At 9:10, the Bulls overtook the score and the Pistons attacked.
This time, Zhou Quan did not pass the ball again. Facing Jordan's defense, he advanced to the left three-point line with the ball. After making a tactical gesture, he made a singles stance to attack the opponent.
"Boy, is your check ready?"
After making all five shots and scoring ten points in a row, Jordan also knew that he felt good today. In excitement, he started talking trash for the first time.
"squeak!"
Zhou Quan responded to Jordan with a sudden first step, accelerating and stepping past others.
But Jordan's reaction was too quick and he quickly took a step back.
The next moment, Zhou Quan retracted his right foot and pulled the ball back.
However, Jordan seemed to know that it was a fake move, so he took another step forward and defended in front of him again.
However, Zhou Quan took a step forward for the second time.
However, Jordan kept up with the rhythm again and retreated once again.
"careful……"
A live commentator shouted urgently.
"Bang!"
However, as soon as Jordan retreated, he bumped into John Salley, and at this time, Zhou Quan passed him with the ball.
"...Pick-and-roll. Oops!"
The on-site commentator finished reminding.
Zhou Quan broke through Jordan, changed direction downwards, followed the baseline and then broke out of Cartwright, who was switching defense, and rushed into the paint area. Facing Grant who was returning to the basket, he dunked the ball with his right hand and raised it high. He took off with all his strength and directly Flying up.
"Don't even think about it!"
Grant jumped up to block the shot.
The next moment, Zhou Quan suddenly retracted his right hand holding the ball high, and his body flew under Grant's arm. As he fell downwards and flew under the basket, he pulled the lever with his backhand to pick up the basket.
"brush!"
The basketball fell into the basket and the two points were scored.
"Oh, this ball is beautiful. Iron Fist passed three people and performed a wonderful pull-up layup." Robert Guida laughed.
"It's really not bad. Iron Fist finally did some tricks this time." Ringo Wilson smiled and nodded.
"Ervin, the Pistons are in great shape today! If the Bulls want to win at home, they have to work hard." Kareem Abdul-Jabbar laughed on the sidelines.
Magic Johnson smiled and said: "Joe Dumars can't guard Michael. The Pistons haven't double-teamed him yet, but as long as he makes a few breakthroughs and scores, I think Coach Daley will definitely double-team him.
But on the contrary, no one in the Pistons is worthy of the Bulls' double-teaming tactics, so the Pistons' offense should be more difficult and it is not easy to get open spaces.
As long as the Bulls don't collapse and continue to slowly accumulate advantages, the Pistons will have even less chance of winning. "
On the court, 11:10, the Bulls attack.
Jordan took a break, Pippen attacked with the ball and missed a shot. John Salley grabbed the rebound and the Pistons attacked.
"Chuck, Rodman is in average condition today. He hasn't grabbed a rebound yet, and all statistics are zero." Assistant coach Musk said on the sidelines.
Chuck Daly nodded, frowning slightly despite the lead.
The Bulls are not very strong in rebounding, ranking seventh in the Eastern Conference and 13th in the NBA. However, they only averaged 0.3 fewer rebounds per game than the Pistons in the regular season. Now Rodman's injury has severely reduced his performance in the playoffs. Rebounding may suffer again today.
Zhou Quan held the ball and faced Jordan at the 45-degree position of the left three-point line.
"Old bird, your donation promise is so ridiculous! Since you are sure to sweep me, why don't you promise to donate half a million if the sweep is not completed?"
Zhou Quan’s trash talk is here.
"snort!"
Jordan snorted angrily, "Do you think I'm stupid?"
At this time, John Salley came up again to pick and roll, and Zhou Quan used the wall to break through, but this time it did not go smoothly. After being blocked by Cartwright, Jordan took the opportunity to catch up two steps away from the paint area, and his teammates did not run out. With the ball open, he had to force a shot over Jordan's head.
"Snapped!"
Jordan's big hand directly covered all his sight. Pippen slapped the ball from behind. Before the ball was released, it was directly pressed down and he fell to the ground.
"Jordan Pippen double-teamed Iron Fist twice, and this time it was successful," Robert Guida said.
"boom!"
Looking back, Jordan broke through with the ball, passed Joe Dumars and Rodman, and reached the basket to complete a dunk.
At 11:12, the Bulls took the lead again.
"Rodman didn't move fast enough today, couldn't cover in time, didn't rebound, and was in bad shape. If we continue to play like this, the Pistons will be in danger," Robert Guida said.
"I thought Michael would take a break, but he took another shot and made 6 of 6 shots. I'm very excited today!" Ringo Wilson laughed.
On the court, Zhou Quan came to the left wing with the ball. Ulrich sank one step into the left corner and brought Pippen down. This was exactly the same as the last offense.
