113 to 96, the Bulls finally defeated the Cavaliers and won this focus battle.
According to post-match statistics, Irving of the Cavaliers scored a team-high 24 points, James scored 12 points in the last quarter and 20 points in the whole game, Love scored 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, and Davis scored 8 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks.
On the Bulls side, Xu Yong scored 15 points in the third quarter and 24 points for the whole game, but five players on the Bulls scored in double digits.
Jokic played the last 6 minutes, scoring 2 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls. His strengths and weaknesses are very obvious now. His passing is really good, and his rebounding is also really good, but his defense and foul control are really average. However, as a rookie, and in his debut, this performance is not bad.
After the game, Xu Yong attended the post-match press conference.
After arriving at the venue, he subconsciously looked around and indeed did not see Windhorst.
It seems that the Cavaliers look no different from last season, but it seems that everything has changed.
Without Windhorst, the troublemaker, the atmosphere of the entire press conference became much more peaceful.
"Is this victory important for the Bulls? I mean, it's easy to win the battle for the top spot in the Eastern Conference." A reporter from ESPN asked the first question.
"This doesn't mean we have no opponents in the East, but it also means that we can defeat any opponent." Xu Yong answered seriously.
"You scored 24 points tonight, the lowest score of the season, but you didn't play in the last quarter." A reporter from TNT asked Xu Yong.
Before answering, Xu Yong glanced at the reporter. He had regular features and it was obvious that he was a James hater.
"I like to sit on the bench until the last quarter so that my teammates can get playing time, they can get praised for it, and I can sit on the sidelines and relax and enjoy the show," he replied with a smile.
After the press conference, Xu Yong and Butler walked towards the locker room together.
"Senior, why are they (the Cavaliers) so bad now?" Butler couldn't help but complain.
"There were some issues with their performance tonight." Xu Yong didn't think there was anything wrong with Butler's complaints. The Cavaliers' record this season is obviously better than last season. Theoretically, it should be a tough battle between the two sides, but he didn't underestimate the Cavaliers because of this.
"But at the press conference just now..." Butler seemed surprised by Xu Yong's answer.
"Jimmy, we have a saying, 'despise the enemy strategically and take him seriously tactically'. I think everything will be different when we meet again next time." Xu Yong said seriously.
He is not being cautious, but the Cavaliers did have a lot of problems tonight, the most important of which was James.
Although the season has started for more than a month, James has obviously not yet adapted to the changes in the penalty scale.
This is not an easy thing to do, because when a person is used to running and playing basketball on the court all year round, it is very difficult to suddenly tell him that it is not allowed.
However, Xu Yong thinks there is still a certain probability that James will adapt, after all, the season has just started not long ago.
Butler nodded when he saw Xu Yong's serious look. There was nothing wrong in being cautious.
"You have no idea how much fun it is, when you are sitting in the car, driving the carriage around the field, it is really, really cool."
When he returned to the locker room, Xu Yong heard Jokic sharing his happy experience with his teammates. He could fully feel Jokic's happy mood.
"Don't racehorses ride on horses?" Anderson asked curiously.
After Xu Yong sat down, he turned his head curiously. Before his rebirth, he had heard that Jokic loved horse racing, but it was indeed the first time he heard of horse racing without riding a horse.
"No, we sit on the cart. People of that size would crush the horses." Jokic immediately shook his head.
After hearing this, Xu Yong began to understand a little. People in the Balkan Peninsula are generally big in size, and ordinary horses really can't handle it.
After his teammates finished showering and went back one after another, Jokic walked up to Xu Yong with a smile on his face, and handed him a card mysteriously.
“This is the new tea that has just been served.”
"I've tried it, the quality is really good." Then he added with an intoxicated look on his face.
With an expression of "I didn't expect you to be this kind of Jokic" on his face, Xu Yong reached out to take it, and then looked at the content on the card. It was a business card of a teahouse in Chinatown, a very serious one.
