Chapter 460 This is a final that no one can afford to lose
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This time both sides stood up and it was time for the next quarter.
For the Bulls, Jordan continues to play, Pippen takes a rest, and the same goes for Harper. The guard is Cole, the small forward Keeson Caffey, the power forward Toni Kukoc, and the center is Luke Longley.
For the Suns, Wang Tiejun continues to play, with Williams at power forward, Wilkins at small forward, and Lightning + Kidd at the back.
Bulls attack.
Lao Wang's roar sounded: "The whole audience is pressing hard."
Woo woo woo...
This sentence, like an air raid siren, instantly made the Bulls' scalp numb.
"Damn it!"
Jordan directly swore.
The Lightning had only played a few minutes in the first quarter. At this time, they were full of energy and immediately rushed to Cole's side.
Although Kidd played the entire first quarter, Kobe would soon come up to replace him. The three of them played two positions, with an average of only 32 minutes of playing time each. So he also cheered up and began to pursue Jordan with all his strength.
Although Wilkins' defense is not very good, it is related to the championship. How can he dare to slack off? Otherwise, Old K will probably kick him off the field on the spot, so he also keeps an eye on Keeson Caffey. Fortunately.
Caffey is just a role player with average strength, and his defensive tasks are not heavy.
Jordan got rid of Kidd and was blocked again immediately after receiving the ball. However, he was really strong. He was still full of energy after playing for one quarter. He rushed left and right and passed the ball to Cole who came to respond.
But Cole is not Harper, and soon he was unable to advance or retreat under the pressure of the Lightning, and could only pass the ball back to Jordan.
"Crack!"
Cole's passing action was too obvious. At this time, Kidd made a very fierce and decisive steal. He suddenly took a step forward like a hungry wolf, instantly inserted between Jordan and the ball, stuck Jordan and completed the steal.
"Beautiful! Kidd steals the ball in the backcourt, makes a lightning quick move, and passes the ball!"
Su Qun screamed excitedly, and finally shouted: "It's in, Lightning feinted a shot, swayed Jordan who was back to defend the basket, and hit a layup."
"33:24, now the Suns are 9 points ahead. Come on, win the match point, the championship is in sight!" Lao Zhang shouted excitedly.
"Damn it!"
Jordan cursed bitterly.
He now feels what it's like to press the whole court. In the past, the Bulls gave the Suns a taste of this, but he didn't expect to feel it now.
He looked at the bench and saw that no one on the bench could help him. Neither Pippen nor Harper were tough guys, especially Harper. He could only play more than 20 minutes in the playoffs.
Peng also needs to take a breath before he can come up. A game can last up to forty minutes.
"To strengthen the defense, we have to let them taste what it feels like to press the whole court to defend." At this time, Lao Wang's roar sounded again.
"yes!"
All the Suns players responded with a roar, their momentum rising.
"Shh!"
The home fans reacted immediately and booed loudly.
On the sidelines, several coaches on the Suns bench looked at each other. This was not the defensive tactic they had arranged. After the first quarter, Old K changed their tactic again.
But, okay, old K can play however he wants, this is his team.
This time, no matter how fierce Kidd pressed him, Jordan stopped passing the ball. He rushed left and right, and through continuous changes of direction, forced Kidd to retreat continuously.
He advanced into the frontcourt and reached the top of the key. He didn't even stop for a moment, and he immediately made a sudden stop. Before Kidd had time to rush up and block the shot, the ball had already been released.
There is only one word to describe the entire offense, and that is: fast.
"brush!"
The water splashed and he hit a three-pointer.
"Ouch, he made 5 of 9 shots and 4 of 6 three-pointers. You have to hold him down. If a genius like Jordan shoots like crazy, no one can stop him." Zhang Lili shouted loudly.
Su Qun was also frightened and said: "4 of 6 shots, which is equivalent to a 100% hit rate on two-pointers. Coach Zhang, at the beginning of the last G2 game, he also hit two three-pointers in a row. At that time
We thought he was going to hit a wave of three-pointers, but he didn't, but today it looks like he's really going to hit a wave."
