N-A-A Chapter 221 A Crazy 120 Seconds! The Pacers Unleash a Super Offense
Chapter 221 A Crazy 120 Seconds! The Pacers Unleash a Super Offense
Chapter 221 A Crazy 120 Seconds! The Pacers Unleash a Super Offensive Frenzy!
After the explosion, Ben, swinging his afro, huffed and puffed as he made an as ugly and frightening face at Kukoc, then, following Lin Tian's instructions, he yelled, "Hey chick, come to my bed tonight, I'll be waiting for you!"
After hurling his trash talk, Da Ben excitedly ran back. He never expected that Lin Tian could come up with such a tactic and that it would actually work!
I, Ben Wallace, was an undrafted player, looking for jobs everywhere, earning minimum salaries, and had the worst offensive ability in the league. But now I'm in the Eastern Conference Finals, playing the team's main offensive weapon in a do-or-die game.
No one in my family would believe that!
"Ben, I told you to spout trash talk, not to become a perverted lecher." Lin Tian gave Ben a high five, then frowned and said, "The way you were acting just now, you looked exactly like a pervert!"
"Isn't it good?"
"It's not that it's bad, it just attracts some fans with unique tastes that you don't really like," Lin Tian said while defending. "But no problem, next round, you take on Tony again, this time with a different line!"
"no problem!"
Thirty seconds later, Ben Wallace almost did the same thing again, turning around and running down the road, while simultaneously elbowing Kukoc in the back, making the big man, who always had a bit of softness, unable to keep up with Ben Wallace, or rather, unwilling to keep up with him.
"boom!"
Another alley-oop! Ben Wallace scores two goals in a row!
"If you want to know what a man is, you and your father can come to my bed! But you'd better be clean first." Big Ben continued, grinning and raising his arms, bulging his somewhat exaggerated muscles. "I guarantee I'll show you sissy father and son what a real man is!"
"Ben, where did you learn your trash talk from? It's all the same old stuff." Lin Tian looked at Ben, and this time he didn't even want to high-five him.
That bastard is so dirty!
"I learned it from Charles, both Charleses taught me!" Ben flashed his big white teeth, "Look, he's scared!"
More likely... it's because you disgusted me.
Lin Tian thought about the scene that Da Ben had just described and couldn't help but shudder. Disgusting, so disgusting!
When the next offensive possession came, Kukoc was indeed unwilling to compete with Ben Wallace on offense. He simply pulled out to the three-point line, received the ball passed to him by Pippen, and immediately shot!
"Whoosh!"
After another crisp crack, Kukoc's touch tonight is truly fantastic!
But he didn't even have time to be happy, because when the Pacers went on offense, Lin Tian passed the ball to Ben Wallace again. Although Ben Wallace couldn't score directly in the air this time, the saying goes that one force can overcome ten techniques. In the face of absolute power, Kukoc's little resistance was no different from nothing.
"Bang!" Ben grabbed the basketball and unleashed all his strength, slamming into Kukoc, then pulling up sharply and sending the ball into the basket again with both hands!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, Ben Wallace scored 6 consecutive points for the first time in his NBA career!
"Oh! Ben! Ben Wallace! The Pacers' Big Ben suddenly exploded! He scored three consecutive baskets under the basket, helping the Pacers turn the tide!" Smith exclaimed excitedly. "We thought the Pacers were coming in to strengthen their defense, but it turns out he's here to score!"
After scoring 6 consecutive points, Ben Wallace was so excited that he couldn't contain himself. He pounded his chest and looked at Kukoc with eyes that seemed to want to devour him!
"Tony, what are you thinking! Don't be afraid of him! He's just a roughneck! He can't do anything but dunk. Just hold off his first touch, and I'll come to help defend immediately. I guarantee I'll steal the ball from him!"
Jordan walked to the basket, but unusually, he didn't yell. Instead, he reached out and pulled Kukoc up, vigorously ruffling his hair, saying, "If you can't handle it, foul! This bastard can't do anything but dunk, his free throw percentage isn't even as good as your grandma's! Let him shoot free throws, send him to the free throw line, understand?"
"Don't be afraid of fouls. Two at most, and they won't dare let this black idiot continue attacking! Don't worry."
