The Celtics, having returned to their ho court, were high on morale as Rondo exploded with 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 12 assists, and The Big Three all scored in double figures.
However, they ultimately lost to the Cavaliers with a score of 93 to 101.
The Cavaliers’ performance on both offense and defense seed as if they were injected with adrenaline.
Under his mother’s watchful eyes, Jas staged a king’s return, shooting 12 out of 26, and racked up 35 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 2 turnovers.
Jamison made 6 out of 14 shots to get 13 points and 9 rebounds, Williams shot 4 out of 12 to earn 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, and O’Neal, in his coback ga, made 4 out of 6 shots, contributing 9 points and 4 rebounds.
Hansen also ward up, making 5 out of 11 shots for 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, while leading the defense against Pierce, who only made 5 out of 17 shots under his guard.
After taking down Ga 3, the Cavaliers led the series with a 2-1 score.
In the best-of-seven series, odd-numbered gas are crucial: the opening ga, Heavenly King Mountain, Ga 7, and of course the recently won Ga 3 by the Cavaliers.
With the score at 2-1, if they won just one more ga, they would reach match point.
Moreover, Jas’ physical condition was definitely tough. He produced such stats while being dically treated and didn’t show much after-effects post-ga, suggesting he could receive another two doses for the upcoming gas.
The Cavaliers’ prospects of advancing looked very promising.
This also made the Cavaliers’ players jovial and laughing during training, a significant improvent from the mood after the previous ga.
However, Hansen noticed that Delonte West hadn’t shown up for training that day.
He asked O’Neal and Conningham and neither knew.
After asking Malone, he found out that West had asked for personal leave.
Taking personal leave during the playoffs, Hansen wondered what kind of issue West could have encountered.
He rembered that West had ended up holess after retiring, seemingly due to ntal health issues, and just hoped it wasn’t this troubling him.
When training ended, Hansen and Jamison practiced their shooting for a bit longer.
It was like the tribulations described in fantasy novels; he was now extrely close to reaching the "Giant Slayer" bottleneck, just one step away.
Half an hour later, their extra session ended, unfortunately without success.
It seed they still needed "Life and Death Training (high-intensity gas)" to break through.
As they walked towards the locker room after finishing up, they heard shouting from inside.
The voice was clearly Jas’.
They looked at each other, hesitating whether to avoid the situation for a bit.
Although Jas wielded significant power within the Cavaliers, they had never heard him quarrel with anyone in the locker room before.
Even when Hansen initially refused Jas publicly upon joining the Cavaliers, Jas had found a way to save face.
Jas was the type to plot behind the scenes if he wanted trouble, not openly.
So, the situation in the locker room was certainly unusual.
Especially for Hansen, who had seen Jas’ mother in the locker room before; she was also in Boston now, and it would be truly awkward if Jas and his mother were the ones quarreling.
Nevertheless, after a short ti, Hansen moved forward.
Because he recognized the other voice was not Jas’ mother, but West.
West was now part of his camp, he couldn’t let West face Jas alone.
Seeing Hansen move, Jamison hesitated briefly but followed.
When they entered the locker room, the arguing abruptly stopped.
"What happened, Delonte?" Hansen looked at West, still unaware of the specifics.
But before West could respond, Jas scoffed, shot a threatening look at West, and angrily left the locker room.
"It’s nothing," West shook his head.
Hansen looked confused. What was going on?
"I’m a bit tired; I’m going to rest," said West, then he too left the locker room.
The two remaining in the locker room were utterly bemused, like confused fruits hanging on a confused tree, beneath which were you and .
But ultimately, it was soone else’s business, so Jamison, coming back to his senses, didn’t ponder much, grabbed his bag, and motioned for Hansen to head back to the hotel.
The visitors’ locker room still had no hot water; they had to return to the hotel for showers.
Hansen nodded and also grabbed his bag.
When he regained his composure, he thought of a rumor from his mory.
