"Iron Fist, it's unbelievable that the Bulls double-teamed you on the outside today," Joe Dumars said.
"Tekken scored 6 points in a row at the beginning. Phil Jackson immediately adjusted his defense tactics and began to double-team him on the outside. This adjustment was indeed in place." Chuck Daly said.
"Coach, is there no way to solve their double-teaming?" Zhou Quan asked.
Chuck Daly shook his head and said: "No matter who you switch to, it's either Pippen or Jordan. The Bulls point guard is responsible for helping to defend you, unless you can get rid of Jordan without a pick-and-roll."
Zhou Quan thought for a while and said, "Then I'll give it a try in the third quarter."
But he has no confidence at all. Now he can only use mid-range pull-up jumpers, but he has no other tricks.
The throwing shot has reached level 90, but it is a close-range offensive skill. The closer to the basket, the greater the defensive pressure and the efficiency will not be high.
Jordan is proficient in all kinds of weapons in his arsenal, but his shooting percentage in the past two minutes is only 30%, and even less than 30% in the past two seasons.
Joe Dumars calmly analyzed: "With Jordan's ability, you don't need to pick and roll. Even if you can attack, the efficiency will not be too high, which is not good for chasing points."
Zhou Quan nodded helplessly. He couldn't chase points. So with an 18-point difference, what's the point? Once Jordan launches an offensive attack, the point difference will only get wider and wider.
The assassin shook his head and said: "None of our insiders have good mid-range shooting ability. Otherwise, we can let the inside players come out to help you with pick-and-rolls. This way, the quality of pick-and-rolls will be higher. Jordan wants to keep up with you, and the Bulls want to double-team you on the outside. It will be difficult." many."
At this time, Chuck Daly clapped his hands, and after everyone looked over, he said: "Okay, now our lineup is seriously imbalanced, everyone must be mentally prepared."
There were some disappointed sighs in the locker room, including Zhou Quan. Daly's words undoubtedly prepared them to accept the defeat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
He was unwilling to give in and tied the game at two to two. He clearly had a chance, but why did the G5 game end like this when he turned around?
But there were also some sounds of relief, not to mention injuries like Joe Dumars and John Salley, but Mark Arregui breathed a sigh of relief.
When Joe Dumars is injured, the Assassins are in poor condition. If the team does not give up, he must step up. For him, with two championships in hand, the desperate period has long passed, and he does not want to get injured.
Chuck Daly observed the locker room, flanked by McCloskey and Troy Weaver, who also observed the players.
Especially Weaver, who is about to take over the team. The team needs to rebuild the lineup around the perimeter, and he has to determine who is worth keeping.
Daly said: "In the third quarter, Isiah, I still need you to go up."
"OK."
The assassin nodded heavily. His resentment towards Jordan made him still unwilling to fail and his morale was still there.
Daly added: "Now the personnel is seriously unorganized. We can only do our best with our personnel. If we cannot reduce the point difference to less than ten points in the third quarter, I will give up the game in the final quarter and prepare for the G6 game."
It is almost impossible to chase points when the personnel is not full, and the first scoring point Joe Dumars is also injured. The atmosphere in the locker room has not improved and has reached its lowest ebb.
Not long after, the third quarter began.
"The finals! The finals! The finals..."
When players from both sides took the court again, countless Bulls fans cheered in unison at the United Center.
Ringo Wilson laughed and said: “Although the game is not over yet and the Eastern Conference Finals is not over yet, the Bulls have almost booked victory in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Robert, ESPN did not adjust the prediction data on the winning chances of both sides. It really makes sense. Their professionalism deserves recognition. "
Robert Guida nodded and said: "The Pistons injured two generals from training to the game today. The result of this series is basically determined."
At the scene, players from both sides took the field.
"Isiah, 18 points, do you want to give up?"
Before going on stage, Zhou Quan turned around and looked at the assassin and asked.
"Giving up is not in my dictionary."
Isiah Thomas sounded disdainful, and he asked again: "What about you? Are you giving up?"
"Ah!"
Zhou Quan smiled lightly and said: "Me? If I were used to giving up, I wouldn't be able to get here. I'm afraid I would still stay in the country.
Isiah, I have a message for you: take life and death lightly, and do whatever you don’t accept. "
The assassin was startled and suddenly laughed.
Jordan and Pippen both looked over in surprise, wondering what they were laughing at.
"flute!"
The referee blew the whistle and the Bulls attacked.
Jordan moved without the ball on the right wing, and Pippen was still responsible for organizing the Bulls. BJ advanced to the frontcourt and handed over the ball, and then was responsible for containing the response at the top of the key.
Zhou Quan stared closely at Jordan, doing everything he could to guard him.
At this time, he no longer wants to save energy for the final quarter. If he can't get back in this quarter, then the final quarter will be garbage time. What's the use of saving physical energy?
