Or perhaps, you could see his steadfast determination from his expression.
Even the greatest players struggled to maintain their peak performance after the age of 38, and even Jordan fell from a basketball deity to a re all-star player.
Of course, that kind of play where defense is sacrificed to pad stats is not the hallmark of the truly great.
So for Duncan, he knew this was his last chance at a championship.
Starting from Ga 4, he had been giving it his all.
But Hansen was doing the sa tonight, responding imdiately with a back-to-the-basket turnaround fadeaway after Duncan scored.
His teammates had done what they could, and now it was up to him to finish the job personally.
The situation that unfolded from the start continued until the end.
Under Duncan and Hansen’s leadership, both teams fiercely battled up to the ultimate decisive mont.
With only a minute left in the ga, Hansen, despite being double-tead by Green and Leonard, made a difficult fadeaway shot, pushing the Grizzlies ahead by 2 points with a score of 107 to 105.
The San Antonio Spurs advanced to the frontcourt and now gave the ball to Duncan for a low post one-on-one.
In Ga 1, Duncan scored 27 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and tonight, he had already tallied up an impressive stat line with 24 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block!
It was Duncan vs. Randolph, a rematch between two of the forr top power forwards.
Post-up, spin fake, return with a hook shot.
Duncan’s steps had slowed down, but his movents were very solid, like a machine.
He successfully shook Randolph and had a close shot that was all but guaranteed.
But!
The ball hit the front of the rim and bounced out.
At 38, Duncan had given it his all, but he couldn’t fight off the physical decline brought on by age.
He had battled too hard earlier, leaving him unable to make this last shot.
But with his strong court awareness, he grabbed the offensive rebound!
That was Duncan!
Duncan attempted another put-back, but Little Gasol had already collapsed to the basket, interfering with Duncan’s shot and grabbing the defensive rebound!
One stone Buddha couldn’t stand against the black and white duo!
After taking the rebound, Little Gasol quickly passed it to Hansen.
The Grizzlies didn’t call for a tiout.
Joerger saw Hansen’s eye signal.
Duncan rarely showed frustration, but after getting back to his free-throw line, he bent over and slamd his hands hard against the court.
Because the kind of shot he had just missed was one he used to make consistently, and if he had made it or even made the put-back, the score would have been tied again.
But now, with only 30 seconds left in the ga, they could only stand a chance if they stopped the Grizzlies’ offense, a completely different situation.
Hansen quickly advanced the ball.
The Spurs’ defense, unprepared by a lack of tiout, was instinctive.
And because of Carter’s Ga 4 buzzer-beater, the Spurs didn’t double-team Hansen imdiately.
Hansen saw the opportunity and directly crossed over in front of Green.
Leonard was late to help defend, obviously too late.
Hansen took the ball with both hands and dodged with a Mysterious Step Breakthrough, then charged straight towards the paint.
Duncan had anticipated and retreated under the basket.
He didn’t jump but instead raised his hands high against Hansen.
His 7’6" wingspan was the Spurs’ biggest barrier in the paint.
But Hansen, upon seeing Duncan, leaped high as if on springs, pulling the ball over Duncan’s head.
The scene plunged the audience into a massive frenzy.
Carter, on the floor, also widened his eyes because he seed to see his peak self.
Soaring like a rocket from the dry earth!
"Boom!"
Hansen, facing Duncan, slamd the ball straight into the basket!
A new world-famous painting was Hansen’s farewell gift to the greatest number 21 legend!
The huge impact caused Hansen’s arm muscles to bulge and knocked Duncan straight out of the baseline.
The venue was instantly filled with the cheers of the fans.
"It’s over!" Barkley shouted from the comntary booth.
With only 10 seconds left in the ga, the Grizzlies had a 4-point lead.
The ga no longer held any suspense!
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