CHAPTER 661: CHAPTER 319: LEBRON MUST UNDERSTAND THIS IS A WAR BETWEEN MEN

When LeBron turned and charged toward the basket, Williams suddenly slipped off the bench.

This caused LeBron to lose his balance momentarily, but he, being the technologically advanced LeBron, managed to take the shot despite the imbalance.

Before the ball reached its apex, Conningham’s figure appeared airborne.

"Bang!"

A straightforward board-stapling block.

In fact, Conningham had already been closing in when LeBron was backing down.

He merely trotted into LeBron’s blind spot, and since LeBron wanted desperately to get this shot, Conningham seized the opportunity.

LeBron stood up and gestured to the referee that Williams had grabbed him earlier, but Williams received Conningham’s long pass and quickly scored on a fast-break layup.

Hansen and West leaped in front of LeBron, simultaneously jumping up to cheer for Williams with their towels.

to 30.

Scott subbed LeBron in, only for the Lakers to fall behind further!

LeBron was furious, grabbing the ball and charging aggressively to the basket, knocking over Conningham with a slam dunk that also drew a defensive foul from him.

After landing, he turned to the camera, patted his chest, raised his leg, pressed down with both hands, and performed the iconic "The Silencer" celebration, exuding a kingly aura.

The crowd erupted in cheers; this is what they wanted to see from the Chosen One.

LeBron walked to the free-throw line, taking a deep breath, and couldn’t help but think highly of Rich Paul.

Just then, a short whistle sounded from the sideline.

He instinctively turned around, then turned back, and couldn’t help but curse.

Hansen subbed in for Dunleavy.

How could he just watch the Old Knights fight alone on the court?

Not to mention, among those LeBron criticized were also part of his crew.

"What a significant moment!"

At the commentary desk, O’Neal seemed slightly excited upon witnessing the scene.

Right now, he saw four former Cavaliers teammates on the court.

What’s even more miraculous is three of them still wearing Cavaliers jerseys.

The finals turned into an internal battle among former Cavaliers players, which no one would have imagined before.

Once on the court, Hansen wasn’t playing isolation but was entangling Williams and the others on the weak side.

Frankly, this part wasn’t in Malone’s plan, but he volunteered to step up.

Williams broke through and passed to Hansen, who stepped to draw LeBron’s defense before passing it to Conningham in the corner. The latter shot a three-pointer with precision.

The cooperation among the Old Knights was seamless.

After scoring, Conningham seemed rather agitated since LeBron was supposed to guard him, and he shouted directly at LeBron:

"We reached the finals every year without you!"

This was trash talk, but also a truth.

LeBron’s face turned green.

Williams, at least, made the All-Star once; what was Conningham, a bench warmer?

Back then, they couldn’t even make it onto the court!

Yet, he couldn’t deny it because four former Cavaliers teammates were present now.

In comparison, surely, you can’t say Irving is stronger than him, right?

He was frustrated.

But when Hansen came to guard him after the offense-defense transition, he jumped and, with smart intelligence, took a commanding lead.

He called for a pick and roll.

But the Lakers lineup at this moment, whether Frye or Jefferson, couldn’t stop Hansen.

Kobe on the bench was anxious, forward against guard, using your physical advantage to back him down!

However, that’s what Kobe didn’t quite understand about LeBron.

Although LeBron’s post-up game had seen some progress, making him back down Hansen was as difficult as asking him to defend Hansen!

After seeing the pick-and-roll fail, LeBron gave the ball to Deron.

Deron finally played as a point guard again, taking a mid-range shot after a pick-and-roll with Frye.

Unfortunately, having not touched the ball for so long, the shot went off the edge of the rim and bounced out.

Garnett secured the defensive rebound, and the Cavaliers launched a defensive counterattack.

Hansen and Williams flanked right and left for a dual-line fast break.

LeBron also retreated quickly for defense.

He was about to perform a chasedown block on Williams’ fast break.

However, having spent a lot of time playing with LeBron, Williams was very familiar with LeBron’s technical traits.

So upon noticing LeBron pursuing behind him on the fast break, rather than going directly for the layup, he waited for the frontcourt opportunity to pass the ball to Hansen on the other side.

Hansen took the ball, after three steps he also soared into the air.

At this moment, what LeBron saw was Hansen about to dunk.

With his ability, this season’s showcased powerful physique, he had every opportunity to stop or even block Hansen.

But witnessing Hansen jump up, LeBron, unwilling to become a background prop, turned to dodge!

"Boom!"

Hansen’s fierce tomahawk dunk.

The dunk directly suffocated Kobe at courtside, who angrily shook his fist in front of him.

His partnership with LeBron now carries certain similarities with the old OK combo.

If he was as timid as LeBron back in the day, the Lakers wouldn’t have even a dynasty, let alone a championship.

Back then, although just a fourth-year player, a standard second fiddle, during the seven-game series against the Blazers, it was him who carried O’Neal into the finals!

Simply put, individual ability depends on talent and usual training, but during playoffs, it’s about who is tougher.

In contrast to the lineup, the Lakers of those years weren’t as luxurious as the Blazers.

It was the same with the Cavaliers, continuously defeating the equally luxurious Heat wasn’t about the lineup, it was Hansen standing tall during key matches!

Whoever buckles first, loses first.

Kobe ultimately couldn’t stand it, got up and signaled to Scott then headed for the scorer’s table.

Kobe’s early entrance had obvious effects.

While now he couldn’t randomly explode for points like during his peak, his defensive key role against Curry showed when he’s on the floor; daring to make crucial plays in offense, it brings a stabilizing effect to teammates.

However, the gradually disrupted rotation posed a major test to his stamina.

Especially when the Cavaliers unveiled the five-small lineup, when the teams started running, it led to his stamina plummeting.

That was the fundamental reason Lakers were down 1-3 to the Warriors previously.

If he were two years younger, reaching the cusp of peak alongside such a luxurious Lakers lineup, wouldn’t fall into this situation.

At the end of the third quarter, the Cavaliers led the Lakers by 82 to 71.

The score gap wasn’t large, but as they entered the final quarter, the Cavaliers firmly controlled the game.

The game hadn’t ended, but the outcome of G1 was already determined.

Meanwhile, on social media, the diehard fans of LeBron and Kobe who watched the entire game began discussing the blame.

"Love only shot 6 times and scored 11 points, how does he have the face to earn a max contract!"

"Deron 8 points and 3 assists, his performance isn’t even better than Delavadova. Why did the Lakers sign him, just a total liability!"

"Lakers lineup isn’t either high paid but unskilled or just old and slow, looking glamorous but far behind the Cavaliers."

"Scott doesn’t even know how to call timeouts, totally useless!"

"What were the referees doing today! Lakers had so many breakthrough free throws yet only got 6 more than the Cavaliers?"

...

Ultimately, the Cavaliers defeated the Lakers 104 to 91 at their home base, clinching the finals opener.

Post-game statistics showed Hansen with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists; Irving 21 points, 6 assists; Jokic 10 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists; Williams 9 points, 3 assists; Conningham 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block; and West 2 points.

Kobe had 28 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; James 23 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists; Love 14 points, 10 rebounds; Frye 10 points.

In the post-game press conference, Kobe and LeBron jointly attended.

From Kobe’s face, you could see he was quite displeased.

Facing LeBron, he spoke sternly:

"LeBron must understand this is a war between men."

Throughout the regular season, even in the conference playoffs, he could put up with LeBron, but come the finals, especially for his final chance, he couldn’t hold back anymore!