"Defense!" "Defense!" "Defense!"...
Amid the cheers of the TD Garden crowd, the Cleveland Cavaliers inbounded the ball in the backcourt again. The ball went to Kyrie Irving, and the instant he caught it, Tony Allen pounced like a cheetah, sticking tightly to Irving and applying immense defensive pressure.
Facing such suffocating defense, Kyrie Irving remained remarkably calm and composed.
He skillfully controlled the basketball, constantly switching the dribble between his hands while his feet moved nimbly with it—one step, two steps... slowly yet steadily advancing toward the half-court line.
Every dribble seemed to carry a rhythm, leaving Tony Allen dazzled.
Second by second, time slipped away, and the shot clock was about to reach eight seconds.
Yet Kyrie Irving showed no sign of panic. At that critical moment, he suddenly slipped aside, cleverly avoiding Tony Allen's steal attempt and successfully crossing half court.
The moment he crossed the half-court line, Kyrie Irving immediately passed the ball.
The ball zipped through the air and landed precisely in Kevin Love's hands.
At the same time, Kyrie Irving charged toward Kevin Love like an arrow loosed from a bow.
The two displayed astonishing chemistry. Kevin Love merely raised a hand and completed a beautiful handoff with the charging Kyrie Irving.
Not only did Kevin Love execute the pass perfectly, but he also cleverly used his body to slightly impede the relentlessly pursuing Tony Allen, creating an excellent driving opportunity for Kyrie Irving.
Seizing the chance, Kyrie Irving immediately accelerated, streaking like lightning toward the Boston Celtics' paint.
Seeing this, Marc Gasol hurriedly slid over laterally in an attempt to stop his attack.
But Kyrie Irving was simply too fast. With one simple change of direction, he easily shook off Marc Gasol and blew straight into the Boston Celtics' paint like a gust of