The game process was very similar to Game 1, Nowitzki’s shooting in the first quarter was still off, and the Heat still managed to put up a strong start.
However, Spoelstra made adjustments earlier, allowing James to stagger his playing time early on.
He also employed a "hack-a-Shaq" strategy on O’Neal, and after O’Neal repeatedly missed free throws, Carlisle was forced to substitute him out.
During the substitution period, the Heat maintained their advantage.
But as the starters returned, the situation changed again.
Because Nowitzki found his touch earlier than in Game 1.
Nowitzki scored 12 points in a single quarter, and under his leadership, the Mavericks took the lead ahead of schedule.
Hansen could fully feel how tense the Miami fans at the venue were.
Because losing two home games in a row would leave them no chance at all.
Fortunately, they still had Wade.
Wade was formidable in Game 1, and he did not disappoint in Game 2, frequently attacking the Mavericks’ inside line, and managed to flip the score back in the third quarter.
In the final quarter, the scores of both teams were alternating leads, the intensity on the court extremely high.
In the last three minutes, neither team scored much.
One minute before the end of the game, the Heat took a crucial 2-point lead with a difficult lob shot from Wade.
But Nowitzki similarly tied the score with a fadeaway jumper from a double-team, earning his 34th point of the night.
In the last 20 seconds, the score was tied once again.
It was a similar round, only this time, the Heat had the ball possession. Orıginal content can be found at 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚫𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚫𝕟𝕖𝕥
James drove the ball, Wade blocked Nowitzki with all his might, James passed to Bosh, and Bosh hit a key mid-range shot to seal the game.
Bosh completed his redemption, and the Heat did not fall into a sweep like Hansen had anticipated.
Indeed, the people of Miami should really be grateful to Wade.
Wade scored 36 points in Game 1, then 29 in Game 2, averaging 32.5 points over the two games, nearly matching his 2006 Finals performance.
In contrast, James scored 20 points in the previous game and 17 in this one, averaging 18 points; he really played like Pippen.
This made Hansen even more excited for the upcoming games.
The Finals still followed a 2-3-2 format, with the upcoming games all to be held in Dallas.
Hansen left Miami, not because of the format, but because Swift said she suddenly wanted to go back and continue writing songs.
Hansen also left Miami, but he did not head to Dallas, instead, he went back to Memphis.
The lockout would last until July, when the old collective bargaining agreement expired, so he was not in a hurry to start the training camp.
After watching the first two games of the Finals, he had new ideas about talent exchanges.
Passing was urgently needed for him, but it did not necessarily have to be First Gear Talent.
His goal now was to become a scorer like Wade, not a ball-dominant core like James.
Partly because the Grizzlies played a team-oriented style, and while he indeed needed some individual ball-handling on the perimeter, it wasn’t excessive; using First Gear Talent would be an overflow.
On the other hand, changing the Grizzlies’ style to rely on a ball-dominant core might not be a good choice.
Because not only does that style consume a lot, but it also tends to waste teammates and has a low ceiling.
In other words, for him, the talent related to passing was "good enough."
So he didn’t need to wait.
He now had 600,000 black fans’ value, more than enough to exchange for Second Gear Passing Talent.
Moreover, after exchanging, since talents needed training to reach their limits, he could continue to accumulate black fans’ value.
By the mid-season, no, maybe before the season started due to the lockout, he might see an opportunity to exchange for First Gear Control Talent.
Top-tier control would significantly enhance his offensive threat, just as Wade had done in the Finals.
Having figured this out, Hansen then found a passing-related talent within Second Gear, valued at 230,000.
[No need to pretend to complete no-look passes]: Enhances finger coordination and flexibility talent, improves passing vision.
①: Indigenous injuries will be written as they actually occurred historically.