Chapter 705: Close at hand

The golden O'Brien Cup, before today's game, Riccard went to the team's showroom and saw the glorious O'Brien Cup.

Only one trophy was placed in the huge showroom, which was a little too lonely. If the O'Brien Cups were a pair or more, the showroom would have been even brighter.

So at the beginning of the game, when he saw the momentum of James and Wade, Ricard was a little worried. However, after Anjie's goal, Ricard's heart suddenly sank. With Anjie's guy on the field to steady, no problem!

"Champion! Hold on for another 48 minutes, and we will be world champions! But now, we have to play those 48 minutes well!" After the goal, An Jie did not celebrate, but immediately turned back to give orders on the court.

With a 3-1 lead over the Heat, the O'Brien Cup has been moved to their doorstep. These things have made the players and fans of the Trail Blazers a little fluttery.

But only An Jie can still see the situation clearly, and the Heat, who are unwilling to fail, will not surrender away from home. Even if they were to lose, the Heat would not let the Trail Blazers lift the trophy easily.

"Ball, ball!" Chalmers had just received the baseline ball when James raised his arms and shouted.

James desperately needs the ball right now, and the only thing he thinks about at the moment is how to attack the basket and how to score.

Although Chalmers doesn't like James, he won't delay the whole team for personal feuds. In any case, he Chalmers is also a professional footballer.

James got his wish to get the basketball, and just two steps before he came to the three-point line. Iguodala stays outside the three-point line and waits for him, and looking at James' state today, he is expected to play hard.

However, what Iguodala didn't expect was that James actually jumped and shot directly after coming to the three-point line!

No organization, no passing, no breakouts. James just jumped straight up and was ready to shoot!

Iguodala didn't expect James to do that at first, because it wasn't a logical way to play. When Iguodala, who was a little far away from James, pounced, the basketball in James' hand was already thrown.

People say that James' three-point shooting is not very good, but there are times when James shoots three-pointers that are very unreasonable. This seemingly reckless shot actually hit directly!

James scored again, and it seems that today's "Little Emperor" is not only imposing, but also very hot in state and feel.

"Offense, offense, offense......" Although James' goal was spectacular, the enthusiasm of the fans at the Moda Center was not extinguished.

To the beat of the drums played by the live DJ, the fans chanted the word "offense" rhythmically.

"Hold steady, play slowly, they can't always score goals like that!" An Jie pressed down with both hands, signaling his teammates to calm down and take their time. James' kind of unconscionable goal can't be the dominant game. Only the side that really controls the pace of the game will have a better chance of winning.

In order to personally grasp the team's offense, Anjie took the initiative to mention the mid-range position this time, and he intends to take over the playmaking power from Lillard and become the brains of the team.

As soon as Angel held the ball in the middle distance, Chris Bosh posted it without reservation.

The two had a fierce confrontation outside the free throw line, and Bosh stuck almost the whole person on Anjie. If Anjie dodged in time, he and Bosh might have kissed each other a few times.

In such extreme conditions, Anjie is neither easy to break through nor pass the ball. Seeing that Bosh was so close to him, An Jie also had some crooked ideas.

Just when Bosh accidentally rubbed An Jie's nose with his elbow, An Jie suddenly had an idea, suddenly lost the basketball, covered his nose with both hands, and fell to the ground in pain.

Robin, who has been paired with An Jie for a season, also understood, and he anxiously rushed to An Jie's side. In this "cooperation", Robin played the role of fanning the flames.

Bosh innocently opened his arms, but the three referees on duty did see the whole process of Bosh's "elbowing" An Jie through slow-motion replay.

Bosh did meet An Jie, and this point, coupled with An Jie's performance, was enough to convict the "Dragon King".

"That's how the fuck protects the defending champions, aren't they? Anyway, the championship trophy has been moved, so you're going to finish it today, right!?" Bosh, who has never lost his temper, yelled at the referees, which is also a good temper of three referees, if it were someone else, a technical foul would have been blown out long ago.

Instead of arguing with the referee, James pulled Bosh away and comforted his teammates. Make good use of the rules, which is also part of the basketball court. James knows this because he's benefited from it too.

Bosh fouls and the Trail Blazers re-serve the sideline. And An Jie can be regarded as getting rid of the entanglement with Bosh.

With Aldridge out on the pitch, Robin Lopez's passing ability was limited. So now, the task of sending the sideline ball naturally falls to An Jie.

An Jie, this guy went to such a stop outside the field, and Bosh couldn't interfere with him. The Trail Blazers players immediately interspersed with runs, and they knew that if there was only the slightest chance, Anjie would be able to get the ball to them!

With Robin Lopez's pick-and-roll, Wesley Matthews managed to slip the baseline and get a fleeting shot in the bottom corner.

But the only bad thing is that Matthews' current position is on the opposite side of Anjie's serve. If Angel wants to get the ball to Matthews, he has to get the ball safely across the entire half.

There was no time to hesitate, Wade was already on the verge of getting rid of the entanglement. So An Jie put the ball behind his head and shook it with both hands!

"It's big! it's definitely big!" Charles Barkley's first reaction when he saw Anjie pass the ball in this way was that Matthews couldn't catch it!

