章 149: Strategic Crushing—A 24-Point Victory, A Crushing Defeat for Ajan
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The United Center in Chicago was adorned in silver and filled with a strong festive atmosphere.
Bulls fans flocked to the stadium to witness this high-stakes game.
Outside the arena, team star Wang Chong and his girlfriend Jessica Alba appeared together, successfully causing a wave of excitement.
The two didn't stay outside for long. They quickly entered the arena, with Wang Chong heading to the players' tunnel and locker room to change, while Jessica Alba went straight to the stands. She immediately became the focus of the live broadcast and the subject of attention.
Once inside, Jessica took off her thick coat. Her outfit was also filled with the holiday spirit—she wore a bright red knit coat with white trim and jeans, showing her elegance. Even without the halo of being Wang Chong's girlfriend and a famous actress, her appearance alone made her stand out, making her the most stunning figure in the stadium stands.
Seeing Jessica like this, even many of Wang Chong's male fans couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
"Wang Chong is so lucky! How did he land America's sweetheart?"
Soon, the lights in the arena began to dim, and with the passionate voice of the Bulls' DJ, the starting players were introduced one after another.
As the team's rightful leader and tactical core, Wang Chong was, of course, the last to be introduced.
The moment Wang Chong ran out of the tunnel amid the flashing lights, all the Bulls fans erupted in cheers, as loud as mountains and tsunamis, sending the stadium's atmosphere to a peak.
At that moment, James watched coldly.
This was the Bulls' home court, and no matter how popular he was in the United States, James couldn't steal the spotlight from Wang Chong here.
But that didn't mean he wouldn't try.
During the pre-game warm-up, James walked directly to the scorer's table, grabbed a container of magnesium powder, and started playing with it in his hands.
The scorers at the table immediately took a few steps back, covering their mouths and noses.
They knew what James was about to do.
He was going to throw the magnesium powder.
It's said that this action started when James was in high school.
Indeed, when the magnesium powder is thrown into the air, the scene freezes in an extremely dominant and iconic way.
But it's suffocating!
Magnesium powder is no good. If people inhale too much, it can cause gastrointestinal reactions like nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, and diarrhea.
Why try to look cool at the cost of people's health?
James' act of scattering magnesium powder at the opposing team's scorer's table was meant to overshadow Wang Chong before the game.
But this was Chicago after all, and the home crowd wasn't interested in James' magnesium powder routine. Instead, they were quite displeased with his antics.
The pre-game episode was over.
Both teams' substitutes cleared the court, leaving the starting players to prepare for the tip-off.
The Bulls' starting lineup was as usual, with point guard Monta Ellis, shooting guard Raja Bell, small forward Luol Deng, power forward Wang Chong, and center Tyson Chandler.
The Cavaliers' starting five were point guard Eric Snow, shooting guard Larry Hughes, small forward James, power forward Drew Gooden, and center Big Z.
Tyson Chandler and Big Z stepped into the center circle for the tip-off.
When the referee threw the ball into the air, the game officially began!
Although Big Z stood taller at 7'3" compared to Chandler's 7'1", Chandler's athleticism allowed him to tip the ball first to his team.
Ellis caught the ball and quickly advanced past half-court.
Both teams settled into their positions.
Then, the fans noticed something curious in the Cavaliers' defensive setup—Gooden, the power forward, was defending Bulls' small forward Luol Deng, while James had taken it upon himself to guard Wang Chong.
Seeing James guarding him closely, Wang Chong was momentarily surprised but then couldn't help but smirk.
James was being rather thoughtful, daring to take the initiative to defend him.
This was clearly the Cavaliers' tactical arrangement, which made sense upon reflection.
Although Gooden was only slightly shorter than Wang Chong at 6'10", it would be extremely difficult for him to defend Wang Chong. Gooden was a standard offensive-minded player, not known for his defense. He was certainly no match for Wang Chong, who was among the top three scorers in the league at the time.
Thus, having James defend Wang Chong was actually the best choice for the Cavaliers.
James' defense was the strongest on the team. While he wouldn't be named to an All-Defensive team for another two or three years, his immense athleticism ensured that if James took his defense seriously, he would be no slouch.
There's a saying that while James, late in his career, was often seen standing idly with his hands on his hips, letting his teammates fend for themselves on defense, during his youth, he was exceptional on both ends of the court. He could often make highlight chase-down blocks, covering an immense amount of ground in mere seconds.
Last season, James averaged 2.2 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. His defensive ability couldn't be underestimated.
But that didn't mean he could shut down Wang Chong.
There were classic cases of this.
In the 2011-12 season, the Heat faced the Thunder in the finals, and they defeated the Thunder to win James' first championship.
At that time, James was at the peak of his career. He had been named regular season MVP and was selected for both the All-NBA First Team and the All-Defensive First Team.
But even in his prime, James couldn't stop Durant in the finals. Although the Thunder lost to the Heat 1-4, Durant averaged 30.6 points per game over five games, shooting 54.8%, outscoring James, who averaged 28.6 points with a 47.2% shooting percentage.
The James of the Heat era, who won back-to-back MVPs, was widely considered to be at his strongest—stronger even than the 2018 version. After all, by 2018, James was much older and less capable on defense. Meanwhile, during his Heat years, he was good enough to finish second in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Even Heat-era James couldn't stop Durant. Now, early in his Cavaliers 1.0 run, how could he stop Wang Chong?
Although Wang Chong's current skill rating was 94, not yet reaching the peak of Durant's 97, his offensive ability was very close.
So, since James dared to stand in front of him, Wang Chong wasn't going to be stingy about teaching him a lesson.
However, aside from beating James, Wang Chong had an additional goal in this game: to defeat the Cavaliers by more than 20 points.
