James dribbled the ball in place, and Chen Yi lowered his center of gravity and stared closely.
After locking onto the defender, the opponent's dribbling movements slowed down several times in Chen Yi's eyes, and he even automatically predicted the direction in which the ball might be passed.
Even though the opponent was moving in slow motion, Chen Yi still didn't dare to reach out and steal the ball. If he failed, James would bomb the basket.
James dribbled the ball while moving 45 degrees to the right.
Chen Yi followed closely.
James slowed down his dribbling and turned to stare at his right hand.
Chen Yi's heart moved.
Almost all fans who are familiar with James know this.
James does a move before shooting a three-pointer.
That is, he suddenly looks at his dribbler while dribbling.
Lao Zhan has maintained this habit for several years.
It can be said that the whole world knew that James was going to shoot a three-pointer, but he was the only one who thought it was a fake move.
But no player dared to step up and interfere with him when he did this.
Because James' breakthrough threat is too great.
Suddenly, James stepped back and grabbed the ball!
Bald shot a cold arrow!
However, Chen Yi had been prepared for this, not to mention that with the help of the Domination skill, this action was slowed down several times in his eyes.
When James raised his hand, his eyes were already aiming at the basket, but his hand suddenly slipped!
There was a "bang" sound of the ball bouncing in my ears.
At the same time, all the fans of the Cavaliers, who had been cheering thunderously when the home team was attacking, fell silent again.
"LeBron, LeBron's fake was caught!" Kenny Smith shouted.
Barkley gasped, "This oriental kid actually stole LeBron's ball. His reaction was too quick, he predicted LeBron's shot!"
James was still making a shooting motion, pushing the air out with his palm. Looking back, Chen Yi had already pushed the ball and sprinted at high speed.
Chen Yi cut the ball.
Single player fast break!
His speed was not too fast, and James, who reacted quickly, chased him all the way.
Chen Yi rushed to the basket and raised the ball over his head.
James, who was following behind, jumped up and his head almost hit the basket.
He slapped his palm in the direction he predicted.
But he missed!
Chen Yi stopped abruptly and immediately withdrew his hand.
James flew out of the court, and Chen Yi then calmly scored into the open basket.
78-89, the score difference is about to be narrowed to single digits.
His physical talent is not strong enough yet, but Chen Yi knows that he has to play with his brain.
What's more, what he and James are best at is the chase-down block.
James was intercepted and deceived by a fake move, and was a little annoyed, so he quickly passed the ball forward.
Chen Yi blocked the way in front of him, and James continued to let his teammates pull away.
James took small steps, dribbled the ball, and slowly moved forward tentatively.
Danny Green came up for a screen and James changed direction and tried to get past Chen Yi.
Chen Yi skillfully bypassed the pick-and-roll, and he found that his lateral speed had also increased.
Seeing that the opponent was catching up closely, James, who had already run to the collision zone, had a thorough physical confrontation with Chen Yi.
Jump, aim at the basket, and push the ball.
James, who was very skilled in this move, lost his balance after colliding with Chen Yi in the air, and the basketball in his hand flew out of his hand.
"Chen Yi single-handedly defended James! Beautiful!" Coach Zhang exclaimed from a distance, watching the defense. "James lost his balance and missed all three of his shots."
James spread his hands and looked at the referee in disbelief.
But the referee did not call a foul.
McGee grabbed the rebound and swished the ball away.
Nick Young passed the ball to Chen Yi at the top of the key, blocking James' position.
Chen Yi faces Danny Green.
McGee and Jamison in the interior moved to the elbow area. After dribbling the ball three times, Chen Yi headed straight for the unguarded basket.
Danny Green's small body couldn't stop Chen Yi at all, even though he wasn't very fast.
Chen Yi then sprinted like a bomb, squeezed Danny Green aside, took off under the basket, and dunked with both hands!
After being a background board once, Valanciunas didn't dare to move forward again and could only watch his opponent score.
80-89!
The score difference has reached single digits!
James was a little anxious. After passing the ball to Danny Green, he directed Varejao to screen for O'Neal and then look for an opportunity to cut inside.
But Chen Yi noticed the route of Danny Green's pass, stepped to the side and put his hand in the path of the ball.
Chen Yi has an excellent arm span of 2.03 meters, and he easily intercepted the ball.
Then he ran all over the field with the ball.
Chen Yi looked back and saw James rushing towards him again, so he passed the ball back to Jamison who was following him from the side.
Jamison shook off Varejao's defense and rushed straight to the basket after receiving the ball.
In desperation, James had to go back to defend Jamison who was about to shoot.
Antawn Jamison quickly changed the direction of his wrist and threw the basketball from behind to Chen Yi.
Chen Yi dribbled the ball once, took a step forward, jumped with both feet, and slammed the basketball into the basket with great force.
82-89!
After Chen Yi made a successful dunk, he did not forget to show off his muscles in front of the camera on the sidelines.
Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown quickly called a timeout.
Nick Young excitedly put his arm around Chen Yi's shoulders and said with a smile, "You're a very capable guy!"