It was terd a rumor because the people involved had denied it afterward.
He now just hoped it was only a rumor, otherwise, in tomorrow’s ga, the Cavaliers would face significant difficulties.
On ga day’s training session, West attended, but Jas was absent.
Brown’s explanation was that Jas’s right elbow injury needed ti to recover, but Hansen already felt sothing wasn’t quite right.
He didn’t go to West to ask for details because he knew that if what he suspected was true, there was absolutely no way he could get a straight answer.
He went directly to O’Neal, ready to continue the discussion they hadn’t finished at the hotel that night.
"Is it still necessary?" O’Neal asked with a puzzled look. He had only taken six shots in the ga and basically had no shooting rights.
"There’s been a change," Hansen explained briefly.
Seeing the seriousness in Hansen’s deanor, O’Neal, though not understanding the reason, finally nodded in trust of Hansen.
That night, the Cavaliers and Celtics series Ga 4 continued in Boston.
When Hansen walked through the player tunnel, he received the sa treatnt as the last ga.
"Fxck you! 77!"
"77, get out of Boston!"
This wasn’t just banner talk. These were Boston fans directly cussing at him.
Just like outside the hotel during the regular season, the security personnel on site did nothing to stop them.
Conningham, excited, tried to step forward but was pulled back by Hansen.
Hansen smiled at the cursing fans and flipped them the middle finger.
Thanks to this brother for contributing to the hate value.
The angry fan wanted to rush forward but was stopped by security this ti.
While the NBA doesn’t forbid trash talk between fans and players, physical actions are definitely not allowed.
Hansen smiled at the fan, waved his hand, then turned and entered the court.
"Boss, I think I should stick with you the whole ti," Conningham said, once again worried about Hansen’s personal safety.
"Don’t worry, they wouldn’t dare," Hansen replied nonchalantly.
It wasn’t racial prejudice, but most white people pride themselves on nobility, mostly just trash-talking, who really wants to play with their life?
Of course, if the person was black, he’d still need to be cautious. The experience he and Conningham had in the Sumr League was still vivid in his mory.
If soone pulled out not a dagger, but a gun like Conningham carried, then he’d truly see "heaven in a blink."
During the pre-ga warmups, Hansen finally saw Jas.
Jas was still wearing his elbow brace, uncertain whether he had gotten an injection for the ga, but more concerning than whether he had the injection was his expression.
Hansen had never seen such an expression on Jas before, just like he had never seen Jas argue with anyone in the locker room before.
What kind of expression was it? Well, constipation.
That’s the feeling, as if staying here a mont longer was unbearable.
It wasn’t good news, but it could be considered good news.
Because with Jas in this condition, playing well seed almost unrealistic, which ant the strategic plan he and O’Neal had discussed might have a chance to be executed.
After the warmup, both teams’ starting lineups were announced.
Cavaliers: Mo Williams, Hansen, Jas, Jamison, O’Neal
Celtics: Rondo, Ray Allen, Pierce, Garnett, Perkins
This was the first ti the Cavaliers had their whole team in the playoffs.
The ga began quickly, and the Celtics quickly took the upper hand.
It wasn’t that they were playing particularly well but that Jas was playing exceptionally poorly.
Honestly, even though Hansen was braced for it, he was still shocked.
He had never seen Jas play so terribly before.
Driving with the ball either ended in a block or him losing the ball.
And he wasn’t positioning weak side like in Ga 1; he was just recklessly attacking with the ball.
He clearly didn’t want to win.
Five minutes into the ga, the Cavaliers were imdiately down 0-8.
This forced Brown to call a tiout.
"LeBron, do you need a break?" Brown asked carefully, clearly noticing sothing off with Jas today.
Jas didn’t say a word, just nodded his head and then sat down directly on the bench.
Hansen and O’Neal exchanged a look at that mont, both tacitly nodding.
Their opportunity had co.
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