At the Seattle Center Arena, the game was still going on. The ball was not dead. Rodman grabbed the ball. Zhou Quan took the ball to the top of the front arc, suddenly rose up and hit a three-pointer.
The point difference once again reached 15 points. The irreversible score, coupled with Zhou Quan's 5*5 performance, finally completely defeated the Jazz's psychology. After holding on for three minutes, Zhou Quan led the team to play an 8:3 wave. A wave of attacks widened the point difference to 20 points in one fell swoop, and the Jazz finally surrendered.
Zhou Quan played 38 minutes, making 11 of 16 shots, with a field goal percentage of 68.8%, 2 of 4 three-pointers, 6 of 6 free throws, 30 points, 6 rebounds, 13 assists, 5 steals, 5 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls.
"A breathtaking performance! An incredible performance! Haha..." Zhang Lili laughed.
"The first 5*5 in the playoffs, the first non-post player to play 5*5, it's so strong!" Sun Zhenping said excitedly.
Zhang Lili said: "And Zhou Quan's offensive efficiency today is still high. The athleticism of the Jazz's back line is too ordinary and cannot keep up with his offensive and defensive rhythm. 40% of the SuperSonics' offense today was fast break. Zhou Quan's Half of the goals scored were fast break goals.”
On the sidelines, Zhou Quan was being interviewed by ABC TV station after the game. In addition to ABC, there were a lot of reporters and cameras surrounding him.
"Iron Fist, what is the thing you want to say most at this moment?" a reporter from ABC TV asked excitedly.
"Ha ha……"
Zhou Quan laughed heartily twice, and then said: "I can't believe it, I actually produced such data. Let's put it this way, at this moment, I actually admire myself."
"Ha ha……"
Everyone around laughed.
"Tekken, how do you evaluate today's opponent?" ABC's reporter asked again.
Zhou Quan pondered for a moment and then said: "They are actually very strong. We lack the advantage inside, but we can seize their weaknesses on the outside and win the game."
"How many games do you think it takes to defeat your opponent? Is there any hope of completing the sweep again?" the reporter asked again.
"Well, a sweep has never been our goal, but we are by no means opposed to a sweep. Regarding the future, my attitude has always been very cautious, that is, to fight every opponent as the most powerful opponent, and treat every opponent as the most powerful opponent. The game should be played as the last game of the season.”
After the interview, he and his teammates returned to the locker room.
At this time, the result of another game came out. The Knicks defeated the Hawks on the road.
An hour later, Zhou Quan attended the press conference.
"Iron Fist, who do you hope your opponent will be in the Western Conference Finals?" a reporter from the New York Times asked.
"One of the Suns and Mosaic, I never pick an opponent." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"So who do you think the SuperSonics have an advantage against?" The reporter immediately asked from a different angle.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "Of course it's the Suns."
"Why the Suns?" the reporter asked.
"Because I won the Flying Pig, I am familiar with the game and have experience." He smiled.
"Pfft!"
Many reporters down there burst into laughter.
The next day, Zhou Quan dominated the front pages of almost all US media.
"Iron Fist, I'm not done with you!"
When Barkley saw Zhou Quan's words in the media, he turned green with anger. He vowed to win the big dream, and then kill the Sonics and Iron Fist in the Western Conference Finals to avenge his elimination in last year's finals.
In the morning, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, who were busy preparing commentary materials, accepted interviews with the media in Chicago.
"Erwin, how do you evaluate Tekken's performance last night?" the reporter asked.
"Oh oh oh oh oh……"
Magic Johnson first praised, shook his head, and looked admiring, and then said: "Incredible performance, haha, great, he is the best guy, a superstar, he can win everything..."
"Do you think Iron Fist is already a superstar?" The reporter immediately interrupted the magician and asked.
Magic Johnson nodded repeatedly and said: "Of course, he is known for his stability and is a true playoff superstar, not an accidental performance.
The first 5*5 in the playoffs, oh, great! And he is still a point guard who is only 191 centimeters tall. No superstar can do what he did last night. He is a superstar. His star was so bright last night that it lit up the entire NBA and sports world. "
The reporter immediately asked: "So Erwin, do you think Iron Fist has a chance to surpass you? Or do you think he has already surpassed you?"