Zhang Lili nodded seriously and said: "It's not that there is really going to be another wave, but there has already been one. Looking at Jordan's state today, it is super explosive. The Suns cannot be careless. The gap of 6 points, two
It’s just a three-pointer thing.”
In the ABC live broadcast, Magic Johnson and the other three were also talking about Jordan's three-pointer.
Larry Bird said: "As long as Jordan loses this game, he can basically say that he has lost the competition for the number one player in active service.
After one loss, two losses and three losses, he lost to Old K three times in a row in the finals. Even he himself was embarrassed to say that he was the number one player currently.
Therefore, Jordan really cannot afford to lose in this game. If he loses, it will be really difficult for him to win against Old K again in the future, unless the lineup is incredible, but that has no gold content."
Magic Johnson said: "Even if he is the first man in history, if his contribution to the league is not considered, if Old K wins this time, both of them will have triple crowns, but Old K defeated Jordan three times to win the championship, and he was at his peak.
Jordan, then his evaluation will be higher than that of Jordan. So this game, for Jordan, is indeed a game that he can no longer lose."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also said: "So he broke out, not only in this game, but in this series, because he knows better than us that this is not just the finals, but also the decision between him and Old K
This series about the current No. 1 player and even his historical positioning can be called the most important series in his career."
On the sidelines, several Suns coaches, including head coach Danny Ainge, were already a little anxious. Jordan's three-pointer today was really scary and made them very uneasy.
But there was nothing they could do. Kidd and others had already tried their best to defend, and they were all pressing the whole court. How else could they defend?
At 33:27, the Bulls were still 6 points behind, and the Suns attacked.
Although Williams is old, he still has a certain mid-range shooting ability. He moved to the right wing and also moved Kukoc to the right midfielder.
From the low post on the left wing, Lao Wang began to take position and ask for the ball.
In the first quarter, he focused on defense. In this quarter, his teammates were all substitutes. He needed to bear more offensive pressure and focused on offense to further widen the point difference to determine the victory.
His positioning for the ball seemed to be an order. After receiving this order, the Bulls' defensive formation all took a small step back.
Kidd was stared at by Jordan and was not in a hurry to pass the ball. At this time, Lightning suddenly ran from the right wing, quickly completed a hand-to-hand pass with Kidd, then rushed to the left wing with the ball, pushed with one hand, and the ball flew straight in
In the hands of Wang Tiejun.
The time of passing the ball in a straight line is the shortest, which prevents the opponent from double-teaming in time.
The moment after catching the ball, Lao Wang's low singles began.
Using his left foot as the axis, he suddenly swayed upwards. After Luke Longley's center of gravity was shaken, he immediately turned downwards. Longley failed to keep up with the rhythm. While dribbling, he turned around and stepped across the paint area sideline.
Kill him and get up.
At the right waist position, when Wang Tiejun was swaying, Kukoc quickly turned around and returned to defense, but seeing that Old K had successfully reached the bottom, he did not dare to rush forward to block the hole of the gun, so he could only make an emergency stop and stopped on the opposite side of the basket.
"Bang!"
After one ball, the basket shook violently.
35:27, the Suns lead by 8 points, the Bulls attack.
It's still a full-court press tactic, but it's an inferior version. Kidd hasn't played yet, and the defensive intensity is not as good as in the first quarter. The Lightning's athletic ability has declined now, Wilkins can't defend well, and Lao Wang just wants to get revenge.
Bulls, disgust your opponent.
Cole advanced to the frontcourt and made a breakthrough outside the right-wing three-point line, forcing the Lightning to take half a step back, but at this time he suddenly jumped up.
"Damn it!"
Lightning wanted to pounce, but couldn't keep up with his feet. He couldn't help but cursed secretly. He looked back and heard a swipe, and the ball penetrated the net.
