Champions Creed

Chapter 102 Chapter 101: Even if you get 40 points, I will accompany you to the end! (Please give me a monthly ticket!)
If this Houston Rockets team that played in the finals were put into the 21st century, they would definitely be called the Big Seven by some fans.

After playing two games with them, O'Neal has deeply realized what it means to mobilize everyone.

You never know when someone on their team is going to step up.

Therefore, the Magic must firmly implement man-to-man defense.

You can't leave any of them alone.

Let anyone, even a minor character, find his touch and he could kill you that night.

In the last game, even under the man-to-man strategy, Sam Cassell still scored 13 points in a single quarter.

If Roger hadn't used a stronger scoring momentum, the game would probably have been reversed because of Cassell.

It's hard to imagine what he would do if you leave him open in the fourth quarter.

The victory in Game 2 proved that the Magic's current strategy was feasible. So with a resolute man-to-man strategy, the young people of Orlando landed in the Space City.

This was Roger's second time playing in the finals in Space City. When he got off the plane, he felt a lump in his throat when faced with the reporter's question, "What was it like the last time you came here to play in the finals?"

How does it feel? How else can you feel when you see someone take the championship away from you?
Roger hates losing. He has lost enough in his previous life, so he hates losing in this life very much.

This year, Roger didn’t want to relive that feeling.

The first away game in Houston is very important. The team must play with confidence in G3, otherwise it is likely to suffer a series of defeats on the Rockets' home turf.

Roger was ready. No matter what, he would take on this game and gain a foothold in Houston.

At the Game 3 scene, the enthusiasm of Rockets fans was self-evident, and the tickets for the Compaq Center were sold out early.

Since winning the championship in 1994, every home game of the Rockets has been sold out. This is the money-making power of the championship.

This also creates a warm home atmosphere in Houston.

Home players will get a huge morale boost here, while away players will have double the pressure.

All Houston people are looking forward to Dream winning the game at home. Judging from the tactics in the last game, today's battle will still be a competition between Roger and Olajuwon's ability to break through defense.

Houstonians are extremely confident about this.

Even guest commentator Bill Walton did not hide his love and optimism for Olajuwon. When Dream was still warming up, he could not help but praise him:

"With his speed, flexibility, coordination and touch, it's really hard for us to see the next Dream. Maybe we will see 50 players like Michael Jordan before we have a chance to see the next Dream. We are lucky to witness the performance of this great center. Who else has a stronger ability to solve defense than him?"

Olajuwon has undoubtedly established his historical status through this year's playoffs and won unanimous trust.

Where is Roger?
He is certainly great, but in terms of personal performance, he is not as exaggerated as Dream.

So far in this year's playoffs, Roger has not scored 40+ points in a single game, while Olajuwon scored + points three times in the last round alone.

If the Magic really want to compete with the Rockets in terms of star toughness, it will undoubtedly be a severe challenge.

The Rockets did not change their lineup, and the starting lineup still consisted of Kenny Smith, Drexler, Mario Eli, Horry and Olajuwon.

On the bench, there are only Cassell and Charles Jones, one inside and one outside, as regular rotation players.

The real Seven Jedi.

Before the game started, O'Neal patted his chest and said, "I can handle the Dream, don't worry!"

Then, Da Meng began his performance.

On the first attack of the game, Dream received the ball at a mid-range position and wanted to single out the Shark right away.

One detail: Because of his shooting range and skills, Olajuwon can receive the ball at a higher position to attack, which makes it easier for him to receive the ball than most centers, and the ball can be easily handed to him.

After getting the basketball on the right side of the mid-range, Olajuwon slowly turned around to face the basket.

O'Neal gave Olajuwon a half step, but the big hand was always hanging in front of Olajuwon.

"Boom!"

Dream passes the ball and he is about to start attacking.

Olajuwon broke through to the right side of the Sharks, who blocked him very well. However, when physical contact was made, Olajuwon quickly turned to the left.

O'Neal thought that Dream was going to use this turn to get to the basket, so he moved to the side and back. But after turning around, Dream took a step back, and then used a move similar to the Golden Rooster Stand to shoot the ball. The basketball passed O'Neal, who had no time to interfere, and went into the net steadily.

In the first round of the Magic's single defense, Dream easily scored a goal with superb moves.

