Chapter 806: Chapter 806

However, the Pelicans played their worst game of the series, even worse than G2.

They looked like soulless zombies, playing terribly on both offense and defense.

This led to a serious consequence, as the Pelicans were not known for their offense, and without defense, the point difference on the court kept growing as the game went on.

By halftime, they were already trailing by 20 points, and by the end of the third quarter, the gap widened to 32 points.

The final quarter became complete garbage time, with many fans at the venue starting to leave.

It proved the fans who left were wise, as those who stayed had their deep-seated memories forcibly awakened.

The last quarter was garbage time, both teams sent out their bench players.

However, the Cavaliers players had no intention of letting up.

On one hand, it was a rare opportunity for the bench players to appear in the Finals; on the other hand, everyone knew Hansen was leaving. After Hansen’s departure, whether the Cavaliers could reach the Finals again was unknown, so they cherished the opportunity even more.

In contrast, the Pelicans’ main players had already lost their fighting spirit, and naturally, the bench players also gave up.

The point gap continued to widen, heading towards a 40-point difference from a 30-point start.

Barkley and the others on the sidelines were no longer discussing the game itself but whether tonight would witness the largest point difference in NBA Finals history.

Previously, the largest Finals point difference in NBA history was in the 1998 Finals, the same year as the [Last Shot].

In Game 3, with the Jazz’s offense sluggish, they scored only 54 points in the entire game, marking the lowest score since the 24-second shot clock era in the Finals, while they lost to the Bulls 54-98, creating a then-largest Finals point difference of 43 points.

As J.R.’s three-pointer from the outside went in, the game score was finally fixed at 106-61, with the Cavaliers defeating the Pelicans by a massive 45-point margin, sweeping them to claim the 2018 NBA championship.

They completed the dynasty in the most impressive manner!

As for the Pelicans, formerly known as the Hornets, during Paul’s era, they lost to the Nuggets by 58 points, setting the largest playoff point difference in NBA history, and now they again set the largest Finals point difference!

When the game ended, the Cavaliers players, who had already almost rooted to their seats but couldn’t hold back their emotions, stood up to cheer and celebrate.

By this time, most of the Pelicans fans had left, leaving only the fans who managed to come to witness the Cavaliers’ dynasty on-site.

They too shed tears of excitement on the sidelines.

Cleveland, with this dynasty, was no longer just a city barren of sports!

The camera turned to Hansen.

Hansen, hugging an emotional J.R., lightly patted the latter’s back. Thıs text ıs hosted at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝓷𝓮𝓽

J.R. performed outstandingly in the two games in New Orleans, averaging 17 points with a 50% three-point shooting percentage.

He fulfilled Hansen’s request at the campfire, offering his performance as the perfect farewell gift to Hansen.

Jokic was waiting by their side and soon gave Hansen a big bear hug.

"Keep it up, I’ll be waiting for you in the playoffs," Hansen felt Jokic’s enthusiasm and spoke.

When they meet again, they’ll be opponents on the court.

Of course, if he goes to the West, more accurately, it would be in the Finals.

In the East, the Celtics stand in Jokic’s way to returning to the Finals, making it challenging.

Many awaited to embrace and bid farewell, and after the initial celebration, it became a Cavaliers farewell party.

After changing into their championship T-shirts in the locker room, the Cavaliers players returned to the court to participate in the championship award ceremony.

Silva expressed his congratulations to Hansen happily before the award ceremony.

Hansen completing the dynasty with the Cavaliers was initially a conflicting issue for him, as he needed Hansen, but didn’t want Hansen’s dominance to be too strong.

The former was needed for his impact on the league, while the latter was for the league’s interest.

But now, with Hansen announcing his departure from the Cavaliers, such conflict of interest disappeared.

Moreover, Hansen’s statement in the previous press conference, "Staying with the Cavaliers is no longer challenging," indicated he wouldn’t form a super team like LeBron.

This balanced approach made his congratulations heartfelt.

This also led him to emphasize the accomplishments of the Cavaliers when announcing the championship ownership subsequently.

"The 2018 NBA championship team is the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning the championship for the third consecutive year, achieving a remarkable dynasty!"

When the championship trophy was handed to Gilbert, his emotions were very intense.

As he had long known Hansen would leave, the regretful emotions over Hansen’s departure had dissipated in the past season, and at this moment, he focused more on the achievements of the team.

With this dynasty, the Cavaliers’ brand was fully established, and it’s no exaggeration to say they leapfrogged into a league powerhouse.

Moreover, he personally bypassed Griffin and Malone to place the championship trophy in Hansen’s hands, embracing him and expressing words of gratitude.

The golden night four years ago when he visited Hansen under the moonlight reached its climax at this moment.

This will also become a beautiful story in the league’s future.

When Hansen called on the players to raise the championship trophy overhead together, the on-site cheers reached their peak at this moment.

Subsequently, Silva also announced the final ownership of the Finals MVP.

There was no suspense: Hansen, with an average of 26.5 points, 7 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.5 steals, and 2 blocks, became the Finals MVP.

This was the weakest data in all his FMVPs, partly because the Pelicans’ defense, like the Supersonics back in the day, was indeed top-notch in the league, yet more importantly, only G1 and G3 had any suspense in this series, and Hansen’s playing time was very limited in the other two games.

After earning this FMVP, Hansen achieved 6 championships and 6 FMVPs, statistically tying Jordan.

Considering that Jordan achieved this at age 35, and Hansen was not yet 30 until December this year, he has truly surpassed Jordan.

Upon receiving the FMVP trophy from Russell’s trembling hands, Hansen urged the latter to take care of his health.

With his physical condition, perhaps Russell might become the one to "break a promise" in the end.

After putting down the trophy, Hansen delivered his final FMVP acceptance speech with the Cavaliers.

"When I first came back to Cleveland, I knew I would face great challenges, different from those in Memphis, but I also knew it was a huge opportunity. When I led the team to success for the first time, I believed I might be able to achieve it again like I did in Memphis.

Though there were some setbacks, Kyrie left us, we eventually overcame many difficulties to achieve this. When we won the second championship, I became more convinced of that.

I wouldn’t say this year’s championship is the greatest because every championship is the greatest for those who win it, this is the greatest championship for the Cavaliers and for Cleveland.

Finally, I have to thank everyone on our team. They allowed my Cleveland career to end with the most perfect punctuation mark."

Everything has its ending, and being able to land the most perfect final note makes Hansen’s Cleveland experience the most perfect conclusion.

When Hansen’s speech concluded, the emotions among the on-site fans went completely out of control, and they chanted Hansen’s name.

At the post-game press conference, Hansen and Jokic attended together.

"Nikola is the best frontcourt player of this era; he will lead the Cavaliers to continue to glory."

When all was said and done, Hansen blew Jokic’s horn one last time.

Reporters also again raised topics related to Hansen and LeBron.

"I hold enough respect for LeBron; he brought us three championship rings."

Hansen maintained his previous view, even giving James the "respect" he wanted.

Moreover, Hansen was drafted by the Cavaliers because of LeBron back then. Now, James has won not only Hansen but the "respect" of all Clevelanders.