Jordan kept running, but still couldn't get rid of Zhou Quan smoothly. Seeing this, Grant had no choice but to cover, and Jordan took the opportunity to run back.
Zhou Quan's line of sight was blocked by Grant, but not entirely. His full-level panoramic vision still captured part of Jordan's body, thus establishing a complete visual model of Jordan in his mind and clearly understanding his counter-running movements. .
At this moment, he caught up with the rhythm, Jordan turned behind Grant, he turned in front of Grant.
Jordan is on the outside and he is on the inside.
Jordan quickly ran back, bypassed Rodman from the outside, changed direction close to the baseline, and cut into the paint.
He did not have Zhou Quan's magical full-level panoramic vision. At this time, he did not notice that on the other side of Rodman, near the paint area, Zhou Quan kept up with his rhythm.
Zhou Quan could actually be ahead of Jordan. He was closer to the paint area and his rhythm kept up, but he didn't. He slowed down his movement.
He didn't stare hard at Jordan. He looked at the baseline and swung slightly. The peripheral vision of his left eye brought the left wing into his sight, and he had a clear view of Pippen's movements and position as he attacked with the ball.
But from the looks of it, he wasn't watching the left wing.
At this time, Pippen had already reached the left midfielder with the ball. He saw Jordan's movement and Zhou Quan did not cut off the passing line. He even noticed that Zhou Quan's eyes were not on his side, so Immediately pass the ball across the field.
The next moment, as soon as the ball left his hand, or even before it completely left his hand, Zhou Quan quickly stepped in and blocked Jordan's front.
"Oops!"
Pippen was shocked when he saw Zhou Quan's intervention, but the ball had already been released.
"Bang!"
The next moment, Jordan bumped into Zhou Quan's back.
"Snapped!"
At the same time, Zhou Quan caught the ball with both hands and was knocked forward, staggering forward.
"Oh, damn, the ball was broken!" a commentator yelled in surprise.
"Hurry and stop him!" another commentator shouted urgently.
"squeak!"
At the top of the arc, the assassin turned around desperately and started a quick down.
Exerting too much force caused instant pain in several places on his body, including his waist, knees, and his left ankle, which cost him the opportunity to win three consecutive championships.
But he couldn't care less. At most, he would retire after this game. He wanted to play this game as the last game of his career.
He pushed on the ground as hard as he could, accelerating and accelerating, and rumbled into the frontcourt like an old pickup truck with black smoke coming from behind.
"Whoosh!"
Blocking Jordan with his left elbow, Zhou Quan passed the ball with one hand. The orange basketball flew in front of the assassin like a beautiful rainbow.
"Snapped!"
The basketball fell and was caught by the assassin. At this time, BJ had been thrown away by him and he rushed into the paint area.
"brush!"
Layup, hit.
"oh!"
Two thousand visiting team fans raised their arms and cheered at this moment.
On the other hand, the reaction from the Pistons bench was not as exciting as the fans, and their morale had actually been shattered.
"pretty!"
Robert Guida, who was looking at the screen with his mouth open, shouted excitedly at this moment, "This should be the second time Iron Fist intercepted Pippen's pass to Jordan. Will he explode on the defensive end?"
"Impossible, the Pistons' morale has been shattered by Michael." Ringo Wilson shook his head.
"No, there are still people whose morale has not collapsed." Robert Guida shook his head.
"We're going to pay them back! We're going to kill them! If you don't want to fight hard, get out of the game immediately." Jordan shouted sharply on the court.
With years of experience accumulated, he is the king of the Bulls. His harsh rebuke immediately tensed the nerves of all the Bulls players on the court.
Especially BJ, who was being chased by an assassin. When he heard Jordan's words, he couldn't help but shrink his neck and feel a chill in his stamina.
Zhou Quan was watching from the side, learning how to lead a team.
At present, his strength and qualifications are not enough. He hopes that in the future, he can be like Jordan, and his control over the team can reach the level of a king. He can decide with one word. He does not have to try every means to boost morale now. .
When the Bulls attacked, BJ nervously held the ball and advanced in the backcourt. The assassin in front leaned down and was concentrating on guarding and retreating.
Two steps away to the right, Zhou Quan suddenly took a step towards BJ.
This was his intention to put pressure on BJ. He could see that BJ was a little nervous because of Jordan's scolding.
His action immediately distracted BJ's attention, and the assassin's years of experience allowed him to keenly seize the opportunity of BJ's distraction and suddenly grab the ball.
"Snapped!"
The ball was knocked away and rolled towards Zhou Quan and Jordan.
As a defender, Zhou Quan's position was closer to the center. He wanted to cut off the passing and receiving route between Jordan and the center. At this moment, he reacted, took a step forward, and pounced on the basketball.
"Shet!"
