Anthony looked quite awkward after Hansen’s defense, but the referee whistled at that mont, signaling a defensive foul by Hansen.
It was the whistle saving face for Anthony.
Two people rushed over to help Anthony up, one was his teammate Duncan, and the other was his friend Jas.
After pulling Anthony up, Jas even slapped Anthony’s butt while laughing.
Why did you have to ss with Hansen?
Rember, he was the guy who had the guts to block his shot on the first day of the training camp.
But seeing Anthony experiencing the sa treatnt, he felt sowhat relieved.
Anthony went to the free-throw line and made both shots, bringing the score to 8-0.
Although the outco of the All-Star Ga was not crucial, such a start was a bit embarrassing for The East.
Jas did not continue to handle the ball, and finally, it got to Wade.
Wade aggressively broke past Nash, who clearly couldn’t hold him, forcing The West’s defense to collapse inside.
In the All-Star Ga, as opposed to regular matches, there is obviously less tactical cooperation, but it excels in individual talent.
Such individual talent is reflected in speed and judgnt on the court.
One second Wade had a wide-open lane, the next he was surrounded by tall defenders.
However, Wade was not Kobe; he didn’t choose to force his way through, instead tossing the ball to Hansen, who was open in the corner.
Wade was not a point guard, but his passing ability was seriously underestimated. Given enough ball control, he could average seven or eight assists a ga.
Hansen felt even more comfortable catching the ball here than with the Cavaliers because Wade’s pass clearly had a bit of lead, not a forced throw.
When Hansen received the ball, The West’s flawed line-up was exposed; even in an All-Star Ga, it was not possible for the big guys to defend from the paint all the way out to the three-point line quickly.
Hansen decisively took his shot.
"Swish!"
He continued the hot streak from the previous day’s three-point contest, quickly scoring to break The East’s drought.
Retreating back on defense, Hansen went over to give Wade a high-five.
Indeed, having a real friend in a place like the All-Star Ga did have its benefits.
On offense for The West, Anthony tried to receive the ball to make a play, hoping to redeem himself from the earlier block.
However, Hansen engaged in a half fronting defense, and Anthony couldn’t get a chance to receive the ball.
This scene was captured by the photographers and displayed on the LED big screen, stirring up the crowd.
Was this the intensity expected at an All-Star Ga?
Anthony didn’t get the ball in the end, but The West executed a spectacular play.
Nash used Duncan’s screen to penetrate inside, leaping up then magically passed the ball in mid-air to Stadeyer on the baseline, who didn’t catch it but directly tapped it back to Duncan, who made a steady mid-range bank shot.
Clearly, The West with Nash and Stadeyer as teammates, along with Nowitzki who was a forr teammate, and Nash being a mastermind at playmaking, played a more structured ga.
The East could only put their hopes on Wade.
And Wade did deliver, once again aggressively driving past Nash.
This ti, The West’s defense was clearly different than before; they didn’t dare to collapse inside imdiately.
This was the value an excellent shooter brought to the team.
Seeing the defense’s hesitation, Wade didn’t hold back, powering up the "Mysterious Steps" to knock Nash off balance and out of bounds, then tossed the ball against the backboard, performing a self-alleoop.
His legs hooked in the air ignited the emotions of the fans in the arena.
Now, that play had the real All-Star Ga feel.
After the dunk, Wade laughed and pointed at Hansen.
Seeing this, Jas’s brows furrowed slightly.
You two seem quite the match, huh?
On offense for The West, Anthony received Nash’s pass beyond the three-point line and imdiately drove past Hansen.
In Hansen’s era, because Anthony had joined that Lakers team, LeBron fans had disparaged Anthony as worthless.
But Hansen had seen Anthony play; although his organizing and defensive skills were not strong, making a championship difficult with him as the core, when it ca to one-on-one ability, Anthony was absolutely historical.
Especially from 15 feet, letting Anthony reach that spot was almost like handing him points.
So Hansen stepped up to press him, not giving him space to initiate a drive.
This tactic was effective; Anthony was forced to protect the ball with his back to Hansen.
But now, Hansen also had to face Anthony’s back-to-the-basket ga.
