manynovel Chapter 213 Why did you give him a technical foul? He even...
Chapter 213 Why did you give him a technical foul? He even...
Chapter 213 Why did I give him a technical foul? He didn't even touch a hair on my body!
When Lin Tian led the Pacers players into the long-awaited United Center, the fans, as usual, gave Lin Tian a warm welcome and cheers, welcoming their former hero back. On the big screen, a video paying tribute to Lin Tian was played again, thanking him for his contributions over the past two years.
You have to admit, big teams have a real sense of style and generosity! Even in the Eastern Conference Finals, they still managed to put on a good show. Compared to some teams that made a fool of themselves by handing out championship rings to former players in the player tunnel, their team has a much bigger sense of style!
Lin Tian couldn't contain his joy. He raised his hand to greet the fans around him and chatted with a few die-hard fans he was on good terms with.
Then, a huge, even more enthusiastic and frenzied cheer suddenly erupted from the scene, loud enough to shatter people's eardrums!
Lin Tian turned his head to take a look, and sure enough, it was the league representative carrying the MVP trophy into the stadium. Next up was the MVP award ceremony!
The fans at the United Center will, of course, give the most enthusiastic, wildest, and most enthusiastic cheers to their eternal basketball god and city hero, Michael Jordan.
Amidst the fans' wild cheers, Jordan walked to midcourt, took the microphone in one hand and the trophy in the other, then, with his eyes half-open and an indifferent expression, said, "I don't care about this trophy at all, so I haven't prepared any acceptance speech."
"For me, this thing is just bread before the meal. It's nice to have it, but I can still get full without it. For me, the only main course and the only thing that can fill my stomach is this one thing."
"The championship and Finals MVP trophies! Next month, when I win the championship and Finals MVP, I'll give everyone a proper acceptance speech! See you then."
After Jordan finished speaking, he handed the microphone to a league official, then swaggered over to Lin Tian, handing him the MVP trophy and saying, "You don't have this, do you? I have four. If you want one, I'll give you one."
"Good!" To Jordan's surprise, and even to everyone else's astonishment, amidst the incredulous gazes of Barkley, Bird, Miller, and others, Lin Tian swiftly reached out and forcefully snatched the MVP trophy from Jordan's arms.
"It's really nice, I'll keep it as a souvenir! I only had All-Star and Rookie of the Year trophies before, this is definitely my first regular season trophy." Lin Tian touched the trophy, then casually placed it behind his back and said with a smile, "Thanks for your generosity, Michael. What's up? Do you have something else to do? Why aren't you warming up?"
Lin Tian looked at Jordan with an innocent expression. Jordan's lips twitched several times, like Zhao Si had possessed him. It was clear that Jordan still liked the MVP trophy, but he didn't want to ask for it back now...
Based on his understanding of Lin Tian, unless he takes back the MVP trophy and never speaks to Lin Tian again, Jordan will never be able to hold his head high in front of Lin Tian again.
Every time we meet, I'm humiliated by his trophy wins!
He originally intended to use the trophy to provoke Lin Tian, but he never dreamed that Lin Tian would snatch the trophy away.
"If you like it, that's fine!" After taking several deep breaths, Jordan suppressed the urge to escalate the conflict, maintained his composure as the god of basketball, nodded, and turned to leave.
"Michael Jordan's emotions have fluctuated, resulting in a loss of 300 experience points!"
As soon as Jordan turned around, the system announced the news, and Miller and Barkley, who were standing next to him, burst into laughter without even trying.
"Lin! You're a genius! You're fucking a genius!" Barkley clutched his stomach, laughing exaggeratedly, "How did you think of that? You stole it! Hahaha! You actually stole Michael's trophy!"
"I had all sorts of ideas on how to roast him for you, Lin, and you actually agreed?" Miller couldn't help but cry out, clutching his stomach. "Everyone quiet down now! I'm going to etch that scene into my brain! Michael, who had planned out how to roast someone, but was forced to swallow a single word!"
"Michael looked like he'd eaten shit, his face contorted in disgust, unable to express his suffering! This is definitely one of the most memorable moments of my life!"
Not far away, Jordan, listening to these guys spouting nonsense, quickened his pace and left the Pacers' bastards at an even faster speed.
