LeBron James running away? He's going all in on Curry.

Thirty minutes before the game started, the atmosphere in the Cavaliers' home locker room was eerily quiet.

There were no passionate pre-match rallies, nor the sound of the head coach tapping on the tactical board to lay out strategies.

Today, Coach Byron Scott was politely "invited" to the door by his own boss.

In the center of the locker room, Su Yang wrote four lines of eye-catching numbers on the whiteboard.

"Listen, guys. I know how people are talking about you guys—a bunch of minimum-salary, undrafted, trash that other teams don't want, or even a bunch of roughnecks who just foul."

Su Yang turned around and glanced at the group of menacing players in front of him: Patrick Beverley with shining eyes, Shane Battier with a sullen face, Zaza Pachulia with his hands clenched, and DeAndre Jordan with a face that said "I'm going to fight".

"Tonight, I'm not asking you to win. Even if you lose to the Miami Heat by fifty points, I won't blame you."

"There's only one mission: to properly entertain that 'King' who boasted about cutting 60 points off our heads."

"The rules are very simple—"

"If you can limit LeBron James to under 20 points tonight, each of you will receive a check for $5 after the game."

"Limited to 10 points or less, $10 per person."

"Limited to 5 points or less, $20 per person."

"If we can get him to score zero points in this arena..." Su Yang paused, his tone seductive, "one million US dollars per person. Cash, settled on the spot."

The moment these words were spoken, the entire locker room fell silent, followed by a burst of heavy breathing.

Of course, it's impossible to have zero points out of 100 million. Even a pig could score one or two points from free throws if it played for 40 minutes. Everyone knows that.

But... what about below 20 points?! What about below 10 points?!

You should know that Beverley, a player from the bottom tier who came back from Europe, only earns a non-guaranteed minimum salary for a year.

Pachulia and DeAndre Jordan also have very small contracts.

Playing a single game and just shutting down one player can earn you a huge bonus equivalent to half a season's salary?!

"Boss." Zaza Pachulia cracked his thick neck, his knuckles popping, his eyes gleaming green. "Even if he breaks through in an armored vehicle today, I'll flip him over, vehicle and all, right here in the penalty area!"

"I'll bite him to death on the outside, he'll have trouble even breathing!" Beverley made the promise excitedly, like a hyena smelling blood.

Even the usually mild-mannered defensive master Battier couldn't help but swallow hard, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

A handsome reward will surely attract wicked men.

Looking at this group of "meat grinders" whose animalistic nature had been completely ignited by the US dollar, Su Yang threw away his marker with satisfaction and clapped his hands.

"Great, go on the court. Let him see Cleveland's tough defense."

……

The competition officially began at 8 p.m.

The moment LeBron James walked out of the player tunnel, the entire Quicken Loans Arena erupted in a deafening chorus of boos, the loudest in NBA history.

Twenty thousand Cleveland fans wearing T-shirts that read "coward" and "traitor" unleashed a torrent of abuse on the former hero.

But James seemed unusually excited. Even when he threw magnesium powder before the game, he deliberately made a provocative throat-slitting gesture towards the Cavaliers' owners' box.

"Without Curry, you guys wouldn't even know how to score tonight. I'm going to score 60 points here and nail you to the pillar of shame!" James sneered at the Cavaliers' bench on the sidelines.

However, when the referee blew the opening whistle and James received the ball beyond the three-point line for the first time, he sensed something was wrong.

He was being guarded by Shane Battier.

This is still normal, after all, Battier is one of the league's top defensive anchors.

But what really gave James a chill was that the other four Cavaliers players weren't even looking at the other players on the court!

Wade was completely open at the right 45-degree angle! Bosh didn't even have a matchup in the paint!

Patrick Beverley acted like a madman, abandoning his point guard and sticking tightly to James' right side, his hands constantly making subtle tugging motions on James' ribs.

Meanwhile, Pachulia and Jordan in the paint simply stood side by side inside the free-throw line, forming a human wall, their eyes fixed on James.

"What kind of bullshit defensive formation is this?!" James cursed under his breath, relying on his tank-like body to force his way in and charge headfirst into Battier's defense.

"Bang!"

Battier didn't back down at all, taking his position in advance with his hands covering his chest, and was solidly knocked away by James, sliding two meters on the ground.

"drop--!"

The referee blows the whistle, offensive foul!

James stared wide-eyed in disbelief, spreading his hands to complain to the referee.

But he was met with deafening cheers from the 20,000 fans in the stadium!

This is just the beginning.

The following first quarter turned into one of the few nightmares in LeBron James' career.

As soon as he receives the ball, he faces Battier's blindfolding tactics and attempts to draw fouls, plus Beverley's relentless and insane biting.

