harleyscars Chapter 161 Don't rush, it'll be a few years before you're jealous.
Chapter 161 Don't rush, it'll be a few years before you're jealous.
Chapter 161 Don't rush, it'll be a few years before you're jealous!
Faced with Langley's provocation, how could Mourning, with his fiery temper, tolerate it?
In the next possession, he once again positioned himself in the low post for the second time in a row, demanding the ball for a one-on-one attack!
But this time, when Hardaway's pass reached Mourning, the Bulls' help defense immediately arrived, with Rodman rushing over and double-teaming Mourning with Longley!
Mourning's shortcomings in passing and breaking double teams were immediately apparent! In addition, his hangover meant his form and reaction time were not at their peak, and Rodman seized the opportunity to steal the ball!
"Dennis, calm down!" Lin Tian, standing beyond the three-point line, knew he was in trouble the moment he saw Rodman's posture after stealing the ball! He shouted as he sprinted towards the frontcourt!
Sure enough, just as Lin Tian started his sprint, Rodman's signature unreliable pass flew towards the frontcourt!
"Steve!" Lin Tian roared, putting all his strength into it. He gritted his teeth and stomped his feet as he charged towards the frontcourt. He barely managed to hook the ball just before it went out of bounds, but his body was already out of control and he couldn't brake in time.
Fortunately, Cole received Lin Tian's signal and arrived at the frontcourt just a few steps behind Lin Tian.
After Lin Tian jumped up and completely controlled the ball, he threw it behind him from between his legs, passing it right to Cole. Cole took three steps and made a layup!
"Beautiful pass, Lin!" After scoring, Cole reached out and gave Lin Tian, who had run back from outside the penalty area, a high five.
"Damn it, can you guys please beg Dennis to stop this? I'm about to explode from running around like this." Lin Tian looked at Cole helplessly, and Cole looked at him helplessly.
Everyone on Earth knows that when Rodman decides to do something, no one can stop him!
"FUXX! Dennis, you spineless bastard, do you have the guts to fight me one-on-one? If you have the guts, let's have a game in the low post!" Mourning, whose shot had just been cleanly intercepted, was now in a panic and started yelling at Rodman.
"Idiot! Fool! Moron!" Rodman unleashed a torrent of profanities at Mourning before laughing and saying, "When have I ever fought anyone one-on-one? I love sneaking up on people from behind! If you're so capable, learn Olajuwon's footwork and ability to break double teams!"
"Tim, ball!" Faced with Rodman's nonchalant and slovenly attitude, Mourning's temper flared up instantly, and he immediately tried to back down and post up for a one-on-one attack.
"Alonzo! Remember our purpose today!" Riley, watching from the sidelines, saw that Mourning was not in his best form today, and that continuing this endless one-on-one would affect the entire team's offense. He immediately stood up and roared at the players on the court.
Mourning glanced at Riley, then turned back to glare at Rodman and said, "You're dead! You're dead tonight!"
"Go ahead and get your revenge now! You spineless coward who only listens to old white men, has your slave bloodline awakened? You like being bossed around so much, does it give you any extra pleasure? Hmm?"
Rodman's trash talk almost made Mourning turn around and punch him, but unfortunately, his desire for victory made him give up this very tempting idea and instead run towards the top of the key to provide cover for Hardaway.
As soon as Mourning came out of the paint, Mashburn immediately rushed into the paint, and Hardaway's pass arrived in the blink of an eye!
At this moment, with Longley defending Mourning up the court, the Bulls only had Rodman, an interior player who was not good at protecting the rim, under the basket. Just as Mashburn was about to make a powerful two-handed dunk, Rodman did not go over to interfere. Instead, after watching Mashburn score, Rodman quickly took the basketball and went to the baseline.
"Dennis, calm down! I'm here! I'm here!" As soon as Lin Tian saw Rodman get the ball, he didn't dare to hesitate for a moment. He rushed to the basket and reached out to Rodman for the ball.