The entire Rockets team was extremely excited, and Olajuwon's singles made them feel very reassured.

This kind of offensive stability is difficult for outside players to match.

O'Neal cursed inwardly, Olajuwon's footsteps were too unpredictable. Who would have thought that he would take a step back after turning around?

That's not even a center move!
But soon, Roger retaliated with a beautiful back turn and wiped the board.

Drexler also cursed inwardly, he felt that this night would be very long.

The Rockets used the same tactics as in G2 today and did not dare to use Olajuwon to assist in defending Roger.

Tomjanovich still remembers the regular season opener against the Magic this season. Roger and Shaq scored a combined 61 points, but the Rockets' "both" defensive strategy was distracting and ultimately resulted in neither Roger nor O'Neal being able to defend.

Now, all Tomjanovich has to do is prevent Roger and Shark from both attacking.

Therefore, Olajuwon must not go out to help defend Roger.

Currently, the Rockets only have one serious inside player, Dream. Without him guarding the restricted area, it is not surprising that O'Neal has an 80% shooting rate at the basket.

Therefore, Dream had to stay by the Shark's side and could not move at all. It was better to let Roger score than to let both Roger and Shark score.

Right from the start, Dream and Roger set the tone for the game.

Today, it is a head-on confrontation between two sharp swords!
Today is a brutal fencing duel!
After scoring the goal, Roger did not forget to stimulate his old friend Drexler: "Clyde, I'm really sorry for sending you back home. I didn't expect you to be so fragile, and I didn't expect to beat you and make you run away."

Roger was talking about Drexler requesting a trade after losing to him during the regular season.

Although Glider had spoken rudely to Roger before, Roger was actually no longer angry.

He is now talking trash just to make Drexler uncomfortable and to completely break him mentally. In this way, his defense will get worse and worse.

In the next round, Olajuwon did not play one-on-one, but instead passed the ball to Robert Horry who was cutting into the basket.

But Horace Grant quickly followed up and stole the ball. The biggest feature of the Magic team's configuration is that everyone has above-average defensive ability.

When the Magic played man-to-man defense, the Rockets had almost no easy scoring opportunities.

This round also made Dream understand one thing - don't think about anything messy, just take the ball and go one-on-one!
After Grant stole the ball, Harper quickly counterattacked and scored.

4 to 2, Magic leads.

Olajuwon didn't hesitate any more. This time he received the ball in the low post, shook his shoulder, turned toward the baseline and made a hook shot, and the basketball went in again.

O'Neal was not out of position, but there was nothing he could do about it.

However, Magic coach Brian Hill's face was very calm.

If this is compared to a boxing match, then Magic is here to fight today!
It doesn’t matter if you get punched, as long as you can punch back!

Roger quickly hit back. In this round, Drexler was thrown off by Roger's off-ball running. The glider tried his best, but could only watch Roger shoot the ball in the mid-range.

Tonight, O'Neal and Drexler may be the ones who understand each other the most.

Everyone could see that G3 was played more extremely than G2, with Roger and Dream going straight into a head-to-head match from the start.

Tomjanovich is still waiting, he is sure that Roger will miss before Dream! The efficiency and stability of the outside line can never be compared with the inside line!
In this attack, Olajuwon directly held the ball in the mid-range. Seeing that O'Neal had let him go, he pretended to take a tentative step, but in fact he suddenly pulled up for a jump shot and easily scored again.

It is hard to imagine that this is a player who is over 210 cm tall. Every one of his movements is incredibly smooth.

Antetokounmpo has impressive static talent and explosive physical fitness, but his skills have never been delicate, and are even a bit clumsy.

Kevin Durant is a historical scorer, but he doesn't have a good enough body to play so well in the interior.

As Bill Walton said, Olajuwon is indeed unique.

Bill Walton was indeed boasting again: "See? This is Hakeem's ability! From 1987 to 1993, for six years, the teammates the Rockets found for Hakeem were like... excuse me, like a box of shit-made egg tarts. If he had had a good enough configuration earlier, he would never have won his first ring until last year."

6-6, the game was a see-saw battle from the beginning. Every time the Magic took the lead, Dream could immediately equalize, as stable as a machine.

O'Neal began to feel a little frustrated. He knew that defending Dream alone was not an easy task, but he didn't expect that he couldn't even defend one at the beginning of the game today.