Jordan started to chase, but was a beat too late.
"Oh, the assassin intercepted the ball, Iron Fist grabbed the ball and counterattacked!" Reacting quickly, Robert Guida suddenly roared.
"Oooo……"
Two thousand fans of the visiting team cheered and shouted excitedly to support Zhou Quan who was holding the ball and going down quickly.
Holding the ball and taking a step outside the left midfielder, Zhou Quan felt a lot of pressure behind him. Knowing that Jordan was chasing behind him, he didn't want to take a shot. At this time, he saw the assassin rushing in from the top of the key and immediately made an emergency stop.
"Emergency jump shot!"
Jordan also immediately braked, crouched down, and then flew up when Zhou Quan lifted the ball together.
"Oops!"
When he stood up, he didn't see Zhou Quan jump up, so he knew he was in trouble.
"boom!"
Zhou Quan collected the ball and threw it on the floor. The basketball bounced off the ground and crashed into the assassin's hands.
The next moment, the assassin took off for a layup and easily hit the ball.
"Very beautiful!"
Robert Guida screamed repeatedly, "The Assassin steals, the Iron Fist passes the ball, and the Assassin succeeds in another layup. Now they have scored two goals in a row, launched two defensive counterattacks, and scored four points in a row..."
Ringo Wilson said: “At 39:53, the Bulls are still leading by 14 points, the point difference is huge, there is no need to be impatient at all.
But Jordan needs to stand up and use goals to interrupt the Pistons' pursuit of points. As a team leader, he cannot sit back and watch his opponents chase points. "
On the court, Jordan's eyes were cold and stern, staring at BJ like a god of death. He pointed at his own eyes and yelled at him:
"Look at me, you idiot, do you still want to play? You idiot, let an old and injured guy steal the ball, do you know what you are doing?"
BJ was so scolded that he trembled and did not dare to speak.
"Isiah, keep an eye on him, he is too nervous and will make mistakes." At this time, Zhou Quan approached the assassin and whispered.
The assassin nodded slightly. He was panting and hurting in many places on his body, but he didn't speak.
When the Bulls attacked, Jordan did not give the assassin another chance to steal BJ. He took over the ball in the backcourt and advanced with the ball himself.
He wanted to hit one to end the Pistons' pursuit of points and crush his opponent to death again.
But as soon as he took the ball and pushed forward, Zhou Quan started to press. Even with Zhou Quan's level 95 single defense ability, he could not move forward smoothly.
He had no choice but to use his left elbow to support Zhou Quan, dribble with his right hand, and force forward while observing the position of his teammates and looking for passing opportunities.
When Zhou Quan moved here, the assassin also moved there, locking BJ's receiving angle.
"Full court press!" Robert Guida shouted excitedly.
At this moment, Jordan suddenly turned around and passed by, and Zhou Quan moved quickly, but it was a fake move. He suddenly turned around again, passed Zhou Quan from the right sideline, and entered the frontcourt.
"Press failed," Ringo Wilson shouted excitedly.
On the three-point line on the right wing, Zhou Quan caught up with Jordan again. Jordan put the tip of his left elbow on his chest and continued to thrust inward. The confrontation between the two reached the highest level of physical combat.
Feeling pain in his chest, Zhou Quan gritted his teeth and held on. With all his strength, he withstood the opponent's thrust, causing Jordan to stop.
But at this moment, Jordan turned around, dribbled back for a moment, then turned around again and shot a fadeaway jumper.
"It's still impossible to prevent it."
Although Zhou Quan reacted quickly and jumped with all his strength to block the shot, although he was unable to block a fadeaway jumper of this level, when he saw the basketball flying out of Jordan's hands, he had a feeling that it was beyond his reach.
"In?"
He looked back and saw the basketball falling into the basket.
"boom!"
But the next moment, the sound of the basket was smashed, and the basketball suddenly jumped out of the basket.
"Missed?"
At this moment, he immediately started to work hard and rushed from Jordan's side to the frontcourt.
He didn't care about rebounding, that was Rodman's job. If he couldn't protect the backcourt rebound at this critical moment, he would be very disappointed with Rodman.
Jordan was a beat slow. He had a habit of rushing for rebounds. When he turned around to chase Zhou Quan, he was already two steps behind.
At this time, Rodman did not disappoint Zhou Quan. He grabbed the rebound and saw Zhou Quan quickly throwing it out.
Zhou Quan caught the ball and immediately crossed the midline and went straight to the Bulls' basket.
Jordan was chasing after him desperately. By the time Zhou Quan reached the left elbow area with the ball, he had already caught up. He was on the right side after Zhou Quan's step, within reach, and his left hand could touch the jersey.
"Deduct one!"
Zhou Quan already had the ball in his hands, and after two steps, he jumped up with all his strength.
"Not enough, almost!"
