20demayo Chapter 109 Impossible 4:2! Don't I, Lord Lin, have any pride?
Chapter 109 Impossible 4:2! Don't I, Lord Lin, have any pride?
Chapter 109 Impossible 4:2! Don't I, Lord Lin, have any pride?
"Gary! Who do you think you are! How many years have you been playing in the league? Why are you going to fight with a rookie? Do you think it's honorable to fight him? Do you think you'll be honored even if you beat him to a pulp? Is it something to be proud of for a lion to tear apart a wild dog?"
"No! Gary, remember, you're a lion! You're going to fight another lion, not a wild dog! Be rational, be clear-headed! Remember our strategy! Pick and roll! Attack their inside! Post up that kid!"
"Go! Dretch, and you too, they'll keep Jordan on the court. You, you keep going to match up against Jordan! Try to wear him down as much as possible, make him keep taking one-on-one shots! Even if he's Jordan, he can't be on fire all game! He'll get tired, his stamina will drop! His performance will fluctuate!"
"Gentlemen, remember our strategy! In the first three quarters, let Jordan attack alone, let him score freely, wear him down, but don't let him pass! Our strategy is to significantly reduce Jordan's stamina, prevent his teammates from having opportunities to shoot, and cool their hands down! Then in the fourth quarter, we'll double-team Jordan and let the others shoot!"
"As long as we can keep the score close, as long as we can withstand Jordan's offensive firepower in the first three quarters, then we can win this game!"
Yes, that's George Karl's tactics and plan! His strategy for the first three quarters was to tire Jordan out and make Jordan's teammates lose their touch, and then he would suddenly reverse course in the fourth quarter, changing his strategy and having Payton guard Jordan!
According to Karl's thinking, Jordan would be exhausted in the fourth quarter and would definitely not be able to break through Payton's top-notch defense, which is famous in the league. Even if Jordan passed the ball, his teammates would likely be cold-handed and miss because they hadn't shot much in the first three quarters.
How to explain this strategy...?
It sounds plausible, but in practice, it's completely unrealistic!
Because Karl downplayed the most difficult, complex, and impossible part of this tactic.
That is: Keep the score close!
When Jordan is in top form and playing like a madman, who can keep the score close?
Is there any team or individual in this league who can do this?
The answer is obviously no!
Two minutes into the second quarter, Jordan returned to the court and calmly made a three-pointer. Although the SuperSonics finally managed a two-man play with Kemp hitting a mid-range jumper, Jordan immediately drove into the paint, made a floater, and drew a foul on Schrempf!
Jordan scored 6 points in a row right from the start!
His halftime score was about to reach 40!
Fortunately, Jordan's shooting touch finally dipped a little in the next few minutes. He only made 2 of his 5 consecutive shots. Schrempf, who was being beaten so badly that he could barely keep his eyes open, couldn't help but think: It's dawn!
But then Jackson started adjusting his tactics. He yelled from the sidelines, "Michael! Lin! Play like we did in practice! Give them a good lesson and show them what teamwork really is!"
Following LeJackson's advice, Jordan and Lin Tian immediately started playing pick-and-roll plays in the high post.
First, Jordan had the ball, Lin Tian set a screen, and after the two separated, Jordan quickly passed the ball to Lin Tian, who caught the ball and pulled up for a mid-range shot!
"Whoosh!"
With a crisp sound, Lin Tian's shot hit the target accurately!
"Kid, your screen was pretty good!" Jordan reached out and patted Lin Tian on the shoulder.
"They're just too bad!" Lin Tian smiled as he looked at the Supersonics team. He felt that they might be able to win the game by halftime!
In the next possession, it was Lin Tian's turn to have the ball. Facing the double-team of Hawkins and Payton, Lin Tian immediately raised his hand and called for two people to screen for him. Rodman and Wennington blocked the path completely from the left and right. Just when everyone thought that this play had been completely blocked and could not continue, Lin Tian suddenly slammed the ball with one hand!
The basketball passed between Rodman and Wennington, and Lin Tian also turned around and flashed through a group of people. Then he grabbed the basketball, took three big steps and went straight up, facing Kemp who was helping to defend, and made another layup!
In these two consecutive possessions, Lin Tian scored a layup and a mid-range jumper, continuing to score for the team!
The point difference between the two sides has exceeded 20 points!
