After Kevin Johnson passed the midline, Jordan immediately followed up. Through constant pressing, he was forced to wander around the outside and could not easily get close to the top of the arc.
However, because Glider and Thunder were widely spread out on both wings, which did not give Pippen and BJ the opportunity to double-team, Jordan also did not get the support of his teammates. With Kevin Johnson's strength, he could not completely lock down.
It can block the passing direction with the low post as much as possible.
Under this kind of defense, Wang Tiejun failed to get the ball in his first attempt at the basket, so he had to leave first, turn around outside, then turn around and enter the basket for the second time.
At this time, the ball was passed to Drexler, and Pippen immediately followed it. He would rather let his opponent rush in than give him a chance to shoot or pass to the low post.
The glider turned around and broke through, and indeed passed Pippen, but after taking a step forward, Pippen hit him again.
Pippen stuck to the right side of the glider, that is, the upper side, and then interfered with his breakthrough while squeezing his opponent with his body and pushing toward the baseline.
"Crack!"
Glider was unable to break through with the ball, and he made a ground pass. He wanted to pass it to Wang Tiejun below, but the ball was intercepted by the quick-reacting Pippen.
"The Bulls' perimeter defense has gone to another level. Now it's at full strength. The glider failed to break through with the ball." Kevin Harlan shouted loudly.
"Bang!"
Jordan came down quickly, received a pass from Pippen, and sent out a tomahawk dunk, which detonated the entire audience.
10:8, Suns attack.
"The Bulls have no better defensive tactics and can only continue to strengthen their perimeter defense. Moreover, the Suns have a very strong ability to open up the perimeter. The Bulls have no opportunity to double-team from the perimeter and can only rely on single defense. This is very taxing on the defender and can
How long will it last? I can watch half a game at most." Albert analyzed.
Kevin Harlan nodded and said: "Yes, the Suns' Glider and Thunder have three-pointers, and Green also has a long-range shot. They are enough to separate Pippen and BJ. Although they defended it this time, this defensive intensity
It cannot be sustained, and it cannot be prevented every time.”
Albert said: "In other words, an accidental success cannot determine the overall situation."
When the Suns attacked, Wang Tiejun entered the basket but did not receive the ball. When he pulled to the low post on the left wing, he received a pass from the glider.
At this time, the glider that had just passed the ball suddenly started up, dropped Pippen, and began to cut inside. The angle of the cut was from the left waist, above Wang Tiejun and Kerry.
Wang Tiejun passed the ball hand-to-hand. After receiving the ball, the glider stepped into the paint area and took off.
Kukoc on the weak side quickly returned to defend the basket, and the glider changed from a dunk to a throw. The ball flew past Kukoc's palm and slid towards the basket.
"Bang!"
Unfortunately, it was a little off and the basketball hit the basket.
In the next moment, Kukoc and Kerry, who were returning to the basket, jumped up to grab the defensive rebound. Outside them, a giant beast also jumped up to grab the offensive rebound.
"mine!"
Wang Tiejun relied on his body height and good bounce to get within a foot of the two of them and knocked the ball off their heads.
The next moment he landed, he grabbed the basketball with one hand in his left hand and took off for the second time. With a distance of 1.5 meters from the basket and two defensive insiders in front of him, he brazenly launched a strong attack under the basket.
His right arm stretched out to block Kukoc. At the same time, his body dived forward and directly hit Clifford Robinson. While knocking him over, the moment he approached the basket, his left hand
Smashing with the ball.
"Bang!"
With the violent sound of the basket bombing, Clifford Robinson collapsed, and Kukoc staggered back after landing.
"yeah!"
On the Suns bench, hundreds of away fans, across Phoenix, Arizona, across the Pacific, and on Aeolian Street, instantly burst into countless cheers.
"yeeeeeees!"
Groom Albert roared with excitement: "This is the most powerful attack at the basket. Old K simply treats the defender as if he is nothing. He is showing his powerful dominance to the world!"
