After warmups ended, thestarting lineups were announcedamid the dazzling lights and cheers from the arena.

Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving, Han Sen, P.J. Tucker, Tristan Thompson (TT), Spencer Hawes

Lakers: Jordan Clarkson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Channing Frye, Timofey Mozgov

One of the biggest pregame storylines was whetherKevin Garnettwould start for the Cavs. After all, despite his age,Garnett had been a starter throughout his entire career, with hislast bench appearance dating all the way back to his rookie season.

ButCoach Malone decided to break that streak.

Garnett'slegacy was already legendary. He didn't need to cling to meaningless streaks like "consecutive starts" to validate his greatness — much likeJordan never needed to brag about his 1225-game double-digit scoring streak.①

Records like thosewere about longevity, nottrue greatness.

On the Lakers' side, aninteresting adjustmenthad been made.

Jeremy Lin was benched, replaced byJordan Clarkson, asecond-round rookiefrom the latest draft.

The change was likely due toLin's poor defense on Irvingin theChristmas game.

The tip-off went to the Lakers, and the game began.

The two teamsknew each other wellafter their last encounter, so there wereno surprisesin how things started.

Han Sen was matched up againstKobe Bryant, while LeBron initiated the Lakers' offense.

LeBron ran apick-and-roll with Mozgov.

The Cavschose to double-team LeBron, butit didn't work.

Mozgovcut hard to the basketafter setting a screen, andcaught a bullet pass from LeBron,posterizing TT with a vicious dunk.

The entire arenaerupted in cheers.

Mozgov's strengths wereon full displaywith that play.

Hislateral movement might be slow, but hisstraight-line speedandexplosivenesswere impressive for someone his size. When he jumped, it waslike a bomber plane taking off.

But what stood out most washis attention to detail in the pick-and-roll.

Most players, after setting a screen,face the ball-handlerto ensure they're ready to catch the pass.

Mozgov did the opposite.

Heimmediately turned toward the basketafter setting the screen, focusing on his cut. This made himfaster to the rimandbetter positioned to receive the passfrom a playmaker like LeBron.

The Lakers scored first, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.

After all, withChris Bosh out for the season, theRockets' championship hopes had dimmed, making theLakers the strongest Nike-backed team in the West.

Butthe cheers hadn't even died downbeforeIrving responded in kind.

He ran apick-and-roll with Hawes,split the defense, andhit a floater over Mozgov.

Mozgov'sslow lateral movementwas once again exposed. Hecouldn't even react in timeto contest Irving's shot.

Four minutes into the game, the Cavs led9-8.

Mozgov'soffensive threat was underestimated, and theLakers were getting favorable whistles, withfour of their eight points coming from free throws.

ButIrving was on fire, shooting4-for-5to start the game, scoringsix pointsearly on.

LeBron attacked Hawes again,drawing his second foul, sendingHawes to the bench.

AsHawes checked out, asharp whistleblew from the Cavs' bench.

Kevin Garnett stood up to sub in.

The arena erupted intoa wave of boos.

But those boos weren't out of hatred —they were a form of respect.

Decades ofrivalrywithLeBronandLakers fanshad earned Garnett that reaction.

LeBron hitone of two free throws, tying the game.

On the next possession,Kobe switched onto Irving.

The Lakers' decision tostart Clarksonwas tocontain Irving, butIrving always seemed to turn up against the Lakers.

Han Sen brought the ball up the court.

Garnett came up to set a screen.

Even though Garnett didn't haveHawes' size,his screens were on another level.

Helowered his center of gravity,set a solid pick on Mozgov, and thenpopped out to the free-throw line.

WithHan Sen's scoring threat, the Lakers had no choice but tosend two defenders after him.

Butthis wasn't just a double-team— the Lakers hadtried to engulf Han completely, taking away both hisscoringandpassing lanes.

Itdidn't matter.

Hanlowered his shoulder,pulled off a sudden deceleration move, andcreated space.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, hefired a no-look, behind-the-back passtoGarnett.

The crowd gasped inastonishment.

Garnett caught the ball, glanced around, and seeingno one rushing at him, calmly rose up for hissignature free-throw-line jumper.

Swish!

His first points in a Cavs jersey.

It camefaster than expected, but that's because hisfundamentals hadn't vanished with age.

As they ran back on defense,Garnett and Han shared a high-five.

Garnett'sjump shot was still money, provided he gotgood looks. Hisathleticism might have waned, but histechnique was evergreen.

The Lakers went back toLeBron-Mozgov pick-and-rolls.