Even at this point, Karl still shook his head at the players on the field!
No way! We're stubborn! We just don't believe Jordan can beat them!
At the same time, Karl didn't believe that Lin Tian and Jordan's pick-and-roll could continue indefinitely!
There will always come a time when all the tricks have been figured out and it's impossible to continue!
But... as it turns out, he simply couldn't keep up with Lin Tian and Jordan's pick-and-roll tactics!
Lin Tian had the ball, and after a screen, he quickly cut to the basket. Jordan received the pass and immediately executed a football-style one-two pass, allowing Lin Tian to drive straight into the paint and score another layup!
Then Jordan had the ball, and Lin Tian stepped up again to set a screen and a screen. Taking advantage of everyone's attention being on the two of them, Jordan quickly lobbed the ball directly into the paint, assisting Wennington to score another 2 points!
Payton of the SuperSonics finally found an opportunity to bully Lin Tian. He backed Lin Tian down, dribbled towards the inside, and then suddenly turned and jumped to shoot, scoring 2 points! This helped stabilize the situation for the team.
Payton felt like his basketball hadn't even entered the basket yet when Lin Tian had already started sprinting towards the basket!
"Kid, it's useless, there's no rebound for this shot!"
Payton looked at Lin Tian triumphantly, confident that he could score this shot!
"Whoosh!"
With a crisp sound, the basketball swished through the net.
"How about that? Still dare to provoke your dear father?" After scoring, Payton looked at Lin triumphantly...
Hmm? Where's Lin?
He's already reached the finish line? What's he doing there?
What kind of pose is that? Is he about to throw a frisbee?
The moment the basketball swished through the net, Lin Tian couldn't wait to jump up, grab the ball, and quickly retreat from the baseline, then made another long-range pass!
This time, it was Pippen who received the ball! He had already sped down the court at lightning speed, and when he received the ball, he had already rushed into the SuperSonics' three-second zone!
Hawkins, the only one closely following Pippen, didn't even have time to dodge before Pippen pinned him down and slammed him to the ground!
Not only were they knocked down, but the referee also quickly blew his whistle!
"Jose Hawkins, blocking foul! 2 points awarded, plus 1 free throw!"
Payton's hard-earned two points were wiped out in the blink of an eye, and if Pippen had made the free throw, the Bulls could have scored an extra point!
The feeling of giving it your all to get 2 points while the other side casually scores 3 is just awful!
With the score gap widening, the SuperSonics players are starting to feel a sense of frustration and a desire to give up, thinking they might as well just get crushed in the next game!
The direct result was that the Bulls found easy scoring opportunities in the following possessions!
Lin Tian's cut to the basket, Cole's open three-pointer, Wennington's easy basket...
After several rounds, Karl called another timeout.
He had no choice but to call for help; the point difference between the two sides was already approaching 25 points or more!
But when the game gets to this point, let alone calling a timeout, even if you let the players go home to sleep, relax, and adjust their mentality before coming back to play, it's impossible to catch up!
So even though Karl called timeouts repeatedly and made constant substitutions in the latter part of the first half, he was completely unable to reverse the crushing defeat, and the SuperSonics fell further and further behind!
Finally, at the end of the first half, the score was 68-41.
The Bulls led by a whopping 27 points at halftime!
George Karl's supposedly excellent defensive strategy backfired spectacularly, leaving him utterly defeated!
Not only did Schrempf get beaten so badly by Jordan that he urinated blood, allowing Jordan to score a terrifying 39 points in the first half, shooting 14-for-18 from the field, 9-for-3 from the free-throw line, and 2-for-3 from three-point range. The SuperSonics were completely unable to stop the rest of the Bulls!
Whether it was Lin Tian, Pippen, or Kerr who came off the bench, they all delivered incredibly brilliant performances!
The Bulls' dominance meant the SuperSonics didn't even need to adjust their strategy in the second half.
Because it is not necessary.
Having already lost so badly, the best course of action is to go home, wash up, and go to sleep, rather than continuing to waste the energy of the key players.
That's what George Carr did.
During halftime, he gathered the SuperSonics players together and said, "Gentlemen, I must admit that the first half was my fault. It was my miscalculation that led to the failure of our game strategy and our being thrashed by the opponent on the field. First of all, I apologize to Detlef. I made you suffer a nightmare first half."
