socalfunplaces Chapter 20: Penny vs. Flying Man!
Chapter 20: Penny vs. Flying Man!
If anything could fuel Jordan's fury tonight and make him even more determined to crush the Magic, it would be the arrogant boos from the Magic fans!
"Michael, you're too old to fly anymore!"
"Defeated opponents, all you can take away tonight is defeat!"
"Old Michael is no threat at all! We're not afraid of you!"
"Whether you're number 45 or number 23, you're past your prime! Anfernee is the new king of the league!"
While warming up by shooting hoops, Lin Tian observed Jordan's expression and condition. When he saw that Jordan was extremely tense and looked terrible, Lin Tian knew that the Magic were really in trouble tonight!
At this moment, Lin Tian even replaced Jordan's face with Li Yunlong's in his mind!
"Xie Baoqing, Xie Baoqing, why did you have to mess with that bastard Li Yunlong?!"
Amid the boos and trash talk from the fans, Jordan's expression grew increasingly frozen, and this anger immediately transformed into terrifying offensive power once the game started!
Three-pointers, mid-range shots, drives to the basket, post-up moves—Jordan unleashed a flurry of attacks right from the start, leaving Nick Anderson, his opponent, in a terrible predicament!
Coupled with Jordan's machine-gun-like swearing and taunts, as well as his varied footwork, Anderson accumulated two fouls and was forced to the bench in less than 5 minutes, while Jordan scored 14 points in just half a quarter!
He's proving with his actions that no matter what size I wear or whether I can fly or not, beating up small fry like you is absolutely a piece of cake!
However, even though Jordan was in such excellent form, almost to the point of being able to do whatever he wanted, and the Bulls' Harper and Pippen also made some contributions on the offensive end, the Bulls still couldn't pull away from the score!
The reason is simple: although the Magic couldn't stop Jordan at all, O'Neal and Hardaway were simply too much for the Bulls to handle!
These two hottest young stars in the league showed no stage fright or fear when facing veteran players, giving full play to their talents, supporting the team, and holding the score!
The score remained close and evenly matched until the end of the first quarter.
27: 24!
The Bulls barely managed to take a 3-point lead in the first quarter!
This match is absolutely going to be a fierce battle!
In the CBS studio, a commentator named Will Marcus excitedly exclaimed, "Tonight's match is absolutely the most exciting clash of the season so far! The two sides are extremely evenly matched, and this match will most likely go down to the very last minute before a winner is decided!"
"Will is right," Marcus's partner Smith nodded. "The Magic certainly don't have anyone who can stop Jordan, but the Bulls don't have anyone who can stop Shaq either! Not to mention Hardaway showed top-tier skill against Harper! The outcome of this game will probably depend on the choices made by both coaches, and whether they can come up with something truly impressive!"
Marcus continued, "That's right, there's another point, which is whether either side can produce a surprise player! If someone unexpected can step up, then this game might take a completely unexpected turn! For example, the Bulls' rookie this year, Lin! He had a pretty good performance in the six preseason games."
"However, for some reason, this newcomer hasn't played in the previous three games! Let's see if Phil will give him a chance to play tonight!"
As the two chatted, the second quarter of the game officially began!
Lin Tian also replaced Harper, making his first official appearance of the season!
He played for about 5 minutes in this quarter, but didn't put on any particularly impressive performance.
The biggest reason was that Shaquille O'Neal of the Magic was on the court at that time. This monster under the basket, who is probably the most terrifying in NBA history, completely dominated the area and swept up almost all the rebounds. His presence prevented Lin Tian from executing his fast break, which was his forte, so he naturally didn't have many opportunities to perform.
O'Neal dominated Wennington under the basket, leaving him helpless and unable to offer any resistance!
Lin Tian played for 5 minutes in the second quarter, scoring only 2 points and 1 assist before being substituted by Jackson. The Magic had taken a 5-point lead, and O'Neal's dominance under the basket forced Jackson to bring Jordan back in to counter O'Neal's offensive power.
The Magic quickly brought on Hardaway as a countermeasure, and the two teams were locked in a close battle again in the last few minutes of the first half!
Ultimately, the Magic took the lead when the first half ended!
They entered the team's locker room with a score of 47-50.
Besides Shaquille O'Neal, who scored 14 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, the main players in the first half were undoubtedly Jordan and Hardaway, two top perimeter stars!
Jordan scored 28 points in the first half, and Hardaway was not far behind, although he only scored 19 points, but also contributed 5 rebounds and 8 assists. In this era, scoring these numbers in the first half, although not earth-shattering, is definitely a top-level performance by a top star!
Both the commentators and the audience focused their attention on the two men, with cheers and shouts rising and falling almost non-stop!
Before leaving the court at halftime, Lin Tian glanced towards the Magic team and clearly saw that O'Neal was staring at Hardaway's back.
His eyes were filled with envy and resentment!
Lin Tian suddenly remembered that this year was O'Neal's contract year!
The Magic don't seem particularly interested in re-signing this monster.
The Magic's management has poured all their heart and soul into Hardaway!
Shaquille O'Neal, a big man with lofty ambitions and a sensitive, fragile nature, was naturally very unhappy!
On his way to the locker room, Lin Tian suddenly grabbed Kukoc and said, "Tony, if we can play together again in the second half, could you set a few screens for me?"
"Of course, you can call me anytime." Kukoc nodded. "What do you plan to do?"
"I want to take on Shaq one-on-one!" Lin Tian patted Kukoc on the shoulder and said something that sounded almost suicidal to Kukoc.
Lin has gone mad!
.......
In the second half, the two teams switched sides and resumed their battle. Hardaway and Jordan continued their high-scoring duel. Jordan would shoot a mid-range shot, and Hardaway would always break through the Bulls' defense with his sharp drives!
Six minutes into the third quarter, Hardaway once again drove to the basket, drawing Longley's fourth foul and getting himself to the free-throw line.