Han Sen continued his shooting rhythm from the first half, hitting two more mid-range shots. This forced Coach Popovich to abandon the zone defense. However, this freed up Randolph in the low post.
Popovich anxiously paced the sidelines, feeling as if he had two poisons in his hand, unsure of which one to drink.
By the end of the third quarter, the score was 81–67, with the Grizzlies expanding their lead to 14 points. It was starting to look like a repeat of their ga against the Heat, where the fourth quarter would be garbage ti.
At a crucial mont, Ginobili stepped up.
As the saying goes, 'In easy tis, he's a sports car, in adversity, a monk, and in desperate tis, the demon blade that slays all.'
Ginobili ca off the bench, sinking a difficult three-pointer, then followed it up with a steal and an and-one layup.
Before the third quarter ended, under his lead, the Spurs had clawed the score back to within single digits.
Popovich finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Han Sen volunteered to Coach Hollins to go on and guard Ginobili, but Hollins refused this ti.
Han Sen had ignored instructions before, and Hollins' attitude toward him had clearly changed.
With no other choice, Han Sen turned to Rudy Gay for a chat.
"Show that old guy what's up," Han Sen said, glancing toward Popovich on the other side.
Gay nodded firmly, though his gaze was directed toward Hollins.
As soon as Gay got back on the court, he attacked the Spurs' interior and threw down a fierce dunk.
The Spurs had been doubted before the season started for a reason. Aside from age, they lacked a periter defender like Bruce Bowen from the past.
This ant they couldn't stop either Han Sen or Gay from initiating their drives, putting imnse pressure on the Spurs' interior defense. If Duncan were younger, it wouldn't be a problem, but even he had aged.
Ginobili continued to excel, driving for a layup and drawing a foul on Haddadi.
The Grizzlies' bench wasn't particularly strong either, which was why Ginobili had been able to bring the Spurs back into the ga.
But right after Ginobili hit both free throws, Gay crossed Green and hit a smooth mid-range jumper.
At this point, Danny Green was still a second-year player who had been cut by the Bulls after his rookie season. He couldn't stop Gay.
What was even funnier was Gay flexing his arms in celebration toward the Grizzlies' bench after the shot.
Only then did Han Sen realize Gay might have misunderstood his earlier words.
But the effect was the sa.
Gay's strong performance helped the Grizzlies stabilize their lead, and with the margin still in double digits, their chances of winning looked promising.
The crowd was buzzing.
It was just a regular-season ga, but because of the All-Star voting situation, it had gained more attention than usual.
Han Sen's performance had been unstoppable. If the Grizzlies won, it would help Han silence his critics.
Especially since Popovich had intentionally downplayed Han Sen before the ga, making him the first target for embarrassnt.
The Spurs called a tiout.
When the ga resud, the Spurs made a lineup change, with Jas Anderson replacing Green.
Anderson, the Spurs' 20th overall pick that year, hadn't seen much playing ti before.
He was smaller than Green but quicker.
This suited Popovich's strategy, given that Green hadn't been able to guard effectively.
But what happened next took everyone by surprise.
While defending Gay, Anderson made a blatant dirty play, leading with his shoulder. Gay, unable to dodge in ti, was knocked to the ground.
Chaos erupted on the court. West imdiately pushed Anderson, and several Spurs players rushed in, but as soon as Jas Johnson stood up, they all backed off.
Gay returned to the bench, where the team doctors checked his injury.
Gay looked in obvious pain, and after an initial examination, the doctor shook his head.
It was clearly not a minor injury, and Gay wouldn't be returning tonight.
"Damn it! That old guy!" Han Sen cursed out loud.
Hollins turned, noticing Han Sen's angry glare toward the other side.
Having played his rookie season in the East, Han Sen had forgotten just how dirty Popovich could be.
Not only dirty but sneaky—like when Horry body-checked Nash into the scorer's table, a widely known incident.
That one happened in the playoffs, which could be sowhat understandable, but Bowen's foot under Vince Carter? That was just nasty.
The Raptors and Spurs weren't even in the sa conference, with no real rivalry between them.
But this was Popovich. He loved using small-ti players to go after opponents' key players.
It was hard to retaliate because if you targeted their smaller players, it would just be a trade-off that favored the Spurs.
