The crowd stirred, Hansen’s defensive pressure was incredibly intense!
Even the fans aside, Coach Joerger widened his eyes.
How did he feel Hansen’s defense had gotten even stronger? Dıscover more novels at 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥
Or was it just because James’ dribbling was so poor it made Hansen’s efforts stand out more?
The camera cut to James, whose face looked utterly unpleasant.
After hesitating for a while, he still chose to keep the ball.
For the sake of his contract, he had to fight.
The New York fans’ cheers resonated once again.
Hansen’s defense had caught everyone off guard; it was understandable James had been stripped of the ball.
Everyone believed a similar incident wouldn’t occur a second time, and James would soon retaliate.
The same strategy was in play, but this time Stademeyer’s screen was set closer to James and moved as Hansen slid past.
The referee made no call, and James finally managed to get a switch.
Stademeyer promptly cleared out, taking Hansen with him.
Facing Randolph now, James briefly paused, then suddenly accelerated into a sprint.
Previously, James wasn’t so confident against Randolph, but with the "[vertical jump rule]" in his favor, Randolph’s slow movements couldn’t stop him.
However, just as he visualized himself performing a tomahawk dunk and began to accelerate, he felt a lightness in his hand.
Hansen hadn’t followed Stademeyer; instead, using a Danny Green-style defense, Hansen came from behind without detection and stole the ball the moment James paused!
The arena was in uproar.
Within two possessions, Hansen had stolen the ball from James twice!
This time Hansen didn’t pass but left James in the dust and sped to the front court, finishing with a one-handed slam dunk.
The Grizzlies had shattered the dreams of New York fans right from the start.
Moreover, after being stolen from twice, James calmed down completely, seeming to lose any intention of holding the ball again.
Then Nash, collaborating with Stademeyer for a classic pick-and-roll, assisted him to score the New York Knicks’ first basket.
The Knicks’ lineup was spacious and modern, possessing strong offensive capabilities.
Or rather, the Knicks had failed in their first two offensive attempts purely due to Hansen’s presence.
Halfway through the quarter, the score was 20 to 12, the point difference was still in the single digits.
This put James in an awkward position on the court.
When he held the ball, the Knicks couldn’t score; when he didn’t, they closely contested the score.
More crucially, when he moved without the ball, Hansen stuck to him tightly, giving him no chance to receive passes.
This made LeBron fans on social media vanish collectively, as Hansen had really locked down James, just like he had promised before the game!
Finally, after being nearly invisible for most of the half, James, with his back to Hansen, once again asked for the ball.
Continuing this way was untenable. If Hansen actually lived up to his bold pre-game declarations, it would be another severe blow to his standing with Nike.
This time after receiving the ball, he didn’t call for a screen, but chose to post up directly.
He anchored down and forcefully backed down Hansen.
Knowing Hansen was quick to swipe, this was the only way he could create enough space to turn around.
However, just as he exerted force for the second time, Hansen seized the opportunity to execute a classic "pull the chair."
James had been back in The East far too long without facing Hansen and had forgotten this move.
Losing his balance, James not only lost control of the ball, but, pushing too hard, he fell backwards onto the floor.
Meanwhile, Hansen, having slipped beside him, had already taken control of the ball and once again accelerated for a fast break.
Nash tried to foul early but Hansen dodged it with a spin move during his advance.
Rushing to the front court, Hansen threw the ball between his legs—a showy behind-the-back dunk.
It wasn’t until Hansen completed the dunk that James finally stood up from the floor.
At this moment, the camera cut to James—and surprisingly, a chorus of boos resounded around the arena!
One steal could be an accident, two might be tolerated, but being scared to play and getting stripped every possession was infuriating. What use was he?
New York fans are the most temperamental in the League.
James, lips pursed, moved his eyes from side to side.
He never imagined he’d see the day he’d be booed by his own fans!