When the Bulls were on offense, Pippen faked a shot and passed Dan Malley, holding the ball and driving in.
In the low post on the left wing, Luke Longley pestered Wang Tiejun, holding the latter's arm to prevent him from guarding Pippen.
"Bang!"
Without any hesitation, Wang Tiejun turned around and exerted force. His trapped arm was yanked, and the brute force exploded instantly, knocking Luke Longley to the ground.
Including the referee, the three referees moved their mouths, but invariably, they did not blow their whistles.
"Crack!"
The next moment, Wang Tiejun took two steps to catch up with Pippen who was about to dunk. As he stood up, he slapped him away. With a loud slap, the basketball flew into the air. Pippen also exclaimed,
He fell down and cracked his teeth.
"Crack!"
Lao Wang got up again and caught the falling ball.
"yeeeees!"
Albert screamed excitedly and roared: "Old K sent out the most powerful block, the Bulls fell two more, and the Suns are now on a fast break..."
"Keep blowing! If you blow old K, you will all make headlines." Westphal roared from the audience.
The linesman who ran over gave him a sharp look, but he ignored it.
Wang Tiejun quickly came down from the center, with Luke Longley and Pippen on the floor behind him. Neither of them could get up in time, and the Suns formed a five-on-three situation.
Kevin Johnson advanced to the basket, did not hit, and changed direction to the right wing. At this time, Wang Tiejun rushed in.
Jordan quickly returned to defense and blocked the basket.
"Whoosh!"
Lightning pushed forward and passed the ball.
Wang Tiejun caught the ball and flew towards Jordan under the basket.
"If you dare to block me, I will kill you!"
At this moment, a fierce light appeared in his eyes.
"Damn it!"
Jordan gritted his teeth and looked at the giant beast that was flying towards him. He felt like he was facing a lion and a tiger, so he quickly dodged to the side.
"Bang!"
The next moment, the basket above his head was exploded.
"yeah!"
The Suns team cheered.
"ah!"
Wang Tiejun stood under the basket and roared excitedly, his ferocity was completely off the charts. Even though Jordan was standing next to him, the cameras of the entire media were only focused on him.
"Boy, I will definitely win you in this game!"
Looking back, Jordan responded to Wang Tiejun with a firm three-pointer.
When the Suns attacked, the ball passed continuously from Drexler's hands to Wang Tiejun's hands.
Down low on the left wing, he receives the ball and immediately starts beating Luke Longley.
"Bang!"
The moment after he lowered his stuck left elbow, the first iron blow erupted, and a giant bear-like force hit Luke Longley's left chest, causing him to grunt and his face turned blood red instantly.
The next moment, the second hit came one after another.
"Bang!"
Amidst the heavy impact, Luke Longley staggered back.
Wang Tiejun started his bear step, moved his feet inward, kept up with Luke Longley's rhythm, and while dribbling, the third shot broke out instantly.
"Bang!"
Luke Longley could no longer resist, his upper body violently leaned back, and his back hit the floor directly.
"Well!"
There was a twitching pain in his back, which made him cry out in pain.
"Bang!"
At this moment, Wang Tiejun flew over him, and above his head, the basket exploded.
"..."
Wang Tiejun's extremely ferocious low-post play seemed to have an invisible pressure, which made countless Bulls fans stop breathing. They looked at the behemoth bombarding their own baskets unscrupulously, and there was a feeling of fear in their hearts.
Birth.
Wang Tiejun fell to the ground, turned around and looked at the referee, a cruel smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"Old K was enraged and the unlucky ones were Luke Longley and the Bulls."
Shaking his head, Albert said: "If Longley can't play only this game, it won't be a big problem, but if he can't play in the following games, the Bulls will be in great trouble."
Kevin Harlan said: "Now the Bulls still have Wennington, Clifford Robinson, and Perdo can still play. He was also beaten by the old K in the game, and there is also a guy named Corey Blount.
The edge forwards can make up the numbers.
With Kirkuk out of the game, it would be best if Luke Langley comes back, otherwise the four inside players will rotate and it will be very dangerous to face the old K."
Luke Longley, who came off the field at this time, underwent a physical examination. He had a strained back muscle and the entire rib on his left chest was aching. He didn't know if there was any problem with the bone. He had to go back to the locker room to deal with the injury to his back muscles before going to the hospital for a check-up.
