At the start of the fourth quarter, the Celtics players worked hard to narrow the score difference to within 15 points, keeping the suspense of the game alive.
However, as the main players from both sides took to the court, Hansen’s consecutive scores helped the Cavaliers stabilize the situation, causing the expressions of the Celtics players to become very complex.
The most hopeless thing in this world is not not seeing hope, but being given hope in despair only for it to be extinguished again.
With 2 minutes left in the game and the score difference still around 15 points, Stevens finally substituted out the main players.
The Cleveland fans on-site had already started a wild celebration.
Four years ago, even when Hansen returned, no one thought Cleveland, a barren land for sports, could win the championship. But now, they have defeated the biggest obstacle on the road to a dynasty, just one final away from that incredible dynasty!
Surprised? Damn, no one could be more surprised than them!
There are those who rejoice and those who worry. At this moment, the Celtics players who left the court could not hide their disappointment.
They took a step further than last year, but whether losing 2-4 or 3-4, there isn’t much difference in terms of results.
Especially Irving, he regretted it.
Last season with the Bulls, although they were swept by the Cavaliers, he knew it was due to the team’s difference in strength, not to mention the idiot Howard.
But this season, he successfully teamed up with Durant as he wished, yet still couldn’t defeat the Cavaliers, and even lost the game in Cleveland.
No one knows better than he does what level of athlete James is. No matter who James teams up with, it’s impossible to defeat Hansen.
So with the Pelicans basically confirmed to make it to the Finals, he can now only watch the Cavaliers complete the dynasty.
And he could have originally been part of the Cavaliers’ glorious history.
After sitting down, Durant showed more numbness, as he truly was already numb from losing.
The final whistle interrupted their thoughts.
The score on the court finally stopped at 96 to 82, with the Cavaliers eliminating the Celtics 4-3 to advance to the Finals!
"I don’t know, Han is undefeatable, I don’t know the answer to that question." Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⁂𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⁂𝓷𝓮𝓽
At the post-game press conference, when asked by reporters what he would do in the offseason, Durant’s response was despairing.
This time there was no talk of making a comeback, not even any complaints, just pure suffocating despair.
However, he was completely honest, over the years, from developing strategies, improving levels, to team building, he’s done everything he could, yet the results have not changed one bit.
"It’s my problem, my players are the best in the league, they’ve never thought of giving up in adversity and have shown perfect execution. It’s my strategic deployment that has made mistakes. If we can’t break out from the East next year, I’ll resign as head coach."
Stevens took all the responsibility onto himself.
An average coach would worry about being blamed and losing their job after a game , but Stevens was completely unconcerned.
Simply put, truly capable coaches don’t lack job opportunities. If Stevens really resigned from the Celtics, he’d be snapped up by other teams, and the Celtics wouldn’t easily let him go.
He managed to temporarily calm the Celtics’ emotions with this move.
But the potential risk here is that Durant’s contract with the Celtics was a 3+1 contract, with a player option next summer. When Durant leaves and Stevens resigns, the Celtics would really face rebuilding.
"I prefer to face the Pelicans in the Finals, as I’ve said before, LeBron will bring a dynasty to Cleveland."
Compared to the despair on the Celtics’ side, the Cavaliers were feeling completely relaxed. Hansen even unreservedly mentioned James.
The reporters below were in an uproar.
Hansen still holds grudges against James as usual!
This instantly sparked a huge controversy after the game.
Although Hansen had said this before, when his "joking comments" turn into reality, he’s truly a god among gods.
Because this not only requires strong ability but also cooperation from the opponents.
Nonetheless, to some extent, Hansen’s comment had the effect of "surrounding James to save Durant."
Originally, Durant’s demoralizing comments would have been criticized as it was a blow to his team’s morale.
But now, the fans’ attention on social media was all directed at Hansen’s comments, leaving Durant’s situation less noticed.
And amidst this huge clamor of discourse, the Game Seven of the Western Conference Finals began the next day.
Hansen and Rondo watched the live coverage together.
However, he wasn’t studying the game or anything. Recordings are more effective for that; he was completely watching for entertainment.
From the difficulty of achieving a Cavaliers dynasty, playing against the Rockets is clearly much easier than against the Pelicans.
Paul’s injury is fatal to the Rockets’ competitiveness, and it’s not just about how many points he scores or assists he makes, but his ability to control the Rockets’ offensive rhythm.
Now the Rockets have only one strategy of flooring the accelerator, and what Hansen needs to do is just shut down Harden’s engine.