Did he really want to make the admiral laugh out prostate fluid in bed?

Brian Hill smelled something bad. The Shark was a person who was easily affected by his emotions. Consecutive failures were likely to make that guy lose his focus on defense.

In an effort to get the Sharks to regroup, Hill stood up and yelled, "Don't let up, Shaq!"

This statement had no effect. Brian Hill has always been an academic-style coach and it was difficult for him to get along with the players.

There has always been a gap between the players and him. This does not mean that there is a conflict between the two sides, but that the relationship between the two sides has never been close and is limited to cooperation.

This results in their emotions being unable to resonate with each other, and never being able to resonate with each other.

So Brian Hill's ordinary yell did not have any motivating effect on the Sharks who had already failed in defense three times.

Dream could see that O'Neal was very frustrated, but he did not take the opportunity to provoke him. That was not him.

He remained expressionless, didn't talk trash, and quietly retreated.

In his opinion, killing the other three of the four centers was just a routine matter and there was nothing much to say.

Well, the Dream once again evened the score. Now it was Magic's turn, or more precisely, Roger's turn.

Amid the boos of all the fans at the Compaq Center and the pursuit of Olajuwon, who almost never misses, Roger was undoubtedly under a lot of pressure.

How long can he hold on? Tomjanovich was looking forward to this round, looking forward to Roger's first miss.

Whoever fails first now may be suppressed in momentum.

With Olajuwon scoring consecutively, if Roger missed the first shot, the Sharks' defensive mood would definitely be even lower.

Roger will definitely fail first, Tomjanovich firmly believes so!
After Harper passed the half court, he passed the ball to Roger who was outside the three-point line. Drexler was not thrown off this time. The moment Roger received the ball, the glider pressed him closely.

Seeing Roger was forced to stop in place, Kenny Smith immediately attacked him.

Faced with a double team attack, Roger could only pass the ball back to Harper, who then passed it to Grant.

Grant was in the high position, waiting for Roger to get rid of the ball again.

Roger ran to the left corner and received the pass from Grant.

But Drexler once again returned to his position the moment Roger received the ball, and his defense never left.

Drexler's pure defensive ability is not that strong, but his mentality is completely different from when he was in Portland.

As a native of Houston, Drexler has always dreamed of playing for his hometown team and creating greatness with his college teammate, The Dream.

He loves Houston more than Portland, and although his hair was thick when he left, and his hairline was bald when he returned, his love for his hometown has never diminished like his hairline.

After coming to Houston, Drexler's condition has improved significantly, and he even scored 40+ points in a single game in the first round.

On defense, he is naturally more active than when he was with the Trail Blazers. On defense, enthusiasm can make up for physical and technical deficiencies.

Roger failed to get rid of the ball twice in a row. All signs showed that he would most likely fail first in this round because his offensive rhythm was very unsmooth from beginning to end.

After Roger received the ball, he saw Drexler was still pressing him, so he suddenly straightened his center of gravity and tried to pull out. But after Drexler's center of gravity also rose, Roger suddenly accelerated and passed by him!
Drexler worked very hard, but no matter how hard a person tries, it is difficult to erase the traces left by the years.

Now Drexler is unable to catch up with Roger in the first time. His speed is like his hairline, which has regressed too much.

After successfully getting rid of the glider, Roger went straight to the penalty area along the baseline. Dream did not expect Roger to rush in, so he hurriedly shook off the shark and hurriedly protected the rim.

After Roger broke through to a position close to the basket, he gathered his strength and jumped up. He raised the ball with his right hand and pulled it behind him, and suddenly hit Dream's body at the moment he just jumped.

The moment the two sides made contact, the unprepared Dream's body was knocked crooked and he couldn't reach the ball at all. Roger just burst out with all his strength across Olajuwon and slammed the ball into the basket!

"boom!"

This year, Roger no longer just left scars on Olajuwon.

He has transformed into a heavy sword, capable of piercing through Da Meng's body with the force of thunder at any time!

Once again, Roger kept up the score and didn’t miss first.

8 to 6, Orlando Magic continues to lead!

The loud noise from the basket made all the fans in the Compaq Center go blank and sit in their seats in a daze.

