In the second quarter, Jordan made 5 of 12 shots, including a three-pointer, and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 13 points. In addition to the 14 points in the first quarter, his personal score reached 27 points at halftime.
This was when Jordan basically didn't take many shots in the second half of the second quarter, otherwise there would be no problem scoring 30 points in the half.
Jordan's scoring ability is already quite exaggerated, but when compared with Wang Feng, he is actually at a disadvantage.
Wang Feng, who scored 17 points in the first quarter, scored another 15 points in the second quarter. At halftime, his personal score reached 32 points!
Moreover, 18 of Wang Feng's 32 points came from three-pointers, and his number of shots in the half was lower than Jordan's.
Not only that, in addition to scoring, Wang Feng's other statistics are also remarkable, with 32 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Whether it is scoring or comprehensive performance, he fully covers Jordan.
Relying on Wang Feng's god-killing performance, the Knicks reversed the decline at the beginning of the game and successfully tied the point difference at halftime. The two sides entered the second half with a score of 61:61.
…
"Michael, is that guy really that strong?"
In the Bulls locker room, Pippen couldn't help but asked Jordan in a low voice.
Pippen had played against Wang Feng, and he still had a vivid memory of Wang Feng's defensive ability. In that game, his field goal percentage was only a little over 30%. His performance was so bad that he naturally lost the game.
But apart from Wang Feng's suffocating defensive ability, Pippen's only impression of Wang Feng's offensive ability was his accurate three-pointers.
The scoring battle that broke out between Wang Feng and Jordan in the first half today completely made him dumbfounded.
Jordan's defense was not inferior to him at all. With his high concentration, he even had a stronger individual defense ability than him, but he couldn't guard Wang Feng.
In the scoring competition, Jordan was completely at a disadvantage. His scoring and shooting percentage were not as good as his opponent's. If he hadn't made slightly more free throws, the scoring gap between the two might have been even greater!
Is there any player in the world who has a better scoring ability than Jordan?
Pippen felt that his three outlooks had been strongly impacted.
Jordan's expression was not very good. He did not answer Pippen's question directly, but cursed in a low voice as if venting his anger. "Damn it, where did this guy come from?"
He came back just to prove to the world that he, Michael Jordan, is the only god in the NBA! No one can be his opponent.
But less than a month after his return, he was actually at a disadvantage in a direct competition with a newcomer who had just joined the league this season!
"Michael, don't worry, that guy just happened to have a very good touch today." Phil Jackson, who was on the side, came over and comforted Jordan and said: "You are too careless. The opponent is already very strong, and his touch is very good."
To be good, high scoring efficiency is inevitable. If you are always impatient and want to score more than the opponent, not only will you not be able to do it, you will even lose the game."
"In the second half of the game, you must continue to avoid direct confrontation with Wang Feng and strive for the most efficient way of playing. Winning the game is everything!"
…
At the beginning of the second half of the game, both the Knicks and Bulls sent in their substitute lineups.
Both teams played at a fast pace in the first half, scoring 61 points in the first half. The main players on both sides were physically exhausted and needed more rest to recover.
However, the Knicks fielded a lineup of four substitutes and one main player, and that main player was Wang Feng.
"Why is this guy playing again?"
Seeing Wang Feng on the stage, everyone on the Bulls team was stunned for a moment.
In the first half, Wang Feng played a lot of time. He only played for about 10 minutes in the first and second quarters. He has already played for 20 minutes. He made a lot of offensive shots and guarded Jordan on the defensive end. It stands to reason that Wang Feng's physical energy was exhausted.
It shouldn't be too small. In order to cope with the fierce competition in the fourth quarter, it is time to take a rest and restore physical fitness.
Knicks head coach Pat Riley thought the same way. He initially did not arrange for Wang Feng to start the second half.
But Wang Feng strongly insisted that he continue to appear.
Physical fitness has always been one of Wang Feng's strengths.
With the three fatigue badges of powerful terminator, defensive perpetual motion machine and perpetual motion shooter in hand, coupled with 99 full points of physical fitness, Wang Feng is enough to support Wang Feng to play vigorously throughout the game.
Of course, except for situations like the fierce physical confrontation with Barkley.