"I have to say that Old K is the greatest basketball ruler in active service! May I ask all the strongest centers in the active league here, Dream, General, King Kong, and Shark, what do you think?" Kay
Wen Halan asked excitedly.
Fortunately, he was not the on-site commentator, so his voice could not reach Dameng and the others, otherwise they would have been so angry that they would have gasped.
On the sidelines, Wilt Chamberlain said to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the right: "Kareem, his static talent is excellent, but his athletic talent can only be said to be average. This storm did not show any quality."
"Nonono, Wilt, just now he showed a strong aerial confrontation ability. He blocked a defender with one hand in the air, and then used his body to knock down another defender. Except for the giant beast O'Neal, you have this kind of ability.
I don't have any." Kareem Abdul-Jabbar laughed.
Shrugging, Chamberlain smiled and said: "I don't need it at all. I want to score, and no one can stop me."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar smiled and didn't answer any more, but he didn't think so in his heart.
Because in terms of dominance in the playoffs, Old K has proven in just three seasons that he is more powerful than Chamberlain in the playoffs. If Chamberlain had the dominance of Old K in the playoffs, he would never only win two games.
A championship.
Not to mention Old K's low-post skills, which are unique to the league, and his physical advantages are not that ordinary.
Old K's physical advantage lies in the powerful combination of strength, tonnage and athletic ability. Through this advantage, coupled with his unique low-post back-up technique, he can overpower almost any opponent in the low post.
With this advantage alone, Old K can sweep away a large number of superstar centers. Throughout the past fifty years of the league's history, the only one who can compete with Old K in the low post is another giant, O'Neal.
Of course, he only thinks that he is only in the low post. If he leaves the low post, the two low-post behemoths, Old K and O'Neal, will lose their dominance.
For example, he himself can solve the battle with a hook from the three-point line, but they don't have this ability to kill Old K and O'Neal.
In the first quarter, they did not defend their opponents much. After the Bulls opened up the inside, it was difficult for the Suns to really prevent Jordan's weak-side breakthrough. It was also difficult for the Bulls to block the Suns' internal and external connections. Wang Tiejun broke into the low post.
Dirty.
The defense of both sides was not good, but they played very efficiently on the offensive end. It was like an offensive battle.
Because the game was very intense, both sides did not dare to easily withdraw their main players. A bad score would lead to a draw, so both sides rarely made substitutions in the first quarter.
At the end of the first quarter, at 39:32, the Suns led away from home by 7 points.
Jordan played the entire quarter, making 6 of 8 shots and 4 of 4 free throws, scoring 16 points.
In 8 attacks, 4 broke through and scored, and the remaining 4 mid-range shots hit two goals. The efficiency is very high.
Wang Tiejun played the entire quarter, focusing on the offense throughout the quarter, attacking the basket with 7 dunks, 1 hook under the basket, and two floaters under the basket. His efficiency was unparalleled. He made all ten shots and 5 of 7 free throws in just one quarter.
He scored 25 points in a matter of seconds, breaking his career single-quarter scoring record, playoff single-quarter scoring record, and finals single-quarter scoring record.
His super dominance at the basket exposed the Bulls' weak interior defense.
Relying on his extremely strong and efficient attack at the basket, and with Jordan's high efficiency, the Suns were able to take the lead, but only by 7 points, and the point difference was not huge.
After the first quarter, even if the Bulls' interior defense was weak, his physical energy was consumed a lot.
In the TNT live broadcast booth, Kevin Harlan smiled and said: "Congratulations, old K, for scoring 25 points in a single quarter. You tied the historical record of 25 points in a single quarter by the smiling assassin Isiah Thomas in the 1988 Finals."
Albert exclaimed with admiration: "The Bulls surrounded and suppressed Old K under the basket throughout the quarter. There were four double-teams, two triple-teams, four double-teams, and seven double-teams. He completed them all, and
There is not a single mistake, and its strong offensive ability can only be matched by another giant beast."