This question made Magic Johnson stunned, but it was not surprising, because reporters always hope to make some stunts. He pondered for a while and said: "I don't want anyone to surpass me. It's very selfish, haha, but Iron Fist really can surpass him." I."
At this point, he stopped and looked at the reporter with a smile.
The reporter was very smart and stopped asking questions. Instead, he asked Larry Bird: "Larry, how did you evaluate Iron Fist's performance last night?"
Larry Bird chuckled and said, "What a great performance!"
The reporter rolled his eyes and asked again: "You just heard that Erwin said that Iron Fist has not surpassed him yet, so what do you think?"
The magician looked helpless, and Larry Bird laughed, and then said: "At present, although Iron Fist has achieved such great data as 5*5, he is still far away from Erwin. The honor is too far behind, he is still too young and only has three seasons.
Moreover, Mr. Reporter, let alone a 5*5 in the playoffs, even ten such statistics will not allow him to surpass the Magic.
If Tekken wants to surpass Magic, it must completely surpass Irvine in terms of championship, best team, MFVP, MVP and other honors. "
This evening, the two second-round G2 games continued.
At 6:30, Jordan drove to the United Center and was surrounded by a group of reporters when he entered carrying his bag.
"Michael, do you have anything to say about Tekken's first 5*5 in the playoffs?" a reporter asked.
"Great numbers," Jordan replied shortly.
"Do you hope to produce that kind of data?" the reporter asked.
"I never pursue statistics, only victory." Jordan replied.
"Do you think Iron Fist has a chance to surpass Magic Johnson?" another reporter asked.
Jordan was startled and looked at the logo of the microphone in the reporter's hand. It turned out to be a reporter from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He sneered and said: "Last year, the Detroit media talked about the Iron Fist era. Why do you Seattle media now hope that he will surpass Magic?" ?”
The reporter was unconvinced and said: "The magician has never hit 5*5, and neither have you. Why can't I think that?"
Jordan said disdainfully: "Magic and Bird created an era. They supported the NBA. Which era are you looking forward to creating?"
At this time, a look of contempt appeared on his face, and he asked in a mocking tone: "Is this the so-called Iron Fist era?"
"you?"
The reporter from the Seattle Post was also angry, and immediately said in a mocking tone: "When you won the first championship, you said it was not an accident, but the beginning of an era. Now please tell me, your era. Where? Did it start? No, it ended with Iron Fist, a one-punch knockout."
"you?"
Jordan was also so angry that he was speechless for a moment, with eyes that wanted to kill the reporter in front of him.
The reporter continued to ridicule: "Mr. Jordan, according to you, Iron Fist did not create an era, so there is no way to compare with the Magician, then I agree with your words. But you did not create an era, you are not as good as the Magic Bird, right? ?”
"snort!"
With a cold snort, Jordan turned away from the reporter and left.
In the next game, the unlucky Reggie Miller suffered. Jordan stared at him and beat him to death. He scored 43 points on his head, and he only scored 14 points.
The Bulls successfully won their second home victory, but Mosaic was miserable, losing two consecutive games at home.
Barkley made 11 of 18 shots, with a shooting percentage of 61.1%, 3 of 6 three-pointers, and 9 of 10 free throws. He scored 34 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, and 3 fouls. His performance was much better than the previous game. , led the team to defeat the opponent in overtime.
Dameng made 14 of 28 shots, 3 of 6 free throws, 31 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls. His efficiency was not as good as Barkley's.
"Hakeem, I told you, I have prepared the fishing rod for you and selected the dock." After the game, Barkley said proudly.
"Shut up, damn pig!"
Dameng clenched his fists, his eyes were so wide open that they almost popped out, and his whole body was full of fierceness, as if he wanted to kill Buckley.
…
"We are in the midst of destruction."
The next day, on the 12th, the huge black headline on the front page of the Houston Chronicle filled the hearts of Houstonians with disappointment.
This evening, two second-round G2 games began.
The SuperSonics still took advantage of playing small to attack the big, speeding up the offensive and defensive rhythm. At the same time, they used Zhou Quan's strong defense to lock Stockton, the Jazz's offensive engine.
Even though Hornacek can assume some organizational functions, he is only a shooting guard, not an authentic point guard.
