NBA: James wants to team up with me

Chapter 160 At the critical moment, LeBron has a brilliant mind

At the beginning of the second half, Wang Chong took the initiative to hold the ball and stood at the top of the three-point line.

This scene is not too familiar to the Cavaliers. Wang Chong almost made it clear that he would conduct the next attack by himself.

During the regular season, Wang Chong was the best in the league in singles with the ball and stick. Even Kobe Bryant's offensive firepower was slightly inferior. Although the two average points per game were very close, their shooting percentages were very different. This shows that Wang Chong's singles performance How strong is the ability?

Seeing this scene, James did not dare to be negligent at all, and immediately rushed forward to face Wang Chong.

Although James has fully realized in the past three seasons that he cannot guard Wang Chong, looking at the entire Cavaliers, he is the only one suitable to defend Wang Chong. Even if he cannot prevent Wang Chong from scoring, James's Defense can restrict Wang Chong a little and consume extra energy from Wang Chong.

Even Wang Chong, under James' defense, must choose some more conservative scoring methods. He cannot score as easily as he does with other players.

Looking at James in front of him, Wang Chong also had his own plan in mind.

"Just in time, let's try the effect of the purple Hall of Fame level marksman badge."

Although this is already the third meeting between the two sides in the playoffs, there were not many actual face-to-face confrontations between Wang Chong and James before. Wang Chong never chose to attack James head-on because there was no need.

But in today's game, the situation is not good for the Bulls, and Wang Chong will finally show his full strength after strengthening.

Facing James' defense, Wang Chong accelerated his breakthrough with the ball, moved to a distance of about twenty feet from the basket, and then directly shot a jumper, as if James in front of him was air.

When James saw this, he was stunned for a moment, and then he couldn't help but feel angry.

This is simply a naked insult to him!

In the past, even if Wang Chong could score in front of him, he would have to use some fake moves, such as step-back shots, pick-and-roll shots, etc.

Even if there is a difference in height and wingspan between the two, James' top-notch jumping allows him to still cause considerable defensive interference to Wang Chong when facing each other at close range.

This kind of undisguised shot, in his current position, may even directly cause a block!

Without any hesitation, James immediately jumped up on the spot, stretched out one hand high, and stopped in front of Wang Chong.

Just as he thought, the difference in jumping between the two made James almost smooth out the height gap. Not only did his arm completely cover Wang Chong's shooting sight, it was even only one step away from his hand in the shooting posture. far away.

Unfortunately, just before James was about to complete the block, Wang Chong flicked his wrist and threw the basketball toward the basket. The basketball almost missed James' fingertips.

There was a little regret in his heart, but the corners of James' lips could not help but curl up slightly.

His defense can almost be said to be at the textbook level. Except for failing to block shots, he has almost achieved it to the extreme. He is very sure that when he shoots, Wang Chong's line of sight is definitely completely covered by his arm, and he can't see it at all. The specific location and distance to the basket.

Although the shooting of professional basketball players has been refined for many times, and many times they can hit the shot without even needing to see the basket, but that is only when there is no defense in front of them, and when there is a player rushing to defend in front of their eyes, it is only visually The sense of pressure will affect many players.

Although Wang Chong shoots accurately, in this case...

"Shh!"

James was still thinking this in his mind, but the sound of the net being brushed into the frame came from behind, but his body froze slightly, and he turned his head in disbelief. What he saw was the basketball that had fallen on the floor, and the referee Holding aloft the sign that a goal is valid.

It actually went in!

James took a deep look at Wang Chong and once again deeply understood how terrifying the other party was.

The defensive James just now was confident that it would be difficult for any player in the league to make a shot, but Wang Chong just made it.

"Is it just luck?"

James, who was thinking this way, was quickly slapped in the face.

The Cavaliers attacked, James held the ball and forced a break through Luol Deng, causing the opponent's defensive foul and going to the free throw line.

Luol Deng had already committed four fouls and had to be substituted. The Bulls replaced Luol Deng with striker Brian Grant, who was traded to the Bulls together with Wang Chong.

Grant, who once averaged 15+9 per game during his peak period, has now been completely reduced to a bench player for the Bulls. Apart from the team's highest salary of US$1434 million, Grant is basically useless.