, the team doctor accompanied him.
Luke Longley's exit has once again hit the Bulls' morale.
But Wang Tiejun didn't give up. In the next little while, he didn't restrain himself at all despite three fouls. He didn't hesitate to attack the basket crazily, regardless of his physical strength.
The Lightning and Glider on the outside stopped attacking, so they passed the ball to him. Jordan and Pippen defended desperately, but they were unable to cut off the passing and receiving line in a single defense situation. An occasional success would not affect the overall situation at all.
In the end, the Bulls could only commit consecutive fouls and send him to the free throw line twice in three minutes. Even so, he was beaten to a score of two plus one.
The referee was wary and did not dare to give him a fourth foul.
He didn't rest for a minute. After the first quarter, he made 9 of 9 shots and 3 of 6 free throws. He scored 21 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in a single quarter.
Because of his crazy performance, at 33:28, the Suns not only did not fall behind, but led by 5 points.
In the tnt commentary box, Albert complained: "Old K's performance in a single quarter fully demonstrated the weakness of the Bulls inside, which was simply to the level of vulnerability. There was no offense in offense and no defense in defense."
Kevin Harlan immediately nodded in agreement and said: "When Kukoc and Clifford Robinson are both here, although they have no defense, they can finally open up and attack.
But Kukoc's injury was decisive. The Bulls' interior tactics were inoperable. With only Kerry left, the interior was completely lousy. There was no offensive rebound defense at all. Their badness brought out the old K's.
Powerful, extremely powerful.”
Albert shook his head and said: "Jordan and Pippen are indeed strong enough, but their advantage on the outside is completely surpassed by K's advantage on the inside. This is why the Bulls are lagging behind.
So in our last program, we said that the Bulls were restrained by the Suns in terms of lineup, which is good. Their penalty area was completely destroyed by Old K.
I can only say that Jordan is unlucky. When he defends his dynasty and defends his championship for the second time, there is always an old K standing in front of him."
Kevin Harlan suddenly laughed and said: "So Marv, do you think the Suns will win tonight?"
Albert was startled. He understood what his partner meant. He thought about it and smiled playfully: "It's hard to say. If Lao K ends up early, the result will be self-evident."
Kevin Harlan had a strange look on his face and said: "I'm afraid the league won't be happy that Old K leaves the game early.
His popularity is really high now, and after his stick performance at this year’s All-Star Game, his popularity has skyrocketed compared to last year.”
"But Lao K's character is too violent. After the third offense, he beat him even more ferociously. The three gentlemen on the court may not be able to suppress him, haha!" Albert laughed.
In the CCTV commentary box, Zhang Lijia looked serious and said: "The Suns had an advantage in both offense at the basket and rebounding, but the whistle was a little too far, otherwise the point difference would have been double digits.
However, Tiejun's excessive consumption and too many fouls may affect his playing time. The Bulls should counterattack in a big way in the second quarter, so the Suns should be careful."
Su Qun nodded and said: "Once Old K doesn't play, there is no inside support, and the Suns take over the offense from the outside, then the Bulls' strong outside defensive capabilities may usher in an explosion."
Zhang Liyi nodded and said: "Yes, in the G1 game and the first quarter of this game, the first function of the Suns' perimeter is to pass the ball to the Tiejun. Jordan and the others are not easy to control, and their defensive energy cannot be fully exploded. Now they are starting to dominate the offense from the outside.
Probably the strongest defensive intensity will come.”
The atmosphere on the Bulls bench was very bad.
Today the Bulls got a very clear home whistle and blew three offensive fouls on Old K. At least three 2-plus-1 opportunities were not blown, which gave the Bulls many free throw opportunities. However, the Bulls were actually 5 points behind. Now the pressure is on them.
Bull's head.
Jordan was very annoyed and didn't quite understand why his team style of play lost to Lao K's individual style of play, and Lao K was even taken care of by the referee.
If he hadn't won three championships with his team play, he would definitely doubt the correctness of his team play now.
But he overlooked one thing. Although Wang Tiejun had a personal burst of madness, his efficiency was very high. His extremely high efficiency covered up the flaws and irrationality of his personal style of play.
To put it simply, his previous personal style of play was not as efficient as Wang Tiejun's. This was a natural flaw on the outside, as he was too far away from the basket.