Defending Jordan and defending Barkley are completely different concepts. Jordan's style of play tends to be agile and elegant, mainly relying on speed and skills to create gaps, and there is not much physical contact.
Therefore, although Wang Feng took a lot of shots and scored 32 points in the first half and defended Jordan throughout the game, Wang Feng's physical consumption was very optimistic.
In this case, Wang Feng certainly hopes to get more playing time to maximize his physical advantage.
After all, it is a direct duel with Jordan. Wang Feng hopes to fully show his strongest side in front of the opponent!
Wang Feng made such a request, and Riley naturally would not refuse. After all, Wang Feng had scored 32 points efficiently in the first half. Even he was curious about what Wang Feng could do.
Therefore, Wang Feng became the only main player on the Knicks side.
"Fei'er, what should I do?"
Seeing this scene, Jordan immediately looked at Jackson.
Everyone knows that with Wang Feng's super scoring ability, it is absolutely impossible for the Bulls' bench to withstand it alone. If not handled properly, the score difference may be widened in the blink of an eye!
Phil Jackson frowned, feeling very troubled.
He thought for a moment and looked at Pippen.
"Scotty, get ready to go on the court and find a way to limit that guy's offense. Limiting scoring is secondary. Maximizing the opponent's physical energy is the main goal."
When Pippen heard this, he couldn't help but glance at Jordan next to him.
The latter did not speak.
The first half of the game was completely a duel between Jordan and Wang Feng, but now Pippen was asked to intervene in the middle. This was a disguised admission that Jordan was not as good as Wang Feng and took the initiative to avoid the edge.
Even if it was just the outcome of a game, Pippen could imagine how unhappy Jordan would be.
But the reality is this. No matter how unhappy he is, Jordan can only stay off the court at this time.
As the Bulls' strongest scoring point, Jordan must ensure that he has enough physical strength to maintain a high level of offensive scoring at the critical moment in the fourth quarter.
At this point, the Knicks have an inherent advantage. Even if Wang Feng was physically exhausted in the third quarter, Ewing was still able to step up and score for the team in the fourth quarter. In the final analysis, the Knicks' main core players are originally
Not Wang Feng!
…
As soon as Wang Feng came on the court, he took over the ball without any courtesy.
As Phil Jackson expected, the Bulls' substitute players could not stop Wang Feng's attack at all. The substitute small forward Pete Meyers who defended Wang Feng could only follow Wang Feng closely and prevent him from easily shooting a three-pointer.
But when Wang Feng chose to break through with the ball, he was like a telegraph pole, passed by in the blink of an eye.
Wang Feng broke through with the ball in two consecutive rounds and easily scored 4 points.
The Bulls finally relied on point guard Steve Kerr, who came off the bench, to break through and draw a foul, replacing Pippen on the court.
Pippen guarding Wang Feng has several advantages over Jordan.
Pippen, who is 2.03 meters tall and weighs 95 kilograms, is similar to Wang Feng in size and has a wingspan better than Jordan, making it easier to defend Wang Feng's outside shots.
Secondly, even though he is slower than Jordan in terms of speed, Pippen is not afraid of Wang Feng breaking through with the ball, because once Wang Feng passes him, the two Bulls insiders will immediately double-team Wang Feng without hesitation.
.
Now is the time for substitute players. They are not afraid that Wang Feng will pass the ball to his teammates when encountering a double team. Even if it is passed out, it will be difficult for the Knicks' substitute players to stably score the ball.
However, Pippen, who was very successful in his wishful thinking, was immediately slapped in the face.
Wang Feng directly broke through his defense with the ball, and then faced the Bulls inside players who came to double-team him with help on defense, he chose to pass the ball without hesitation.
The person who received the pass from Wang Feng was Knicks backup center Herb Williams.
This is a veteran born in 1958. When he was young, he had a peak season performance of 20.10 per game.
But now, the 37-year-old Herb can only serve as Ewing's substitute in the Knicks. He averages 13 minutes per game in the regular season and only has 3 points and 2.4 rebounds. He is no longer as brave as he used to be.
But when he received the pass from Wang Feng, Herb had a strong feeling. Standing less than 10 feet away from the basket, he jumped directly on the spot and shot.
