The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 496 - 249 - Giving You a Complete Dynasty Experience_2

Chapter 496: Chapter 249 - Giving You a Complete Dynasty Experience_2

Joerger reacted quickly and put Carter in for Guy, but still couldn’t contain Wade’s performance.

In the first few games of the Finals, Wade’s presence seemed much weaker than last season.

On one hand, it was due to the improvement of Hansen’s defensive skills, which made it difficult for him to play at full strength; on the other hand, the irreversible knee injury meant he couldn’t achieve the same peak performance rate.

In fact, after Hansen switched to defend Durant in the previous game, Wade’s performance had warmed up, scoring 26 points, but that wasn’t enough to help the Heat win.

The Heat had their backs against the wall tonight, and he stepped up right from the start.

Seeing the situation worsen, Joerger brought Hansen back to guard Wade.

By then, Wade had heated up, defying Hansen’s defense with a turnaround fadeaway jumper that scored a tough 2+1.

This sent the Heat’s bench into a frenzy.

Although his performance was subsequently suppressed by Hansen’s tight defense, Durant began his strong rebound.

Spiritual Infection Power—this was something Wade could bring to the Heat besides his skills, and it was something Durant lacked in critical moments.

If the Heat’s James from 2011 were replaced with Durant, they would have already been champions, because not only were their technical characteristics complementary, but their personalities also meshed better.

You could even say that had they not met the Grizzlies, they would have certainly been able to establish a Heat Dynasty.

Wade and Durant both exploded, but the Grizzlies had only one Hansen, leaving their defense in a state of disarray.

In the end, Wade and Durant both scored over 30 points, with the Heat defeating the Grizzlies 123 to 116, bringing the series to 2-3.

When the game ended, a classic moment took place.

Wade knelt on one knee, then kissed his right knee.

It was a moving scene.

Unconsciously, Wade had reached the age of 32.

While this age is still considered prime for most stars, the knee injury had caused a clear decline in Wade’s abilities.

Tonight, just like in last year’s Finals, he gave it his all.

But unlike last season, when he was ruled out, he still managed to continue playing, showing gratitude to his knees.

Moreover, after taking G5, the situation was looking much better for the Heat.

Although the Grizzlies still had the championship point, with the new season changes, G6 would take place in Miami.

As long as they could defend their home court, both teams would have an equal chance entering a Game 7 decider.

"I will finish the Finals in Miami," Hansen proclaimed boldly after G5.

A seemingly ordinary statement, at that moment, brought completely different psychological pressure to the Heat.

Prior, Hansen claimed he wouldn’t let Durant score 20 points and kept his word; regardless of whether the Grizzlies could clinch the title in G6, the pressure was already in place.

Hansen had taken psychological warfare to the extreme in this year’s Finals.

The day before G6, the Grizzlies arrived in Miami.

Despite being away, the team’s confidence was still high.

It wasn’t that the Heat’s G5 win gave them an advantage in the series, as it was a different approach from their previous adjustments.

Because Wade was unlikely to turn in explosive performances consecutively, or to say that G5 was just a fluke.

The Grizzlies just needed to play steadily, and winning G6 wouldn’t be a problem.

Upon arrival in Miami, Joerger did not want to add psychological pressure to the team, so he did not arrange for any training.

Hansen prepared to practise on his own, first returning to the hotel with Rondo to unpack.

It was upon entering the hotel room that they noticed the trash in the bin had not been taken out.

After calling the front desk to have it removed, they proceeded to the training facility.

With Hansen switching back to defend Wade in G6, it meant he had to contribute more on offense, so he had to maintain a good offensive state.

After training, they returned to the hotel, and Hansen, after a shower, went to bed.

In a daze, he had a dream, a very strange one; he found himself in a distorted space where everything around seemed to be melting.

When he woke up with a start from the dream, he was drenched in sweat.

Soon after, he felt a chill followed by a fever.

