James has an obvious character flaw that many people have: the inability to face failure.

This gave rise to many famous scenes such as [Hugs after wins, tunnel for losers], [Your life is not going as planned], and [Decision].

Also, whether he is polite or brutal on the court is determined by whether the team is leading or lagging behind by a large margin.

And at this moment, James encountered these two mentalities almost at the same time.

He was toyed around by Xu Yong like a toy, and the score between the teams was widened again. When he felt the warmth blowing against his ears and turned around to see Stephenson's sparkling eyes, his heart was finally broken.

At this time, Williams' second free throw hit the rim and James grabbed it and swung his elbow towards Stephenson.

Stephenson fell to the ground and the referee's whistle sounded immediately.

Stephenson was lying on the ground, covering his neck with his hands, looking painful. Butler rushed over and pushed James, and the players from both teams confronted each other directly.

Fortunately, it was a free throw shootout and the referee was at the baseline. He intervened quickly and separated the players on both sides.

There was overwhelming booing at the scene.

This kind of dirty behavior when falling behind is a loss of both the game and face.

The game entered a technical timeout, and Stephenson went to the bench with his hands covering his neck.

Xu Yong walked up to him to show concern, but found that Stephenson tilted his head and winked at him.

He understood it in an instant.

At this moment, the large LED screen on site played a replay of what had just happened.

James' elbow hit Stephenson's collarbone directly, and then also grazed Stephenson's cheek.

Stephenson's fall was a bit exaggerated, and combined with his subsequent series of actions, it was obvious that he was acting.

This is also normal. Stephenson is trying to mess with the opponent's mentality, so he will naturally be wary of his opponent's reaction, but James' intention of committing a flagrant foul is very obvious.

The referees gathered together to discuss the final decision.

They look cautious.

This involves the league's flagrant foul rule. In a season, a player will accumulate 1 point for a flagrant foul of level one, and 2 points for a flagrant foul of level two. When a player's season points are 0 or 1 point, if he commits a flagrant foul of level two again, the league will review whether to impose an additional suspension.

If a player who has accumulated 2 points is called for a flagrant foul, he will be automatically suspended for one game.

A player who has accumulated 3 or 4 points will be automatically suspended for one game if he is called for a flagrant foul.

When Xu Yong was expelled before, he was called for a second-degree malicious offense and was not given an additional suspension, but his current accumulated points are 2 points.

In addition to the conflict with Xu Yong, James was called for a first-degree malicious offense in the previous playoffs against the Pacers, with the accumulated points also being 2. If he was called for a second-degree malicious offense, he would be directly suspended for the next game.

This also explains why James was able to stay out for so long. The impact of the suspension on the playoffs was too great.

Finally, the referees discussed the result and James was called for a first-degree flagrant foul.

"Refree Sucks!"

There was a lot of cursing at the scene.

Xu Yong could guess what the referees were thinking. If James was sent off, there wouldn't be much suspense in tonight's game. And if James was suspended for an additional game, the suspense of the entire series would be gone.

However, this first-level malice is enough for James to bear, because even if he receives another level one, he will be directly banned.

James was not ejected, but the Cavaliers' morale was clearly dampened.

They were already trailing by more than ten points, and after giving the Bulls two free throws, the gap was further widened, and you could see obvious frustration on the faces of other Cavaliers players.

In fact, after James wrote that "letter home", Irving and Davis were deeply moved. You can even say that the letter overturned their impression of James and made them willing to work hard with him.

But over the past two years, James has destroyed that good impression bit by bit.

Especially Irving, for a moment, you could even see disgust on his face.

Maybe what he is thinking at this moment is what would happen if James left the Cavaliers now.

The Bulls rarely lost points during this period with substitutes. After the main players returned, the Bulls continued to expand their advantage, leading the Cavaliers by 18 points with 69 to 51 at halftime.

With this score difference, the Bulls didn’t know how they lost.

Back in the third quarter, Irving scored 14 points in a single quarter, but failed to help the Cavaliers narrow the gap, and the two sides ended up playing a garbage time quarter.

The Bulls eventually defeated the Cavaliers 118-102 and won the Eastern Conference Finals.