"Oh oh oh..."
Someone else hit a three-pointer, and the Bulls fans were very excited. They even began to dream of drowning the Suns with three-pointers, so the cheers were very enthusiastic.
"ah!"
Cole also pumped his fists and roared excitedly. He had never heard such enthusiastic cheers in the United Center.
"Let's pay him back."
Lao Wang's roar sounded, boosting the morale of the Suns players.
"Defend three-pointers, this is the Bulls' seventh three-pointer." Su Qun shouted loudly.
35:30, Suns attack.
Lao Wang caught the ball, attracted a weak-side double-team, and passed the ball to veteran Williams. Unfortunately, Williams failed to hit the ball. Kukoc also got the rebound back, and the Bulls attacked.
Jordan held the ball and broke through at the top of the arc. When he reached the right elbow area, he attracted a double-team from the Lightning. He immediately passed the ball to Cole. Cole did not hesitate to take another shot. This time it was still open.
"Bang!"
But sometimes it is like this. There is no defender in front of him, but he misses the shot. The ball hits the basket and is caught by Lao Wang.
Once again, he came to the low post on the left wing and wanted the ball.
To fight Luke Longley, he doesn't know how to fight hard now. It would take too much physical energy. Although his physical fitness is strong, it has not reached a heaven-defying level. Every physical energy must be allocated reasonably. Now that his mobility has improved, he can fight this
There are many ways to create a slow-moving human shield.
However, this time the ball failed to pass in time from the outside. Jordan blocked the passing space between Kidd and the low post on the left wing. Kidd could only hand the ball to the Lightning on the right wing first.
Seeing Lightning receiving the ball, Wang immediately turned around, shook off Luke Longley, and cut into the paint.
After five seasons, Lightning and Lao Wang are very familiar with each other. There is an old saying that once you stick your butt out, I will know what your shit is. When Lao Wang turned around, he immediately made a fake pass and after shaking off Cole, he will
The ball was passed to the left side of the basket.
There is no suspense next.
"Bang!"
With the loud sound of the basket exploding, the Suns scored another goal.
37:30, Bulls attack.
Jordan took the shot himself this time and scored another three-pointer.
Seeing him take another three-pointer, the Suns were all nervous, and the Bulls were looking forward to it.
"Don't even think about it!"
Kidd jumped up desperately to block the shot, but the ball still slipped through his fingertips.
"Bang!"
The ball bounced off the basket and was caught by Lao Wang.
"well!"
The bull sighed in disappointment.
"call!"
The Suns breathed a sigh of relief.
"I made 4 of 7 three-pointers, and finally missed one again." After exhaling a long breath, Su Qun said with a smile.
"You will definitely miss the shot. Kidd's defense is very strong." Lao Zhang said with a smile.
"brush!"
A minute later, Jordan faked a shot and shot another three-pointer through the sun.
"5-for-8 from 3-point range."
Su Qun only felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Jordan's three-pointer made his heart beat faster than usual, and every shot made his scalp numb.
On the court, Jordan pumped his fist vigorously and hit three-pointers continuously, becoming more and more determined in his decision to shoot three-pointers.
Everyone said that his three-pointers were not good, but after losing the championship in 1995, he began to practice more three-pointers because he had to deal with old K. Is his three-pointers really not good?
After one quarter, 60:51, the Suns led by 9 points.
Lao Wang's wish to open the score in the second quarter failed to come true. He led by seven points in the first quarter and only opened by two points in the second quarter.
Because after Jordan made three three-pointers in the first quarter, he made 3 of 6 three-pointers in the second quarter. He made a total of 6 of 11 three-pointers. In the first half, his three-pointer shooting rate was as high as 54.5%, which is equivalent to two goals.
81.8% of the ball distribution, this terrible efficiency, forced him to not dare to shoot for nearly two points, and only dared to attack the basket directly without any physical effort to maintain high efficiency.
