Champion, please stay!

Chapter 169, Section 167: The Emperor vs. the King!

On April 18th, basketball fans' attention was focused on Cleveland.

The Knicks and Cavaliers are not comparable in terms of record; the Knicks are ten games behind the Cavaliers. However, in pre-game media predictions, the Knicks were generally considered to have a better chance of winning.

Fans noticed something interesting – ESPN, NBC, and other television networks also predicted that the Knicks would win.

The Cavaliers have the upper hand against most teams this season, but there are a few teams that have been their nemesis, with most of their 16 losses coming against these teams.

打湖人队两场全败；打魔术队1胜2负，赢的那场还是魔术队4胜4负的那半个月磨合期；打火箭队1胜1负，但那场比赛姚明被气得锤椅子，小巨人只上场了20分钟，因为第四节刚开始就6犯离场了，前三节也是打六七分钟就犯规次数过多被迫坐替补席；打凯尔特人队1胜3负……

The Knicks are also one of the Cavaliers' nemesis, with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss in their first 3 meetings.

However, the Knicks are the weakest of the Cavaliers' nemesis teams, with a combined net point differential of only 9 points in the three games. The Cavaliers had chances to win the two games they lost, but the Knicks capitalized on the crucial plays better.

This game is important for both teams: the Knicks are competing with the Hawks for home-court advantage, while the Cavaliers are vying with the Lakers for the best team in the league.

When the two teams faced off again, the two games in which Yi Shui and James went head-to-head for 40+ points and triple-doubles were brought up again and generated a lot of buzz. Both players did indeed perform very well in those two games.

At 5:40 p.m., at Quicken Loans Arena, Yi Shui and his teammates entered the court amidst boos.

When exchanging pleasantries with the camera, James only said two things: he was happy to face him again and looked forward to playing against him in the playoffs. That was it.

Yi Shui felt a little uncomfortable...

After exchanging pleasantries, Yi Shui looked at the unchanging battle record comparison displayed on the big screen.

全明星周末后的骑士队，24胜4负！从39胜13负，打到63胜17负！
From the 1st to the 16th of this month, the Cavaliers had 9 games in 16 days. At the beginning of the month, many people thought that the Cavaliers would lose to the Lakers because of this schedule, but the Cavaliers held on and won 8 and lost 1 of the 9 games. On the other hand, the Lakers lost two games in April and are currently 62 and 18. The Cavaliers have overtaken the Lakers by 1 win!
James certainly deserves the most credit for this run of success, but the Thunder also played a significant role.

After Christmas, the Thunder traded former number one draft pick Joe Smith to the Cavaliers. Initially, it didn't have much of an effect because Smith got injured shortly after joining the Cavaliers. However, after the All-Star break, Smith passed the team doctor's examination, recovered from his injury, and returned to the court. After replacing rookie JJ Hickson as Ben Wallace's primary backup, the Cavaliers' interior defense showed a qualitative change.

Joe Smith had a nickname in his early years—the poor man's Garnett. He was solid in pick-and-roll, could roll to the basket and shoot mid-range, had some low-post back-to-the-basket game, and was good at one-on-one defense and help defense.

The Warriors were even willing to offer him a 6-year, $80 million contract, but he wanted a 6-year, $100 million deal with the Timberwolves... and ended up getting nothing.

With Ben Wallace and Joe Smith each playing around 20 minutes, and Varejao filling in at power forward for a few more minutes, the Cavaliers maintained a high level of defense in the paint throughout the games following the All-Star break.

With two games remaining, LeBron James has essentially secured Player of the Month. Even if he loses the last two games, he will still have an 8-3 record. The Cavaliers' last game is at home against the 76ers. The Cavaliers have won all three of their previous meetings, with a combined margin of victory of over 40 points, which can be considered a minimum guarantee of a 9-2 record for the month.