Jordan's unusually encouraging and suggestive approach, rather than his usual insults, flattered Kukoc, who immediately nodded to indicate that he understood.
Seeing that even Jordan had changed the way he communicated with his teammates, Lin Tian knew very well that Ben Wallace's role as a surprise weapon had come to an end! Sending Wallace to attack inside the paint any further would be suicidal!
In the next round, we'll have to see how the regular offensive combinations play out!
For the Bulls, the ball once again didn't reach Jordan's hands. This time, it was Pippen who completed the attack, using his height and wingspan to outmaneuver Christie at the waist and score another 2 points.
Turning back, Miller and Barkley, following Lin Tian's instructions, quickly set screens and made back cuts for each other at the waist. Miller went up and Barkley went down, and the two of them posed a top-tier threat in the league both under the basket and beyond the three-point line!
For a moment, Harper and Rodman failed to communicate their defensive strategy and both rushed towards Barkley in the paint, leaving Miller out!
Beyond the three-point line, Miller received the basketball but didn't rush to shoot because he saw that both Harper and Rodman made a second consecutive mistake!
After realizing that Miller had been left out, the two guys were so eager to fill the gap that they charged at Miller at the same time.
Barkley missed it too!
Miller then slammed the ball into the paint with both hands, passing it to Barkley, who leaped up and delivered another powerful two-handed dunk, scoring another 2 points!
The Pacers ended their offense with dunks in four consecutive possessions!
"The Bulls' interior defense is being completely destroyed!" Marcus worried. "Four consecutive possessions where they've been dunked on. No coach can tolerate conceding so many points like this. I think Phil will call a timeout to reorganize things..."
"Okay, he didn't call a timeout, and Pippen's three-pointer... went in again! Pippen's been on fire tonight!"
Marcus was immediately proven wrong by Jackson and Pippen. Instead of calling a timeout, the Bulls quickly hit a three-pointer.
Then the Pacers executed another exquisite three-man play. Lin Tian drove to the basket, drew a double team, and then passed the ball behind his back to Barkley. Barkley received the ball and made a one-handed pass, sending the ball flying to the three-point line. Miller pulled up for a shot and hit the three-pointer again!
The Bulls then passed the ball around for a while, and Harper received the ball at a 30-degree angle. After only one dribble, he pulled up and shot, but his mid-range pull-up jumper missed.
This missed shot seemed to signal something; the almost perfect offensive duel between the two teams vanished, and their offensive touch began to decline rapidly. Both the Bulls and the Pacers missed several shots in a row.
As if to protect the audience's blood pressure, the intense, blood-pumping battle that had left everyone gasping for breath temporarily disappeared.
The score remained very close until the last two minutes of the third quarter, with the score temporarily at 104-103!
The Pacers successfully regained a one-point lead, and Bird called another timeout at that moment!
"Ben, Doug, Reggie, you three come down and rest for a bit, get ready for the fourth quarter. Lin, you and Charles need to control the game. In the last two minutes, let's play it safe and fight them in the fourth quarter!" Bird said, holding the clipboard. "Our strategy for the next quarter is to play it safe."
"Larry, I don't think this is necessary," Lin Tian suddenly said. "I think this isn't the time to play it safe and just avoid falling behind."
As Lin Tian spoke, he took the tactical board, wiped everything off, and then wrote a sentence on it.
"MOTHER FUXX!"
A swear word.
"F***!" Bird cursed, then picked up his pen and wrote a lot more under Lin Tian's sentence.
Yeah, it's all stuff I can't show to everyone, it's all filth.
"I love your style! That's why we get along!" Bird threw down his tactical board covered in profanity and said, "Just do Lin's orders, kill them! Kill them in these last two minutes!"
"Charles, Reggie, Ben, Doug, do the four of you still have the energy?"
"I'll have plenty of time to rest after I die," Barkley said, wiping his brow to indicate that he was perfectly fine.
Miller, unusually, didn't mock Barkley but nodded instead.
As for Ben and Christie, they both nodded firmly, indicating that they would follow orders.
"Well then," Bird bent down, picked up the clipboard again, and started writing on it, "we'll start with defense. Next, we'll play a 1-3-1 zone press!"
"Lin, you stay at the front and hold off whoever they're dribbling across half-court, whoever it is, make sure they can't easily cross half-court and obstruct their view! Reggie, you watch the moment, double-team him the instant he crosses half-court, using the center line to create a three-sided encirclement!"
