278: 121: Securing a low-health kill is satisfying (Vote for monthly tickets!) 278: 121: Securing a low-health kill is satisfying (Vote for monthly tickets!) On the bench, Jordan and his teammates were chugging Gatorade, drenched in sweat.
In the third quarter, to counter Magic’s rapid passing, the Bulls’ key players expended too much energy and stamina on defense.
Now they didn’t even have the spare energy to talk, all busy trying to recover.
Actually, this was the norm for the Bulls after the third quarter; the veteran squad always seemed exhausted after a sprint.
But if they were five years younger, they could have played two quarters of defense with the quality of just now.
Yet now, just playing that level of defense in the third quarter nearly cost them half their lives.
However, in previous games, the Bulls could afford the price of sacrificing half their lives, using a defense as ferocious as a bear trap to directly kill the game.
In the repeated mistakes and counterattacks by the Bulls, countless opponents saw their confidence eroded by the end of the third quarter.
Even if they couldn’t pull away in the scores by the end of the third, all the Bulls needed to take down in the fourth were opponents whose morale was already low.
But tonight, after sacrificing half their lives, the Bulls still trailed by 1 point!
Furthermore, the Magic’s morale was still soaring!
Just at the end of the third quarter, Saru, Harper, and Roger’s effortless coordination, is still replaying on the big screen now, eliciting cheers and hollers.
In such an atmosphere, it was the Bulls who seemed demoralized.
Have the Bulls really been utterly defeated?
The Zen Master didn’t think so.
Indeed, the situation was difficult, but it wasn’t completely hopeless yet.
After all, the biggest headache for the Magic today was still their defense.
In the previous third quarter, although Magic tried hard to control their mistakes, the Bulls still managed some counterattacks; otherwise, they couldn’t have closed the gap to a mere 1 point.
The key to the lag was, aside from occasional counterattacks, the Bulls’ offense in position battles was just too weak.
The Magic used a revolving door defense to whittle down Jordan’s stamina and then double-teamed him to lower his shooting percentage.
At least for today, the Magic’s strategy was very successful.
Although Pippen’s shooting percentage was not bad, his lethality couldn’t compare to Jordan’s.
But, that’s exactly what the Zen Master intended to exploit in the fourth quarter.
As it stood, only Harper’s defense on Jordan was most effective.
McKey tried hard, but was a step slower.
Anthony Bowie and Donald Royal could only play a minor role in wearing Jordan down.
But Harper already started having stamina issues during the third quarter.
Like the Bulls’ warriors, Harper was no longer young, and tightly guarding Jordan cost him half his life as well.
If Harper couldn’t maintain the same performance in the fourth quarter as before, then Jordan would be liberated.
Even an exhausted Jordan, as long as the Magic’s defense slipped in the slightest, could still rip out your heart!
The fourth quarter started quickly, and for the first two minutes, the Zen Master let Jordan rest.
Seeing this, Brian Hill also gave Harper and Roger a breather.
At the 10-minute mark of the game, Jordan was finally called onto the court.
The Bulls were leading by 2 points at that moment.
Simultaneously, Harper and Roger also returned to the court.
Both teams nearly brought out their final line-ups prematurely!
Harper’s defense and Roger’s return quickly led the Magic to a 10-point lead.
But after playing for a while, Harper’s defensive effectiveness began to decline.
In the sixth minute of the fourth quarter, Jordan charged down the court with Harper in tow, leaving Harper gasping for air.
In the end, Jordan caught the ball at the left mid-range and took a jump shot.
Harper couldn’t keep up, so Jordan’s shot was quick, too quick for any double-team to arrive.
“Don’t burst your lungs, old man,” Jordan taunted Harper after making the basket.
In the subsequent off-ball confrontations, Jordan noticed that Harper’s strength and pressure were not as strong as before.
Comfortably receiving the ball in the low post, Jordan turned and made a jump shot to score!
After Jordan scored, Harper leaned on his knees and gasped for air, finding himself cornered by Jordan!
On the bench, Brian Hill was fuming.
If there was something unexpected in today’s game, it was Harper’s stamina.
It collapsed earlier than Brian Hill had anticipated.
He thought Harper could last at least half of the fourth quarter.
Clearly, that was almost an impossibility now.
Lead assistant coach Rich Adubato shouted at Brian Hill, “He’s done!
I feel like his whole body is falling apart; nobody can defend Michael that intensely non-stop!”
O’Neal stood up at this: “Coach, I want to play too.
It’s time for the great Diesel engine to turn the tide.”
Shaq’s attempt to imitate Saru’s plan failed.
Shaq was just joking, knowing that with his current condition, running a few rounds would leave him even more breathless than Harper, who was already half-dead.
Brian Hill had a meticulous plan, but the reality proved that a basketball game is not chess or a math problem; not everything develops as anticipated.
Now, he had to change the plan.
The team had persisted through the third quarter, not to lose in the fourth.
At that moment, on the court, Michael Jordan received the ball outside the right three-point line.
Harper, like an engine running out of steam, charged at Jordan with the last of his soul.