This substitution connection period ended with a score of 35 to 41 on the court.
Durant continued to score after returning in the second quarter, but the Cavaliers’ offensive momentum did not weaken. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⟡𝕗𝗂𝗋𝖾⟡𝕟𝕖𝕥
Ross’s drives and JR’s three-pointers, the Cavaliers played with great flair during this stretch.
Just as it was shown at the beginning of the second quarter, the Cavaliers’ offense was not reliant on Hansen’s isolation plays, but on his strategic playmaking.
Hansen’s scoring ability is outstanding, but what he can do is definitely not limited to just scoring. With his top-level passing skills, he can orchestrate the team like "Magic" Johnson.
Moreover, Hansen’s choice of post-up offense not only attracts double-teams but is also a more energy-efficient style of play.
So by the end of this connection period, Stevens was completely outplayed by Malone tonight.
In terms of tactical level, both Stevens and Malone are very competent, just like two players with excellent offensive capabilities, who dominates whom depends on who seizes the opportunity first.
Previously it was Stevens, now it’s Malone’s turn.
Moreover, because Hansen’s energy consumption wasn’t much, he didn’t leave the court for a rest this quarter.
Jokic was also replaced back with 7 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
After resting off the court for 8 minutes before returning, he was also quite energetic.
The Cavaliers returned to their first-quarter style of play.
However, Stevens made targeted defensive arrangements for Jokic, and his performance was suppressed this quarter.
Fortunately, the off-ball offense of Wade and Hansen was pretty good.
to 55, the Cavaliers ended the half with a narrow lead.
The scores might seem evenly matched, but the Cavaliers were clearly the superior side in the first half.
It’s worth noting that Stevens used a few cores much more than before to catch up with the score during the substitution connection period.
Of course, the most important thing is that the Cavaliers’ offensive focus in the first half was on Jokic, and Hansen rarely played isolation with the ball.
This is a very dangerous signal for the Celtics.
Sure enough, when the third quarter came back, Hansen started his performance.
Or rather, the other Cavaliers had done a lot in the first half; it was time for him to step up and finish the game.
At the start of the third quarter, Kuzma continued to replace TT as a starter, and Hansen began massive ball-handling isolations.
When what was expected finally came, Stevens’s hopes died, and he started to feel very conflicted.
Because the purpose of the single defense was originally to exhaust Hansen, full-court handling would consume a lot for Hansen, but the first half was purely a breeze for him.
But if Hansen was double-teamed, he would orchestrate the team offense like in the second quarter.
It’s important to know that the other Cavaliers playing more in the first half also resulted in them being in excellent form.
Finally, Stevens first adopted a single defense in the first half of the third quarter, and after realizing it didn’t work, he shifted to double-teaming Hansen.
Only after he chose to double-team Hansen did he find that things were a bit different from what he had expected.
Hansen did not orchestrate the team like in the second quarter; having found his rhythm in the first half of the game, he often chose to quickly turn and attack from one side when faced with double-teams.
This allowed him to penetrate into the paint more swiftly.
Whether by force or by drawing fouls, he always found a way to score.
The emotions of the Cleveland fans also reached a climax in this quarter.
Previously, they hadn’t witnessed Hansen’s 86-point game against the Celtics in Boston, but now they saw it on the home court.
The Celtics couldn’t stop Hansen at all!
Hansen scored a staggering 30 points in a single quarter, marking the second time in his career achieving over 30 points in a single quarter, placing him alongside Kobe as the only two players in history to achieve this.
Of course, if you add the fact that one of these achievements was made in the playoffs, then Hansen stands alone in history!
In fact, Hansen is also the first in NBA history to accomplish this in a playoff game.
The halftime point difference was only 2 points between the teams, but by the end of this quarter, it had become 14 points.
By the fourth quarter, the Celtics’ performance severely declined.
On one hand, it was due to Stevens’s earlier overuse of the core starters, but more importantly, their mentality was crushed by Hansen.
Scoring 30 points in a playoff quarter, is that something a human could do?!
It felt like in the middle of a fierce battle between two military forces, a human-shaped Gundam suddenly appeared on the opposing side, sweeping everything, causing fear in all who saw it.
Ultimately, the Cavaliers, leveraging a huge 60 to 45 advantage in the second half, defeated the Celtics 115 to 98 at home, securing this crucial King Mountain Battle.
Hansen contributed 48 points in three quarters, creating a classic game analogous to Kobe’s 62-point three-quarter performance back in the day.
Even before the game ended, fans on social media already adopted a collective worship mode.
"I have not witnessed Jordan’s era, but I’ve witnessed Hansen’s era. This is the greatest legend, bar none!"
"No matter how glorious the past, it cannot help them defeat the current opponent, just like in the days of Michael Jordan, Boston was once again plunged into endless despair!"
"This is not just Boston’s misfortune, but also the misfortune of top teams of the same era. Whether it’s the Heat or the Celtics, they are strong enough but appeared at the wrong time."