Outside the visiting team's locker room, Ballmer was a little excited and asked general manager Whithit: "Bob, is Champagne ready?"
"Don't worry, boss, we have prepared ten boxes, enough to turn this place into a swimming pool." Whithit said with a smile.
"OK."
Ballmer rubbed his hands excitedly, turned around twice, and said with a smile: "Bob, you know, I bought the SuperSonics because I just like basketball, but I didn't expect Iron Fist to give me such a big surprise.
Championship, record-breaking ratings, many sponsors, and now they are about to defend their title again. The Sonics have become the most popular team in the league, and their market value has doubled. It is a very successful investment.
You said, Bob, what should I reward Iron Fist with? His contract now looks worse than Michael Jordan's. "
Bob Whitsitt smiled and said: "He is getting married soon. You can prepare a nice gift for him."
Nodding, Ballmer suddenly remembered something and asked: "I remember after Tekken won the World Boxing Championship last time, some media said that he was going to buy a farm in Brazil. Did he buy it?"
Whithit scratched his head and said, "I'm afraid not. I haven't heard him mention it."
Ballmer nodded and said: "It just so happens that Bill is also interested in buying a piece of land in Brazil. I'll ask him for information."
"I think he'd be happy," Whitsitt laughed.
Soon after, the second half began.
Zhang Lili said: "Zhou Quan's highest regular season steals in a single game is 11, and the league's historical record for steals in a regular season is 11. He and another player named Larry Kennon hold this record at the same time, and he has not broken it yet. .
However, the highest record for steals in a single game in the playoffs and finals is his. He set it in last year's finals, 10 times, and now it's 8 times. I hope I can break his record tonight. "
Xu Jicheng said: "Jordan had 24 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 7 turnovers and 2 fouls in a single game, with a shooting percentage of 48%. He made too many mistakes.
Zhou Quan had 26 points, 6 assists, 8 steals and 2 turnovers, with a shooting percentage of 56%, including 8 of 9 free throws. The second quarter was mostly fast breaks with defensive counterattacks. In positional battles, he mainly focused on jump shots, and there were not as many breakthroughs with the ball as in the first quarter. Fewer free throws. "
At this time, the Sonics began to attack.
"boom!"
Zhou Quan made an emergency stop to shoot a jump shot. Ron Harper, who was switching defense, pushed him quietly from below and missed. Toni Kukoc grabbed the rebound and handed it to Jordan.
"Today Zhou Quan's shooting touch was really average, but his defensive state was extremely good, and his shooting percentage depended entirely on his counterattack after stealing." Xu Jicheng said with a smile.
Zhang Lili said: "As long as you can shoot and steal at one end, if you can do both, it will be a huge explosion, and it will be useless."
Jordan used Kukoc's screen to get rid of Zhou Quan, caught the ball in the right elbow area and made a jumper, hitting a mid-range shot.
"Good guy, Jordan's field goal percentage is over 50%." Zhang Lili said.
"54:39, a 15-point gap. The SuperSonics had better not be careless and try to kill the Bulls in the third quarter." Xu Jicheng said.
Zhou Quan advanced to the frontcourt and began to break through with the ball.
However, in order to save energy, he called Gilliam's pick-and-roll, and then used the pick-and-roll to get rid of Jordan. When he went to the basket for a layup, he was fouled by Luke Longley and made two free throws.
"Is this Luke Longley's fourth foul?" Larry Bird said.
"It's the fourth time. All three of his fouls were on Iron Fist." Magic Johnson said after looking at the data.
After two swipes, Zhou Quan made both free throws.
"Fouling on Iron Fist is the most uneconomical thing. He has been the person with the highest free throw percentage in the history of the league since the 1993/94 season." Larry Bird shook his head.
At this time, the Bulls attacked, and Luke Longley retreated to the baseline to prepare to serve.
Ron Harper caught the ball in the backcourt. At this time, Jordan, who was in the center circle, suddenly ran to the right wing, got rid of Zhou Quan and reached for the ball.
Zhou Quan quickly followed up and passed the ball.
"Pass it a little louder!"
With his level 96 prediction ability, coupled with his full level spatial imagination and full level panoramic vision, he keenly sensed that there was something wrong with this pass and there was an opportunity to take advantage of it.
The moment he caught up with Jordan, he made a judgment. Jordan would probably use his back hand to catch the ball, and he would have to have a take-off action, otherwise the ball would be easy to let go.
The next moment, he changed direction slightly to the left and pounced on Jordan's back hand.
One step ahead, Jordan, with his back to Zhou Quan, jumped up and caught the ball with his left hand. The next moment, the ball fell into his left hand.
"Snapped!"
