The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 606 - 296 Middle Gate Sniping_2

Walton didn’t want to switch defense, but the Cavaliers’ power forward was Conningham, also a stretch big man.

Williams suddenly felt like the Pacific Ocean had opened up in front of him.

He crouched and drove inside, successfully drawing a defensive foul from Barbosa and earning himself a trip to the free throw line.

In fact, Jokic’s best use was still to have the ball in his hands, to fully leverage his passing talent, but now he seemed more like a Hawes who could play the low post.

But it was unrealistic for a rookie to have so much control of the ball, at least not yet.

Hansen had also fought to gain control of the ball gradually back in his day.

However, even without the ball, Jokic had already taken on the role of a secret weapon.

Originally, the Warriors, relying on their deep bench, played the substitution stretch in last season’s finals just by keeping pace with the Cavaliers, but now they were biting hard.

At halftime, the score was tied at 58.

Visibly, the Warriors were stronger than last season, but the depth of the Cavaliers was also visibly better than before.

Both teams were evenly matched in the first half, with the Cavaliers, from the coaching staff to the players, excited, Walton on the other side was not panicked at all.

Because after the break at halftime, Walton immediately put Iguodala in for Bo Gote as the starter.

This lineup had also been used by the Warriors in last season’s finals, but with Curry’s changes, the threat of this lineup had also become different.

In the first play, Curry used a hand-off from Green to hit his fourth three-pointer of the night.

In past games, scoring four three-pointers in a game was already quite a lot for Curry, but tonight, it seemed like he was just warming up.

But the Cavaliers responded quickly with Garnett hitting a tough two-pointer from the top of the key.

The Warriors’ "Deathly Five Small" had a fast defensive rotation, but the Cavaliers had gained experience after playing them last season.

But the Warriors’ next move was unexpected for the Cavaliers.

After Garnett’s shot and while he was still pounding his chest in celebration, the Warriors had already quickly inbounded the ball in the backcourt through Green, then Curry rapidly advanced the ball forward.

At the same time, including Green who had passed the ball, the Warriors’ other players were also charging forward.

Generally speaking, if your team manages to score, you could drag the game into a set-piece battle.

But the Warriors were forcefully speeding it up, mainly because of Curry, making it very hard to stop them.

After pushing to the frontcourt three-point line, Curry glanced at the basket to throw off Irving’s balance, then accelerated for a drive inside.

The Warriors’ positioning was typical of a run-and-gun style, the classic "V" formation opening up space on the left and right.

When the Cavaliers’ defenders were forced to collapse due to the threat of Curry’s drive, Curry, speeding on the wing, flipped the ball to Iguodala positioned in the corner.

Iguodala adjusted after catching the ball and his three-point shot went in.

Curry was not Nash, but because of his offensive threat, the Warriors’ fast play was no less effective than that of the Suns back in the day.

Malone turned to call up JR.

Now Garnett didn’t have the capability to punish Green in the post, Jokic had insufficient game experience for playing unexpectedly off the bench was fine, but going up directly in a high-level game would result in Curry chasing him around; their only option now was to match small with small.

Hansen broke through and drew the defense, feeding the ball to TT under the basket, who dunked it with both hands successfully.

The Warriors’ defensive rotation was fast, but Hansen’s passing ability was so strong that whenever he was double-teamed, he could always find an open teammate.

Yet the Warriors pushed the pace again, this time Curry advancing to just in front of the logo and suddenly lashing out, nailing a three-pointer with a quick snap.

Irving was experiencing pupil earthquakes yet again.

Hansen had listened to what he said, but man, that’s not how you play the game!

How do you expect him to defend that?

to 67.

The Cavaliers had scored on every possession coming into the second half, but now they were directly five points behind!

Their scoring seemed futile against the Warriors’ barrage of threes.

Seeing no dead ball on the court, Malone immediately called a timeout.

"Stephen is changing the sport!" O’Neal exclaimed from the commentary booth.

He and Barkley had initially said "Jump shooting won’t win championships," but they were proven wrong by the Warriors.