After he sat on the bench, his face was so gloomy that it could scare a child to tears.
"Listen up, everyone! Tonight, kill them all!"
Jordan now felt that tonight was definitely the angrier and more murderous night of his life.
That bastard actually stole my MVP trophy?
FUXX!
With this desire to crush the opponent, Jordan was extremely aggressive during warm-ups, scaring the Bulls players away from his side. Until the game officially started, not a single Bulls player dared to speak to Jordan.
"Tonight, our tactics will be executed in several phases!" Bird called all the players to his side five minutes before the game started, patiently explaining his tactical plan for the 20th time.
"In the first phase, assist Rick and Lin with pick-and-rolls to draw that big oaf Longley out of the paint! Make sure their center doesn't dare to camp in the paint! Rick, you absolutely must make those first few mid-range shots when you have space!"
"Understood!" Schmitz, whose confidence had greatly increased after the last round, nodded very firmly this time.
"Then, Lin, Reggie, and Doug, all three of you, drive and cut to the basket! Attack their vulnerable interior players, draw all their defensive attention to the paint and the basket, and compress their defense!"
"Then, Charles, the rest of you move out of the paint and look for shooting opportunities on the perimeter. You stay under the basket and, based on their reactions, decide whether you should attack the basket or let the perimeter shoot!"
"clear!"
"Great!" After reviewing the situation and making sure nothing was overlooked, Bird clapped his hands and said, "Come on, one last push, let's get ready to go!"
"Hello everyone, viewers of China Sports Channel! I'm your host for tonight, Sun Zhengping, and next to me is our guest commentator for tonight, Mr. Su Qun!"
"Hello everyone! I'm Su Qun."
In the studio of China Sports Channel, the two hosts finally got the signal connected. They greeted the audience and began to analyze the game.
"Mr. Su, what are your thoughts on tonight's match? Share your predictions with the audience!"
"It's extremely difficult to predict! To be honest, both teams have top-tier rosters, head coaches, and core players—they're very evenly matched, and the outcome is impossible to predict!"
"In particular, although the two teams split their three regular-season matchups, either Pippen was absent, or Jordan and Lin Tian were fouled out early. Furthermore, the Pacers made a trade after that game, acquiring their final piece of the puzzle, Christie!"
"Therefore, the regular season head-to-head record between these two teams is practically meaningless! Everything depends on their performance on the day! But one thing is certain: this game will be extremely tense and exciting! It will be incredibly close!"
After a bunch of pointless and almost meaningless analyses, the players from both sides finally took to the field, temporarily ending the awkward chatter of the hosts. In this match, neither side pulled any fancy moves, but instead fielded their most traditional and familiar starting lineups.
Chicago Bulls: Luke Longley, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Ron Harper!
Pacers: Rick Smits, Charles Barkley, Doug Christie, Reggie Miller, Lin Tian!
A regular starting lineup, but definitely not a regular game!
The game officially began as the referee tossed the ball into the air!
"Snapped!"
Schmitz successfully defeated Longley, winning the first offensive possession for the team. Lin Tian received the ball and immediately used his speed to the fullest to launch an attack!
After charging all the way to the front, although Hubble kept himself in front of Lin Tian because he knew Lin Tian well enough, the huge gap in speed made his little knowledge of Lin Tian useless!
Lin Tian changed direction and left Hubble behind, then charged towards the basket!
With the two inside players not fast enough to get back into position in time, Pippen and Jordan simultaneously collapsed under the basket, rushing towards Lin Tian from the left and right!
"Whoosh!"
With a whooshing sound, Lin Tian passed the ball with one hand, and the basketball found Miller, who was already at a 45-degree angle on the left.
"Whoosh!"
Miller will never let his teammates down with this kind of pull-up three-pointer after the start of the game!
The Pacers scored their first three-pointer in just six seconds!
The Bulls' offense was the opposite of the Pacers'. Instead of a fast-paced advance, they took their time, having Hubble advance the ball to the frontcourt and then pass it to Pippen. Pippen and Jordan then stood on one side, playing their signature 2-on-2 zone offense.
"Hey kid, what's your name?" Jordan sneered at Christie, who was positioned behind him. "Don't you know Lin just offended me and made me really angry? You still dare to guard me? Aren't you afraid I'll beat you to a pulp?"
