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

April 4, 2015, Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland.

The 2014-2015 NBA Finals kicked off with a bang, watched by hundreds of millions of people around the world!

As the team with the best regular season record, the Cavaliers have home-court advantage.

The moment the starting players from both teams stepped onto the court, the air in the entire stadium seemed to thicken.

Los Angeles Clippers starting lineup: Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, PJ Tucker, Tristan Thompson.

Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineup: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol.

"beep--!"

As the referee tossed the ball high into the air, the epic battle that would determine whether a dynasty would be established or the Galacticos would exact their revenge officially began!

As soon as the game started, the Clippers' offensive possessions made the commentators across the United States and Su Yang in the VIP box raise their eyebrows simultaneously.

Because of LeBron James, everything has changed!

Facing this Cavaliers team that had dominated him for the past two years, James seems to have finally come to terms with reality.

He knew how much the Cavaliers' "three-bar defense" restrained him, and he also knew that if he continued to take on too much responsibility and force one-on-one plays like before, he would not only fail to win the game, but would also become a laughing stock again.

So, this self-proclaimed "best player in the league" actually lowered his status on the biggest stage of the Finals and became a pure "role player"!

He stopped holding onto the ball to waste time, and once he crossed half-court, he used his tank-like momentum to pierce the Cavaliers' defense like an armor-piercing bullet!

When the Cavaliers' defensive formation instinctively collapsed inward, James didn't go for a layup. Instead, he immediately passed the ball to Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant on the perimeter!

"LeBron is actually playing a support role?!"

The ESPN commentator was utterly astonished, his jaw nearly dropping. "He's abandoned scoring stats and completely transformed into a blue-collar point guard who drives and dishes!"

It has to be said that James's compromise really had a miraculous effect!

His bull-like drives, while unable to score directly, did disrupt the Cavaliers' tight switching defense.

And when the Cavaliers' defensive formation shows even the slightest gap, the ball is received by two of the world's top one-on-one masters!

Kyrie Irving received the ball on the right side, and facing Klay Thompson who was unable to help defend in time, he executed an incredible, butterfly-like reverse layup, tossing the ball high into the basket!

On the other hand, Durant is thriving!

James's breakthrough broke through Kawhi Leonard's "death grip". After Durant received the ball, facing Klay Thompson who switched to defend him, he didn't need to do anything extra. He just pulled up and shot over Klay!

This is an absolute height advantage!

"Whoosh!"

Durant's Grim Reaper scythe swivels through the net!

With James playing a supporting role in the drives and passing, and Durant and Irving's unreasonable and indiscriminate one-on-one plays, the Clippers managed to keep pace with the Cavaliers on offense, going all out!

however.

While James found his place on offense, he was repeatedly pulled out and "trained" on defense by the Cavaliers' five starters!

In the fourth minute of the first quarter, the Cavaliers launched an attack.

Klay Thompson began his tireless off-ball runs along the baseline.

The one guarding Klay was none other than James!

James, who is used to standing with his hands on his hips and watching the game on the defensive end, ready to launch a fast break at any time, how could he keep up with Klay's abnormal running pace?

Klay Thompson dodged two off-ball screens from Marc Gasol and Anthony Davis in quick succession, leaving James trailing behind, panting and half a beat behind every time he went around the screens!

The ball arrived just as Klay received it at a 45-degree angle on the left and swiftly brought it down!

"Swish!" The three-pointer went in! James didn't even get a touch on Klay's shirt!

In the second quarter, the Cavaliers began to consciously implement a "targeted attack" strategy.

This time, it's Kawhi Leonard's turn to go one-on-one with LeBron James!

James is on high alert facing this expressionless forward who gave him a lot of trouble last season.

But Leonard didn't try to outspeed him at all; instead, he backed down the ball near the free-throw line!

boom!boom!

Leonard used his equally strong core strength to hold off James, and then made a clean and crisp turnaround jump shot!

"Whoosh!" A clean shot from mid-range!

James' face turned ashen after being shot over the head, but he didn't even have time to catch his breath because the Cavaliers' interior monster had found him again!

In one defensive switch possession, James was forced to move into the paint to guard Anthony Davis!

Anthony Davis looked at the "king" who had once tried to teach him a lesson, without the slightest fear in his eyes.

He reached out for the ball in the low post, then leaned back with his back to the basket!

James gritted his teeth and tried to tough it out, but Anthony Davis not only increased his size, but his exaggerated wingspan also created absolute air superiority over James!

With a deft half-turn hook shot, Anthony Davis sent the basketball flying past LeBron James' fingertips and into the basket!

If Anthony Davis's technical superiority could still give LeBron James an excuse, then Marc Gasol's punishment was purely physical bullying!

When Marc Gasol received the ball in the low post and faced LeBron James who had switched onto him, the heavy tank from Spain raised his massive rear end and slammed it in!

"Bang!"

Even with LeBron James's incredible physical attributes, he was still forced back two steps by Marc Gasol's overwhelming size! Gasol easily turned and banked the ball in!

They were overpowered by the inside players, outmaneuvered by the forwards, and completely outmaneuvered by the shooters!

What James found most humiliating was facing Stephen Curry, who had just won back-to-back Finals MVP awards!

Late in the second quarter, Curry faced off against James one-on-one at the top of the arc.

The entire stadium rose to their feet and cheered; this was a head-to-head clash between two generations of MVPs!

James lowered his center of gravity, his eyes fixed on Curry's shoulder.

Curry dribbled the ball slowly while chewing on his mouthguard.

Suddenly, Curry swayed his shoulders and made a convincing fake Buddhist bowing gesture!

With his mind highly focused, James subconsciously shifted his center of gravity upward, attempting to block Curry's shot.

But in that instant when he raised his center of gravity!

Curry executed a low crossover dribble, almost stepping past James, leaving James behind!

James' massive body appeared incredibly clumsy due to inertia, and he didn't even have time to reach out and pull away the foul!

Curry drove into the paint, and facing Tristan Thompson's help defense, he made a deft high layup off the backboard, hitting it at the buzzer!

"boom--!!!"

Quicken Loans Arena went wild!

"My God! Stephen Curry used LeBron as a stake!"

ESPN commentators, watching the replay, exclaimed repeatedly, "Tonight, LeBron James became a sieve on the defensive end! He got overwhelmed by Klay's speed, he got pulled up for Kawhi Leonard, he got outplayed in the paint, and now even Curry can blow past him in one step!"

"Whoever guards him explodes! All five Cavaliers players are taking turns drawing fouls over LeBron's head!"

Although he was torn apart defensively, he looked like a headless fly that couldn't find its way.

However, James' "role player" style of play on the offensive end actually kept the score close!

Relying on his relentless drives to disrupt the formation, Irving and Durant, the two strongest one-on-one players in the league, went on a shooting spree at the end of the second quarter!

Durant pulls up for a three-pointer over the defense, and Irving hits a miraculous shot amidst a double team!

"drop--!"

The buzzer sounded to signal the end of the first half.

The score displayed on the big screen left all Cleveland fans stunned.

62 is more than 68!

Despite their defense being completely exposed, the Clippers managed to take a 6-point lead over the seemingly invincible Cavaliers at halftime on the road, thanks to Durant and Irving's relentless and unrestricted isolation plays!