"I also want to apologize to Gary and Jose. I wasted your defensive abilities; I rendered you powerless. It's all my responsibility! I need to take full responsibility for how this game turned out!"
"But at the same time, I also have to say that we may not be able to come back from this game, and we may have been kicked hard by the Bulls! But we can't give up! In the second half, we still have to play with the pride of the Western Conference champions! Let the people of Chicago know that today, we were careless and our game strategy was wrong."
"But it's absolutely not that our players are bad, it's not that Gary and Shawn are inferior to Jordan and Pippen! I lost to Phil Jackson! You are still the best players! You executed my game strategy and plan perfectly, and I'm proud of you!"
"In the second half, let's give it our all and show the people of Chicago, and the fans around the world, our true strength!"
"Don't worry, Coach! Leave it to us! I'll take care of Jordan!" Payton volunteered. "I don't care how many points he scored in the first half, in the third quarter, I'll make sure he doesn't score 5 points!"
"Lin too! I'll control his speed, I'll keep up with his every step!" Hawkins followed closely, expressing his sincerity.
"As for me," Kemp raised his hand, "I'll be responsible for delivering some unforgettable gifts to their inside players!"
"Third quarter!" Karl raised his hand and shouted to everyone.
"Victory is ours!" The entire SuperSonics team shouted in unison!
Their morale was not broken by the nearly 30-point defeat in the first half. On the contrary, Karl's words reignited their confidence!
This perseverance and never-give-up spirit is one of the biggest reasons why they were able to defeat strong opponents like the Spurs and Jazz in succession and ultimately advance to the Finals! To paraphrase Rockets head coach Norman Tomjanovich:
Never underestimate the heart of a champion!
In the second half, the two teams switched sides and resumed play. The SuperSonics displayed an intensity and momentum that they hadn't shown in the first half. They first strengthened their physical confrontation and targeted defense, with Payton personally guarding Jordan, and Kemp and Schrempf ready to help defend under the basket at any time.
The SuperSonics' sudden increase in defensive intensity caught the Bulls off guard, and their several offensive possessions ended in turnovers or missed shots. The SuperSonics immediately went on a mini-run on offense.
In the first 3 minutes, the SuperSonics went on an 11-3 run, narrowing the gap to 19 points!
Jackson reacted incredibly quickly, immediately calling a timeout and unleashing a torrent of abuse on the Bulls players. For the entire three-minute timeout, Jackson did nothing but curse and didn't say a single word related to the game, offering no tactical instructions whatsoever; he was purely hurling insults!
When the referee blew the whistle to continue the game, the Bulls players, who returned to the court with the same lineup, had their fighting spirit reignited in their eyes!
Returning to the first possession of the game, Jordan aggressively penetrated the low post, driving Payton all the way from mid-range to the basket. He then turned and scored with incredible force, drawing a foul on Payton and delivering a brutal elbow to Payton's chin!
"What are you looking at! If you've got the guts, give it back to me when you're attacking!" After landing, Jordan saw Payton glaring at him with those wolf-like eyes and immediately spewed trash talk, "If you don't have the guts to fight back, then close your eyes! With just your eyes, you can't beat any opponent!"
Jordan stepped to the free-throw line with ease and made the shot. Jackson's timeout had indeed worked!
On the other hand, the SuperSonics' offense saw Payton forcefully drive past Jordan, eventually reaching the basket and delivering a difficult layup off the backboard, giving Jordan a powerful response.
"I made it! How about that? What makes you better than me?" Even though he scored one less point than Jordan, Payton was still not giving an inch after making the basket!
"Look behind you!" Jordan pointed behind Payton. Payton turned around and saw Lin Tian already dribbling the baseline ball that Pippen had just inbounded and rushing across the center line!
Hawkins tried his best to stick to Lin Tian, but unfortunately, he was too old and couldn't keep up with Lin Tian's lightning speed. Lin Tian easily drove into the basket!
Schremuff's rim protection has always been mediocre. He was powerless against Lin Tian's easy layup in the air and could only watch Lin Tian score the layup once again!
After scoring, Lin Tian immediately marked Hawkins closely, shouting, "1-3-1! Let's prevent them from crossing the halfway line!"
The Bulls immediately got into the game. Jordan held off Payton, Pippen helped in the middle, and Rodman and Longley quickly returned to their own half to guard against the SuperSonics' fast break!