"Lin, run! Didn't the coach tell us to play fast? How can we play fast if you receive the ball here?" Rodman reluctantly passed the ball to Lin Tian in front of him.
Sigh, another chance to showcase my passing skills was missed. What a pity! What a shame!
Lin Tian breathed a sigh of relief. If this older brother really let loose and spread the word, even if he had eight lungs, he wouldn't be able to keep up!
After dribbling the ball back to the frontcourt, Lin Tian continued his pick-and-roll with Longley. After the two separated, Lin Tian drove towards the inside while observing the positions of his teammates and opponents on the court. When Mashburn finally let go of Kukoc and collapsed the defense, Lin Tian's pass flew to Kukoc's hands.
"Whoosh!"
With a swift stroke, another three-pointer went in!
Although Leonard found an opportunity in the mid-range and made a jump shot, Lin Tian still didn't give the Heat any chance to celebrate or relax. He had the basketball and was sprinting towards the frontcourt again. As long as he could play fast, Lin Tian would never let the pace of the game slow down!
During the transition between offense and defense, Lin Tian called for a pick-and-roll again. This time, it was Kukoc's turn to cooperate with him. After the two separated, Kukoc did not run towards the low post like Longley, but popped out towards the three-point line on the weak side. This sudden change in rhythm immediately created a gap in the Heat's defense!
Hardaway and Mashburn instinctively lunged at Kukoc, completely ignoring Lin Tian!
So Lin Tian accelerated and charged toward Mourning, who was completely ineffective on the defensive end tonight, and scored another 2 points despite the defense!
"pause!"
Riley, who was sitting on the sidelines, could no longer sit still. He stood up and called a timeout.
We can't let the Bulls, or rather Lin Tian, continue like this!
Riley knew he had to make a decision.
Lin Tian was in absolutely fantastic form tonight, handling every type of defense with ease and truly showcasing the prowess of a top-tier point guard! The Heat's defense was completely torn apart by Lin Tian's combination of shots and passes!
We absolutely cannot continue to leave the players to decide how to defend in such an ambiguous way!
Riley now needs to get the players' defense clear!
Either stick close to Lin Tian and increase his intensity, making it difficult for him to score whether it's a pick-and-roll or a one-on-one situation.
Either don't double-team Lin Tian, and instead step back after a pick-and-roll to lock down the other Bulls players, preventing them from getting open shots and letting Lin Tian attack alone, betting that Lin Tian alone can't defeat the Heat!
Riley crossed his arms, his expression grave, and he was rapidly considering which bottle of poison to choose to drink.
Should we leave the rest of the Bulls open? But the second half has just begun, and Lin Tian is already close to 15 assists! If we leave him open any longer, are we really going to let him rack up 30 assists in a single game?
Leave Lin Tian open? Last year's Knicks and SuperSonics, this year's Bullets and Hornets all tried to do this, but in the end, they were completely crushed and had no chance to fight back against Lin Tian!
What should we do?
Riley looked at his own players, then at the Bulls' bench, and finally at Jackson, feeling a surge of displeasure.
Why is this old man so lucky? Why did he get Michael Jordan in his first year as head coach, and then get Scottie Pippen? And even manage to snag a prodigy like Lin Tian in the final round of the second round?
If they gave Jordan or Lin Tian to the Heat, Riley was confident he could beat the Bulls without a fight!
But the Bulls have two stars of that caliber, while the Heat only have Mourning who can be considered half a star, and he's still hungover.
If Lin Tian knew what Riley was thinking, he would pat Riley on the shoulder and kindly tell him, "Don't be disappointed, don't be jealous, and don't be angry, because it's not time for you to be angry yet. Besides, if you're angry now, what will you do in three years? What will you do when Jackson's team has both Shaq and Kobe in three years?"