It is precisely because of this high-paying contract that he can continue to play for the Bulls. The team management also has the idea of ​​​​trading him out in the offseason. Grant's contract will not expire until the summer of 07, even if it is bought. There is no way to immediately free up salary space for the team by cutting off the opponent.

This season Grant only played about 12 minutes per game for the Bulls, averaging 3 points and 3 rebounds per game.

The Bulls chose to replace Grant at this time. Of course, they did not expect him to turn the tide, but let him serve as cannon fodder to deal with James' frequent troubles.

There's no way the Bulls' main players have all been ejected due to a number of fouls before the game even started in the fourth quarter.

Standing on the free throw line, James played very steadily, making 2 of 1 free throws and it rained 1 point.

The Bulls had the ball. After halftime, Wang Chong continued to hold the ball at the top of the three-point line.

Also facing James, the same mid-range pull-up jumper without any cover-up.

Like the previous round, James perfectly blocked all Wang Chong's shooting sights.

But - "Whoops!"

Basketball is in again!

Not to mention James, even Wang Chong was a little shocked.

Is the marksman badge so expensive? Previously, Wang Chong rarely chose to force a shot under such a level of defense, because he himself knew very well that even if his mid-range shooting ability value was as high as 99, his hit rate would not be particularly high against high-intensity defense.

James's two-round defense just now, if placed in a game, would definitely be a proper red-bar defense. At least in the game, it would be almost impossible to make a shot, no matter how high your value is or how many high-level badges you have.

However, Wang Chong's two bold shooting attacks were all successful. From this, it can be fully seen that although the framework of the system is based on the 2K game, it is really very different from the game.

Of course, the purple Hall of Fame badge is not invincible after all, so in the third round, when Wang Chong continued to follow the same pattern and shot James head-on, the shot finally deviated from the basket.

Seeing this scene, James, the entire Cavaliers team, and the home audience breathed a huge sigh of relief.

When Wang Chong shot for the third time, almost everyone's hearts were tightened. They were really afraid that Wang Chong would continue to make three shots. If they could still make three out of three shots with this level of defense, what else could they do? Can you guard against Wang Chong?

The missed shot this time proved that Wang Chong was not so exaggerated yet and was not always successful.

But it's too early for them to be happy now.

The Cavaliers attacked, and after the point guard dribbled the ball past half court, he immediately began to look for James' position, wanting to hand the ball to the opponent as soon as possible.

But he was too casual when passing the ball, and the opponent Monta Ellis seized the opportunity and directly swooped to steal the ball.

Although Ellis is not good at defense and is a typical defender who is strong in offense and weak in defense, due to his outstanding speed and agility among defenders, his own stealing ability is not weak.

He averaged 1.7 steals per game in his career, and also averaged 2.2 steals per game in his peak season.

In this regard, Ellis is similar to Iverson.

Allen Iverson's real height is less than 1 meters. He is at an absolute height disadvantage when defending any player on the field. He is called a defensive black hole. However, with his own speed and stealing ability, he is outstanding. He has won the league title three times. He has the honor of being the steal king, averaging as many as 8 steals per game in his career, and can reach as many as 2.2 in his peak season.

So sometimes stealing is really not just for defensive experts.

After stealing the ball, Ellis immediately ran towards the frontcourt without stopping, and a fast break counterattack was formed.

Players from both teams were moving quickly, with James' actions being the most prominent.

Ellis's speed has increased to the extreme after a short sprint, but James behind him is chasing after him. Even the distance between the two is still shortening, which means that James's long-distance running speed is even faster than Ellis's. Be faster!

Of course, this has something to do with Ellis still dribbling and slowing down, but it is also enough to show James' strong athletic ability!

The fans at Cleveland's home court couldn't help but stand up. They have witnessed this scene countless times in the past three years. Whenever a similar situation occurs, James has never let them down. No matter who the opponent is, he dares to go straight like this. Basket, what awaits them is a brutal chasing block!

Ellis, who was at the forefront, certainly knew this. Before the start of the playoffs, the Bulls also held two more video conferences to study and analyze the Cavaliers' tactics during the regular season, especially focusing on the study and analysis. James' technical characteristics.

Therefore, Ellis knows that if he directly hits the basket like this, there is a high probability that James will chase him from behind and block the shot.

The Bulls, who are good at counterattacking fast breaks, also made a simulation preview for this situation.

