The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 308 - 171 This time, the one who cheats is Hansen_2

Chapter 308: 171 This time, the one who cheats is Hansen_2

But in the end, they reversed their fortunes not only in the first but also in the second round and successfully defended their title, raising their chances of winning from 0% to 100%.

In a sense, the current Mavericks and the former Rockets were in very similar situations.

If people underestimated the Mavericks just because they were ranked fifth, the people of Dallas might well make history repeat itself.

Conley continued to orchestrate the offense in the frontcourt, and this time Little Gasol blocked West, while Hansen misaligned against Nowitzki, outmaneuvered him, and facing the help defender Marion, passed the ball without looking directly to Guy in the corner.

Guy caught the ball and shot a three-pointer with confidence.

Constant practice might not yield immediate results, but persistent effort definitely brings rewards!

to 5, the Grizzlies took the lead.

The Mavericks continued their teamwork, but this time Nowitzki’s three-point shot from the perimeter was heavily contested by Guy and went off the basket.

Chandler, with his excellent positioning, grabbed the offensive rebound, but his aggressive move was thwarted by Little Gasol, who also secured the rebound.

Conley and Little Gasol executed a pick-and-roll, Little Gasol receiving the ball and heading down, passed it to Randolph when Chandler came to help.

Randolph shot, but Chandler quickly turned and contested it, managing to defend against both.

After helping the Mavericks win the championship last season, Chandler began to really attract attention, and this season he continued to perform exceptionally well, making him a strong candidate for the best defender.

Both teams started with maximum defensive and offensive quality.

Randolph’s shot finally clanged against the rim, and Chandler turned and prepared to secure this defensive rebound.

But just then, a figure suddenly appeared before him.

It was Hansen, already airborne.

"Boom!"

Before Chandler could grab the ball, Hansen burst into the paint and slammed a dunk over him!

The arena instantly erupted.

The visual impact of the play was explosive.

And more importantly, it was about momentum, especially since it was over Chandler!

The camera panned to Hansen, who after completing the dunk hung on the rim for a moment before landing.

But upon landing, his expression looked extraordinarily calm, yet filled with determination.

"Defense! Defense!"

Hansen’s dunk also ignited the emotions of the fans in the arena.

Nowitzki moved to the low post to receive the ball and go one-on-one against Little Gasol.

This time, as soon as he turned, Conley chose to collapse in help defense.

The timing of his defensive help was excellent, coming just after Nowitzki made his move.

Although Nowitzki had options, he wasn’t adept at passing under disrupted offensive rhythm.

Conley displayed his ability to read the game, and Nowitzki eventually chose a difficult baseline fadeaway shot in the Golden Chicken Stance.

The shot was highly difficult, bouncing off the side of the rim and secured by Little Gasol, who protected the defensive rebound.

Conley advanced the ball upcourt, this time passing directly to Hansen.

Hansen indicated for Randolph to come out and set a screen.

Randolph effectively screened West, and as Hansen dribbled outward, Chandler hesitated.

At the same time, Randolph was cutting towards the basket, a feat West’s frame certainly couldn’t impede.

But if he didn’t move outward, Hansen could make the shot before West could defend.

Eventually, Chandler chose to retract, especially since the Mavericks’ weak side was also moving in to help.

But in the moment he chose to back off, Hansen pulled up and made his shot.

Without a moment of hesitation, you could feel Hansen’s decisiveness tonight and his focus.

"Swish!"

Of course, his consistency too.

Hansen hit another mid-range jumper.

to 9.

The LED screen in the arena updated Hansen’s stats for the night, 3 for 3, 6 points, 1 assist.

Apart from Guy’s three-pointer, all of the Grizzlies’ points had come from Hansen.

And even Guy’s three-pointer was off an assist from Hansen.

In other words, every scoring play for the Grizzlies involved Hansen!

At that moment, even fans who weren’t present could feel Hansen’s determination to win this game.

No, his determination to defeat the Mavericks, the team that had once defeated them!

Finally, the Mavericks managed to score again, thanks to Nowitzki, who drove to the basket, drawing a defensive foul from Little Gasol.

After stepping to the free-throw line amid the distracting noise of the entire arena, he made both free throws.

