2:4, it was the Bulls' turn to attack.
Phil Jackson hasn't thought of a good move yet. He is not good at adapting on the spot. He still hopes to copy the defensive tactics of the G2 game and double-team Zhou Quan on the outside.
"How about letting Scott switch to defend Ulrich and let Scotty keep up with Sekali?" At this moment, he suddenly had an idea.
"boom!"
Paxson missed a shot under Joe Dumars' defense, Rodman protected the backcourt rebound, and the Pistons began to attack.
Phil Jackson stood up and wanted to adjust his defensive tactics according to his previous idea, but it was too late.
Rodman quickly passed the ball to Jordos on the right wing.
At the top of the arc, Zhou Quan turned around and quickly descended. Under the long-distance sprint, his absolute speed advantage had a chance to show off, and he rushed to the top of the frontcourt arc one step ahead of Jordan.
At this time, Joe Dumars launched a long pass from the backcourt and the basketball flew straight to the basket.
At this moment, everyone in the audience, including 10 to 20 million people in North America, plus countless spectators from other countries and regions, including China, all stared at Zhou Quan and Jordan behind him, and their nerves were tense.
Turning his head to stare at the flying basketball, Zhou Quan adjusted his rhythm, soared with all his strength after crossing the free throw line, and backhanded the basketball that was falling rapidly with both hands.
Zhou Quan's adjustment of the rhythm allowed Jordan to catch up one step behind.
Michael Jordan caught up from the right side. After catching up, he took off almost at the same time. He jumped higher and hit the ball with his left hand.
"Snapped!"
The rhythm was just right. When Zhou Quan flew to the highest point, the basketball fell into his hands.
The next moment, Jordan's left hand hit, Zhou Quan's hands were pulled down, and the block failed.
At this time, Zhou Quan's body began to slide downward, and his body approached the basket.
At this moment, Jordan, who was better in the air, blocked the shot again. After his left hand missed, as his body turned in the air, his right hand came with another slap.
But at this moment, Zhou Quan also turned around in the air, from the front of the basket to the front left side of the basket, dodged Jordan's right hand to block the shot and then fell to the ground, but the moment before his feet landed on the ground, With his back to the basket, he lifted the basket with his backhand.
"What?"
Jordan was startled. At this time, he could no longer stay in the air and fell to the ground after Zhou Quan.
"brush!"
At this time, the basket is hollow.
"Oh ho!"
The Palace of Auburn Hills erupted. The moment the basket hit the basket, nearly 20,000 home fans stood up and cheered wildly.
Dunks make people's blood boil, but extremely difficult layups, especially difficult layups in fast breaks, also make people's blood boil.
"Beautiful! So beautiful! A backhand pull-up layup in the air. Iron Fist dodged continuously in the air, dodged Jordan's two blocks, and he completed a super difficult layup."
In the sky above the arena, the roar of bearded John Rowes rolled past and lasted for a long time.
"ah!"
After scoring this goal, Zhou Quan was so excited that he was even more excited than the fans. He rushed to the media box, found the CCTV camera, grabbed the camera, shook it, and kept roaring.
At this moment, countless people in the country saw a face full of excitement, passion, and adrenaline on the TV screen. Their emotions were reserved, and they also became excited at this time.
"Xiao Quan played the ball well, didn't he? Haha..." At Zhou Quan's house, Zhou Jianguo was so happy that he dragged a few old friends and kept shouting.
"Very beautiful!"
Lao Zhang from the Tobacco Bureau praised Zhou Jianguo's hand, and suddenly took Zhou Jianguo's hand and said, "Jianguo, when Xiao Quan comes back, take him to my house, and my daughter Niu Niu will be given to him."
Zhou Jianguo was startled, and so were the others. Zhou Ye immediately yelled, "Uncle Zhang, my eldest brother has a girlfriend, I know."
At this time, she pointed at the TV, ran forward again, and shouted: "Look, this is it, oops, I can't see it anymore."
"Yes?" Lao Zhang said disappointedly.
Zhou Ye walked up to Lao Zhang with a smile and shouted: "Uncle Zhang, does Sister Niu Niu want to be my eldest brother's little wife?"
"Pfft!"
Zhou Jianguo and others laughed.
"Damn girl, what are you talking about?"
Lin Yufen couldn't help laughing, but she quickly came up and pulled Zhou Ye away, scolding him, and spanking him twice on the buttocks.
"This little girl deserves to be beaten!" Lao Zhang said awkwardly.
…
Palace of Auburn Hills, 2:6, the Bulls were behind. In order to prevent the Pistons from gaining momentum and to rearrange their defensive tactics, Phil Jackson called a timeout.