In response to Jordan, Christie suddenly stretched out his long arm. Christie's steal was quite sudden, but he failed to steal the basketball. Instead, Jordan, in the critical moment when he was almost stolen from, turned around and pulled up for a mid-range shot!
"Whoosh!"
"If I were you, I'd switch positions with Lin. You didn't do anything wrong, you shouldn't have been beaten to the point of despair by me." After scoring, Jordan's trash talk naturally followed, relentlessly hurling insults at Christie.
"So you're a coward, spineless and timid, while I have courage, I'm not afraid of you!" Christie was also very tough; he just didn't like to talk, not that he couldn't.
Jordan, even more excited by Christie's retort, laughed and said, "We'll see!"
Jordan's method of letting Christie wait and see was actually very simple.
Kill him!
Beat them to death!
Throughout the rest of the first quarter, Jordan barely passed the ball; he repeatedly took on Christie one-on-one in the low post, high post, mid-range, under the basket, and beyond the three-point line!
Christie's signature technical defense proved so weak and ineffective against Jordan's all-out offensive output!
He couldn't withstand Jordan's offense at all; Jordan could score almost anything! Even though Christie was perfectly positioned on defense in many possessions, didn't lose his position, and kept up with the ball perfectly, even managing to block the ball to Jordan's fingertips on several occasions, it was all useless, completely useless.
The ball just goes in!
整个第一节比赛，乔丹打了10分钟，13投9中，罚球4罚4中，3分球2投1中，爆砍23分3篮板！
In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Jordan went all out, showing no mercy and making no attempt to test the waters – he just went for it!
Besides Jordan, Pippen also scored 7 points, Rodman and Harper each scored 2 points, and Cole, who came off the bench, also hit a 3-pointer.
In the first quarter, the Bulls scored a total of 38 points thanks to Jordan's exceptional shooting!
But they were only leading the Pacers by 5 points!
Because Lin Tian scored 5 points and dished out 8 assists in this quarter, Schmitzer, Miller and Christie were all fed by Lin Tian. With Lin Tian's sharing and organization, the Pacers scored 33 points efficiently in the first quarter!
If Jordan hadn't been so incredibly strong and freakish, the Pacers would never have been in a losing position with this kind of offensive performance!
In the second quarter, Barkley was the first to enter the game, and as usual, he led a group of substitutes in the battle.
But tonight, whether Rodman was in too much form or Barkley had an upset stomach last night, Barkley missed all three of his three offensive attempts at the start of the second quarter!
On the other hand, the Bulls, under Rodman's defense and Pippen's attacks, scored three consecutive points and successfully widened the gap to 11 points less than two minutes into the second quarter!
Bird reacted very quickly. Seeing that Barkley seemed unable to play Rodman tonight, he quickly brought Lin Tian onto the court.
This time, the instruction given to Lin Tian was still just one sentence.
"Hit me however you like!"
When Lin Tian walked onto the court, the people standing next to him were Ben Wallace, Charles Barkley, Kevin Dumars, and Fred Hoiberg! Since Hoiberg had a few good performances in the Eastern Conference semifinals and made good contributions in limited time, Bird has been valuing him more and more. Recently, this guy has even shown signs of officially entering the rotation.
When Lin Tian received the ball in the frontcourt, he glanced at the Bulls' defensive formation and couldn't help but laugh.
He was being guarded by Hubble, but Hubble was positioned very far back, clearly not prepared to defend or rather, not prepared to closely defend his three-pointer!
The rest of the people showed no intention of helping with the defense; each of them was focused on protecting their own people.
It's here! Lin Tian was overjoyed. This was the situation he had wanted and had been waiting for!
That's why he only took 4 shots in the first quarter and passed the ball around like crazy!
He needs to get his teammates into a rhythm and make them keep scoring.
That way, the Bulls won't dare to double-team him in the second quarter or the second half!
Only then will the buff that Lin Tian is currently carrying be able to exert its maximum effect!
Michael Jordan Experience Card (86-87 Season)!
Lin Tian had already used the trial card right at the start of the match!