"Doug, use your awareness, your instincts, and your anticipation of passing lanes to roam the field, ready to intercept passes and disrupt their first pass!"
"Charles, your job is to find opportunities to mark the player most likely to receive passes from their point guard, increasing their passing distance, the difficulty of their passes, and their error rate!"
"Ben, you guard the basket. If our first line of defense gets broken through because we're too aggressive, you absolutely must hold the rim! You can let them have the mid-range and three-pointers, but inside the paint, you absolutely must stay in control!"
"Remember, this lineup is all about the ball, not the players! It's all about defensive principles and positioning, not matchups! Don't worry about your assigned defender, there are no fixed matchups, understand?"
"clear!"
After the timeout, Lin Tian and the other four players returned to the court!
This time, it was Jackson's turn to frown from the sidelines.
Bird's decision not to bench the starters and continue to have the key players fight hard in the last two minutes was completely unexpected by Jackson!
In particular, Jackson had calculated that Bird would use a rotation lineup at this time and let the starters rest!
So, the Bulls' lineup on the court right now is Kerr, Pippen, Kukoc, Burrell, and Wennington.
Jackson chose this moment to let Jordan, who had played the previous 34 minutes, rest. He chose a time when he believed the Pacers would definitely rotate their lineup, and gave Jordan a break.
At this moment, Jackson glanced at his own roster and then at the Pacers' roster, ultimately deciding not to let Jordan continue playing.
When it's time to rest, you still need to rest!
The Pacers' first offensive possession after the timeout.
Lin Tian dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. Facing Pippen, who took the initiative to defend him, Lin Tian didn't waste any words. He directly used a crossover dribble and a sharp change of direction to deceive Pippen's center of gravity and drove into the three-point line in one step!
Although Pippen moves quickly, factors such as height, speed, age, and injuries cannot be ignored. This makes him, while still one of the league's top defenders this season, clearly more suited to defending slower forwards.
He simply couldn't match up against a player like Lin Tian, who was purely a technical player.
After shaking off Pippen, Lin Tian made a rapid attack, driving all the way to the basket. Facing his former good friend Wennington, he used a layup to dodge the defense and scored another 2 points.
After Lin Tian scored 2 points, the Bulls quickly inbounded the ball from the baseline. Just as Cole was about to advance the ball, Lin Tian appeared in front of him!
"Bang!"
The sudden impact caught Cole off guard. Lin Tian's strike was incredibly powerful and sudden. He almost instantly pressed his entire body against Cole's, while simultaneously waving his hands frantically, trying to steal the ball from Cole's hands!
Although Kerr is white, he is known in the league as a "tough guy"—a tough guy who dared to challenge and even fight Jordan in practice!
He's not the kind of person who silently suffers losses!
Cole, who was almost knocked off his feet by Lin Tian's powerful slam, didn't immediately pass the ball or assess the situation on the court. Instead, he focused his energy on his elbow, raising it as if to retaliate against Lin Tian!
But the moment his elbow swung out, Cole knew he'd been tricked!
He missed!
Lin Tian, who had been closely marking him, suddenly stepped back, causing Cole's elbow to hit nothing but air and leaving him without protection for the basketball. Lin Tian dodged around him and stole the ball.
"boom!"
After stealing the ball, Lin Tian immediately accelerated and sprinted forward, delivering a one-handed gliding dunk to score 2 points!
With 1 minute and 45 seconds left, the Pacers went on a 4-0 run!
"Scott! You handle the ball!" Jackson yelled from the sidelines. "Watch out for their tight defense! Pass the ball more when you're pushing the ball up the court!"
Jackson didn't make any substitutions. He decided that even if the Pacers pulled ahead in those two minutes, he still had to let Jordan rest!
Besides, how many points can we be behind in just 2 minutes?
Pippen returned to the backcourt, received the ball, and advanced the ball, but to his surprise, he found that Lin Tian was still guarding him!
"Aren't you going to leave Steve behind?" Pippen asked curiously as he dribbled the ball sideways, but Lin Tian ignored him and continued to reach for the ball, occasionally giving Pippen some "contact" by scratching or grabbing his waist or arm.