"Wouldn't you get sick from anger? Even in another 10 years, Jackson might be able to steal Gasol's thunder and have two more mini-dynasties. Wouldn't you, 'The Oracle of Omaha,' be furious?"
After silently pondering for almost a minute, and with the timeout about to end, Riley finally made up his mind.
"Tim, Jamal, Alonzo, and everyone else, listen up! Our defensive strategy from now on must be more decisive and more direct! Double-team Lin! Whether it's one-on-one or a pick-and-roll, don't let him get easy shots, don't give him any space to shoot, don't let him drive recklessly to the basket!"
"Set up layers of defensive traps for him, making every shot incredibly difficult! Give him physical contact as well, ideally affecting his passing and preventing him from making comfortable passes! As for the rest of the Bulls, just do your best! I don't believe they can be on fire all game!"
Riley ultimately learned from the lessons of last year's SuperSonics and Knicks, and decided to find a solution from the source, to nip Lin Tian in the bud, and prevent the Bulls' only offensive initiator from playing comfortably, thus increasing the difficulty of Lin Tian's game.
As for the others...
All he could do was pray!
I pray they miss.
As he led his players onto the field, Riley was suddenly overwhelmed by a deep sense of powerlessness.
Tonight's Bulls don't have Jordan and Pippen!
If those two were also there, let's not even talk about whether the Heat could defend those guys. Just imagine if the Bulls suddenly had two of the league's best perimeter defenders, Mashburn and Hardaway, could they still play as well as they did tonight?
Even without these two players, the Bulls and Heat have been evenly matched. But if they come back, the Heat will have no chance at all!
For the first time, Riley was certain that the two crushing defeats in Chicago were not due to the Bulls' home-court advantage, but because the Heat simply couldn't beat the Bulls!
The two sides are vastly different in strength!
Then, Riley and Cowens reached a remarkable agreement.
Break them up!
This team must be broken up, otherwise, no team in the league will be able to compete!
We need to think of a good solution...
While Riley's mind was in the midst of a frenzied storm, Jackson's attitude was much simpler.
"Next, that old fox will definitely stick to the team's defensive tactics. They really only have two choices: let Lin go or let everyone else go! No matter what they choose, Lin, you know how to play! Just switch your offensive mode according to their defense, and everyone else just follow Lin's tactics. Okay, any more questions?"
"Yes!" Lin Tian raised his hand.
Then Jackson completely ignored Lin Tian: "If there are no problems, everyone go on stage!"
Lin Tian has a problem? With such a simple tactic and so much freedom, what problem could this little bastard possibly have? If he ever utters a decent word, I, Jackson, will change my name to Erfi Sunkje!
Disappointed, Lin Tian could only walk onto the court after being ignored by Jackson. What he had actually wanted to ask Jackson was, "You're more like a fox than Riley, could you two have been born from the same fox ancestor?"
That old bastard, he actually ignored me! How awful!
The game then resumed.
Neither side has changed their starting lineups yet; it's not time to make adjustments!
The Heat's first possession went to Mashburn, who used his strength and physicality to bully Kukoc in the low post. This is Mashburn's signature offensive move, especially with Mourning out of form. The Heat cleared out their entire interior defense for Mashburn to use on offense!
Mashburn had the upper hand against Kukoc, basically playing however he wanted. Under the overwhelming power of Mashburn, Kukoc was truly powerless to fight back, and Mashburn scored another goal!
But Kukoc also knew his weaknesses, but he was even more aware of his strengths. After the goal was scored, he quickly turned around to retrieve the ball and went to the baseline. Before Mashburn could even get his footing, Kukoc had already taken the ball from the baseline!
Lin Tian dribbled the ball at lightning speed, and his signature run-and-gun offense reappeared on the court!
But this time, Lin Tian had only crossed halfway when he discovered that not only was Hardaway blocking his way, but behind Hardaway, Leonard was also glaring at him, and Mourning and Brown, who were running back to defend, also looked fierce!