However, in the very first round of the game, Lin Tian noticed that Jordan, Pippen, and Harper were paying close attention to him. He had a feeling that as soon as he launched an attack and entered scoring mode in the first quarter, he would be double-teamed by at least two people!
This is Jackson's strategy: to prevent Lin Tian from attacking on his own!
This strategy is really quite unconventional.
Other coaches would shut down the passing, preventing him from setting the pace of the team and engaging his teammates.
But Jackson did the opposite, ignoring Lin Tian and focusing solely on defending him to prevent him from scoring.
What is this going to do?
However, no matter what the old man is up to, Lin Tian is confident he can make him regret it!
You won't help defend unless you double-team, huh? Come on!
Even though Hubble was positioned two steps away from Lin Tian, clearly not allowing him to break through but to shoot, Lin Tian still accelerated and charged forward!
Lin Tian now possesses S+ speed combined with the explosive power of Michael Jordan at his peak, youngest, and strongest!
Let alone being two steps away from Lin Tian, even if Hubble were standing under the basket, Lin Tian was confident he could simply accelerate and break through his defense!
"Whoosh!"
Hubble only felt a gust of wind pass by his ear. He watched Lin Tian walk past him on his right, but he didn't have time to react at all. It was too fast!
In the blink of an eye, Lin Tian had already reached the basket. Facing the oncoming Wennington, Lin Tian had no time to care about past feelings. He rose up like a rocket, swung the basketball around, and smashed it towards the basket!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, Lin Tian rode on Wennington's shoulders, gripping the basketball hoop with one hand, looking like a god descending to earth!
"Wow! Lin Tian! That was so powerful! That shot was so powerful!" Su Qun couldn't help but roar in the studio. That shot was just too awesome!
"I think this is what everyone often refers to as the aesthetics of violence!" Sun Zhengping smiled.
"Yes! The ultimate and simplest form of violent aesthetics! A concentrated display of body, speed, and jumping ability. In this play, Lin Tian didn't use any feints or his usual flashy dribbling; he simply attacked the basket, using his physical attributes and terrifying speed to overwhelm his opponent!"
Yes! It's the ultimate physical talent, enough to crush all opponents!
This is how Jordan played basketball this season. At this time, his shooting, dribbling, and skills such as back-to-the-basket moves were far from being as refined and perfect as they would be later. His skills were still being honed.
Despite his imperfect skills, he was able to score a career-high average of 37 points per game, all thanks to his physical gifts!
Confrontation, balance, explosiveness, jumping ability, core strength, touch...
These qualities, even if Jordan only put them into one season, would be considered top-tier monsters in the entire history of the league!
There are very few people who can rival his talent!
Back then, Jordan could crush everything with his talent alone!
After scoring, Lin Tian landed on the ground and looked at Wennington, saying, "Sorry, Bill, I hope you like this gift."
"How could he improve so quickly?" Jackson frowned. "Skills, shooting, and court vision can all be improved through training, but how could his physical attributes and jumping ability improve so fast? He couldn't jump this high last year!"
"That's not important, Phil. It's my turn to play." Jordan stood up, looked at Jackson, and said, "I'll guard him!"
"You need to rest!" Jackson shook his head and said, "We're still leading by 9 points, you can rest for another 2 minutes!"
As Jackson spoke, Pippen dribbled into the paint and scored 2 points against Barkley, whose defensive ability had greatly declined.
But the basketball he shot fell directly into Barkley's arms. Barkley finally seized the opportunity, quickly stepped off the baseline, and then threw the ball into the frontcourt!
Lin Tian, who was already close to the basket, grabbed the basketball. Without making any moves, he simply identified the direction, accelerated, and in one step, he shook off Hubble's defense. He then drove to the basket and pulled up for another powerful dunk!
Still 9 points!
"Back up! Everyone, pay attention to back up, and Charles's quick serve! We've practiced it! Pay attention!" Jackson didn't stand up, but sat on the bench, yelling at the court to make the players pay attention to what they had practiced before!
As expected, the Bulls immediately tightened their defense and changed their strategy. The Pacers' fast breaks failed again, and in the next three possessions, Pippen and Rodman each scored a basket.
Unfortunately, Kerr missed a wide-open three-pointer, and the Bulls were unable to extend their lead further.