This time, after Zhou Quan made a tactical gesture, he waved to John Salley, asked for his pick-and-roll, and then used the wall to break through.
But this time, he broke through from the left side. Last time, he broke through from the right side, near the top of the arc.
Cartwright blocked Zhou Quan again, giving Jordan a chance to pursue the defense, and then immediately returned to the paint area to catch up with John Salley who cut inside immediately after the pick-and-roll.
"Breakthrough failed!"
a live commentator shouted excitedly.
"Double team!"
Another commentator yelled equally excitedly.
Pippen saw Jordan blocking Zhou Quan, and Zhou Quan was very close to him, two meters away. He immediately took a step forward, stretched out his big hand, and reached Zhou Quan, completing the double-team.
But just when Pippen moved up, Zhou Quan, who was well prepared, pulled the ball up and suddenly pushed it into the gap between Pippen and Jordan.
He deliberately chose to break through from a position close to Pippen, intending to create an opportunity for Ulrich to cut inside after attracting Pippen's double-team.
"not good!"
Jordan and Pippen were shocked.
"Well done!"
According to the tactical requirements, Ulrich, who started cutting in from the left corner, saw the rebound ball and excitedly put his hands together. After receiving the ball, he strode into the paint area and then flew up.
At this time, John Salley, who was cutting inside, stopped at the left elbow area according to the tactical requirements, and Cartwright also stopped under the left elbow area, watching helplessly as Ulrich went in with the ball, and it was too late to return to the basket. .
At the same time, Grant and Rodman were entangled one step away from the front right side of the basket, and they could only watch the dunk happen.
"boom!"
Under the tomahawk dunk, the Bulls' basket roared.
"Oh ho!"
Two thousand visiting team fans roared with excitement.
"Shh!"
The fierce boos from the home fans came as expected, drowning out everything.
"13:12, the Pistons lead again." Ringo Wilson said.
"Iron Fist made 2 of 3 shots today, with 5 points, 3 assists and 1 steal. His organization and assists are the most important reason for the Pistons' outstanding offense today. Now look at Michael, will he still take action?" Robert Guida said.
"boom!"
On Joe Dumars' head, Jordan used a tentative step to make a fake shot, but Joe Dumars kept up with the rhythm and the ball was not thrown.
"6 of 7 shots, the Bulls still need others to step up and score. It's time for Michael to take a rest." Ringo Wilson said.
After this goal, Jordan really rested.
"boom!"
Joe Dumars singled to Paxson and also missed a field goal.
Looking back, Pippen attacked with the ball, passed Ulrich, and reached the left midfielder. At this time, Zhou Quan went down from the free throw line to defend, and John Salley formed a double team and took the opportunity to intercept the ball.
With two minutes left in the first quarter, 25:25, the Bulls had the ball, and Phil Jackson called a timeout in advance.
When the players came down, he took a look at the statistics handed over by the assistant coach.
With 25 points of his own, Jordan made 6 of 9 shots, made all the first six shots, missed three of the last three shots, made 4 of 4 free throws, and scored 16 points in a single quarter.
Pippen didn't feel good today. After Jordan stopped attacking, he took over the offense, and the efficiency was very poor. With the average defensive Ulrich alone on defense, he made 1 of 5 shots and only scored two points.
Grant's cutting inside worked well today, making 2 of 3 shots, 1 of 2 free throws, and scored 5 points.
The last two points were scored by Cartwright's second attack, and John Paxson scored no points under the iron fist's defense.
As for the Pistons, Joe Dumars made 5 of 9 shots, 1 of 3 three-pointers, and 11 points in a single quarter, which can be regarded as beating John Paxson.
Of these 9 attacks, 5 were independent attacks with the ball, scoring 2 goals, and 4 were Zhou Quan's passes, scoring 3 goals.
Zhou Quan made 3 of 6 shots, 1 of 2 free throws, 7 points, 4 assists and 2 steals.
Ulrich played the same inside style as Grant and scored 4 points on 2 shots.
John Salley made one extra dunk, made 1 of 2 free throws, and scored 3 points.
Rodman made 0 of 2 free throws and did not score.
In addition, our team only sent out 2 assists in ten minutes, while the Pistons had 5, which shows that our organization is not as efficient as the opponent.
In terms of rebounds, we have 10 and the Pistons have 8. We have some advantages that need to be maintained.
Errors were made by our side 3 times and by the Pistons 3 times.
Steals, three each.
There were 6 free throws for our team and 6 for the Pistons, but they did not have enough lethality.
The shooting percentage is 52% for the team and 54% for the Pistons.
The team took 19 shots and the Pistons took 20 shots.
At this time the players came down, and after they sat down, he immediately said: "Gentlemen, when Michael shot 70% from the field, we were not leading, and we had some problems."
"Gulu!"
Jordan took a gulp of the energy water.
