The game entered the fourth quarter, and Tyronn Lue kept his Big Three on the floor for extended minutes, putting the starters back in right from the opening.
The Thunder, meanwhile, were led by Chris Chen and Butler, with Westbrook continuing to rest on the bench.
James came out firing, repeatedly attacking the basket and drawing contact, making his determination to close the gap clear.
After Butler was called for two fouls in a row, he no longer dared to defend with the same intensity. That made James's drives even more dangerous.
Fortunately, Chen and Little Sabonis answered with two consecutive three-pointers to keep the score steady.
Time kept ticking away, but the gap wasn't shrinking. The Cavaliers were clearly in an increasingly difficult position.
James dribbled to the top of the key and took a deep breath. At last, instead of charging hard into the paint, he pulled up for a three.
Swish~~
"James from three! What a shot! This is what a superstar's ability to adjust looks like! Even after shooting poorly all game, he can get his shot back when it matters most."
On the way back on defense, he found another chance to steal Payne's pass, raced back up the court, and hit a chasedown three off the backboard.
"Six straight points!!!! LeBron James!!!!! The Cavaliers haven't given up, and James hasn't given up!!!"
"Damn, the old guy's starting to heat up." Chen Xi could see things were getting bad.
On the next possession, he ran to get the ball early. Facing Shump, an athletic defensive guard, he used a hesitation move and went straight into a pull-up.
"Another three! Chris Chen steadies things again! He's not about to let the Cavaliers make this a close game so easily!"
On the next possession, while Chen Xi was called for a foul as he pressured Shump, Donovan sent Westbrook back onto the court, opting for the safer choice.
Once Westbrook returned, the Thunder's offense had a dependable anchor. With Irving still unable to find his rhythm, even James's hot hand couldn't change the outcome.
The final score was 130–117, with the Thunder crushing the Cavaliers.
Chen Xi went 11-for-21 from the field, 6-for-13 from three, and 3-for-3 from the line, finishing with 31 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Westbrook had 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 15 assists; Butler had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The Thunder's Big Three combined for 80 points.
For the Cavaliers, James went 15-for-26 from the field, 2-for-5 from three, and 7-for-10 from the line, finishing with 39 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists. Irving had 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 assists, while Love had 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The three combined for 77 points.
LeBron was clearly in a bad mood after the disappointing loss and hurried back to the locker room. Irving, on the other hand, came over and chatted briefly with Chen Xi, praising his performance and exchanging contact information. Love, his college teammate, also came over to catch up with Westbrook.
After wrapping up the postgame interviews, Chen Xi returned to the locker room. His teammates all looked furious, and he didn't understand why. When he asked around, he learned that the All-Star starters had been announced—and Westbrook had been left off.
"Damn?? How the hell did he miss out???"
Chen Xi looked at the list his teammate handed him, at a loss for words.
The Eastern Conference starters were Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, LeBron James, Paul George, and Antetokounmpo. The Western Conference starters were Stephen Curry, James Harden, Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Anthony Davis.
Curry was Westbrook's main rival for a starting spot. Although his numbers had dipped, he was still averaging 24.6 points and 6.1 assists per game, and the Warriors had the best record in the league. Curry made the All-Star Game for the fourth consecutive year, his fourth selection of his career. He received 1,848,121 fan votes, ranking first among Western Conference guards, but placed third in media voting with only six votes and third in player voting with 63.
Harden, meanwhile, was averaging 28.9 points, 11.6 assists, and 8.3 rebounds per game, with 13 triple-doubles, including four with at least 40 points. The Rockets also had the third-best record in the Western Conference, and Harden made the All-Star Game for the fifth consecutive year. It would be his third time starting. He received 1,771,375 fan votes, 91 media votes, and 149 player votes, ranking second among Western Conference guards in all three categories.
At a glance, the numbers didn't seem too outrageous. But putting Westbrook's stats beside theirs made the controversy obvious. He was averaging 30.6 points, 10.4 assists, and 10.6 rebounds. Westbrook received 1,575,865 fan votes, ranking third among Western Conference guards, but ranked first in player voting with 167 votes and first in media voting with 93. The comparison made the problem clear.
Whether you looked at stats, player votes, or media votes, Westbrook was ahead of Curry. Unfortunately, he lost out because of fan voting.
Under the NBA's formula, the final rankings had nothing to do with the number of votes received. They depended only on each player's ranking in the three voting categories. Take the race between Curry, Harden, and Westbrook for a starting spot: Curry ranked first in fan voting and third in both player and media voting, giving him a combined score of 2 (calculated as (1+1+3+3)/4). Harden and Westbrook also came out to 2, leaving all three tied.
At that point, the number of fan votes decided the result. Whoever received the most votes from fans would win.
Chen Xi glanced at Turtle Turtle, whose displeasure was written all over his face, and sighed.
"It's fine, Russell. It's just an All-Star starting spot. No big deal. Let's push harder and win the MVP this year. Then this starting lineup will be a joke."
"Don't worry. I'm not happy about it, but I can accept it. With the team doing this well and teammates like you guys, I've got plenty to be grateful for." After a moment, Turtle Turtle calmed down, a fire burning in his eyes.
"When this season's over, we'll make sure we get the respect we deserve!!!!"
It was worth noting that Butler was a victim of the situation too. He should have been in the Eastern Conference, where he had every right to make the All-Star starting lineup. But now he was in the more competitive Western Conference, and his numbers had dipped due to the team's system and his role in the offense. As a result, he missed out on this year's starting lineup.
The players boarded a charter flight to San Antonio, their resolve hardening. Their second opponent in this brutal back-to-back road trip was the Spurs, who had stood atop the Western Conference for decades. Fortunately, they weren't playing on consecutive nights, so the Thunder had a day to rest.
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