For the Pacers, Lin Tian chose to drive to the basket every time, making one layup, making both free throws after being fouled by Wennington, and finally dunking over Wennington, drawing Wennington's second foul of the night!
While waiting for the free throws, Jackson finally patted Jordan on the shoulder, signaling that he could go back on the court. On the Pacers' side, there was also a large-scale rotation, with Christie, Miller, and Schmitz coming on to replace Barkley and Dumars.
With the addition of Lin Tian and Ben Wallace, the Pacers now have a brand new five-man lineup.
"Lin, you're playing so aggressively tonight, aren't you afraid you'll run out of energy later?" Jordan chewed gum as he stood next to Lin Tian, ready to grab a rebound, while also throwing in a couple of trash words.
"Do you think I'm a 35-year-old man? I'll run out of energy in no time. We young people have inexhaustible energy!" Lin Tian chuckled, stabbing Jordan in the back, then easily made the free throw!
After making that free throw, the gap between the two teams has been narrowed to 6 points!
On the Bulls' offense, Jordan once again moved to the low post, ready to receive the ball in his favorite spot and score, hoping to help the team get back into form. Then Lin Tian patted Christie on the shoulder and said:
"Doug, go deal with Scott! I'll handle Michael!"
"I thought you'd never have the courage to go up against me in your life!" Jordan backed down and blocked Lin Tian, reached out to catch the ball, probed twice, and then suddenly made a simple and quick turn and footwork, directly shooting a fadeaway jump shot.
"Whoosh!"
"But honestly, if you don't have the courage, you won't get beaten up by me!"
Lin Tian didn't rush to respond to Jordan's trash talk because he knew he had plenty of opportunities! After dribbling the ball to the frontcourt, just as Lin Tian had predicted.
Jordan came to guard him. Facing Jordan, Lin Tian did not change his playing style at all. Instead, the moment Jordan came to defend him, he suddenly exerted his strength and rushed towards the inside!
For Jordan, who is over 35, there is no difference between him and Hubble!
It's all a matter of one step!
"Whoosh!"
After getting past Jordan, Lin Tian easily made a floater from the outside of the three-second zone, scoring two points!
"Actually, you shouldn't have matched up against me. If you had, all your achievements and honors in this life would have been destroyed by me!" Lin Tian finally unleashed his trash talk as he passed by Jordan!
How could Jordan possibly tolerate such provocation and trash talk that resembled a challenge?
For the remainder of the second quarter, Jordan launched attack after attack against Lin Tian in the low post! Everything was exactly the same as during the Bulls' training a year ago! Jordan used his back-to-the-basket skills and his nearly 10-centimeter height advantage to keep scoring in the low post.
On the offensive end, Lin Tian repeatedly used his face-up drives and terrifying speed and explosiveness to turn Jordan into a wooden stake!
The two of them couldn't defend against each other, and it completely turned into a situation of mutual destruction!
Bird and Jackson had no intention of stopping the one-on-one game for the time being, nor were they prepared to change the pace of the game, let alone remind them to play what they considered "reasonable" basketball.
One reason is that both players have incredibly high shooting percentages, and another is that both Bird and Jackson are well aware of how strong the pride of top stars is! They are both actually waiting for the other to make the first change!
After all, that would mean the other side lost!
The one who changes tactics first is admitting defeat. This is the unspoken understanding between Bird and Jackson at this moment. They just won't change their tactics!
The two players' indulgence of Jordan and Lin Tian allowed the two players to go completely wild in the second quarter!
林天13投8中，罚球5罚全中，3分球2投1中，单节拿下22分！
乔丹14投9中，罚球3罚3中，3分球3投1中，单节拿下22分！
His and Lin Tian's scoring data are so similar!
With both players performing so well, the score remained close!
77: 70!
The scores of both teams in the first half were unbelievably high! Both teams scored over 70 points!
This is the kind of high score and high shooting percentage you only see in an All-Star game, but it happened on the Eastern Conference Finals stage!
Both teams' shooting percentages finally started to decline in the second half!
Perhaps due to exhaustion, or perhaps due to adapting to the opponent's offensive tactics, in the second half of the game, although neither Jackson nor Bird changed their defensive strategies and methods, Lin Tian and Jordan made their own changes!
