Because Randolph’s body was angled towards one side of the free-throw line, it was more advantageous for him to observe.
The Thunders had collapsed in for the help defense, and Randolph quickly passed the ball to Hansen, who had moved off a pick-and-roll with Little Gasol to the free-throw line.
But the Thunders were riding high on morale, their players’ enthusiasm maxed out; Hansen had hardly received the ball when he was t with help defense from Durant.
Hansen didn’t hesitate, faking a shot and then driving past Durant to penetrate the lane.
Ibaka was retreating, but he soon realized that Hansen didn’t seem to be going for a layup.
After stepping into the Thunders’ three-second zone, Hansen suddenly accelerated and soared into the air like a rocket.
"Bang!"
Before Ibaka’s defensive effort could arrive, Hansen slamd the ball into the hoop with a one-handed tomahawk dunk.
The scene imdiately erupted in excitent. Hansen’s display of dominance simultaneously startled the fans and boosted the Grizzlies’ morale.
From the way the Grizzlies’ bench jumped up and waved their towels, you could see how much that play had fired up the team.
"OKC! OKC!"
However, the ho fans were tireless. Turning around, they began chanting loudly in support of their team.
Durant, with his back to the basket, continued to demand the ball; this ti, he chose to post up, then turned for a fadeaway jumper.
Such a play avoided the double-team by Hansen but the difficulty lay in facing Battier’s outstretched hand defense.
"Swish!"
Durant showed off his top-notch shooting skills. Fully energized, Battier’s defense was ineffective against him.
The Grizzlies’ offense still ran through Randolph, with Hansen moving off the ball.
This was where Hansen played smart. He wouldn’t stubbornly play with the ball but would look for the most efficient way to play.
Now, his passing ability was average, but his lateral movent was excellent, making it more reliable to play off the ball rather than with it.
The Thunders were wary of his movent towards the free-throw line this ti, but after the pick-and-roll, Hansen cut back towards the weak-side corner.
Seeing this, Randolph passed to Little Gasol, who had finished the pick-and-roll at the high post on the weak side; Little Gasol then served as the pivot to pass it to Hansen.
Hansen caught the ball with an open shot opportunity, but just as he was about to shoot, Ibaka desperately lunged at him.
Hansen didn’t force the shot but executed a pump fake, retracting the ball and driving to the right towards the basket.
By that ti, Perkins had also collapsed back to the basket.
The Thunders were like they had a morale buff tonight, their defensive intensity maxed out.
Hansen, seeing this, opted for an imdiate stop and mid-range shot.
Thanks to "Steel Bones," such knee-wearing moves had minimal impact on him.
"Swish!"
The basketball swooshed through the net; Hansen scored 4 points straight from the start.
Everyone can speak beautifully, and Jas had said plenty back when he was with the Cavaliers; the key lay in what one does afterward.
From defense to offense, Hansen was putting into action everything he had said.
It was like two armies in battle, the general leading the charge—not guaranteed victory, but it would inspire the troops.
Westbrook tried to break through to the basket but was fiercely blocked by Little Gasol.
Turning back, Randolph’s solo effort against Perkins was also energetically defended, his follow-up attempt for the offensive rebound was blocked by Ibaka, and finally, Perkins secured the rebound.
Both Randolph and Ibaka ended up falling to the floor in the contest for the rebound.
The two sides exhibited the intensity befitting a ga seven battle.
In such an intense ga, every score was of imasurable value.
The ball was still in Durant’s hands for the Thunders.
Durant now chose to face up, but before breaking through, he observed Hansen’s position and then took a quick dribble to the other side for a pull-up jumper.
Conley ca over from the other side to help, and he and Battier jumped together to disturb the shot.
Durant, facing the two defenders, took his mid-range shot.
"Swish!"
Hit again!
The Ford Center erupted.
Durant was the Thunders’ hogrown star, the root of Oklahoma City.
In transition, Brooks frantically waved from the sidelines, continuing to showcase his ability to adjust; Perkins started to front Randolph in defense.
Conley attempted to lob it to the basket, but Westbrook in front of him sprang up like a nimble Ninja Turtle.
Playing at ho, the Thunders adopted a more aggressive defense, and halfway through the Grizzlies’ offense, their tactics were stalled.
Hansen proactively moved to receive the ball, and the Thunders tried to disrupt the play; by the ti he successfully got the ball, only 8 seconds were left on the shot clock.
Such a scene could cause panic, but Hansen was used to it, as he had beco accustod to such plays since his debut with the Cavaliers.
He signaled for Little Gasol to set a screen, and using it, he dribbled low to the ground, bypassing Ibaka, then sprinted full speed towards the basket, rising high in the three-second area.
Perkins, who had fronted, couldn’t get back to defend in ti, but Westbrook had sohow shrunk to the basket, jumping up to challenge Hansen.
The mory of G3, which took place a week earlier, was still fresh, with most fans recalling only Hansen’s heart-stopping double ga-winning threes—few realized that both of those threes were made right in his face!
To most people, such an event would require months of solitude, but he just wanted to reclaim the stage.
Hansen was sowhat surprised to see Westbrook’s figure, but his movents never stopped.
Their bodies collided in the air, and then...
"Bang!"
Hansen, over Westbrook, hamred the ball down with one hand!
Before the March match against the Heat, Hansen had already pushed "Classical Master" to its limit; thereafter, all he trained was one thing, to bring the "Every Dunk Package Except the Tomahawk" to its limit.
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