After the pause, the physical confrontation between the two sides became more intense, and Zhou Xuan was knocked to the ground twice in a row.

This is the home court of the Heat, and the scale of the referee's blowing penalty is not large, this kind of game will make Zhou Xuan a little difficult, and if he is bumped into and does not blow a foul when he breaks through, his rhythm will also be disrupted.

Fortunately, the referee is not Crawford's second-in-command, and he can also make strong physical contact when defending James. As long as he's close to the three-second zone, the Knicks will be on the pack. Chandler broke the doubts about the last game, blocked James in the low post, and Gallinari was not easily passed. James only scored 6 points and 2 rebounds in the first quarter.

Zhou Xuan scored 10 points and 5 assists, and his performance in the second half was average. The Knicks lead 23-18.

In the second quarter, the Knicks sent double guards Andre Miller and Beverley to press forward. Matthews played as a small forward, the big forward was Battier, and the interior Anderson reached the strongest mobility.

The Heat also have a small-ball strategy, with Haslem as the center, McMiller as the power forward, and James Jones, Wade, and Kerr on the outside.

Wade took on the playmaking role on the court, making two beautiful passes to assist Jones for a three-pointer and Haslem for an empty dunk. The Knicks relied on Miller Sr. to organize, several players all pulled to the perimeter, ran and bombed to block and attack, played simple and effective, and continued to maintain the lead.

Anderson's "soft" weakness was undoubtedly exposed, he had a height advantage, but he did not try to single Haslem on the inside. D'Antoni realized this and replaced Battier early and brought on Jamison to add an attack point. McMiller and Haslem failed to defend Jamison one-on-one, and the difference between the two sides widened to 11 points at the 5-minute mark.

The Heat traded for James. In Chandler's absence, James immediately came to his senses and scored points in succession, including a violent dunk. D'Antoni quickly replaced Chandler and Beverley, and Jamison moved to the small forward position.

Matthews returned to his familiar position as a shooting guard, and Zhou Xuan also returned to the court at the 6-minute mark, replacing Miller. However, the defensive intensity is still not high enough, and Anderson and Jamison are both offensive types.

After playing two minutes, D'Antoni replaced Leonard and Gallinari and increased his defense on the outside. The Heat's breakthrough was immediately blocked, and everyone except James and Wade turned off the fire.

The Knicks led by six points at 47-41.

Barkley commented: "The Heat's offense mainly relies on the outside and fast break, and the Knicks are also a team with this style, which is stronger than the lineup, and the Knicks are a little stronger now, and without Bosh, it has a great impact on the Heat." ”

Smith said: "It's the same small-ball tactics, and Zhou Xuan's organization is much better than the Heat guard, and he got eight assists in the first half. ”

CCTV5 commented, Yao Ming was a guest. He said: "A point guard who doesn't have enough offensive ability is not a good point guard, and Zhou Xuan has been perfect this season. He can win the scoring title or the assist king, and when he encounters someone like him, he has a way to break the joint defense, whether he is in the bag or not. I don't think James's organizational ability can be compared with Zhou Xuan, so it is effective to wrap him. ”

Zhang said: "The Knicks always guard James with two people when they block and dismantle. No matter who the Heat players are, they will be defended by a third person, so that the rotation will inevitably create open opportunities for other players. The biggest difference between the Heat and the Knicks is that they have objects to put on the air, neither Turiaf nor Joel Anthony. And even Chandler of the Knicks has an absolute height advantage on the court, he can attract defense under the basket, and he can also rush to grab rebounds in the frontcourt. ”

Yu Jia said: "James and Zhou Xuanbi are not good enough, that is, to catch the ball, James always needs to bring a few shots. Zhou Xuan took the ball and threw it without pausing, and he shot quickly, sometimes reminiscent of Lei Allen, which is rare. In the system, Zhou Xuan's role is even greater. ”

Many people think that Zhou Xuan has surpassed James, and he knows how to use all the factors on the court to attack and help his teammates score, but this is not true.

There are also many fans who support James who believe that he should increase his run-and-catch offense. In fact, James's off-ball running is not bad, but his off-ball offense is more offensive to the inside, and he often cuts or runs back when the opportunity is right, and he also has enough awareness to use his teammates to cover off-ball movement. But compared with the outside players with strong off-ball attack ability: Zhou Xuan, Ray Allen, Hamilton, etc...... They are very flexible in their movements, not very strong, and even a little thin, using covers, counter-runs to get rid of defenses, and shoot quickly.

James' physical and technical characteristics are obviously quite different from Zhou Xuan's, and if he attacks like this, he will waste the advantage of weight, strength and impact. Therefore, James should improve his back-to-back offensive ability, but it is unreasonable for him to be an off-ball running attacker. If Zhou Xuan had James' physique, he would definitely consider rushing to the basket instead of relying on blocking and dismantling.

At the beginning of the second half, Zhou Xuan broke out.

He first used the cover to slip the bottom line, and received a pass from Gallinari on the weak side, Turyav couldn't change the defense, and Zhou Xuan hit a three-point shot in the bottom corner on the right side.

Then Zhou Xuan held the ball one-on-one and singled out Chalmers, the breakthrough was successful, and James went to the line to make up for the defensive breakthrough, and there was a gap behind him. Zhou Xuan hung to Jamison in the run, who scored with a small hook.

