Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 288 If 50+ still can't win

The mood outside was pessimistic, but on the plane to Miami, the Cavaliers were in a very good mood.

At Han Sen's invitation, they even played Texas Hold'em on the plane.

Being able to force the Heat into a Game 7 was already a success for the Cavaliers.

Now they have no pressure and just need to focus on finishing the remaining seven games.

Losing is expected, winning is a miracle.

Just as the Cavaliers headed to Miami, the Western Conference Finals had already come to an end.

The Warriors eventually eliminated the Lakers 4-2 and advanced to the finals first.

At this point, Nike's Western Conference layout has completely collapsed, leaving only the Heat in the East.

After arriving in Miami, Malone took the Cavaliers to the American Airlines Arena for training.

The first thing they did when they arrived was to take out the money that they had previously placed on the ceiling.

Lu did not return the money to everyone immediately, but made a bet with his teammates.

"If we can win this game tonight, I will pay you back ten times the money. Are you willing to make this bet?"

That bundle of money was $4000, which would be $4 ten times.

Even if Lu is the most expensive assistant coach in NBA history, this is not a small amount of money.

But this is also what makes it special.

If Lu, an assistant coach, is willing to take such a big risk for tonight's victory, what else should they not dare to do?
On game night, the American Airlines Arena was packed.

But the Heat fans looked nervous.

Theoretically, the Cavaliers had no chance tonight, but theory is just theory. Just like in Game 1, the Cavaliers finally made the impossible possible.

As long as Han Sen can fight, who knows if they will come again.

Riley was also present, and this time he was not sitting in the audience, but in the row behind the Heat players, where the team staff sat.

You can see that he is also very nervous tonight.

"The Cavaliers have basically no chance tonight." Barkley continues to be optimistic about the Heat. He is a firm supporter of the Heat in this round of the series.

"Although I also feel that the Cavaliers have no chance of winning, if they really do it, they will go down in history." O'Neal continued his sense of immersion.

If the Cavaliers really win in the end, he will probably regret not agreeing to Hansen's proposal before.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Cavaliers: Dellavedova, JR, Hansen, Tucker, TT
Heat: Dragic, Wade, Durant, Deng, Gasol

Since Irving was not playing, Malone unexpectedly arranged for Dellavedova to start. The intention of this arrangement was basically on paper, that is, the Cavaliers' opening offense would only revolve around Hansen.

This open-card play is simple and crude enough, but it also shows Hansen's determination for this game.

Not to mention a 3% probability, even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance, he will try his best.

TT jumped to get the Cavaliers a chance to attack first.

At the beginning of the game, the Heat adopted a double-team defense against Hansen.

After all, the Cavaliers' offense depends entirely on Hansen, so double-teaming Hansen is the best option.

However, in the first round of the game, Dellavedova made a three-pointer after receiving a pass from Hansen on the outside.

Dellavedova’s talent is very mediocre, and he wasn’t even drafted into the NBA.

But as Cunningham told Hansen when he first returned to Cleveland, Dellavedova is someone whose training intensity can match his.

Training won't improve Dellavedova's talent, but it will allow him to do the best he can.

The ability to defend with all one's might and the stability of open three-pointers.

He is a standard 3D point guard, which is why Malone started him instead of Williams or West.

The Cavaliers can only count on Hansen tonight, and if Hansen wants to fully unleash his scoring ability, he needs as much offensive space as possible. After all, no matter how strong you are, you can't maintain high efficiency while being double-teamed throughout the game.

Spoelstra did not change his defensive strategy because of Dellavedova's three-pointer.

But in the next offensive round of the Cavaliers, when JR also received a three-pointer from Hansen, he wavered.

You know, the Cavaliers won Game 4 by relying on their three-point shooting!
If that kind of thing happens for the first time, won’t it happen a second time?
That has nothing to do with whether Irving plays or not.

So when Hansen had the ball for the third time in the frontcourt, he finally got a comfortable singles opportunity.

The one defending Han Sen is Deng.

Deng's defense is very comprehensive. He has good talent, sufficient size, and both defensive experience and skills. His only weakness may be that as he gets older, his speed is not as fast as when he was young.

Hansen chose to face the basket and took a quick stop and jump shot after holding the ball.

Despite Deng's interference, Han Sen made the shot.

This also marked the beginning of his scoring performance.

What you can clearly feel is that Deng is trying his best to physically confront Han Sen no matter he is defending Han Sen with the ball or without the ball.

