CHAPTER 578: CHAPTER 284: OLD KNIGHT, CHARGE!

Amidst the cheering crowd, Big Gasol tapped the ball back to the Heat half-court, and the Eastern Conference Finals officially tipped off.

The Heat were not panicked by the Cavaliers’ Death Five Small; they initiated their offense with Big Gasol in the paint right from the start.

With ample space to operate on offense, the Heat couldn’t be easily helped defensively, and Big Gasol’s hook shot after backing down TT put the Heat on the board first.

The Cavaliers’ Deathly Five Small had already been used against the Heat during the regular season, with the biggest issue being TT’s inability to contain Big Gasol.

However, Malone seemed to have anticipated this situation, but he did nothing.

On the other side, Irving handled the ball and, after a series of crossovers, got past Dragic.

Dragic’s defense was above par in the league, not bad, but still not quite enough to handle Irving.

Deng picked the right time to double team Irving with Big Gasol in the interior.

Tucker had a chance from the corner, but Irving didn’t even glance that way, choosing instead to draw a defensive foul from Big Gasol after the direct confrontation.

Kyrie "Uncomfortable Without a Lever Action" Irving surprisingly chose not to go for a fancy layup but attacked very decisively.

This was a small detail, but it revealed a different mentality in Irving.

Spoelstra objected to the referee because Big Gasol picking up a foul so early was a big disadvantage for the Heat.

The referee patiently explained the situation to him.

It was indeed a foul; Big Gasol’s ability to defend against smaller players had declined with age, becoming more evident.

Of course, although Irving had a fiery relationship with James, he was still a Nike-sponsored rising star, so he would normally get the benefit of the whistle.

Irving stepped up to the free-throw line.

Boos filled the arena, with many fans heckling "They should trade you."

But Irving’s mentality was solid; he hit both free throws firmly despite the distractions.

The Heat’s offense saw Durant lightly test his touch and, after an off-ball movement, received a feed from Dragic for a mid-range pull-up jumper that hit its mark.

Dragic, nicknamed "Little Nash," had excellent scoring and playmaking skills.

No wonder Durant was so confident; having a Big Gasol already made it thrilling, now with Dragic joining in, wasn’t it a double delight?

After scoring, Durant retreated on defense and once again caught that same girl’s attention, this time blowing her a kiss directly.

This damned charisma left the girl completely flushed.

The Heat’s offense started smoothly, or rather, given the Cavaliers’ defense, ranked tenth in the league, it would be difficult to limit the Heat’s offense.

Fortunately, Irving took advantage of TT’s screen to duck in and score with a floater, scoring 4 points straight at the beginning of the game.

"Kyrie seems to be in really good shape tonight!" O’Neal exclaimed with a look of surprise.

"For the Cavaliers, there could be no better news than this," Barkley nodded along.

It was nearly impossible to beat this Heat with just Hansen alone; Irving’s return now seemed like a godsend.

TT also managed to shut down Big Gasol’s paint drive successfully in the next play.

Garnett stood up excitedly, waving a towel for TT.

TT had humbled himself to learn from Garnett upon Hansen’s suggestion; just in a few months, his defense had noticeably improved under Garnett’s guidance.

And with TT securing the defensive rebound, the Cavaliers quickly launched a counterattack.

Hansen received the ball and rushed ahead, using a fake behind-the-back pass to the following JR to deceive both Wade and JR, then pulled the ball back for a swift layup.

To everyone’s surprise, the Cavaliers went blow for blow with the Heat at the start of the game.

But the Heat’s offensive firepower was no joke; after one failed attempt in the low post, Big Gasol moved out to the high post to facilitate, then passed to the cutting Deng, who scored over Tucker with a layup.

Spoelstra, seeing this, stood up to cheer and spur on his players as they retreated.

He and Thibodeau were on totally opposite ends of the spectrum.

Hansen now received the ball at the high post, his back to the goal.

Irving was hot tonight, so the Heat couldn’t afford to double-team him recklessly.

Just as Hansen suspected, Dragic only began to close in when he turned towards the free-throw line.

Hansen spun towards the baseline then took a fadeaway jumper.

Wade made a valiant effort to interfere, but he couldn’t stop Hansen’s shot.

However, Deng had perfect timing, surging from the strong side corner to try and block Hansen.

With a quick adjustment in mid-air, Hansen avoided the block and released the ball.

The shot was difficult.

"Swish!"

Yet the ball went straight through the net!

Hansen landed and clenched his fist in front of him.

He had earlier told O’Neal to focus on playing one game at a time, or more precisely, one possession at a time.

After all, as powerful as the Heat’s roster was, there was only one ball on the court, and the number of possessions was limited.

As long as they could ensure a high success rate on offense and prevent the Heat from pulling away in the first three quarters, the Cavaliers would have their chance in the final period.

Nine minutes into the game, the score was 26-24 with the Heat holding a slight lead.

It was then that a stir began to sweep through the crowd.

The pace of the game felt off!

Theoretically, with Hansen not scoring much tonight, the Heat should have established a lead by now, but why was the game still so tightly contested?

Riley was no longer sitting as calmly as he had at the beginning of the game.

This game could not be lost!