NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 32 The First Crown (3)

In the second half of the third quarter, Jordan was a little tired and asked to be replaced.It had been a long time since he had made such a request so early. Obviously, even he was unavoidably nervous when playing in the finals for the first time.In fact, Jordan is far from alone in being nervous.Grant didn't sleep well the night before, so he went to the arena to practice shooting three hours in advance, but under normal circumstances, the players were only an hour and a half to two hours earlier.Substitute Cliff Levingston, who woke up fine that day, vomited three times.Cartwright said to a friend next to him: "It's just another game." That friend knew Cartwright well, and he knew that this was exactly what Cartwright was nervous about. He said, "Only when he was nervous would he say this."

In the last quarter, Pippen got his fourth foul early, disrupting Jackson's deployment.Originally, Jackson wanted Pippen to guard the Magician, but now he dare not take the risk, and he can't let Pippen get into foul trouble.

23.5 seconds before the end, the Bulls led 91 to 89, and the Lakers opened the sideline.Faced with Jordan's defense, the magician pressed into the penalty area step by step. Seeing Cartwright come to double-team, he suddenly sent a cross pass and the ball went to Perkins.Although Perkins is an insider, he has a strong peripheral shooting ability. I saw him shoot from the right-wing three-point line, and the ball fell steadily into the basket. 9 2 to 91, the Lakers overtook.

With 14 seconds left, the Bulls still have a chance.Jordan's breakthrough was sieged by the Lakers, the ball went out of the baseline in the chaos, and the ball was still in the hands of the Bulls.After a timeout and kick-off again, Jordan managed to get rid of Perkins' defense and made a mid-range shot from the left wing. The ball hit the rim a few times before finally popping out.The Lakers then scored a free throw by Scott to win 93-91.

Jordan scored 36 points, sent 12 assists, grabbed 8 rebounds, but failed to win his first finals victory.After returning to the locker room and sitting down, he muttered softly, "It shouldn't be like this."

The total score fell behind 0 to 1. The Bulls lost home court advantage in the first game, but Jackson was not so unhappy. He knew that his team's performance in the first game was below the actual level. He believed that some defensive adjustments could be made to limit the Lakers. attack.The ball is lost, but Jackson is sure that they can win back the lost point.

The fourth classic battle of Jordan's career

1991 NBA Finals Game [-]
Time: March 1991, 6

Where: Chicago Coliseum

Score: Bulls 107: Lakers 86
In the second game of the finals, NBC TV commentator Marv Albert shouted: "Oh! An amazing move, created by Michael Jordan!"

This commentary later became a classic in the NBA.Albert said frankly: "For me, there is no other way to describe that ball. At that time, the words came out of my mouth. It was indeed an amazing maneuver."

A classic commentary must be accompanied by a classic picture.That amazing move happened at 7 minutes and 47 seconds before the end of the game.Judging from the score, that ball was not critical, because the Bulls had already led by more than 20 points at that time.However, don't underestimate the mental shock that Jordan's action created.

The Lakers missed a shot, Pippen got the rebound, and on the drive upfield, he handed the ball to Jordan.Jordan did not slow down after receiving the ball, and went straight down from the middle. The Lakers quickly deployed defenses to protect the penalty area.Jordan flicked the ball with his right hand and sent the ball to his teammate Livingston on the left. Livingston rushed to the edge of the penalty area and attracted the defensive attention of the three Lakers players. To Jordan near the free throw line.

Jordan caught the ball again, took a step forward with his left hand, soared into the air, held the ball high in his right hand, and was about to perform a dunk.At this moment, Perkins stepped forward and AC Green also jumped up. Both of them intended to intercept Jordan.Jordan, who was in the air, reacted extremely quickly, handed the ball from his right hand to his left hand, turned a dunk into a pick, and hooked the ball with his left hand before his body completely landed.The ball touched the backboard and obediently fell into the basket.

When he landed, Jordan realized that he had just completed an incredible move, and he punched hard, applauding himself.Jackson squatted on the sidelines, smiled, stood up and took a few steps forward, and couldn't help shaking his head slightly.Bulls center Scott Williams (Scott Williams) was even more surprised. He raised his hands on the field, looked left and right, as if asking all the audience: "Did you see it? see it?"

Yes, they all saw it, and so did their opponents."He's done the impossible, the unbelievable," said the magician.

Jordan later explained the thought process of that moment: "I was going to dunk, but I jumped up in the air, and I didn't think I had enough room, I couldn't reach the basket, so I switched hands and put the ball in. Even if I try again, I probably won't be able to replicate it."

