Thinking back to the first official tiout when I told Pippen and Rodman, "We might win in the first quarter," it was really a slap to the face!
Now, this feeling of uncertainty in the outco—after the regular season started, Jordan had only encountered it once in the previous ten gas—and to face it again, and against a team like the Brooklyn Nets, was unexpected.
At least at this mont, Jordan truly saw the Brooklyn Nets as worthy opponents!
However, even with the Nets as hot as they were, the Bulls were still able to keep the score tightly contested... Jordan knew they still had a great chance to win the ga!
...
The break between quarters quickly ended, and for the Brooklyn Nets, Kenny Anderson, Edwards, Zhang Hao, Almon Gilliam, and Jason Williams took the court.
As Jordan expected, even though Zhang Hao's side was leading, he deeply felt the terrifying strength of the Bulls!
If it were any other team, with the way the Nets were playing tonight and their fierce breakout, they might have been leading by a lot. But the Bulls were only two points behind! Moreover, their shooting percentage was gradually declining! The Bulls were truly using their defense to gradually suppress the Nets' fiery touch!
They couldn't snowball against the Bulls, even with such a fierce breakout!
But at this point, in the final quarter, when Zhang Hao stepped onto the court feeling his stamina wane, he wasn't discouraged and continued to fight!
The Bulls sent out a lineup of Steve Kerr, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, and Kukoc.
The Zen Master stood as steady as a mountain on the sidelines, but the Bulls weren't in perfect condition tonight either. Ron Harper and Langley had both played 25 minutes in the first three quarters, exceeding their average playti this season.
Although the Brooklyn Nets were on fire tonight and everyone was playing their hearts out, their stamina was indeed taxed, and so was the Bulls'.
In the fourth quarter, the Nets had the first attack.
Kenny Anderson advanced to the front court and first passed the ball to Zhang Hao, who was relying on Rodman at the left baseline mid-range.
At that mont, Zhang Hao felt like he was back in the season opener—his teammates were pointing at him again!
At this ti, he couldn't show his inner thought of "I'm tired and need a break", he had to play! Whether he could score or not, he had to play!
In the previous 12 gas, Zhang Hao rarely encountered top-notch inside defenders. Moning was one, but when Zhang Hao was on offense, it was mostly not Moning defending. When he faced Malone, Zhang Hao was pumled, and against the other 10 opponents, Zhang Hao found the defense increasingly tighter, with more double-teams when he received the ball, and tighter switches when he moved. The opponents' individual defense abilities were not that strong.
Facing a defender of Rodman's caliber directly one-on-one, Zhang Hao had only encountered Malone before.
eting soone like Rodman in the regular season was a first.
Fortunately, Rodman wasn't pressing fully. He was wary of Zhang Hao's speed and agility, and swearing didn't help—Pippen had cursed countless tis.
This gave Zhang Hao so opportunities, but they weren't very good ones.
Whatever the case, Zhang Hao guarded the ball with his left hand, held Rodman with his body, and dribbled without caring about the passing seconds on the shot clock.
A post-up... shouldn't it last from receiving the ball to the end of the 24-second shot clock...?
Zhang Hao adjusted for quite a while and at 11:42 into the fourth quarter, he stepped away from the basket, turned around, and took a long two-point shot!
This shot was wild!
Playing recklessly!
He was betting on his feel, as it wasn't within his shooting rhythm.
Fortunately, it triggered the "King of Turnaround Jumpers"!
The King of Turnaround Jumpers corrected the effect of Zhang Hao's out-of-rhythm turnaround shot, continuing the hot hand he had in the first three quarters, and he made the long two!
The score was 90 to 86, with the Brooklyn Nets leading by 4 points!
This 4-point lead played a huge role in the next few possessions. The Zen Master decided to sacrifice defense on the inside and the guard line. The nearly 32-year-old Ron Harper and the pri Langley weren't the most enduring types, so he chose to enhance the offense.
In the following possessions, the Bulls attacked fiercely, launching a 13 to 5 run, not only overtaking but also grabbing a 4-point lead! The score was 99 to 95!
Of these 13 points, 11 were scored by Jordan, who scored in 5 consecutive possessions!
Zhang Hao scored 33 points, and Jordan, with 11 consecutive points at the start of the fourth quarter, increased his personal score to 41 points!
Two mid-range shots, a layup with a switch, a low-post turn-around hook, and a three-pointer from the left top arc!
So far this season, Jordan averaged 1.2 three-pointers per ga, with a shooting percentage of forty-three percent, all from the top arc area, and hadn't made any from other zones yet.
Perhaps, if the lead had been extended by just one more point, the Brooklyn Nets would have collapsed under this Bulls offensive peak.
But they didn't reach that 5-point lead mark...
Just a two-possession ga to catch up, Kenny Anderson chose to take it himself this ti, forcefully driving into the paint, scoring while drawing a foul on Kukoc, and making the additional free throw too!
When it was the Bulls' turn on offense, Zhang Hao directly double-tead, ignoring everything else. Jordan quickly passed the ball out, Kukoc received it at the free-throw line, didn't shoot, facilitated a pass to a cutting Pippen, who laid it in for two points.
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