Ellis, who rushed straight into the penalty area, raised his hand to score a layup.

James immediately jumped up, and his whole body enveloped Ellis like a roc spreading its wings. Whenever the opponent's basketball was released, he was greeted with a simple top block.

But at this time, Ellis took back the basketball he was about to take and threw it towards the right outside line.

"what?"

James was surprised. He didn't expect Ellis to choose to pass the ball when faced with an empty basket.

Turning his head to look, James' heart suddenly sank.

Because when he saw the basketball about to fly to the right side of the stands, a pair of big hands shot out from the air and caught the basketball. It was Wang Chong!

Although the ball was rushed, Wang Chong adjusted his position immediately and shot directly from the three-point line in the bottom corner.

Wang Chong, who has reached Durant's peak ability value, has a three-point shooting ability value of 92. He is also blessed with a golden corner three-point shooter badge. When he is in the open shot, his hit rate is terrifyingly high.

This season, Wang Chong has been able to achieve a three-point shooting rate of more than 40% despite his high three-point shooting rate. A large part of this is due to the ultra-high shooting rate of three-pointers from the corner, which has increased the overall three-point shooting rate. for the sake of.

If you break down Wang Chong's three-point shooting rate at each position, you will find that at the left and right corners, Wang Chong's three-point shooting rate is close to 50%, and the 36-degree angle and the top arc of the three-point line The hit rate is only about %, which is more than a little bit lower.

At this time, James was defending Ellis under the basket, and Wang Chong, who rushed to the right three-point corner, was completely unguarded. The result is self-evident.

"Shh-!"

The basketball is hollow into the net, and the three-point score is effective.

The 10-point lead that the Cavaliers finally built up in the first half was almost destroyed in just a few minutes of the third quarter.

Wang Chong hit two mid-range shots and a three-pointer, scoring 7 points in a row. During this period, the Cavaliers only scored 1 point with James' free throws. The point difference dropped from 10 points to only 4 points in the blink of an eye.

The Cavaliers had the ball. This time James received the basketball steadily and used the pick-and-roll screen from his teammates to get to the basket and hit a tomahawk dunk. Finally, the scoring drought ended and the Cavaliers got some breathing space.

But in the next round, Wang Chong caught the ball from mid-range and hit a fadeaway jumper, and the point difference returned to 4 points.

The Cavaliers were completely unable to stop Wang Chong's scoring. To be precise, James failed to limit Wang Chong at all when he was defending Wang Chong alone. Even after the start of the third quarter, Wang Chong's scoring exploded more than before. Nothing less.

The Cavaliers had to call a timeout to adjust, trying to come up with a way to limit Wang Chong's scoring.

But for players like Wang Chong, whose offense is mainly focused on mid-to-long-range shooting, if the one-on-one pressing defense of top defensive players is ineffective, then they can only rely on double-team tactics.

As we all know, Durant's ability to break double teams is not strong, mainly because his body is not strong enough and his height causes the center of gravity of dribbling to be high, so it is easy to get the ball intercepted when double teams are being made.

Wang Chong also has this weakness, but the Cavaliers do not dare to double-team Wang Chong easily. After all, although Wang Chong cannot break the double-team, he still has the ability to pass the ball out after encountering a double-team. With his height and wingspan, The advantage allows Wang Chong to play high like a center, lift the basketball above his head to protect it, and then find his teammates to pass the ball.

After the timeout, the Cavaliers tried to have James and Gooden double-team Wang Chong to limit Wang Chong's scoring.

But the result was that Wang Chong passed the ball to Luol Deng twice in a row. The latter also fully utilized his cutting skills without the ball. Once he received the ball and directly took off for a dunk, the other time he also successfully caused a big Z. Defensive foul, 2 of 1 free throws.

Realizing that the effect of double-teaming Wang Chong was not significant, the Cavaliers had no choice but to give up. However, as a result, the score advantage the team had worked so hard to establish in the first half was gone after the third quarter.

The Cavaliers entered the fourth quarter with only a 2-point lead. In the fourth quarter, the Bulls, who had already shown momentum, were full of momentum. Wang Chong and Ellis took turns holding the ball to launch a fierce attack on the Cavaliers' defense. Hit the opponent hard to resist.

While the defensive end cannot prevent the Bulls' offense, on the offensive end, with Tyson Chandler returning to the game, the Cavaliers' offense gradually can only rely on James' personal ability to score.