In the second quarter, Wang himself made 8 of 10 shots and 2 of 4 free throws, scoring 18 points. However, even with such efficiency, he only beat the Bulls by two points in the second quarter.
All ten of his attacks were attacks on the basket, a ball was dunked, and one was blocked by Kukoc, who was assisting in defense. The other eight were successful, and the efficiency was not bad.
Jordan made 6 of 10 shots in the second quarter, plus 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 17 points in the second quarter.
Although the overall shooting percentage is only 60%, which is not as good as Lao Wang, but if the three-pointers are converted into two-pointers, the shooting rate is 75%, only slightly lower than Lao Wang's 80%. Counting free throws, it is basically a tie.
.Even counting the number of times he has the ball, Lao Wang still loses slightly.
"The Suns should be careful about the Bulls' three-pointers. The Bulls hit 9 three-pointers in the first half. If they keep shooting like this, no one can stop them. In the 1992 championship Game 5, the Bulls hit 25 three-pointers in a single game.
The ball, I watched them throw it in front of the TV, you must guard it!" Zhang Liangli reminded anxiously.
"The Bulls made 9 of 18 three-pointers in the first half, which is equivalent to a 75% shooting rate of two-pointers. Among them, Jordan made 6 of 11, which is really crazy! If it weren't for the high efficiency of old K, where would he be today?
If he could still be ahead, he would have been defeated long ago." Su Qun said, wiping his sweat.
Zhang Lili said: "Tiejun made 13 of 15 shots in the first half, 5 of 8 free throws, 31 points in the half, and a shooting percentage of 86.6%. Indeed, if it weren't for his efficiency, the Suns would have been defeated long ago."
In the ABC live broadcast booth, Magic Johnson shook his head and praised: "The Suns, no, it's the old K, they are really strong.
The Bulls made 9 three-pointers, and the three-point shooting rate was as high as 50%. In this way, he could still lead the team by 9 points.
With an offensive efficiency of 86.6% in the half, as long as he doesn't get seriously injured, he will really have the strength to challenge Jordan as the number one player in history during his career."
Larry Bird looked at Jordan's statistics and said: "Michael made 10 of 18 shots in the first half, a shooting percentage of 55.5%, and 4 of 4 free throws, including 6 of 11 three-pointers, a shooting percentage of 54.5%.
He scored 30 points in the half. If converted into two-pointers, the field goal percentage was 72.2%. For a shooting guard to be able to perform like this at the age of nearly 35 is a miracle."
At this point, he couldn't help but sigh and said: "But even with such a performance, we are still 9 points behind the Suns. I have to say that if the Bulls lose today, it will really be a great regret."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said: "This is the ultimate showdown, a showdown between two gods, a showdown like Mars hitting the earth. The gold content of this finals series can be called the first in history. Whoever wins this series will receive unparalleled honors, even
Directly become a god."
The other two nodded, and Larry Bird said: "As long as Old K wins this championship, he can truly step on Michael and ascend to the throne of the number one active player.
But if Michael wins the fourth championship, he can avenge his humiliation, break old K's humiliating remarks about losing one, two, and three, continue to sit firmly on the throne of the number one active player, and strengthen the number one in history.
one's status.
By then, it will be even more difficult for Old K to challenge Michael’s position as the number one person in history.”
Magic Johnson nodded and said: "Yes, if Old K, who is at his peak and only 24 years old, cannot defeat the 35-year-old Jordan in this series, it can even be concluded that he can continue to challenge Michael as the number one active player.
position, but there will be no chance to challenge the position of the first man in history."
Larry Bird also nodded and said: "Even the 35-year-old Jordan can't beat him. Old K is really not qualified to challenge the older Jordan. Because even if he wins in the future, he will only win against someone who is not at his peak and is completely old.
Jordan, that doesn't make any sense.
If I were Jordan and beat Old K this time, the Bulls would be disintegrated anyway, and I would just retire, leaving Old K with no choice but to catch up, haha!" Your latest reading progress detected is "Chapter 451 Idol, You
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