When play resumed after the timeout, both teams sent their starters back onto the court.
Su Yi was still put into the game, alongside the four starters: Larry Hughes, LeBron James, Drew Gooden, and Big Z!
Su Yi's job was simple. On offense, he stayed in the corner; on defense, Josh Smith naturally stuck close to him.
He wasn't going to give Su Yi any chance to shoot from outside. He intended to shut him down completely.
Little did he know he'd fallen right into Mike Brown's trap.
In Mike Brown's eyes, Su Yi and Josh Smith were a perfect one-for-one matchup!
As long as Su Yi was on the court, Josh Smith couldn't go help on defense.
After all, Josh Smith was very good at providing help defense. In the three games played so far this season, he'd averaged two steals and three blocks per game.
He was one of the Atlanta Hawks' defensive anchors.
Without Josh Smith, the Atlanta Hawks' defensive quality would drop considerably.
Sure enough, with LeBron James leading the way, the Cleveland Cavaliers started scoring again and again.
But the Atlanta Hawks immediately answered in kind, and soon the two teams were locked in a stalemate.
The Atlanta Hawks couldn't extend their lead, and the Cleveland Cavaliers couldn't cut into it any further.
"BEEP, BEEP."
The halftime buzzer sounded.
56–51!
The Atlanta Hawks led the Cleveland Cavaliers by five points going into the second half.
Back in the locker room, Su Yi dropped into a seat in the corner and silently sank into thought. His one real strength—his deadly outside shot—had been shut down.
What could he do now?
Wait, no. Mike Brown had put him back on the court even though he knew Su Yi was completely shut down. There had to be a reason.
Only then did Su Yi realize that Mike Brown must have had a purpose in keeping him on the court!
But what was it?
Su Yi's mind raced.
Two and a half seconds later, it suddenly clicked.
He was tying up Josh Smith!
Wait?
It was as if Su Yi had suddenly figured out how to deal with Josh Smith.
He quickly stood up and asked an assistant coach for the first-half stats sheet.
When he saw that Josh Smith had played all 24 minutes of the first half, Su Yi immediately knew how to handle him in the second half!
A devilish smile crept across Su Yi's face.
Josh, I'm going to run you into the ground in the second half.
The brief halftime break ended, and both teams returned to the court for the second-half showdown.
Su Yi, of course, sat quietly on the bench, watching Josh Smith closely.
With Su Yi off the court, Josh Smith guarded LeBron James and repeatedly helped against the Cleveland Cavaliers' other players, disrupting one Cavaliers possession after another.
With Josh Smith playing such active defense, the Atlanta Hawks gradually stretched their lead.
"Timeout!"
Mike Brown couldn't take it anymore and quickly called a timeout.
During the break, he hurriedly sent Su Yi in and stationed Josh Smith in the corner.
Sure enough, as soon as Su Yi returned to the court, Josh Smith had to follow him into the corner.
But after just two possessions, Su Yi started constantly moving without the ball on offense. He not only forced Josh Smith to run but also threw the Atlanta Hawks' defense into disarray.
That gave the Cleveland Cavaliers' other players plenty of opportunities.
Gradually, the game began to shift, and the Cleveland Cavaliers chipped away at the lead.
The third quarter ended.
The gap had shrunk to three points.
Just one possession.
Huff, huff, huff...
After playing all three quarters—and spending much of the third chasing Su Yi around—Josh Smith was breathing heavily.
Seeing this, Su Yi couldn't help smiling.
As he wiped away his sweat, he glanced over and noticed LeBron James, sitting two seats away, picking up the stats sheet.
Before long, LeBron James was smiling from ear to ear.
Damn.
This guy was already paying such close attention to his stats back in his first stint?
No wonder people always said, "The child is father to the man!"
It turned out that all of this could be traced back to his first stint.
It was just that, back then, he hadn't gone too far, and there'd been plenty of positive coverage, so not many people had noticed these little details.
As a certified LeBron hater, Su Yi quietly took out his little notebook and jotted it down: LeBron James had been very concerned about his stats even during his first stint!
The brief timeout ended, and both teams rotated their players. Su Yi was still sent in.
When Su Yi took the court, Josh Smith had to take the court too!
By the fourth quarter, Su Yi could clearly feel that Josh Smith was a half-step slower.
But even at half-speed, Josh Smith's natural athleticism was still enough to give Su Yi trouble.
Su Yi had to keep wearing Josh Smith down.
Without Su Yi directly involved in the offense, the Cleveland Cavaliers' bench players struggled badly.
Su Yi's off-ball movement had disrupted the Atlanta Hawks' defense and created chances, but they couldn't capitalize, missing shot after shot.
Fortunately, the Atlanta Hawks were missing shot after shot too.
