Han Sen's clutch three-pointer was a dagger.
Though there were still 24 seconds left on the clock—exactly one full possession—this shot had turned a one-point lead into four.
A four-point deficit wasn't sothing you could erase in just one possession.
That's why Shaq had been so excited.
anwhile, the Heat fans in Arican Airlines Arena sat in stunned disbelief, holding their heads in their hands.
Even Pat Riley wore an expression of pure shock.
Was Han Sen really going to force the Heat to retire his No. 77 jersey right next to their No. 23?
On the court, Han remained calm, as if what he had just done was no big deal.
Spoelstra called a tiout.
As Garnett walked over to Han, he fist-pumped in excitent and leaned in close, pressing his forehead against Han's.
"You killed them! You killed them!"
Like fire eting ice, the scene was the perfect post-ga poster for Ga 1.
Out of the tiout, the Heat ran a three-point play.
At this point, they had no other choice.
Malone, naturally, anticipated this move, and the Cavaliers' defense extended to the periter.
Durant ended up forcing a deep three, taking the shot a full ter behind the arc.
If Durant had fresh legs, he might've made it. But fatigue had set in, and the shot fell short, clanging off the front rim.
Vučević grabbed the offensive rebound, but the Cavaliers' small-ball lineup cut off his passing lanes.
With ti running out, Vučević was forced to take a quick two-pointer.
That was it. The Heat lost their chance.
Malone called another tiout, setting up a sideline inbounds play for the Cavaliers.
Han calmly passed the ball to Kyrie Irving.
Having gone 8-for-8 from the free-throw line earlier in the ga, Kyrie knocked down both free throws, sealing the victory for the Cavaliers.
132-128.
The final buzzer sounded, but Heat fans remained frozen in their seats, struggling to process what had just happened.
On the court, Durant pulled out his mouthguard, staring at the scoreboard for what felt like an eternity.
When he finally looked away, his eyes were filled with frustration and resignation.
The Heat had scored 128 points, a total that would normally guarantee a win.
But the Cavaliers had put up 132.
What could you even say to that?
At the post-ga handshake, Wade approached Han with a smile, shaking his head.
"You lied to ."
Kyrie hadn't just played tonight; he had dropped 23 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 from the line.
Without Kyrie's performance, the Cavaliers wouldn't have won this ga.
Han, however, responded with a sly grin.
"But we're opponents, aren't we?"
Why would anyone trust their rival?
At the post-ga press conference, Han and Kyrie sat side by side.
The first question was about Shaq's now-famous quote from the broadcast:
"He called you Cleveland's true king."
Han shook his head, smiling faintly.
"No, I don't like that title."
Having lived through the LeBron Cavaliers 1.0 era, Han had no love for titles like 'king' or 'emperor'.
"I've always said Arican Airlines Arena is my lucky court."
His humor drew laughter from the press room, but Han soon turned serious.
"The key to tonight's win was that everyone on the team played their best."
Han had scored 35 points, which wouldn't have been enough to beat the Heat on a normal night.
But tonight, the Cavaliers had five players in double figures:
- Kyrie Irving: 23 points
- JR Smith: 18 points
- Mo Williams: 14 points
- Tristan Thompson: 11 points
- Cunningham: 8 points
"I'm just following Han's lead," Kyrie added.
"He's the best player in history."
...
The following day, the Golden State Warriors crushed the Lakers in Ga 1 of the Western Conference Finals, winning 121-106.
As it turned out, Kenny Smith had been right all along.
The Warriors dominated both offensively and defensively, but more importantly, Timofey Mozgov was unplayable against the Death Lineup.
The Lakers were forced to play on the Warriors' terms, and it wasn't pretty.
With two UA teams drawing first blood in the Conference Finals, fans began to wonder:
"Could Nike's three superteams all fail to make the Finals?"
It seed unthinkable, but it was now a real possibility.
The Heat, however, quickly silenced those whispers.