Xu Yong scored 34 points in the first quarter, 6 points in the second quarter, 18 points in the third quarter, and 58 points in three quarters.

In comparison, Kobe scored 30 points in a single quarter in the regular season against the Mavericks, and 62 points in three quarters; Anthony scored 33 points in a single quarter and finally scored 45 points.

Jordan's highest score in a single quarter was also 30 points, but like Xu Yong, it was also in the playoffs. He finally scored 52 points.

Then you will find that this kind of explosive scoring in a single quarter consumes a lot of physical energy.

It's like exercise. If you walk slowly for ten minutes or even half an hour, it won't feel like a big deal. But if you sprint at high speed, you will feel like your body is drained, and it will take a while to recover.

At the post-match press conference, when Xu Yong appeared, there was a sudden burst of applause.

This was not organized by anyone; the journalists did it completely spontaneously.

During this period, Xu Yong brought huge traffic and attention to the NBA, to a level that even surpassed Carter's sudden emergence.

Xu Yong was a little surprised, but he accepted it gladly. He smiled and sat down and said, "I just thought I went to the wrong place."

After he said this, there was a burst of laughter from the audience.

After the laughter died down, Xu Yong turned around and signaled that it was time to start asking questions.

The first person to stand up was a female reporter from ESPN.

"You scored 34 points in the first quarter, which is an amazing score. You are only 3 points away from the first place in history. Will this be the next time?"

Xu Yong put away his smile after hearing this. This was a related question, which involved the topic of [69 points next time] he mentioned in the previous post-match press conference. He thought for a moment, took the microphone in front of him, and smiled again: "First of all, I don't think anyone would want to go through what I went through. It was a huge test."

Xu Yong was speaking the truth. Given the intensity of the defense he faced tonight, if someone else had been replaced, he would probably have been injured.

But as soon as these words were spoken, the press conference was suddenly filled with the smell of the sea.

He scored 34 points and said that no one would want to go through what he went through. It feels like that.

“Second, if the team needs me, I will do it.”

Okay, now we are at the seafood market.

The second reporter who stood up to ask questions was also from ESPN, but he was a male reporter.

"I noticed that you didn't seem to have the intention to attack actively at the beginning, but then you scored 12 points in a row, all against LeBron. Was it LeBron who inspired your desire to play?"

When Xu Yong heard this, he looked at the reporter strangely, you are really meticulous.

"You know, playing against him can play to my strengths, so it's okay for you to explain it that way."

As soon as Xu Yong finished speaking, the press conference was already in an uproar.

What does it mean to be able to take advantage of him?

He is James, the winner of five first-team defense awards!

But the reality is that what Xu Yong said was true, because he really did get past James in various steps in the first quarter, and finally forced Lu to replace James.

It's just that Xu Yong's words were too hurtful to James's ears. He really doesn't know how to respect others at all.

After the press conference ended, Xu Yong and Butler walked towards the locker room together.

"Senior, will LeBron retaliate against you in the next game?" Butler couldn't help but ask. He felt that Xu Yong's press conference tonight was much more aggressive than in the past.

"You reminded me." Xu Yong stopped and touched his chin, then looked at Butler, "You should be more careful in the next game."

There are different ways of saying the same thing, and the reason why he chose to look aggressive was indeed to irritate James.

This is not just a mentality problem, but if James's foul points reach 2 points, he will be easily suspended.

Judging from his performance tonight, it is unlikely that James would dare to attack him, and he would not be afraid even if he did, but other players on the Bulls would be in danger.

After all, when James was on the Pacers and eliminated the Heat, it was Granger rather than Wade who stepped on him. This should be a warning.

The strength of the Bulls and the Cavaliers is similar, so we only need to eliminate one of the iron triangle.

He had no desire to play against Adams when he saw his physique, and James probably had no idea either. In comparison, because Rose had been injured in advance, Butler was the most dangerous one.

Because Butler's playing style itself involves a lot of confrontation, and his durability is not his physical hardness.

Butler realized it later and nodded.

Xu Yong's remarks caused a lot of controversy on social media after the game, but it was obviously much less than in the past.

In the past, because James had Nike's support, he even hired internet trolls to control online public opinion. However, this situation has basically disappeared after he joined Adidas. In addition, over the years, James' fans have gradually turned from fans to passers-by and even haters, and there are not many loyal James fans left.