"Good opportunity!" On the other side, on the ESPN commentary stage, Jeff Van Gundy applauded. Because this guy who developed Anjie's playmaking ability knows better than Barkley how terrifying Anjie's passing ability is.

Sure enough, the powerful pass didn't fly too high. On the contrary, because An Jie is particularly strong, the flight speed of this basketball is very fast.

By the time Matthews received the basketball, Wade hadn't quite pounced.

Can't wait any longer, wait another second, this opportunity will be completely wiped out by Wade! Matthews immediately started shooting, Wade's interference still made Matthews's shooting rhythm a little unstable.

Anjie immediately rushed to the basket from the sideline, but Bosh blocked sideways and locked Anjie out of the scramble for rebounds.

But what everyone didn't expect was that after the basketball hit the side of the basket, it actually fell into the net for the second time!

Matthews hit a three-point shot, and Anjie attacked wonderfully. The Trailblazers and the Heat are still evenly matched!

"Well done, well done, let's continue, continue!" An Jie clapped his hands vigorously, but Bosh was still cursing in a low voice for the foul just now.

The subtle changes in the psychology of the players of the two teams are already slowly occurring.

Originally, the Heat wanted to use the strength after the opening to suppress the rhythm and then pull away the score. As everyone knows, after the Trail Blazers showed a tough attitude of resistance, the first party to be discouraged was actually the Heat team itself.

In the next few minutes, the Heat and the Trail Blazers went toe. Looking at the performance of the Heat team, people really can't imagine how the total score became 3-1.

However, as soon as these few minutes passed, the Heat team was immediately revealed.

Wade and Bosh missed on the offensive end, and Chalmers' erratic passing often caused the team to miss chances, but what about Lewis, who was prevented by Robin from even getting a shot, let alone scoring a goal.

Seizing the Heat's slump, Anjie's organization allowed the team to hit the Heat hard with a super high shooting percentage. On the Heat side, they can only rely on James's singles to solve the problem.

The first quarter ended with the Trail Blazers leading 22-29. Anjie handed out five assists in a single quarter, while James bit the game with a performance of 17 points in a single quarter.

"This is the ultimate matchup between individual hero basketball and team basketball! For now, LeBron is at a personal disadvantage!"

"Do you think LeBron doesn't want a good team? It's just that the current Heat has forced him to step up and go it alone!" This time, Jeff Van Gundy stepped up and said a word for James. James really didn't want to play alone, but it was the only way for the Heat.

During the break, in the stands of the Moda Center, the fans sang the song "We Are the Champions". This huge voice is estimated to have spread throughout Portland!

"Listen, listen! The first quarter was over and we were only three quarters away from the O'Brien Cup. Can't be discouraged, you must keep it up, you can't be discouraged! The crowd outside can't wait to see us lift the O'Brien Cup, we can't let them down!" Ricard pointed out the door, even the soundproofed locker room door couldn't stop the song from spreading.

The loud singing of the fans brought more energy to the Trail Blazers players, but it also made the Heat more irritated.

No matter how hard they try, the Heat Big Three are just a foil for the Trail Blazers to successfully defend their title at the moment.

Spoelstra doesn't have much to do to boost morale right now, because even the Filipinos themselves are losing confidence.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Anjie and Lillard ignited the court with a beautiful aerial relay. But soon, James returned the favor with another unreasonable three-pointer.

"It's okay, drag him down, drag him down!" Ricard clapped his hands vigorously on the sidelines, and the rest of the Heat was no longer a threat. As long as James is dragged down, the Trail Blazers can bring home the O'Brien Cup tonight!

Ricard still doesn't believe that there are so many people in the Trail Blazers that they can't drag down an exhausted LeBron James!

James resisted to the death, but the support he was able to get was getting less and less. Ray Allen hit a lot from beyond the three-point line, and Wade's breakthrough was no threat to Anjie. Bosh could have taken advantage of the open opportunity to score a few goals, but his scoring on the court was no longer painful for the Trail Blazers.

The Heat resisted for seven minutes, and when Spoelstra had to replace James off the court, the whole Heat suddenly collapsed completely!

Conteni Lee and Nicholas Batum did whatever they wanted during this time. The Heat's second lineup was no threat at all, and they scored just five points in the final minutes of the second quarter!

Nel Orsi, who was sitting in the luxury box, was sweating profusely, and it wasn't until half-time that the manager finally relaxed.

40-50, half-time, the Trail Blazers have widened the difference to double digits! The once invincible Heat Big Three are now in a state of turmoil!

Seeing this result, the singing in the Moda Center became even louder. Anjie's parents, Catherine and her father, also sang along.

Rich Paul, who was in front of the TV, shook his head helplessly when he saw the half-time score. He immediately made a phone call to Cleveland and contacted David Griffin, the general manager of the Cavaliers at the time.

"What's the matter, Richie, it looks like LeBron isn't going well in the Finals. Griffin spoke in a relaxed tone, as he believed that after this game, James would no longer belong to Miami.

"It's not going well, find a time to meet, let's refine that plan......" Rich Paul turned off the TV, which indicates that James' Heat career has also been turned off.