Despite losing Ga 1, they stord back to win the next two gas, taking a 2-1 lead.
In Ga 3, Han scored 44 points, but it wasn't enough to secure a win.
The Cavaliers had played well, but their margin for error against this Heat team was razor-thin.
Role players might step up for one ga, but expecting them to carry that performance through an entire series was too much.
Before Ga 4, Malone delivered a stirring pre-ga speech:
"We either rise tonight, or we die tonight."
Though it was only Ga 4, the Cavaliers were on the brink. A loss would put them down 1-3, with Ga 5 back in Miami.
Lose this ga, and they were as good as finished.
Perhaps Malone's words resonated, or maybe it was just the law of averages, but the Cavaliers finally hit their ceiling in Ga 4.
They shot the lights out, sinking six threes in the first quarter alone.
With such strong periter shooting, Han was able to focus his energy on defending Durant.
The Heat had multiple scoring threats, but their offense ran through Durant.
By the end of the ga, the Cavaliers had set a new NBA playoff record, making 20 of 38 three-point attempts.
They won 123-106, tying the series 2-2 and forcing a Ga 5.
But in Ga 5, despite Han's 51-point performance, the Heat secured the win and took a 3-2 series lead. ①
Han's effort was heroic, but the disparity in team strength was clear.
The Heat could win with solid play, while the Cavaliers needed miracles.
And miracles have cooldown periods.
After the Ga 5 loss, the Cavaliers' locker room was somber.
Doubt crept in.
If 51 points from Han couldn't get the win, what could they do?
It was then that Tyronn Lue stepped up.
"Everyone, hand $200."
Without waiting, Lue pulled out his own wallet, setting $200 on the table.
Malone and Griffin followed, clearly in on the plan.
The players, though confused, complied.
When Lue had collected all the cash, he wrapped it in paper and hid it in the ceiling of the visitor's locker room.
"We'll co back for it in Ga 7, right?"
Though it sounded like a question, it wasn't.
Han smiled, shaking his head in admiration.
Lue's speeches were always on point.
Han was the first to extend his hand, and one by one, the entire team piled their hands together.
"Let's go get it back."
...
Ga 6 returned to Cleveland, marking the final ho ga of the series for the Cavaliers.
Before the ga, Kyrie Irving experienced knee soreness.
Throughout the series, Kyrie had shown improvent compared to his struggles against the Bulls. While he still had issues with defense and handling double teams, his performance looked much better.
Part of this improvent was due to Miami's defense being weaker than Chicago's, but Kyrie also played more aggressively.
He was averaging 9.5 free-throw attempts per ga in this series, a significant jump from his regular-season numbers.
As Han Sen had told him, confidence was the key. Before Kyrie made any changes to his ga, he needed to play with conviction.
However, this new aggressive approach was starting to take a toll on his body.
An often-overlooked fact was that Kyrie's body was fragile.
Before being drafted into the NBA, he had only played 11 gas in college, barely one-third of the season.
In his first two NBA seasons, he had only appeared in 50 gas each year.
Throughout his career, Kyrie rarely played 70 gas in a season.
For many years, missing 30-40 gas beca the norm.
His injury list was long: knee injuries, shoulder issues, back problems, toe injuries...
To put it in a less flattering way, his injuries were as diverse as his offensive moves.
Would this soreness turn into a major injury like the one Han Sen knew from history?
Han didn't know.
But one thing was certain: There was no way Kyrie would sit out this elimination ga.
To miss a do-or-die ga at ho? That would be career suicide for Kyrie in Cleveland.
...
Ga 6 at Quicken Loans Arena was electric.
The arena was packed, and outside, fans who couldn't get tickets gathered en masse to soak in the atmosphere.
Unlike newer arenas, Quicken Loans Arena didn't have a giant screen for outside viewing, aning these fans simply wanted to be as close as possible to the action.
It was madness—a testant to the fanbase Han had rebuilt during his return to Cleveland.