The next moment, Zhou Quan jumped up from behind, reached out with his right hand, and with a precise strike, took away the basketball that had just fallen into Jordan's hands.
"What?" Jordan was confused.
"Oh ho!"
The SuperSonics cheered suddenly, very excitedly.
"This is Iron Fist's 9th steal and his 7th steal against Jordan in a single game. He is refreshing his single-game steal record against Michael Jordan." Larry Bird roared excitedly.
"Beautiful! Zhou Quan is counterattacking, Jordan is on his right side, he is exerting force!" Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
"Into the three-point line, left elbow area, layup..." Xu Jicheng shouted excitedly.
"Beep!"
Following Jordan's slap, the referee's whistle sounded.
"Jordan's thug fouled and he made two free throws." Xu Jicheng said.
"It seems that Zhou Quan's defensive state is still there. The Bulls want to make a comeback in this game. I think there is no hope. Zhou Quan will not give Jordan a chance." Zhang Li said with a smile.
"Probably." Xu Jicheng nodded and smiled.
Next, Zhou Quan made one of two free throws, 57:39, and the SuperSonics led by 18 points.
"Zhou Quan did have a mediocre shooting touch today. He made 11 of 13 free throws, with a shooting percentage of 84.6%. He has already missed two free throws." Zhang Lili said.
Although Jordan tried his best, at the end of the third quarter, the Bulls were still 16 points behind and unable to get closer.
At this time, Zhou Quan had already scored 34 points and sent out his 10th steal, tying his single-game steal record in the playoffs and finals.
However, his teammates were not in good condition tonight. They only received 9 assists in the three quarters and the triple-double was not achieved yet.
"There is still a chance for a triple-double. Jordan will never give up, because if he gives up, the finals will be over." Zhang Liangli said with certainty.
He was absolutely right, Jordan would not give up the game, let alone 17 points, he would not give up today with 27 and 37 points.
At the beginning of the final quarter, the Bulls sent out all their main players.
Jordan continuously counter-ran on the right wing, got rid of Zhou Quan and then cut outside to the right elbow area to catch the ball. At this time, Zhou Quan pounced on him. He faked a jump and shook Zhou Quan away. Then he got up a second time and hit a goal.
"Jordan's 34th point, shooting 48.4%." Larry Bird said.
Zhou Quan held the ball and used the pick-and-roll to break through from the top of the arc, attracting the defense of Pippen and Kukoc, and then distributed the ball to Schrempf.
"Take action!" George Karl shouted sharply.
Schrempf had a big gap of three meters. If Pippen wanted to get back in position, it would take at least one step, and then fly with all his strength to block the shot. With Pippen's current physical condition, this is impossible.
So Schrempf took the shot very calmly. When Pippen took a step back, he made a three-point jumper.
"brush!"
The water splashed and he hit a three-pointer.
"Beautiful! Zhou Quan has a triple-double and a steal. This is his third steal triple-double in the finals." Zhang Lili said excitedly.
"79:62, SuperSonics leads by 17 points." Xu Jicheng said excitedly.
Bulls offense.
Jordan received the ball two steps away from the right midfielder with Zhou Quan behind him. At this time, Kukoc on the three-point line immediately cut inside and ran past Jordan.
Jordan passed the ball hand-to-hand. After receiving the ball, Kukoc passed by Zhou Quan's left side and dribbled with his right hand.
The next moment, Zhou Quan behind Jordan suddenly turned around, stepped behind Kukoc, leaned over, and grabbed the basketball that bounced off the floor with a snap.
"Haha, the ball was stolen again!" Zhang Lili laughed.
"damn it!"
After Jordan passed the ball, he immediately took a step sideways and blocked Rodman with a pick-and-roll. But as soon as he turned around, he saw Zhou Quan's steal and was so angry that he cursed.
"Whoosh!"
Zhou Quan got the ball, turned around, and saw from full panoramic view that Hawkins at the top of the key was already coming down quickly and immediately passed the ball.
Hawkins got to the basket two steps ahead of Ron Harper, hit the board for a layup, and made a shot.
"Congratulations to Iron Fist, for setting a new record in the playoffs and finals with 11 steals in a single game." Larry Bird smiled.
"With a 19-point gap, if the Bulls continue in this state, it will be difficult to catch up." Magic Johnson shook his head.
"Except for Jordan, the Bulls' morale today was average, and they did not show the momentum to fight at all costs. As for Jordan, his 7 turnovers were one of the important reasons for the damage to morale." Larry Bird said.
On the field, the game continues.
In the audience, some Bulls fans continued to leave. They saw no hope of coming back and did not want to watch the Sonics win the championship at their home court.