Anthony had a hefty build and his back-to-the-basket skills were maxed out, forcing Hansen to lower his center of gravity.
The mont he sank down, Anthony pivoted widely around him, using his signature move— the "Washing Machine Spin."
By the ti Hansen regained his balance, Anthony had already cut inside for a bank shot score.
After scoring, Anthony executed his iconic "Three Finger Headshot" celebration at Hansen.
This scene was once again snapped by photographers, igniting cheers from the fans in attendance.
The flavor of this year’s All-Star Ga was indeed too different from the past!
Jas tried a three-pointer from the outside, but it veered off. It was clear he wanted to showcase himself in such a setting, but unfortunately, tonight triggered a high-probability event.
Fortunately, Howard was under the basket, forcefully grabbing the offensive rebound from the clutches of Duncan and Stadeyer.
But with The West’s lineup of tall players on the court, he didn’t have an easy shot.
Just then, Hansen moved from the baseline to the 45-degree angle, Anthony lost focus on defense, and a gap appeared.
Having shined with Magic, Howard had developed an instinctive reaction. He imdiately passed the ball to the open Hansen.
However, Hansen didn’t get a chance for a direct shot because Duncan had already swiftly co over to help on defense.
This was a real All-Star Ga, with no true open spots.
Taking advantage of Duncan’s unsteady lunge, Hansen quickly changed direction, breezing past him towards the basket.
As Anthony ca to his senses and rushed to help defend the basket, Duncan also rotated to the weak side in ti, with Stadeyer shrinking back to the paint.
Hansen’s shooting and layup space were both blocked. His only advantage was his position—Anthony was moving side by side with him towards the inside.
He chose to pull up sharply and control his body’s balance mid-air. Then, at the highest point of his jump, he flicked the ball with his fingers.
Although he had just redeed the skill "Giant’s Killer," he couldn’t yet unleash its full talent, but his prior training in floaters hadn’t been in vain.
Because it was a pull-up floater, Anthony could only watch helplessly as Hansen took the shot.
"Swoosh!"
Hansen’s floater swished through the net.
It might seem unbelievable, but Hansen was now the top scorer for The East.
After the basket, Hansen didn’t miss the opportunity to flaunt his personal signature celebratory gesture—he grabbed either side of his jersey and shook it.
He definitely couldn’t easily defend against the current Anthony, but Anthony couldn’t expect to easily stop him either.
Unable to defend, they could just explode on each other.
This scene was also broadcast on the LED big screen.
The arena erupted with cheers and whistles.
It wasn’t that the celebration was especially unusual, but on Hansen, it beca unique due to his jersey number 77.
For a rookie, and one not quite at that level, being selected as an All-Star starter was a trendous pressure.
When Yao first made the rookie All-Star selection, his nervousness was visible. If not for Kobe coming over to give him a few pats and reminding him to "relax," he probably would have found it very hard to adjust to the All-Star Ga atmosphere.
But not only had Hansen adapted, he was even going toe-to-toe with Anthony, one of the top five players in the League!
That controversial number on his chest seed to have taken on a different aning now.
Anthony was clearly heated; he hadn’t gone through what Jas had with the Cavaliers. All he saw was Hansen, a troublemaker that didn’t fit the All-Star Ga vibe.
Once again with the ball, Anthony wanted to teach Hansen a lesson.
But this ti, Hansen’s defensive moves were noticeably more intense.
Though he had trouble preventing Anthony from scoring, Anthony couldn’t expect to score easily on him either.
The heckling in the arena grew louder.
Those in the know understood this was an All-Star Ga; those unaware might think they were watching last year’s Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Nuggets!
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, the referee called a defensive foul on Hansen.
Seeing this, Anthony grabbed the ball with one hand, turned around, and with his head, he leaned into Hansen.
"Rookie, you damn well can’t guard !"
"Quit your yapping, you act like you damn well stopped or sothing!"
Hansen pushed back against Anthony’s head with force.
Neither would yield, both trading trash talk.
At this mont, the roar from a hundred thousand people in the stadium peaked.
The court had indeed turned into a Colosseum.
Reviews
All reviews (0)