And once the ga started, the fans' energy never waned.
The roars from the crowd were deafening, a 360-degree wall of sound that filled the entire arena.
Playing in such an intense atmosphere sent adrenaline surging through the Cavaliers.
Every player looked like they were on fire.
Even Han Sen, usually composed, shifted his focus from jump shots to attacking the paint and drawing fouls.
But drawing fouls wasn't going to be easy tonight.
Adam Silver's balancing act clearly didn't want an all-UA Finals, so critical officiating decisions were bound to go against Cleveland.
Still, Miami struggled to score.
Adrenaline often has a greater impact on defense than offense, and tonight, the Cavaliers were playing defense with their lives on the line.
When Kevin Garnett, at 39 years old, risked career-ending injury by diving into the stands to save a ball, the ssage was clear.
This was all-out war.
The intensity affected the Heat as well.
Even Kyrie, despite his sore knee, played with more aggression than in Ga 1 and perford exceptionally well.
The ga was neck-and-neck heading into the final quarter.
Once again, Jordan Rules were deployed against Han Sen.
It was a familiar sight.
But this ti, Kyrie stepped up.
He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, using his driving ability to draw fouls and punish the Heat defense.
In the end, Cleveland edged out Miami 108-103, forcing a Ga 7.
Han Sen finished with a 40-point triple-double: 40 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists.
Kyrie set a new career playoff high, scoring 32 points.
The Quicken Loans Arena erupted into pandemonium.
But amid the celebrations, Kyrie sat on the bench, visibly limping.
With the help of team doctors, he was escorted to the locker room.
Ga 1 was won through team unity.
Ga 4 ca from lights-out shooting.
But Ga 6? It was won through sheer willpower.
As Han Sen had said, one ga at a ti.
But Ga 6 ca at a steep cost.
...
After the press conference, Han Sen received a ssage from David Griffin.
The results of Kyrie's hospital tests were in:
He had suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee and would need at least a month of rest.
For Han, the injury was all too familiar.
He had seen Marc Gasol go through the sa injury in mphis, missing two months before returning.
The bad news?
Kyrie was out for the season, effectively done for the playoffs.
The good news?
It wasn't the career-threatening patellar fracture Han had feared.
Han Sen went to visit Kyrie at the hospital.
"Do you regret it?"
Kyrie smiled.
"No. This journey has been incredible."
Kyrie seed at peace.
From a personal standpoint, he had redeed himself in this series.
From an experience standpoint, as he had said, it was worth it.
Success wasn't always about winning a championship. Sotis, it was about giving everything you had in pursuit of it.
And Kyrie had done just that.
As for playing through injuries with painkillers like Kobe or Curry?
That was never Kyrie's style.
And it wouldn't have made a difference.
Without being at his best, Kyrie's presence on the court would have done more harm than good.
After winning Ga 6, the Cavaliers' odds of making the Finals had climbed to 36%, the highest of the series.
But once news of Kyrie's injury broke, those odds plumted to 3%.
Without Kyrie, Han Sen was the only offensive weapon left.
Could Han carry the Cavaliers to victory against this Heat team all by himself?
-End of Chapter-
① There have been four instances in NBA history where a player scored 50 points in a playoff ga and still lost:
1. 1989: Michael Jordan (50 points) vs. Cavaliers, Ga 4
2. 2006: Kobe Bryant (50 points) vs. Suns
3. 2009: Ray Allen (50 points) vs. Bulls
4. 1986: Michael Jordan (63 points) vs. Celtics
TL/n: Would Han Sen add his na to this list?
With Kyrie Irving sidelined and the Cavaliers' season hanging by a thread, can Han Sen defy the odds once again?
Will Cleveland witness a new Chapter of greatness, or will Miami finally conquer their biggest nightmare?
Find out in the next episode of... HAN SEN: LEGEND OF THE HATER KING!
Reviews
All reviews (0)