He quickly sensed something was wrong, picked up his phone, and called Rondo to bring medicine to his room right away.

There’s one thing in the United States that can’t be compared with anywhere else: the flu.

Having lived in the United States for many years, Hansen had his fair share of experiences. Despite the many types of flu, some basic symptoms were easy to identify. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Rondo arrived at Hansen’s room and was startled to see him looking pale.

After measuring Hansen’s temperature and finding it had reached 40 degrees Celsius, he immediately called over the Grizzlies’ team physician.

The team physician did not come alone; Wallace and Joerger followed him in.

After the team physician examined Hansen’s symptoms and conducted a paper test, he was fairly certain that Hansen had contracted the flu.

Wallace and Joerger both furrowed their brows deeply at this news.

Hansen falling ill at this time was undoubtedly terrible news for the Grizzlies.

Given that it took at least two days for the flu to subside, not to mention recovering his physical condition,

"Let’s give up on Game 6," Wallace suggested.

Playing with a high fever was not only dangerous, but also enormously taxing on the body.

Joerger nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

The Grizzlies were still leading the series, and moreover, Game 7 would be played in Memphis.

Having Hansen recover and then going all out to win the game in Game 7 was the optimal solution.

Their gazes turned towards Hansen; the decision ultimately lay in his hands, even though they could only offer advice.

Hansen shook his head.

If they let the Heat win G6, then rallying from 1-3 to a tie at 3-3, their morale would skyrocket.

And perhaps by tomorrow night, his fever would subside.

Just then, Rondo, who was searching around the room, drew everyone else’s attention.

"What are you doing?" Wallace couldn’t help but ask.

"Why is Hansen the only one infected with the flu?" Rondo’s words immediately raised everyone else’s suspicions.

Indeed, why was Hansen the only one affected?

The flu was contagious; even if precautions were taken, it should have affected an area, not targeted a specific individual.

And they couldn’t help but think of Jordan.

Jordan had endured the so-called "Flu Game" during his time in Utah.

However, it was later confirmed that someone had poisoned Jordan’s delivered pizza, causing Jordan to suffer food poisoning, diarrhea, and fever, rather than an actual flu.

The team physician started asking Hansen what he had eaten since he arrived.

Hansen shook his head.

Back when he was with the Cavaliers, he and O’Neal had experienced an attempt at pizza tampering; Hansen was very vigilant about such matters.

The only potential source of poisoning was his drink.

But the water he had was from a newly opened bottle.

The team physician picked up the half-full water bottle from the bedside table and observed it for a while but found nothing. However, he said he would take it for testing.

"It’s best not to participate in tomorrow night’s game; it really could be risky," the team physician advised.

Vigorous exercise with a high fever could lead to rapid dehydration, and in severe cases, it might even cause fainting.

Hansen didn’t say anything. Of course, he wouldn’t act rashly; everything would have to wait until a pre-game assessment of his physical condition tomorrow night.

The next day arrived.

Hansen missed the team’s regular morning training session.

Because of the incident the previous night, Wallace had requested confidentiality, so even the team members were unaware of what had happened.

However, Hansen had never missed a training session this season, which made the team members feel uneasy.

By the afternoon, the team physician had the test results.

The water bottle did indeed test positive for the influenza virus, and upon inspection, they found a sealed needle hole in the label, likely from a syringe injection.

Additionally, the hotel’s surveillance footage revealed a hotel cleaner carrying a water bottle while clearing trash.

The police later arrested the worker named Kumasi, and during interrogation, it was learned that his girlfriend worked at a biological lab in the United States.

Further investigation revealed Kumasi was an extreme Heat fan who had posted many inflammatory comments about Hansen on social media.

Kumasi and his girlfriend both faced prosecution and the prospect of tears behind bars.

But as the news broke, the Grizzlies were thrown into disarray.

Without Hansen, they were bound to lose G6.

As G6 approached and the Grizzlies players were bustling with discussions in the locker room, Hansen walked in.