Wade felt totally rattled. He wanted to say sothing to Han Sen, but Han didn't even glance his way, just turned around and walked off.
The fans hadn't even processed what had just happened.
With no tiout from the Grizzlies at the end, everything happened too fast.
The cara cut to Han Sen, and his expression was beyond words—he really had led the team to take down the Heat without Randolph!
And especially in that fourth quarter, he single-handedly scored 14 points, including 9 straight in the clutch.
The Heat had absolutely no answer.
"Han's actions speak for themselves. He's the guy changing this Grizzlies team," the ho comntator couldn't help but sigh, watching Han's confident walk-off.
At the post-ga press conference, Han Sen and Marc Gasol took the podium together.
They were the night's heroes: Han racked up 40 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, and 2 steals, while Marc Gasol posted 20 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks.
"I don't know how to put it, but I think I'm playing along greatness," Marc said, shaking his head with a smile.
Han's last shot caught everyone off guard—not just the Heat but even his own team. Especially Gasol, a European player trained by coaches to take "good" shots.
Han's shot was unconventional, but it won them the ga.
"People used to know Marc as Pau's younger brother, but today, they should rember his na for what he did on that court," Han couldn't help but give his teammate props, noting that Marc had grabbed 6 of his 13 rebounds on the offensive end.
Then a reporter chid in, "This was your first 40 10 performance. Do you think it's related to Randolph being out?"
"Definitely. Zach's absence ans a lot to us, so Marc, myself—everyone has to step up," Han replied.
"LeBron said before the ga that he couldn't see a reason to lose. What do you think was the key to beating the Heat?" asked a TNT reporter.
"LeBron."
"LeBron?" The reporter looked puzzled—Jas had led the Heat with 31 points.
"If your team's leader scores only 2 points in the fourth, you won't win. Being the leader ans more than just the glory and stats. It's about responsibility."
Another reporter asked Coach Joerger, "Why didn't you call a tiout on that last play?"
"I was actually planning to, but Han signaled off."
"Did you know he'd take that shot?"
"No, but when your best player has that level of confidence, you trust it. Han knew what he was doing out there."
A reporter then turned to Han, "So, what happened on that final play?"
"I saw LeBron in front of ."
Han's straightforward answer sent ripples through the room. It was clear Han was calling out LeBron!
But the next part had them even more stunned.
"Before that shot, I'd already scored on LeBron three tis in a row. So, when I saw him in front of , I knew I had to take my chance."
Listen to that. Who even says that?
But he had a point, and no one could argue.
"Any advice for LeBron as a forr teammate?" an ESPN reporter asked.
"What can I say? Good luck," Han said with a smile.
---
"Tonight! I'm calling it! God gave Michael the number 23, and He left the other 77 for Han Sen, the new King of mphis!" Shaq went full hype mode on TNT.
"No one's saving you, LeBron! DWade? No. Spoelstra? Nope. Not a soul!" Shaq's eyes widened dramatically as Barkley looked on in shock.
"Those are my lines!" Barkley muttered, only half-joking.
"Well, I've dread of being a guard myself," Barkley smirked, playing along. "Dribbling from half-court, nailing a three, and throwing my hands up in celebration."
At that mont, Shaq pulled a giant shoe out from under the table, the sa size as his head.
He held it up to the cara, then pulled an antenna out of the toe.
It wasn't just a shoe—it was a phone.
Shaq punched in a few numbers and held it to his ear.
"Hey, David? Put the Grizzlies against the Heat in the Finals. I promise, ratings will be insane!"
Stern, of course, didn't actually answer Shaq's "call," but the league did follow up by increasing the Grizzlies' nationally televised gas.
It wasn't just Han's performance driving this—it was the team's dynamic after Randolph's injury, shifting from a low-post-heavy style to sothing far more watchable and competitive.
And of course, the drama factor helped.
The fourth quarter of this Grizzlies-Heat ga had higher viewership than previous matchups like Heat-Mavs or Lakers-Bulls.
And the next addition to the Grizzlies' national TV schedule? A late January showdown with the Cavs.
anwhile, news resurfaced of Irving's sumr training camp with Han Sen, perfectly tid to build hype for that ga.
But for the Grizzlies, that was over two weeks away. Right now, they were focused on the gas at hand.
As the Grizzlies' go-to guy, Han was adjusting well. Their early-season hot streak had cooled a bit, but they were still comfortably in the top half of the West.
But with a shortened season and an intense schedule, the ntal and physical toll was real.
...
While visiting New York, Han Sen finally had the chance to see Swift again.
Since their last vacation in Miami, Swift had suddenly beco much busier, and their etups had beco less frequent.
Even when they did et, Swift often had to catch a flight and couldn't stay the night, which left Han Sen feeling a bit unfulfilled.
