Hansen saw the situation and immediately waved his hands on the perimeter, signaling to clear out and create space for a one-on-one with James.
Now James was really put on the spot, he had no choice but to shoot.
Barkley at the commentator’s table burst into laughter.
It just dawned on him that tonight’s game marked the first time in two years that Hansen and James were on the same team again.
Thinking about the current grievances between the two, it was simply too amusing.
James must have cursed Hansen in his heart, but he still turned around and started to go one-on-one with Durant.
Durant was putting up a tough fight too, and even though he was at a slight disadvantage in terms of weight, he didn’t fall behind in the physical confrontation.
James tried to make a spin move to break through, but Durant maintained his defensive position and sealed off his driving lane, forcing him to dribble back out.
Unable to post up effectively, James faced the basket looking for an opportunity to drive, but Durant was fully focused, keeping a hawk’s eye on him.
In the end, James dribbled back out to the three-point line and went between his legs back and forth.
Just when everyone thought he was gearing up to drive, he suddenly tossed the ball to the top of the arc.
With only 5 seconds left on the shot clock, Hanson was the one he threw it to.
Whether it was a triggered passive or seeing Hansen’s instinctive reaction, no one knew.
But to everyone’s utter surprise, Hansen didn’t reach out to catch the ball; he sidestepped as if he had reacted half a beat too slow.
The ball flew out like a fish off the hook.
There was a moment of silence in the huge Toyota Center.
Then, O’Neal at the commentator’s desk was rolling with laughter.
It was beyond anyone’s expectation that Hansen would actually dodge the "hot potato"! The source of thɪs content is 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✦𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚✦𝕟𝕖𝕥
James looked at Hansen with a shrug.
Hansen had already started running back towards the backcourt.
Back in the days with the Knights, he would’ve taken the blame to win games, but to indulge you during the All-Star game?
Here’s a turnover for you, no thanks!
James’s face darkened when he saw Hansen’s reaction.
In reality, he hadn’t intended to provoke Hansen from the start, it was Hansen who began by targeting him.
He just hadn’t expected that his attempt to retaliate would instead backfire.
That guy was just insufferable.
Turning back, Durant caught the ball on the outside and shot it, but with James’s harassment, he couldn’t make it either.
Both sides started the game by clanking shots.
Kobe, seeing James struggling against Durant, turned and passed the ball to Hansen.
Hansen, upon receiving the ball and seeing Randolph calling for it, immediately fed the ball inside.
Randolph went one-on-one with Howard, a clash between skill and talent. In the end, talent prevailed as Howard leaped high and swatted the ball away.
The Brooklyn Nets had a coaching change in January, booting Johnson for Hollins.
Hollins emphasized post offense, and Howard’s touches in the low post greatly increased; he turned back into the "Happy Beast," even the impact of his back injury seemed to lessen.
Hansen ended up with the ball after it was deflected.
With a pump fake and a real drive, he got past Wade, but at that moment Durant was rapidly coming over to help defend.
Wade’s defense was somewhat lax, understandable since it was the All-Star game, but Durant was playing genuine defense, the desperate kind.
Hansen made a no-look pass to James.
The pass was flawless; Durant’s help defense would inevitably leave James open.
However, by the time James caught the ball, there were only 3 seconds left!
James hesitated upon catching it, having no time to drive, so he opted to shoot.
The basketball solidly bounced off the rim.
Now it wasn’t just O’Neal, but Barkley was laughing too.
James was always known for passing off the tough plays to others, but tonight, he was forcefully turned into the scapegoat.
Especially recalling the scene of Hansen dodging James’s pass earlier, it seemed all the more hilarious!