<divclass="contentadv">But James is not a monster with unlimited physical strength. Although considering James's physical fitness and the long and almost abnormal career in the future, it is not an exaggeration to describe him as a monster, but he really knows how to do it. Feeling tired.

James, who scored 28 points in the first half, began to defend Wang Chong in the second half. In the fourth quarter of the game, his physical fitness was on the verge of reaching its limit.

Therefore, at the critical moment of the fourth quarter, when the two sides entered the final battle, James began to make mistakes in offense one after another. The frequency of standing in the top arc and dribbling for 23 seconds and then passing the ball to his teammates for hasty shots began to gradually increase.

This led to the Bulls successfully overtaking the score halfway through the fourth quarter and establishing a 5-point lead.

The Cavaliers home fans were dumbfounded.

It was clear that the Cavaliers kept beating the Bulls in the first half, so why did the team fall further behind even though they were playing hard? Is the gap in strength between the two teams so huge?

At 7 minutes and 21 seconds into the fourth quarter, James hit the basket with the ball, Chandler stepped forward to cover, and the whistle sounded.

Chandler, who was motionless with his hands raised in the air, looked in disbelief and angrily came to the referee to protest.

"Man! I didn't touch him at all! Why did he get a defensive foul?"

Don't blame Chandler for being red-hot on the spot, because with this whistle, he has already committed 6 fouls and will be sent off according to NBA rules. With more than four minutes left in the game, the Bulls will be without their main center. Continue to fight against the Cavaliers.

It has to be said that the referee may be the most stable player on the Cavaliers besides James.

Wang Chong did not let Chandler continue to argue with the referee. If the opponent was not sure, he would give him another technical foul, and the only one who would suffer would be the Bulls.

The Bulls currently have the upper hand on the court. The 5-point advantage is not small when the opponent cannot prevent Wang Chong from scoring offensively. Even without Chandler, Wang Chong is sure to lead his team to win the game.

However, Chandler's end was indeed a major blow to the Bulls' defensive system. Without the main force protecting the basket, James' offensive efficiency returned to normal. Not only that, Big Z's offense at the basket also began to recover. Two consecutive goals were scored, and the point difference between the two teams was narrowed to only 1 point.

But this 1-point gap later became an insurmountable gap for the Cavaliers.

Because no matter how smooth their offense is, as long as they cannot prevent Wang Chong's scoring on the defensive end, the scores of both sides can only increase repeatedly.

The game passed minute by minute, and in the nervous mood of the Cavaliers home fans, it quickly came to the last minute.

At this time, the score between the two teams was 116:117, with the Bulls still leading by one point, and there was only one minute left in the game.

The Cavaliers have the ball and the basketball is still in the hands of James. Although James is exhausted at this time, he is the only one in the team who can guarantee the shooting percentage.

James, who was holding the ball at the top of the arc, no longer had the ability to hold the ball alone and break through Luol Deng who was defending him in front of him, so he raised his hand to call for a pick-and-roll screen and rushed to the basket with the help of his teammates' pick-and-roll.

Chandler, the defensive backbone of the Bulls, had already been sent off for six fouls and was sitting on the bench watching the excitement.

The Bulls are currently on the court with bench center Osela Harrington, an inside swingman who averaged 8 points and 4 rebounds per game after joining the Bulls last season.

Seeing James rushing toward him with the ball, Harrington didn't even think about it. He went up and threw James to the ground.

Ever since Chandler was sent off and he came on as his replacement, he has been strictly following the coach's instructions - as long as James rushes into the paint, he will fuck him hard!

As long as it is not a particularly serious flagrant foul, a defensive foul against James is not a loss. After all, the opponent's lethality when hitting the basket is indeed exaggerated. Since the opponent has broken through the outside defense and rushed into the penalty area, it is better to foul early and then let him take a free throw. Can avoid being beaten 2+1.

James fell to the ground hard, and he was smashed to pieces, but one thing is for sure, this guy is really hard.

In terms of body, if you look at the history of the league, you can't find another player as exaggerated as James.

If Wang Chong's growth template was to choose between James, Durant, Antetokounmpo, and Bird, he wouldn't even be entangled and would definitely choose James without hesitation.