Kevin Harlan immediately said: "But now I'm worried about his physical fitness and whether he can persist until the end of the game. With this style of play, even Chamberlain's physical monster will not be able to persist, not to mention this is a series.
.”
Albert nodded and said: "In the next game, he should reduce the number of strong attacks at the basket. But we also have to see that the Bulls' defense cannot always maintain such intensity. They will suppress Old K at the basket with great intensity.
It will definitely be alleviated.”
Kevin Harlan said quickly: "Yes, I agree with this. Firstly, the Bulls' double-teaming under the basket is of no use. Secondly, Old K's strong play also caused a lot of damage to them. They are like this
It’s unbearable even if I keep on guard.”
Albert suddenly laughed and said: "Old K's damage to the Bulls was not only a foul, but also a direct physical blow. Kerry and Kukoc were knocked over and knocked away many times, and they may be injured at any time and unable to get up.
Later, they no longer dared to get close to Old K. This is proof.
In addition to this, Lao K also dealt a huge psychological blow to the Bulls.
Kevin, haven't you seen that the morale of the Bulls players is not high, and the home atmosphere at the United Center is not too intense either. They were hit hard by Old K's strong attacks under the basket again and again."
Kevin Harlan laughed and said with a smile: "Indeed, today's United Center is not worthy of the title of the most terrifying home stadium in the league in the 1990s."
On the Suns' bench, Westphal, after much consideration, replaced last year's rookie guard Westphal as a backup guard.
Person's three-point shooting is very good, reaching 43.6% in the regular season and 37.8% in the playoffs. His performance is no worse than Dan Malley. Although the pressure in the finals is very high, he thinks he can use it. Dan Malley's physical fitness cannot last all the way.
On the field, substitutions must also be made.
At position one, he is not going to make a substitution.
This position is too critical. The backup point guard Perry is not good enough, so he can only let the Lightning continue to play and let him rest for a few minutes in the third quarter.
Fortunately, Kevin Johnson didn't do much offense or breakthrough in the first quarter. He was responsible for passing the ball to Old K and playing defensive counterattacks. There was no major problem with his physical fitness.
At the third position, Glider was also old and had to take some time off in the second quarter, so he was replaced by Robert Horry.
Inside, AC Green and Vaiman Tisdale partnered up, letting Old K rest for two or three minutes.
After Danny Manning was retired, in addition to Tisdale, Robert Horry often substituted for the fourth position in the interior, which could barely be rotated.
Of the five starters, three were replaced, and two were temporarily left on top. After Old K came up, Green was replaced to rest.
The Bulls also made extensive substitutions.
The center is Luke Longley, the power forward is Corey Blount, the small forward is Roy Harper, and the guards are Jordan and Steve Kerr.
Of the five starters, four were replaced, leaving only one Jordan to support the game.
Phil Jackson didn't expect anything from the bench. He just hoped that the bench would complete the task without widening the point difference.
He is still confident about this, because the Suns' bench is average.
The two sides played with their substitute lineups for two or three minutes, and the score difference was still four points. Then the two sides began to make substitutions.
Jordan also had a huge breakthrough in the first quarter. Coupled with the exhaustion on the defensive end, he didn't play much at the beginning of the second quarter. As Pippen came on, he came off the court to rest.
There seemed to be a tacit understanding. In the second quarter, even though the main players of both sides were on the court, they did not try their best. Therefore, the quarter ended indifferently. At halftime, 62:57, the Suns still led by 5 points in the away game.
"The second half should be more lively. I guess both sides want to widen the gap in the third quarter and lay a foundation for the final quarter." Zhang Lili analyzed.
Su Qun said: "Old K rested for two minutes in the first half, and he played the most time. The Lightning also rested for 4 minutes, and others had more rest time. In the second half, the Suns' physical fitness should be no problem, only Old K
I don’t know if I can stick to it.”