In the MVP race, Kobe was a favorite for the first two months, but his playing time dropped sharply in January, which can be considered as his withdrawal.

Howard, who briefly became a hot topic in January, struggled after his performance collapsed in February and the first half of March.
Paul, who was originally the top favorite for MVP, had some bad luck. He lost to Kobe in a direct matchup last year and lost the MVP award. This season, an important teammate was injured, the team's record collapsed, and he lost hope.

As for Yi Shui personally, he briefly became an MVP favorite in February, but the team's strength was exposed in March, so his chances are slim.

With his team's record and individual efficiency ranking first in the league after the All-Star Weekend, LeBron James is practically guaranteed the MVP award.

After the pre-match preparation time ended, the referee notified both teams to bring out their starting lineups.

Cavaliers: Mo Williams, Delonte West, James, Ben Wallace, Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Knicks: Curry, Big Q, Yi Shui, David Lee, Swift.

Yi Shui walked onto the court, and a mission notification appeared!
"Your nickname battle with LeBron James has reached a fever pitch... Mission: Imperial Power Triggered."

Objective: Defeat the Cavaliers and gain the upper hand in their regular season matchups.

Reward: 1 Intermediate Blind Box, unlocking subsequent tasks.

The nickname dispute... Yi Shui made a slurping sound and walked onto the court.

In the United States, he and James have absolutely no conflict in this regard; "Emperor" and "King" are not the same word.

However, in China, the commentators' sloppy translation of "King" as "Emperor" is just like translating "dragon" as "dragon," misleading many people, even affecting Yi Jianlian's career.

After he became known as "The Emperor," domestic commentators started emphasizing that "King" wasn't just "Little Emperor," but "King," which angered LeBron James fans in China...

...

The match started at 6 p.m.

Swift beat Zydrunas Ilgauskas to win the jump ball, and the Knicks went on offense first. Ben Wallace called to his teammates, and the Cavaliers immediately started a physical battle.

Curry steadily advanced to the top arc and passed to Yi Shui despite Mo Williams' tight defense from the center circle. Yi Shui started moving despite Mo Williams' continued close marking and was not affected.

This made Du Hong, who was watching from the sidelines, very envious. He was shorter and heavier than Curry, but his static physical strength was much worse than Curry's.

D'Antoni seemed quite satisfied. He had noticed this advantage during Curry's tryout. As a skillful shooter, with such excellent static strength, he was sure to make a name for himself.

Yi Shui received the ball sideways, and after Curry ran away, he dribbled back half a step to straighten his body.

James immediately pressed forward to continue guarding Yi Shui closely. Yi Shui quickly dribbled the ball and leaned to the right, while James moved to the left in advance.

Yi Shui flicked the ball forward with his left hand, twisting it inward and using his fingertips to push it to the left front. He then turned left, stepped out with his right leg, blocked James' right waist, and made a breakthrough!
James pushed off the ground and retreated, but Yi Shui only took one step, stretched out his long arm and grabbed the bounced ball back, then stopped abruptly and launched a long two-pointer... and it went in!
king: o(╥﹏╥)o, how come this guy's skills have improved again? The new defense I prepared for a month has become ineffective before I even had a chance to use it!

When it was the Cavaliers' turn to attack, James made a tank-like drive, surging through Yi Shui's tight defense into the Knicks' double-team zone, and passed the ball... Delonte West received the pass and hit a three-pointer, but it missed.

After missing the shot, the Cavaliers immediately switched to defensive mode. Zydrunas Ilgauskas retreated on defense, while Mo Williams, Delonte West, LeBron James, and Ben Wallace blocked them from the entire court, slowing down the Knicks' pace.

Compared to their two matchups a month ago, the Cavaliers' defense has improved and become more targeted, posing a greater challenge to the Knicks' fast-paced offense and making it difficult for them to mount strong counterattacks.

