At 7 p.m. on December 21, the Quick Loan Center Arena in Cleveland was packed to the rafters.
After four long days without a game, the fans had been missing the action.
Tonight, the Cleveland Cavaliers were hosting Eastern Conference powerhouse, the New Jersey Nets.
The New Jersey Nets' roster had barely changed this season. Their three-pronged attack was still led by Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson.
On paper, they looked like a formidable team.
But honestly, their lineup was lopsided!
Strong on the outside, weak on the inside!
The New Jersey Nets had made the Finals two years in a row, only to get battered by Big Shark O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers one year and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs the next.
They'd at least had Kenyon Martin in the paint back then, but now he was gone.
Honestly, the New Jersey Nets had no one reliable in the post. They were filling the gaps with scraps!
As a result, their interior defense had become a glaring weakness.
For this game, Mike Brown decisively went with two big men—Big Z and Drew Gooden.
The offense was focused on the two of them.
That allowed them to play extremely comfortably.
Big Z went 14-for-21 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, racking up 32 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block. Drew Gooden went 9-for-18 from the field and 6-for-6 from the line, piling up 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Together, they scored 56 points and grabbed 28 rebounds, completely dominating the paint.
Led by the two big men, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New Jersey Nets 111–103, winning by eight.
They snapped their two-game losing streak and improved to 16–7!
Su Yi had a steady performance, going 7-for-12