Zhang Lianda said: "Although he played ten minutes in the second quarter, he didn't do much offense. He only played two secondary offenses, grabbed rebounds, defended and coordinated the ball. It should be fine. The Bulls are not Mosaic.
For teams with strong inside lines, his physical exertion should not be as high as in the Western Conference Finals."
15 minutes later, the third quarter begins.
In this quarter, Westphal's idea is still to fight a stalemate and leave the victory or defeat to the fourth quarter.
He asked Wang Tiejun to distribute the ball whenever he had the chance, not to attack too hard at the basket, save some energy, and focus on attacking in the final quarter.
The reason for this decision was that he believed that the Bulls were weak inside and that Old K could gather his strength and directly defeat the Bulls in the final quarter.
If he starts to exert his strength in the third quarter, the old K may not have enough physical fitness in the last quarter, and may be defeated by the Bulls.
Of course, when the main lineup plays a stalemate, it is different from the substitutes. They still have to go all out to play high-quality offense and defense, but the old K's personal shots have to be reduced.
It just so happened that Phil Jackson had the same idea. Jordan only rested for 3 minutes in the first half. He had already scored 27 points in the first half. He was not prepared to let Jordan play more in the third quarter.
Coincidentally, the decisive battles were placed in the fourth quarter, and in the third quarter they continued to rotate with a half-main and half-substitute lineup.
At the end of the third quarter, 84:80, the Bulls were still 4 points behind.
Wang Tiejun scored 25 points in the first quarter, scored 6 points with consecutive free throws in the final quarter, and scored 6 more points in the third quarter, totaling 37 points in the third quarter.
This score has already refreshed his single-game scoring record in the playoffs and finals, and he still has one quarter left to continue setting new highs.
Jordan scored 27 points in the half and another 7 points in the third quarter, finishing with 34 points.
"The Bulls played very hard today. They haven't taken the lead once since the beginning. The leaders of both sides, Old K and Jordan, have been accumulating strength in the second and third quarters. There should be a fight in the final quarter." In the TNT commentary box, Al
Bert said seriously.
Kevin Harlan excitedly shouted at this time: "That's great! I just received the ratings report. This game has set a new high in ratings, with 34 million people in the United States watching this game."
Albert laughed and said: "This shows that the showdown between Air Jordan and the restricted area sweeper Lao K is so attractive! But I believe that the ratings in the final quarter will hit a new high."
Kevin Harlan laughed and said: "It's a pity that they are not in the same position, otherwise it would be more attractive."
Albert joked: "You can let Jordan play in the low post against Old K. That's the position he often went to before. I don't think Old K will call for a double-team."
"Haha..." Kevin Harlan laughed.
On the Bulls bench, Kerry looked pale, dripping with sweat, in bad condition, and looked a little confused.
In three quarters, even if he didn't defend on the defensive end, he was tortured so much by the giant beast of Old K that he was almost torn apart, his chest was about to be crushed, his back was strained, and his right ankle was sprained.
After a while, he couldn't fight anymore.
Phil Jackson stood in front of Robinson, feeling a little heavy.
Without Kerry, the open tactic would be impossible. Old K sits under the basket on the defensive end. Not to mention strengthening the defense, the Suns' backcourt rebounding control will be strengthened. The Bulls were able to maintain a balance in rebounding with the Suns before.
There was only two points left in the third quarter, thanks to the spacing tactics, but I am afraid that we will suffer some losses in the final quarter.
After a short rest, the final quarter began, with both sides sending almost all their main forces.
For the Suns, Dan Marley did not play, and substitute shooting guard Wes Riperson came on.
For the Bulls, Clifford Robinson did not play and Luke Longley came on.
This season, the Bulls have hoarded several centers for the two giants of Old K and O'Neal. In addition to Kerry, there are also Wilperdo, Bill Wennington, and Luke Longley.