The Bulls' sudden full-court press immediately threw the SuperSonics off balance. Kemp's baseline pass was almost a five-second violation, and he barely managed to pass the ball to Perkins just before the turnover. But Perkins didn't dare to dribble the ball because Lin Tian immediately abandoned Hawkins and rushed to his side again!
Faced with Lin Tian's pressure, Perkins frantically spun around a few times, but dared not dribble even once. In the end, he could only barely pass the ball to Payton, who was far away from him!
Payton was tightly guarded by Jordan and couldn't get forward to receive the ball, while Pippen came from the other side, stole the ball, and quickly passed it to Lin Tian in the frontcourt!
"Hey kid, come on!" Kemp shouted from under the basket, spreading his arms to prepare for Lin Tian's attack on the rim.
"You're crazy." Lin Tian cursed, dribbled the basketball, stepped back from the three-point line, and then leisurely took a shot!
"Whoosh!"
After a crisp sound, Lin Tian hit another three-pointer!
Less than a minute after the timeout, the Bulls responded with a 9-2 run against the SuperSonics!
They widened the gap to 26 points once again!
The entire United Center was instantly engulfed by the fans' wild and excited shouts. All the fans jumped around, clapped, screamed, and shouted!
That 9-2 run was incredibly motivating!
If it were any of the other 95% of the teams in the league, this Bulls surge would probably have been enough to completely overturn their opponents.
But their opponents were the incredibly tenacious SuperSonics! They had one of the toughest point guards in the league, yet Payton remained calm, orchestrating the team's offense and searching for open teammates!
However, for supersonic speeds at present, calmness is clearly not an effective emotion.
What they need is passion, madness, and a string of points that can energize the whole team!
Unfortunately, they were powerless against the resurrected Bulls.
Despite their relentless efforts throughout the third quarter, they were unable to reduce the deficit to within 20 points!
But in this section, they also demonstrated their tenacity and fighting spirit of never giving up!
After the third quarter ended, Karl stopped being stubborn and substituted all the starters who had played the entire third quarter off the court, calling it a day!
He gave up!
If the first half of the game was a failure of Karl's strategy, a misjudgment of Jordan's firepower and the vitality of Lin Tian and others that led the team into a desperate situation, then the third quarter was the SuperSonics' last stand and display for their dignity and morale!
They seemed to want to tell everyone that this quarter of the game showcased their true strength!
With both teams fielding role players in the fourth quarter, their scoring efficiency dropped, and the game officially entered garbage time.
Finally, when the final whistle blew, the score was 90-107.
Despite the efforts of the SuperSonics' bench players, the Bulls ultimately won by only 17 points.
Throughout the game, Jordan exploded for 55 points, achieving another 50+ point game in this year's playoffs. In addition to Jordan, Pippen had 11 points, Kukoc had 9 points, Rodman had 1 point and 15 rebounds, Kerr hit 3 three-pointers for 9 points, and Lin Tian had a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists!
This is yet another classic Bulls victory!
Jordan had a breakout performance, and everyone else did their part, gave it their all, and contributed to the team's victory.
Despite being completely outmatched in the first game of the series, the SuperSonics have not lost their confidence. They believe that with adjusted tactics, they will be able to make a comeback in the next game!
George Karl did indeed completely adjust his defensive strategy in the following two games!
In Game 2 of the series, Karl opted to have Hawkins and Payton take turns guarding Jordan one-on-one. If Jordan drove into the paint, Kemp or Schrempf would immediately come to help defend and disrupt Jordan's drive!
At the same time, on the offensive end, they also tried to slow down the pace and control the rhythm, preventing the Bulls' fast break squad, led by Lin Tian, from having a comfortable fast break.
On the Bulls' side, Jackson also chose to increase the intensity of the physical contact and defense, putting a lot of pressure on Payton. Payton had to face two defenders almost every moment, and his offensive performance tonight was very poor!
After realizing he would struggle to find his rhythm on offense tonight, Payton immediately opted not to expend his energy on offense, instead focusing all his efforts on defense!
Both he and Hawkins chose to stick close to Jordan, constantly making physical contact with him to prevent him from jumping easily. They didn't let him shoot but allowed him to drive, and had the interior players help defend him. Because the first line of defense was too aggressive and the interior help defense was incredibly timely, Jordan's efficiency tonight was actually not very high!