Even they couldn't find any words to excuse their idol after the game where Xu Yong defeated him in one step.

This time, it was really James Smart's basketball brain that was at work, and he ended up losing more than he gained.

However, by the next night, the discussion on social media was no longer about the Eastern Conference Finals.

Because something completely unexpected happened in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Warriors and the Mavericks, and one person directly became a hot topic.

Leonard was in great form in Game 1 against the Warriors, scoring 26 points in the first half and leading the Mavericks to a 20-point lead over the Warriors.

The Warriors were completely unable to pick up the offensive rhythm under the Mavericks' high-intensity defense and only scored 42 points in the first half.

And more importantly, the Warriors' positional warfare was very awkward under the pressure of Leonard's big hands.

This did not change in the second half, the third quarter, which was the Warriors' strongest period. The Mavericks started the second half with a 5-0 offensive and widened the gap to 25 points.

If the game continues at this pace, the game will be ruined before the end of the third quarter.

It was at this time that when Leonard broke through to the baseline and took a step-back jump shot, Pachulia took two steps forward in a row and accurately placed his foot at Leonard's feet.gif.

Leonard was injured and left the court immediately after being tripped, and the Warriors completed a stunning 25-point comeback.

And the MRI report after the game showed that Leonard suffered an ankle sprain and was out for the season.

Pachulia was directly scolded and became a hot topic because his name is preceded by "Zaza", which is homophonic to "Zhazha" in China, and he lived up to his name.

Xu Yong was silent for a long time when he saw this news.

Because they were not in the same division, and their game with the Warriors had been played before March, he didn't know Pachulia had gone to the Warriors.

As far as he could remember, the Warriors only found Pachulia after Bogut left, which was somewhat different from the history he knew.

But it seems that there is no deviation, because Pachulia tripped Leonard's foot and it really happened.

Now with Leonard's early rise, this matter seems to have been brought forward as well.

So he thought Leonard's fate had changed after going to Dallas, and for a moment he didn't know how to describe his feelings.

In the end, all I can say is that some of the Warriors are worthy of respect, but some are truly shameful.

If we meet such opponents in the finals, we must defeat them completely.

Two days later, the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Bulls and the Cavaliers continued in Chicago.

Unlike what Xu Yong expected, James did not switch to defend Butler, but continued to match up against him, and even trash-talked him at the beginning of the game. This reverse operation made him a little confused at first.

However, when James made a provocative "strong" gesture towards him after his open-cut dunk, he began to come to his senses.

This is most likely because someone on James' team reminded him after the flagrant foul in the last game, making James aware of the issue of flagrant foul points.

And his previous offensive remarks after the game also made James confirm this.

He seems to have underestimated James a bit. Although his emotional intelligence is not high, as a representative of Smart basketball, his IQ is not low.

So after realizing my own points problem, I will naturally pay attention to his points.

Is this an attempt to emulate him and try to anger him in this way?

This is obviously a better strategy than wasting people, especially the incident where Pachulia wasted Leonard, which caused such a big fuss.

However, the failure of her imitation was not because she did not imitate the real person, but simply because she was ugly!

How could James, who always calls for pick-and-roll when facing him, possibly make him lose his mind? It would only make him want to laugh.

So the result is that James did succeed in irritating Xu Yong, but instead of making Xu Yong lose his mind, he increased his desire to attack, just like what Antetokounmpo did when the Bulls played against the Raptors.

In fact, this is good news for the Bulls, because after Rose was injured, the Bulls needed Xu Yong to do more.

116 to 106, the Bulls won another game. After winning two home games in a row, the score has reached 2 to 0.

At this point, the Cavaliers fell into an extremely passive situation.

Because after Xu Yong's sparks of desire were ignited one after another, the Cavaliers could no longer hold it back.

In the first two games, Xu Yong scored 58 points in one game and 42 points in the other, averaging 50 points per game.

Most players, even most All-Star players, cannot play a 50-point game in the playoffs in their entire career!

The match, which was originally thought to be evenly matched, is now beginning to develop into a one-sided trend.