What if he forces his way into the paint?

Instead of scoring a goal, he was met with a brawl between Pachulia and DeAndre Jordan.

In the seventh minute of the first quarter, James finally seized a fast break opportunity, leaping high to prepare for his signature tomahawk dunk.

Just as he reached the highest point, Pachulia suddenly appeared from the side and slapped James hard on the shoulder, knocking him down from mid-air!

"Clang!"

James fell heavily to the floor, clutching his shoulder in pain.

The referee called a regular foul, and Pachulia didn't even glance at James, instead giving a high-five to DeAndre Jordan who ran over.

In their eyes, the person lying on the floor is not the league's number one player, but a walking dollar bill!

The Cavaliers' defensive strategy was so extreme it bordered on pathological—they left Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh completely unguarded!

"Go ahead and shoot, Dwyane, we won't guard you." Danny Green even made a "please" gesture to Wade from beyond the three-point line before turning around to double-team James.

Wade and Bosh were both stunned.

Having played in the NBA for so many years, I've never seen such outrageous defense.

Since you've left me empty-handed, then I'll have to score.

And so, a bizarre scene unfolded at the Quicken Loans Arena.

Led by Wade and Bosh, the Heat's score soared like a rocket.

Without Curry on offense, the Cavaliers were completely disorganized and were overwhelmed by the Heat, who quickly widened the gap to 20 and then 30 points.

But none of the Cavaliers players on the court were looking at the scoreboard.

They only focused on the player statistics on the scorer's table.

At halftime, the Heat led by 25 points.

But James' stats are: 1-for-9 shooting, 4 points from free throws, plus 5 turnovers!

James, whose mentality had completely collapsed, tried to regain his composure in the second half, but the Cavaliers' defensive actions became increasingly aggressive.

Beverley clung to him like glue, even after James's elbow broke his eyebrow and he was bleeding, he still smiled and tried to steal James's ball.

"You lunatics...you bunch of lunatics!! You're already down by 40 points! What are you trying to do?!"

During a dead ball situation, a sweaty and panting James finally couldn't hold back and roared at the Cavaliers' bench.

"We're making money, LeBron," Battier replied humorously as he was substituted and resting, while applying an ice pack to his chest.

As the final buzzer of the fourth quarter approached, this absurd game finally came to an end.

118 is 65.

The Miami Heat dominated the Cavaliers, who were missing Curry, by a massive 53-point margin on the road, securing a resounding victory.

However, when the game ended, not a single Heat player could smile.

The match statistics were displayed prominently on the big screen.

Dwyane Wade, like a god descending to earth, effortlessly scored 48 points throughout the game!

Chris Bosh dominated the paint, racking up 35 points and 14 rebounds!

And what about LeBron James, the "King" who boasted before the game that he would score 60 points and nail the Cavaliers to the pillar of shame?

全场比赛出战41分钟，18投仅3中，三分球5投0中，罚球12罚6中。

Final score: 12 points! Plus a humiliating 8 turnovers!

In this game where the Heat won by a whopping 43 points, James's plus-minus was an absurd -5!

"drop--!"

The moment the final buzzer sounded, the Cavaliers' bench, despite suffering a crushing 43-point defeat, erupted in cheers as if they had won the championship!

"$5! My God! We did it! Less than 20 points! We got $5!"

Beverley excitedly hugged Pachulia, while DeAndre Jordan excitedly tore his jersey to shreds and ran wildly along the sidelines.

These players, who were ridiculed by the outside world for their minimum salary contracts, achieved a defensive victory that belonged only to them in a crushing defeat.

The reporters and commentators on the sidelines were completely dumbfounded.

Is this the kind of reaction a team should have after losing by more than 50 points?!

On the other side, James, who had won the game, looked even uglier than if he had swallowed a fly.

He looked up and stared intently at the luxurious VIP box suspended in mid-air.

Through the one-way glass, he could almost see that young, nouveau riche Chinese man, holding a wine glass, looking down at him and mocking his incompetence.

The Heat won this game, and won decisively.

But LeBron lost, and lost everything.

The nationally televised broadcast accurately captured Wade's 48 points, Bosh's 35 points, and James's paltry 12 points.

Su Yang's "vampire theory" prediction during the opening game seemed to turn into a loud, invisible slap in the face of James at this moment!

"You see, without him taking up so much ball possession, and if he faces extremely targeted defense, he even has difficulty scoring. Meanwhile, his teammates, without him occupying the ball and space, can easily score 48 and 35 points respectively."

Inside the private room, Su Yang chuckled at the dumbfounded General Manager Grant beside him:

"Get the checkbook ready, Grant. Pay these thugs. There are no losers in Cleveland tonight."