Once again,Mozgov's screen was solid, leavingLeBron with a favorable switchagainst Garnett.

LeBron drove,lowered his shoulder, andknocked Garnett back.

Buthe hesitatedafter the first contact.

That moment of hesitationgave Garnett just enough timeto recover.

As LeBron went up for the shot,Garnett swatted it off the backboard.

The ball went out of bounds, butit was still Lakers' possession.

Garnett pounded his chest and let out a primal roar.

He then turned toTT, who was nearby, andchest-bumped him with ferocious intensity.

For a moment, the fanscaught a glimpse of the old "Big Ticket."

TT, now hyped, let out aroar of his own.

Garnett wasn't just spewingtrash talk— on the court, he was purepassion personified.

TheLakers inbounded the ball, and LeBron chose topost up Tucker. After a quick spin, he powered his way toward the basket. But when he sawGarnett rotating over, hehesitated, passing the ball toKobe on the perimeterinstead of taking the easy layup.

There were onlythree seconds left on the shot clockwhen Kobe received the pass. He had no choice but totake a contested jumper over Han Sen, and the ballrimmed out.

Thecrowd murmured in disbelief.

Garnett, at39 years old, had justshut down LeBron James twice in a row.

It seemedunbelievable. Butthe issue clearly wasn't Garnett — it was LeBron.

Maybe seeingGarnetttriggered memories of thoseCeltics teamsthat used tobully LeBron. Or maybeyears of losing to Han Senhad eroded his confidence.

Regardless,LeBron wasn't himself. A more aggressive LeBron, especially withtonight's whistle-happy officiating, would'vedominated the game.

But here's what made it interesting —Kobe didn't complain.

Kobe wouldn't hesitate tocall out LeBron's defensive lapses, but when it came tolast-second bailout passes,he only blamed himselffornot converting the opportunity.

In that way,LeBron and Kobe were oddly perfect teammates.

Back on offense,Han Sen ran another pick-and-roll with Garnett.

This time, theLakersadjusted their defense, refusing to leave Garnett open.Han took full advantage, splitting the defense anddriving past Mozgovfor a layup whiledrawing a foulfrom the big man.

Kobe was pissed.

Hegrabbed Mozgovduring the stoppage,laying into him.

"Eitherdon't foul at all, orfoul hard enoughto make sure hedoesn't get the and-one!"

It was a lessonfrom the Jordan era.

Why didMichael Jordanfaceso many brutal foulsin his career?

Becausesoft foulsonlyput him at the free-throw lineafteralready scoring. If you fouled MJ,you made sure he felt it.

As Han Sen lined up totake his free throw,LeBron wandered over to chat with Garnett, who was standing on the same side of the lane.

"You shouldn't have come to Cleveland," LeBron said, soundingconcernedbutclearly aiming to mess with Garnett's mindset. "It's brought youa lot of hate."

LeBron'strash-talking gamehad leveled up.

ButGarnett wasn't fazed. Instead, hebent down to adjust his shorts, acting like LeBron hadn't said a word.

Then, withLeBron looking puzzled,the referee handed the ball to Han Senfor his free throw.

And right at that moment,Garnett dropped the bombshell:

"Ifyouwere in Cleveland... I wouldn't have come."

Clang!

Han Sen'sfree throw clanked off the front of the rim.

Garnett's words caught Han completely off guard.

Damn it, KG!

Hanbarely suppressed a laughas he realized thepure villainy of Garnett's trash talk.

He used to thinkhe was the bad guy. Now he knew —Garnett was worse.

Luckily,Garnett boxed out perfectlyandsecured the offensive rebound.

He tried togo up for a putback, butwithout his old explosiveness, he couldn't get a clean shot off.Frye rotated over, forcing Garnett tokick the ball back out.

ExceptHan Sen didn't catch it.

Instead, hespiked it volleyball-styletoTT, who waswide open in the paint.

It wasan unbelievable display of fingertip control.

TheLakers' defense had collapsed on Garnett, andthen scrambled toward Han.

Butnobody saw TT.

Boom!

TT slammed it home with both hands, thenlet out a primal roar, releasingall the pent-up energy Garnett had stirred up earlier.

Suddenly, withGarnett on the floor,the Cavs transformed into a team full of fire and intensity.

And the biggest change?

Theirdefense.

The Cavs weren't known fordefense, butGarnett's presencehad them playing withunprecedented urgency.

Back on defense,Mozgov set a screen, leavingGarnett matched up against LeBron again.

This time,LeBron avoided the paint, settling for apull-up mid-range jumper.