After the Knicks fell into a half-court offense, James abandoned the idea of ​​guarding Yi Shui one-on-one and instead focused on sticking close to Yi Shui to prevent him from shooting from long range. He also teamed up with the two big men in the paint to surround Yi Shui and force him to pass the ball.

And most importantly, physical defense to wear down the Knicks' shooting touch!
On offense, James also made adjustments, trying to keep the game simple. He drove and passed the ball a few times at the start of the game before handing possession to Mo Williams and Delonte West, who then cut to the basket for easy baskets.

The Cavaliers' offensive and defensive strategy worked well. After Yi Shui scored a one-on-one goal at the start of the game, the Cavaliers scored 9 points in the next 4 minutes, while the Knicks only managed to score one long two-pointer by Curry.

With the score at 4-9, the Knicks called a timeout!

D'Antoni substituted Duhon and Curry into the point guard duo early, with Wilson Chandler coming on, and Yi Shui and Birdman partnering in the frontcourt.

After the timeout, the Knicks' defense... got even worse, and the Cavaliers scored 19 points in the next 7 minutes.

However, the offense quickly rebounded!
With Duhon leading the offense, Yi Shui's drives, Curry's follow-up jumpers, and Wilson Chandler and Birdman's support all flowed more smoothly. In half-court offense, affected by the Cavaliers' physical defense, their outside shooting wasn't great, but that was okay for now. They focused on executing their plays to create shooting opportunities for Curry and Duhon. If the plays weren't working, they had Yi Shui shoot from the perimeter against the defense and launch fast breaks.

尼克斯队在后面7分多钟时间拿到16分，勉强算是把比分咬住了，首节打完以20比28落后骑士队8分。

...

After the break, Yi Shui started again and immediately made a contribution by poking the ball when James made a strong drive!

Curry wins the ball in a scramble with Delonte West!

The rest of the Cavaliers had retreated on defense: Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, James, Joe Smith, and Varejao. This lineup was quite fast. Yi Shui saw Curry grab the ball and launched a fast break, but he didn't get a chance to receive the ball.

Curry protected the ball and advanced the ball under Delonte West's tight defense. In the half-court set, he didn't pass the ball, but faked a drive and then stepped back to shoot a three-pointer... and it went in!
The Knicks narrowed the gap to 5 points, 23-28!
When it was the Cavaliers' turn to attack, James drove to the basket and passed the ball to Joe Smith, who received it close to the left baseline and made a jump shot.

Turning around, Curry drove past Delonte West and passed back to the high post. Yi Shui used Birdman's screen to shake off James and received the ball a step inside the top arc. Seeing Varejao rushing up from the middle, Yi Shui jumped and shot... a long two-pointer!

After a whole quarter of physical play and missing shots, Curry and Yi Shui gradually got used to shooting under such pressure.

The two made adjustments in tacit understanding and charged forward for the entire quarter. They continued to charge, and they were probably both feeling the strain, especially since Du Hong was not on the court... They started using outside isolation shots and passing!

If there's an opportunity to launch a counterattack, of course we should; if there aren't, we shouldn't force it. Instead, we should engage in positional warfare and frequently fight one-on-one, which is very effective!
In particular, Curry's one-on-one drives, coupled with Yi Shui's use of screens to push up the wing, successfully forced the Cavaliers' defense to move up, making it easier for Wilson Chandler, David Lee, and Birdman to cut to the basket.

The two players were able to find their rhythm in high-intensity combat because their static strength was far superior to what it looked like.

For the Cavaliers, their offense stalled in the second quarter!

They launched a physical battle and were well-prepared. Their long-range shooting was generally good in the first quarter, but in the second quarter, their long-range shooting performance began to decline. James's penetration and passing performance was affected, and his off-ball cuts were also greatly impacted!

After Curry's three-pointer, the Knicks went on a 15-9 run. With 6 minutes and 22 seconds left, the Knicks took a 38-37 lead over the Cavaliers, forcing the Cavaliers to call a timeout!
After the official timeout, Curry, who had played for a quarter and a half, was substituted to rest, and Yi Shui and Harrington started the offense with pick-and-rolls at the top of the key.