By the end of the quarter, Phil Jackson no longer cared about the unsightly human shield tactic. In the third quarter, Kerry was knocked over no less than five times by Old K. He suffered several injuries and had to use a human shield to fight against him.
Suns offense.
Wang Tiejun rested for three minutes in the third quarter and five minutes in the third quarter. He didn't attack much in the first two quarters. Now he has no problem with his physical fitness and is very active. As soon as he enters the frontcourt, he goes straight to the basket.
Luke Longley took the top defense. He turned around and rushed in, but the ball from outside was not passed in time, so he had to leave the paint area first.
As long as there was a turn outside, after Luke Longley came out, Wang turned around again and rushed into the basket again.
This time, the ball passed through the glider's hands.
Kukoc double-teamed the basket from the right wing, and Wang Tiejun took off to catch the ball. The former pushed him secretly, preventing him from making an alley-oop. After landing, Luke Longley chased the basket, forming a double-team.
But can that stop him? No.
"Bang! Bang!"
In less than a second, Luke Longley was knocked away by two ferocious hits, and Kukoc was knocked directly to the basket.
"Bang!"
The next moment, the basket roared.
"yeees!"
Albert shouted excitedly: "At the beginning of the last quarter, Old K reproduced his most powerful attack under the basket. This was the fifth time that Kukoc was knocked over during a double-team under the basket. I dare to speculate that if this kind of
If the situation continues, he can imagine what will happen to the postman."
Kevin Harlan pointed at the screen and shouted urgently: "Look, something is really wrong with him."
After a layup on the court, Kukoc clutched his chest and couldn't get up. He was coughing and wheezing, but he didn't dare to pant wildly because there was a sharp pain in his chest.
He knew it was over, his ribs were probably broken, and the bull was going to be in big trouble.
"Damn it!"
After looking at Kukoc and then at Wang Tiejun, Jordan cursed fiercely.
Off the court, there was a layer of dense sweat on Phil Jackson's forehead. After asking the team doctor to go to him, he turned to look at the bench, thought for three seconds, and called out Wilperdo.
If one human shield is not enough, use two. They will squeeze you to death and leave you without any space under the basket.
"Listen, if Old K takes a shot, immediately commit a foul and send him to a free throw. Tell Luke Longley what I mean, and you two will do this together."
When Perdo came on the field, he warned.
Kukoc left the game. After a preliminary physical examination, the team doctor determined that the third rib on his left chest was fractured and he was reimbursed for the season.
This is a big blow to the Bulls. The main power forward was injured in the first game of the Finals. The Bulls' tactics and lineup will be greatly affected.
At the TNT commentary booth, Albert read: "Luke Longley, 218 centimeters tall, 26 years old, young and strong, now weighs 132 kilograms, has enough tonnage, but his absolute strength and athletic ability are not as good as those of old K
Even worse.
Wilperdo, 30 years old, 213 centimeters tall, now has a tonnage of 120 kilograms, and has gained 10 kilograms. In the past, he could not be called a human shield, but now he has some appearance. However, with his strength and tonnage, he cannot stop the old man.
k's.
Coach Phil Jackson lets two of them play as human shields and use the twin-tower tactic? I don’t think they can stop Old K, right?"
Kevin Harlan said: "He doesn't have any good ideas. Any head coach has nothing to do when faced with Old K, a terrifying beast in the low post. He has to try everything. What if it works? If it doesn't work, just cut it. Anyway,
The Bulls' interior defense is so weak, and Old K is so efficient at the basket, so it would be beneficial to cut him."
Albert nodded quickly when he heard this and said: "It makes sense. Old K shot 100% at the basket in the first quarter, but his free throw shooting rate was only over 60%. You can make money by cutting him at the basket. Now the third
It's four quarters, Phil Jackson has someone in his hands and he's not afraid of fouling."