Although he earned a total of 16 free throws by constantly attacking the paint, Jordan's free throw shooting was terrible tonight, perhaps due to the intense and frequent contact. He only made 10 of those 16 free throws! His field goal percentage was also only 9 out of 22.
Tonight, Jordan was indeed limited to "Kobe level" by Payton!
Aside from Jordan's subpar performance tonight, the rest of the Bulls team seemed a bit bewildered by the sudden change in pace. They were unaccustomed to the intensity and rhythm of the game, resulting in a string of missed shots and a lack of effective support for Jordan.
On the SuperSonics' side, Kemp was determined to dominate tonight. Compared to his even more frantic and aggressive attacks on the paint in the first quarter, he also got 16 free throws tonight, making 13 of them! He put up an impressive stat line of 29 points and 13 rebounds tonight.
In addition, Schrempf and Hawkins combined to hit 5 three-pointers, providing the team with invaluable outside firepower support!
It's fair to say that the Supersonics did everything they could tonight!
Even with three minutes left in the game, the SuperSonics were still leading the Bulls by three points, 88-85!
But that's about all the supersonic speeds can do.
In this game, the SuperSonics team, who had given their all, were exhausted on the defensive end. By the last 3 minutes of the game, several key players had reached their limit, and their pace slowed down noticeably when chasing screens or defending!
In contrast, the Bulls, who had a larger rotation of players, suddenly found their rhythm in the last 3 minutes of the game!
First, Lin Tian broke through Hawkins' defense and drove into the basket, drawing a foul from Schrempf. Not only did he force the big man, who had made three three-pointers tonight, to foul out, but he also made both free throws, narrowing the gap to one point!
Then, when the SuperSonics' offense failed again, Lin Tian grabbed the rebound and immediately found Jordan who was fast breaking down. After a smooth long pass, Jordan received the ball and pulled up for a shot from mid-range, leading the team to take the lead!
Even though Karl immediately called a timeout, he was completely powerless to reverse the fact that the team's main players were exhausted and unable to continue their attack. The SuperSonics failed to score in several consecutive attacks. Their score seemed to be held down by an invisible hand, stuck at 88 points and not moving at all!
On the other hand, the Bulls suddenly found a way to score at this moment!
Pippen drove to the basket for 2 points to extend the lead, and Rodman grabbed an offensive rebound and drew a foul, making 1 of 2 free throws!
With 50 seconds left in the game, the Bulls made it 88-92!
They went on a 7-0 run to regain the lead!
Then, after the SuperSonics missed another shot, Lin Tian hit a long-range three-pointer from the top of the arc, extending the lead to seven points!
The Bulls have now secured the victory!
Even though Payton finally made a mid-range shot, the score was meaningless at that point, and neither side was able to score again until the game officially ended.
When the final whistle blew, the score was 90-95!
The Bulls narrowly escaped defeat by 5 points at home, completing a comeback to take a 2-0 lead in the series!
Despite losing two games on the road, Seattle fans did not feel any frustration!
Besides their inherent strong ability to withstand pressure, it's also because losing away from home is perfectly normal!
Moreover, the two sides will move to Seattle next, where they will play three consecutive games!
With the team leading for the last 3 minutes in the second game and ultimately only by 5 points, both fans and players are full of confidence that the team will win the third game and believe there will be no problem!
If they can win the third game, they can carry that momentum to win the fourth game to tie the score, and even win the crucial fifth game in the decisive fifth game...
With three consecutive home games, the SuperSonics are just that confident!
Before this crucial third game, the SuperSonics players, back at home, were all excited and ready to do everything they could to take down the Bulls!
They are confident they can take down the Bulls tonight!
But sometimes, confidence alone is clearly not enough!
Originally, the SuperSonics wanted to continue using the strategy from the previous game to wear down the Bulls, engaging in the kind of physical and boisterous battles that the Bulls excelled at.
But the Bulls said: You want to fight? I don't!
In this game, Jackson once again demonstrated the boldness and courage of a top coach in the league! He removed Longley from the starting lineup and put Stephen Kerr in the starting position!
The Bulls surprisingly fielded an unusual starting lineup with one big man, four small men, and three guards!