Phil Jackson continued: "The defense needs to be strengthened. Whether it is Joe Dumars or Iron Fist, their shooting percentage has reached 50%.
Especially for Iron Fist, this hit rate is already considered a super level performance. In addition, he sent 4 assists in ten minutes, and three goals also came from his direct passes.
The Pistons scored a total of eleven goals, seven of which came from his direct passes. He is the absolute core of the Pistons' offense.
Michael, you have to put more energy into the defensive end. Especially his passing, increase the intensity and don't let him get the ball out easily.
His scoring is not as good as yours, and his offensive efficiency is not as good as yours, but his defensive efficiency is worse than yours today. He did not allow Paxson to score, and with the organization assists, his contribution to the Pistons today is no less than yours. "
Jordan, who was responsible for defending Zhou Quan, moved his mouth but did not speak. He only nodded and his eyes became sharper for three points.
Phil Jackson added: "There are others, you don't need to double-team anyone, keep an eye on your people and don't let them run out of space.
Iron Fist does not need to double-team in the paint area. Even if he gets into the paint area, he only needs to attack from the inside and does not need to enter from the outside. His passing is very damaging to us, but his scoring is not harmful to us. "
"Yes, coach." The Bulls replied.
Phil Jackson said again: "Scotty, you didn't break through today. I need you to break in. I need you to have higher offensive efficiency, instead of making random shots from the outside."
"OK."
Pippen was a little annoyed, not only because he missed four shots, but because I didn't have a chance to take action earlier and my hands were cold, he still nodded quickly. At the moment, he was not qualified to shake his head.
"You double-teamed Iron Fist on the wing twice, and then Ulrich successfully cut inside twice. From now on, don't double-team him. Even if he gets into the paint, he doesn't need your double-team. You have to trust Michael's defense." ." Phil Jackson warned again.
"I see."
Pippen said muffledly.
On the other side, in front of the Pistons bench, Chuck Daly said: "We played well in the first quarter, especially in rebounding. We were only two points behind."
Zhou Quan and others looked at each other, coach, are you mocking us, or are you mocking us?
Daley added: "Then there's Joe, you did a good job on defense, how many points did Jordan score on you?"
Joe Dumas picked up a towel and wiped his face. There was nothing visible on his face, but he secretly thought in his heart, Coach, if you don't arrange a double-teaming tactic, how can I defend him by myself?
Daley seemed to hear what Joe Dumars was thinking, and then said: "Michael Jordan also had a few breakthroughs today, not so many. He had a good touch today and made a lot of jump shots.
But now they don't have the lead, and he missed all three of his next shots and his touch dropped. He is likely to make more breakthroughs next, and we must double-team him resolutely. "
After the timeout, both sides replaced some substitutes.
"Shh!"
When Assassin took the court, huge boos erupted from the United Center.
However, this did not affect his mentality. He still walked onto the court with his chin held high, his eyes cold, and a smile on his face.
"The Pistons have Isiah Thomas and Mark Aguirre on their bench, while the Bulls only have BJ. The Pistons' bench has an advantage," Robert Guida said.
"BJ is the fourth scoring point of the Bulls this season, averaging 9.9 points per game. The assassins and Mark Aguirre are the fifth and sixth scoring points of the Pistons. The scoring ability of the Pistons' bench is indeed better than that of the Bulls. The Bulls' bench is a bit bad. ." Ringo Wilson said.
"If the Pistons want to win the game, they have to use the bench to fill holes for the main players. If the Bulls want to win, the main players have to take advantage and fill the holes for the substitutes. Judging from the current situation, it seems that the Pistons will have the advantage." Robert Gee Da analyzed.
The two men were indeed right. In the last two minutes, the Pistons launched a 6:2 attack wave.
The Assassin ignored the injury and continued to break through with the ball. After scoring a goal, he caused an inside foul for the Bulls. He made two free throws and assisted Mark Aguirre for a goal.
At 31:27, the Pistons led the Bulls in one fell swoop.
The Bulls played at home and gave the rival Pistons the lead. This made Bulls fans very dissatisfied and the atmosphere at the United Center became depressing.
Jordan couldn't sit still and came on the court at the beginning of the second quarter. He led the bench and the Pistons' bench alone, attacking the Pistons' basket again and again, causing damage very quickly.
In two minutes, Jordan made 1 of 2 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 4 points. He made 7 of 11 shots, 6 of 6 free throws, and already scored 20 points.
At the same time, he personally defended the Assassins, allowing them to make 0 of 2 shots in two minutes. He also stole a ball and did not allow the Pistons to score.
With 10 minutes left in the second quarter, 31:31, the Bulls took the lead.
The Pistons had the ball, called a timeout, and replaced Zhou Quan, Joe Dumars, John Salley, and backup center William Bedford, while Mark Aguirre stayed on the court.