Nowitzki’s perfect 24 free throws in last season’s G1 against the Grizzlies seemed unbelievable, but in fact, he is the most accurate free-throw shooting big man in NBA history.

This season, his free-throw shooting percentage reached 89.5%, and his career percentage is nearly 90%.

Giving him free throw opportunities was practically handing him points, a statement that applies wholly to the German tank.

And during the dead-ball time, Carlisle had Baria sub in early for West.

Jide switched to defend against Hansen, beginning to limit Hansen’s ability to receive passes.

Besides strength and mindset, the Mavericks’ experience was also incredibly rich.

Furthermore, with Carlisle, a master tactician, subbing in Baria was meant to accelerate the pace to exploit the Grizzlies’ twin towers’ slow transition defense.

Conley organized a play, but Randolph’s low-post solo play still didn’t offer much of an opportunity.

By the time the ball returned to Conley’s hands, half of the Grizzlies’ offensive time had already elapsed.

The Mavericks’ adjustments had already taken half effect.

Conley, aware of Carlisle’s intent, didn’t dare to rush his shot.

Fortunately, by then Hansen had used a pick-and-roll with Guy to shake off Jide.

With just 6 seconds left in the offensive play, Hansen finally received the pass.

At that moment, Marion was guarding him, and Chandler in the paint was also ready to help defend.

Hansen didn’t hesitate, nor did he have time to hesitate. After forcing Marion to shift his weight back on a drive, he quickly stepped back to the three-point line.

Then, without any hesitance, he took the shot.

Marion, being a forward, jumped out fully but could only provide limited interference to Hansen.

The basketball traced a long parabola.

"Swish!"

It went in again!

In less than half a quarter, Hansen had scored 9 points!

By now, the cheers of the fans in the arena were unstoppable.

Hansen wasn’t just fully determined tonight; his shooting was also red-hot.

Or rather, it was perhaps because of his determined resolve that his shooting was so red-hot.

On the Mavericks’ offense, after Baria set a screen for Nowitzki and cut to the basket, he took the pass and scored over Little Gasol’s block attempt with a high off-the-glass shot.

to 12, the Mavericks were still closely trailing.

At that moment, after Conley handed the ball to Hansen, he signaled everyone to clear out.

Hansen also did not call for a screen at this time.

A screen now would definitely mean a double-team by the Mavericks, and he was being defended by Jide.

While Jide was experienced in defense, at 38, slowed by age, he couldn’t match speed any longer.

Jide was aware of this, so he kept pressuring Hansen on the ball.

Given Hansen’s weak back-to-basket skills at the moment, he simply held the ball with one hand and used his body to press against Jide.

Besides speed, his physique was also an advantage.

After leaning against Jide, he then used his body to perform a triple-threat sweep, quickly dribbling to breakthrough on the right.

As the Mavericks’ weak-side help defense moved over, Hansen quickly changed direction to the left and pulled back for a jump shot.

Jide, experienced as he was, anticipated Hansen’s release and moved left early, almost jumping in sync with Hansen.

But age had indeed caught up with him, and his jump only reached up to Hansen’s leading elbow.

"Smack!"

The clear sound of a hand hitting echoed, followed by the referee’s whistle.

However, Jide did have experience; seeing he had made contact, he intentionally exerted more force, successfully disrupting Hansen’s shooting form.

Hansen’s release point was noticeably higher.

The ball lastly hit the backboard.

But, after the rebound, it still fell through the net!

This turned into an and-one!

Hansen, as if assisted by divine forces!

The FedEx Forum had completely erupted into a frenzy.

Hansen too was initially stunned to see the ball go in but soon smiled resignedly.

Luck is also a part of strength.

However, at this moment, the mood among the Dallas players was quite complex.

Especially Carlisle at the sidelines couldn’t help but shake his head.

Being old opponents, this scene was not unfamiliar.

Last season, when the two teams met in the Western Conference Finals, such scenes had occurred before.

Only this time, the person dominating had shifted from Nowitzki to Hansen.

But this is perhaps the power of belief.

Nowitzki, knowing last season was his only chance, shot confidently and decisively.

And this season, Hansen, with a resolve to avenge the Mavericks and bring a championship to Memphis, was equally unyielding.