While this is shocking, one cannot help but sigh at Xu Yong's current hardcore personal abilities.

Even Jordan couldn't withstand Xu Yong's treatment.

All I can say is that Xu Yong's version of Iron Bones has the bonus of immunity to injuries, so his endurance is unmatched.

In G3, both teams moved to Cleveland to continue the game.

When we arrived at the airport, what happened during the regular season happened again, and there were still many fans coming to pick us up.

This time, Jokic was really a little shocked.

The outcome of the regular season is not that important, but the playoffs are an elimination tournament. It can only be said that Xu Yong’s current influence is very close to that of Jordan back then.

As a foreigner, being able to do this shows that he is really strong.

However, he won three championships in the first seven years of his career, his playing style was both elegant and violent, and he was a player with great personal charm on the court. He also had good looks. It seemed that there was nothing unreasonable about him.

"Boss, I'm wondering, will you turn the away game into a home game?" Anderson said with a smile after getting in the car.

His way of flattery is much more blatant than Jokic's.

Xu Yong shook his head. It was not impossible, but basically impossible.

Unless the Cavaliers play very badly, even if the fans like him in their hearts, they will not choose to shout it out on the court.

"Get ready for a real tough battle." Xu Yong turned around and reminded.

In addition to Nike being able to influence the scale of penalties, the NBA also has the league.

The league did sufficient and adequate publicity for the game between the Bulls and the Cavaliers before the game.

The Iron Triangle versus the Big Four, this collision is unprecedentedly exciting, which means a lot of things, such as attention, alliance influence, and... money.

For every extra game they play in the series, their on-court revenue is limited, but their off-court revenue is an astronomical figure.

So from any perspective, the league would hope that the series could be extended.

This is not much different than if the league commissioner was Stern, or Silver, or Tatum.

Let's take the example of the 2006 Finals. It's not necessarily true that Stern wanted to support Wade. After all, the hotshot at the time was the chosen one who got a 7-year, $96 million contract with Nike before he even entered the league.

The situation at that time was that the Mavericks were leading 2-0, especially in the second game, when they created a 24-point difference in three quarters and turned the last quarter into garbage time.

The direct impact of this was a drop in ratings, and the media at the time thought the Mavericks were going to sweep the Heat directly.

At this time, the whistle appeared, and Wade won a large number of free throws by changing the penalty scale, and began to reverse the situation of the game.

As for the subsequent results, it was all due to the Heat's good form, coupled with some luck (an overtime buzzer-beater and a 3-point win), that ultimately led to the Heat's championship that year.

So it is true that the level of NBA games is high, but it is also really easy to influence the situation.

The saying "NBA is always a commercial league" is not for nothing.

Therefore, it is foreseeable that the pressure from whistles they will face in the next two games will make their life more difficult than in the previous two games.

After arriving at the hotel, Xu Yong specifically learned about the referee who would be officiating the third game.

Because he didn't pay much attention to this area in his previous life, his understanding of referees was limited, but he was very familiar with this name.

Scott Foster is a famous referee in the NBA. The reason why he is a household name as a referee, even someone like him who is far away on the other side of the ocean knows him, is because of the various grievances between him and Paul.

Foster's appearance also confirmed Xu Yong's judgment, but it also made him more excited.

Although the 5 vs. 8 game is difficult to play, that is also the reason why those who ultimately win are remembered by the fans and widely circulated.

The next night, Quicken Loans Arena was packed.

Although trailing 0-2, Cleveland fans were still extremely enthusiastic.

Before the game reached 0-3, no one would think that there was no hope of a comeback in the series.

You know, there have been more than 30 0-2 reversals in the league so far, and it is not impossible for the Cavaliers to become the next one.

The Cavaliers adjusted their lineup, replacing Love with Jefferson and moving James to the power forward position.

Lu's purpose in doing this is very clear, which is to protect James.

When Xu Yong saw this, he felt sorry for Love. Although Bosh was squeezed to the three-point line, he could still start after all. But Love was squeezed directly to the bench.

The starting lineups of both teams came on the court, and as Davis passed the ball back to the Cavaliers' half, Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals officially began.

The Cavaliers' playing style was slightly different from the first two games. James did not attack with the ball at the beginning, but let Irving go directly into singles mode.