After the timeout, the game continues.
"Defend! Defend..."
When the Bulls attacked, the Pistons fans in the audience cheered.
Grant pulled to the right corner and then moved up along the three-point line to take Rodman away.
Jordan entered the low position on the right wing, filling Grant's position, with his back to Zhou Quan, his right elbow against the man, and his left hand raised high to ask for the ball.
In singles in the low post, he either rushes in or turns around and shoots a fadeaway jumper. If it is the latter shot, it only takes him a little more than a second from receiving the ball to shooting, making it very difficult to double-team.
His mid-range shooting percentage from this position is second only to the left and right elbow areas and the free throw line. It is difficult to double-team, which is one of the reasons for the higher shooting percentage.
There was no one under the basket at this time, and Sekali was pulled to the left midfielder by Williams. Zhou Quan could only defend from behind and could not go forward, otherwise Jordan would be finished with a reverse cut to the basket.
At the top of the key, John Paxson lobbed the ball down over Joe Dumars' head.
When Jordan catches the ball, he immediately dribbles and leans back. According to his rhythm, he only leans for a moment, and then immediately uses his strength to turn around and take off, and he can get rid of the defender.
But at this moment, Zhou Quan took a small step back, leaving him in the air. His upper body swayed backwards. At this moment, the ball was a little out of his control.
The next moment, Zhou Quan stepped forward to grab it, and at the same time, he leaned over and reached out with his left hand to fish it out.
I really caught it. The moment my hand touched the ball, I immediately pressed down quickly and bang, the ball exploded.
"Damn it!"
Jordan also reacted very quickly. After losing the ball, he immediately counterattacked on the spot, but before he could catch it, Zhou Quan had already transferred the ball to his right hand by exploding the ball.
"Beautiful! Steal the ball! Iron Fist intercepted Jordan's ball. He was going down quickly..." The roar of bearded John Lowes immediately sounded.
"Oh oh oh……"
All the Pistons fans in the audience began to cheer, cheering for the home team's fast break.
Grant moved two steps outside to block Zhou Quan. Zhou Quan passed to Rodman, then bypassed Grant, then came back, and passed the center line in a few steps.
Jordan was chasing behind him, only half a step away, and by the time he reached the three-point line on the left wing, he was already close to him, relying on strong confrontation to squeeze him to the left.
At this time, he saw Joe Dumars rushing over the top of the arc, suddenly stopped, and the ball was pulled up. The moment he put his hands on the ball, he pushed toward Joe Dumars.
"Oops!"
Jordan, who stopped suddenly in front of him, looked over and saw that there was no ball. He immediately knew that he had been fooled. When he looked back, he only saw Zhou Quan jumping up.
"Three-point shot!"
In the commentary box, the bespectacled man Longger Lance shouted loudly.
In the air, Zhou Quan powerfully moved his five fingers, and the orange-red ball flew towards the basket with strong rotation.
"brush!"
The water splashed and the three-pointer hit.
"Oh yeah! Beautiful! Iron Fist hit a three-pointer! He stole the ball from Michael Jordan and then smashed Michael Jordan's defense for another fast break."
Bearded John Lowes roared excitedly.
"2:9, the Pistons got off to a very good start, showing off their momentum at home." Sun Zhenping said excitedly in the CCTV live broadcast.
Zhang Lili said happily: "I made 3 of 3 shots, 7 points, 1 assist and 1 rebound. The Iron Fist had a great start. The Bulls made 1 of 2 shots, Jordan made one shot and made 1 turnover. The start was not very good."
The Bulls did not call a timeout. The counterattack caused by a mistake was not a tactical problem. He believed Jordan could adjust.
Jordan did not disappoint him, and then hit a mid-range shot over Zhou Quan's head, stabilizing the Bulls' morale with his score.
4:9, Pistons attack.
It's still the old tactic, Seikali goes up to the high post to pick and roll.
But this time, according to Phil Jackson's defensive tactics, when Ulrich went down low and Sekali came up from the low post, Pippen and Williams switched defenses directly.
Williams did not follow Seikali up and stayed low on the left wing, while Pippen dropped Ulrich halfway and followed Seikaly.
After Zhou Quan saw it at the top of the arc, how could he dare to wait for Seikali to come up? Why not just bring Pippen? He immediately transferred the ball to the left wing.
Seikali came to the free throw line and stopped moving, holding Pippen in front of him.
Jordan followed Zhou Quan to the left wing, and the two were still in a duel.
However, time was running out. Zhou Quan turned around and hit a back shot, then turned around and made a step-back jump shot. Jordan pounced in time to block the shot.
"boom!"