"FUXX!" Pippen was getting annoyed by Lin Tian's frequent little movements, which were as frequent as breathing, but he still managed to smoothly dribble the ball across the frontcourt. The driving ability of the league's best small forward should not be underestimated!
But just as Pippen crossed half-court, Miller pounced like a wolf, blocking Pippen's path and, together with Lin Tian and the center line, surrounding Pippen from three sides!
Pippen's reaction was already at its limit; he passed the ball almost immediately to Burrell, who was closest to him.
Before Burrell could even touch the ball, he felt as if he had been attacked by a rhinoceros. Barkley suddenly appeared beside Burrell, not only knocking him off balance, but also grabbing the ball that Pippen had passed to him and dribbling it forward!
However, Barkley was a bit too slow. By the time he reached the free-throw line, three Bulls players had already retreated on defense!
Pippen was under the basket, Cole was marking Lin Tian, and Burrell was gritting his teeth, trying to steal the ball from Barkley.
"Forest!"
Barkley looked at Lin Tian on his left, threw the basketball in Lin Tian's direction with both hands, and the basketball immediately flew in the opposite direction!
No look, pass!
Barkley made a no-look pass, sending the ball to Miller on the right side, who had just run to the three-point line.
Miller, basketball in hand, cleanly launched another three-pointer!
"Whoosh!"
After another crisp sound, Miller hit another three-pointer!
After the timeout, the Pacers went on a 7-0 run!
Only 30 seconds had passed in the game!
"Everyone! Everyone back to half-court, get ready to receive! Get the ball up the court and then have a good shot!" After muttering a curse under his breath, Jackson finally couldn't sit still any longer! He stood up, a rare occurrence for him, and went to the sidelines, yelling at the players, "Stay calm! Everyone stay calm! Play the full 24 seconds!"
Jackson still chose to let Jordan rest!
Pippen pushed forward quickly past Lin Tian, and before crossing the center line, he found Kukoc and passed the ball out.
Kukoc received the ball and stood firm just past the center circle, and Barkley and Miller immediately rushed towards him.
Kukoc immediately used his excellent vision and passing skills to pass the ball to Cole on the other side.
Kerr received the ball and immediately faked a shot, sending Christie flying. He then drove straight to the basket to challenge Ben Wallace!
But tonight, Ben Wallace scored 6 points in a row on offense, so his aggressiveness on defense is naturally even stronger!
With a fierce and menacing look, as if Kerr owed him millions of dollars, Ben Wallace stood up straight in front of Kerr and slapped the basketball hard before Kerr could even release it!
"Counterattack!" Christie grabbed the basketball that Ben Wallace had swatted to the three-point line, and while pushing the ball forward, he watched his teammates' movements. Before Pippen could get close to him, he saw Miller on the other side and passed the ball to him. Miller received the ball and came to the Bulls' three-point line. Before he could raise his hand and aim, two people rushed towards him!
"Smack!" Miller didn't hesitate. The basketball bounced towards the free-throw line, and a perfectly timed bounce pass was caught by Barkley, who had cut to the basket.
"boom!"
Then, there was a loud bang!
Barkley, facing an empty Bulls basket, slammed home a two-handed dunk for another 2 points!
9: 0!
"Beautiful pass, Reggie! That's the best pass you've ever made!"
"Michael!" Jackson couldn't take it anymore.
In less than a minute, they were hit with a 9-0 run. No matter how much he liked to let his players find their own solutions on the field, he couldn't stand it anymore.
He had no choice but to bring Jordan back onto the court, who had been sitting for less than a minute, to replace Burrell, who hadn't even touched the ball yet.
The Bulls' offense naturally fell under Jordan's control.
"Michael, you're too late!" Lin Tian rushed over immediately!
"Late? It's only a 10-point difference." Jordan chewed his gum casually as he drove forward. "I can catch up in two minutes!"
"Really? I bet our score difference will be 20 points by the end of this quarter!" Lin Tian spread his arms wide, constantly attacking Jordan's drive, while subtly pushing Jordan towards the sideline!
He wanted to corner Jordan, completely forcing him out from all four directions!
"Lin, these little tricks won't work on me!" Jordan saw through Lin Tian's intentions and suddenly passed the ball before crossing midcourt! And the target wasn't Pippen in the middle, but Kerr, who was further away! Jordan saw Christie lurking beside Pippen and chose Kerr, who was farther away but safer, as his pass target.