Lin Tian began to employ a more aggressive defense, relentlessly confronting Jordan with physical contact from the moment he established position, pushing him away from the basket as much as possible to keep Jordan away from his favorite "sweet spot." At the same time, he used greater physical contact and fiercer defensive moves to reduce Jordan's shooting percentage.
Jordan, too, gritted his teeth and increased his defensive commitment! His footwork became more frequent and faster, his arms were straighter and covered a larger area, and he was no longer as clean on defense as he was in the second quarter, with more and more small tricks like putting his hands on his waist, groin thrusts, and jersey tugs!
It's impossible to calculate how many fouls each player committed while defending the other, and how many of those fouls were illegal and clearly written in the defensive manual. This is because fouls occur almost every possession between the two players, and if we were to call fouls, both of them could be out of the game by now.
Secondly, neither Jordan nor Lin Tian, nor their coaches, had any objections to these somewhat irregular actions! These guys clearly believed that this was the intensity and standard that the Eastern Conference Finals should have!
The last point, and the most important one, is that this is exactly what the fans love to see!
At this point, the referee will not blow the whistle to interrupt the game and disrupt the situation!
The referees officiating the Eastern Conference Finals are all experienced veterans, and they are very self-aware.
They're a perfect match, a match made in heaven. It's none of our business to object!
Although Jordan and Lin Tian's shooting percentage declined as time went on, the intensity of the play increased, and their stamina decreased, this decline was only slightly lower compared to their absurdly high shooting percentage in the second quarter. Compared to the team's overall shooting percentage, these two monsters were still more accurate!
For example, in the third quarter, the intensity of their defense against each other increased dramatically, with all sorts of pushing, pulling, twisting and tugging moves appearing one after another. Their shooting percentages in the entire third quarter were Lin Tian 6 of 14 and Jordan 7 of 15. The two of them did not even reach 20 points in this quarter.
But so what? Apart from those two, the rest of the Bulls and Pacers combined only made 4 of 14 shots in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, as the game progressed, the physical contact increased, the referees were determined not to call the whistle, and their shooting percentage continued to decline, the two of them got a little heated!
If the team leader is anxious and upset, how can it be reasonable for the others to be polite and courteous?
That doesn't make sense!
The match became increasingly fierce, the confrontations became increasingly brutal, and the actions of both sides became increasingly large and intense!
As a result, everyone's hit rate dropped further!
With four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the two teams had only scored a combined 15 points!
Bulls 7 points, Pacers 8 points!
In another offensive possession for the Bulls, Jordan elbowed Lin Tian in the waist, knocking him aside, and then reached out for the ball.
Lin Tian was not the type to suffer such a loss. He turned around and circled around, while simultaneously slamming his elbow backward, directly hitting Jordan in the chest and almost knocking him out of his seat!
At that moment, the referee finally couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't bear to watch any longer.
How can we watch this? If we keep watching, it'll really turn into a fight!
What if these two lose control on the court and start fighting each other...?
Well, this situation won't actually happen, because the entire alliance has reached a consensus: with Lin Tian around, there won't be any mutual fighting, only one-sided beatings.
That's good, that's good...
Bullshit!
If Lin Tian beats Jordan in the Eastern Conference Finals, then the referees tonight can basically retire from the NBA.
There are some things Stern can tolerate, but this kind of match, with two people or teams with such high popularity fighting, is something Stern absolutely cannot tolerate!
Finally, the referee took action and gave each of them a technical foul.
"You two, watch your moves! If you keep doing that, we'll really eject you both!" The referee threatened, looking at Jordan and Lin Tian who seemed completely unconcerned.
Even the most exciting and fierce battles need to be done in moderation!
"I accept the technical foul, I'll tone down my actions, after all, I almost killed him." Lin Tian raised his hand and said, "But why give Michael a technical foul too? He didn't do anything, he was just tickling me."
"That's what I meant too. I accept the technical foul, but I won't use that move again. Lin is my good friend, and I don't want to kill him on the court." Jordan said grimly, showing no intention of backing down. "But he didn't even touch me, not even a hair on my body."
Giving him a technical foul is inappropriate.
Even though the referees tonight are all seasoned veterans, they have never seen anything like this before!
