Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 136 Han Sen captures Thunder
After the Grizzlies adjusted their tactics, the two sides exchanged blows and the score difference on the field never exceeded 5 points.

At the end of the first half, the Grizzlies only led by a narrow margin of 53 to 51.

In the second half, the Grizzlies took advantage of their home court and widened the gap to 8 points thanks to Randolph's inside performance.

But then Westbrook and Durant teamed up to launch a counterattack and reverse the score.

At the critical moment, Hansen stepped up and made two consecutive mid-range shots to help the team stabilize its position, and the two sides fell into a stalemate again.

The fans at the scene didn't even dare to breathe.

Is this the first round? The Western Conference Finals is only this intense!

However, Barkley's words can better illustrate this situation:

“This is the Wild West!”

Last year, the team was eighth in the Western Conference with 50 wins. This year, the strength of the team has declined as the Nuggets and Jazz sent away their core players, but this group is fourth against fifth in the Western Conference.

Theoretically, both teams have the strength to play in the conference finals, but the competition system makes them meet in the first round.

The game entered the last minute of regular time, with both sides tied at 91 and back on the same starting line.

The Thunder had just called a timeout and both teams returned to the court.

At this moment, every player on the field looked extremely excited.

Theoretically speaking, after fighting at this intensity for nearly 48 minutes, with the main players playing for a longer time, they should have been physically exhausted.

But it is obvious that both sides were quite excited. This kind of evenly matched game was also a pleasure for the players.

Durant was on the weak side at this time. He was driven around by Allen and Battier all night and his physical energy was quite depleted.

Harden was organizing the offense with the ball on the strong side. He seemed to be going to play pick-and-roll with Ibaka, but Westbrook cut into the inside from the weak side like lightning.

He seemed to have endless energy, and Conley had no chance to keep up with him.

Harden's ground pass was given immediately, and Westbrook challenged Gasol's jump shot after getting the ball.

Gasol couldn't keep up with Westbrook's speed and hit Westbrook's wrist.

The referee blew the whistle, and the ball hit the backboard, bounced, and fell into the net.

This ball is still a 2+1!

Westbrook screamed loudly towards the sidelines after seeing the ball go in.

The scene was agitated.

His passion often gets him carried away, but at times like this, it's endless motivation.

However, his shot was a bit stiff, and the free throw hit the back edge of the basket and bounced out, and the rebound was protected by Gasol Jr.

The Grizzlies called a timeout.

All the fans at the scene looked at the timer anxiously.

There were 40 seconds left in the game, and the Grizzlies' next attack was crucial.

Hollins was holding the tactical board and making arrangements. He drew the tactics for Hansen.

Jorgel's words only made him feel a little better. He was still dissatisfied with Hansen's challenge to his power.

But no matter how dissatisfied he is, winning is equally important to him.

Return from the timeout and the game continues.

"Whoop that trick!"

Cheering for the Grizzlies began to be heard at the scene.

Hansen received the ball on the outside, and Conley then signaled to move away.

The person defending Hansen at this time is Westbrook.

This is not the optimal solution given by the Thunder, but it is the right choice.

Because the Thunder have used up all the timeouts in regular time, they cannot make substitutions unless there is a dead ball on the court, so keeping Harden on the court has a greater effect than keeping Sefolosha.

"I won't be fooled again!" Westbrook kept chattering at Hansen.

It can be heard that he is still struggling with the foul committed by Han Sen earlier.

Han Sen did not pay attention to him immediately. He was observing the Thunder's defensive position.

As his personal finishing ability improves, his biggest weakness now is control and passing.

Although he has been training in both aspects, and even Grover has asked him to lower his center of gravity when dribbling, he is still unable to reach a top-notch level due to his limited talent.

Especially when it comes to passing the ball, although he can pass the ball, the quality of the pass is relatively average and can easily turn into a mistake.

Therefore, if he is trapped in a double-team, he only has the option of forced shooting, and it is difficult to guarantee the hit rate.

Fortunately, Hollins used Battier at the small forward position in the final moments, and the Thunder did not dare to double-team him in advance.

"is it?"

After asking Westbrook a soul-searching question, Hansen quickly passed the ball past Westbrook.

Westbrook was stunned by the question, but he was indeed fast enough and managed to regain his defensive position.

But at this moment, Han Sen directly chose to stop and take a mid-range jump shot.

In other words, he had already made this choice after seeing the Thunder's defensive position.

Westbrook paid the price for his distraction. He jumped half a beat late, which forced him, who was already at a height disadvantage, to raise his arms high with all his strength.

But that height was far from enough for Han Sen.

Han Sen completed the shot easily in the air.

The basketball flew towards the basket under the flashing spotlight.

"Shh!"

Safe in the pocket.

"That was a sneak attack!" Westbrook was a little angry.

"You should have made that free throw." Unexpectedly, Han Sen calmly said this and retreated to the half court.