You know what, he had been in Chicago for so many years and didn't discover it, but Jokic found it so quickly.
Although the United States does not produce tea, the consumption of tea is not low, so it is not surprising that there are teahouses.
I can only say that this fat boy really understands life and is willing to pursue quality of life.
"Thank you, boss." At the end, Jokic thanked Xu Yong.
Hearing this, Xu Yong took the card with a smile, then patted Jokic on the shoulder.
Although neither he nor Thibodeau said it, Jokic is such a smart man that he should have guessed that his chance was related to him.
But Jokic seized the opportunity tonight. Although this does not necessarily ensure that he will enter the rotation in his rookie season, after all, Hawes' overall strength is stronger than him now, but this should ensure that he will enter the active list and get more opportunities.
…
Time flies, and half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.
As Christmas approaches, fans' expectations for the Christmas game are getting higher and higher.
This expectation comes not only from the Bulls, but also from their opponents, the Warriors.
The Warriors are the most shocking team this season, even Xu Yong was a little surprised.
Because so far this season, they have not lost a single game and have achieved a 28-game winning streak, the second-best in history, which is also the best start record in NBA history.
Xu Yong had the impression that the Warriors had only achieved 24 consecutive wins, and he also remembered that it was ended by the Bucks, who were known as the historical winning streak terminators. They also ended the Lakers' 33-game winning streak.
But if you think about it carefully, now that the Bucks' leader Antetokounmpo is with the Raptors, it is normal that they can't win.
And if you look closely, you will find that there is a lot of water in the Warriors' record, because even now, they have not played against strong teams such as the Thunder, Mavericks, and Cavaliers. Even the Bulls only played in the Christmas game.
So you're saying Silver has no preference for the Warriors?
The 1-3 reversal in the finals in history was simply because Silver's arm was no match for Nike.
However, after fully understanding what was going on, Xu Yong could understand more and more why the Warriors fought so hard to win 73 games in the end, because no matter how you arrange the schedule, you still have to play against the opponents you are supposed to play. The easy ones have been played at the beginning, so aren't the remaining ones difficult?
But if we don’t consider the future, the Warriors are now facing a historic opportunity, because after playing against the Bulls, their opponents in the next five games are not their main rivals for the championship. They will not play against the Mavericks until the sixth game. This means that if they beat the Bulls, they will break their historical record of 33 consecutive wins!
This is a record that has remained untouched for 34 years and is considered more difficult to break than 72 wins.
Therefore, this game is no longer just a focus battle. If we take the Warriors' perspective into account, the Bulls are the final guardian of their challenge for the historical record. As the champions with 72 wins last season and the No. 1 in the Eastern Conference this season, the Bulls' hard power is fully worthy of it.
This is a showdown like Mars hitting the Earth. The media's extensive coverage has already filled this match with drama.
The official also released the promotional photos early. In addition to the C-position duel between Curry and Xu Yong, there are also matchups and analyses of various positions, which are much more important than the previous Cavaliers VS Bulls game.
TNT has even produced several episodes of the show.
"A jump shot team will never win a championship." As the No. 1 fan of the Bulls, Barkley is naturally a staunch Bulls supporter and even did not forget to mock the Warriors.
This statement also sparked heated controversy on social media.
Supporters believe that before this, no team could win the championship by shooting. The most typical example is the Suns, who failed to make it to the finals even once during their run-and-gun era.
Opponents believe that the Warriors are different from the Suns and any other team that relied on shooting in the past because they have both offense and defense. After Kerr took office, he changed the team's offensive rhythm and was no longer confined to positional warfare, but he did not abandon the defensive system created by Mark Jackson.
Even if we take a step back, the Warriors' 67 wins last season and 28 consecutive wins this season are things that no other basketball team has ever done, which means that the Warriors are completely different from those teams.
This controversy initially remained on social media, but as the Christmas game approached, when reporters turned the microphone to the Warriors players, Draymond Green unexpectedly became the protagonist.
