Wade’s warning echoed in his ears as he quickly grabbed the basketball, narrowly avoiding Hansen’s attempt to steal.
Just as he was breathing a sigh of relief, Hansen’s hands clamped down on the ball like giant pincers.
The next second, Hansen completed the "heist."
As Hansen sprinted towards the front court with the ball, no one could keep up with his pace.
A leaping fast break layup, Hansen stopped the Heat Team.
With 40 seconds remaining in the game, Hansen scored 8 points in just 50 seconds, narrowing the Cavaliers’ deficit to 2 points!
"Make the impossible possible!"
O’Neal shouted excitedly, echoing the inscription under Hansen’s statue.
After a verbal battle with Riley, he was desperate for the Cavaliers to win the game! Googlᴇ search 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✶𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲✶𝗻𝗲𝘁
After the timeout, the ball was in Wade’s hands, and he continued to run down the clock.
The Heat Team held off their attack until the final 10 seconds, Durant used Big Gasol’s screen to receive the ball, and shot a three-pointer right over Hansen.
The difficulty of this shot was maxed out, but Durant made it!
The arena fell into a dead silence.
After scoring, Durant let out a loud roar.
Despite a scoring decline in the second half under Hansen’s defense, this shot brought his second-half total to 18 points.
He had scored a career-high 46 points in this game!
More importantly, with only 20 seconds left, he extended the Heat Team’s lead to 5 points.
This practically sealed the game.
"The Cavaliers have no chance now," Barkley sighed once again.
The Cavaliers called a timeout.
As Riley walked off the court, he looked at Durant with more love than he would his own son.
After the timeout, Malone subbed in TT for Tucker and used the Starburst strategy.
With 20 seconds and trailing by 5 points, the Cavaliers had no choice but to attempt a three-pointer.
Jokic inbounded from the sideline, and Hansen used TT’s pick-and-roll to receive the ball.
TT’s screen was a level above Jokic’s, but as Hansen caught the ball, he still faced Wade’s help defense.
Riley knew the Cavaliers had only the three-point option and that the ball would go to Hansen, so defending was not hard.
Hansen chose to step back beyond the three-point line.
This reminded everyone of the Cavaliers vs. Warriors season opener.
Wade knew Hansen had the ability, and when he saw Hansen was ready to shoot, he rushed towards him.
But to his surprise, Hansen waited for him, leaning forward as Wade approached.
He was going for a three-point foul!
Shooting a three relies on touch, drawing a foul is the best option.
Wade realized and quickly tried to withdraw his body, but couldn’t fully avoid it.
Even after the referee’s whistle, Hansen didn’t stop and, with a knee tuck in mid-air, almost as if for a second boost, released the shot on the way down.
The eyes of the crowd widened.
Then, they heard the sweetest sound in the world.
Hansen not only drew the foul but made the shot.
"Oh my God!" Barkley clutched his head.
The difference between a three-pointer and a 3+1 is huge.
Because it’s not a full 24-second possession, after scoring, the Cavaliers must foul the Heat Team on the inbound. The potential trailing margin could be 3 points or 4 points, the former with a chance for a tie, the latter almost ensuring a loss due to lack of time.
Riley stood with a furrowed brow, silent.
Wade was the most experienced on the Heat Team, but choices happen in an instant.
Additionally, it was his defensive strategy to prevent Hansen from shooting a three.
Hansen stepped up to the free-throw line, and the arena went silent, afraid to disturb him.
Riley then subbed in the Heat’s best free throw shooters.
Hansen made the additional free throw, bringing the score to 112 to 113, with 9 seconds left, narrowing the Cavaliers’ gap to 1 point.
The Heat Team inbounded the ball successfully, getting it into Durant’s hands, and Hansen fouled, sending Durant to the line.
Amid loud distractions, Durant withstood the pressure and made both free throws, bringing his playoff single-game scoring to 48 points.
Malone called another timeout.
Having saved previous timeouts, the Cavaliers still had one left, though it would be their last.
The Cavaliers had a chance to tie it, but just one opportunity.
The crowd could hardly breathe due to the tension.
After the timeout, the Heat Team extended their defense to the three-point line, preventing any chance for a three-pointer from the Cavaliers.
Hansen couldn’t even catch the ball with his off-ball movement.
Seeing Jokic nearing a 5-second violation on the sideline, with no timeouts left for the Cavaliers, Hansen rapidly cut inside.
This move didn’t face much opposition, as opponents usually let in the tough, ironhearted twos.
Hansen caught Jokic’s pass and made the flying layup.
The difference remained 1 point, but only 6 seconds were left.
The Heat Team called a timeout.
Now they just needed a successful inbound to seal the win.
For the Cavaliers, they needed another steal of death like Hansen’s before.
The fans could feel their hearts about to leap out of their chests.
At this moment, the arena’s big screen displayed Hansen’s statistics from the last minute and a half.
Seeing was believing; people were shocked.
In just a minute and a half, Hansen had scored 14 points!