Westbrook felt a pain in his heart.

What are the most plain words spoken with the most hurtful effect!
If he had made the free throw just now, the Grizzlies would have been able to only try for a three-pointer when they were trailing by 3 points. Simply defending against three-pointers would have been much easier.

In the last 23 seconds, Harden dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and began to press the time.

Now the two sides are tied and there are less than 24 seconds left, the Thunder have a chance to win the game.

With about 10 seconds left in the game, Harden successfully passed the ball to Durant.

This kind of life-and-death ball can only be played by Durant.

Battier subconsciously took a small step back at this time, as his footwork was at a disadvantage.

Unexpectedly, after seeing this, Durant directly chose to take a three-pointer!
This choice surprised everyone, including Thunder head coach Brooks, because his plan was to let Durant break through and play mid-range shots.

After all, Durant continued his good form in the three-point contest tonight, making 4 of 0 three-pointers so far.

Moreover, playing inside can shorten the time as much as possible and leave no time for the Grizzlies.

If Durant misses this shot, it would be equivalent to handing the buzzer-beater opportunity to the Grizzlies.

But the fans at the scene felt a tightness in their hearts.

For super scorers like Durant and Kobe, it doesn't really matter how they feel in the early stages.

"Shh!"

That worry finally became a reality, and Durant's three-pointer went into the net.

With only 7 seconds left in the game, Durant helped the Thunder lead 96-93!

Durant beat his chest and roared after scoring the goal.

The eyes of the fans at the scene were filled with despair.

At this time, the Grizzlies had no timeouts left, and they had to make a three-pointer to advance from the backcourt to the frontcourt, which was almost unrealistic.

Battier passed the ball from the backcourt, Conley received the ball and rushed to the frontcourt at full speed. When he saw Hansen holding out his hand for the ball, he threw the ball to him immediately.

The ball was almost saved by Westbrook, but fortunately Hansen was quick to control the ball.

At this time, there are only 4 seconds left before the end of the game.

Han Sen was still one meter away from the three-point line, and he took a step forward.

Westbrook returned to defend him and Hansen jumped again. He had no other choice.

Westbrook jumped at the same time this time, and just raised his hands without violating Hansen's cylinder.

The two seemed to be engaged in a climbing competition, and in the end, Hansen, who had the height advantage, was better and completed a three-point shot over Westbrook's head.

This was not an opportunity that came from tactics, it was simply a forced shot.

But Hansen experienced too many such buzzer-beaters with the Cavaliers last season, so he shot with ease.

When the ball reached its highest point, the red light on the sidelines lit up.

The fans at the scene were in a state of panic. Whether the Grizzlies would lose or win the chance to go into overtime all depended on this one goal.

The trajectory of the basketball looks pretty straight.

It looks like it's going in!

"Shh!"

"He did it!"

With the crisp sound of the ball entering the net and Barkley's excited shouts in the commentary booth, Hansen scored the equalizer!

Both sides will enter overtime!

The Thunder players looked up in disbelief. How could this go in?
The Grizzlies' bench was in an uproar. This could even go in!

The Grizzlies players on the field ran to Hansen and cheered wildly to celebrate.

There was no timeout, and the ball was headed in at the buzzer. This ball was incredible!

Han Sen, however, remained calm. He just high-fived his teammates and walked towards the bench.

This is not a decisive victory, both sides still have overtime to play.

The players were all sitting on the bench, and Hollins was facing them with the tactical board, arranging tactics.

It was at this time that Han Sen felt fatigue starting to set in.

Not only him, but his teammates around him also felt the same.

This feeling is like a long-distance race. You don’t feel tired while you are on the track, but the moment you stop, every cell in your body tells you that you have reached your limit and you need to rest.

In particular, the intensity of tonight's game is far beyond that of ordinary games.

Overtime returns and the game continues.

The two sides jumped the ball again, and Gasol Jr. jumped to win the ball for the Grizzlies.

Han Sen's first shot missed the basket.

After his body was overwhelmed by fatigue, he could clearly feel that his touch was declining.

But fortunately, he is not alone.

Durant's shot against Tony Allen also missed the basket.

The overtime lasted five minutes, and they spent the first three minutes paying tribute to Kobe.

It was not until the third minute that Randolph broke the scoring drought in overtime by beating Perkins at the basket.

Then, as if they had recovered from their breath, the feel of both sides began to recover.

Randolph's strong attack in the low post gave the Grizzlies a 50-102 lead with 100 seconds left.

Durant's shot against Allen at the critical moment went wide of the basket.

His touch was average tonight, and his physical fitness declined significantly after entering overtime.

Randolph's long arms protected the key rebound and the Grizzlies called a timeout.

At this time, there were only 30 seconds left until the end of the game. As long as the Grizzlies could score steadily in this wave, they would have a high probability of winning.

After the timeout, Hansen received the ball again. Conley held the ball to press the time. When there were about 10 seconds left in the offensive time, he turned around and initiated.