Speaking of which, Irving averaged 26 points in the past two games and was in excellent form.

Irving took advantage of Davis' screen to play against Adams, and made a beautiful layup to put the ball into the basket.

At this time, in addition to admiring Irving's personal ability, you also have to sigh at the stupidity of the [vertical jump rule].

When defenders are unable to turn around in the air, they can only choose not to jump as much as possible, which sometimes makes the defenders, especially those in the paint, look very stupid.

Not to mention Adams, even if you let Ewing come, he will also change from a gorilla to a little monkey.

But this is not the point. The point is that after Irving made the layup, the referee's whistle sounded.

The person who blew the whistle was Foster, who raised his hand to signal Adams' blocking foul.

This is a serious body hair whistle.

And he blows it right at the start, which disrupts your opening rhythm and fully demonstrates his level of control over the situation.

Although he knew what might happen tonight, Xu Yong still felt that Foster was going a bit too far.

He walked up to Foster and asked, "Do you want the Cavaliers to win directly?"

Foster was also stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Xu Yong to have such a firm attitude at the beginning.

And because the other party was Xu Yong, he didn't dare to ignore him. He just opened his mouth and patiently explained the non-existent obstacle.

"You'd better keep the same standard of penalties." Xu Yong knew that the referee would not change the decision, and his purpose was also to put pressure on the referee.

"Yes, we will." Foster nodded seriously.

Irving made the free throw and the Cavaliers started with a 3-0 lead.

Xu Yong went to the frontcourt and looked at James who was assigned to the weak side to defend Dellavedova. Suddenly he had an urge to laugh.

Because they are defending the weakest person on the court, they can seize the opportunity to assist in blocking shots, which is why there are so many first-line defenses.

But of course he didn't really laugh. He just reached out for the ball and then broke into the inside line against Jefferson.

Jefferson's lateral movement is better than James', but he is much weaker in confrontation, so it doesn't require as many skills to beat him.

And more importantly, with the "surprising" foul in the first round, he wanted to test the depth of the penalty scale tonight.

Xu Yongqiang broke through Jefferson to the basket, but Davis was blocked by Adams and couldn't get through. In order to prevent him from shooting, Jefferson had to choose to foul in advance.

However, the referee did not blow the whistle. In front of Jefferson's surprised eyes, Xu Yong pushed him away, jumped up and put the ball into the basket with one hand.

Jefferson...it was impossible for him to ask the referee why he didn't blow the whistle at this time. He, or the Cavaliers players, had already noticed the huge difference in the scale of penalties tonight.

Xu Yong did not continue to put pressure on Foster at this time, because after the ball was hit, he knew that even if he hit the referee, the other party would not change the standards.

Because this is their mission tonight. If they don't follow the mission, they will not only be beaten, but also lose their jobs.

There's no need to waste your saliva at this time.

It's just that Silver's method is much worse than Stern's. Stern knows how to boost the superstars on the weaker side so that both sides can play more exciting performances. Silver only whistles for the players on the advantageous side. The effect presented on this field is completely different.

Irving continued to play pick-and-roll in the frontcourt, and this time the impact of the first whistle was apparent. Because two fouls in the first quarter would usually result in a substitution, Adams did not dare to be too proactive in defense, which gave Irving an opportunity. Irving continued to show his excellent personal form, scoring on Adams' layup and scoring 5 points in a row at the start.

Xu Yong went to the high frontcourt position and continued to receive the ball with his back to the basket, then turned around and attacked facing the basket.

A three-threat with the ball in one hand, followed by a fake jump shot, and then he took a step and passed Jefferson.

This time Davis came to defend in front of Xu Yong. Xu Yong got close to him and jumped up. He dodged sideways and pulled the ball over Davis' body. Then he pulled the ball high before Davis turned around and slammed the ball into the basket with both hands.

During this process, Davis tried to pull at his clothes, but failed to hold them.

After completing the dunk and landing, Xu Yong did not pay any attention to Davis, but directly stared at Foster with the whistle in his mouth, as if he was shouting for a lollipop.

If this is your master's mission, then what about fighting against the Alliance?

He was just doing again what Jordan did against the Pistons!