Chapter 94: This is My House!
Rivers didn't make any major adjustments— there was a reason Tony Allen had limited minutes with the Celtics. Plus, as the 'master of blown leads in history', Rivers wasn't known for his in-game adaptability.
Han Sen's performance kept the Cavaliers in the game, and by the end of the first quarter, both teams were tied at 23.
Han Sen played the entire first quarter, scoring 13 points with a standout performance, but the energy expenditure was high.
With Jamison now leading the Cavaliers on the court, Rivers countered by sending in Garnett. Both teams were now in full-on battle mode, with no thought given to the next game.
This was when the impact of LeBron's absence started to show. LeBron's decision to sit out had been criticized, but without him, the Cavaliers struggled to maintain their scoring pace.
Jamison could've filled that role, but Garnett locked him down. Meanwhile, Williams had only had one good game so far in the series, leaving Coach Brown with a helpless expression.
Han Sen was in excellent form, and if LeBron were playing, the Cavs would have a great chance of winning. But, LeBron had made his decision, and Brown had to go along with it.
The Celtics executed a brilliant play, with Nate Robinson (acquired at the trade deadline) catching an alley-oop pass from Garnett and posterizing Varejao with a thunderous dunk.
Varejao instinctively fell to the ground, but the refs didn't call it. As good as his acting was, it didn't impress the officials this time.
The momentum shifted in favor of the Celtics, and the crowd became restless. Brown had no choice but to call Han Sen, who had only just sat down for a rest, back into the game. Han Sen barely had time to put on his warm-up jersey before getting up.
The energy the Celtics displayed tonight showed that they were still the team that had pushed the Lakers to seven games in the Finals.