And now, Curry’s performance was shocking them once again.

As Hansen walked off the court, some memories were stirred in his mind—he recalled the Warriors’ classic "Madness of Warriors," "three quarters check-in wave."

The Warriors relied on furiously speeding up the game, centered around Curry’s individual offensive threat to play an upgraded version of run-and-gun tactics.

Because they shot enough and accurate threes, it was easy to pull ahead in the score.

When they were having a good shooting night, like tonight, your chances of outscoring them with set plays were slim.

Although the time wasn’t quite ripe and it would play into the rhythm more suited to the Warriors, he knew he had to make a change.

After the timeout, JR replaced Garnett.

"Defense! Defense!"

The Warriors fans’ chants filled the arena, as Curry’s previous three-pointer had sent their spirits soaring.

Hansen called for a pick-and-roll with TT, right at the three-point line.

Instead of using the screen to drive inside, he stepped back beyond the arc and shot.

This move was unexpected, given that his offense earlier that evening had been all drives.

But Green lunged to defend.

Everyone knew Hansen could shoot threes.

But more importantly for the Warriors, the location of the pick-and-roll was all too familiar.

Green disrupted Hansen’s shot as he released the ball.

Green’s defensive prowess was much stronger than Conningham’s.

Yet, it also made Hansen truly appreciate the effect of the "elementary blessing."

There was interference, but it didn’t significantly affect his shot, akin to the three-point training in the Brown era.

"Swish!"

With the crisp swoosh of the net, the cheers in the arena abruptly stopped.

The Cavaliers’ bench erupted, Hansen’s responding three-pointer quenching their thirst!

Irving was also inspired; he fixed his gaze on Curry, keeping him from accelerating, and cut off Curry’s reception route when Green tried a hand-off.

In the end, Green passed to Thompson on the other side, who ran off a screen without the ball, but his shot, disturbed by Hansen, didn’t make it.

The Warriors’ streak of threes had finally been broken!

Tucker secured the defensive rebound, and it was the Cavaliers’ turn to push back.

Hansen passed from the backcourt, sending the ball through the crowd straight to Irving, who swiftly shook off Curry and scored with a layup after a preemptive jump.

After scoring, Irving finally found an outlet for his emotion, roaring as he turned back.

Following the timeout, the Cavaliers launched into a 5-0 run, tying the score at 67!

But their celebration was brief; back at the same logo-fringe position, Curry fired another quick-release shot.

Irving made a forward leap, but Curry released the ball too swiftly.

Calling it a quick shot didn’t suffice, it was an instant shot.

"Swish!"

Due to a lower release point, Curry’s exceedingly long parabola wasn’t very high, but it still went in.

And it was already his third three-pointer of the quarter, equaling his total from the first half!

The key to "Madness of Warriors" was Curry playing insanely well in the third quarter!

After making this three-pointer, Curry turned and performed his signature celebration: shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders.

This was him hyped up.

Oracle Arena, just quieted by the tied score, once again erupted.

As O’Neal had said, Curry was changing the sport.

The Cavaliers again advanced to the frontcourt, and this time the defender on Hansen switched from Thompson to Iguodala.

With far more defensive skill and experience than Thompson, Iguodala not only stayed close to the three-point line to guard Hansen but also constantly sidestepped to limit Hansen’s receiving of the ball.

When Hansen finally got the ball, he was pushed back to the logo.

Hansen continued to signal for a pick-and-roll, Iguodala glanced back at the approaching Thompson, ready to preempt the screen.

But at that moment, Hansen did something completely unexpected.

He actually took the shot right on top of the logo!

Three-pointers are all about the feel; Hansen’s earlier direct three-pointer was more about testing his shooting touch.

Unlike Curry, Hansen’s three-pointer was a two-stage shot, not as quick, and the parabola, higher due to the distance, looked like launching an intercontinental missile.

"Swish!"

But the result was the same, utterly soul-stirring!

The arena fell dead silent.

Hansen then turned to look at Curry.

Come on, let’s face each other head-on!

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