"He doesn't understand modern basketball at all." In response to Barkley's remarks, Green directly chose to fight back.
"Basketball is developing, but he still holds on to the old, outdated basketball philosophy. He is now the biggest joke on TNT."
Green's response quickly became a hot topic, and then Barkley also began to respond without hesitation in the new episode.
"Listen, Draymond Green is a fool, an ignorant fool. He has only played in the NBA for a few years and thinks he knows everything? The Warriors' record is because of the schedule. Watch, the Bulls will beat them!"
You can totally hear Barkley's anger. After all, Green is a rookie who hasn't even finished his rookie season. In his opinion, it was the Warriors' contract extension that made this young man inflated.
But he didn't expect Green to be so good at verbal battles. After Barkley's response, Green didn't even wait for reporters to interview him, but responded directly on social media: "This is a battle in which new era basketball crushes old era basketball. We will prove it in the Christmas game."
After a few simple rounds of verbal battles, Green's big mouth nature was clearly revealed.
Moreover, this wave was AOE damage, which also attacked the Bulls, making them look like a conservative team from the old era of basketball.
Because the game was held in Chicago, the Bulls opened training on the day of the game and reporters interviewed Xu Yong and Butler.
When a reporter asked about Green's words, Butler answered directly and disdainfully: "Without Stephen (Curry), he is nothing. Maybe he can only dance on the street to make a living." [Note 24]
He now has two championships and is the second-in-command of the Bulls. What's Green's status? What's more, this Warriors team has never even made it to the finals. It's normal to look down on them. And he answered first because he didn't want Xu Yong to speak, because that would make Xu Yong and Green appear on the same level.
"You have to be careful at night. That guy is very ruthless." When finishing the interview and returning to the locker room, Xu Yong turned to Butler and reminded him.
"If he dares to attack me, I will definitely make him regret it." Butler waved his fist.
"Then you've done what he wants." Xu Yong shook his head. He knew Butler was an old-school player and could do that kind of thing.
There is no doubt that Green is a dirty guy. This can be seen from the things he knew before his rebirth and the previous NCAA encounters. But Green's dirtiness is different from James', because every move he makes is very purposeful.
Take what Butler said just now. If Green could trade with Butler, the Warriors would have a much greater chance of winning.
"Then what should we do?" Butler was a little confused. He couldn't just ignore it when being insulted, right?
"Why do you think the team renewed Ron's contract?" Xu Yong asked with a smile.
Butler understood it instantly. No wonder when playing against the Cavaliers before, not only Jokic but also Artest was included in the activation list.
Speaking of which, the Cavaliers also signed Dahntay Jones this season.
This is after they suffered losses, and they have started to prepare [functional players].
When they returned to the locker room, Thibodeau also came and announced the members of the inactive list for tonight, Hinrich and Ennis.
After hearing this, Butler couldn't help but turn around and look at Xu Yong. It turned out that Xu Yong understood Thibodeau.
That night, the Christmas game between the Warriors and the Bulls kicked off at the United Center.
The venue was packed with people, and most of them were with their families. On a big day like Christmas, the festive atmosphere of this battle of the century was quite strong.
During the opening ceremony, the photographers on the scene not only gave shots to Xu Yong and Curry, but also gave a lot of extra shots to Green.
The pre-game spat started out as a war of words between Barkley and Green, but now it's become a matter between Green and the Bulls.
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.
Warriors: Curry, Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Green, Bogut;
Bulls: Rose, Butler, Xu Yong, West, Adams.
The starting players of both teams came on the court, and Xu Yong found that Barnes was defending West, while the person facing him was Green.
Cole's arrangement is reasonable.
Amid the cheers of the fans, Adams passed the ball back to the Bulls' half and the game officially began.
Butler organized the offense in the frontcourt, and Xu Yong ran the pindown tactic, but did not get a direct chance to shoot.