In his twenty-year career, although James has won many whistle free throws due to diving and superstar whistles, there have indeed been many cases where flagrant fouls against him were called ordinary fouls.

In order to stop James' rampage, other teams in the league did everything they could. If some fouls were committed on other players such as Durant, they would have been eliminated long ago.

However, if other stars were really treated with such intensity of defense on the court, it is estimated that the opposing players would have been full of flagrant fouls and technical fouls.

But if it were James, these fouls would be like scratching an itch. At most, he would suffer some minor injuries. Looking at his career, he had more truces due to injuries at the end of his career with the Lakers, which is disappointing. Don't lament his exaggerated physical fitness.

This time the result was the same.

James, who was put on the ground, stood up like nothing happened, walked to the free throw line and took a free throw.

The Cavaliers fans all held their breath and watched this scene nervously, expecting James to make two free throws to achieve the lead.

But they are destined to be disappointed today.

James stood on the free throw line and took a deep breath. He stumbled and barely made the first free throw, but then the second shot bounced out of the basket, and it rained another point.

Wang Chong looked at the landing point of the basketball and immediately jumped up to protect the rebound.

When Chandler is not on the court, Wang Chong is the team's main force in protecting rebounds.

This season Wang Chong averaged 9 rebounds per game, which is not too few.

Durant's rebounding ability is only 77 at its peak, which is actually not high, but after all, he has the top height and wingspan in the inside, coupled with the mobility and jumping of outside players, Wang Chong's rebounding ability is not bad, and he can grab the offense. Rebounding may take some effort, but defending rebounds is easy.

This also applies to Durant. Adu has averaged 7.1 rebounds per game in his career, which is about the same as James. In addition, the Cavaliers themselves do not have a master of offensive rebounds, so it is not difficult to protect defensive rebounds.

After getting the basketball, Wang Chong did not choose to pass the ball to anyone, but directly held the ball and quickly advanced towards the backcourt.

Although it was not a fast break counterattack, Wang Chong's advancement speed was really not slow, which put huge pressure on the Cavaliers, including James who was constantly retreating in front of Wang Chong to ensure his defensive position.

Soon the two sides came to the Cavaliers' backcourt, and James also retreated to within the three-point line.

At this time, Wang Chong's position is at a 45-degree angle to the left of the three-point line, and is still a full meter and a half away from the three-point line.

This distance, in James' opinion, is a relatively safe distance, and the opponent will definitely not take action. Therefore, he stands relatively far back, standing on the edge of the three-point line, and is distracted to observe the positions of other Bulls players.

But the next moment, Wang Chong suddenly collected the ball and shot directly from a position more than one meter away from the three-point line.

James never expected that Wang Chong would be bold enough to take a decisive shot from such a long distance. By the time he reacted and stepped forward to defend, it was already too late.

The basketball had already flown to the basket when James just raised his hand, drew a perfect parabola in the sky, and then steadily entered the basket under everyone's gaze.

For a moment, the whole place was silent.

Shrimp and pork heart!

After James originally scored a free throw, although he failed to overtake the score, the two teams drew 117:117, still retaining a greater possibility of winning.

But with Wang Chong's super long-range three-pointer, the score became 117:120, a 3-point difference. With less than 30 seconds left in the game, the Cavaliers had only one last chance to attack. They had to fight for a three-pointer. Tied the score, and then did everything possible to defend against the Bulls' final attack to get a chance at overtime.

The Cavaliers do not have a three-point shooter. The most accurate three-point shooter throughout the season is Larry Hughes, who averaged 36.8% of his three-pointers per game.

The success rate of three-pointers is too low for the Cavaliers.

The head coach of the Cavaliers called a timeout to arrange tactics, but whether it was the Cavaliers players on the field or the fans in the audience, their hearts kept sinking.

Although they are forcing themselves not to think about the consequences, the game is not over yet and everything has a chance.

But is the brain's thinking so easy to control?

Involuntarily, they thought that if the Cavaliers continued to lose this game, the total score would reach 3:0... Can the Cavaliers still have hope of a comeback? The answer is obviously NO.

Wang Chong was sitting on the bench, listening to the coach loudly explaining how to focus on defending the opponent's three-pointers from the outside, but he didn't listen at all seriously.

At this moment, he only felt that the way of heaven was reincarnated.