Kerr had just gotten the basketball when Barkley charged at him!
At this moment, the Pacers' defense was extremely tight, with four players far from the three-point line, and only Ben Wallace huddled under the basket!
This kind of defense can be completely broken down by a team that is good at passing and running, with a maximum of two passes!
After receiving the ball, Kerr dribbled to the basket and found Kukoc, who had just circled out from the inside.
Kukoc received the ball two steps inside the three-point line, which is his favorite and most proficient shooting area. After receiving the ball, he found that there was no one guarding him on either side. Kukoc hesitated for only a moment before pulling up and shooting the basketball!
This choice left Jackson, sitting on the sidelines, speechless with dissent. If a skilled shooter doesn't take these open looks, then there's really no point in him staying on the court!
"Bang!"
Unfortunately, even the right choice sometimes doesn't guarantee the right result!
Kukoc's mid-range jump shot missed again!
Ben Wallace jumped up and grabbed the rebound again, then quickly passed it to Barkley, who was closest to him.
Barkley roared as he grabbed the ball, then hurled it forward with one arm!
Lin Tian and Jordan, who were leading the charge, were completely entangled. Neither of them was willing to give in or let the other take a better position. In their struggle, all sorts of tricks and tactics came out one after another!
Just as Barkley's pass was about to go out of bounds, Lin Tian suddenly roared and swung his arm with great force, shaking off Jordan's arm that was wrapped around him. At the same time, he accelerated with his feet and in just two steps, he successfully overtook Jordan by a body length. Then Lin Tian jumped up and caught the basketball in his arms before it went out of bounds!
But at this moment, Lin Tian had already reached behind the backboard and had no angle to shoot. At the same time, his feet were almost on the baseline, just one step away from going out of bounds!
With Jordan suddenly spreading his arms and closing in, Lin Tian was lucky to even stay in the ball and avoid going out of bounds, let alone get a shot off!
Lin Tian only glanced at the situation on the court the moment he landed, and then he jumped again, sending the basketball flying at a 45-degree angle to the right!
Reggie Miller!
The league's most terrifying shooter is there again, catch the ball, aim, pull up, and shoot!
"Whoosh!"
After another crisp sound, the entire City Square arena erupted in cheers, shouts, and wild celebrations. The Pacers' surge at the end of the third quarter had given the Bulls a 12-0 lead!
There was still a full minute left in the third quarter!
"Ball!" Jordan was now completely enraged. He couldn't stand being beaten like this in just one minute! After getting the ball, Jordan immediately accelerated and drove past Lin Tian all the way to the vicinity of the mid-court line.
Then, the instant he crossed the center line, he suddenly changed direction and dribbled past Miller, who was trying to double-team him, and then sprinted towards the basket!
Go ahead!
After reaching the edge of the three-second zone, Jordan was closely followed by Lin Tian with his long arms outstretched to his left, while in front of him was Ben Wallace, who was baring his teeth and looking fierce, ready to block!
Faced with this double-team, Jordan showed no fear. He forcefully jumped into the air and made contact with both players before suddenly pulling the ball back with both hands. Then, he used his shoulder to hold off Lin Tian, and with his right hand away from Lin Tian, he passed the ball under Ben Wallace's armpit. With a flick of his wrist, he was about to make a spectacular reverse layup to turn the tide for the team.
"Snapped!"
But what Jordan was met with was a crisp, clean crack!
Barkley!
This guy, who wasn't good at defense or blocking shots, and who was at best a passable defender even in his prime, somehow got around to the basket and gave Jordan a solid block from behind Ben Wallace!
"Michael, I know you better than your grandma! I know how you're going to hit that shot!" An excited Barkley shouted at Jordan from where he stood, "You can't avoid it!"
Christie grabbed the basketball and then drove forward at high speed, overpowering Pippen!
The other four Bulls players retreated very quickly. As one of the top teams in the league, even though they were a bit stunned by the Pacers' attack, their defensive awareness was absolutely fine!
When Christie dribbled the ball across the frontcourt, all four Bulls players had already crossed half-court, making it a 4-on-2 situation!
Regardless, Christie calmed down after that play, waiting for his teammates to catch up before slowly making a better play.
