The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 494 - 248 "If KD scores 20 points in the next game, I will retire immediately"_2

Chapter 494: Chapter 248 "If KD scores 20 points in the next game, I will retire immediately"_2

Grizzlies: Conley, Hansen, Guy, Randolph, Little Gasol

Bosh won the jump ball for the Heat.

As soon as Durant took the ball, it elicited a burst of cheers from the crowd.

However, the corners of Hansen’s mouth couldn’t help but curl upwards.

Seeing Durant’s choice, he knew his trash talk had worked.

It’s hard to defend the Heat when they play as a team, but it’s much easier to defend if Durant goes one-on-one.

Durant is just too genuine.

Over the years, although Hansen’s trash-talking changed, it never failed on Durant.

Of course, Hansen then took his focus to another level.

Durant was no James; Hansen could defend him into scoring in single digits.

Durant first tested his touch; his height was his biggest advantage over Hansen.

But with Hansen’s focused reaction being both quick and accurate, he managed to hit the ball during Durant’s shot, not stealing it, but successfully disrupting Durant’s shooting rhythm.

The basketball finally hit the front rim and bounced out; Durant’s first shooting attempt didn’t score.

Little Gasol protected the defensive rebound and passed the ball to Conley, who slowly dribbled past half-court.

Unlike previous games, the Grizzlies didn’t play a defensive counterattack but slowed down the pace to play a set offense.

Joerger had previously suggested double-teaming Durant, but Hansen rejected it, aiming to manipulate the Heat’s offense rather than letting the Heat dictate the Grizzlies’ defense.

But after being rejected, Joerger didn’t just do nothing; reducing the game pace and lowering the number of possessions was an indirect way to decrease Durant’s scoring chances.

In the Grizzlies’ frontcourt, Hansen didn’t handle the ball but played a pulling role on the weak side.

The last game proved that the Heat’s starting interior was too weak to stop the "Black and White Bears."

Randolph was powerful, quickly turning after receiving the ball and grinding past Durant to score under the basket.

During the switch from defense to offense, Durant chose an off-ball tactic after setting a screen with Bosh.

Bosh’s screen was solid, but Hansen wasn’t stopped.

After receiving the ball, Durant decisively broke through towards the inside.

Hansen aimed to keep his scoring under 20 points, not to let him score 20 on his head.

Little Gasol then contracted back under the basket, hands high, as Durant made a side-step layup.

This play showcased the rare speed of Durant as a tall player.

However, just as he released the ball, he felt a sudden shadow over his head.

"Bang!"

Then the ball in his hands was smacked directly onto the backboard!

The crowd gasped; no need to guess, it was Hansen’s chase-down block.

Hansen really jumped incredibly high.

Plus, what’s key was his speed in chase-down blocking, from navigating the screen to blocking the shot—it was just too fast!

Before landing, Hansen secured the defensive rebound, and the Heat’s offense failed once again.

Turning back, Randolph, playing one-on-one in the low post, faced an early double-team; he passed out to Guy, whose three-point shot veered off but the "Black and White Bears" kept tipping at the rim, with Randolph finally scoring on a putback.

With a starting score of 0-4, this was not a very positive signal for the Heat.

Durant continued to receive the ball in the front court, and after being successfully defended by Hansen multiple times, he started to try unorthodox methods.

Handling the ball, he broke through and unleashed his tricky move, "Arm Swinging Big Loop."

This was a technique aimed at drawing a foul.

In any case, he had to get two points first.

But this time, after completing the big loop, the referee’s whistle remained silent.

And his shot, again disturbed by Hansen, missed the basket.

After landing, Durant looked puzzledly at the referee, copying LeBron James with spread hands.

The referees made no indication.

Their instructions tonight were clear: No biased officiating allowed.

It was Silva’s decision.

He had to remain neutral, as it was a tough choice for him.

As for the final result, it would depend on who truly had the skill!

Hansen protected the rebound, and after seeing the referee’s reaction, he couldn’t help but smile.

Hey, you might say, in his past life he thought Silva was utterly reprehensible, but now he didn’t seem so bad.

If it were still Stern, maybe he really would have "guarded" Durant.

Randolph continued to play one-on-one in the frontcourt, and this time the Heat Team responded with interior defense assistance.

