Volume 5: Unrivaled — Chapter 751: How Could Stamina Be Wasted?
In the postgame interview, Zhang Yu brought up the topic again. "This is the advantage of having so many swingmen on the team—we'll never be short-handed on the wing." The Warriors' bench unit had declined sharply in strength and could not withstand the opponent's comeback. In the end, Curry and Antetokounmpo still had to close out the game. But that was not a problem. The Warriors' previous lineup, with four star players among the starters and a bench capable of matching other teams' starting units, had been the abnormal thing. Zhang Yu, however, stopped holding back. Curry came back in and delivered the final blow, and the Cavaliers could no longer cut into the deficit. The Warriors packed the paint, limiting James and stabilizing the score as the Cavaliers kept closing in. They even stretched the lead back out. Still, the Cavaliers' fourth-quarter comeback exposed the Warriors' decline. In the end, the Warriors crushed the Cavaliers 132–115, extending their winning streak to nine games and solidifying their place atop the Western Conference. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, dropped to fourth in the East after being overtaken by the Raptors. In the second half, Curry switched back into on-ball mode and took the game away. But as long as the Warriors lost, all the doubts and criticism would return overnight, and everything about the Warriors would become a problem. Jalen Brown entered the game burning with fighting spirit, treating the near-garbage-time minutes in the fourth quarter like crunch time and doing his best to stop every one of James's attacks. The point guard most suited to James should have been Curry. He could switch freely between on-ball and off-ball roles, spacing the floor or attacking with the ball, allowing a tired James