Although Green is a big man, his movement speed is not slow, and Xu Yong found that he can predict the screen very well, bypass it in advance and then pounce on it to compress the shooting space with his long arms. Compared with his NCAA period, he has obviously gained a lot of experience.
But this is normal. Although Green is only in his fourth year as a rookie this year, he played all four years in college before entering the NBA.
Xu Yong chose to play one-on-one facing the basket in the high position.
He dragged his feet sideways, but still couldn't get rid of Green. Green was selected to the All-Defensive First Team last season and his defensive ability is still very strong.
Seeing this, Xu Yong took the first step to the left and broke through, then hit his pivot foot, turned around and shot a fade away jump shot.
Now Green was completely left behind. No matter how strong his defensive ability was, he was essentially an inside player, and he could not keep up with Xu Yong's offensive speed.
But unfortunately, Xu Yong missed the shot.
"I knew it! You can't make the shot! You can't make the shot under my defense!" Green was surprised at first when he saw Xu Yong miss the shot, and then he shouted directly at Xu Yong.
Xu Yong frowned. Green started talking trash to him at the beginning of the game, which was obviously intended to mess with his mentality.
Bogut protected the defensive rebound under the basket, then turned around and handed it to Green, who launched the counterattack as the fast break engine.
But the Bulls were clearly prepared. Except for Adams who rushed for the frontcourt rebound, the other four quickly retreated.
The Warriors' fast break failed to get off the ground and they switched to a positional battle.
Green held the ball at the top of the arc, while Curry and Thompson ran off-ball tactics on both sides. This was a classic Warriors tactical start.
The Warriors' success this season is mainly due to Curry, but not entirely due to Curry. To be precise, it should be the Splash Brothers.
Curry takes an average of 12 three-pointers per game, and Thompson takes 8 per night, which means the two of them take 20 shots together, which is more than most teams take in a night, and they can make nearly 10 of them together.
This makes it very difficult for the opponent to defend, because when two people run, especially in an "8" shape, you don't know which one to defend.
However, the Bulls continued to show their response, with Butler following Thompson closely and Rose, with the cooperation of Xu Yong, limiting Curry from receiving the ball outside the three-point line.
The Splash Brothers' tactics on both sides didn't create any chances, and Green saw this and finally fired from outside the three-point line, with great speed.
Green averaged 3.2 three-pointers per game this season and made 39.8% of them, which is very good for an inside player.
The Warriors were able to win 28 games in a row, in addition to the schedule, their performance was also outstanding.
After scoring the goal, Green beat his chest and roared. His every move made his opponents feel very unhappy.
This is also his ability. Only by forcing the opponent to get too excited can he exert his defensive ability and create opportunities for defensive counterattacks for the Warriors.
Xu Yong went to the frontcourt and continued to make tactical gestures, then dropped to the low post to receive the ball.
Green is excellent in confrontation, and with his wingspan and speed, he is very strong in low-post defense. He can even play the center position in a five-small lineup. He is not the best choice for one-on-one play in the low post.
But the shot just now with basically no interference went wide. Xu Yong could feel that his touch at the beginning was not good, so he had to play more inside. The closer to the basket, the less touch he would have. It would be even better if he could attract a double-team and create opportunities for his teammates.
However, the Warriors did not double-team Green. This is because the Warriors do not have a five-small lineup that can switch defenses unlimitedly, and also because Kerr trusts Green's low-post defensive ability.
Xu Yong got a one-on-one opportunity in the low post.
He gave Green a hard confrontation, then turned around and leaned back. Seeing this, Green flew over, and he didn't dare to let go at this distance.
Xu Yong quickly received the ball with one hand, turned 360 degrees to the sideline to shake Green off, and then easily scored a low layup.
After Green landed, he clapped his hands in annoyance when he saw Xu Yong score the goal. He must have regretted jumping because Xu Yong would definitely try to avoid shooting if his shooting touch was not good.
The Warriors continued to attack in the frontcourt. This time Thompson ran out to catch the ball, but when he shot, Butler bypassed the pick-and-roll and rushed over to interfere, and his shot missed.