Sanders' attitude towards Chen Yi changed drastically. Hadn't he noticed how fierce this guy was before?
Chen Yi's defensive performance in recent waves is stronger than most guards in the league.
There were even scenes of defending James alone.
"Chen, can you continue fighting?" Sanders asked. He was a little worried that Chen Yi would be exhausted.
For a rookie like him who has just started playing and has not yet adapted to the intensity of the NBA, physical strength is a big problem.
Chen Yi was indeed a little tired, but he had rested for most of the season and was still physically strong enough to hold on. He made an OK gesture to Sanders.
James sat on the sidelines catching his breath. He was a little dazed in the last quarter.
Not only was his offense slowed down, but the ball was intercepted by a rookie in the middle.
O'Neal sat down next to him, patted his shoulder and said, "That rookie on the other side is weird."
James shook his head. "I'll focus."
In his mind, the opposing defender was just a rookie after all and couldn't make any big waves.
"You were a bit careless. The opponent intercepted several balls." Mike Brown said seriously.
Mike Brown rearranged the lineup, replacing the exhausted O'Neal with Big Z to cooperate with James in pick-and-roll, and replacing JJ Hickson with Maurice Williams.
The Wizards' lineup remains unchanged, mainly because they have no one left to use.
Back on the court.
James returned to the No. 3 position, and Chen Yi faced Williams.
The dominance effect continued with 4 minutes and 54 seconds remaining in the game.
Williams passed the ball to James at the top of the arc, and James asked Big Z to pull out.
The two old teammates cooperated seamlessly in the pick-and-roll. With Big Z as a high-quality meat shield, James easily broke into the Wizards' inside line with his breakthrough ability.
McGee couldn't stop James and could only stretch out his arms.
Chen Yi also let go of Williams and double-teamed him from the side.
Faced with the interference of two people, James wanted to jump and dunk directly, but he began to be wary of Chen Yi.
After a small pull-up in the air, James changed hands and made a layup.
Under the interference of Chen Yi, James missed another shot.
McGee easily grabbed the rebound.
The Wizards team advanced slowly, and Chen Yi called Nick Young to come over for screen.
James asked his opponents to pay attention to Nick Young's shooting. After all, the young man made 7 of 13 shots tonight, which was quite efficient.
Chen Yi passed the ball to him and cut in from the left. Nick Young suppressed his desire to play one-on-one and passed the ball to Chen Yi.
Williams followed Chen Yi's side, and Chen Yi made another unreasonable three-step layup against the defender.
Williams, who is only 1.83 meters tall and weighs 90 kg, is a heavy tank defender and is known for his strong physique.
But in front of Chen Yi he was as light as a piece of paper.
After easily squeezing Williams aside with the ball, Chen Yi made a layup.
84-89!
Nick Young, who was happy to get an assist +1, also became agitated. He secretly decided not to steal the limelight from Chen Yi for the sake of victory.
James wanted to call Big Z to come out to screen McGee who was out of position.
But considering that Big Z has no long-range shooting ability, Danny Green was asked to pull out for pick-and-roll.
Mike Brown's tactics are all designed around James. In addition to being able to play against a big center in a pick-and-roll, he can also play against a guard in a reverse pick-and-roll.
However, Chen Yi saw the intention and switched defense with Nick Young, facing James.
James frowned and faced Chen Yi in the elbow area.
James had found Chen Yi a bit difficult to deal with in the previous few attacks, so this time he chose to post up.
Chen Yi put his elbow on his back, and James retreated while dribbling the ball.
But Chen Yi's lower body was very stable, and he didn't move at all against James.
While James was surprised, he dribbled the ball and changed his hands to make room for shooting, and then he made a fadeaway jump shot!
Chen Yi flew in to block the shot, and [Lock on the Defender] brought about a significant interference in the shooting defense. As expected, James's ball hit the back edge of the basket and bounced away.
McGee was happy with his rebounding tonight.
"Has LeBron met his nemesis?" said Kenny Smith.
Barkley nodded. "This rookie is extraordinary. After he came on the court tonight, he only managed to score one point in the final quarter for James."
James was actually quite efficient tonight, scoring 23 points after three quarters.
However, after Chen Yi came on, his shooting percentage became 0.
The only point he scored in the final quarter came from free throws.
It's not easy to score a point in basketball.
It was the Wizards' turn to attack back, and Chen Yi continued to order Williams.
Williams couldn't stop Chen Yi simply by relying on his physical strength. Although he was not fast, he could always hang on you and make a layup.
The continuous offense has boosted the morale of the entire Wizards team, and the players have become more active in running.
Chen Yi sprinted quickly after exploding the ball.
This time, Big Z and Valanciunas were both blocked in the penalty area.
Chen Yi's physical strength has dropped much more than before. He didn't dare to continue trying to dunk, and stopped suddenly outside the collision zone to prepare for a jump shot.
And he was smart to lean towards Williams.
Due to significant interference, the shot did not go in.
But the referee's whistle sounded!