Jackson was absolutely right; the Heat did indeed change their defense and focus all their efforts on targeting Lin Tian!
Faced with such a dense and layered defense, Lin Tian was not afraid at all. After observing for a moment, he immediately accelerated and charged into the paint!
The Heat's defense immediately tightened, and the few players who had been standing somewhat loosely just moments before blocked Lin Tian near the free-throw line.
Facing a three-man attack, Lin Tian showed no fear. He suddenly pushed the ball forward with one hand, and the basketball immediately passed between Mashburn's legs and flew behind him.
The ball was received by Kukoc, who was following up. Instead of driving to the basket, he suddenly stopped and pulled up for a mid-range shot!
"Bang!"
With a crisp sound, the basketball missed, Brown secured the rebound, and the Heat launched a counterattack!
"Tony! It's okay! Don't be afraid! Shoot if you feel you should, attack the basket if you want to!" Lin Tian didn't blame Kukoc, but patted him on the shoulder and said, "I believe in your choices. The important thing is decisiveness, not the result! Basketball is a game of probability; there are no absolutely correct choices, only the outcome of making or not making the shot!"
After encouraging Kukoc, Lin Tian clapped his hands loudly and shouted, "Don't worry! We'll defend this shot! The lead is still in our hands!"
"The perfect leader!" Riley looked at Lin Tian, his mouth practically drooling.
Why would such a good player be with the Bulls?
Compared to Hardaway, who was quiet and easily got carried away during the game, Riley was getting more and more eager to get Lin Tian!
This is the point guard he's always dreamed of!
Even more of Riley's ideal type than the Magician!
As if Riley's disdain was sensed by Hardaway, the guy dribbled to the frontcourt, set a screen, and launched a long-range three-pointer. Naturally, his luck wasn't good, and the ball bounced off the rim and was caught by Kukoc.
Then Kukoc made a bounce pass, and the basketball once again broke through the Heat's three-man defense, landing directly in Lin Tian's hands near the mid-court line.
After sprinting all the way, Lin Tian faced a double-team from Hardaway and Leonard, and once again chose to pass the ball to Cole who was following behind him. Unfortunately, Cole's finishing ability was really not good, and he failed to make the layup on this fast break!
Then Hardaway grabbed the rebound, came back to the frontcourt, set a screen, and pulled up for a shot!
This time, his luck was clearly on his side; with a crisp sound, the three-pointer swished through the net!
The Bulls didn't give Hardaway any chance to be smug either, giving him no time to celebrate or show off before quickly inbounding the ball from the baseline once again!
The Heat players, who were already like startled birds, quickly turned around and retreated to defend, but they still didn't have time to set up their defensive formation in front of Lin Tian, who was pushing forward with all his might. Lin Tian lowered his head and ran all the way, breaking into the heart of the Heat's defense.
Then, just as the Heat's defensive focus was entirely on him, the basketball suddenly flew out from under the basket and landed in Longley's hands near the free-throw line. After receiving the ball, Longley dribbled in one step and pulled up for a short, easy shot.
"Whoosh!"
Tonight, Langley truly rediscovered the brilliance of his youth as the "Australian Giant" and the "Australian Dream"!
In the remainder of the third quarter, both sides engaged in a complete offensive battle!
The pace was incredibly fast, with a huge number of shots taken, and the scoring points for both sides were very spread out!
The Heat have Hardaway as their absolute core, with Leonard and Mashburn on the left and right wings respectively. Their offensive tactics are quite diverse, ranging from three-pointers and mid-range shots to drives and post-ups.
Apart from Mourning, who was still not in great form and only made one shot in this quarter despite trying many shots, which was quite disappointing, all the other players played at a very high level!
Hardaway scored another 10 points and 2 assists in this quarter, bringing his total to 29 points and 6 assists by the end of the third quarter! Although he took a lot of three-pointers, shooting 9 in 3 quarters, he made 4, which is a pretty good shooting percentage!
