章 226: Ticking Time Bomb.
Two days later, Game 4 of the NBA Finals tipped off in Memphis.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made another adjustment, moving Ray Allen back to the bench.
This was exactly the scenario the Grizzlies welcomed, just as Han Sen had said in the press conference before the game: "Game 1 proved we can beat the Heat."
However, Game 4 introduced a new variable.
Dwyane Wade exploded for 33 points.
In the first three games of the series, Wade had been relatively quiet, averaging just 18 points per game—far below his usual standard.
Much of that was due to Han Sen's defense, but Wade also played conservatively, worried about aggravating previous injuries.
But now, trailing 1–2 in the series, those concerns became irrelevant. If the Heat fell to 1–3, they might as well pack it in.
With nothing left to lose, Wade gave it his all.
Han couldn't contain him.
Even at this stage of his career, a fully unleashed Wade was almost impossible to guard one-on-one. And when Han's defense faltered, the Grizzlies had to rely on help defense, which allowed the Heat to shift into their preferred offensive rhythm.
The combination of the league's best slasher and the most efficient scorer proved unstoppable. It was the formula that had carried Miami to a 70-win regular season.
Ultimately, Memphis couldn't withstand the onslaught, falling 116–106. The Finals were tied 2–2, with a pivotal Game 5 looming.
Just like that, the momentum of the series flipped dramatically.
The Heat's Game 4 victory restored home-court advantage. Even if Memphis managed to win Game 5, the last two games would be played in Miami.
The pressure now landed squarely back on the Grizzlies.
They simply couldn't afford to lose Game 5.
After four grueling games, both teams had exhausted their tactical adjustments and played nearly all their cards.
Now, as the team motto in the Grizzlies' locker room read: "When two warriors meet on a narrow path, it's the fearless who rise."
During the pre-Game 5 practice session, Coach Joerger delivered a fiery speech to rally his team: "We're not just defending our title; we have the chance to make history—the first team to beat a 70-win squad in the Finals. We're two wins away from immortality."
His words lit a fire under the Grizzlies, who understood the weight of the opportunity before them.
In NBA history, one of the most celebrated championships was the Cavaliers' 2016 victory. It wasn't just about the comeback from a 3–1 deficit—it was about defeating the 73-win Warriors, forever cementing their place in history.
The thought of etching their own legacy deeply motivated the Grizzlies.
Yet, as they took to the court for Game 5, reality proved far more daunting.
Hearts raced uncontrollably, breaths quickened, and palms grew clammy with sweat.
The team had experienced the pressure of a Game 5 before, against the Lakers last season—but in the Finals, the stakes felt exponentially higher.
The Heat players weren't immune, either. The tension in the air was palpable, like the smell of smoke before a battle.
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups took their places.
Chris Bosh won the tip, and Miami claimed the first possession.
Wade wasted no time asserting himself. Blowing past Han Sen, he drew a double team and dished to Kendrick Perkins for an easy opportunity.
But Perkins bricked the close-range shot, eliciting gasps and chuckles from the crowd.
The humor was short-lived when Rudy Gay missed an open dunk moments later.
Five minutes in, the score was an anemic 5–4.
It was a stark contrast to the high-scoring battles of the earlier games.
All the talk of 'clutch players' and 'big moments' faded in the face of the sheer intensity. True mental fortitude was now being tested.
Spoelstra called the first timeout.
After the break, Wade adjusted. Instead of kicking out of double teams, he attacked directly, drawing fouls and earning free throws.
Defensively, the Heat switched gears. Mario Chalmers took over guarding Han Sen, while Wade focused elsewhere.
Whenever Han touched the ball, Miami aggressively trapped him with help defenders from the strong-side corner or top of the arc.
The plan was clear: neutralize Han Sen and live with the results of Gay and Mike Conley.
The adjustment worked. Miami unleashed a 6–0 run, forcing Joerger to call his own timeout.
During the break, Joerger made his own tweaks. He subbed Gay out for Vince Carter—a routine rotation but a deliberate move. He also swapped defensive assignments, giving Conley more freedom.
Joerger recognized the unique tension in this game. Normally, Memphis couldn't outgun Miami, but tonight was different. With both sides tense, defense wasn't the deciding factor—it was about who could score when it mattered.
Before sending Han back onto the court, Joerger placed a firm hand on his shoulder. The message was clear: the Grizzlies' fate rested on Han's shoulders.
Han reentered the game with authority.
