The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 587 - 288: History is Rewritten Tonight!

After the timeout, Spoelstra immediately brought back all the starters.

He must have realized he hadn’t kept pace with Malone’s rotation—if he had switched back to his starters at the moment Hansen came on, the situation wouldn’t have deteriorated so quickly.

But fortunately, it wasn’t too late.

With just a 6-point deficit, as long as the starters came back in and held that margin, the victory would still belong to the Heat Team.

Big Gasol came back in and received the ball in the low post for a strong attack against TT; Tucker collapsed to help on defense, so he immediately passed the ball to Deng. Deng received the ball and encountered JR’s help defense, then dished it to Wade, with Delavadova having already switched over on defense.

Hansen had taken over the Cavaliers’ offense that evening, allowing the other Cavaliers players to exert their energy on the defensive end.

Especially since Hansen’s consecutive scoring had greatly boosted the morale of the Cavaliers.

The Heat Team couldn’t get their tactics to work and had to rely on star power.

Wade isolated Delavadova and drove inside, but surprisingly, under Delavadova’s defense, Wade’s floater veered off course!

First Conningham, now Delavadova—these Cavaliers role players, who were seen as no different from air by outsiders, stepped up when Irving was out for the season and the team needed them most.

They weren’t really that good, but they weren’t that bad either!

Of course, all of this stemmed from Hansen.

A team’s inherent pattern only becomes tight-knit with a leader present, allowing the team to band together and each member to fulfill their role.

The Cavaliers launched another defensive counterattack.

This time, Hansen’s fast-break layup was fiercely pulled down.

After previously scoring a 2+1 against them, the Heat now opted to foul in a decidedly forceful manner.

JR stepped up to confront the fouling Dragic, their heads butting against each other, and the atmosphere on the court started to get heated.

The Cavaliers didn’t want to lose, and the Heat couldn’t afford to lose; at such a stage, sparks were inevitable.

Hansen stepped up to the free throw line and wasn’t affected by the earlier scuffle, or perhaps he didn’t have the energy to get involved in such things.

Two and a half minutes into the fourth quarter weren’t enough for him to recover much stamina; he needed to preserve it all for the rest of the game.

Facing the deafening noise of the arena, Hansen made both free throws.

The Cavaliers weren’t a great defensive team, but their desire to win propelled them to high-quality defense in the closing moments, and with continuous defensive counters, they had now narrowed the gap to just 4 points.

The 13-point deficit of the final quarter seemed like a vast chasm, but 4 points were now within reach.

In the clutch, Durant finally donned his grim reaper cloak and, facing JR’s help defense, hit a mid-range jumper without hesitation.

When tactics fail, it comes down to the individual resolving power of the stars.

And once the offense and defense switched, on cue from Spoelstra, the Heat once again started double-teaming Hansen.

At this stage, with everyone’s stamina depleting, double-teaming Hansen had a different effect.

And it did work—Hansen passed the ball out, but Delavadova couldn’t connect from three.

You can’t expect a player making a million to do the job of a top-salary player earning twenty million in a crucial moment.

But then! TT displayed his skill, seizing the offensive rebound!

And immediately after grabbing the board, he found Hansen.

Hansen quickly cut toward the basket, and after receiving TT’s pass, he jumped and twisted his body to avoid Big Gasol’s help defense, gliding in for the layup.

The gap was back to 4 points, and Hansen had reached his 56th point of the night!

Having just set a playoff record for individual scoring in the first round, he broke that record again in less than a month!

And with over 5 minutes left in the game, Hansen was certain to become the third player in NBA history to hit 60+ points in a playoff game.

He might even challenge Jordan’s position in this prestigious list.

Durant received Dragic’s pass and once again hit a mid-range shot over Tucker’s defense.

The worst news for the Cavaliers was that Durant had found his touch at the most crucial moment.

The American Airlines Arena erupted in excitement.

Spoelstra rarely showed excitement, but he pumped his fist and yelled in Durant’s direction.

Hansen had become Durant’s nightmare over the years, and facing and overcoming this challenge was the only way Durant could achieve greatness.

And Durant did so on this pivotal night.

On the Cavaliers’ offense, Hansen played off the ball, but even after receiving the pass, he was doubled, and with decreasing energy, he couldn’t make the shot under the pressure.

After Gasol protected the defensive rebound, Spoelstra breathed a sigh of relief.

Just one more score from Durant, and the gap would widen to 8 points, tipping the momentum back in favor of the Heat.

And from Hansen’s recent miss, it was evident that he was running out of juice.

"Let’s go, Heat Team!"

The chant of the Heat fans began to resound throughout the arena.

These last five minutes would be the Heat’s harvest time.

It was then that Hansen switched onto Durant.

It wasn’t about being strong; aware that the Heat’s defense had adjusted and lacking the energy for efficient play, scoring through defensive counters, like he did during the comeback, was the most effective strategy.

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