A minute later, Chandler grabbed the rebound in the backcourt, the Knicks quickly counterattacked, Leonard grabbed a three-point shot and missed, Zhou Xuan stuck Chalmers to grab the rebound in the front court, and assisted Gallinari who was inserted in the middle to score a layup.

After that, Zhou Xuan broke through and made a foul and hit both free throws.

The Heat didn't seem to have many offensive options, the two stars took turns playing, the passing pitcher was blocked, and the point difference widened. McMiller took up a lot of salary space for the Heat, but he was in terrible shape, only shooting three-pointers, slow and unable to defend himself, and the Heat could only have one of him and Dunleavy on the court. Considering Miller has many years left on his contract, the Heat have a headache.

Before the end of the third quarter, the Knicks quickly counterattacked, and Zhou Xuan hit a three-point shot in the face of Chalmers, scoring 13 points in a single quarter, with a total of 27 points and 11 assists, leading the team to a 17-point lead at 81-64.

In the fourth quarter, James began to try to shoot from beyond the three-point line. This season, he has made very few three-point shots, focusing on two-point shooting to ensure efficiency, and three-point shooting is a last resort. Dunleavy has little playoff experience, and he is not trustworthy at critical moments, and he does not dare to shoot or break through as soon as the opponent outside the three-point line interferes, but only plays the role of a midpoint, distributing the ball to Wade and James.

Although it withstood the Knicks' offense, it was too far behind, and the team's offense couldn't be opened, and the Heat couldn't narrow the difference to less than 10 points. At 3 minutes and 12 seconds, 2 minutes and 45 seconds, Gallinari and Battier scored three-pointers one after another, and the difference widened to 18 points, and the Heat was gone.

James didn't get off the court, and he fought again until his leg cramped, but unfortunately he couldn't fight for the next victory. The Knicks won 107-94 on the road, thus taking a 3-1 overall match point.

Zhou Xuan had 31 points, 3 rebounds, 15 assists and 2 steals. James had 33 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. Wade finished with 18 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists, shooting just 6-of-18.

After the game, the reporter asked whether Bosh would play in the next game, which was related to whether the Heat had a chance to turn the tables. Spoelstra made it clear that the next Bosh meeting, even if the injury is not good.

The Knicks are relaxed, and they all say they are confident that they will advance, and the Heat are on the edge of the cliff.

News that was even worse for the Heat broke the next day.

A reporter broke the news that James and Wade are not as close as they used to be, and the two are drifting apart, mainly because of the latter. It was difficult for Wade to control his emotions, and he couldn't keep his original style of play when he was in a state of decline, but he didn't accept reality. James actually helped Wade face crises more often than not, even clean up the mess.

In this game, Wade thought that he had regained his feeling in the third quarter, but his touch had not returned, so he firmly believed that the team and James should feed themselves more and play around him. But James not only did not execute, but also directly pointed out after the game that "Wade had several layups, didn't score good chances, and didn't get back his senses, which led to the score being pulled away." The two also did not communicate, Wade was alone with a straight face and deliberately complained to the media skillfully, while James only cared about communicating with Haslem and Dunleavy.

According to insiders who have been following the Heat all year round, the agitation of the American media has created the embarrassment of the Heat to a certain extent. In the last round of the series, the most famous sports magazine in the United States, "Sports Illustrated", once made a cover issue of James, and the article was extremely touted, saying that James led the Heat to defeat the 76ers with his personal ability, and is the only superstar in the world who can play from the No. 1 position to the No. 5 position. This is true, but the point is that this is a living belittlement of the Heat, and other people are not doing their jobs. In the eyes of the media, the current Heat is stuck in a strange circle, winning is the credit of James, and losing is due to the lack of teammates. It's a bit like the Lakers' situation. Pau Gasol, the Lakers' second-in-command, is a man who doesn't like to compete for fame and fortune, but Wade can't.

Shots on the court, headlines off the court, James and Wade have been fighting for it. They do not allow newcomers and outsiders to steal their limelight. The difference is that Wade is more emotional, more exposed, and more likely to get into a "striking" situation.

James Stadium is proud, and he has used the support of mainstream media such as ESPN and Sports Illustrated to enter a situation of drought and flood protection and all-for-all benefits, which also slowly erodes Wade's territory in Miami, both in public opinion and business.

James earned $59.8 million this year, ranking second in the NBA, Wade is $28.9 million, and both have a salary of about $17 million, and off-court earnings account for the majority of their income. Competing for the position of boss can maximize your influence and fame, so as to get more benefits. After all, athletes eat youth, and James' business acumen is far superior to that of other NBA athletes of the same age.

While James is making money, it also puts Wade in an extremely embarrassing situation, it can be said that James is going his own way and leaving others with no way out. Now that everyone thinks that Wade is the second leader of the Heat, and the Heat loses again, the contradiction begins to appear.

The two are said to have had a heated argument in the locker room, and some say James hit Wade. Zhou Xuan didn't believe that these two would be PK in real time, but he knew that the Heat would definitely be eliminated, and even if Bosh came back, it would not help. The Heat's morale has been completely suppressed by the Knicks.