Receiving the ball beyond the arc, he faced Chalmers. The Heat guard had no fear, despite being outmatched. His Kansas days as an NCAA champion and Most Outstanding Player gave him nerves of steel—enough to famously trash-talk LeBron James in the past.
But grit alone couldn't stop Han. Driving into the double team, Han pivoted smoothly into a fadeaway jumper.
Chalmers and Bosh lunged at him, but their efforts were futile.
Swish.
The ball sailed cleanly through the net.
The crowd at FedExForum erupted, releasing the tension they'd been holding all game.
Yet as the camera panned to Han Sen, his expression remained stoic. Calm. Focused.
Wade and Durant then executed a pick-and-roll play.
After the screen, Durant received the ball and hit a mid-range jumper over Conley.
The Heat were relentless, and during the transition, they began to double-team Han Sen.
Spoelstra reacted faster than Joerger, and his adjustments were more decisive.
Han Sen didn't back down from the offense. Under pressure from the double team, he passed the ball to Conley and immediately cut without the ball.
The two executed a seamless play, but even after receiving the ball, Han Sen was double-teamed by Durant.
Han Sen didn't opt to pass this time. Instead, he forced a shot through the double-team and drew a foul.
In a clash of wills, the fearless prevails. Han Sen exuded that familiar aura once again.
He stepped to the free-throw line and calmly sank both shots.
"Defense! Defense!"
The crowd caught onto the momentum and erupted into synchronized chants of defense.
Wade and Durant attempted the same play again, but this time Wade bypassed Carter with a direct drive to the basket.
Using a beautiful Euro step, Wade shook off Carter, but just as he went up for the shot, a shadow came slicing in from the weak side.
Han Sen soared and swatted the ball off the backboard with both hands.
It was Han again!
Although Joerger hadn't specifically assigned Han Sen to guard Wade, he wasn't just idling on the weak side.
Securing the rebound, Han Sen initiated a Grizzlies fast break. Conley's contested layup against Chalmers rimmed out, but Han Sen followed up with a putback dunk!
This sequence, surely one of the top five plays of this year's Finals, electrified the arena.
More important than the highlight, though, was that Han Sen seemed omnipresent on the court.
His aura inspired the crowd and noticeably calmed his teammates, alleviating the physical tension caused by their nerves.
It was like in a fierce battle when the sight of their general's banner suddenly steadies the soldiers.
The Grizzlies kept the score close.
By halftime, the two teams were tied at 48.
Han Sen scored 26 points in the half but had only one assist.
The Grizzlies typically thrived on team basketball, but tonight they needed Han Sen to be selfish.
After the break, the Heat struck first, with Wade and Durant scoring consecutively to build a lead.
But Han Sen quickly responded with a scoring burst of his own, and the Grizzlies closed the gap again.
Then, as the game entered the familiar third quarter, the Grizzlies' trademark defensive surge kicked in.
"Offense is often unstable, but defense is relatively consistent."
That mantra of this year's Finals was once again proven true.
The sudden increase in defensive intensity threw the Heat off their rhythm. Instead, it was the Grizzlies who took the lead and began to pull away.
"Whoop that trick!"
The home crowd rose to their feet, shouting and vigorously waving their rally towels.
The game's momentum shifted firmly in the Grizzlies' favor.
"The playoff format is ridiculous," Shaquille O'Neal said, glancing at Kenny Smith before launching into a rant from the commentary booth.
"The team with home-court advantage has to play the pivotal Game 5 on the road. It makes no sense!" Though his words held a degree of logic, it was clear Shaq was simply trying to avoid drinking Kenny's infamous 'bathwater.'
Han Sen, once again splitting a double-team from Chalmers and Durant, nailed a mid-range jumper, bringing his total to 36 points.
The cheers at FedExForum were deafening.
Fans could sense the championship trophy waving at them from the horizon.
Durant then missed a three-pointer from the right wing.
Wade grabbed the offensive rebound and powered through Randolph to score a putback.
The whistle blew.
An and-one play, a lifeline for the Heat.
The crowd collectively grabbed their heads in disbelief.
Wade had proven himself on the Finals stage before!
But just as the arena was reeling, an unexpected twist occurred.
After completing the and-one play, Wade remained on the floor, clearly in pain.
The Heat's medical staff hurried over. Following a brief exchange, they helped Wade to his feet.
When Wade planted his bent knee on the ground, he let out a loud curse.
It was a surprise, yet it felt inevitable—Wade was injured.
Wade was escorted to the bench, and a technical timeout was called.
The arena's LED screen replayed the sequence.
Wade had collided knees with Randolph during his drive.