The sweat on Phil Jackson's head never stopped, and he didn't have the calmness he had during his two consecutive championships.
With Kukoc and Luke Longley injured, it can be said that no one is available inside.
In fact, with Kukoc's retirement and the spread-out tactics being no longer possible, he knew that the inside line was finished.
Now he can only try to use his outside advantage to make up for his huge inside disadvantage, but before that, he has to find ways to improve the team's morale.
Old K's crazy attack has completely destroyed the will of the inside players.
In the last two or three minutes, Clifford Robinson no longer dared to go in to help defend Old K, and the substitute meat shield Wennington, who was opposite Old K, also did not dare to go up to defend.
Now besides Jordan, even Pippen's morale has been almost destroyed.
In the second quarter, he couldn't imagine the kind of collapse the inside line would face.
But there was a relaxed look on his face and he said with a smile: "Don't worry, everyone. Old K's physical fitness is limited. He can't attack like he did in the first quarter. He definitely doesn't have the confidence to defeat us in the half. He will definitely win next time."
Save your energy, the ball will return to their perimeter, and the pressure we face in the low post will definitely be reduced.
At the same time, because Old K has deprived others of their shooting opportunities, the rest of the Suns must not have a good shot, so the next step is our opportunity."
At this point, he stared at Jordan and Pippen and said: "Michael, Scottie, there is no rest time for you. We absolutely cannot lose this game. Continue to play, beat them on both offense and defense, and score the score."
To get back, we not only have to get back the score, but we also have to establish a score advantage in the second quarter."
Jordan knew that Phil was best at regulating the players' psychology and stimulating their potential, so he cooperated and said to his teammates: "Phil said it right. The second quarter is our opportunity. Old K's madness in the first quarter was actually our fault."
The opportunity, the energy he exhausted in the first quarter, the rest of the game will be controlled by us."
With the cooperation of the two, the atmosphere on the Bulls bench became slightly more relaxed, and the collapsing morale stabilized somewhat. However, if you want to reunite, it cannot be done with just a few words, you must take actual actions.
The Suns' bench is like a silent volcano waiting to explode.
"Old K, please rest for a few minutes in the next quarter." Westphal squatted in front of Wang Tiejun and said.
The first quarter was so crazy that Wang Tiejun was still panting slightly. After wiping his sweat with a towel, he looked over at the technical table. The three referees were standing together and talking about something, with angry eyes in his eyes.
, shook his head, looked back at Westphal and said: "Coach, if I leave the field, it will be in line with their wishes and let me continue to play. My physical fitness is good."
"Old K?"
What does Kevin Johnson next to him want to say.
"Kevin, I can do it." Lao Wang said firmly.
Kevin Johnson nodded and said nothing more.
"Well, old K, you can't play like that in the second quarter, we will need you in the second half," Westphal said.
"I understand." Lao Wang said.
At this time, the rest time has come, and the next quarter begins.
On the Bulls' side, Clifford Robinson came on the bench to regain his health, and two meat shields, Wennington and Perdo, came on the bench.
In addition to Jordan and Pippen on the outside, the number one position is Ron Harper.
For the Suns, in addition to Wang Tiejun, the fourth position is Waiman Tisdale, the third position is Robert Horry, and the second position is Wes Riperson.
The point guard was still Kevin Johnson. Jordan and Pippen were both on the court, but he didn't dare to come down.
"Oh, old K is playing again?" Kevin Harlan said in surprise in the TNT commentary box.
On the sidelines, some league superstars such as Magic Johnson and O'Neal were also very surprised.
Larry Bird said in surprise: "Old K should be recovering his physical fitness on the bench. What is he doing on the court at this time?"
"Attracting defense in the low post, his ability to support and distribute the ball is very good. Didn't you notice that he didn't have many assists in the G1 game." Magic Johnson thought for a while and said.
"It's possible. As long as he doesn't focus on offense, his physical fitness should be fine." Nodding, Larry Bird said.
Phil Jackson was also surprised to see Wang Tiejun playing again.
His original arrangement was for the situation when Old K did not play, so now he had to change it, so he quickly said to Jordan, who was about to play: "Michael, if you have the chance, hit him and let him sit back on the bench."
Jordan was startled, but nodded.
When it comes to singles, he doesn't fear anyone, let alone Old K, even the three super centers, even Mutombo, he is still confident, he is the king of singles, and often does one versus five.
