The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 401 - 208: Three Men in One Play_2
Chapter 401: Chapter 208: Three Men in One Play_2
But in the end, his shot also missed.
The cheers of the fans on-site made James extremely annoyed, his full-force defense caused massive disruption to Durant.
When James seriously defended, posting him up might not be a good choice.
Although he was slow on his feet, he still possessed a historic level of physical fitness and combat ability.
After successfully defending against Durant’s post-up, James’s confidence seemed to be restored.
He also backed down Durant in the frontcourt, signaling for the ball.
Kobe passed the ball to him, and it was round two of James’s post-up against Durant.
This time his attack was more decisive, with a quick turnaround jump shot.
But then, the style dramatically changed.
Whether it was Hansen or Durant, or Kobe, who didn’t seem to have much desire to score tonight, their post-ups generally felt smooth and effortless.
But such technical moves seemed very clumsy when performed by James.
Especially those unconsciously splayed legs just made people unable to keep a straight face.
And then, he still didn’t make it.
"I think LeBron must hold some secrets of those sponsors for them to choose him as their flagship," Barkley continued to tease from the commentator’s booth.
Although he didn’t dare to say those two words and replaced them with ’sponsors’, this was probably the doubt of many.
Dunks and three-pointers are indeed very entertaining, but in the end, fans still love beautiful things.
The scene was in uproar.
Hansen’s earlier post-up was a misfire, but who would have thought James would follow suit with an actual brick.
"Give it up, you’re better suited for dunks," Durant couldn’t help but trash-talk.
"Shut your mouth before you score," James quickly retorted.
Hansen was quite interested at this moment.
Because he discovered that when James faced Durant, his trash-talking seemed quite on point.
Last summer’s trade indeed created a strong CP feeling between the "Big and Little Kings" of "history."
If one day they had the chance to play together, it would certainly be another very interesting event.
Durant wanted to respond, but Rondo didn’t pass him the ball.
Ray Allen left the team, Garnett and Pierce aged, and Rondo himself became an A-lister.
Rondo’s drive and floater missed, but Howard grabbed the offensive rebound and dunked, drawing the foul from Randolph.
At this moment, there was a substitution on the sidelines, Harden came on to replace Kobe.
This substitution came a bit early, but it was completely understandable.
After all, this was Houston’s home court.
Yesterday, when Lin Shuhao participated in the Skills Challenge, he enjoyed the highest level of cheering from the local fans, so it made sense for Harden to come on early tonight.
Especially since Kobe didn’t seem to have much desire to score tonight, and considering that The West was actually lacking an organizing guard, Harden was the obvious choice.
Harden exchanged a glance with Hansen before taking the court.
Tonight, with so many Chinese fans in attendance, how much limelight he could take would depend on his upcoming performance.
Howard displayed his stable free-throw ability, with both attempts clanging off the rim.
Griffin secured the defensive rebound.
The West started a three-man fast break.
Griffin glanced over and passed to Harden, who was closest to him.
Harden, holding the ball, pushed forward quickly through the middle, with Hansen and James spreading out to either side.
At this moment, only Wade and Rondo from The East managed to retreat in defense, creating a three-on-two situation.
James was frantically waving for the ball.
Even though Harden was traded and they never became teammates, considering the timing of the trade, they actually were teammates for a few days.
Compared to Hansen, who had defeated the Thunders consecutively, there was no reason for Harden to pass to Hansen.
And James had just exchanged trash talk with Durant, he urgently needed the ball to score.
Of course, there was another vital point, he was considered the best fast-break player in NBA history, and if the ball was in his hands, he could surely turn it into an assist.
Harden looked at James.
Just when James thought he was going to receive the pass, Harden threw the ball towards the other side of the empty space.
Having James there was just to draw Wade’s defensive attention, without looking, passing was his real intention.
"Boom!"
Hansen and Harden put on an alley-oop show in Houston.
The venue instantly ignited.
Hansen high-fived with Harden as he retreated on defense.
In fact, if Harden had the choice, going to the Clippers would suit him best.
Paul could make those two fly; Harden would probably take them to heaven.
At this time, James’s expression was as if he had swallowed a fly.
Although he didn’t understand why Harden didn’t pass the ball to him, he could feel that Harden, unlike Kobe, was on the same team as Hansen!
To make matters worse, Durant received the ball in the next play without the ball and then hit a three-pointer.
Now on the court, out of the three people with grievances, he was the only one left without a score!
The West advanced to the frontcourt, James reaching out to Harden for the ball.
Harden ignored him and instead turned and passed the ball to Hansen.
Now, looking at Hansen, it was like looking at that night club’s lady with the curvy behind, temptation maxed out.
Hansen took the ball and posted up Wade again.
Wade was fully focused.
Although the All-Star game was just a show match, Hansen continuously posting him up took it a bit too far.
Hansen posted up again, making a small hop to reset his pivot foot. Feeling less resistance from Wade this time, he spun towards the baseline.
Wade hadn’t jumped forward at first, but seeing Hansen’s body leaning back, he lunged forward.
After the previous plays, he knew that with Hansen’s ability, he could shoot a fadeaway at any moment.
But just then, Hansen spun around, and as he did so, his off-hand had a subtle hooking motion.
Don’t ask. If you do, it’s something Kobe also did.
Though it seemed inconsequential, it successfully delayed Wade’s lunge, and Hansen took a step to attack the basket.
But at the moment he jumped to shoot, Durant had already come over to help defend.
Tonight, he had to deal with both James and Hansen, he was going to be busy on the court.
But if he had to choose one of them to defend, it would only be Hansen.
"Stealing one’s wife," an irreconcilable enmity!
Watching Durant, who was radiating murderous intent, Hansen took off, tucked the ball, and glided past for a bank shot after evading the block.
The basketball, as if it had danced a waltz, embraced the backboard intimately and finally fell into the net’s embrace.
The Toyota Center was filled with cheers once again.
Bypassing Wade, eluding Durant, Hansen’s move showcased his talent in all its glory—this year’s All-Star highlight reel was a given!
Right after he finished that play, the big LED screen at the venue displayed Hansen’s stats for the night.
shots, 3 hits, 6 points, the highest in the game.
The audience started to realize Hansen was thinking about the All-Star MVP this year.
And since Harden was clearly setting up Hansen, if Harden had no designs on it, then they would certainly support Hansen.
Durant continued to ask for the ball, and after getting it, he chose to play one-on-one against James.
He couldn’t let Hansen have his way!
James’s reaction at this time was quite interesting.
Originally, in the previous play, he was defending Durant with full force but suddenly started to slack.
In the end, Durant’s unchallenged breakthrough jump shot easily hit.
That was so James—if he couldn’t get the MVP, he’d rather destroy it.
After all, it was just the All-Star game; slacking was the norm, and if he really did slack off, no one would question him.
For James’s behavior, Hansen didn’t take it seriously, after all, he wasn’t the one getting blown away.
Hansen’s three-point shot was off, but Randolph grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it back to Hansen.
Hansen took a step into mid-range and drew a foul on a slap by Wade.
Substitutes started coming in; Little Gasol entered for the West, replacing Griffin, and for the East, Bosh came on for Anthony.
Now it got interesting, the West had the Grizzlies trio plus Harden and James, while the East had the Heat’s Three Giants with Rondo and Howard.
Durant played pick-and-roll with Bosh, received Wade’s pass for a mid-range shot, a classic combo by the Heat’s Three Giants.
Right after making the shot, Durant shouted in James’s direction, "Hey, was someone defending me just now?"
James wanted Hansen to miss out on the MVP, but Durant wanted more than to just step on Hansen to snatch the MVP!