Hakeem Olajuwon, this giant tower supporting the space city was easily knocked down by Roger!
Olajuwon has been fighting for this city for 10 years, but this is the first time that Houston fans have seen the Dream so embarrassed on the defensive end!

Tomjanovich swallowed his saliva. He thought Roger would not be able to find the feeling in this attack. However, with no chance at all, Roger actually scored with a dunk!
After landing, Roger punched hard and yelled at Dream. O'Neal was completely inspired by this scene. This dunk was much more useful to him than the coach's indifferent yelling.

"Good job, man! Good job! Let that bastard have a taste of our power!" Shark pushed Roger.

Roger clapped his hands: "Come on, brothers, let Da Meng have a nightmare!"

At this point, the Magic had the upper hand in momentum.

The Shark's previous depressed mood was swept away, and this time on defense he began to bite Dream like a beast.

Kenny Smith found the right angle and passed the ball to Olajuwon.

Dream continued to fight one-on-one with Shark under the basket. He did not attack facing the basket again, but chose to turn his back, which was his most reliable offensive method.

After reaching a deeper position, Dameng shook his shoulder to the left, then quickly turned to the right, preparing to throw the ball with one hand.

But this time, O'Neal, who was extremely focused, did not get fooled!

He jumped up with all his might the moment Olajuwon jumped, and slapped the basketball in Olajuwon's hand so hard that it flew away!

"Foul, foul!" Tomjanovich subconsciously shouted to the referee, because Dream was not a player who was easily blocked, so he thought that O'Neal must have hit Dream's hand just now.

However, the referee ignored Coach Tang. The baseline referee just saw it clearly and knew that O'Neal was 100% kidding!

Tomjanovich thought Roger would be the first to miss, but it turned out to be Dream who missed first. Moreover, he missed in such a shameful way!

Houston fans were also dumbfounded. First he was dunked on, and then he was bleeding. Why does this Dream smell like an admiral?

Derek McKay caught up with the basketball that was thrown away by the shark, and then counterattacked and dunked it.

10 to 6, Tomjanovich was right, whoever misses first will be more depressed.

Now, it's the Rockets players' turn to be dejected.

Tomjanovich quickly paused the game. Looking at Roger, who had just inspired his teammates with a dunk and stabilized the situation, Tom suddenly felt a sense of crisis.

Once again, Roger stepped up when the team needed him most.

Every time, he would do something to change the situation.

In the last round, he always blocked Jordan at critical moments.

Just now, when the Magic's offense was stuck, it was Roger again who led the team out of the tunnel with a powerful dunk and led the team over the first hurdle.

Many people may say that this is luck, just like James Bond in the 007 series of movies who always meets charming girls. Roger just happened to be at the critical juncture and did the right thing.

But Tomjanovich doesn't believe in luck the most, because many people attribute the success of his Houston Rockets to luck, but he knows it's not.

This guy who always stands out in crucial rounds, after all, also has a passionate champion's heart!

Although he didn't want to admit it, Tomjanovich's self-confidence was somewhat shaken.

At first, he thought that Roger, as an outside player, would never be able to outperform Dream.

But now, he thinks this matter is not as absolute as he expected.

The timeout ended quickly and play resumed.

All the players on the Orlando Magic looked extremely excited and confident.

This naturally includes Roger.

As soon as Olajuwon walked onto the court, Roger approached him, standing beside him with his hands on his knees: "Hakeem, how does it feel to bleed in Houston? Do you still think that my scoring can only hurt you? No, this year I will not only hurt you. Even if you score 40 points, I will accompany you to the end! Sorry Hakeem, but you can no longer use Ramadan as an excuse after losing."

After that, Horry kicked the ball out from the baseline and the game started again.

O'Neal continued to stick close to Olajuwon, and the others also kept a close eye on their opponents in one-on-one situations.

They were full of killing intent and confidence, as if no one could snatch the championship from them. Roger's consecutive goals gave the Orlando Magic a championship-like temperament. Their championship spirit had already begun to awaken!
In the subsequent games, the competition between Olajuwon and Roger was always tense.

When Olajuwon scored, Roger scored.

Olajuwon closed the gap, but Roger widened the gap again.

He fought toughly with Olajuwon for the entire game, and was not at all inferior in terms of stability. The Rockets changed everyone to guard Roger, and the result was the same!