Zhou Quan adjusted the angle of his shot, but missed. Grant grabbed the rebound and the Bulls attacked.
Phil Jackson nodded. Although the double-team was not completed this time, Zhou Quan also lost the opportunity to borrow the wall and broke the Pistons' high pick-and-roll tactics. The defense was successful.
He was very happy to see Zhou Quan holding the ball and beating Jordan in isolation. That way his hit rate wouldn't be that high. With Zhou Quan's skills, he was above 40%. Looking back at Jordan's singles against Zhou Quan, with his skills, his hit rate was generally speaking. It will be higher than Zhou Quan.
He deeply understands that Jordan is the strongest player in the league in singles. He can hit more than 50% of the field goals even when double-teamed. It is no problem to beat anyone in the league in singles.
Chuck Daly is also thinking about how to solve the offensive problem.
He absolutely cannot let Pippen and Jordan double-team Zhou Quan on the outside, but how to solve it?
The key to the problem is that Ulrich has no long-range shooting ability. As a small forward, he has not shot a single three-pointer this season. Otherwise, with Zhou Quan's passing ability, how could the Bulls dare to double-team a top point guard on the outside?
We definitely can't let Zhou Quan and Jordan score points against each other, otherwise the Pistons won't be able to win, and Zhou Quan can't beat Jordan in his personal offense.
At this time, Pippen missed a jumper, Rodman grabbed the rebound, and Daley signaled a timeout.
"The Bulls made 2 of 4 shots, Jordan made 2 of 2 shots, the Pistons made 4 of 5 shots, and the Iron Fist made 3 of 4 shots. The Bulls were a little weak at the beginning." Bill Walton said.
"The Pistons' offense went very smoothly today. They called a timeout with a 5-point lead. It seems that coach Chuck Daly has a problem to solve." Lewis Williams said.
Bill Walton nodded and said: "You must have the initiative in tactics. If the situation is wrong when you are leading, you must make timely adjustments. Otherwise, if the tactics are passive, the opponent will chase points very quickly."
After the timeout, the Pistons attacked.
After receiving the ball, Zhou Quan quickly advanced from the center. When he reached the frontcourt, he no longer stopped to organize the offense as before, but directly launched the offense.
Suddenly decelerating at the top of the arc, when Jordan was frustrated, he suddenly started a 92-level acceleration and stepped over the passer. He jumped over in one step and reached the top of the arc.
At this time, Rodman and Sekali moved toward the basket at the same time, preparing to compete for rebounds and form a two-on-one against Scott Williams under the basket.
"squeak!"
When Zhou Quan crossed the free throw line, he encountered Cobra Grant's defense and made a sudden stop for a jump shot. Whether it was Grant in front or Jordan behind, they immediately took off to block the shot at this moment.
Zhou Quan jumped into the air, encountered front and back blocks, and his right hand holding the ball suddenly flashed to the right. After dodging the two blocks, he shook his wrist forward hard, and the basketball flew straight to Rhodes on the right side of the basket. Man.
"Pass the ball!"
roared the bearded John Lowes.
Rodman caught the ball and took off. Scott Williams blocked the shot. He didn't touch the ball and didn't make the shot. The basketball hit the basket and bounced. Then he took off a second time and grabbed the ball. After landing, he took off a third time. But this time, Williams, whose continuous take-off ability was far inferior to him, failed to keep up with the rhythm.
"brush!"
Basket in basket.
Next, Zhou Quan continued to play fast-paced offense on the offensive end, using his strong ball-breaking ability to prevent Pippen from double-teaming him, and then broke in and forced the Bulls' inside line to cover up, allowing Rodman to He and Sekali formed the advantage of playing more and less at the basket. If he didn't make up for it, his short-range pull-up jump shot would not be a vegetarian.
After the timeout, the Pistons attacked 8 times and succeeded 5 times, with a shooting percentage of 62.5%.
Rodman made 2 of 3 shots from the basket, Seikali also made 2 of 3 shots, and Zhou Quan made 1 of 2 pull-up jump shots.
The Bulls, on the other hand, only succeeded 3 out of 7 times.
However, when Zhou Quan broke through with the ball, he was forced to make a mistake by Jordan's strong defense and the ball was stolen.
At 10:19, only halfway through the quarter, the Bulls were already 9 points behind.
"Why is this guy so good at so many breakthrough techniques?"
Jordan felt that he was in trouble because he couldn't guard against Zhou Quan's breakthrough with the ball. This time he accelerated one step to pass, the next time he made a one-handed pass, and the next time he feinted and turned to pass, his body changed. Xiang waited, none of them were the same, and the level was very high, making it difficult for him to guard against and unable to make accurate predictions.
