And after failing to turn around, he reached out to call for Antetokounmpo’s screen.
Using the screen, he finally turned and charged into the lane.
But before he took two steps, Hansen’s help defense came, forcing him to stop the ball at just the right moment.
After the recent timeout, Hansen completely changed his play style.
James turned to find Durant, only to realize that Hansen and Jokic had already switched defense with perfect coordination.
Jokic was also spreading his arms wide to disrupt James’s passing route.
Moreover, while James was protecting the ball, looking for teammates, Westbrook had already circumvented Antetokounmpo’s screen, coming from James’s visual blind spot to steal the ball directly!
By the time James reacted, Westbrook was already sprinting down the court for a fast break.
The fast break was truly fast!
Hansen placed his right hand on his forehead, making a looking gesture.
Westbrook had already executed his signature crescent dunk in the frontcourt fast break.
Landing with a Ninja Turtle style power walk, Westbrook’s emotions exploded.
to 141, the score gap on the court widened to 6 points!
At this point, there’s only 1 minute and 20 seconds left in the game, and James Team’s situation looks grim with this lead.
And as James held the ball again, Westbrook’s defensive aggressiveness was even stronger than before.
In theory, Westbrook can’t stop James; their size difference is apparent.
But Westbrook could limit James’s acceleration, preventing him from easily attacking the lane as before.
More importantly, Hansen would be there to help defend, meaning James’s breakthroughs could no longer be as effective as before.
James was forced to gesture for Curry to move off the ball again.
As the captain, he had contributed so much already; it was time for others to step up.
Curry was determined, successfully shaking off Thompson to receive the pass this time.
However, his attempt at a three-pointer clanked off the rim.
Jokic secured the rebound and handed it off to Westbrook, who once again executed a fast break dunk.
to 143, with Hansen’s team coming back from the timeout with a 6-0 run, increasing the score gap to 8 points!
There’s only 1 minute left, and time is running out for James Team.
On the sidelines, Stevens touched his chin, frowning and looking intently at Hansen.
At this moment, he could sense Hansen’s daunting presence more clearly than ever before.
Hansen didn’t score much during this decisive phase, but what he did was far more than scoring.
After that timeout, Curry was hot, with consecutive threes helping James Team keep the score tight.
Because with Durant on James Team, if Hansen switched to defend Curry, Durant might explode offensively.
So Hansen chose the safest option, letting James score.
Compared to Curry or Durant, James’s tough two-pointers had the least impact on the game.
Moreover, letting James score had another benefit: cooling down Curry’s hot streak.
In "history," Shumpert, who once played with James, complained on a TV show that playing with James means not touching the ball for long stretches, and then being asked to hit clutch shots, which makes it hard to maintain accuracy.
When Curry can’t get the ball while he’s hot, the effect is quite similar.
Both Harden and Westbrook are traps set by Hansen for James, and even knowing they are traps, James would still walk into them.
Such planning and plotting, even targeting everyone’s character and ability, was so fearsome that even someone prideful of their tactical prowess was left in awe.
Previously, when Kuzma mimicked the crown gesture, James misunderstood Hansen, thinking he was the hidden hand behind it.
But tonight, he should truly understand the despairing situation he faces when Hansen plays the role of the puppet master! ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾·𝗇𝖾𝗍