Besides Hardaway, Mashburn has already scored 18 points and Leonard has 16 points. All three starters have played at a high level offensively! The only one who is dragging the team down is Mourning. After the third quarter, he only has 6 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block, which is not at all like a top center in the league.
On the contrary, Longley, who was matched up against Mourning, continued to play at a high level in the third quarter. By the end of the third quarter, he had already scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds! This broke his career playoff scoring record! This is also the first time in Longley's career that he has scored 20+10 in a single game!
His 20 points and 10 rebounds were both new career highs in the playoffs!
Tonight was absolutely a perfect career night for Longley, especially since his opponent was top center Alonzo Mourning, which made his stats even more convincing and valuable!
Besides Longley's 20+10, Kukoc has also put up an impressive 17 points and 5 rebounds, making him the team's third-leading scorer tonight. Steve Kerr, who replaced Jordan tonight, certainly can't match Jordan's dominance, but he's also been incredibly accurate from beyond the arc, going 4-for-4 from three-point range and 1-for-3 inside the arc, scoring 14 points!
In addition, Rodman, who played almost the entire second and third quarters and grabbed 11 rebounds despite not scoring much, meant that the Bulls were still on a well-rounded offensive trajectory tonight!
当然了，他们最大的功臣，还是林天！这一节虽然林天只拿到了5分，但送出了6个助攻！他本场比赛已经拿下了25分16次助攻7篮板4抢断的漂亮数据！
There's still a whole quarter of the game ahead! Many people are already looking forward to seeing what kind of stats Lin Tian will get tonight!
Judging from the first three quarters and the quality of the game, Lin Tian should have no problem getting 30+20+10+5 tonight!
With both sides firing on all cylinders in the third quarter, the score was naturally completely different from the stagnant second quarter. Both sides displayed an amazing offensive level, scoring more than 30 points in the third quarter!
At the end of this quarter, the score was 87-83!
The Heat narrowed the gap to 4 points in this quarter!
"Marcus, how do you think the fourth quarter will go? The pace of both teams tonight has been so surprising, so unpredictable! The first quarter was an offensive battle, the second was a physical contest, and the third quarter saw another crazy fast break. So what kind of pace will the fourth quarter have?"
During the break, Smith interacted with his partner again.
"Honestly, I really couldn't guess. Both teams are incredibly adaptable; they can adapt to different styles of play. How they play seems to depend entirely on how the players on each team want to play! But, whether fast or slow, this round of matches truly showcased the real strength of two top teams!"
"Especially the Bulls! I originally thought that without Jordan and Pippen, the Bulls would falter tonight and run into all sorts of problems, but I didn't expect them to adapt to the crisis of their core players being absent and put on an unparalleled performance!"
"Whether they win or lose this game, the Bulls' mentality will be vastly different! For them, the fact that they can still compete with a top team like the Heat without Jordan and Pippen will definitely boost their confidence to an unprecedented level!"
"I think the suspense for this year's championship is almost gone! I never imagined that the absence of Jordan and Pippen would completely eliminate the championship suspense!"
On the Bulls' bench, Jackson looked at Lin Tian and asked worriedly, "Lin, do you need to rest?"
"At this point, of course there's no need for rest." Lin Tian took a big gulp of his energy drink and said with a smile, "Tonight, I'll make sure Miami leaves with the victory!"
"There are still 12 minutes left, and they'll continue to target you! Can your stamina last the entire quarter? Lin, you need to understand, we need you to be energetic and full of life in the last three minutes of the game!"
"Don't worry, Coach, I won't push myself. The Heat's intensity is nothing! I can definitely handle it."
Seeing Lin Tian's insistence, Jackson nodded without saying anything more, but a sudden pang of reluctance stirred within him.
This kid, summer's almost over!
If he had stayed with the Bulls, how many more championships could he have won? Two? Three? Or would he keep winning them?