In this era where inside players reign supreme, Jackson's tactical change has surprised many!
Many people believe that Jackson was taking too big a risk and that he was essentially committing suicide!
A three-defender formation will be completely overwhelmed by the SuperSonics' forwards!
When countless people saw this starting lineup, they immediately wondered if Jackson had lost his mind, wondering why he would field such a suicidal lineup.
But as soon as the game started, everyone's distrust turned into shock!
Because the Bulls' lineup was playing so well!
Surprisingly good!
When the SuperSonics habitually targeted Jordan, Jordan didn't attack himself.
In less than two minutes of the first quarter, he found Lin Tian, Cole and Pippen in succession. After each of the three hit a three-pointer, the SuperSonics' defense collapsed instantly!
They dared not double-team Jordan anymore, dared not continue to collapse the paint, and only dared to let Payton guard Jordan.
But how could a 191cm tall Payton deal with a 198cm tall Jordan? With no one daring to help defend, Jordan once again turned on his killing mode, scoring 6 points in a row by posting up Payton three times in a row!
The Bulls scored on all six of their first offensive possessions in the first quarter, racking up 15 points!
On the other hand, the SuperSonics struggled offensively. Kemp's mid-range shot, Schrempf's three-pointer, and Payton's isolation play all missed, and they only managed to score 6 points in the first 3 minutes!
In the blink of an eye, the SuperSonics were down by almost 10 points!
The Bulls' offensive efficiency is unbelievable!
Although the Bulls' offense slowed down afterward and they started missing some shots, they still maintained an overwhelming advantage overall!
They scored 33 points in the first quarter alone! They completely humiliated the SuperSonics, who were known for having the best defense in the playoffs, leaving them with absolutely no dignity!
And what about the SuperSonics, who finally returned to their home court? They only scored 14 points in the first quarter, losing by a full 19 points in just one quarter!
At this point, the Bulls' strength and their own team's vulnerability truly made Seattle fans realize the huge gap in strength between the two teams.
Crush them!
A complete and utter crushing defeat!
During the second quarter, the KeyArena in Seattle was almost completely silent.
The fans no longer had the courage to boo, and there were no exciting moments left for them to cheer about.
The fans are stunned!
They were so shocked by the Bulls' strength that they were almost in a daze!
They never expected this...
Although the Bulls have 74 wins, they also have 64 wins, making them the second-best team in the league!
How could they be so badly beaten, with almost no chance to fight back?
Perhaps the only good thing about the second quarter for SuperSonics fans was that the Bulls didn't extend their lead; they finished the first half trailing by 19 points.
With a difference of less than 20 points, the chances are slim, but there is still a chance!
So, seeing that the SuperSonics played reasonably well in the second quarter and did not fall further behind, Seattle fans felt confident in the second half!
They felt that at this moment, they should continue to cheer for the home team to boost their morale. A 19-point gap might not be insurmountable!
But the SuperSonics fans' passion only lasted for less than 3 minutes.
The Bulls players seemed to be waiting for the SuperSonics fans to start cheering; it was as if the more the SuperSonics fans cheered, the more excited they became!
At the start of the third quarter, Lin Tian broke through Hawkins' defense, drove straight to the basket, drew a double team, and then suddenly made a crossover pass. Pippen caught the ball with both hands and soared into the air!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, Schrempf, who was caught off guard, was tackled to the ground by Pippen!
The SuperSonics' offense failed again. This time, Pippen facilitated from the free-throw line, and after a handoff pass and screen with Lin Tian, Lin Tian received the ball and made a jump shot... another 2 points!
The Supersonics struggled to maintain a 19-point lead for the entire quarter, but in the blink of an eye, it widened to 23 points!
Then, the Bulls once again unleashed their strongest weapon of the season!
The third quarter saw a sudden increase in intensity with a full-court press and high-post double-teaming of the ball handler!
This high-pressure defense is a signature move the Bulls often use in the third quarter this season. Every time they use this move, it's when the team dominates, widens the score gap, and even completely crushes the opponent!
Teams that can withstand this sudden surge of super-intense defense are few and far between in the entire league!
The Supersonics, who were already somewhat bewildered by the beating, were no exception!
Payton committed a turnover, Hawkins committed a turnover, Kemp committed a five-second violation on the baseline, Perkins' reluctance to dribble led to an eight-second violation...