But the Pacers have another player!
"Doug!" Miller shouted with his arms outstretched, a full three meters from the three-point line. Then, after receiving a pass from Christie, with only three Bulls players inside the three-point line, he didn't even hesitate and launched a long-range three-point jump shot!
"Whoosh!"
Two seconds later, a crisp sound rang out, and Miller stretched out three fingers and kept tapping them on his head while letting out bursts of roars!
"You think Lin's the only one in Indiana who can shoot those long-range pull-up threes? Huh? When I was shooting threes, you bunch of rookies weren't even in the league yet!"
"Reggie! Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!"
The fans at the stadium were ecstatic! Miller's shot brought back memories of three years ago, when Miller single-handedly led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals for two consecutive years. Back then, Miller used one unreasonable three-pointer after another to carry the team forward.
But the difference was that the Pacers at that time only had Miller!
At most, add Schmitz as well.
But the Pacers now have Miller, Barkley, and Lin Tian!
We are strong!
We're stronger than the bulls!
The fans at the scene were completely excited!
"Pause!" Jackson finally couldn't take it anymore and couldn't endure it any longer.
In just 1 minute and 20 seconds, someone beat you 15-0. Nobody can tolerate that!
What was originally a balanced, tense, and close game turned into a 16-point game in the blink of an eye!
If Jackson hadn't called a timeout, who knows how many more points the Pacers could have scored!
He needs to calm the team down!
During the timeout, Jackson took several deep breaths to suppress his anger and prevent himself from yelling at the players. Instead, he calmly gave them instructions on inbound play and encouraged them.
Let them stabilize the situation, don't be afraid of anything, and play well in the last 40 seconds of the third quarter.
Jackson, who thought he had suppressed his anger to the extreme and did not choose to berate the players as idiots at this moment, regretted it less than 10 seconds later. He felt that he should have pointed at the heads of those idiots and cursed their ancestors for eighteen generations!
"F*** you! A bunch of idiots!" Jackson, unusually, lost his composure and calm on the sidelines, throwing his tactical board to the ground!
Because, just as the Bulls finished their timeout and returned to the court, Pippen made a mistake while inbounding the ball. He was too hasty in passing the ball and passed it out before Jordan could get into position to block Lin Tian.
Then, the more agile and faster Lin Tian suddenly reached out from beside Jordan and stole the basketball. Then, Lin Tian burst out with terrifying speed again, and in the blink of an eye, he shook off Jordan and rushed towards the frontcourt!
"boom!"
A few seconds later, Lin Tian made a super long-distance gliding dunk from inside the free throw circle, which drew another round of crazy roars and shouts from the crowd!
17: 0!
Jackson was so angry that he sat back down in his chair. Luckily, he was in good health, otherwise Pippen's pass would have triggered his high blood pressure!
"Scott is an idiot!"
Pippen's blunder allowed the Pacers to launch another fast break in just 5 seconds, narrowing the gap to 20 points with only one ball remaining!
There are still 35 seconds left in the game!
"Standard defense! Everyone back to your positions!"
At that moment, Bird suddenly stood up and loudly directed the players on the court to return to their defensive positions and play one-man defense!
Bird's idea was quickly understood by Lin Tian, Miller and others: the more the offensive surge went on, the more important it was to remain calm and stable.
At this moment, it's the Bulls who are anxious!
Using the most basic and simple defensive tactics can actually make the Bulls more anxious!
Sure enough, everyone on the Bulls seemed to have lost their way in this possession, including Jordan. They made a lot of pointless passes and dribbling in place until Jordan finally got the ball at the top of the key when there were only 3 seconds left on the shot clock.
But Lin Tian's almost immediate and frantic pressing defense gave Jordan no chance to perform.
Jordan could only dribble the ball a few times under pressure from the defense before choosing a desperate, extremely long three-pointer from beyond the three-point line.
"Bang!"
Jordan, who wasn't particularly good at three-pointers to begin with, could only rely on luck for such a difficult shot. The ball hit the rim and was grabbed by Barkley. Lin Tian quickly returned to the basket and reached out to take the ball.
At this point, the Pacers decided to play it safe. Lin Tian raised his hand, directing the movement and calling out tactics, while also pushing forward at a leisurely pace.
