Chapter 56: A Mind-Blowing Scene.

Just as the Zen Master emphasized before the match, the Cavaliers were a team that revolved entirely around James.

After Gibson brought the ball up to the front court, he had no intention of attacking on his own and immediately passed it to James.

Receiving the ball facing Walton, James called for a pick-and-roll, and Ilgauskas stepped up to set the screen.

Ilgauskas, nicknamed Big Z, was a giant center standing 2.21 meters tall with a solid frame that effectively walled off Walton.

James found a gap for his drive, shifted the ball to his right, and burst past his defender with sudden acceleration.

The Lakers could not afford to take any chances as Bynum and Odom collapsed to help, while Gooden rolled down the center.

Gooden stood 2.08 meters tall, possessed solid fundamental skills in the paint, and played a tough brand of basketball. Though his defense was average, he was an offensively reliable blue-collar player.

James delivered a high pass to Gooden, who caught the ball, adjusted his steps in the paint, and easily laid it in around Odom's timing.

Seeing the Cavaliers slice through the Lakers' defense with such ease, the Zen Master on the sidelines frowned.

The presence of James changed the defensive dynamics for the Lakers drastically.

"Li, you come over to trap. The two big men don't need to step out."

On the court, Kobe quickly emphasized the defensive assignment. The Cavaliers' frontline possessed tremendous height, and they converted at a high rate near the rim, making it essential to ensure the Lakers had enough personnel inside to cope.

"Got it!" Li Rui nodded.

The Lakers went on the offensive.

Li Rui received the inbound pass from Odom and pushed the ball up the court under his own control.

Unlike Jason Williams, Gibson did not rush out to steal the ball from Li Rui, choosing instead to play containment defense.

Li Rui grew increasingly confident bringing the ball across half-court; at the very least, he no longer found himself trapped in the backcourt with nowhere to dribble.

Upon reaching the front court.

Following the usual protocol, he handed the ball to Kobe and began cutting off the ball.

Kobe observed the floor while holding the ball at the top of the arc, defended closely by Hughes.

Hughes possessed blistering speed, exceptional explosiveness, and fierce agility.

This allowed him to mirror his opponent's movements instantly in one-on-one defense. Relying on great anticipation and reaction skills, he could effectively disrupt the opposing offense. In previous matchups against Kobe and Tracy McGrady, he had always managed to cause them some trouble.

After assessing the defense, Kobe initiated a pick-and-roll with Bynum on the right side.

The quality of this screen was subpar; Bynum stepped up but failed to completely block Hughes.

Consequently, Kobe's pull-up jumper after sliding sideways was contested simultaneously by both Hughes and Big Z.

"Clang!"

Kobe's jumper heavily clanked off the rim.

The rebound was secured by James, and the Cavaliers looked to run the fast break.

Gibson sprinted at full speed down the right side, and Li Rui spun around instantly, driving his feet hard into the floor to give chase.

Seeing the Cavaliers launch a counterattack, the fans at the Quicken Loans Arena roared with excitement.

James was a bit too greedy on this play, trying to hit Gibson with a direct full-court pass right away.

However, Li Rui never gave up. With his long arms outstretched and legs pumping hard, he ultimately reached out from the side and intercepted the pass.

James's passes were usually stellar, and such fast breaks were rarely intercepted, but the distance between him and Gibson was still somewhat vast. As long as Li Rui anticipated the play, he had a chance to make a defensive stop.

This possession was successfully read and intercepted by Li Rui.

The improvement in Li Rui's perimeter defense attributes was what made this possible.

Cavaliers fans witnessed a sight they could hardly believe: the rookie had perfectly anticipated LeBron's long-range passing lane.

This play instantly halted the Cavaliers' fast-break momentum, and the Lakers smoothly transitioned from defense to offense.

Controlling his center of gravity after gathering the ball, Li Rui surged into the front court while Gibson chased him down frantically.

Gibson possessed tremendous speed and was remarkably young, actually running faster than Li Rui who was carrying the ball, allowing him to catch up quickly.

Yet, much to his embarrassment, although Gibson caught up to Li Rui, he failed to poke the ball away.

He attempted a steal, but Li Rui shielded the ball with his body and leaned into Gibson.

"Thud!"

Gibson lost the physical battle and was bumped aside.