Without a teammate who could score on the perimeter, Yi Shui's offensive efficiency dropped significantly. Fortunately, the Cavaliers' shooting touch didn't improve much, and the Knicks only scored 11 points in the second half of the quarter, as did the Cavaliers.

At halftime, the Knicks led 49-48 by one point!
After the start of the second half, the Cavaliers' outside shooting remained poor. Duhon, along with Curry, Wilson Chandler, David Lee, and Birdman, launched a series of counterattacks at the beginning of the third quarter, scoring 9-4 in 3 minutes, prompting the Cavaliers to call a timeout!

The Cavaliers are down by 6 points, 52 to 58!

Both teams made personnel changes.

The Cavaliers brought in a lineup of Delonte West, Pavlovic, James, Ben Wallace, and Varejao.

For the Knicks, D'Antoni substituted Yi Shui, who seemed to be in good physical condition, early on. In recent games, he noticed that Yi Shui's stamina seemed to have improved again...

After the timeout, James drove hard into the paint, but was double-teamed. Holding the ball, he squeezed past Birdman and Curry, taking three steps to the edge of the restricted area. He then powered up, overpowering both players and Yi Shui who was rushing up from behind, and scored a layup... bank shot! He also drew a foul from Curry!
Yi Shui arrived at the three-second zone and saw the Cavaliers bring in this lineup. He guessed that James would choose to attack aggressively and called on his teammates to double-team him, but the opponent still scored.

They really went all out! They were really fierce!
However, the free throw was missed... Birdman and David Lee blocked the man, and Yi Shui grabbed the defensive rebound.

Du Hong received the ball, and the opposing Varejao came on and retreated quickly. He chose to stay calm and advanced to the frontcourt before passing to Yi Shui.

Facing James's close defense, Yi Shui also chose to drive hard. Facing Ben Wallace's help defense at close range, he stopped abruptly, jumped, and shot... and it went in!
Ben Wallace is helpless. He only needs to play 20 minutes per game now, sometimes even less. His physical condition when he comes on the court is much better than before Joe Smith returned from injury. However, his movement is still affected in the second half. At the beginning of the game, he can definitely block the 45-degree angle of the elbow area. At least when Yi Shui gets to that position, he can stick to his lower body without any problem.

But not this time, and the rookie on the other side, who was the top scorer, clearly noticed this!
James continued his relentless attack. Under his leadership, the Cavaliers scored 9 points in 3 minutes, starting with James' strong drive and 2+0 after the timeout earlier in the game, and continuing until the official timeout in the third quarter. This was a significant improvement compared to the 4 points he scored in the first 3 minutes of the second half.

But the Knicks withstood the Cavaliers' comeback attempt, which relied on James's individual offense and the entire team's defense!
After Yi Shui made that close-range jump shot, he scored a long two-pointer, passed Curry a mid-range assist from the baseline, and David Lee made a putback... He scored 8 points!
The Knicks held onto their 5-point lead at 66-61, heading into the official timeout!
After the timeout, James launched a series of attacks, scoring 7 out of 9 points. However, he couldn't withstand that kind of play and his performance began to decline. He only scored 4 points in the end. Among his teammates, only Mo Williams made a three-pointer in a one-on-one play. The team only scored 7 points in 5 and a half minutes!
For the Knicks, their scoring also declined in the second half of the quarter. Mike Brown's offensive adjustments seemed to be limited to "LeBron, you drive," but the defensive adjustments were effective, reducing their scoring to 11 points in the second half of the quarter... but they still managed to widen the gap to 4 points.

After three quarters, the Knicks led the Cavaliers 77-68 by 9 points!
...

After the break, the fourth quarter began.