Almost at the same time, Jordan also flew up from behind on the right side, but he tried his best to stretch his arms, but still couldn't reach the basketball held high by Quan Quan in his left hand.
"boom!"
A violent explosion sounded, and the Bulls basket was exploded instantly.
"Oh wow!"
Two thousand Pistons fans instantly stood up and shouted wildly.
On the Pistons bench, the players whose morale had been shattered stood up and began to cheer for their teammates on the court. Their morale began to regroup and they began to climb up from the bottom.
In the TNT commentary box, Robert Guida screamed excitedly: "Pistons! Pistons! The Pistons successfully counterattacked three times. Phil Jackson has already called a timeout. They stopped the Bulls and they chased 6 points in a row..."
"At 41:53, the Bulls still lead by 12 points, and the advantage is still very obvious." Ringo Wilson said.
Sitting back on the bench, Zhou Quan gasped for breath. After taking a few breaths, he drank the energy drink handed over by Darnell Walker in one gulp.
"Well done!"
Chuck Daly praised happily.
The outcome of this game is no longer in his eyes. What he cares about is that even though the team lost its main players and fell behind by a big score, neither the former core nor the current core lost their fighting spirit, and even still maintained a strong fighting spirit. , this is what he is happiest about, and what he hopes to see most, because it represents hope.
On the Bulls bench, Phil Jackson emphasized the players' focus on the game and he believed there was no problem with the tactics.
After the timeout, the Bulls attack.
"boom!"
Seeing the Iron Fist clinging to Jordan, Pippen took one of his own shots and missed.
"mine!"
Rodman rose up and grabbed a backcourt rebound again.
Zhou Quan immediately came over to take the ball and advance quickly.
The main force of the Pistons is not in order, so he has to play fast, seize the chestnuts from the fire, and win in the chaos.
At this time, the assassin ran with all his strength, quickly descended from the center to the frontcourt, rushed into the paint area, and was two meters ahead of BJ. He turned his head from time to time to look behind him.
Zhou Quan rushed to the midline with the ball and was stuck by Jordan.
At this time, he suddenly stopped, and Jordan opened the distance, and at the same time pulled up the ball. The moment he put his hands together, he saw that the assassin had rushed into the penalty area.
"Whoosh!"
With a throw of both hands, the ball flew toward the backboard.
The assassin who turned his head to observe saw it and jumped up quickly.
"boom!"
The next moment, the basketball bounced off the board and fell into the hands of the assassin. He took advantage of the situation and sent the ball to the basket, and the basketball passed through the basket.
"Oh ho!"
The Pistons fans and the bench cheered wildly again, and their morale improved a lot.
Robert Guida roared excitedly: "Another counterattack! Another layup! The Assassins have scored 6 points in a row, and now the Pistons only have 10 points left. There are only 10 points left. The Pistons have already chased 8 points in a row. They scored A wave of 8:0 attacks..."
Jordan stood on the free throw line with his arms akimbo, panting, and lost 8 points in a row. This was something he didn't expect at the beginning of the third quarter, but it happened now.
Lose this game?
No, he never thought of it that way.
"Press them to death!"
He has deep hatred for the Pistons, the Assassins, and Zhou Quan. At this moment, he only has this one thought.
"MJ! MJ! MJ..."
At this time, someone at the United Center started chanting his name.
"MJ! MJ! MJ...
Soon, countless bulls began to respond, and within three seconds, his name formed a hurricane that swept across the entire venue.
Amid the cheers of the fans, he did not disappoint them. He personally held the ball to the frontcourt, and then against Zhou Quan's defense, he hit a goal with a gorgeous turn-around fadeaway jumper, ending the Pistons' run with his own hands. Wave chasing points.
"brush!"
When the crisp sound of the basket was sounded, the entire United Center was filled with overwhelming cheers. Twenty thousand Bulls fans stood up in unison, raising their arms and cheering.
"Defend! Defend..."
But he did not fall into the carnival. Instead, he clenched his fists and screamed at his teammates.
Next, under the leadership of Jordan, the Bulls played an iron-like perimeter defense, causing the Assassin and Zhou Quan to make one mistake each, and then launched a series of fierce counterattacks, widening the point difference again.
After a wave of force, the assassin's body was in pain and his heart was in pain, but he could only watch that bastard Michael Jordan showing off his power over his head.
Although Zhou Quan really wanted to ride on his own as the savior and turn the tide, he did not yet have that ability and could only watch the team slide into the abyss of failure step by step.
But neither of them gave up, fighting until the last second and still trying to chase points.
Their persistence also received bursts of very warm applause and cheers from the two thousand Pistons fans.
In the end, at 81:97, the Pistons failed to complete the comeback and lost the most critical G5 game at the United Center, allowing the Bulls to get the Eastern Conference Finals point.
(End of chapter)