Without the help of Dream Team, Roger can do whatever he wants!

Olajuwon was on fire and kept scoring over O'Neal.

20 points, 30 points. The score keeps rising.

In the tenth minute of the fourth quarter, Olajuwon started from outside the three-point line and suddenly changed direction in front of the shark like a guard!

The Shark obviously didn't expect Olajuwon to play like this as a center. He thought that Dream was going to move to the high post to assist. Therefore, the Shark was easily passed by Olajuwon.

After breaking into the inside, Dream faced Grant who was defending the basket, and he actually used Roger's tricks, jumping early, and flicked the ball over Grant's fingertips, successfully scoring a goal!
This shot completely exposed Olajuwon's identity as a tall guard, and also allowed him to score his 41st point of the game!
这已经是奥拉朱旺在今年季后赛里的第6次40分——扣篮之神史蒂芬.库里整个职业生涯也只有7次季后赛40+，只比奥拉朱旺一年季后赛40+的次数多1次！
At this time, the Rockets were trailing by 5 points.

They can catch up with the score if they try hard enough.

So the Rockets' efforts in this defense are obvious. Drexler was working at full speed, wishing to burn all the fuel in his tank, and tightly entangled Roger like an old tree with roots.

This is undoubtedly another game-changing moment, just like the first quarter's "Who missed first" shot. The result of this moment directly determines which chapter the game will enter.

Tomjanovich was so nervous that he gritted his teeth and defended this ball. As long as he could defend this ball, there was still hope of turning the game around.

The ball could not be passed to Roger, and the 24-second offensive time was running out.

Harper could only pass the ball to O'Neal, who pushed it in and turned to attract Olajuwon and Mario Elie to double-team him. But after jumping up, he passed the ball to Horace Grant who was cutting in!
O'Neal kept his composure, and Horace Grant received the ball and made a layup.

But Robert Horry appeared in time and blocked the basketball with a slap!
Horry's role in the Rockets is not just about shooting three-pointers. During this period, he was also a very good defensive player with strong athletic ability. So far in the finals, Horry can contribute 3 steals and 2 blocks per game.

The basketball was picked up by McKay, who passed it to Roger without thinking.

The chaos just now caused Drexler to relax his defense on Roger, allowing Roger to gain half a body length of space.

After receiving the basketball, Roger had no time to brake and jumped directly, drifting for a three-point shot while Drexler did his best to block him.

This was undoubtedly a difficult shot, and the basketball finally hit the rim, and Tomjanovich breathed a sigh of relief.

As a result, the next second, the ball bounced into the net and Roger's drifting three-pointer hit the buzzer!

This is Roger's 42nd point of the game!
Once again, he performed well in the crucial round, making the score difference hang over the Rockets by 8 points and allowing his score to surpass Olajuwon!
The game entered the next chapter, the chapter called Death of Rocket!
This goal dealt a heavy blow to the Rockets and allowed the Magic to win the game in one go.

109 to 104, the Magic won G5 with a 3-point advantage and conquered the Houston Rockets' first home court!
This provided a confident foundation for their three-game tour!

Roger scored 45 points, a new high in the finals.

Olajuwon scored 41 points. He defeated Shaq in a one-on-one match and limited O'Neal very well today. But he failed to defeat Magic and Roger.

He dunked over Dream and took Dream's home court. He also kept his word. Dream really scored 40 points today, and Roger really stayed with him to the end!
Tonight, Roger proved that he is no less valuable than Olajuwon in the playoffs!

From now on, people will say that from the 95 NBA Finals, to AC Milan in 05, to the Nuggets leading by 24 points in Game 20 in , all these things tell everyone not to bring a star player and a team's past performance into tonight's game!
Dream’s performance in previous games was indeed extremely dominant, but that doesn’t mean Roger can’t defeat him!
At the end of the game, even Bill Walton, who had been boasting about his dream, was impressed by Roger's performance:

“Hakeem has lost his magic because Roger is the real magician!

Roger has a terrifying stability in the key rounds! Every key round is like a 'Groundhog Day' for him, and he plays the same result again and again - scoring!
If there is anyone in this world who can defeat the perfect Hakeem, it is probably only Roger, the crazy scorer, who can do it! "

2-1, the Orlando Magic leads in the finals.

Just one step away from the championship!

(End of this chapter)