He found Hansen and passed the ball, but this time Westbrook suddenly rushed out from the side like lightning and completed the steal!

Conley tried hard to stop Westbrook from scoring, but in the end not only did he fail, he also ended up getting a foul.

Westbrook roared to the sky after scoring 2+1.

He had a stronger presence than Durant tonight and scored more points than Durant.

And this time, his free throw was successful.

In the last 10 seconds, the Thunder took the lead 103 to 102.

Hollins reached out and called another timeout, which was also the last timeout of overtime.

"I deserve it more than you!"

Westbrook shouted at Hansen as he passed by the Grizzlies players who were walking towards the bench.

That's right, he was talking about the selection of the Most Improved Award.

The Thunder has a better record than the Grizzlies, his statistics are more comprehensive than Hansen's, and he is signed with Nike, so he deserves the award.

In the pursuit of data and honors, James is the first and he is the second.

This also explains why he has such a strong desire to play tonight.

"It's my problem." Conley looked remorseful after leaving the court.

If it weren't for his mistake, if he had passed the ball steadily to Han Sen, he believed that Han Sen could have ended the game tonight.

"It's okay." Han Sen said with a smile.

"I shouldn't have fouled. I'm so stupid." Conley still blamed himself.

If he hadn't committed a foul, the game would have been a draw at most. His mind was blank at that time.

"At least we still have 10 seconds. We can serve the ball in the front court this time. We still have a chance." Han Sen said while pressing Conley's head.

In fact, Conley was also shouting not to foul when he was chasing and defending, but now is not the time to worry about those things.

Conley nodded, thankful that they were trailing by one point instead of three, otherwise Hansen would have just made the tying three-pointer in regular time, and the Thunder would definitely have limited his outside shots.

After the timeout, Battier replaced Allen again.

There were no fans sitting at the stadium anymore.

Although the Grizzlies won Game 1 and broke their losing streak, that was on the road after all, and their home record has not yet been broken.

The Grizzlies served the ball in the frontcourt, and unlike regular time, because it was a frontcourt sideline ball tactic, Hansen came out directly to receive the ball with the help of a screen this time.

The other players of the Grizzlies moved away in an instant. Sefolosha in the corner wanted to come over to assist in defense, but was forced back by Hansen's one-handed pass.

In Game 1, the Thunder were killed by Battier's key three-pointer, and they don't want to experience the same scenario a second time.

At this time, Gasol Jr. began to move towards the three-point line. His advantage over Randolph is that he not only has solid pick-and-roll skills, but also has excellent mobility.

After blocking the ball, he quickly moved to the basket.

This made the Thunder dare not switch defense, because when leading by one point, Gasol's cut into the basket could also kill the game.

With Durant having physical problems, that is not a good thing for the Thunder.

The value of Hansen's pass to Battier in Game 1 continues to increase.

Westbrook was very fast. He bypassed Gasol and made a move towards Hansen.

But what he didn't expect was that Han Sen had once again chosen to take a three-point shot before he went up!
Trailing by 1 point, Han Sen chose a three-pointer! !

This choice is even more surprising than Durant's previous shot, but it is indeed an opportunity.

Although the three-point shooting rate is not as good as the two-point shooting rate, at this time, if you break through and shoot for two points, you will inevitably encounter high-intensity defense, and the chances of success are not as good as the three-point opportunity in front of you.

Not to mention Durant, Hansen is also very physically exhausted, so he must seize the opportunity to end the game.

Hansen completed the shot before Westbrook could interfere.

The fans at the scene held their breath for a moment.

There is nothing wrong with Han Sen's choice, but it is a bold choice, because there is still a chance to cause damage when shooting two points, but three-pointers depend purely on the touch.

However, Han Sen made a magical three-pointer in the last minute of regular time. Can he do it again?
Han Sen's shot seemed to be full of rhythm.

The previous timeout allowed him to recover some of his physical strength, and the defensive interference encountered on this ball was far less than the one in regular time.

Randolph under the basket and Gasol Jr. who rushed to the basket were both trying hard to position themselves so that they could make a tip-in after Hansen missed the shot.

But Perkins and Ibaka also used all their strength to block the position and not give them the chance to grab the rebound.

The basketball flew towards the basket and began to fall after reaching the highest point.

"boom!"

Barkley couldn't help but shout out in advance.

"Shh!"

This was followed by a crisp sound of the ball entering the net.

Han Sen's key three-pointer goes in again!

After the ball went in, Han Sen spread his hands towards Westbrook who had arrived late:

"What did you just say?"

The FedEx Center was suddenly boiling with excitement.

The Grizzlies' bench was in an uproar; even Joerger excitedly hugged Theus and yelled.

The tying three-pointer in regular time and the buzzer-beating three-pointer in overtime.

Han Sen didn't just kill the Thunder Team, he killed the Thunder Team twice!
(End of this chapter)