However, he had naturally heard of such matches. "Heavenly King Mountain" is a term originating from the Battle of Mount Shangyu during the Warring States period of Japan. It was named after the battle fought at the foot of Heavenly King Mountain and refers to a key battle. The term is not exclusive to basketball and is generally used when sides of equal strength compete for the match point.
The pivotal nature of this match goes without saying, and it became the most-watched game of the playoffs.
Two days later, the Grizzlies and the Lakers moved to Los Angeles to officially start the big game.
From the start, the Lakers showed their adjustments. Googlᴇ search 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⁂𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
Kobe stopped tangling with Hansen on the defensive end and instead ensured the output of his team on offense.
Both sides were very aggressive defensively, but Hansen and Kobe maintained their form, leading to a head-to-head offensive battle.
Joerger saw this and sent in Allen early.
Kobe had a noticeably better response when facing Allen.
Before the game, ESPN reported that Kobe had watched all of Allen’s game videos over the past two days. Although that might be an exaggeration, it was clear that Kobe had put in the work.
Nevertheless, Allen’s limitation on Kobe remained.
Soon after, Allen was called for two defensive fouls in quick succession.
This seriously disrupted Allen’s defensive rhythm.
Upon seeing this, Hansen couldn’t help but protest to the referees, arguing that Allen and Conley were the cleanest defensive players in the league, and those whistles couldn’t even count as hair-trigger calls, more like "thin air" calls.
However, the referees did not pay him any mind.
It wasn’t just Allen being targeted with calls; when Hansen was on the offense, the Lakers’ minor infractions were also overlooked by the officials.
The bias in this game’s calls was very obvious, going beyond any home-court advantage.
So, is James the only player in the league to have ever enjoyed the legendary "League’s Favor"?
Wade’s explosion in free throw attempts after Game 2 of the 2006 Finals, along with an average of 16+ free throws per game, is the most typical example.
Kobe, too, as he averaged over 17 free throws in the 2008 Western Conference semifinals against the Jazz, with Kirilenko, who averaged less than two fouls per game in his career, fouling out four times in that series.
These instances are almost identical to James’s encounters against the Magic in 2009, the only difference being that under this kind of favorable treatment, Wade and Kobe both won, while James did not.
The control over the scale of penalties is the easiest to exercise, or else we wouldn’t see so many games that feel like "5 against 8."
Even some NBA referees have admitted in post-retirement interviews with journalists that the league would show them videos of these superstars before games, highlighting "missed" calls, ensuring that subsequent games would favor the stars in terms of officiating.
And now, if you ask Stern who he would most like to see in the Finals? Without a doubt, it’s the Lakers and the Heat.
The 23 versus 24 match-up has always been the script he cherished, and this year, both teams have star-studded lineups, capable of bringing explosive viewership and unimaginable revenue.
In the end, in the Heavenly King Mountain game, the Lakers had a staggering 43 to 16 advantage in free throw attempts over the Grizzlies, allowing them to secure the battle with a 110-100 victory.
"I fucking don’t know what the referees’ criteria are. They just want the Lakers to win; that’s their only standard," Hansen blasted at the post-game press conference.
When a journalist asked about his thoughts on Game 6, Hansen had only four words to say:
"See you in Memphis."
With that, he didn’t wait for the press conference to conclude and left the scene directly.