Because they did not rush to the basket but caught the ball and shot on the spot, the Bulls' interior defender, who had finished guarding Wang Feng, had no time to return to defense and could only watch as Herb took the shot.
"Whoa!"
Basketball goes hollow into the net.
The Bulls didn't take this offense seriously, they just thought the Knicks were just lucky.
But in the very next round, they double-teamed Wang Feng again. Wang Feng once again chose to pass the ball. This time it was forward Anthony Bonner who received the pass from Wang Feng. The latter shot 16 feet away from the basket.
Same hit.
Bulls: "???"
What is going on?
When did these substitute role players have such high offensive efficiency?
The key is, if this is the case, what is the point of them double-teaming Wang Feng?
In the future, almost all teams know that there is no point in double-teaming Wang Feng.
Because Wang Feng can always pass the ball to teammates who are in an open position, and teammates who receive Wang Feng's pass will shoot very accurately.
Although I don't understand the principle of this, any team that has suffered several losses will no longer consider the option of double-teaming Wang Feng.
As for the real reason, it is actually very simple. It is nothing more than two purple Hall of Fame-level organizational badges.
Ten cents playmaker.
The effect of the ten-cent badge is that when passing the ball to an open player, it can increase the opponent's shooting percentage.
The effect of the core organization badge is even more direct. As long as Wang Feng is on the field, the offensive attributes of his teammates who play at the same time will be improved, and the badge that reaches the purple Hall of Fame level can also allow Wang Feng to see the potential shooting percentage of his teammates.
It is for this reason that Wang Feng just chose to pass the ball to Anthony Bonner instead of Herb Williams at the beginning, because Wang Feng had discovered before passing the ball that the former has a higher potential shooting rate and a higher probability of making a shot.
Naturally, it is also larger.
There are no players who can play in the NBA who are poor in ability. Even for role substitute players, the overall ability value is at least around 70. The offensive attributes of the playmaker badge increase by ten cents and the shooting rate of open catches increases. Originally, the open space is undefended.
state.
With multiple buffs superimposed, if the shot cannot be hit, the team can actually consider whether to lay off the player.
"What's going on?"
The Bulls have been completely blindsided.
Pippen's appearance did stop Wang Feng from attacking, but the situation only got worse.
4 minutes into the game, the Bulls had to call a timeout, because in these 3 minutes, the Knicks directly beat the Bulls 12:4!
The Bulls, who had been leading in the first half, went from leading to lagging!
Not only the Bulls, but also the Knicks were dumbfounded.
"Wang Feng...is he so powerful?"
Ewing looked at Wang Feng in disbelief. He had been with the Knicks for three months, but he felt as if he was getting to know him for the first time.
Is there anything he can't do on the field?
Riley's eyes flickered and he looked at Wang Feng intently.
If before, he was still hesitating about who is more suitable for the Knicks, Wang Feng or Ewing, then this question now has the answer.
At this moment he had made up his mind.
After the contract expires this summer, we must keep Wang Feng no matter what! No matter what the cost!
…
After the timeout for the Bulls, Jordan also reappeared.
Physical fitness must be put aside now. If we continue to let it go, there will be no need to play in the fourth quarter!
Jordan Pippen appeared on the court together, finally allowing the Bulls to stabilize the situation from the defeat.
However, the two of them worked together and failed to recover the point difference.
As the main players of the two teams began to appear one after another, it became more difficult for the Bulls to catch up with the point difference.
Soon, the third quarter ended.
The Knicks scored 31 points in a single quarter, while the Bulls only scored 25 points.
The Knicks entered the fourth quarter with a 6-point advantage.
In this quarter, Jordan was limited by the playing time and did not take many shots, but his efficiency was pretty good. He made 3 of 4 shots, including 1 three-pointer and 2 free throws, and scored 9 points, a personal score.
It has reached 36 minutes.
Wang Feng played almost the entire game in the third quarter, playing for 11 minutes and 21 seconds. His shot was because the Bulls' double-teaming tactics were not too many.
Made 4 of 7 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, and scored 10 points.
But compared to scoring, Wang Feng's assists in this quarter were very high. He sent 6 assists in a single quarter and also recorded 4 rebounds.
As a result, by the end of the three quarters, Wang Feng's statistics had reached 42 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. It only took three quarters to get a triple-double!