"Haha, Iron Fist has transformed into a breakthrough madman. His defense is as strong as Jordan's, but he can't be guarded against him." Bill Walton laughed.
Williams also praised: "Yes, Iron Fist is good at various breakthrough techniques. You don't know how he will break you."
This time, the Bulls were in trouble, and Phil Jackson called a timeout.
But this timeout failed to solve the problem. Jordan was unable to prevent Zhou Quan's breakthrough with the ball in a single defense situation. This was a flaw. In the Pistons' fast-paced offense, tactics could play little role.
Unable to guard against the Pistons' offense, the Bulls could only ask Jordan to strengthen their offense and use his unique offensive ability in the league to chase points. He believed that as long as Jordan played an explosive state, even one person could defeat the entire opponent's team.
At the end of the first quarter, at 21:33, the Pistons led by 12 points, ending the first quarter with a huge advantage.
In the ABC commentary box, Bill Walton praised: "In such a crucial second-round series, Tekken sent out 7 assists in a single quarter. Their performance tonight was too strong."
"Really an unparalleled performance."
Williams praised, and suddenly said excitedly: "Since last season, there have been voices saying that he and Magic are two different types of No. 1 positions. Magic is the height, and he is the tonnage. Bill, do you think Iron Fist has it?" Maybe become that phenomenal point guard?"
Bill Walton smiled and said: "He was an excellent point guard last season, and his performance in the playoffs was even better. This season he is performing at a superstar level. I even think he has become that kind of super outstanding phenomenal point guard. .”
"I think so, but the time is too short. He still needs more seasons to prove himself." Williams nodded with a smile.
"The Pistons were too strong today. They overpowered the Bulls and made the Bulls afraid to replace their main players in the first quarter."
In the CCTV commentary box, Zhang Lili sighed excitedly: "Jordan can't guard against this kind of breakthrough ability with the ball. Zhou Quan has completely reached the level of the world's top point guard. In just two years, he has made great progress, especially This season has been a huge improvement.”
Sun Zhenping was the person in charge of commentating the Olympic men's basketball game last year. He saw with his own eyes that the men's basketball team panicked under the pressure of the opponent and made mistakes again and again. He also witnessed the men's basketball team lose seven out of seven games. Now Zhou Quan has joined Is the national team still afraid of the opponent's pressing tactics? When I think about this, I get very excited.
"Coach Zhang, the Pistons should be sure to win this game, right?" he asked.
Zhang Lili hesitated and said: "There is definitely an opportunity. I think the Pistons are not weaker than the Bulls this year and their lineup is very strong.
In terms of rebounding, the Pistons have an advantage. The main inside players Sekali and Rodman can rebound. Polynis on the bench is also very good at rebounding. Terry Mills' rebounding is also okay, which is worse than the top three. .
In terms of interior defense, Rodman is stronger than Grant, and Seikali is weaker, but overall he is no worse than the Bulls. As for inside offense, Seikali can also compete with Grant.
The outside defense of Jordan + Pippen should be better than Zhou Quan + Joe Dumars, but I think it is only limited, mainly because of the height advantage. Of course, the Bulls have the advantage in outside offense.
Overall, the Pistons have no obvious disadvantages, and the Bulls have no obvious advantages. Looking at their regular season record, the same is true. They are second and third in the Eastern Conference, with two wins and two losses, basically a tie. "
"So Coach Zhang, do you think there is any difference between the two teams?" Sun Zhenping asked.
Zhang Lili said: "The Bulls do not have a core holding the ball and have average ball rights. Pippen and Jordan do not have much ball rights. They pass a lot of passes and the ball moves very frequently.
The Pistons play with a large core holding the ball. The ball is concentrated in Zhou Quan's hands. There are relatively few passes and not much ball movement. "
"Then between these two playing styles, which one has the advantage?" Sun Zhenping asked again.
Zhang Lijia smiled and said: "The first two games were one to one, so there is no one who is better. It depends on who performs better and whose tactics are more targeted. Even if the strength is similar, there will be opportunities.
The Pistons had better tactics in the G1 battle, so they won. The Bulls' tactics were better in G2, so the Bulls won. Tonight, from the current point of view, the Pistons are playing more proactively. As long as they persist, they have a great chance of winning. "
At the beginning of the second quarter, both sides replaced some of their main players, but Zhou Quan and Jordan were still on the court.
In order to save physical energy, Zhou Quan was mainly responsible for defending Jordan. On the offensive end, he gave the ball to the assassin, who held the ball to attack.
