After a while, Varejao was helped off the court by his teammates and the team doctor, hopping along.
He had become the first person to have his ankles destroyed by Hansen.
There was a stir at the scene, as Varejao had only played 31 games last season due to a right ankle tendon tear, and it seemed like the situation was bad now, headed toward being injury-prone.
Moreover, his contract with the Cavaliers wouldn’t expire until the summer of 2015. James had left, leaving the Cavaliers a big gap.
After the timeout, Tristan Thompson substituted for the injured Varejao.
When Irving took the ball again, Hansen switched to defend him.
"Kyrie, there won’t be a third time," Hansen said to Irving.
It was a declaration and also a trap for Irving.
Even at his peak, Irving didn’t have the ability to kill the game, and now he was just a rookie.
Irving inevitably chose to fall into the trap.
The crowd began to jeer.
Irving started dribbling left and right continuously, looking for an opportunity.
But Hansen’s focus was clearly higher than before, and he didn’t find as good of a breakthrough opportunity as before.
In the end, he again used Sam God’s signature move.
But this time, Hansen slid back in advance.
Seeing this, Irving again showcased his superior ball-handling skills, pulling back for a jump shot.
But he clearly underestimated Hansen’s speed.
Hansen was fully focused now and, with a lighter body and improved agility this season, he was like a cheetah.
Hansen leaped high and swatted Irving’s shot out of bounds with a slap.
The crowd was stunned.
Irving played beautifully, but Hansen’s block was even more spectacular.
The Cavaliers inbounded the ball, and Irving ran to pick it up and continued to shoot from outside; he truly dared to shoot.
However, after being blocked face-to-face, his mentality was clearly affected, resulting in an airball.
The ball went to the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies had a chance to tie the score.
Conley continued to pass the ball to Hansen and then directed a clear-out on the strong side. The rıghtful source is 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦•𝘯𝘦𝘵
Old Parker’s forehead began to sweat.
It’s just playing basketball; why provoke Hansen?
And once provoked, the one who suffered was him!
There wasn’t time to think much because Hansen had already started making a breakthrough move.
The one repeatedly beaten by Hansen almost subconsciously took a step back.
That step was all Hansen needed to pull up for a shot.
By the time Parker made a desperate leap, he, being at a disadvantage in every aspect, actually couldn’t provide any effective disruption to Hansen.
The basketball traced a long parabola and went through the net.
The Grizzlies tied the score.
Scott didn’t call for a timeout then but signaled for a quick inbound in the backcourt.
If they could score quickly, it would stem the Grizzlies’ scoring momentum.
Thompson inbounded the ball in the backcourt, and Irving turned to receive it.
But just as he reached out, he felt a gust of wind pass by him.
By the time he realized it, he saw Hansen flying to intercept Thompson’s pass!
Without giving the Cavaliers any time to react, Hansen took one big step after getting the ball and went straight for a two-handed dunk.
After landing, Hansen shrugged at the annoyed Irving.
That’s how you celebrate.
Seeing that, Scott hurriedly called for a timeout.
The LED screen in the arena displayed Hansen’s stats for the night: 8 minutes, 5 shots all made, one three-pointer made out of one, 11 points, 1 assist, 1 steal.
The fans could only think of Guy’s seemingly boastful words from before the game:
"As long as he wants, he can score 40 points anytime."