Champion, please stay!

Chapter 181, Page 179: You must respect me!
James missed four consecutive low-post attacks, each one more disastrous than the last, driving the fans in the arena into a frenzy.

They hurled insults at Curry, calling him a "murderer" for not standing properly behind James.

Upon returning, Yi Shui heard the fans' insults and felt James's murderous gaze. He then teased Curry, saying, "You're so mean. Look, everyone's cursing you."

"Shameless! Utterly shameless!" Curry said, tilting his head back and glaring at him. "You taught me that!"

Yi Shui: "When did I teach you to remove the chair? I was all ready to bring it in for a block. James isn't very agile, so that kind of force will definitely affect his jump... But you removed the chair beautifully this time. It was my fault for giving up the second chance; I didn't get the ball. Luckily, West didn't make the shot."

This guy is definitely up to no good; he's not going to teach his opponent techniques out of kindness! Curry wanted to say something, but Delonte West pushed the ball up the court, and he immediately went to defend him.

The fans in the arena were too busy criticizing Curry to chant for James as much as before.

But James asked for the ball himself, and when Delonte West went up to hug Yi Shui's leg, he yelled "Get out of the way!" and drove straight to the basket!

Yi Shui reacted quickly, pressing forward in time, and his teammates' encirclement was also in place and timely.

James was trapped in the elbow area, Big Q blocked the baseline direction, Swift blocked the middle, and the heaviest player on the other side, David Lee, was directly in front of him... so he had to pass the ball to the right sideline.

Szczerbiak received the ball, stayed close to James, and moved towards the right sideline after James was forced to stop.

Szczerbiak passes the ball to Joe Smith on the left side of the free-throw line, who catches the ball and shoots...

The Cavaliers' role players are indeed very good at positioning and passing the ball.

But the ball missed!
Fortunately, thanks to James's aggressive rebounding and the delays from Delonte West and Joe Smith, the Cavaliers successfully transitioned into their defensive positions, forcing the Knicks into a half-court offense. Furthermore, Varejao's active help defense disrupted Swift's drive to the basket and his subsequent attempts to score.

But when it came to the Cavaliers' offense, Delonte West, who had made a three-pointer at the start of the game, used Joe Smith's screen to get to the top of the arc, but missed the open three-pointer after receiving a pass from James!
In the next Cavaliers offensive possession, James drove to the basket several times in a row, then rested with his hands on his hips at a 45-degree angle. Delonte West then isolated Curry, driving to the right side of the free-throw line and drawing a double team from Big Q before passing the ball to Szczerbiak.

Szczerbiak made a quick shot before Yi Shui could get his defense in place... and it missed!

Mike Brown stood up from the bench.

James missed several shots in the low post, and the score was reversed and widened, but Mike Brown remained relatively calm.

It's only the first quarter, and the point difference isn't too big to be closed. As long as James doesn't keep fighting in the low post and plays simpler, like driving hard and passing, he can get his teammates on the offensive end.

Mike Brown brought Varejao on at center to improve overall movement speed and address the opponent's defense.

But now the role players can't make their shots! They're taking turns missing!

Even Mike Brown, who doesn't understand offense, figured out the reason: everyone was just watching James attack in the low post for a few possessions, run with the opponent's fast break for a few possessions, and there was an official timeout in between. He didn't touch the ball or shoot for a long time, so his touch cooled off!
This is much more serious than James not being able to beat Curry in the low post!

Mike Brown lacked the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, but his ability to assess situations was remarkably sharp.

For the remainder of the first quarter, the Cavaliers held the Knicks to 11 points thanks to their physical defense, excellent fast break defense, and strong half-court offense.

However, for the Cavaliers themselves, James went on a scoring spree with drives and passes, making some good passes, but his teammates missed several long-range shots.

In the entire second half of the quarter, the Cavaliers only managed to score 6 points, thanks to Joe Smith's cut to the basket for an easy layup, Varejao's putback, and James being fouled by Swift and making both free throws after going out of bounds.
After the first quarter, the Knicks led the Cavaliers 31-18 by 13 points!
The Cavaliers scored 12 points in the first 4 and a half minutes, but only managed 6 points in the next 7 and a half minutes, and suddenly collapsed!
In the second quarter, the Cavaliers' outside shooting touch did not improve.

By this time, James had recovered from his anger at being 'deceived' and chose to take matters into his own hands, relentlessly driving to the basket and unleashing a barrage of shots.

But the more he played like that, the more aggressively the opposing team double-teamed him! There were even so many people surrounding the basket that even if he carried the ball and the referee didn't call it, he couldn't find a place to squeeze in!

No matter how much he complained after taking the shot, the referee didn't call a whistle.

The ball was passed out, and the teammate who stood still to catch and shoot missed... James even went to the three-point line twice, but missed again.

Throughout the second quarter, the Cavaliers made only 6 of 23 field goal attempts, including two putbacks by Varejao and Ben Wallace who came off the bench. The team missed all 7 of their three-point attempts and went 4-for-5 from the free-throw line, scoring only 16 points.