He wanted to make up for that now that he was finally in New York.
But to his surprise, after they shared a lovely night, Swift brought up breaking up with him.
The announcent was so sudden that Han Sen even wondered if he had sohow been replaced.
"I'll try to make more ti to be with you," Han Sen said, thinking maybe his busy ga schedule had made Swift feel neglected.
"It's not that. If it were, we wouldn't have gotten together in the first place," Swift shook her head.
"Then what is it? Did you fall for soone else?" Han Sen asked directly, understanding that they really had been spending less ti together.
"Of course not, I still love you, it's just..." she trailed off.
"Just say it; I can handle it," Han Sen encouraged her. As a ti-traveler, he wasn't overly surprised by the idea of breaking up with Swift. Still, he didn't want it to end without clarity.
Swift hesitated, then admitted, "I... I can't keep up!"
"??"
Han Sen's face was a classic Nick Young's of confusion.
"Ever since we got together, you've been everything I imagined—and even more so—but in that one aspect, you're just too much. I feel like I'm constantly getting worn out."
She let out a long sigh after sharing this, clearly relieved.
Han Sen wasn't doing anything wrong, and they got along well. She now understood why her friends didn't date athletes—they're not for the faint-hearted.
Han Sen could only laugh helplessly.
What could he say? Was he the first person in history to be dumped for that reason? It seed like if she were a bit older, maybe it wouldn't be an issue.
After all, he had tried to hold back, so it'd be hard to change unless they stopped being intimate entirely—which didn't seem feasible in an adult relationship, especially with his lifestyle as an athlete.
Han took a deep breath, then gave her a supportive smile. "I get it. And no hard feelings. We had a good run."
They hugged, laughing a bit at the weirdness of it all. "Thanks for understanding," she said, her eyes soft with gratitude.
As Han left New York, he felt grateful for what they'd had—and even more, for how easy they'd made the goodbye.
He didn't dwell on it; life's too short to get hung up on one person. Besides, his packed ga schedule left little ti to think about relationships.
...
As his role in the team grew, so did the intensity of the defense against him.
One-on-one pressure and double-teams weren't enough anymore; teams started sending defensive specialists to mark him or were tiring him out with rotation tactics, much like the treatnt given to superstars like Kobe or Durant.
He could still score with screens, off-ball movent, or sheer strength, but the physical toll was building up.
It made him think more about how to play smarter, rather than harder. Improving his ball-handling skills was now essential.
He'd initially planned to save his hater points to buy a Tier 1 skill, but now he was considering unlocking a Tier 2 early.
However, the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 was night and day.
Just as he was mulling this over, a couple of weeks flew by.
Then, half a month later, sothing unexpected happened. One morning, Han Sen woke up to find his [hater points] skyrocketing
He almost thought it was a glitch in the system.
When he checked social dia, he found that his feed was flooded with criticism from Swift's fans. It turned out she'd released a new song, titled I Knew You Were Trouble.
This song, with its catchy blend of country and electronic sounds, was an instant hit.
Han Sen knew this song well; it had been one of his most-played tracks back in his QQ Music days.
But in his mory, this song wasn't supposed to release this soon. And besides, the lyrics didn't match his character.
The song describes a good girl falling for a bad boy who ultimately breaks her heart. Han Sen didn't see himself as a bad guy, aside from maybe being a big mouth.
The increase in his [hater points] was due to fans' assumptions.
With his busy season, he and Swift hadn't been seen together publicly for a while. So, fans naturally assud he had broken her heart.
Han Sen found it both funny and frustrating, as he didn't want to clear things up—especially with his [hater points] climbing fast.
In less than a week, his points approached the million mark.
In response, Swift confird that they'd broken up amicably and denied the rumors that Han Sen had left her.
Did the fans believe her? No. They just thought Swift was too kind and was defending him.
Finally, Swift acknowledged that the song was inspired by their relationship but explained that she'd exaggerated Han's 'bad side' in the lyrics.
To convince fans she was telling the truth, she even explained that the breakup was because she couldn't keep up with Han's, let's say, stamina.
With that, Han Sen's [hater points] stopped climbing, capping at around 1.2 million.
However, his Facebook following suddenly started to surge with curious fans who just wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
TMZ reported on Swift's clarification in a typically sensationalist way: Swift's new song inspired by Han Sen, but not because he's bad in a moral sense, more in the ahem physical sense.
The situation caught Han Sen off-guard. He wasn't the first person to date and break up with Swift, but he might be the first to attract so much attention over it.
Now, going forward, female fans at gas would probably look at him a little differently.
It's possible that Rondo's joke would co true—if he went to sign autographs, his pockets might end up full of phone numbers.
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