Rodman was not very active and was still sitting on the bench.
After the timeout, Zhou Quan attacked with the ball in the backcourt, and Jordan blocked the front.
Just as he was dribbling forward, Jordan suddenly took a half step forward and reached out to poke the ball.
"boom!"
Fortunately, his nerves reacted quickly and he dribbled at a very low height. He quickly turned around to protect the ball. While avoiding Jordan's steal, he turned around and passed the opponent, speeding up and crossing the center line.
But Jordan did not fall behind. He followed him on the right side, only missing half a step, and immediately caught up with him, squeezing him toward the left sideline with his body.
"Be more careful, this guy has stepped up his defensive intensity."
He was more vigilant. Jordan didn't press him in the backcourt in the first quarter. He was a little careless just now.
The confrontation with Jordan was very strong, stronger than in the first quarter. At the same time, the opponent's strength was not inferior to his. After all, he was still a little worse in controlling the ball with his left hand. At the same time, Jordan also blocked his passing angle, so he went to the left three-point line. Later, he looked for an opportunity to transfer the ball to Joe Dumars on the right wing.
Staring at Paxson is one of the main tactics of the Pistons, but Joe Dumars singled out Paxson five times in the first quarter and succeeded twice. The success rate was not high. This was because the Pistons played well in other positions in the first quarter, but did not One of the leading reasons.
This time, in isolation, Bulls substitute point guard BJ first took a tentative step, then broke through with the ball and made a sudden jump shot.
"boom!"
Still missed.
"well!"
Chuck Daly shook his head. Because of Iron Fist's dislocation advantage at the first position, the Bulls were forced to switch defenses. However, today's dislocation of Joe Dumars in singles against the opponent's point guard was too inefficient. He held the ball in 6 singles and only scored 2 goals. , if Jordan were replaced, he would have scored at least two more goals.
"Joe Dumars made a total of 5 of 10 shots, which is quite efficient." Robert Guida said in the TNT commentary box.
The Bulls grabbed the rebound, and Jordan took the ball to the right wing and singled out Joe Dumars.
"brush!"
The same tentative step, the same breakthrough with the ball, the same pull-up jump shot, Jordan hit a goal.
"8 of 12 shots, 6 of 6 free throws, already 22 points. Michael Jordan plays the Pistons, and he is in great shape every time with full strength!" Ringo Wilson said with a smile.
"31:33, the Bulls took the lead. If Michael continues to attack, I don't know if the Pistons can withstand it." Robert Guida said.
In the next game, the Pistons failed to withstand it. After the second quarter, 48:53, the Bulls were already leading by 5 points.
Players from both teams left the field and returned to the locker room.
During the halftime break, Robert Guida said excitedly: "Michael made 3 of 5 shots again. In 22 minutes of the half, he made 11 of 17 shots, with a shooting percentage of 64.7%, 8 of 8 free throws, and a true shooting percentage of 73%. , scored 30 points in the half, beating Joe Dumars, and his fiery state made the players and stars sitting on the sidelines cheer and applaud him constantly."
Ringo Wilson said: "Pippen performed better in the second quarter than in the first quarter, making 3 of 5 shots and 4 of 10 shots in the half. In addition, on the Pistons, Joe Dumars made 7 of 14 shots in the half, shooting 50%. With a three-pointer, he already scored 15 points and was the Pistons' halftime scoring leader."
Robert Guida said: "His efficiency is actually not low, and he scores a lot, but he is facing Jordan, and Jordan scored 30 points on him. That is, in his position, there is a big gap of 15 points. Someone else needs to fill it in.”
Ringo Wilson smiled: "As the core and leader of the Pistons, Iron Fist performed well in the first quarter, but in the second quarter after Michael strengthened his defense, he immediately fell into a slump, and the overall performance was average.
1 of 4 shots, 20 minutes in the half, like Pippen, 4 of 10 shots, 3 of 4 free throws, 11 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul. "
Robert Guida shook his head and said: "Linger, he faced Michael Jordan who was fully defending him. Especially in the second quarter, Michael's defensive intensity had increased to the highest level. He was able to score 11 points and 7 assists in the half, and only once. The turnovers are actually very good. If there is any shortcoming, the shooting in the second quarter was a little worse."
At the same time, his organization was still good in the second quarter, and he had three assists. If it weren't for his effective organization, which allowed his teammates to play a high-efficiency offense, the Pistons would not have lost by only 5 points when Michael Jordan scored 30 points at halftime. .
I even think his performance today is very good, not inferior to Jordan, but because he is a point guard, he is not as bright as Michael. The person who puts the ball into the basket is always the most dazzling. "
Ringo Wilson nodded and said: "Iron Fist's assists allowed John Salley and the others to score more efficiently. This is indeed the reason why the Pistons only lost by 5 points."
(End of chapter)