The two collided repeatedly during the sprint until Gibson ultimately lost his balance and was shaken off.

"Oh, Li Rui is using his body to bully his opponent."

"Too brutal."

"Li Rui is still pushing forward."

"Hughes is rotating over to help on Kobe."

"Drew Gooden is stepping up to help."

"Li Rui drops a bounce pass to Odom in the left low post."

"Odom is wide open, gathers with one hand, takes a step, and unleashes a thunderous dunk."

"Clang!!"

"2 to 2."

"An assist courtesy of Li Rui. He created an absolute wide-open opportunity for Odom, allowing him to finish."

"One steal and one assist; Li Rui has demonstrated his value right from the start of the game."

"This is the Li Insanity that the entire world is chasing."

At the CCTV broadcast desk, Zhang Weiping could not help shouting out when he saw this scene.

Beside him, Su Qun calmly adjusted his glasses and said, "That defensive awareness was exceptional. He anticipated James's passing intention beforehand, leaving the Cavaliers' defense completely passive afterwards."

On the court, Odom looked back and nodded at Li Rui, signaling, "Li, great pass."

Though Li Rui frequently acted as the primary finisher, he was far from selfish. Whenever a teammate had a better look and he spotted them, he would distribute the ball.

The Cavaliers' offense returned. Gibson dribbled the ball up and handed it off to James.

The Cavaliers currently entrusted all playmaking duties to James, whose official role was that of a point forward.

James scanned his surroundings, pondering the best way to execute this possession.

Li Rui defended Gibson tightly. Gibson attempted to run off screens, but no openings materialized, while Bynum and Big Z continued to jostle in the low post.

Big Z tried to push Bynum out of position without success. With two massive centers clogging the interior, James found no lanes to drive.

Larry Hughes, meanwhile, was blanketed by Kobe's suffocating defense and couldn't even manage to get open for a pass.

James chose to call for a screen once more, this time with Gooden stepping up to wall off Walton.

James dribbled laterally. Odom didn't wait for him to drive and charged forward instantly.

However, he committed too aggressively; James snapped the ball from his right hand to his left, executed a change-of-direction, lowered his center of gravity to gather the ball, burst forward, and took a long stride!

He charged straight toward the rim.

Li Rui anticipated it once again. He sprinted over to help defense, planted his feet firmly, and braced for impact.

Li Rui arrived just ahead of the restricted area fractionally quicker than James, setting himself up to draw a charging foul.

Zero step: James gathered the ball...

First step: James reached the free-throw line.

Second step: James arrived directly in front of Li Rui. A collision here would result in an offensive foul, with Bynum and Big Z waiting on the right.

Li Rui figured James no longer had any window to adjust or change direction to the left; a poster dunk was out of the question given the speed of his momentum.

As for a pull-up midrange jumper? Version 1.0 LeBron did not possess that weapon yet; he was certainly not a technical guard like Kobe or Alexander.

This offensive foul.

Was in the bag!

As Li Rui contemplated what falling posture to use when struck by James so it wouldn't look too theatrical...

The anticipated collision never materialized.

Before Li Rui's wide-open, dumbfounded eyes, James naturally took a third step to the left, executed a gather-step, leaped effortlessly, and gently laid the ball in.

"That's a traveling violation!"

"He traveled!!"

Li Rui leaped into the air instantly, gesturing frantically to the referees in protest.

While complaining, he even grabbed the ball and mimicked the steps to demonstrate to the officials.

"He literally did this: one step, two steps, three steps, four steps! Look, there was even a gather-step in there. He took two extra steps."

Li Rui had seen it with absolute clarity from his vantage point.

There was simply no way James could have scored that layup without traveling.

Kobe wore a grim expression and remained silent.

The Zen Master spread his hands toward the referee as well, then walked back to the bench with a dark expression.

The referee ignored the frustrated Li Rui and instead issued a warning to him not to question the officials.

Otherwise, a technical foul would be assessed.

Damn it.

So you're allowed to play the Eight Steps of the Dragon?

Guess I'll have to bust out my flashy horse stance.

Better not blow any random whistles later.

Li Rui could only vent internally; if he started playing wildly, the Zen Master would likely bench him.

The fans at Quicken Loans Arena celebrated frantically.

They cared little whether the play was a travel; as long as James scored, it was a good play.

James shrugged his shoulders, putting on an innocent expression.