The first half of the entire third quarter was practically a showcase of massive mistakes!
The SuperSonics showed the world how to mishandle a full-court press, while the Bulls executed the Dream Team's signature high-pressure defense and fast break tactics on the world stage.
70: 41!
Midway through the third quarter, the Bulls' lead had reached a whopping 29 points!
At this point, no one felt that there was any suspense left in this series.
The strength displayed by the two sides was indeed not on the same level at all!
喜欢秀操作的杰克逊，更是在这个时候直接大手一挥，将拿下30分的乔丹、15分9篮板8助攻4抢断的皮蓬，15分7助攻3抢断的林天和5分9篮板的罗德曼四个人全都换了下来！
Replacing these four players were several benchwarmers who hadn't scored a single point in the finals!
The Bulls substituted their starters before the third quarter was even over, effectively ending the game to celebrate their victory!
Normally, such behavior, which is almost humiliating and contemptuous, would provoke angry boos and curses from the home fans, which would motivate the home team players to improve their defense and launch a counterattack!
Unfortunately, the supersonics are now truly at their wits' end. They have lost their confidence, their fighting spirit, and their desire for victory!
They no longer believe they can beat the Bulls!
In this situation, the SuperSonics' full starting lineup actually managed to go toe-to-toe with the Bulls' third unit!
In the latter part of the third quarter, both sides fully demonstrated what it means to be a complete slut!
To put it simply, the six-minute match between the two sides was characterized by: a fast pace, low efficiency, numerous mistakes, a lot of running, but no increase in the score!
For the entire half-quarter of the game, the two teams only managed to score a total of 10 points, with each side scoring 5 points. They seemed quite relaxed and friendly, without any of the angry atmosphere of a final showdown where it's either you or me!
When the third quarter ended, the stubborn Karl stopped being stubborn and simply substituted all his key players.
In Game 3 of the series, he conceded defeat once again!
It was yet another complete and utter defeat, with no suspense whatsoever!
With this game being blown out again, losing to the Bulls by nearly 30 points, the SuperSonics' sweep is almost a foregone conclusion. No one believes that the SuperSonics can come back from such a desperate situation, let alone win four straight games to reverse the series!
This is simply impossible!
After all, if the SuperSonics really had the ability to win four straight games and reverse the game under such circumstances, then they wouldn't have been completely outmatched by the Bulls in two of their first three games!
In short, the Bulls can start preparing champagne and all the necessary items and props for their championship parade!
This year's champion will be no surprise!
Of course, this is other people's opinion.
There is only one person in the world who knows that this series might still change.
Lin Tian!
Lin Tian, who had personally experienced and even attended the finals, said: "The SuperSonics will suddenly revive like they've been injected with chicken blood in the last two games, defeating the Bulls in two consecutive games and dragging the finals into a sixth game!"
Jordan was completely out of it in these two games, playing terribly! His performance in these two games wasn't even at Kobe's level when he was defended.
He's been guarded down to Nick Young level!
If Lin Tian's memory serves him right, in Game 4, Jordan made 6 of 19 shots and Pippen made 4 of 17 shots. The two stars were essentially double agents, and the SuperSonics won a game back.
Although Pippen returned in Game 5, Jordan shot 5-for-19, and Harper and Kukoc combined for 7-for-22, leading to the Bulls losing two straight games!
Many people say that the Bulls deliberately threw the game after being up 3-0, hoping to win the championship back at home!
But Lin Tian, who had watched the game, knew that it wasn't like that at all!
In these two games, Karl, who had completely gone mad, finally brought out the "Jordan Rules" he invented! The whole team double-teamed Jordan relentlessly, making it difficult for Jordan to even find a 1-on-2 opportunity. He had to face double-teams from more than two opponents throughout the game. Under such circumstances, even Jordan found it difficult to perform well.
In addition, the poor performance of other Bulls players led to the Bulls losing two games in a row.
However, the humiliating defeat of losing two games 3-0 in a row occurred while Lin Tian was not present.
Now that Lin Tian has arrived and joined the Bulls, can he still allow this kind of thing to happen?
impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Do I, Lord Lin, have no pride?
Wouldn't it be embarrassing for us time travelers to say that the result is exactly the same whether I came or not?
I, Lord Lin, disagree! I'm going to sweep them all away!
(End of this chapter)