Although Jordan really wanted to win and regain a match point, Zhou Quan's defense today was really to the extreme. Especially in the last quarter, his physical fitness declined. Under Zhou Quan's defense, his efficiency was not as good as in the first three quarters. His wish was still Failed.
"Beep!"
Not long after, the final buzzer sounded, 104:80, the SuperSonics beat by 24 points and won the G5 game.
"Oh ho!"
There were excited cheers from the SuperSonics side.
"we won!"
"we are the champion!"
Zhou Quan and other players hugged each other excitedly, and the substitute players and coaches off the court also ran up.
"Pa bang bang..."
The wives and girlfriends also stood up and applauded, as did celebrities.
"Crack, click, click..." Reporters from more than two hundred media outlets pressed the shutters frantically, and the flash lights on the scene lit up.
Jordan didn't shed tears like he did at the end of last year's Finals or when he was eliminated by the Pistons in the second round in 1993.
When the whistle sounded, he leaned down and held his knees with his hands, beads of sweat dripping down his face. He just turned his head reluctantly and looked at Zhou Quan, who was celebrating wildly with his teammates, with the fighting spirit still in his eyes.
Zhou Quan temporarily ended the celebration with his teammates and looked at Jordan with a smile. Jordan snorted, stood up and walked over, extending his right hand.
"Next season, I want to challenge the dynasty!"
Zhou Quan didn't wait for Jordan to speak. He knew that Jordan wouldn't say anything to celebrate, and it would be nice to shake hands, so he spoke first.
"Don't even think about it! I will definitely stop you."
Jordan gritted his teeth and said something, then turned around and left without shaking hands with anyone else from the Sonics.
Zhou Quan smiled, turned back and shouted to the others: "Guys, let us continue to celebrate."
"Four to one, congratulations to the SuperSonics, congratulations to Zhou Quan, you successfully defended your title." At the moment the game ended, Zhang Lili said excitedly.
"Zhou Quan had 42 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 11 steals, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls, with a shooting percentage of 54.5%. This is a super triple-double." Xu Jicheng said excitedly.
"Since then, Zhou Quan and Jordan have been tied. Each has three championships and each has defended it once. Jordan has won three of the five finals, with a 60% winning rate. Zhou Quan has won three of the four finals, with a 75% winning rate. ." Zhang Li said with a smile.
"Jordan scored 40 points tonight, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 8 turnovers and 4 fouls. His efficiency dropped in the final quarter, and his shooting percentage for the game was 41.2%. In addition, he also blocked Zhou Quan twice and blocked Zhou Quan once, but Zhou Quan also slapped him once." Xu Jicheng said.
"After all, Zhou Quan performed better." Zhang Li said with a smile.
At this time, the assistant handed some statistical data to the two of them. Xu Jicheng took a look at it and immediately said: "There were five games in the finals series, and the SuperSonics won 4-1.
Jordan averaged 34.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.2 steals, 1.2 blocks, 3.8 turnovers and 3.2 fouls per game. This performance is really strong. He is so old. He averaged 34.8 points per game and shot 43.5% from the field. If he hadn't encountered power, he probably wouldn't have been able to play. This performance was considered unlucky for Zhou Quan. "
Xu Jicheng nodded and said: "Zhou Quan averaged 36.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 7 steals, 2.8 blocks, 3 turnovers and 3.4 fouls per game, with a shooting percentage of 57.5%. With this performance, he deserves to win the championship."
"It's just that neither of them was able to score 50+ points in a single game in this finals." Zhang Lili said regretfully.
In the TNT commentary box, seeing that the Bulls lost, Magic had no desire to speak, and felt very sorry.
"A great finals series."
Larry Bird first made a summary conclusion and then said: "The Bulls lost the Finals 1-4, last year they lost 2-4.
I think they lost at four points. First, they lost in the paint. Just like last year's finals, they lost at the center position last year. This year, Kevin Willis also failed to support the Bulls' paint.
He was unable to provide the Bulls with strong defense and high-quality low-post offense. In the finals, he averaged 7.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. This data is similar to the SuperSonics' Matt Gegel, but Geiger is much tougher than him. Of course, I'm not blaming Willis, after all, he was seriously injured last year.
The second point is that in terms of overall defense, there is some disconnect between the inside and outside lines, and the inside line cannot be made up in time. This prevents the Bulls' overall defense from being integrated, and it is easy for loopholes to appear when double-teaming.
The third point is that rebounding is not as good as the Sonics. In the finals, they averaged 5.2 fewer rebounds per game than the Sonics. This gap is huge.
The fourth point is the collision of the cores of the two teams. Iron Fist has surpassed Michael Jordan in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Fifth point, the Sonics have no internal conflicts, and the Bulls, like last year, lost during the finals, causing internal problems to break out, which is not conducive to the finals. "
(End of chapter)
