"Noah’s behavior before the game was stupid; he provoked the very person he shouldn’t have," Barkley remarked with a sigh from the commentator’s booth.
He had said this countless times, but there were always those who wouldn’t believe it.
"It’s a process; they’ll gradually understand," O’Neal said calmly.
Byron Scott didn’t start out using over-the-top defense against Jordan. It was only after Jordan had conquered an entire era that he did so.
This is something a true dominator of an era must accomplish.
Hansen’s dunk ignited the arena, and the chant for defense from the Cavaliers’ fans started to echo.
The chant was overwhelming.
They had waited four long years to roar this again.
The defensive intensity on the court for the Cavaliers was visibly improving.
Lue could get along well with everyone primarily because he understood human nature.
With a backbone in place, the tense atmosphere amongst the Cavaliers’ players visibly relaxed.
The Bulls’ possession was stopped by the defense.
Turning back, Hansen continued to handle the ball, with Garnett again setting the screen.
This time, Hansen didn’t rush to drive but passed the ball to Garnett, who had popped out to the free-throw line after the pick.
With experience showing, Garnett didn’t rush his shot but instead observed Hansen’s options after passing the ball.
When he saw that Hansen had shaken off Butler without the ball, he decisively chose to bounce pass it back.
The ball passed beside Noah and, with anticipation, Hansen caught it, sidestepped Gibson who came to help, and scored with a gliding layup.
In terms of facilitating from the post, Noah was little more than a younger brother to Garnett.
Pick and roll, iron-blooded jump shots, and facilitation—the three tactics were what Garnett could still contribute offensively to the team.
Back on defense, the Cavaliers’ intensity continued.
Ross’s driven shot was fiercely disrupted by TT.
Noah tried to follow up with a tip-in, but Garnett boxed him out, and he couldn’t hook the ball. The rebound eventually went to TT.
One could feel that, with Hansen’s consecutive scoring, the earlier tension within the Cavaliers had almost entirely dissipated.
The home fans switched from their defensive chants to cheering and support.
The ball was still in Hansen’s hands.
Garnett kept providing screens.
The state of the other three Cavaliers on the court was unclear, but playoff veterans Garnett and Han were steady.
This time, after the pick and roll, Garnett popped out again and the Bulls decided not to double-team Hansen immediately.
Hansen took a step and then chose a pull-up jumper.
It was a simple, yet correct choice because, while the Bulls didn’t continue the double-team, Covington on the wing and Gibson at the baseline had already begun moving into his driving lane.
Driving to draw a double-team and pass was an option, but the current situation required him to score.
However, Noah showed his impeccable ability to defend smaller players, timing his jump with his long arms to disturb Hansen’s shot.
He was confident, and his timing was spot-on.
But Hansen, undeterred by his defense, made the shot!
Pure individual skill ignoring the defense.
The chant from the fans turned to cheers.
After a 6-0 start by the Bulls, Hansen personally scored 6 points to tie the game!
As Hansen landed, he spread his hands towards Noah.
He didn’t resort to trash-talking Noah like Garnett did, just as he had said on the radio.
But his gesture was more damaging than any trash talk.
The scene was broadcasted on the LED screens, eliciting more jeers from the crowd.
Noah had called out Hansen by name before the game, wanting to defeat him, but he was utterly unable to stop him.
As the game transitioned to defense, the chants reverberated through the arena. It was the Cavaliers’ chance to surge ahead in the score.
The Bulls ball ended up in Butler’s hands in the corner.
Like Hansen, Butler was also a 3D player from the start, hitting 37.8% from three this season.
But his biggest problem was a lack of talent. After Hansen closed out, Butler’s shot was heavily contested and fell short.
The ball grazed the edge of the rim and bounced out, hitting the floor before flying towards the boundary.
Tucker and Noah both chased after it, one from under the basket and the other from the free-throw line.
But the ball’s bounce was too fast, and even though Tucker reached it, he couldn’t catch up.
He made a smart choice by stopping at the sideline to block Noah’s path to save the ball.
However, what happened next surprised everyone.
Noah, avoiding Tucker, lunged towards the ball going out of bounds, completely disregarding his safety as he desperately scooped the ball back in with his hand.
The move was very risky, but Noah managed to do the seemingly impossible.
He plunged into the crowd, but his long arm successfully retrieved the ball from out of bounds.
Butler then ghosted in beside Tucker, got the ball, and glided sideways for the layup.
The arena buzzed with activity.
Because it was the Bulls, Noah’s dive instantly reminded people of Rodman’s iconic, parallel-to-the-floor, hustle play.
Watching Noah get up from the crowd and hustle back on the court, Hansen’s view of him changed slightly. Official source ıs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