i have a coaching book

Chapter 66 Falling to the bottom
With three consecutive victories, the Cavaliers will immediately face the door-to-door challenge of the Celtics after a day off.

The Celtics challenged fiercely this time. Although the current record is not high, only 10 wins and 13 losses, and they are ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference. However, the Celtics have been in excellent form recently, defeating the Nuggets, Raptors, and Supersonics one after another. Waiting for the team to achieve a wave of four consecutive victories.

Especially the head star of the Celtics, Paul Pierce, has been in a brave state recently. In these four games, he averaged 29.1 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists per game. In three of them, he scored more than 33 points. hot.

Before the game, media reporters were always optimistic that the Cavaliers would beat the Celtics, but they would not win easily. Pierce would still show off his power and score more than 30 points, but the Celtics would lose because of 12 No. just finished playing the Raptors, this game is a back-to-back away game.

The Cavaliers have an obvious advantage in the schedule. They still play at home, occupying the right time, location, and harmony. There is still no problem in winning against the physically weak Celtics.

At 2003:12 pm on December 13, 8, the Cleveland Cavaliers played against the Boston Celtics in the Quicken Loans Arena, and the game officially began.

The starting players of both sides came to the middle circle of the field and were ready to start a scrimmage.

The starting lineup of the Cavaliers has not changed in recent games. It is still point guard LeBron James, shooting guard Ricky Davis, small forward Ira Newbell, power forward Carlos Boozer, and center Zach. Junas Ilgauskas.

The Celtics started with five players, lined up, point guard Mike James, shooting guard Paul Pierce, small forward Jumaine Jones, power forward Vin Baker, and center Tony Batty.

With the basketball in the hands of the referee, it was thrown high into the air, and the game between the two sides officially started. Ilgauskas won the first attack in the jump ball.

James caught the ball and played a fast break, took the lead, drove straight into the penalty area, and directly scored with one-handed dunks, winning a burst of applause from the fans outside the court.

2 to 0!The Cavaliers went down first and took a temporary lead.

At the beginning of the game, the two sides fought wildly, wanting to attack and knock the opponent across.

Soon, Pierce was back on offense.

Playing singles with the ball in the frontcourt, other players opened up space for him, and Pierce put on a three-threat position on the wing.

Because of his excellent defense, Newbell recently got the opportunity to start. Facing Pierce's kaleidoscope of offensive methods, he suffered a lot on defense.

Newbell followed Pierce's footsteps, and Pierce turned around and hit a jumper;

If Newbell can't keep up with Pierce's footsteps, Pierce unceremoniously breaks through to the inside, causing damage and getting a free throw.

Newbell was stunned, and Pierce directly scored a mid-range shot or a breakthrough. If he didn't get stunned, Pierce directly used his superstar offensive ability to teach him how to behave.

In the first quarter of the game, Pierce showed off the hot offensive firepower of the previous games, blasting 16 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds in a single quarter, beating the violent opponent Newbell, showing the demeanor of a superstar.

Fortunately, the Cavaliers are not at a disadvantage here. James shot from inside and outside, scoring consecutive points, scoring 11 points and 2 assists in a single quarter. Ilgauskas made 7 of 4 shots and also contributed 8 points and 3 rebounds. Stopped the Celtics' offensive.

After the first quarter, neither of the two sides could please, 29 to 29, evenly divided.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Pierce restrained his offensive firepower, which could attract the attention of the defense and played as an assist.

Let other players lead the offense, and it turned out to be a multi-point blooming situation, scoring 30 points in a single quarter.

And defensively suppressed the Cavaliers' offense. Although James scored 9 points, the Cavaliers' offense still fell into a quagmire and only scored 19 points.

At the end of the half, the Celtics led the Cavaliers by 59 points 48 to 11 and entered the locker room to rest.

Pierce scored 20 points in the half, the same score as James, but led the team to the lead.

After a break, the two sides change sides and fight again.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Pierce once again took over the offensive banner of the Celtics, using people to block and kill, Buddha to block and kill Buddha, with an unsolvable offensive posture, scored 15 points in a single quarter, and withstood the Cavaliers' counterattack.

Although James scored 100 points efficiently with a 11% shooting rate, Myers, who came off the bench, became a surprise player. chase back.

The Cavaliers trailed the Celtics by 76 points 84 to 8 and entered the final battle of the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter started, and the Celtics played steadily, taking advantage of their lead, and started a positional battle. They wanted to strengthen their defense and hold their lead.

The Cavaliers were eager to chase points and took the initiative to speed up. James and Boozer's pick-and-roll cooperation began to show off and scored frequently. The two scored 18 points together, but they failed to pull the score back. Except for the 18 points scored by James and Boozer, other players Only Miles scored 4 points.

The Celtics' defensive strategy worked, preventing the offense of James and Boozer, and strictly guarding against other players, so that the Cavaliers' offensive momentum could not be played.

Although Pierce's shooting percentage declined due to poor physical strength, he hit the basket frequently, made fouls and grabbed rebounds. He scored 6 points, 1 rebounds and 6 assists in a single quarter, withstood the Cavaliers' final counterattack.

At the end of the game, the Celtics beat the Cavaliers away by 105 to 98 with a 7-point advantage, ending the Cavaliers' three-game winning streak and winning a wave of five consecutive victories.

Paul Pierce played 44 minutes, made 25 of 12 shots, 5 of 1 three-pointers, 18 of 16 free throws, blasted 41 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, showing the demeanor of a top superstar, and had the last laugh.

