In the first quarter, Hansen played the entire period, scoring 18 points.
Under his leadership, the Cavaliers trailed the Heat Team by only 4 points, 28 to 32, at the end of the first quarter.
However, at the start of the second quarter, the Cavaliers had to face the superiority of the Heat Team’s bench.
Despite Williams having a strong performance tonight, the Heat Team still managed to widen the gap during this time.
When Hansen returned to the court, the Cavaliers were already trailing the Heat Team by double digits.
Then, as soon as Hansen got on court, he quickly broke through Deng’s defense and scored a layup.
Deng’s defense was not weak, but he could not contain Hansen one-on-one.
Hansen scored another 15 points in the second quarter, racking up 33 points for the half.
The Cavaliers could only hope for Hansen tonight, and Hansen did not disappoint those expectations.
With his performance, the Cavaliers trailed the Heat Team by 6 points at halftime, 52 to 58.
"We have reason to believe that Han will score 50 points again tonight," Barkley predicted before the end of the half. Dıscover more novels at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽
In the first possession of the second half, Hansen received the ball and was immediately double-teamed.
But Tucker made the corner three after receiving Hansen’s pass.
$2,000, while not a small sum, paled in comparison to the motivation it brought.
They might not be able to provide scoring support like Irving, but they could do what they were capable of to perfection.
In the next possession, Hansen was not double-teamed.
Spoelstra only tested the waters briefly, his game strategy was still to wear Hansen out.
In fact, his strategy began to show results at the start of this quarter.
Although Hansen still scored 14 points in the quarter, his energy and efficiency had clearly begun to decline.
This forced Malone to substitute Williams earlier in the second half to share the ball-handling pressure.
The Heat Team also managed to stretch the lead back to double digits in this quarter.
With 47 points in three quarters, Hansen showed the bravery that had characterized his entire career, no matter who the opponent was.
Or perhaps, after returning to Cleveland, it would be more accurate to say an unstoppable "Knight."
Only this time, he was up against a group with spears, not an opponent that could be defeated by courage alone.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Hansen rested off the court.
He had to rest, for by now he was completely out of energy.
Sweat poured down both sides of his face; he wiped it off with a towel, only for new sweat to immediately bead up again.
A voice inside him, beyond his control, began to whisper: "You have done everything you could. Rest now. There is no shame in losing to this Heat Team, just like when Jordan lost to the Magic; no one will blame you."
And that voice kept getting louder.
The fatigue in his body inevitably led to mental exhaustion,
especially as his team continued to lose ground in scores.
Malone directed from the sidelines as the Cavaliers’ bench continued to lose points during this stretch.
At that moment, a whistle blew on the court.
Williams collided with Vucevic during a drive and fell hard to the ground.
Malone watched with anxiety—if Williams was also injured, the Cavaliers were truly finished tonight.
Luckily, Williams got up after a moment on the floor, signaled he was okay to continue after moving his shoulder a bit, and his teammates pulled him up.
Malone let out a long sigh of relief.
"Coach, I’m ready to go in."
Just then, a voice emerged beside him.
Focused entirely on Williams, Malone hadn’t noticed that Hansen had already stood behind him.
"Rest two more minutes," said Malone, looking at Hansen’s endless sweat.
"I’ll have plenty of time to rest after the game is over."
Malone hesitated but, seeing Hansen’s determined eyes, finally nodded.
The Cavaliers were down by 13 points. If they couldn’t close the gap, there would be no decisive moments for them tonight.
A brief whistle sounded on the sidelines, and Hansen came on to replace JR.
The moment it was shown on the LED screen, a stir went through the crowd.
The fourth quarter had barely started two and a half minutes ago, and Hansen had only rested for that same amount of time!
Was Hansen really an iron man? Anyone else would have been spent in such an intense game!
Spoelstra, seeing this, actually breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Hansen coming on so early meant he wouldn’t have the energy to last until the end.
The lineups on the court at that time were, for the Cavaliers: Williams, Hansen, Tucker, Conningham, Garnett
And for the Heat Team: Chalmers, Seferosa, Durant, Deng, Vucevic
After entering the court, Hansen walked to the free-throw line and high-fived Williams.
The camera at the venue captured him at that moment.
Hansen was chewing gum.
In the ’90s, gum was a favorite among NBA players for its many benefits: alleviating stress, keeping the mouth moist, focusing attention, protecting teeth, and regulating breathing, among others.
However, it was eventually replaced by mouthguards due to the risk of swallowing gum during intense activity.
Hansen usually played with a mouthguard.
But just before going on the court now, he chose to take off his mouthguard and asked Garnett for some gum.
Under the camera’s eye, he even blew a bubble.
While gum has its drawbacks, it indeed provides stress relief.