He seized the opportunity and passed the ball to Little Gasol while turning around; Little Gasol caught the ball and quickly slam dunked it for a score.

The "Black and White Bears" knew the defensive pressure Hansen was under, and they nailed it equally hard offensively. frёewebnoѵēl.com

to 0.

A stir coursed through the crowd.

And Hansen gave Little Gasol a high five as he fell back on defense.

All the previous external analyses were right, but they overlooked one crucial point, the difference between theory and reality.

In theory, a scorer like Durant, given enough ball rights, should score no less than 20 points.

But the reality was, if Durant wasn’t doing well offensively, could the Heat Team really afford to keep letting him play?

This wasn’t a regular season game, not even a playoff within the division, but the finals, and they were trailing 1-2!

This environment was what differentiated Hansen and Bird, and it was why Hansen dared to trash talk like this.

The Heat Team couldn’t possibly favor helping Durant over caring about the outcome of Game 4, since a 1-3 deficit was something they couldn’t afford.

As expected, in the next round, the Heat Team adjusted their offensive strategy.

Wade took the ball and his turnaround jumper after breaking to the basket scored, breaking the scoring drought for the Heat Team.

This kind of scoring was completely acceptable to the Grizzlies.

As long as the Heat Team’s three-pointers weren’t firing, the Grizzlies were quite comfortable grinding it out this way.

After 5 minutes of play, the score was Grizzlies 12, Heat 4.

Spoelstra was clearly distressed.

With Hansen containing Durant, the Heat Team’s smaller lineup couldn’t exploit their offensive strengths and instead got blasted inside.

He had no choice but to substitute Chalmers with Perkins.

Perkins made an immediate impact, finally creating a scoring opportunity for Durant, who seized it and scored from mid-range.

This shot also showed that Durant’s touch tonight wasn’t off, but Hansen’s defense was so tight that it was hard for him to find comfortable shooting opportunities.

Of course, this result was completely acceptable to Hansen, especially since Durant had missed three out of his first four shots.

Spoelstra then signaled Wade, noticing Durant’s basket, and quickly called a play for him.

He wasn’t particularly bothered by Hansen’s trash talking, but he knew that without Durant breaking free, the Heat Team had no chance of winning.

Perkins tried the same move, but this time, as Durant received the ball, the Grizzlies immediately double-teamed him!

Durant was really struggling now.

He had the ability to pass out of a double team this season, but the handler was Perkins, and even if he got the ball, converting it to a score was unlikely.

And Hansen’s trash talk echoed like a curse in his mind.

He finally shot over the double team with a difficult fadeaway.

He chose to trust his touch.

But the shot was too hard, hitting the front rim and bouncing out.

Tonight, out of his first five shots, Durant had only made one.

The crowd was restless again.

With the game proceeding in this manner, scoring 20 points tonight would be tough for Durant, and winning the game equally difficult for the Heat Team!

In fact, not only was the crowd restless, Durant himself was becoming unsettled.

He had trained hard during the off-season to beat Hansen, not to continue being background decoration for him.

The next round, he aggressively posted up and decisively played one-on-one.

This time his shot wasn’t blocked by Hansen, but Hansen’s physical challenge was substantial, making his turnaround jumper rhythm visibly uncomfortable.

Hansen also took the chance, leaping high like a dry-land taro, and slapped Durant’s shot.

"Bang!"

Directly sending the ball flying out of bounds!

Durant, having his shot blocked once again, finally couldn’t take it anymore and turned to protest to the referees about Hansen’s physicality during the contest.

After the referees continued to ignore his protests, he couldn’t help but curse out loud.

That ultimately earned him a technical foul.

"Who was this year’s dpoy?" Barkley asked from the commentary booth.

"No matter who it is, he should feel ashamed because there is no second person who can defend KD so embarrassingly!" But before O’Neal and Smith could respond, he had already answered his own question.

—Separator—

①: In the 1986 playoffs, Celtics faced Bulls in the first round. Jordan scored 45 points in Game 1 and broke the NBA’s single-game playoff scoring record with 63 points in Game 2. After the game, Bird said, "God put on jersey number 23, but we defeated him. If he scores 20 points next game, I’m retiring to become a truck driver."