To achieve this, he couldn't focus solely on confronting James. Although Wang Chong didn't fear James' defense, James would inevitably cause some interference, especially given his physical strength. Even though James' physical condition wasn't as extreme as it would be during his Heat days, he still wasn't easy to deal with.
If Wang Chong wanted to lead his team to a victory by more than 20 points, he needed to account for every possible detail. There couldn't be any mistakes, or else his 1,000 points and bronze badge would fly away.
With this in mind, Wang Chong glanced at Ellis, who had just taken possession at the top of the three-point line.
When Ellis saw Wang Chong's look, his heart skipped a beat, remembering the instructions Wang Chong had given him in the locker room before the game.
"This game is your chance to make a name for yourself. The Cavaliers' perimeter defense is weak. This is a good opportunity for you to shine. So, I'm giving you unlimited shooting rights in this game. As long as you can score, take the shot!"
When he first heard this, Ellis was stunned.
He knew this Christmas battle was a showdown between Wang Chong and James, and the outcome was crucial for both of them.
In such an important game, was Wang Chong really giving him unlimited shooting rights? How much confidence did that show in him?
But now, in the heat of the moment, Ellis immediately understood what Wang Chong wanted him to do.
Facing Eric Snow's defense, Ellis didn't hesitate. He quickly changed hands and suddenly accelerated, blowing past Snow with his explosive speed, making Snow look like he was standing still.
Ellis, having used his speed to bypass Snow, continued charging toward the paint.
At that moment, Big Z, still wrestling with Chandler for position in the paint, saw Ellis driving to the basket but had no time to step up and defend.
Ellis, with an open lane, easily finished with a layup, giving the Bulls the early lead.
James glanced at Wang Chong with a bit of surprise. He had thought that Wang Chong, given all the pre-game hype, would be the one to make the first move. But instead, it was a lesser-known player who struck first.
At that point, James didn't think much of it and couldn't have imagined how much of a threat that unknown player would become for the Cavaliers in the rest of the game.
The Cavaliers faced a significant challenge in defending Monta Ellis. Ellis' speed and skill overwhelmed Cleveland's defense, particularly since the Cavaliers had numerous weaknesses in their backcourt. After a timeout, they substituted Eric Snow with Damon Jones, but Jones, with a career average of only 6.6 points and 2.7 assists per game, didn't fare much better than Snow.
Ellis dominated the first quarter, scoring 12 points and recording 2 assists. Thanks to his performance, the Bulls finished the first quarter with a 7-point lead (29:22). Meanwhile, Wang Chong played more conservatively, taking only three shots and scoring 5 points, with 2 rebounds. This playstyle left LeBron James feeling uncomfortable, but despite his frustrations, things were about to get worse.
As the second quarter began, the Cavaliers missed their opening shot, and Wang Chong seized the defensive rebound. Instead of passing the ball to a guard, Wang Chong dribbled it up the court himself, catching James off guard. Wang Chong's first move was an impressive Iverson-inspired dribble that shook James and led to an easy basket from mid-range.
Wang Chong's game had clearly evolved since his last matchup with James during the previous season's All-Star Game. His movements were faster and smoother, largely thanks to the gold-level "Emergency Stop Master" badge from the in-game system, which allowed for smoother transitions between quick stops and shots. With other badges enhancing his shooting accuracy, such as "Hot Zone Hunter" and "Mid-range Shooter Master," Wang Chong became an offensive nightmare for the Cavaliers.
Despite James's best efforts, he struggled to contain Wang Chong, who was consistently nailing mid-range shots. The Cavaliers' defense, already under pressure from Ellis, couldn't keep up with the Bulls' offensive surge. By the second quarter, the Bulls had widened their lead to double digits, with Wang Chong taking the lead role in the offense.
On the Cavaliers' side, James was doing everything in his power to keep his team competitive, but his teammates weren't able to offer much support. Larry Hughes, who was once a reliable offensive option, was effectively shut down by Raja Bell, one of the league's best defensive players. Hughes struggled to score, making just 1 of 4 shots in the first quarter. The interior defense wasn't faring much better, as Cleveland's big men, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden, were neutralized by the Bulls' Tyson Chandler and Wang Chong.
By halftime, the Bulls held a commanding 21-point lead (63:42). Despite James's solid performance—he had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists at the half—the Cavaliers were struggling. Wang Chong, on the other hand, was playing a strategic game, knowing that the mission from the system required him to lead his team to a victory margin of at least 20 points.
In the Cavaliers' locker room, James and the coach tried to rally the team for a comeback in the second half. However, as the third quarter began, the Bulls continued their dominance. Wang Chong and Ellis utilized a lethal pick-and-roll offense that the Cavaliers couldn't defend against, especially when Damon Jones was switched onto Wang Chong. The Bulls extended their lead further, outscoring the Cavaliers and pushing the margin to 27 points by the end of the third quarter.
With no realistic hope of a comeback, the Cavaliers benched their starters in the fourth quarter, and the Bulls followed suit—except for Wang Chong. He stayed on the court to ensure that the lead remained above 20 points, per the system's requirements. Wang Chong scored 5 more points, pushing the Bulls' lead past 30 before finally sitting down.
Despite James finishing with 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, his individual performance wasn't enough to prevent the Bulls from winning comfortably. Wang Chong's final stat line was 30 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. In the end, the Bulls secured a 115:91 victory, a 24-point margin that solidified their dominance.
The victory was particularly shocking given that both teams had similar records going into the game, making the one-sided result all the more surprising. For James, it was yet another loss to Wang Chong, continuing a trend over the past three seasons. Fans had grown accustomed to seeing James lose to Wang Chong, leaving many to wonder if James had ever secured a victory against his rival.
End of this chapter
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