At this point in the game, the Pacers' most important task is not even scoring themselves, but absolutely preventing the Bulls from scoring!
Regardless of whether this shot goes in or whether the point difference can be widened to 20 points, preventing the Bulls from scoring is the most important thing!
17-0 and 17-2 may sound like just two points, but in the players' minds, it's a completely different story!
Not scoring even one point puts immense psychological pressure on a player!
They will continue to carry this burden into the competition!
If they score at the end of the third quarter, the Bulls players will feel relieved, thinking they can still score, and they will more or less find their rhythm!
Basketball is never just a competition!
The psychological battle is equally important!
When Lin Tian dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, there were only 6 seconds left in the third quarter. However, he didn't rush to attack. Instead, he compressed the time by 2 seconds and only launched the attack when there were only 4 seconds left!
Lin Tian had to make sure that even if he missed this shot, he would not give the Bulls any chance!
3 seconds!
Lin Tian suddenly accelerated and started moving!
Without any feints or dribbling skills, Lin Tian chose the most direct and aggressive approach: a powerful drive!
I'm going to use speed to overpower you!
Jordan knew better than anyone how fast Lin Tian was!
He is the player who has faced off against Lin Tian the most in this league, and he has also had the most one-on-one battles with Lin Tian!
Jordan knows Lin Tian better than anyone else in this league!
He tightly blocked Lin Tian's inside path, preventing Lin Tian from making an inside cut. He kept himself in Lin Tian's path, making it impossible for Lin Tian to easily shoot.
Then, just as Lin Tian reached the edge of the three-second zone, Rodman suddenly stepped forward to double-team him!
His encirclement was very thorough, completely exposing his back.
Anyway, Lin Tian doesn't have time to pass the ball in this game. If he dares to pass, it will definitely go over time!
Facing a double-team from Jordan and Rodman, Lin Tian suddenly stopped, then lifted the ball with one hand. Before he even jumped, the basketball suddenly flew out and headed towards the basket!
Throw it!
A scoring technique that is still very rare in today's league!
Twenty years from now, this is a skill that almost every scoring guard in the league will definitely master!
A scoring technique that allows Lin Tian to shoot before he reaches the highest point of his jump, with an extremely high arc and a very fast release, making it very difficult to block!
"Whoosh!"
Under the somewhat surprised gazes of Jordan and Rodman, Lin Tian's floater practically fell directly into the basket from high above!
At the same time, the whistle blew to end the third quarter!
The two dark minutes that were nothing short of a nightmare for the Bulls are finally over!
19: 0!
The Pacers went on a crazy 19-0 run in those two minutes!
123: 103!
The point difference between the two sides has reached 20 points!
Given the Pacers' ability to control the game, at this point, it's safe to say that the series will go to a decisive Game 7!
The Pacers have virtually no chance of losing by 20 points in the fourth quarter! This kind of sudden power outage is unbelievable enough to happen once in a game, but do the Bulls really want to replicate it and go on another 20-0 run?
That's practically wishful thinking!
Not to mention, the Pacers also have the advantage of playing at home!
In the fourth quarter, Bird arrogantly took all the key players, including Lin Tian, Barkley, and Miller, off the court to rest. What was that saying again?
When you're in this business, you have to keep your word. If I said I'd leave on the fourth period, then I'd leave on the fourth period!
Overtime? No way! I'll never work overtime in my life!
Bird's posture in the chair was incredibly arrogant, with his arms crossed and legs flat. It's a pity he didn't have a whiskey on the rocks, a Cuban cigar, a leopard-print kitten, and a full head of hair gel. If he did, Bird's demeanor would definitely be that of a Mafia godfather.
then……
"Reggie, Lin, Charles, why don't you go up and fight for another 3 minutes?"
Bird's composure lasted for about three minutes before he backed down.
Since neither Jordan nor Pippen had rested, these two guys were clearly unwilling to lose like this. Even though Dumars hit a three-pointer right away, and Ainge, who had been out of action for a long time, also made a layup for the first time.
But the Bulls still managed to go on an 11-5 run in just 3 minutes.
Jordan, desperate to win and end the series, relentlessly attacked Dumars!
He scored 7 points in 3 minutes, and Pippen also made 2 shots. The Bulls watched as the gap narrowed to less than 15 points!
(End of this chapter)