With the help of their home court, the SuperSonics successfully won two consecutive games and took advantage of the series.
In another game, the Knicks lost on the road and tied with the Hawks one to one.
On the 13th, four groups of opponents fought in different places.
The Pacers returned home and played an explosive game. Reggie Miller scored 21 points and Rick Schmitz scored 28 points. Six players on the team scored in double figures, two of whom scored 20+ points.
Jordan performed poorly, scoring only 24 points and shooting only 44.4% from the field. Pippen only scored 17 points, 5 assists and 1 steal.
In the end, the Pacers pulled one back and tied the game with the Bulls at 1-2.
In another game, the Suns, who had won two consecutive away games, returned to their home court. Of course, they wanted to win the G3 game with their home court advantage and gain match points, but it backfired, losing the first home game 118:102.
Barkley made only 9 of 22 shots, a shooting percentage of 40.9%, and 0 of 4 three-pointers. He kept shooting from the outside throughout the game. He didn't even have a free throw. He only had 18 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 4 turnovers. 3 foul data.
Lightning Kevin Johnson played well, making 12 of 25 shots, scoring 38 points, 3 rebounds and 12 assists, with a shooting percentage of 48%. However, Barkley was too stretched and he could not save the team by himself.
After losing two consecutive games at home, Dameng suddenly woke up. He made 11 of 17 shots, a shooting percentage of 64.7%, 0 of 1 three-pointers, and 4 of 6 free throws. He scored 26 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 6 blocks, and 5 shots. Made 5 turnovers and committed 5 fouls, and performed well on both offense and defense.
The one who performed even better was Crazy Maxwell, who made 14 of 24 shots. As a shooting guard, his shooting rate was as high as 58.3%, scoring 34 points and making only one turnover.
After the game, Dameng came to Barkley and solemnly said to him: "Fliggy, I said I would win. Remember, our battle only starts now."
"Now we have a big lead." Barkley said unwillingly.
In a hotel in Salt Lake City, Zhou Quan actually received an interview from a Los Angeles Daily reporter.
"Tekken, how do you evaluate the Suns' performance tonight?" the reporter asked.
"Oh, Sir Charles performed well. As the team's signature star, he single-handedly lowered the team's shooting percentage and then successfully lost the game." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Pfft!"
The reporter over there burst into laughter.
The next day, May 14, two second-round G3 games began.
Returning to the home court, the Jazz took their home court advantage to the extreme and raised their defensive intensity to the highest level. All kinds of wild moves and some small moves emerged in an endless stream, and the team got a total of 35 free throw opportunities.
The Sonics only got 18 free throw opportunities in total, and they were called for fouls at every turn.
Zhou Quan, who had just laughed at Barkley, had poor performance and a poor touch. He made 11 of 24 shots, a shooting percentage of only 45.8%, and 0 of 2 three-pointers. He continued to make breakthroughs throughout the process, but only made 4 of 4 free throws. The Jazz treated him in various ways. The whistle didn't sound for a foul, and I ended up with 26 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls.
At 92:97, the Jazz pulled one back and the two sides tied at 2-1.
In another game, the Knicks defeated the Hawks at home, also scoring 2-1.
So far, the four groups of opponents in the second round have all tied 2-1 in the first three games of the series.
This is also in line with the will of the league. A sweep is not conducive to ratings. The interests of broadcasters and advertisers cannot be protected, which will eventually affect the interests of the league and is not conducive to negotiating the next broadcast contract.
In fact, even if it is Jordan's Bulls, the league does not want to see it sweep the Pacers.
On the 15th, the G4 battle begins.
The Bulls successfully defeated the Pacers 3-1 and got the second round match point.
Mosaic, on the other hand, kept up its efforts, with six players scoring in double figures, two of whom scored 20+ points, and won their second consecutive away game, tying with the Suns.
Lightning Kevin Johnson continued to explode, scoring 38 points and 12 assists again. These two statistics were the same as last time, and he was in excellent condition.
But Barkley's performance was too low. He made only 7 of 21 shots, a shooting percentage of only 33.3%, 1 of 4 three-pointers, and only 4 of 4 free throws. He only scored 19 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 4 turnovers. The foul data is horribly inefficient.
(End of chapter)