The rebound was protected by Adams. He held the ball and wanted to make a long pass but failed to do so.
Like the Bulls, the Warriors did not rush for the frontcourt rebounds and retreated quickly. Both sides focused on the opponent's defensive counterattacks on the defensive end tonight.
After Xu Yong secured his position in the low post, he continued to reach out for the ball.
Green was annoying, and he wasn't going to tolerate him.
Butler passed the ball to the Warriors, but they still chose not to double-team Xu Yong.
Seeing this, Xu Yong continued to play one-on-one against Green, and this time he put his entire body weight on Green. The muffled "bang bang" sound of the two men's muscles confronting each other could be clearly heard from the sidelines.
Green felt a dull pain in his chest. He didn't expect Xu Yong to suddenly start a physical fight with him.
The next moment, he seized the opportunity and removed the bench.
This was his defensive experience, but he underestimated Xu Yong's body control ability.
Xu Yong had practiced with Jordan on how to sense the defense with his feet, so this time he jumped up and made a back-to-back layup to put the ball into the basket.
For two consecutive rounds, Xu Yong beat Green in the low post, and it seemed easy for him.
"Defend! Defend!"
The fans' emotions were aroused and they began to cheer for the home team spontaneously.
In the Warriors' offense, Barnes made a beautiful cut, but it was blocked by Xu Yong, who then grabbed the defensive rebound.
The Warriors have played three offensive games since the start of the game, but except for Green's first three-pointer, they failed to score in the next two rounds, which is seriously inconsistent with the Warriors' performance this season.
It's not that there is something wrong with the Warriors themselves, but the Bulls' defensive intensity is completely not on the same level as the opponents the Warriors have played against before.
The Bulls did not let the Warriors get going and dragged them into a positional battle. Then, with defensive powerhouses like Butler and Xu Yong and a mature defensive system, it would have been strange if the Warriors' offense could go smoothly.
After grabbing the rebound, Xu Yong dribbled the ball forward by himself this time. As soon as the two sides formed their formations, he had already reached the low post and started playing one-on-one with his back to Green.
The first two times, the Warriors chose not to double-team him, but this time he didn't even give the Warriors time to choose.
And his offensive style changed again. When Green lowered his center of gravity and prepared to fight him, he just confronted him for a while, dribbled the ball directly to the basket with a jump step, then jumped over Bogut who had not yet fully provided help defense, and pulled the ball high with his right hand.
“Bang!”
It was a direct one-handed slam dunk after the confrontation.
"Hello, Yellow Miracle." After completing the dunk, Xu Yong greeted Bogut.
Bogut's face turned red instantly. He shouldn't have come over to help defend!
And he didn't dare to do anything to Xu Yong. The word "yellow miracle" had already made him put on the mask of pain.
After seeing Bogut's cowardly look, Xu Yong felt unhappy. In response to Green's opening trash talk, he asked the Warriors bench while retreating: "Hey, did you send someone to defend me just now? Why didn't you send someone to defend me?"
What is the difference in the level of trash talk? Just these two sentences made the Warriors team so angry.
Kerr reached out and called a timeout.
This scene was projected by the photographer onto the large LED screen, and the scene was instantly filled with the cheers of the fans.
Green just scolded Xu Yong at the beginning, and then was beaten up by Xu Yong for three rounds. What’s more, the key point is that the entire Warriors team was broken in the end.
When Xu Yong came off the field, he simply waved his hand to signal the fans to cheer louder.
From his previous conversation with Butler, it can be seen that he also attaches great importance to this game and has naturally studied the Warriors' videos a lot.
This Warriors team is not easy to defend, especially when they get into the momentum and Curry starts throwing logos in the midfield, which can be really devastating. So the key to the game is to avoid this situation and to suppress them in terms of momentum.
After the timeout, the Warriors made some adjustments to their lineup. Iguodala came on directly to replace Bogut, and Kerr went directly to the small lineup!
