Rivers didn’t do so, and there was a reason why Tony Allen had limited playing ti on the Celtics.
Moreover, as a "master of historical cobacks," Rivers didn’t have the ability to adapt on the fly.
Hansen’s performance kept the Cavaliers close, and by the end of the first quarter, the score was tied at 23.
Hansen had played the entire first quarter, contributing 13 points with a dazzling performance.
But since he had played the entire quarter, he had also expended a lot of energy.
During this period, it was Jamison leading the Cavaliers on the court.
On the other side, Rivers had put Garnett in play.
At this point, both teams were truly engaged in bayonet combat, without any regard for the next ga.
It was during this ti that Jas’s absence began to reveal its impact.
Jas’s staggered travel strategy was criticized, but this Cavaliers team really couldn’t keep up scoring during the bench rotation without him.
Originally, Jamison could have played that role, but Garnett was tightly restraining him.
As for Williams, he had only played one good ga in this series so far.
Brown looked sowhat helpless at this point.
With Hansen in such good form, had Jas been able to play tonight, the Cavaliers would have likely won the ga.
But that was Jas, and Brown could only choose to comply with Jas’s decision.
On the court, the Celtics executed brilliant teamwork, and Nate Robinson, who joined at the trade deadline, received an alley-oop from Garnett and thundered over Varejao with a powerful dunk.
Varejao instinctively fell to the ground, but the referee didn’t blow the whistle.
No matter how good an actor’s performance, it doesn’t always win the favor of the judges.
The scene turned turbulent, not just the score, but also the montum of the ga had shifted to the Celtics.
Out of necessity, Brown turned and called for Hansen, who had just been subbed out not two minutes ago.
Under these circumstances, Brown had no choice but to heavily rely on Hansen.
Hansen hadn’t even had ti to put on his warm-up suit and quickly got up.
The energy the Celtics unleashed tonight proved they were the sa team that had fought to Ga 7 in the finals against the Lakers and narrowly lost.
Hansen didn’t disappoint Brown’s expectations and imdiately drew a foul from Rashid Wallace with a breakthrough layup upon re-entering, stabilizing the team’s situation with both free throws made.
The next play, he directly blocked Nate Robinson’s dash to the rim.
With this defensive and offensive display, Brown couldn’t hide his excitent and punched the air on the sideline.
Hansen’s desire to compete tonight made him appear like a stabilizing force on the court.
At halfti, the score was 45-42, with the Cavaliers holding a slight lead.
Hansen scored another 10 points in the second quarter, totaling 23 for the half.
During the halfti break, he didn’t return to the locker room but went straight to the dical room with the team physician for physical therapy.
He had rested only for 2 minutes throughout the entire first half.
If it were a regular season ga, he could have handled this intensity, but tonight’s ga was at the intensity of the finals, and his knees were already feeling sore.
He now fully understood why "Steel Bones" is a First Tier Talent, and why it required a full 2 million negative fan points to unlock.
In a way, the body is the ultimate talent.
No matter how good your skills are, without physical support, they amount to nothing.
Speaking of McGrady, if it weren’t for his back injury, his historical achievents would have never been the lowest among the Four Great Guards.
"I know my persuasion is useless, but I still want to say, if you keep playing like this in the second half, it’s likely your season will end here," the team physician said with a serious expression.
But Hansen could only give a wry smile.
"If that happens, I think I wouldn’t have any regrets," he responded.
Of course, he wanted to step onto the finals stage, as it would skyrocket his value.
But as for thirst for the championship, like he had once discussed with Ferry, he didn’t feel nearly as intense.
After all, he was just a rookie and, similar to Kobe, winning a championship is the most desperate desire of a team’s core player; this team belonged to Jas.
Moreover, he had already played enough in this series.
More importantly, seeing Jas gloating at courtside in the first half, he just couldn’t let him have his way; they had to win tonight’s ga.
"But I’ve always been lucky," Hansen said, smiling.
The team physician, seeing his attitude, didn’t say anything more, as he knew what Hansen was fighting for tonight.
Were there really that many dumb or deaf people in the Cavaliers?
They just needed to pretend to be mute or deaf.
After the halfti break, both teams continued their struggle.
Although there was a rest during halfti, both teams started the second half with frequent missed shots.
Clearly, the fierce battle from the first half, and the physical toll it took, wasn’t sothing a re 15-minute halfti could nd.
Unable to score baskets, both teams involuntarily started focusing their energies on defense.
This escalated the ga’s intensity to a truly feverish stage.
From Hansen’s perspective, it felt like he was reliving that "historic" Lakers-Celtics battle from his tiline.
Hansen was even more thorough this ti, only resting one and a half minutes at the beginning of the fourth quarter before having to go back in.
When the ga reached the last two and a half minutes, the score was 72-69, with the Cavaliers maintaining a slim lead.
At this point, it wasn’t just a stabbing contest, it was a bare-handed brawl, with both teams gritting their teeth and persevering.
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