Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 52: Denial
Durant's cheeks puffed up when he heard this. He was clearly in the upper hand, but in Hansen's mouth it sounded like he was being beaten!
No, he was still angry. If he endured this, how would he survive in the alliance in the future!

He once again interrupted his teammates' movement and forced himself into a singles match with his back against Han Sen.

He was now like a kite, being pulled back and forth.

Han Sen held the kite string firmly in his hand.

After trying his best to defend against Durant's attack, Hansen couldn't help but sigh that Durant's character was sometimes too real.

Brooks saw that something was wrong and called Ibaka from the bench.

When there was a dead ball on the court, Ibaka came on to replace Durant.

After Durant left the court, Brooks pulled him to the edge of the technical table and started to lecture him.

Looking at Durant leaning over to listen to the teachings, Hansen felt that Durant was lucky, at least he met Brooks instead of Mike Brown in the early stage of his career.

Ibaka was a first-round pick by the Thunder in 2008, but the Thunder let him train in the Spanish league for another year before recruiting him into the team this season.

Although he is a rookie, Ibaka has shown top defensive potential. Whether he is defending alone in the low post or assisting in defense in the interior, he has performed very well.

The power forward DJ White, who made the Thunder give up the No. 18 pick in the trade, was defeated by Ibaka in the preseason.

After Ibaka came on, O'Neal's performance in the interior was limited and the Cavaliers' offensive wave ended in failure.

Looking back, Westbrook showed his personal talent, forcing Williams into the inside and causing O'Neal to commit a defensive foul.

It was at this time that Durant returned to the court to replace Sefolosha.

That's right, he didn't replace Ibaka.

This substitution by Brooks is very interesting. He knows that the inside defense cannot be defended, so he simply ignores the outside defense and plays a head-on game with the Cavaliers.

Han Sen saw this and smelled an opportunity.

James is not guarding Durant, but Durant is guarding James, which means Hansen's opponent on the offensive end is Sefolosha.

The "Swiss Army Knife"'s outside shooting is not very good, but his defense is at the defensive level. Han Sen's off-ball movement was followed closely by him.

But now, Brooks has replaced him.

Westbrook made both free throws, and the score came to 8-6.

The two teams played vigorously, but it was far from the time to decide the winner.

James didn't continue to pass the ball in, but instead asked O'Neal to play a pick-and-roll.

O'Neal's pick-and-roll quality is very high, but now his movement speed is only enough to block and he can't break the ball.

With Brooks shouting from the sidelines, Kostic let O'Neal go and trap James together.

And Ibaka also retreated to the basket at the same time.

James broke into the penalty area and was surrounded by many enemies. Even though he took one more step, he still couldn't find the angle to shoot and was in a desperate situation.

Just at this moment, a familiar scene appeared.

In desperation, he saw that familiar figure in the distance again.

Just as James broke through, Hansen gave Cunningham a look.

The two players who have been cooperating since the summer league have a tacit understanding. In a pick-and-roll in the high post on the weak side, Cunningham completely blocked Durant.

Because Ibaka went to the basket to help defend, Hansen got a completely open opportunity.

After seeing clearly that the figure was Han Sen, James rejected it in his heart.

Carril's news report directly led to Varejao being kicked out of the starting lineup.

If Durant hadn't been in such great form this season, he wouldn't have agreed to let Hansen enter the starting lineup.

But he still passed the ball.

He wanted an assist more than a mistake.

Han Sen received the ball without any defense and scored his first goal of the night, which was also his first three-pointer.

This time he didn't wait for James to celebrate. He raised his hands first and made a three-point celebration gesture towards Durant who had just bypassed the defense.

Then, he provocatively put his index finger to his mouth and made a gesture of silencing.

I heard that you just listened to Brooks' teachings. How do you respond to my move?
Durant's breathing quickened and his face flushed. When he turned around, he once again held the ball and started attacking Hansen.

Brooks was sweating profusely. Durant was obviously the third-year student, but he acted more like a rookie in front of Hansen.

Durant's dragging step broke through Hansen's defense, but just as he was about to speed up, Cunningham's help defense arrived. He was forced to slow down to protect the ball, but at this time Hansen also came over.

His center of gravity when dribbling was originally high, and after being double-teamed, the ball went directly to his feet and out of bounds.

"You found help!" Durant was furious.

"His hands are sore from lifting them." Han Sen pointed to the baseline.

Ibaka saw the two people looking at him and put down his hand awkwardly.

In the Cavaliers' offense, James continued to play pick-and-roll with O'Neal. This time he rushed up with speed, directly passed Kostic, and jumped into the air to perform his signature tomahawk dunk.

However, at this moment, a figure actually blocked the ball in James' hand.

It was him, that was him, the Ibaka whose hands were sore from raising their arms just now.

"boom!"

James' dunk was directly blocked.

The 28-card block is so terrifying.

Although James quickly regained control of the ball, Ibaka also stabilized his body after landing.

After being blocked from the front, James was obviously a little weak. He faked a move and when Ibaka didn't jump, he started looking for someone to pass the ball.

Then he raised his eyes and saw the familiar figure again.

Hansen and Cunningham played a whirlwind combination①, and now the position in the bottom corner is empty again.

...Why is it Han Sen again?

What is the rest of the Cavaliers doing?
What is Durant doing again!
James really didn't want to pass the ball that way, but he had no choice.

The ball was passed a little low and almost hit Han Sen's feet.

After Han Sen bent down to catch the ball, he saw Durant struggling to squeeze through the pick-and-roll with a ferocious expression as if he wanted to tear him apart.

He did not panic. He made a fake shot to shake off Durant, then took one dribble and shot a three-pointer.

"Shh!"

The basketball went through the net again.

He made two consecutive three-pointers.

How can one remain calm even when Mount Tai collapses in front of him and not blink even when a deer appears on his left?
"Anyone can beat a defense like yours."

After Han Sen retracted his follower hand, he pulled the kite string hard towards Durant again.

If looks could kill, Han Sen would have been cut into pieces.

Durant's breakthrough caused Hansen to commit a defensive foul, but he only made one of two free throws after going to the free throw line.

His mentality is now fluctuating violently, which has caused his touch to fluctuate accordingly.

James broke through with the ball again. This time, he saw the Thunder shrink their defense and observed his teammates in advance.

After he jumped up, he saw Hansen running along the baseline and across half court into an open space. Without hesitation, he threw the ball to him.

Although he was always rejecting it in his heart, his body couldn't help but do it. After all, who could refuse an easy assist?
This time Durant was blocked by O'Neal under the basket and could only watch Han Sen take an open shot.

"Shh!"

Han Sen's three-point shot hit again.

With his three-point rain, the score came to 17 to 7.

After scoring the goal, Hansen pouted in the direction of Durant and held up his jersey with both hands and shook it.

To those who said they would beat me to death, I have more points than you!
No, more than your entire team!

This scene was projected by the photographer onto the large LED screen.

The scene was agitated.

In theory, players who perform well on the field will be appreciated and admired even by opponents.

But Han Sen and the number 77 on his jersey only make people want to discredit him!
-Dividing line-

①: The whirlwind combination originated from the NCAA Iowa State Cyclones. It is a pick-and-roll tactic, but unlike the regular pick-and-roll tactic, the guard does the pick-and-roll for the forward, and then the pick-and-roll is pulled out to the three-point line. It was later used as one of the regular tactics by the Warriors.

(End of this chapter)