Chapter 834: Chapter 834

This season, he’s put on weight and fully become a center.

The added weight hasn’t slowed him down much, but it has transformed his physique, and his static talent is quite outstanding. At 2.06 meters tall with a 2.22-meter wingspan, he has become a pretty good mobile rim protector, which is precisely what the Warriors need the most.

So, this game is even tougher for the Kings than the one against the Bucks. If they lose this "derby," Sacramento fans might lean towards driving to Oakland to watch the game, and the Kings’ record would fall to 2 wins and 3 losses, with a sub .500 winning percentage increasing the outside doubts about Hansen.

Of course, if the Kings win this game, their situation would fundamentally change.

So, although it’s just a regular season game, its importance is self-evident.

Fans know this well; tonight, the Golden One Arena is not only packed as usual, but the fans’ enthusiasm is also at an unprecedented high.

With the fans’ passion, Hansen fired on all cylinders in the first quarter.

centimeters in height isn’t noticeable in front of a mirror, but the difference in the game is quite pronounced.

When George defended Hansen, it became especially evident. Initially, he had a size advantage over Hansen, only needing to anticipate Hansen’s offensive intentions when defending.

But tonight, he could clearly feel he was being completely overpowered by Hansen.

This left him incredulous, to the point where after a defensive foul, he couldn’t help but ask Hansen, "Have you grown taller again?"

As the opponent on the court, he felt it much more clearly than off the court.

"You guess," Hansen replied with a smile.

George pursed his lips and shook his head.

Rather than something impossible happening, it seemed more likely that Hansen had become stronger in running and jumping than before.

Hansen contributed 22 points in the first quarter, leading the Kings to a 38-point outburst in the first quarter, taking a double-digit lead of 38-28 over the Warriors.

As the game entered the second quarter, the Warriors evidently ramped up their defense on Hansen.

Cole mostly used George to defend in the first quarter, but by the second quarter, it became a double team with George and Green.

At this time, the Kings encountered a situation similar to their game against the Bucks; Tatum’s reluctance to shoot allowed the Warriors’ double team to run rampant.

By halftime, the Warriors managed to tie the score at 62.

Both sides went into halftime.

Hansen was interviewed by a court reporter before heading back to the locker room.

Upon returning to the locker room and seeing Tatum sitting there chatting and laughing with Hield, Hansen directly took off his jersey and threw it in front of him:

"If I’d known you were such a coward that you wouldn’t even dare to shoot, I should’ve had them send you to Cleveland!"

Hansen’s action instantly silenced the entire locker room.

Tatum also grabbed the bench with both hands, and it was clear he was angry about being publicly humiliated by Hansen, but he dared not retort in front of Hansen.

Hansen didn’t bother with him further, instead sitting back in front of his locker.

At this point, no one in the locker room dared to continue speaking; no one wanted to run into trouble at this time.

Until Lue and Van Gundy arrived in the locker room.

The strange atmosphere in the locker room quickly made Lue realize something was wrong. Although he had no idea what happened, he mostly guessed when he saw Tatum’s flushed face.

Actually, in the previous games, instead of saying Tatum was out of form, it was more a matter of his mindset having issues.

Because it wasn’t about whether he could make the shots, but rather that his willingness to shoot was too low.

Lue coughed slightly, letting Van Gundy explain the second half’s strategies, then signaled Tatum to go out with him. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝙣𝙚𝙩

Returning from halftime, both sides continued the second half’s contest.

The Warriors deployed the Deathly Five Small, and Lue responded with the same strategy.

Curry came up and immediately hit a three-pointer, giving the Warriors the early edge.

On the next play, Hansen used a crossover to get past George’s defense, drove into the paint, and scored a 2+1 against Green’s help defense.

Originally, it wasn’t easy for Green to limit Hansen, and now with Hansen’s height and wingspan improved, it’s even harder to defend him.

More importantly, Hansen regained his stamina after the halftime break.

Cole continued signaling to double-team Hansen.

When Hansen drove into the paint again, he was triple-teamed, but he quickly passed the ball to the perimeter at the right moment.

The ball flew directly to where Tatum was standing.

Tatum looked somewhat surprised when he saw the ball coming because he couldn’t understand why Hansen would pass to him after humiliating him in the locker room.

However, this time he didn’t hesitate, because he wasn’t afraid to shoot, nor was he any sort of coward.

Tatum’s shooting wasn’t quick, but Hansen’s offense had drawn much of the Warriors’ defense, making it too late for them to rotate and help.

With a crisp sound, Tatum’s three-pointer found the net.

After the shot, Tatum looked in Hansen’s direction, but found that Hansen wasn’t even looking at him, already running back down the court.

He clenched his fist instinctively.

It seemed like Hansen might not have intentionally passed the ball to him just now, or perhaps Hansen was just instinctually passing to an open teammate.

George received at the corner and used a fake to get past Tatum, then drove towards the basket.

However, just as he raised the ball to attempt a dunk, Tatum, who had been pursuing from behind, timed his jump perfectly and blocked the ball from his hand.

This moment ignited the arena, and Tatum’s offense and defense in this sequence stood in stark contrast to his performance in the first half.

After the block, Tatum let out a cathartic roar.

He once again instinctively looked back at Hansen, only to see Hansen still barely paying him any attention, making him clench his fist even tighter.

Tatum’s resilient performance introduced subtle changes to the game.

On the court for the Kings now, besides Hansen, there were Mitchell, Hield, Tatum, and Sabonis.

These players all have spacing ability, especially Hield, whose outside shooting poses a significant threat, drawing much of the weak-side defense.

At this time, with Tatum daring to shoot on the strong side, the Warriors’ defensive rotation and help would require much more effort.

Moreover, after being continually ignored by Hansen, Tatum also had a fire in his belly.

Hansen once again drove and kicked out, with Tatum receiving the ball and seeing Thompson racing to close out on him. He didn’t rush his shot but instead used a pump fake and then sprinted into the paint in large strides.

With Green having to watch Hansen and unable to switch, Rooney had to leave Sabonis to retreat to the basket.

Due to the defensive rotation, his retreat wasn’t thorough, and he soon realized something was wrong.

Tatum, from half a meter away from the basket, had already taken off, holding the ball high.

There was no time for him to react.

When Tatum slammed the ball into the basket over Rooney, the entire Golden One Arena erupted in excitement.

In fact, Hansen’s outburst in the locker room echoed the thoughts of many fans.

Though Doncic, who went to the Cavaliers, got torched on both ends by Hansen in his debut, he performed well in subsequent games.

Recently against the San Antonio Spurs, Doncic played 40 minutes, shooting 11 of 18 for 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, marking his first career 30+ point game.

Admittedly, this partly has to do with Jokic, that kind of "blood-donor" player who could help even a late-career Westbrook shine.

But fans naturally thought that Tatum should’ve been traded instead of Doncic—Doncic, after all, showed such performance in his rookie season, surely his future achievements would surpass Tatum’s.

However, trades are like water that’s been poured; there’s no taking it back, and they can only hope for Tatum to deliver strong performances.

And in these opening sequences of the second half, they finally saw it.

Hansen now looked toward Tatum for the first time.

Why does this guy need a talking-to to figure out how to play?