On the Knicks' side, although they failed to replicate the terrifying run of 12 points in two and a half minutes in the middle of the second quarter, they maintained their decent offensive firepower at the start and end of the quarter, scoring 25 points in the quarter.

At halftime, the score was 56-34, with the Knicks extending their lead to 22 points!
...

After halftime, Yi Shui and his teammates returned to the field.

The atmosphere at the stadium was noticeably less enthusiastic than at the start of the game; there were fewer shouts of abuse directed at him. Instead, there were more shouts of abuse directed at Curry.

It's strange that James can't beat Curry in the low post, and James' fans are criticizing Curry... So he can't even defend anymore?

However, Yi Shui never expected to lead the Cavaliers by 20 points at halftime.

Even when he had a 12-0 run, he only felt that his chances of winning tonight had increased a lot. He didn't expect that the opponent's touch would suddenly turn cold!
Soon, the third quarter began.

D'Antoni fielded a lineup of Chalmers, Bill Walker, Yi Shui, Harrington, and Mickey Moore.

He originally wanted Yi Shui to rest for a while before going on, but she didn't rest at all in the first half.

Now, looking at the opposing players coming on the field, his lips twitched slightly; Yi had predicted this once again.

James, who played the entire first half, continued to start!

However, the players who would partner with James surprised D'Antoni somewhat—Daniel Gibson, Pavlovic, Szczerbiak, Joe Smith…

D'Antoni touched his hair and looked at the bald coach opposite him. Had this guy finally figured it out? Was he about to unleash his offensive prowess?

Seeing that the opposing team had abandoned defense and abandoned their center forward, their offensive firepower suddenly increased. He was glad that he had listened to Yi Shui's advice and put on Yi Shui and Harrington, their best attacking core combination in positional warfare.

James played the entire quarter, relentlessly driving and dishing out despite the opponent's mindless double-teaming, leading the team to score 26 points in the quarter, a full 10 points more than in the second quarter!
But after three quarters, the point difference remained exactly 22...

Even with a defensive system in place, each player having a clear defensive role, and putting in a lot of effort to defend despite LeBron James's shouts, the Cavaliers' actual defensive effectiveness...

Yi Shui and Harrington, with two rookies and a veteran, played for half a quarter. After the official timeout, Duhon and Curry, with Wilson Chandler, Swift, and Birdman, charged for half a quarter, scoring 26 points in the quarter!
In the final quarter, James continued to play, but the shooters were substituted...

This time, D'Antoni didn't need Yi Shui's reminders. Yi Shui and Harrington, and Duhon and Curry, the two core combinations, took turns playing.

With this lineup, they dare not be careless as long as the opponent doesn't give up.

If they fielded a pure bench, with players like Chalmers, Bill Walker, Wilson Chandler, Jeffries, and Mickey Moore, it's entirely possible that James' team could score 40+ points in a single quarter.

At the very least, we need to ensure a basic offensive offense and send in players with good enough athleticism to contain James.

In the final quarter, the Cavaliers, led by James, scored 33 points, more than the Knicks scored in the first quarter!
The Knicks only scored 24 points in the final quarter...

D'Antoni was complaining to his assistant coaches: "Are they trying to wear us down so they can prepare for the next game?"

He himself thought this analysis was nonsense, but if you look at it in a positive light, you can't think of any other reason.

The Knicks were dominated by their opponents in the final quarter, losing by 9 points, but when the final buzzer sounded, the fans in the arena were cursing and booing... The Knicks' coaches and players rushed onto the court to cheer and celebrate!
17投9中，其中三分球4中2，加上5中5的罚球，易水拿到25分9板7助攻2抢断2盖帽。

With 6-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three-point range, and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, Curry scored 17 points and dished out 4 assists. This was the first time Curry had shot over 5% in the playoffs. But his greatest contribution wasn't just his ability to execute fast-break follow-up long-range shots and passes, or his effective pick-and-roll offense in half-court sets...

Led by the two players, the Knicks defeated the Cavaliers 106-93, taking a 1-0 lead on the road and seizing home-court advantage!
Reporters and cameramen from the imperial television station squeezed into the crowd to interview Yi Shui.

As the reporter connected with the commentator on the TV station via video link, Yi Shui glanced across at the other side... James was also being interviewed live by ESPN.

This is incredible treatment! They won the game, and ESPN went to interview them first...

Although Yi Shui has a good temper, he's not exactly a good-tempered person either. He'll leave when ESPN comes over!
At this moment, he saw James repeatedly cupping his hands, spreading his hands, putting his hands on his hips and shaking his head... What was he doing?

Look over here! LeBron James looked over at him while saying something! Their eyes met! ESPN's camera also zoomed in!

The other person looked at him, and the camera zoomed in. Yi Shui raised his hands above his head, as if he were holding something and placing it on his head...

James stopped talking, his eyes widened, and his nostrils flared.

He did that gesture tonight, during the pre-match awards ceremony, he made the gesture of wearing a crown in front of the live TV cameras and the big screen!

After the initial shock, James broke down, took two steps forward, and shouted, "I'm the MVP, you have to respect me!"

(End of this chapter)