The five-small lineup is the Warriors' trump card tactic developed by Kerr this season, and it is also the key factor in the Warriors' winning streak. It is usually used to widen the score in the third quarter, but it is also used when chasing points. This is also the origin of the famous saying "10 points are not considered a difference, and 20 points are not enough for them to catch up."
Kerr now used a small lineup early on. I don't know if he was stimulated by Xu Yong's trash talk just now, or he felt that he couldn't fall into a passive position too early in this key battle.
However, this adjustment was effective immediately. After returning from the timeout, the Warriors played their most classic "elevator door tactic". Curry received a pass from Thompson at the top of the arc and hit his first three-pointer of the night.
6 flat.
The three-pointer is a powerful weapon whether it is to catch up or widen the score.
Moreover, after Xu Yong received the ball in the low post, the Warriors began to double-team him. Xu Yong passed the ball directly to West in the opposite elbow area. The Warriors switched defenses infinitely, and West's mid-range shot was interfered and missed the basket.
This is the rhythm of the Warriors. They force their opponents to miss shots by double-teaming the ball handler and switching defense endlessly, and then they launch defensive counterattacks to speed up the pace.
This is very similar to the style of play of the Heat's Big Three back then. The difference is that they are a pure small lineup with a higher rotation rate, so the defensive interference is naturally stronger.
Everything was as Kerr expected, except... the Warriors didn't get the defensive rebound.
The five-small lineup naturally has weaknesses, the biggest of which is rebounding. It basically relies on Green's positioning under the basket and others' rush for defensive rebounds.
But unfortunately, the Bulls now have a frontcourt rebounding master on the court. Although Adams was blocked by Green, he was tall and had long arms, so he directly grabbed the rebound. He knew it was difficult to play against Green, so after grabbing it, he directly passed it back to West.
At this time, the entire Warriors team had already retreated to grab the rebound. When West received the ball again, there was no one guarding him, and he made a steady mid-range shot.
The photographer on the scene focused his camera on Kerr on the Warriors bench. Kerr looked a little constipated at the moment. The Warriors' five-small lineup seemed to work, but it didn't seem to work completely.
The Warriors continued to cooperate in the frontcourt, and this time Thompson received Green's pass and cut in for a layup.
The five-small style of play, especially with Green now playing at the five position with stable shooting, has opened up too much space. In order to defend against the Warriors' three-pointers, the Bulls' ability to protect the restricted area has been weakened.
This time, Xu Yong received the ball in the high position. He acted very quickly after receiving the ball. He lowered his center of gravity, turned around and broke through to the basket before being double-teamed.
After Green moved to the five position, the person defending him was Iguodala, who failed to keep up with Xu Yong's sudden change of rhythm.
Xu Yong broke through and headed for the basket. Green was forced to come over to help defend, and the Warriors' defensive rotation also began to operate. Barnes went to the basket to help defend, and after Iguodala was passed, he turned around and looked for the Bulls' outside line.
Seeing this, Xu Yong threw the ball directly over the basket, and Adams took off into the air.
“Bang!”
He completed a two-handed alley-oop slam dunk directly over Barnes.
After seeing Adams complete an alley-oop, Xu Yong showed his signature spread hands to Green, as if to say: That's it?
The fans at the scene cheered again and watched intently. The Warriors' small lineup represents modern basketball and is indeed difficult to defend, but their small lineup was completely unable to stop the Bulls' attack on the basket on the defensive end.
Kerr couldn't sit still anymore, so he stood up and walked to the sidelines.
The layman watches the excitement, while the expert watches the details. Although the two teams are in a stalemate now, if the five small players cannot get the rhythm right, the Warriors will slowly fall into a passive position, because the saying in basketball that "the closer you are to the basket, the more likely you are to score" is true.
Sure enough, in the next round, Adams retreated to the free throw line at Thibodeau's request, giving Green a certain three-point opportunity, but Green's three-point shot missed.