It didn't look serious, especially since Randolph was fine—he had previously suffered a ligament tear from a similar collision last season.
Clearly, this was the result, not the cause. The true culprit was the grueling season's wear and tear.
Entering the league already down half a meniscus, Wade's career was destined to be shorter than most.
Had the Heat maintained their original roster, perhaps the injury wouldn't have come so soon.
But two years ago, LeBron James joined the team. Last season, Wade played primarily in clutch situations, which exponentially increased the strain on his knees.
This season, Durant's arrival gave him some relief, but the push for 70 wins reignited that burden, turning his knee into a ticking time bomb.
The injuries he had battled earlier in the playoffs were already warning signs. Wade knew this, which is why he played cautiously after returning.
But in the previous game, desperate for a win, he pushed his limits, gambling that his knee would hold out through the Finals.
It was clear now that he had lost that gamble.
Wade attempted to walk on the sideline, limping heavily. Ultimately, he was escorted to the locker room by the medical staff.
Seeing Wade exit, most Grizzlies players wore excited expressions.
The Heat's strength lay in their Big Three, but their Achilles' heel was also the Big Three—if one went down, their power diminished significantly.
Han Sen, however, didn't look thrilled. His expression was complex, his gaze reflective.
Part of it stemmed from his personal relationship with Wade; another part was because Wade's plight reminded him of his rookie season.
Back then, he too had overexerted himself in the regular season, only to suffer an injury before the playoffs began.
Even after a remarkable playoff return, he ultimately succumbed to a season-ending injury in a decisive game against the Celtics.
Both had given their all for their teams.
As the timeout wound down, Han Sen gathered his teammates.
He stood at the edge of the huddle, his eyes burning with intensity. The crowd roared in the background, but his focus was razor-sharp, locked onto his teammates.
"Bring it in!" Han's voice sliced through the noise like a dagger, pulling every pair of eyes toward him. The team gathered tightly around, their breaths visible in the cold tension of the moment.
"Listen the hell up," Han growled, his tone a mix of command and urgency. "Don't let your guard down for one second. Yeah, Wade's out. But don't you dare think for a second this shit's over."
He jabbed a finger toward the Heat bench, where Ray Allen adjusted his shooting sleeve with an almost eerie calm.
"You see that man?" Han spat, his voice rising. "That's Ray freakin' Allen. He's hit more clutch shots than half the league combined. You slack off for even a heartbeat, and he'll gut us like a fish. You want to let that happen? You want all these people in this building to watch us blow it?"
His teammates shook their heads, their eyes wide, their adrenaline spiking.
"No," Han snapped, answering his own question. "Because we've bled too much for this moment. We've fought through every goddamn obstacle to get here, and we're not gonna let some old man in a Heat jersey take it away."
He clenched his fist and raised it in front of them, his knuckles white. "We play our game. We fight for every loose ball, every rebound, every second on that shot clock. No freebies. No excuses. You give me everything you've got, and I swear to you—we'll finish this job."
The fire in Han's voice lit a spark in his teammates. Zach Randolph nodded firmly, Marc Gasol slapped his hand on Conley's shoulder, and Vince Carter let out a low growl of approval.
"Now get your asses out there," Han roared, his eyes blazing. "And show them what Grizzlies basketball looks like!"
As they broke the huddle, the energy was palpable. The crowd felt it, the Heat bench noticed it, and the players knew it. Han had just planted a flag in their minds—this was their game to take, their series to win.
...
Han's timing was perfect. Shortly after the game resumed, Ray Allen hit a high-difficulty three-pointer.
In terms of mental fortitude, Ray Allen had once saved LeBron James' career in 'history.'
But gradually, the Grizzlies regained control of the game.
Allen, now older, could no longer carry a team's offense.
The real turning point was Durant's inability to step up after Wade left.
While Durant's struggles weren't as pronounced as LeBron's in such situations, his mental game wasn't his strong suit.
Westbrook had once been called the best defender against Durant, but in truth, Westbrook's sheer intensity complemented Durant's personality.
In 'history,' Draymond Green had famously called Durant soft, not just because of his infamous team-switching but also due to his demeanor.
Jordan had unshakable dominance, Kobe radiated chilling ruthlessness, and Han embodied fearless determination.
Durant, on the other hand, wielded the scythe of a Reaper—but only when backed by strong teammates.
The Grizzlies defeated the Heat 106-95 in their final home game of the series.
Han Sen scored a career Finals high of 46 points.
With this critical Game 5 victory, the Grizzlies led the series 3-2, just one step away from defending their championship.
-End of Chapter-
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