This was clearly an arrangement from Spoelstra.

If we can't attack Han Sen from both sides, then we'll just consume Han Sen.

This is the game strategy Thibodeau adopted in the first round and also the one the Heat adopted in the decisive battle.

However, from the offensive method Han Sen chose at the beginning, it can be seen that Han Sen obviously has a response to this defensive strategy.

He also tries to complete the attack in the simplest way possible to reduce physical energy consumption.

In the first quarter, Hansen played the entire quarter and scored 18 points.

Under his leadership, the Cavaliers only trailed the Heat by 28 points in the first quarter, 32 to 4.

However, at the start of the second quarter, the Cavaliers had to face the advantage of the Heat's bench transition period.

Although Williams played well tonight, the Heat still pulled away from the lead in this period.

When Hansen returned to the game, the Cavaliers were already trailing the Heat by double digits.

Then, as soon as Han Sen came on the court, he quickly broke through Deng's defense and scored a layup.

Deng's defense was not weak, but he couldn't limit Han Sen one-on-one.

Hansen scored another 15 points in the second quarter and had 33 points at halftime.

The Cavaliers could only count on Hansen tonight, and Hansen lived up to that expectation.

With his performance, the Cavaliers trailed the Heat by 52 points at halftime, 58-6.

"We have reason to believe that Han will score 50 points again tonight." Barkley made a prediction before the end of the first half.

In the first round of the second half, Hansen was double-teamed again when he received the ball.

But Tucker also hit a three-pointer from the corner after receiving the pass from Hansen.

Although $2000 is a considerable sum of money, what is more important than the money is the motivation it brings.

Although they cannot provide the same scoring support as Irving, they can do what they can to the extreme.

In the next round, Han Sen was not double-teamed again.

Spoelstra just tried it out briefly, his game strategy was still to consume Hansen.

In fact, his strategy began to show results in this section.

Although Hansen still scored 14 points in this quarter, his physical fitness and efficiency had obviously begun to decline.

This forced Malone to replace Williams earlier in the second half of the quarter to share the pressure of holding the ball.

The Heat also widened the score to double digits in this quarter.

With 47 points in three quarters, Hansen, just like the label that runs through his entire career, showed a fearless attitude no matter what opponent he faced.

Or after returning to Cleveland, to be more precise, an indomitable "Knight".

However, this time he was facing a group of opponents armed with spears, and it was not an opponent that could be defeated by courage alone. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Han Sen rested on the sidelines.

He had to rest because his energy was exhausted.

Sweat kept flowing from both sides of his face. He wiped it with a towel, but new sweat came out immediately.

A voice began to appear uncontrollably in his body: You have done everything you can, take a rest, it is not shameful to lose to this Heat team, just like when Jordan lost to the Magic, no one will blame you.

And this voice is getting louder.

Physical fatigue will inevitably lead to mental fatigue.

Especially when the team is still being widened in the score.

Malone was directing from the sidelines, and the Cavaliers' score continued to widen during this period of transition from the bench.

Just then, a whistle sounded on the field.

Williams collided with Vucevic while breaking through and fell heavily to the ground.

Malone looked nervous. If Williams was also injured, the Cavaliers would be really finished tonight.

Fortunately, Williams was pulled up by his teammates after resting on the ground for a while. He just moved his shoulders and then indicated that he could continue playing.

Ma Long breathed a sigh of relief.

"Coach, it's time for me to go on the court."

Just then, a voice appeared beside him.

Because all his attention was on Williams, Malone didn't notice that Hansen had stood behind him.

"Rest for two more minutes." Ma Long said as he looked at Han Sen's endless sweat.

"After the game, I'll have plenty of time to rest."

Ma Long hesitated to speak, but when he saw Han Sen's determined eyes, he finally nodded.

The Cavaliers are already trailing by 13 points, and if they can't close the score, they won't have any decisive moments tonight.

A short whistle sounded on the sidelines and Hansen came on to replace JR.

When this scene was projected onto the large LED screen, there was a commotion at the scene.

The fourth quarter has only started for two and a half minutes, and Han Sen has only rested for two and a half minutes!

Is Han Sen really an iron man? A normal person would be unable to fight in such a high-intensity match!
After seeing this scene, Spoelstra actually breathed a sigh of relief, because he knew that if Hansen played so early, he would not have enough physical strength to last until the end.

At this time, the lineups of both teams are: Cavaliers: Williams, Hansen, Tucker, Cunningham, Garnett
Heat: Chalmers, Sefolosha, Durant, Deng, Vucevic

After Hansen came on the court, he walked to the free throw line and high-fived Williams.