The Celtics had five players in double figures in this game. In addition to Pierce's 41 points, Vin Baker scored 16 points, Mike James contributed 13 points, Yeri Vershko scored 12 points, Eric Williams Scored 11 points.

For the Cavaliers, only three points in double figures, James played 45 points, 20 of 10 shots, 5 of 1 three-pointers, 18 of 16 free throws, 37 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Although he showed the true qualities of a superstar, However, in the confrontation with Pierce, he was defeated.

Miles played off the bench, but he played with rare efficiency. He made 18 of 11 shots and scored 24 points and 8 rebounds. Boozertin continued the state of the previous games and scored 17 points and 15 rebounds.

Lin Bai didn't play much time and was defended by the incoming defense. He only scored 4 points and made almost no contribution, which could not change the result.

Ending the winning streak, the Cavaliers headed to Indiana the next day to challenge the Pacers.

At present, the Pacers are in a stable state, with a record of 18 wins and 6 losses, ranking second in the league, only one and a half games behind the Lakers with the 'F4 combination'. In order to regain the position of the regular season champion, the Pacers are full of fighting spirit .

Before the game, media reporters were always optimistic that the Pacers could beat the Cavaliers easily, because the Pacers' home court was too scary. Although they didn't win a complete victory, they had to lose and get some bad teams, such as the Lakers, Nets and other teams with the strength to compete for the championship. , no team can escape here unscathed.

Although the strength of the Cavaliers has not yet reached the strength of the championship, but, with James, and in the Eastern Theater, but also to score points, the Pacers will definitely not take it lightly.

At 2003:12 p.m. on December 15, 8, at the Bankers Life Arena, the Cleveland Cavaliers will play against the Indiana Pacers.

The Cavaliers started with five players, lined up, point guard LeBron James, shooting guard JR Bremer, small forward Ira Newbell, power forward Carlos Boozer, center Zajunas- Ilgauskas.

Ricky Davis did not play with the team because of transfer rumors with the Celtics, and JR Bremmer replaced him in the starting game.

The Pacers also lined up their starting five with point guard Kenny Anderson, shooting guard Reggie Miller, small forward Ron Artest, power forward Jermaine O'Neal, center Jeff - Foster.

With the whistle from the referee's mouth, the basketball was thrown high, and the game officially started.

In the jump ball, Ilgauskas beat Jermaine O'Neal, and the Cavaliers got the ball to attack first.

James breaks through with the ball in the middle, attracting the Pacers' pincers, points the ball to the outside of the three-pointer, 75 degrees on the right, JR-Bremmer catches the ball and opens his hand to shoot a three-pointer directly. Ilgauskas grabbed the offensive rebound and made a low mid-range shot. Under the interference of O'Neal, the strike went wide, and Ron Artest jumped up and took off the rebound.

As soon as the game started, the Pacers showed their tough defensive strength.

Fortunately, next, both sides began to speed up and started an offensive battle. The game was relatively open.

Reggie Miller, the banner of the Pacers, made a three-pointer directly after a screen at 65 degrees on the right, helping the Pacers take the lead.

James rushed inside, hit a small throw, and returned the favor.

Next, Jermaine O'Neal hit Boozer with a low post and hit a two-pointer with a beautiful turnaround jumper.

Reggie Miller, O'Neal Jr., and Ron Artest, three star players, began to show off one after another, playing a multi-point blooming offensive.

At the end of the first quarter, the Pacers led the Cavaliers by 33 points 26 to 7 and took a temporary lead.

James and Newbell played efficient offenses, so that the score was not opened up too much. Ilgauskas performed poorly and was defended without scoring a point.

The second quarter kicked off, both sides came off the bench, and the tactical game was conservative. As long as the stars were chaotic, they tried their best to defend hard, but they couldn't find a way to attack. The scene was rather dull.

After halftime, the Pacers led the Cavaliers by 49 points 44 to 5 and entered the locker room to rest.

After a break, the two sides switched sides and fought again.

As soon as the third quarter opened, James began to exert his strength and entered the "full-force James" mode, shooting inside and outside, making 6 of 5 shots in a single quarter, scoring 10 points and 3 assists, but did not close the score.

The Pacers were also unambiguous, with Jermaine O'Neal leading the offense, playing post-up singles, catching the ball and shooting mid-range, showing a strong scoring ability, which did not allow the Cavaliers to counterattack successfully.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, James and Boozer started to show off their pick-and-roll cooperation, frequently hitting the basket and scoring.

The Pacers also simply let James and Boozer attack, and strictly guarded against other players. During the offense, they were not afraid of challenges, and once again played a multi-point blooming situation, destroying the momentum that the Cavaliers wanted to regain.

At the end of the game, the Pacers defeated the challenging Cavaliers 95 to 85 by 10 points, sending their opponents to a two-game losing streak.

The Pacers scored in double figures with five players. Jermaine O'Neal made 21 of 9 shots and 6 of 6 free throws. He scored 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. He showed the true qualities of a superstar and performed comprehensively.

Artest scored 16 points and 7 rebounds, Reggie Miller contributed 10 points, Anthony Johnson scored 13 points off the bench, and Al Harrington performed well, scoring 12 points and 10 rebounds.

For the Cavaliers, James played more efficiently, making 16 of 10 shots, 3 of 0 three-pointers, 8 of 7 free throws, 27 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds, showing the potential of a superstar.

Boozer scored 15 points and 6 rebounds, and Ilgauskas contributed 10 points and 4 rebounds. Only three of them were in double figures.

Lin Bai's performance did not improve. Facing the Pacers' impregnable wall, he only scored 3 points and 1 assist. He fell to the bottom and swallowed a two-game losing streak.

(End of this chapter)