Green originally wanted to mess with Xu Yong's mentality by talking trash to Xu Yong at the beginning of the game, but after being beaten up by Xu Yong for three consecutive rounds and being thrown aside by Xu Yong, his mentality fluctuated greatly.
You know, the flying knee that Xu Yong gave him back then still makes his cheek hurt slightly.
When retreating into the defensive round, Kerr began shouting and reminding the Warriors to defend on the sidelines.
The Warriors started to engage in physical confrontation, and they also used more small movements to maintain their defensive position.
When a short guy wants to be effective in defense against a tall guy, he can't avoid using small moves. Paul was on so many defensive plays and he used the most small moves.
However, this still did not work, because their current inside combination was too weak in protecting the restricted area. Butler broke into the inside and missed the shot against Green's defense, but Adams over there directly grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it to Xu Yong who cut in, who scored a pull-up and two-handed dunk.
The atmosphere in the United Center was instantly pushed to the peak.
The Warriors' small lineup is a bit vulnerable!
Green was left open again, but this time he didn't dare to shoot. He waited for Curry to run out and then passed the ball to him.
Curry was attacking with the ball. Adams let Green go and went directly to double-team Curry. Curry chose to take a direct long-range three-pointer.
This position is not far away for him this season.
However, the momentum was not on the Warriors' side at the moment, and his shot was rejected by the basket.
Xu Yong watched the basket land, flew to grab the defensive rebound, and then passed the ball to Butler in a fast break.
The two of them played two-on-one against Green in the frontcourt. Butler finally gave the ball to Xu Yong, who accelerated to get rid of Green and made a low layup.
But at this moment, Green saw that he couldn't defend himself, so he hugged him from behind.
The referee blew the whistle, indicating Green's foul.
After Xu Yong landed, he was very annoyed and turned around and pushed Green away.
Seeing this, Green just pushed his head against Xu Yong and waited for Xu Yong to continue.
At this time, Butler quickly went up and grabbed Xu Yong. He was shocked. Xu Yong reminded him to stay calm, but his senior was even more impulsive than him.
However, when he pulled Xu Yong away, he found that Xu Yong smiled at him. Only then did he realize that Xu Yong's action just now was to express his dissatisfaction with Green's foul.
Sure enough, after watching the video replay, the referee upgraded Green's foul to a level one flagrant foul.
Green seemed very dissatisfied, and Kerr also went to the technical desk to protest and communicate with the referee, but the referee did not change the penalty in the end.
Although they received instructions to take care of the Warriors before the game today, it also depends on the specific situation. The opponent is Xu Yong, the best player in the league.
The Bulls made two free throws and one free throw. After Xu Yong made the extra free throw, the score between the two sides was 8 to 14, and the Bulls still had the ball.
Kerr's small lineup didn't have the effect he wanted.
Just at this time, there was a substitution on the sidelines, not by the Warriors, but by the Bulls. Thibodeau replaced West with Artest.
This was Artest's first appearance this season, and he was in the rotation as soon as he came on the court.
It can be seen at a glance that this is not a normal rotation, but a strategic substitution.
The Warriors' actions on the court became more and more exaggerated during this period, and Thibodeau chose to use this method to protect his players.
Kerr was very excited when he saw this, and he directly signaled Barnes to let Artest go to double-team Xu Yong.
Xu Yong passed the ball to Butler, who encountered help defense from Artest, but Artest's three-point shot missed the basket.
This time Green finally blocked Adams and grabbed the defensive rebound, but an unexpected scene happened the next second.
When Green took the ball off the rim, he made a seemingly unintentional additional move, stretching his legs and attacking Adams' crotch directly.gif.
The attack was so sudden that Adams was caught off guard. He was hit hard and crouched down.
Artest reacted the fastest and rushed towards Green. This was his purpose.
But Green already knew that Artest was there, so after landing, he had already hidden to the side, and was heading towards Butler.