When he shot a three-pointer just now, it was purely on a whim. The familiar left three-point line was at a 45-degree angle. At that position, Durant would give James and the Cavaliers a fatal blow for two consecutive years. Named the God of Death.

So when Wang Chong was standing in that position, he suddenly had a sudden impulse and shot without recognition.

When Wang Chong took the shot, he was also shocked, because he rarely shoots three-pointers so far away from the three-point line. Although he already has the same ability value as Durant, there is no guarantee. A successful hit is guaranteed.

Unexpectedly, Goddess of Luck would be kind to him, and he would be lucky enough to be lucky.

It's just pitiful for James. It didn't matter that he was beaten by Durant who was better than him for two consecutive years at the peak of his career. Now he has to experience the feeling of being killed by death in the early stages of his career.

But it doesn't matter. Once you experience this kind of thing more, you will get used to it, and there will be many opportunities in the future.

-

The timeout ended quickly. The Cavaliers served the ball from the sideline. James successfully received the ball after running back. However, at this time, the Bulls directly used the full-court press tactics. Except for the inside center, the other players were all on guard and did not allow the opponent to pass. Any space for a three-point shot.

This is normal. Anyone who is not a fool knows that the Cavaliers can only shoot three-pointers at this time, and they must be defending the shot and not the breakout.

After the two sides were in a stalemate for more than ten seconds, everyone's nerves were tense. While waiting for what might be the last shot, James made a choice that stunned everyone.

He quickly accelerated with the ball, passed by Luol Deng who was close to him, sprinted all the way to the basket, and successfully scored with a powerful tomahawk dunk.

But this time, everyone was stunned.

The Cavaliers players were dumbfounded, and even the Bulls players were a little dumbfounded.

What the hell is this? Directly choose to score two points?

A total of 14 seconds passed from when James held the ball to when he broke through and scored, which left 30 seconds of the 16-second game time.

After he scored these 2 points, the Cavaliers were still 119 point behind the Bulls at 120:1, and the ball was still in the hands of the Bulls. Isn't this equivalent to handing over the victory to the opponent?

James didn't seem to think so. Instead, after scoring, he shouted at his teammates: "Foul as soon as the ball comes out, bet they don't make the free throw!"

Listening to James' words, the Cavaliers players felt bitter in their mouths. They wanted to complain but didn't know how to speak.

Why leave the fate of the outcome of the game in the hands of others? Betting on the opponent missing a free throw? Is this really more likely than their chance of scoring a three-pointer?

The answer is obviously no.

The Bulls served and the basketball was passed directly to Wang Chong.

As a player who successfully entered the 180 club in the regular season, Wang Chong has the highest free throw shooting percentage in the team. Naturally, he is the one to execute the free throws at this critical moment.

James' expectations were disappointed. Wang Chong, who was standing on the free throw line, made two free throws very steadily. The point difference came to 3 points again. There was no difference from before... No, the difference was that the Cavaliers had 24 seconds to attack before. After a timeout, players can be fully organized and mobilized to look for opportunities.

Now, another two seconds were wasted from the time the Bulls served to the Cavaliers' foul, leaving only 14 seconds of offensive time for the Cavaliers, and the Cavaliers, who had already used up their timeouts, still had to serve from the backcourt past the frontcourt. , the difficulty is more than a little bit greater than before.

I don’t understand what this is for?

Everyone couldn't figure out what James was thinking when he chose to break through and dunk.

The only exception is Wang Chong.

He knew exactly what James was thinking at that time.

Because with James' tomahawk dunk, his score officially reached 41 points, breaking the 40-point mark.

As a player participating in the playoffs for the first time, being able to score 40+ points in the game is definitely something worth bragging about. It would be even better if he could win the game with him, but if he fails to do so, there is another Who could blame a player who gave his all to score 41 points?

In the end, the score between the two teams was fixed at 119:123.

After the Cavaliers' baseline free throw, James held the ball and forced his way through halftime under the pressure of the Bulls players. However, there was not much game time left at this time. James rushed to the three-point line and made a slight adjustment before facing the ball. The defensive player forced the hand to pull out and made a very beautiful three-pointer, and the game ended.

The Bulls successfully reversed course at the Cavaliers' home court and finally defeated the Cavaliers 123:119 and won the third game of the series. The Bulls took the lead in winning the match point with a total score of 3:0 and were only one step away from sweeping the Cavaliers.