Or... persuade Jordan to take a pay cut to free up cap space for the team so they can accomplish a feat only the ancient Celtics have ever achieved?
On the Heat's side, Riley clapped his hands enthusiastically, cheering on his players, and shouted, "Well done! Our defense in the third quarter was very successful! Yes, they still scored over 30 points, but they couldn't hold on!"
"Their shooting percentage is clearly declining; they're running out of energy; they can't keep up with our intensity! Their shooting percentage in the fourth quarter will definitely be even lower and worse!"
"Now, what we need to do is stick to our previous choices and maintain our previous defensive strategy! Role players are role players; they might score one or two crucial goals, but they can't score crucial goals all game long!"
"The fourth quarter is our time! Let's go all out and crush the Bulls! Take the victory!"
"yes!"
Accompanied by a unified shout, the five Heat starters stood up together. At this point in the game, there was little room for error for either side. The outcome could very well be decided in a single possession. A mistake, a missed shot, or a poor decision could tip the scales of the game in their favor.
Therefore, at this time, Riley also decided to shorten the rotation and no longer let the substitutes play, and his five starters continued to play!
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, these five players will definitely play the entire fourth quarter. Of these five, apart from Leonard and Brown who rested briefly at the end of the third quarter, Mourning, Mashburn, and Hardaway all played the entire third quarter. This means that they will most likely play the entire second half!
Riley doesn't want to think about what to do after Jordan and Pippen return for the next game, and he's trying hard not to let his players think about what to do for the next game either.
Live in the moment! Win this game first, then worry about the rest!
If the Heat lose this game without Jordan and Pippen, not only will the outcome of the series be a foregone conclusion, but the Heat will also become a laughing stock!
A laughing stock that can't even beat the opponent's second team!
Both coaches had their own agendas, while the referee had already stepped onto the court and blew the whistle to start the final 12 minutes of the fourth quarter!
The first offensive possession of the fourth quarter belonged to the Bulls. Lin Tian slowly dribbled the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt and began directing his teammates' movements.
The pick-and-roll plays were repeated countless times tonight. Every Bulls player on the court tonight, whether it was Cole, Harper, Longley, or Wennington, had run a pick-and-roll with Lin Tian.
Although the Bulls hadn't practiced this many pick-and-rolls before, with Lin Tian on the team, he was able to take the most basic and introductory level of this basketball tactic and make it into all sorts of different styles and endless variations!
Or to put it more simply: the Bulls' teamwork tonight was half due to Lin Tian's on-the-spot reactions! It was all based on their past chemistry and the judgments made through instantaneous observation!
This ability belongs to Nash, the master of run-and-gun offense and pick-and-roll, but it also belongs to Lin Tian's own overall vision and comprehensive observation skills!
This time, it was Rodman, who didn't have much offensive ability, who stepped up to set a pick and roll for Lin Tian.
After the pick-and-roll, the Heat immediately opted to leave Rodman completely open and instead double-teamed Lin Tian, blocking him entirely outside the three-point line.
Lin Tian dribbled the ball while retreating to create distance and space, and at the same moment when Hardaway and Brown rushed up to defend him closely, he passed the ball out again with one hand!
"Snapped!"
With a crisp sound, the basketball passed between Brown's legs and flew directly to Rodman, who was already outside the three-second zone. Rodman held the ball up to the sky, and Mourning, whose reaction and form were clearly off tonight, immediately jumped up!
In this league, there are very few players who can still be faked out by Rodman. After all, everyone in the world knows how strong Rodman's rebounding ability is, and how poor his offensive ability is!
If you stand still with your arms outstretched when facing him, you can significantly reduce his accuracy.
But Mourning jumped up, which shows that he really wasn't in good form tonight.
After shaking off Mourning, Rodman immediately jumped and easily laid the ball in with both hands, scoring 2 points!
