launched a solo counterattack!
James retreated in time in this round, but the Suns advanced faster!
In the blink of an eye, Chen Yan, Nash and Grant Hill had already crossed the center line.
3 on 1 in the frontcourt!
James' attention is entirely on the ball carrier Chen Yan.
Chen Yan also realized this. He first passed the ball to Nash and then accelerated past James without the ball.
Nash made a beautiful early hit and returned the ball to Chen Yan!
This kind of cooperation is a bit like a two-on-one on the football field. After the two men made a move, James had no choice but to give up the defense.
It's not that James is slacking off, it's that this kind of 3v1 ball is simply impossible to defend.
In the penalty area, Chen Yan glanced behind him and hit the ball high on the backboard.
Grant Hill, who followed up, caught the rebound and took off directly!
"boom!"
Chen Yan made a rebound and assisted, and Grant Hill bombed the basket and succeeded!
Hill was very excited after landing. This ball made him regain the feeling of being Jordan's successor.
"Hey! Let's play!" Zhang Lili also shouted excitedly.
"Haha, Chen Yan played very relaxedly. You must know that this is the stage of the finals!" Director Xu also sighed.
On the way back to defense, Chen Yan glanced at Big Z who was a little frustrated. He did look like the movie star Nicolas Cage...
The Cavaliers have been playing very hard, but the point difference is getting bigger and bigger.
This is because the entire Cavaliers team has poor outside shooting tonight, plus there is no real strong attack point in the team.
James' physical talent and vision are both at a historical level, but during this period he had not developed his mid-range and long-range shots. It was obviously impossible to score points in every round by forcing a breakthrough with just one hand.
The Cavaliers' intermittent offense looks like scraping to Suns fans.
At the beginning of the final quarter, the score difference between the two teams was already more than 25 points.
The sun was not merciful just because the knights could not withstand their ferocious firepower.
This is a series. What they have to do is not only win a game, but also destroy the Cavaliers' confidence!
At 7 minutes and 7 seconds into the game, Chen Yan made a signature logo-shot that narrowed the score difference to more than 30 points.
The game basically lost its suspense, and Suns coach D'Antoni also asked the main players to clock out collectively on the next dead ball.
After 1 minute, James took the initiative to request to leave the game, and the game officially entered garbage time.
James and Kobe are two types of people with completely different personalities. Kobe is so paranoid about winning that he will fight until the last second even if he loses. James, on the other hand, pays more attention to rationality when playing.
I will give up selectively when possible and be better prepared for the next game.
Soon, the electronic buzzer of America West Arena sounded.
118 to 93.
The Suns beat the Cavaliers by 25 points in the first game of the Finals!
The Suns' players stood up and high-fived each other in celebration. Each player's face was filled with joy after winning, but there was not much excitement visible.
The Suns dominated the Cavaliers throughout the game, and in the eyes of the Suns players, winning this game was a matter of course.