Nearly four minutes passed, and the teams had scored just four points apiece!
Mike Brown, whose team was trailing, immediately made a substitution, quickly sending the starters back in.
Starting point guard Eric Snow remained on the bench.
In Mike Brown's eyes, his team didn't need a point guard. After all, the ball was in LeBron James's hands.
Eric Snow: ￣□￣｜｜
And so the Cavaliers set up with LeBron James dribbling at the top of the arc, Su Yi and Larry Hughes in the corners, and the Twin Towers running out together to set a double screen for LeBron James.
Using the double screen, LeBron James accelerated and drove into the Atlanta Hawks' paint.
He was incredibly fast!
Then he leaped high and finished with a one-handed slam.
"AAAAAH!"
After the dunk, LeBron James roared wildly toward the camera.
The Atlanta Hawks quickly inbounded the ball and caught the Cavaliers five-on-four. After a few passes, they found Josh Smith cutting down the middle, completely unguarded.
Josh Smith took the ball and strode toward the basket.
One step, two steps—he planted hard with his left foot and soared into the air.
In midair, he viciously slammed the ball toward the rim.
BOOM!
The arena shook.
Josh Smith finished with a beautiful one-handed slam!
An answer!
A perfect response to LeBron James's dunk just moments earlier.
Su Yi: sigh
Score two, give up two = 0.
The lead remained at three points.
The Cleveland Cavaliers' offense from that point on was all about LeBron James: LeBron James coming off a screen, LeBron James driving for a layup, LeBron James dumping the ball...
It was reasonably effective, but they still couldn't tie the score.
The gap remained at three points.
As the seconds ticked by, the game quickly reached its final minute, with the Cleveland Cavaliers in possession.
LeBron James held the ball at the top of the arc. After dribbling for seven or eight seconds, he called for a screen.
Big Z quickly came over to set one for LeBron James.
Using the screen, LeBron James accelerated past his defender and drove inside.
By this point in the game, the Atlanta Hawks players were used to LeBron James's style.
They quickly collapsed on him and sent a double-team.
Seeing that, LeBron James flicked his wrist and kicked the ball out to Larry Hughes, wide open in the corner.
Larry Hughes caught the ball and didn't dare adjust. He shot immediately.
The 24-second shot clock expired just as Larry Hughes released the ball!
CLANG!
The shot missed.
Zaza Pachulia secured the rebound, then passed it to Claxton.
Claxton leisurely dribbled the ball across half court.
At that moment, they were up by three, so there was no need to rush!
Once across half court, Claxton passed to Joe Johnson on the wing.
Joe Johnson went one-on-one against Su Yi.
Su Yi immediately pressed up on him, giving Joe Johnson plenty of physical contact.
Joe Johnson kept a firm hold of the ball, and Su Yi's contact didn't affect him at all.
He absorbed Su Yi's pressure while looking for a chance to drive.
But the two were right on top of each other, and every time Joe Johnson tried to take off, Su Yi held him in place.
Su Yi simply wouldn't let Joe Johnson get up to speed.
If he did, one crossover might be enough to get past him.
Seeing no other option, Joe Johnson took a step back and launched a three.
He was three for three from beyond the arc tonight.
Su Yi immediately lunged at him and leaped high, stretching out his long arm, but he still couldn't stop Joe Johnson's shot.
The ball sailed over Su Yi's head and toward the basket as the entire crowd watched.
CLANG! It missed.
The Cleveland Cavaliers players all breathed a sigh of relief.
They had one last chance to attack!
Big Z secured the rebound and passed the ball to LeBron James.
LeBron James dribbled the ball across half court.
As soon as he crossed, Su Yi began moving without the ball, with Josh Smith hot on his heels.
At the top of the arc, LeBron James kept glancing at the clock.
10, 9, 8...
With eight seconds left, LeBron James called for a screen.
Big Z immediately came out to set one for him.
Using the screen, LeBron James drove inside.
This time, the Atlanta Hawks didn't collapse on him at all. If he wanted two points, they'd let him have them!
LeBron James drove all the way to the basket and leaped high.
In midair, he tossed the ball to Su Yi, who had run to the left corner.
Su Yi—take the shot!
The instant Su Yi caught the ball,
the Hot Potato Master skill activated!
In a flash, the basket seemed as wide as the ocean.
Without making a single adjustment, he jumped immediately, leaned back, and released the ball with an extraordinarily high arc.
Josh Smith rushed over to contest, but he couldn't block Su Yi's high-arcing fadeaway three.
The ball traced a parabola through the air.
SWISH!
The shot went in, and the game clock expired.
Su Yi had hit the game-tying three!
He'd brought his team even.
94–94!
The game was headed to overtime!
Before you continue