"Alonzo! Don't jump! Stay calm, as long as you don't jump, no one on the Bulls can get past your defense!" Hardaway quickly ran to the basket, patted Mourning's butt, and cheered him on!
Mourning, panting heavily, nodded. Although he had only played for a few minutes in the first half, his stamina was clearly starting to show.
The effects of a hangover are just too great!
Hardaway brought the ball up the court again. Facing Lin Tian's one-on-one defense, he didn't rush to attack. As the game progressed, Hardaway became calmer and calmer, and he understood his responsibilities and tasks more and more!
He carefully protected the basketball. At this point, his mindset was no longer to seek merit, but only to avoid making mistakes!
Just as Mashburn regained his position in the low post and firmly blocked Kukoc behind him, Hardaway's pass arrived!
Mashburn vs. Kukoc! This matchup is the Heat's most advantageous and damaging tonight's game against the Bulls!
Mashburn used the same trick again, switching to tank mode once more, crushing Kukoc all the way to the edge of the three-second zone, then suddenly turning around and using a power jump, pulling Kukoc up while still in the air!
Mashburn's speed was so fast that he sprang up like a rocket, and Kukoc couldn't react in time. His hands didn't have time to dodge and hit Mashburn's arm directly.
"Beep! Kukoc commits a foul by hitting a hand!"
The referee's whistle blew immediately, and at the same time, the basketball went into the basket!
2+1!
The entire American Airlines Arena erupted in cheers, with a large number of fans standing up, waving their arms wildly and chanting "Monster" to cheer on Mashburn!
Mashburn stepped to the free-throw line, took a deep breath, and then raised his hand and sank the ball!
Then, during the Bulls' offense, Lin Tian found Cole again outside the three-point line, but Cole's three-pointer missed and the rebound bounced very far away. Leonard, who was near the three-point line, grabbed the rebound and then passed it directly to Hardaway, who had already started his fast break.
Hardaway dribbled past Lin Tian and charged straight to the basket. Then, even though he was already in the paint, he suddenly jumped up and passed the ball to Leonard, who was following up. Leonard made a three-pointer!
89: 89!
Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, the Heat tied the score!
The entire American Airlines Arena erupted in cheers and shouts once again! Fans all stood up, yelling and chanting Leonard's name towards the court!
"Kid! You think you're the only one who can play fast? You think you're the only one who can break the fast break? Let me tell you! I'm the grandmaster of fast breaks in the league! You'd better learn from me!" Hardaway, who had delivered two brilliant passes in a row, opened his mouth and started ranting at Lin Tian.
"Anyone who didn't know better would think you were leading by 20 points." Lin Tian shrugged, took the baseline ball, and calmly advanced the ball. "If tying the score makes you this arrogant, how much trash talk would I have given you in the first three quarters? Hmm? This seems to be the first time you've tied the score, what's there to be so proud of?"
"We've been leading for over 30 minutes!"
After calmly dribbling the ball to the frontcourt, Lin Tian did not call for a screen this time. Instead, he dribbled continuously at the top of the arc and then suddenly accelerated to break through, driving all the way to the basket over Hardaway. Just as Mourning came to help defend, Lin Tian suddenly made a behind-the-back pass to the open Longley, who picked up the ball and dunked!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, Longley, who looked more like an All-Star center than Mourning tonight, raised his hands again and roared!
"Mourning's timing for that help defense was absolutely perfect! I really don't know how you could find a more perfect help defense than Mourning's!" Marcus shook his head incredulously after the play, saying, "Mourning came over just as Lin was gathering the ball and about to jump!"
"Excellent!" Smith added, "Such an extreme choice, such timely help defense, and yet what was the result? Lin, after jumping and having all his shooting angles blocked, managed an incredible behind-the-back pass to find his open teammate. Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!"
"How many eyes and hands does he have to pass the ball? I'm increasingly convinced that Lin will become the best point guard since Magic Johnson!"