In this game, Jordan scored 33 points. The exaggeration is that he took 18 shots and made 15 shots, with a shooting percentage of more than 80%.From the last 4 minutes of the second quarter to the amazing change of hands in the fourth quarter, Jordan has never missed a shot in 13 consecutive shots.In the second half, Jordan made 11 of 10 shots, including 6 points on all 14 shots in the third quarter.There was a moment when Jordan stared at the Lakers bench and raised his hand, as if to say, "Can any of you guard me?"

Not only Jordan, but the entire Bulls found the feeling, shooting 61.7% from the field, setting a record in the history of the NBA Finals.The five main players all scored in double figures, and none of them shot less than 50%. Among them, Paxson scored 8 points on 8 of 16 shots.In the third quarter that determined the outcome, Jordan made 6 of 6 shots, and the Bulls also made 2 of 0 shots.

The Bulls won 107 to 86, Jordan said: "I was surprised that we won so many points. However, we returned to the state of playing the 12 playoff games before the first game (of the finals). We improved our defense Intensity, getting everyone involved."

According to the 2-3-2 format of the finals, starting from the third game, the battlefield will be transferred to Los Angeles, and the Bulls will play three consecutive away games.

"Okay, now we're going to Los Angeles for two wins," Jackson said.

As soon as the words fell, Jordan yelled: "It's three games, PJ (Phil Jackson's initials)!"

Jordan's self-confidence and arrogance are not without reason.Although the total score was tied 1-1 and the home court advantage was still in the hands of the Lakers, after the second game, the situation was quietly changing.

First, Jackson made a decisive tactical adjustment.In the second game, Jordan received two fouls prematurely, Jackson instructed to switch defenses, and asked Pippen to stare at the Magician.This was a trick he had decided to use a long time ago, but he failed to implement it in the first game.Pippen's height is close to that of the Magician, and he has an amazing wingspan, and at this moment, the 2-year-old Pippen is far faster than the 5-year-old Magician, and the Magician feels very uncomfortable.Under normal circumstances, the magician is always much higher than the defender defending him. If the opponent sends a big man to defend him, the speed cannot keep up, so the magician always has a natural dislocation advantage in the offense.Now, Pippen has matched up with the Magician in all aspects, making the Magician very uncomfortable, and the Lakers' overall offense has therefore become sluggish.

Secondly, Worthy's situation is very worrying for the Lakers.As the Lakers' leading scorer this season, Worthy sprained his ankle in the Western Conference Finals, and his combat effectiveness was compromised.The Bulls are aware of this, and naturally they will not be merciful.

Third, after watching the first two games, Jackson discovered that Paxson was an important weapon for them to open up gaps in the Lakers' defense.Jackson edited a video and showed it to Jordan. The screen showed that the Magic always left Paxson on defense to protect the middle. This was a bet that Jordan would not pass the ball to Paxson.Before the third game, Jackson gave orders to Jordan in front of the whole team: "MJ, you have to see who is open, you have to find Paxson, he is empty, you have to give him the ball, this is what we should do. Things." After the third and fourth games, Jackson continued to update the tape, adding new images, and conveying the same message to Jordan.Jordan would see that as soon as he drove himself into the paint, the Lakers' defense began to crumble, and once he made the pass, the Bulls had an open shot.

Jordan agreed with Jackson's opinion, cooperated very well on the court, and carried out Jackson's arrangement.Jackson said: "Michael sometimes became able to give up more of the spotlight and the ball. He understood that to reach the Finals and win the Finals, he had to do it."

In the third game, the two sides bite very tightly. At halftime, the Bulls led 48 to 47.The Lakers once controlled the situation in the third quarter, leading by more than 13 points, but slowly, the Magician was tired and Worthy's ankle began to hurt. The Bulls showed the advantage of a young team and got the score back.With 39.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Bulls took a 90-89 lead.

Jordan missed a jumper and Divac grabbed a defensive rebound.At the other end, Divac stumbled the ball in again and caused Pippen to foul six.After Divac made a free throw, the Lakers led 92 to 90 with only 10.9 seconds left.

The Bulls called a timeout, and Jackson arranged for players to serve from the bottom line of the backcourt instead of the center line, so that after Jordan received the ball, it would be difficult for the opponent to double-team, and Jordan would have more space to look for shooting opportunities.Sure enough, as he expected, Jordan faced Scott's single defense, dribbled the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt, and then broke through to the penalty area. It was a little late for Divac to double-team. On the edge of the penalty area, Jordan faced Divac An emergency stop jump shot, the ball passed Divac's fingertips and fell steadily into the basket, 92 levels.

In the last 3.4 seconds, the Bulls defended successfully and the two sides entered overtime, which was obviously not what the tired Lakers wanted. In the 5-minute overtime game, the Lakers could still support the first half. After the 96 tie, they scored no points in the last 2 minutes.Jordan kicked off the attack with a backhand pick from the baseline. The Bulls won 104-96 and regained home court advantage.

(End of this chapter)