Two opponents who played the entire game are asking the referee to only give them technical fouls and not the other one?
If the three referees hadn't all maintained good lifestyles and stayed away from drugs, gambling, and prostitution, they would have really wondered if they had gotten too high before officiating the match!
That's impossible!
For the referees, this kind of situation, which they didn't know how to resolve, was simply ignored. The three referees turned around in perfect unison, ignoring Lin Tian and Jordan, and walked towards the scorer's table to announce their rulings.
"Sorry, Michael, I might have been a little too rough with you just now. I didn't mean to, I'll definitely be more careful next time. You're not angry, are you?" Lin Tian looked at Jordan sincerely and apologized.
"Heavy hit? No way, I didn't even feel any physical contact." Jordan patted non-existent dust off his chest and said, "Little brother, you're a long shot. On the contrary, I think I hit your lung just now."
"Lungs? You should check your elbow first." Lin Tian said, "Last time someone elbowed me, and my elbow was fractured."
The two players were still bragging to each other when the referee, having finished his report to the scorer's table, walked over and said, "Free throws, one for each player, then the Bulls continue their offense. And now, both of you, tone it down!"
Neither Lin Tian nor Jordan paid any attention to the referee. Instead, they shrugged at each other to indicate that nothing was wrong, and then went to the free throw line one after the other.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
After making both free throws, Jackson stood up and called a timeout.
The players need to cool down.
104: 98!
The Bulls were leading the Pacers by 6 points at this point.
"Michael, if you want to continue playing one-on-one with Lin, go ahead!" Jackson didn't even pick up the clipboard; at this moment, tactics were perhaps the least important thing. "But if it were me, I would involve my teammates in the game."
"They've been waiting for you for ages! Remember my cake theory? The cake is only so big, let your teammates take what they want and can eat, and you take the hardest and least tasty part, because you're Michael Jordan!"
"I understand." Jordan wiped the sweat from his brow and nodded.
On the Pacers' side, Bird also didn't take out his clipboard, but instead looked at Lin Tiandao:
"Lin, they're definitely going to change things up! Jackson will definitely use Jordan as a feint, to draw attention so the others can get the ball and look for opportunities!"
"But I'm not going to do that." Bird looked at Lin Tian and said, "You're 24, he's 35. After playing a whole game like that, you have an absolute physical advantage! I want you to keep attacking him! Keep destroying him with your offense! Wear him down with your defense!"
"Tonight, we're counting on you! Do you have the confidence to beat Michael and the Bulls?"
"Leave it to me!" Lin Tian nodded in agreement.
Two coaches, two completely different setups, two completely different philosophies!
The fourth quarter begins!
For the Pacers, Bird opted to continue with his starting lineup: Schmitz, Barkley, Christie, Miller, and Lin Tian.
The Bulls substituted Kukoc, who had been in good offensive form tonight, for Longley, while the other four players were their starters.
The first offensive possession was in the Bulls' possession.
After receiving the inbound pass at the top of the key, Pippen quickly moved toward Jordan's side and then passed the ball to Jordan.
Lin Tian blocked Jordan's back-to-the-basket move. This time, he didn't trash talk anymore. Instead, he went all out and focused intently. He knew that there was a huge height difference between him and Jordan. The only chance to defend Jordan was to steal the ball the moment it was exposed before Jordan shot!
Jordan's ball protection skills were simply too high. Even though Lin Tian's stealing ability was already at the S level, he still didn't manage to steal the ball even once that night!
Just as Lin Tian was fully focused on defense, Jordan suddenly made a behind-the-back bounce pass, sending the basketball through Lin Tian and behind him!
There was Pippen, who had just shaken off Christie and made a cut to the basket. After receiving the ball, Pippen drove to the basket, pushed past Schmitz, and made a crucial layup!
106: 98!
The Bulls are leading by 8 points!
"Sorry, it was me!" Christie knew that her mistake had caused serious consequences, so she quickly raised her hand to admit her mistake.
"Doug, this is the last time! You might not be able to stop him, but you can't let him drive into the paint so easily!" Lin Tian said to Christie, "Pay attention! Everyone's the same; if you try your best to defend and get scored on, there's nothing you can do! But don't let any more low-level lapses in defense!"
"clear!"
(End of this chapter)