On the court, both sides had once again entered an offensive back-and-forth battle. For the Heat, Mashburn scored 7 points in 3 consecutive possessions with a post-up move, a mid-range shot, and a pull-up three-pointer! Tonight, Kukoc was completely outplayed by him, and Mashburn was simply unstoppable!
But the Bulls were not to be outdone. Although Kukoc was outplayed by Mashburn, he still managed to drive to the basket and use his footwork and rhythm to shake off Mashburn and score a 2+1 in response. Kerr and Longley also each made a layup after a cut!
Tonight, the Heat will focus on Mashburn, having him bully Kukoc, while the Bulls will focus on cuts and pick-and-rolls to constantly attack Mourning, who is not playing well tonight!
After each team scored three goals in a row, both coaches started calling out tactics on the sidelines, and then both teams began to change their defenses.
First, the Bulls stopped using Kukoc to defend Mashburn and instead assigned the veteran Rodman to deal with him, putting Kukoc up against Brown, who wasn't good at offense.
The Heat, on the other hand, slightly relaxed their help defense on Lin Tian, giving the Bulls' role players less space to shoot.
The Bulls' new defense immediately shut down Mashburn! Facing the veteran Rodman, Mashburn's skills were simply no match. After two failed offensive plays, Hardaway stopped actively looking for Mashburn on offense.
However, every advantage has its disadvantage. Although Rodman contained Mashburn, his protection of the rebounds and his help defense against Mourning were noticeably weaker. Brown seized the opportunity and grabbed two offensive rebounds in a row, while Mourning seized the opportunity and began to score under the basket!
Compared to the Bulls' somewhat disjointed defense, the Heat's new defense was clearly more effective. Lin Tian faced this semi-double-team defense, and his teammates missed several shots! If it weren't for Longley and Rodman's advantage in the paint and their ability to grab offensive rebounds, the Bulls would have fallen behind the Heat in this back-and-forth battle!
Even so, the Heat, with their relatively better form, gradually gained the lead!
So, from 9 minutes and 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter until 5 minutes left, the Heat, with their more aggressive defense and more effective defensive strategies, outscored the Bulls with a 17-8 run.
They extended their lead to 7 points in one fell swoop!
106: 113!
With only 5 minutes left in the game, the Heat's advantage is quite significant!
And that's not all!
When Hardaway dribbled the ball to the frontcourt again, facing Lin Tian's defense, Hardaway, who was completely excited, didn't even make a fake move. He pulled up and shot an unreasonable long-range three-pointer right in front of Lin Tian!
Lin Tian jumped up quickly to defend, and his fingernail touched the basketball!
However, the touch did not cause the basketball to bounce off the rim; instead, it bounced off the backboard and went straight into the net!
"Thanks, kid! That's a point!" Hardaway excitedly pounded his chest, while continuing to trash-talk Lin Tian, "We're up by 10 points! Have you guys ever been up by 10 points tonight? Huh? Weaklings!"
"We led by as much as 30 points several times in the first two games!" Lin Tian shrugged nonchalantly. "If I didn't know, I'd think you were leading the series 2-0! You're only leading by a few points temporarily because Michael and Scott are out, and you're already so smug?"
"Oh, I almost forgot, this is your first time ever reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, isn't it? Your first time seeing such a big stage, isn't it? Do you need me to tell you how to stay calm and composed on this kind of stage? After all, I've made it to the Eastern Conference Finals every single year of my career, and I've never lost here!"
What is double standards?
Mr. Lin is a hypocrite!
You talk to me about the current score, I talk to you about tonight's score, you talk to me about tonight's score, I talk to you about this series! If you, Hardaway, still want to talk about this series, then I, Lin, can only talk to you about last year's Finals!
There's nothing I can do, I, Lord Lin, just love double standards!
No matter how tough Lin Tian's criticism was, the Bulls still called a timeout after the Heat took a 10-point lead.
Jackson, we still need to make some arrangements!
(End of this chapter)