At this time, the camera on the scene was also given to him.

Han Sen was chewing gum.

In the 90s, chewing gum was a favorite of many NBA players. It has many functions, such as relieving stress, keeping the mouth moist, concentrating attention, protecting teeth, regulating breathing, and so on.

However, because chewing gum can be easily swallowed into the stomach during strenuous exercise and cause danger, it was gradually replaced by braces.

Han Sen naturally competed wearing braces as well.

But just before he came on the court, he chose to take off his braces and asked Garnett for chewing gum.

Now under the camera, he even blew a bubble.

Although chewing gum has its disadvantages, it does relieve stress.

We have found out why Curry and his teammates like to bite their braces during games.

Williams made both free throws, and the score came to 90 to 101, with the Cavaliers still trailing by 11 points.

Durant received the ball and made a mid-range shot to immediately return the favor. Durant, who has all the energy, is still the scoring machine he is today.

Hansen turned around and held the ball. After seeing that the Heat did not double-team him, he changed direction and broke through Sefolosha and headed for the inside.

This choice was somewhat unexpected. Although Sefolosha did not lose his defensive position, the Heat's inside help defense was slow.

Hansen finally scored despite Sefolosha's defense.

Sefolosha made some defensive moves on this ball, but the referee did not blow the whistle.

The Cavaliers will face not only the Heat tonight, but also Silva's balancing hand.

Spoelstra made a new tactical gesture on the sidelines, and the Heat opened up the frontcourt and gave Durant a one-on-one game.

At this time, what the Heat has to do is to ensure the success rate of the attack and maintain the score difference. As long as they hold on during this period, they will just have to wait until Hansen's energy is exhausted.

Durant backed down Tucker, and he also chose to turn around and break through for a layup.

To be stable, you need to be as close to the basket as possible.

But just when Durant thought he had gotten rid of Tucker, Cunningham took advantage of his mobility as an inside defender and successfully blocked his layup from behind him onto the backboard!
In other words, Durant never expected that Cunningham could block him.

Tucker followed behind and grabbed the defensive rebound, then passed the ball to Hansen, and the Cavaliers launched a defensive counterattack.

Hansen dribbled the ball across the center line and made a long ground pass across the court. Williams received the pass and got rid of Chalmers and made a layup.

92:101.

The score difference on the field has reached single digits!
Spoelstra was getting a little impatient and he called Gasol up from the bench.

This time Durant chose the off-ball mid-range shot that he is best at, but his shot was blocked by Garnett.

After Hansen came on the court, the morale of the entire Cavaliers team was obviously different.

He is like a flag. Once he appears when two armies are facing each other, he will directly increase the morale of the army by 50%.

Tucker once again protected the defensive rebound by boxing out.

The Cavaliers once again launched a defensive counterattack.

This time Hansen and Williams quickly advanced up the field to a two-on-one situation.

The two passed the ball continuously, and Hansen finally received a pass from Williams and made a layup.

Qian Moss saw that he couldn't stop it, so he hugged Han Sen and tried to send him to the free throw line.

However, he had not had the opportunity to face off against Hansen since James left, and he clearly underestimated the power gap between the two.

Han Sen directly hung on Qian Moss and completed a small pull-up shot in the air.

The referee's whistle sounded at this time, indicating that the ball was a 2+1.

When Han Sen landed and heard the whistle, he took a step forward, punched, and roared excitedly.

In G1, it was the old knights who charged.

And in G7, it was he who led the old knights in the final charge!

Han Sen went to the free throw line, and the whole place was filled with noises of interference.

Han Sen took the ball, chewed some gum for a while, and then let out a long breath.

"Shh!"

His free throw was successful, helping the Cavaliers narrow the gap to 6 points!
Spoelstra finally couldn't help it and called a timeout before Gasol came on the court.

现场的LED屏幕上打出了韩森今晚的表现，52分7板6助攻2抢断2盖帽3犯规3失误。

At this moment, O'Neal seemed to have the ability to read minds and spoke excitedly:
"If scoring 50 points doesn't win you the game, what about 60 points?"

This sentence sounds very ordinary, but only when you understand it will you know the weight of the words.

Because in the history of the NBA, there have only been two playoff games with a score of 60+.

One is Jordan's 63 points, and the other is Elgin Baylor's 61 points.

Han Sen will most likely be the third tonight.

(End of this chapter)