So, how do you respond? Go after the 'Big Three'? Or perhaps... directly after Popovich?
The forr was difficult; the Grizzlies didn't have the type of small-ti enforcers the Spurs did. If Han Sen personally went after them, it would still lead to a trade-off.
The latter was even harder. Popovich was a coach, and as a player, it would be unrealistic to go after him.
Was it really impossible?
Suddenly, a mory flashed through Han Sen's mind.
It was from a playoff ga between the Suns and Timberwolves, a mory from just before he traveled to this new world. It left a deep impression.
After the tiout, Han Sen was subbed back in.
With Gay injured, the Grizzlies needed Han Sen to maintain the lead.
As Han took to the court, he noticed Anderson had already been replaced by Green.
This confird that Popovich had pulled a dirty move.
On the next play, Han Sen got the ball from West and called for an isolation.
With Neal being too small, Green was switched onto him.
But just like Gay, Green couldn't guard Han Sen. The difference was that against Gay, Green couldn't handle the physicality, whereas against Han, he couldn't keep up with the speed.
After blowing past Green, Han Sen executed a tricky Eurostep and hamred down a powerful dunk over Splitter.
He hung on the rim for a mont before dropping to the floor, clearly venting his emotions.
No, not just venting—this was pure frustration.
Because after landing, Han Sen didn't celebrate as usual. Instead, he walked toward the Spurs' bench and said to Popovich, "Are you sure you don't want to put your bad boy back in?"
Popovich turned his head, pretending not to hear.
Han didn't press further. That wasn't his goal.
On defense, Han Sen now focused on guarding Ginobili.
Ginobili's offensive style was unpredictable, so Han Sen focused on denying him the ball.
Ginobili tried to run off the ball, but Han stuck to him like glue, not giving an inch.
Neal passed to Blair in the post, but Haddadi blocked the shot.
While Haddadi lacked mobility, his height was a factor.
West grabbed the rebound and threw it ahead to Han Sen, who had already taken off down the court.
Han caught the ball and finished the fast break with a one-handed slam.
After the dunk, he once again approached the Spurs' bench, this ti spreading his arms toward Popovich.
The crowd erupted in boos.
Han Sen's provocation was clear. Popovich was a respected coach, and this repeated taunting showed zero respect.
"Han, focus on the ga!" Hollins shouted as Han Sen jogged back on defense.
Han Sen frowned. Hollins was all tough on his own players but passive toward others. Gay had been taken out, and he hadn't said a word, but now he was yelling?
Ginobili finally got the ball this ti and drove toward Han Sen with a snake dribble.
But as Ginobili pushed off for his second step, Han Sen tid his body position perfectly, forcing Ginobili to lose balance and stripping the ball cleanly.
The snake move was essentially a Eurostep, similar to Han Sen's own style, so he knew how to defend it.
Han Sen controlled the ball and sped forward on the fast break. After glancing at the Spurs' bench, he chose the right side for the drive, deliberately slowing his pace.
This gave the Spurs a chance to recover, and Neal hustled back to defend him.
The crowd roared in approval.
Han Sen had been too arrogant earlier, and they were glad to see Neal hustle back.
West was also trailing down the middle, covered by Green. As Han Sen crossed midcourt, he slowed down, seemingly stalling the fast break.
But then, in a move no one expected, Han Sen suddenly accelerated toward Neal, as if attempting to force his way past.
Neal, caught off guard, couldn't react in ti and was sent stumbling out of bounds.
As fate would have it, Neal collided with Popovich, who had been standing near the scorer's table.
The two crashed together, and Neal's knee hit Popovich's knee, sending the coach to the floor.
Neal quickly turned to help Popovich up, but the damage was done. Even with the assistance of nearby players and fans, Popovich was clearly in pain, clutching his knee.
The ga was paused, and a stretcher was brought out.
The stadium's big screen replayed the collision, showing that Han Sen's abrupt move had caused the unfortunate accident.
Popovich was helped onto the stretcher and carried off the court, receiving applause from the crowd.
It's not uncommon for players to leave the ga due to injury, but a head coach? That's almost unheard of in NBA history.
With Popovich out, Budenholzer, the lead assistant coach, took over the ga.
Both teams gradually brought back their main players for the final decisive monts.
The problem Popovich couldn't solve, Budenholzer couldn't either.