The Cavaliers, who only scored 20 points in the second and third quarters and made 2 of 12 three-point attempts, finally found their rhythm in the final quarter.

James drove to the basket twice and passed to Mo Williams and Szczerbiak, who then hit three-pointers in succession!

With Delonte West out, Mo Williams and Szczerbiak, those two leaky duo, were paired up in the backcourt...

Curry and Swift initiated a pick-and-roll offense. Yi Shui cut in from the right baseline to draw attention, and Swift cut in from the left to score a basket. Mo Williams, who switched to defend, was completely confused about delaying the inside cut. Duhon ran around the three-point line and shook off Szczerbiak. He received the ball at the top of the arc, adjusted, and then shot a three-pointer that went straight into the basket.

The Cavaliers hit two consecutive three-pointers, narrowing the gap to just one point.

However, as the outside shooters got going, James handed the ball to Mo Williams, focusing on cutting to the basket, compressing the defense, and launching fast breaks... leading the team to make the overall offense run smoothly and recreate the offensive momentum of the first quarter!

This is mainly because the Knicks' defense is too poor. If it were a team with solid defense, it would be unlikely that the Cavaliers could have rallied in the fourth quarter when their shooting was so cold.

The Cavaliers missed fewer shots, and the Knicks had fewer opportunities to launch fast breaks. Their scoring dropped significantly in the final quarter. Fortunately, James really couldn't stop Yi Shui.

James is better at defending hard-hitting forwards like Artest and Josh Smith, but he can also effectively limit the direct drives of players like Rose and Westbrook.

However, James simply couldn't defend against Yi Shui, who was adept at seizing opportunities when the game was off. His fundamentals were too poor, and his understanding of the offense was only mediocre. In one game, he even felt that Yi Shui was getting better and better when he was one-on-one with him.

The Cavaliers attacked fiercely for the entire quarter, and the gap remained unbroken for a long time. In the final moments, Szczerbiak received a pass back from James at the top of the arc and hit a three-pointer, finally bringing the Cavaliers within one point at 98-101!

When the Knicks went on offense, James stuck close to Yi Shui. After Yi Shui set a screen for Harrington, Joe Smith, who had switched onto him, also moved up to defend. After Yi Shui set a screen for Curry, Mo Williams, who was chasing Curry, and Joe Smith together double-teamed Yi Shui, who was off the ball.

Curry receives a pass back from Harrington at the top of the arc, takes a three-pointer... misses, but!

Just as Varejao moved to the spot where the rebound was about to land and was about to grab it, someone suddenly appeared in front of him!

Yi Shui leaned on Varejao and grabbed the offensive rebound!

After completing a series of screens, Yi Shui, when double-teamed off the ball, immediately elbowed both players aside and charged into the paint. Without thinking twice, he went straight for Varejao, the best rebounder on the opposing team... and got the ball!
The ball was raised again... Just as he lifted the ball, Varejao's arm struck him, and the ball slipped from his grasp.

The referee blew his whistle, Varejao committed a foul by hitting the hand, and Yi Shui was awarded two free throws!
Fortunately, the blow only hit his upper arm and had no effect. Amidst the boos and jeers from the fans, Yi Shui calmly sank both free throws, extending the lead to 5 points!
The Cavaliers called a timeout. After the timeout, their strategy was for James to isolate against Yi Shui. Despite Yi Shui's interference, James took a step-back three-pointer... and missed.

Birdman secured the defensive rebound and passed it to Duhon, who protected the ball and advanced it to the frontcourt. The Cavaliers did not commit a tactical foul.

易水出战45分钟，26投11中，其中三分球11中4、外加7中7的罚球拿到33分8板3助攻3抢断2盖帽。

力压25投12中、其中三分球3中0、外加12中8的罚球拿到32分8板8助攻1抢断2盖帽的詹姆斯！

103比98，尼克斯队5分险胜骑士队，将战绩提升到54胜27负！
(End of this chapter)