Just like what Xu Yong said, his actions were clearly purposeful.
Don’t ask why he didn’t rush towards Xu Yong. He didn’t want to be fucked by Xu Yong again.
Fortunately, the referee reacted at this time, one person went to stop Artest and the other went to separate Butler and Green.
The players from both teams were separated, and Adams stood up with the help of Xu Yong.
"How are you?"
"No problem." Adams took a long breath and shook his head.
He is really hard, not only his body is hard, but his little brother is also hard.
The game entered the technical timeout again.
Under the camera, Cole's expression at this moment was somewhat speechless.
Although he felt that the referee's penalty on Green was a bit too harsh, he didn't expect Green to confront Adams' younger brother without even a breath, especially when Thibodeau replaced Artest just when the Warriors were regaining momentum. This guy must have lost his mind, he should have replaced Green earlier.
At the other end of the court, Xu Yong gave Artest a stern look.
If this was just an ordinary regular season game, after Green chased the ball, he would just go up and beat the opponent himself.
But from his conversation with Butler before the game, we know that this is not an ordinary regular season game. It would be even more disgusting if Green won the game in this way and the Warriors broke the historical record of 33 consecutive wins.
And as a reborn person, he knew how hard Adams' balls were.
So, next it will depend on Artest, or Charity·World·Peace's performance.
At this time in the midfield, the referees also gathered together to discuss what penalty to give.
Because if he was given another flagrant foul, Green would be directly expelled. The Warriors are already at a disadvantage, and expelling Green would violate the instructions they received, and it would also be tantamount to announcing that the Warriors' winning streak has come to an end.
After discussion, they finally gave Green a technical foul because technical fouls and flagrant fouls are not in the same system and do not stack.
After the referee made the decision, there was a burst of boos at the scene.
At this time, Kerr also replaced Green to avoid the limelight.
Green is not the core of the Warriors, nor is he the second-in-command, but he is not only the core figure of the Warriors' five-small system, but also the key to the team's defensive system. So when he was substituted off the court, the Warriors were obviously at a disadvantage on both offense and defense.
Around 9 minutes into the first quarter, both sides began to rotate, and the score on the field was already 18 to 31. The Bulls had expanded their lead to double digits.
Seeing that the momentum was not right, Kerr brought the calmed Green back on as a substitute.
Although they are substitutes, the other positions of the Warriors are Barbosa, Livingston, Iguodala, and Speights. They are still very competitive on the court and have the opportunity to narrow the gap in this period.
In fact, this was true. Livingston broke the Warriors' scoring drought with a signature low-post turnaround jump shot. Then he assisted in defending Rose's breakthrough layup. Then the Warriors made a fast break and Barbosa scored a layup, and they started with a 4-0 lead.
Green also chattered after the pass.
Xu Yong then took the initiative to stand up and walk towards Thibodeau, and then came on as a substitute with Artest.
Xu Yong's appearance was somewhat unexpected, but the effect was also obvious.
Not only did the Bulls' morale soar, but once he broke through with the ball, the entire defensive focus of the Warriors had to shift to him.
Xu Yong seized the opportunity and pushed the ball to the baseline.
Artest on the other side knew he couldn't make the shot, so he cut directly into the basket.
The Warriors basically ignored Artest on the court, so they didn't notice him at all this time.
Artest was unguarded, so he rushed to the basket and leapt, completing a two-handed dunk before Green could return to defense.
Green's speed was fast enough and he even stretched out his hand, but because the distance was too far, he couldn't catch up.
When he saw that he failed to defend, he turned around and went to get the ball.
But at this moment, something happened that no one expected.
Artest celebrated after the dunk by pounding his chest with his left hand and raising his steel-like right elbow with his right hand, elbowing Green directly in the right cheek, which he probably couldn't see.gif.
“Bang!”
Green had no time to dodge. He felt as if his brain was hit by a car. After falling to the ground, he reached out to support his head, but his consciousness soon faded and then he fainted.