He ultimately chose between two bad options and stuck with a zone defense.
Han Sen silently gave a thumbs-up to this future Hawks coach and NBA Coach of the Year, then continued enjoying his 'happy zone defense' ti.
In the final quarter, Han Sen scored another 14 points.
Under his leadership, the Grizzlies defeated the Spurs 102–96 and secured the win.
Post-ga stats showed Parker led the Spurs with 30 points and 9 assists, Ginobili had 16 points and 5 assists, and Duncan had 13 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks.
For the Grizzlies, Randolph recorded a massive double-double with 24 points and 21 rebounds, while Han Sen scored 41 points, becoming yet another player to score 40 points against the Spurs. Gay had 15 points and 5 rebounds before exiting with an injury.
At the post-ga press conference, Han Sen and Randolph appeared together.
"You shot 11 out of 13 from mid-range tonight, how did you manage that?"
While Randolph's '20 20' performance was impressive, the key to the ga was Han Sen breaking through the Spurs' zone defense.
"You'd have to ask the Spurs' coaching staff that one. I have no idea why they left open in mid-range. Do I have a bad mid-range shot or sothing?"
Han Sen's response left the reporter sweating. Didn't he know his mid-range wasn't always that great?
But the reporter couldn't refute him—after all, Han Sen was incredibly accurate tonight, so could anyone really say he was bad?
"Did you 'intentionally' knock down Popovich?" asked a reporter from San Antonio.
"Why would you even think that?" Han Sen replied with a serious expression.
"Because twice before that, you made provocative gestures toward Popovich," the reporter revealed.
"I was just trying to get him to sub in Jas Anderson. That guy intentionally hurt Rudy. I wanted revenge for Rudy," Han Sen said, filled with righteous indignation.
"That was just an accident," the reporter explained.
"You can review the footage. I told Popovich to sub in Anderson, and that's why I made those gestures at him," Han Sen repeated. "As for Rudy's injury being an accident... why is mine considered 'intentional'? Do you have any proof? Be careful or I might sue you for slander!"
The reporter was left speechless since Han Sen hadn't even made direct physical contact with Popovich.
At that point, Hollins took the microphone: "No player would intentionally harm the opposing coach. That's never happened before—it was just an accident."
After leaving the press conference, Randolph put his arm around Han Sen's shoulders.
"You're ruthless." Han Sen's wordplay fooled the reporters and even Hollins, but it couldn't fool him—Randolph had grown up on the streets, after all.
And his comnt wasn't just a passing remark, because Randolph wouldn't have dared to do what Han Sen did.
"It was just an accident," Han Sen smiled, though he'd never admit it to anyone.
Randolph didn't press further. He just laughed and pulled Han closer to him.
It wasn't that Randolph didn't like to talk to people off the court—his Grizzlies teammates were just too civilized, and he couldn't connect with them.
But now, there was soone even more ruthless than he was, and they shared sothing in common in a sense.
Randolph once fought Patterson for his teammate, and Han Sen went after Popovich for Gay.
This was his kind of guy—soone he could really trust.
...
After the ga, Popovich was diagnosed with a torn right patellar tendon, requiring surgery and at least a three-month recovery.
People were used to hearing about players missing ti due to injuries, but a head coach suffering such a severe injury was unprecedented.
With this news, Han Sen, already under scrutiny because of All-Star voting controversy, was pushed back into the spotlight.
However, this ti, most people didn't believe Han Sen did it on purpose.
After all, Han didn't directly hit Popovich. Expecting him to 'strike from a distance' would be too much.
So people even thought Han Sen did the right thing, as Anderson had previously injured Gay, and the Spurs had done things like this too often. Many fans who had long-standing grudges against the Spurs voiced their support for Han Sen.
"Whether intentional or not, this is karma for the Spurs—karma never fails."
Of course, there were also many who believed Han Sen did it on purpose, with most of them being Spurs fans.
"That chink is the dirtiest player in NBA history. He should be banned for life!"
So extre Spurs fans even made such statents.
Before this incident, Han Sen's [hater points] had already reached over 300,000 due to the All-Star voting controversy. After this, it soared past 400,000.
No matter what, the grudge between him and the Spurs was set in stone after this night.
-End of Chapter-
Reviews
All reviews (0)