Garnett lunged at him, even though it was clear he wouldn't reach the ball.

Still,LeBron's shot fell short—way short.

Airball.

TTboxed out MozgovwhileHan Sen grabbed the rebound.

And before the Lakers could react,Han launched a fast break.

Kobe picked him up, shadowing Han frombaseline to baseline.

Just as Hanapproached the free-throw line, heextended the ball toward Kobe, as ifoffering it to him on a silver platter.

WhenKobe's attention locked onto the ball,Han pulled it backanddished a no-look pass to the trailing Kyrie Irving.

Layup. Bucket.

17-9.

SinceGarnett entered the game, the Cavs hadgone on an 8-0 run.

The Lakers called timeout.

Thecrowd buzzedwith excitement and confusion.

Not just because of theCavs' scoring burst, but also because ofthe replay flashing on the Jumbotron.

Han'sno-look passlookedeerily familiar.

It was the kind ofcontrol and creativitythey'd only seen fromone other player in Lakers history.

"Magic" Johnson.

Han already possessedelite scoring. Now he was throwingMagic-level passes?

How the hell were you supposed to defend that?

What next?Try to "emotionally connect" with HanlikeByron Scott's strategy against MJ?

"Nice shot, Han."

"Good pass, Han."

...

As thetimeout ended,LeBron's face darkened.

He wasn'tmad about the game— he wasfuming over what just happened during the timeout.

You see, during the break,Kobe had his own "pep talk" for LeBronon the bench.

When the game resumed,LeBron came out aggressive, immediatelydriving into Garnettanddrawing a foul.

Kobe pounded his chest, giving LeBron a nod ofencouragement. And it worked —LeBron seemed more confident.

At the free-throw line,Garnett didn't let up.

"Hey Kobe,you guys planning to beat us with ten times the free throws?" he smirked.

Hancouldn't hold back. He burst outlaughing.

It wasa double-edged barb.

Kobehated relying on free throws. Even duringthe infamous Lakers-Grizzlies playoff series, whenrefs blatantly helped LA,Kobe never chased fouls.

ButLeBron thrived on whistles. Without them,his efficiency took a hit.

So Garnett's jabhit both of them.

LeBron'sfirst free throw clanged off the rim.

And thenHan Sen joined in.

"Kevin, ten times? Nah... fourth-quarter makeup calls are coming. You know the drill. Not everyone watches the whole game."

This time,Garnett laughed so hard he nearly doubled over.

Clang!

LeBron'ssecond free throw missed as well.

Two missed free throws.

It was effectivelya turnover.

Watching it all unfold,Kobe suddenly realized something.

Garnett hadn't just brought defensive energy to the Cavs.

He'dcreated a monster duo of trash-talk titans.

This wasn't justbasketballanymore.

This waspsychological warfare.

...

Garnett grabbed the defensive rebound and immediately pushed the ball in transition.

Han led the fast break and delivered anotherperfect pass, butKyrie missed the shot.

Still,Han followed up and tipped the ball in.

Thelead ballooned to double digits.

Kobehad enough.

He started toaggressively call for screens, usingpick-and-rollsto get separation.

He finally managed todraw a foulon Garnett after slashing into the lane.

Just then, theLED scoreboard displayed the foul countfor both teams.

Including Kobe's two upcoming free throws, theLakers had already attempted 10 free throwsin the first quarter.

Meanwhile,the Cavaliers had taken only one—the and-one Han had missed earlier.

10 to 1.

The number on the screen wasso blatantthateven Shaquille O'Neal— a Lakers legend — couldn't stay quiet in the commentary booth.

"This isridiculous!" Shaq growled. "You can't call the game like that! You're making the Lakers players look like... well... b*tches!"

Shaq understood why the refs might favor the Lakers tonight.Nike's hopes in the West all rested on the Lakers now.

Butthis was way too obvious.

"They might as well put the refs inLakers jerseysand just declare them the winners right now," Shaq added sarcastically.

"They wish."

Barkley jumped in, grinning.

"Trust me, they wish they could do that.But the real problem is that tonight's Lakers just can't get it done."

As Barkley spoke, hepointed to the scoreboard.

The Lakers werestill down by 10 points,even with a 10-to-1 free throw advantage.

"Ten times the free throws, but still down by 10?"

Tonight's Lakers weremaking history — just not the kind they wanted.

-End of Chapter-

①: Kevin Garnett holds the record for1381 consecutive starts, placing himthird in NBA history, behind onlyKareem Abdul-Jabbar (1560)andKarl Malone (1443).

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com