On the right wing, Jordan faked a shot and made a sudden breakthrough. Zhou Quan was shaken. At this time, he was already half a beat behind in retreating, and Jordan suddenly broke through from the outside.
But he did not give up. As Jordan turned around and was half a step behind, he saw the ball. After Jordan pulled the ball up, he was about to press down and dribble. At this moment, the ball was a little behind, and his top-level nerve reaction speed allowed him to react. Yes, lean over and take a look.
"Snapped!"
A very precise strike. As soon as Jordan pressed down, the ball was taken out by him.
"What?"
Jordan was startled.
At this time, Zhou Quan had already controlled the ball, turned around and advanced quickly. When Jordan chased after him, he was already two meters behind.
However, the Assassin reacted very quickly. He quickly came down from the center, Zhou Quan passed the ball, and Isiah Thomas made a layup and easily hit a goal.
Under his full defense, Jordan made 2 of 6 shots in the second quarter, 1 of 3 three-pointers, and 3 of 4 free throws, scoring 8 points. In addition, in the first quarter, Jordan made 4 of 8 shots and 2 of 2 free throws. Scored 18 points, made 6 of 14 shots, and shot 42.9% from the field.
He himself made 3 of 3 shots in the opening game, 2 of 4 in the following, and 5 of 7 in the half. He took very few shots and his shooting rate was as high as 71.4%. In addition, he made 1 of 1 three-pointers and 2 of 2 free throws. He scored 13 points. Points, 3 rebounds and 8 assists.
Putting all his energy on the defensive end and not caring about anything else, his unique stealing ability exploded. He stole Jordan twice in a single quarter, stole Pippen once in assist defense, and sent out 3 steals in the half.
At halftime, 45:56, the Pistons still led by 11 points.
Zhou Quan noticed a problem. Jordan made more three-pointers in the second quarter than in the first quarter. He thought this was a good sign, indicating that Jordan was anxious and wanted to use three-pointers to chase points.
After halftime, the third quarter began.
Zhou Quan once again defended Jordan with all his strength and handed the ball to Joe Dumars, so that he would be able to maintain sufficient physical fitness in the final quarter.
Jordan is physically stronger than him, and he has already realized this, so he must distribute his physical strength well and cannot be like Jordan who works hard on both offense and defense throughout the game.
In the third quarter, Jordan continued to attack. Unfortunately, under Zhou Quan's full defense today, he was not able to play an explosive state.
In a single quarter, he made 3 of 7 shots, 0 of 2 three-pointers, and 1 of 2 free throws, scoring 7 points. In the third quarter, he made 9 of 21 shots, 1 of 5 three-pointers, and 6 of 8 free throws, scoring 25 points.
Zhou Quan had almost no offense and defended as hard as he did in the second quarter. He blocked a shot in a single quarter, and it was Grant who blocked it. He also intercepted a pass from Pippen to Jordan and stole Jordan again in single defense.
After the third quarter, 68:81, the Pistons led by 13 points.
Bill Walton laughed: "Michael Jordan was unlucky today. He was intercepted 4 times by Iron Fist in three quarters. Iron Fist also intercepted Pippen's passes twice. His stealing ability is really impressive."
Williams nodded and said: "The key is that Iron Fist's steals are not risky steals. He rarely gets caught if he fails to steal. Moreover, his steals are not a flash of inspiration or an explosive performance. , but as long as he wants to, it seems that every game is possible."
Bill Walton laughed and said: "I wonder what Michael Jordan is thinking right now. Will he shrink back in front of the Iron Fist?"
"Haha..." Williams laughed.
On the bench, the veins on Jordan's head were throbbing very badly. As the first active player, Zhou Quan intercepted the ball 4 times in the three quarters, which made him unable to accept this reality.
In tonight's game, he was too impressed by Zhou Quan's stealing ability. Together with other mistakes, he had made 6 mistakes in the three quarters, which was unforgivable for him.
In the final quarter, Zhou Quan, who had defended for two quarters, regained control of the ball and once again attacked Jordan with the ball.
In the end, the Bulls were unable to come back and lost the G3 game 90:103. The Pistons took the advantage of the series with a big score of 2 to 1.
Jordan made 13 of 31 shots in 48 minutes, a field goal percentage of 41.9%, 2 of 7 three-pointers, and 6 of 8 free throws. He scored 34 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 7 turnovers and 4 fouls.
Zhou Quan also scored 19 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls in 48 minutes, 7 of 12 shots, 58.3% shooting, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 4 of 5 free throws.
"Oh oh oh..."
After winning the game and taking a big lead, the next G4 game was at home. The fans at the Palace of Auburn Hills fell into a carnival and were unwilling to leave the field for a long time.
(End of chapter)
