The Trail Blazers appeared more composed and strategic, as they had prepared extensively, continuously revolving their tactics around Gan Guoyang. Gan beca a fixture in the low post, with the ball passing through his hands almost every possession.
Though the Trail Blazers weren’t running the Princeton Offense, the chemistry they had built throughout the season was evident.
After enduring a three-minute scoring drought, Gan Guoyang, facing a double team in the low post, executed a brilliant no-look pass behind his head to the cutting Reggie Lewis.
Lewis caught the ball and scored with a two-handed dunk! The atmosphere in morial Coliseum exploded, as the Portland crowd showed the Bulls, a Finals rookie, what championship intensity truly ant.
The Bulls had no choice but to muster their spirits and throw themselves into the fray of offense and defense. At this point, their defensive intensity had noticeably declined—such high intensity couldn’t be sustained indefinitely.
Jordan once again used his unmatched explosiveness and speed to charge into the paint, but this ti Gan Guoyang swatted his shot away from behind with a resounding block!
Lewis grabbed the ball, and the Trail Blazers launched a fast break. However, when Jero Kossie went up for a layup under the basket, Pippen blocked it. Lewis recovered the ball and went up again, only to have Buck Williams swat it away too.
The battle under the basket turned chaotic. Terry Porter snatched the ball and threw it toward the rim; it bounced off the backboard, missing the mark. Ah Gan suddenly ca down like a divine force, scoring with a two-handed putback dunk!
Nearly halfway through the third quarter, the Trail Blazers had only scored eight points, suffering from a barrage of missed shots and turnovers with dismal efficiency.
Yet the Bulls had scored even less, relying solely on Jordan’s early-ga drives and free throws for just four points—no one else had managed to score.
The suffocating tension of the ga overwheld everyone; not only were the fans struggling to endure, but even the players found it tough to keep up.
At this rate, the fourth quarter might as well be played by the benchwarrs.
Jackson called for a tiout and opted for substitutions, bringing in Grant and Armstrong. Both teams tacitly relaxed their intensity for the ti being.
An NBA ga is like a marathon—a steady pace in the beginning, a sprint in the end—with neither team exerting full effort midway to avoid running out of gas later.
However, tonight, both teams were determined to exhaust their opponents in the middle of the ga. The Trail Blazers failed to completely break the Bulls, while the Bulls struggled desperately to keep up.
The relaxed pace lasted for over five minutes, during which both sides managed to score, though most of the Bulls’ points ca from isolation plays.
This was precisely what the Trail Blazers wanted: when the Bulls couldn’t find solutions, they’d simply hand the ball to Jordan to let him create on his own.
Even in the third quarter, Jordan remained in his "War God" form, not only scoring relentlessly but also driving into the paint repeatedly to create opportunities for his teammates on the periter.
Armstrong hit a crucial three-pointer, signaling the start of the Bulls’ coback.
Jordan began playing like a point guard, tearing through the Trail Blazers’ defense like a ferocious tiger with his explosiveness and speed, creating opportunities for his teammates before swiftly dishing the ball.
Jordan was thinking correctly: as a guard, he had more autonomy and flexibility than a post player. He didn’t need teammates to feed him the ball or set screens; he could attack as soon as he received the ball.
The Bulls slowly edged closer on the scoreboard, intensifying their defense to shut down passing lanes to Gan Guoyang. Buck Williams, Grant, and Bill Cartwright invested all their energy into fronting Gan, while Pippen glued himself to Gan’s side, even enduring a whistle for illegal defense without budging.
The score reached 66-69, with the Bulls trailing by just 3 points. Bobby Berman called a tiout.
He made substitutions, swapping out Sabonis for Mychal Thompson and bringing in Petrović to replace Jero Kossie.
As soon as Petrović joined the ga, the dynamic shifted significantly. He was in peak form tonight, quickly executing a pick-and-roll with Gan Guoyang and sinking a mid-range jumper right in Jordan’s face!
Petrović’s basket brought relief to Berman, who montarily exhaled. This Croatian kid had proven his worth; the careful cultivation of his talent was finally paying dividends.
However, Petrović was less reliable on defense. Jordan imdiately exploited the gap on the periter, but his shot was contested and missed when Gan Guoyang ca over to help.
Old Thompson secured the defensive rebound and quickly launched a long pass to the frontcourt. Petrović advanced with the ball like the wind, showing no hesitation, delivering a daring bounce pass straight to Reggie Lewis. Lewis caught the ball, took flight, and hamred in a one-handed dunk!
Yet another dunk—tonight, everyone was dunking whenever they got the chance, holding nothing back.
The ga’s pace and intensity escalated again as the third quarter drew to a close, forcing both teams to rotate their second units.
The official tiout arrived, and TV viewers seized the mont for bathroom breaks while the spectators at the arena caught their breath.
The score stood at 71-76, with the Trail Blazers maintaining a 5-point lead, firmly keeping the Bulls in check.
The situation was dire for the Bulls. Jackson could sense how hard his players were struggling.
They had been trailing relentlessly, with the ga’s rhythm entirely under the Trail Blazers’ control.
Of course, the Trail Blazers were fatigued too; this was only Ga 1 of the Finals, and everyone was already questioning whether they had been too aggressive right out of the gate.
The ga had prematurely entered the "whoever can’t endure will fall behind" phase, arriving much earlier than in normal matches.
On the bench, Jordan turned to Phil Jackson and said: "Phil, I need to rest for a bit."
Jackson and the Bulls’ coaching staff were stunned. This was the first ti they’d ever heard Jordan ask for a rest during a ga.
Jackson’s heart sank further; if Michael Jordan couldn’t hold on, there was no hope for anyone else.
"Are you sure you don’t want to finish the third quarter?"
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