Champions Creed

Chapter 65: The bloodiest killing, Roger cuts the throat repeatedly!

We don't need him, you only need me now.

Finally, Roger asserted his sovereignty.

His confidence, his momentum, and everything they are doing now have given the Bulls players a feeling that "we can really trust him," a feeling that only existed in Michael Jordan in the past.

Phil Jackson looked at Roger without saying anything and without interrupting the moment of the birth of a leader.

When he first met this kid in October, he would never have thought that the Chicago Bulls would return to the conference finals.

To be honest, Roger has already exceeded his expectations.

He showed the professional basketball world that high school rookies can survive in the NBA.

He showed the entire league that the Bulls without Michael Jordan were not trash.

He had led the Chicago train smoothly through the dark tunnel.

He has proven that he is fully qualified to take over Michael Jordan's mantle.

During the regular season, some people might say that Penny is the true successor to Jordan.

But so far in the playoffs, this voice has almost disappeared.

Roger stood the test of time and became a huge star at the age of 18.

But Roger was not satisfied with just standing on the stage of the Eastern Conference Finals, he also wanted to take away the Eastern Conference championship trophy.

Unconsciously, Roger went from being a person whose life was full of failures to being accustomed to victory.

He is used to defeating one seemingly impossible opponent after another. He is used to the cheers of the fans and the frustration of his opponents.

So, Roger chased Riley all the way here. Riley was probably the first man in Roger's career who made him deeply feel the pain of failure.

Now he had the chance to drive the dagger into Riley's chest himself.

Now, he has the chance to prove that bastard Michael Jordan is not a god, and to prove that the world can still function without him.

He will definitely seize such an opportunity, no matter how difficult it is.

From this perspective, the Zen Master feels that Roger and Jordan are basically the same kind of people.

But precisely because they are the same kind of people, it is impossible for them to coexist.

On the Bulls side, Roger has boosted the morale of the players.

As for the Knicks, Riley certainly could not accept the result of losing.

He is still spurring his players on: "Confrontation, confrontation, confrontation! I need extreme confrontation! The Chicago Bulls are a team that relies on shooting, and fierce confrontation will be disadvantageous to them! On the defensive end, we must stay focused at all times. Even if a tooth falls out, you have to kick it out of the court for me, and then continue to devote yourself to defense!"

Thus, in a suffocating atmosphere and extremely strong desire to win on both sides, the intensity of the physical confrontation between the two teams continued to rise in the second half.

Compared with the second half, the first half was just a warm-up.

The relentless physical battle drained the shooting touch of both teams and made the game ugly.

The Bulls had many chances, but their poor shooting kept the team's shooting percentage at an extremely low level.

The Knicks weren't very good at offense and couldn't find any reliable offensive means. In addition, their shooting was awful, so their shooting percentage was also shockingly low.

The game was filled with fouls and free throws, and the rhythm of the game was cut into pieces.

Patrick Ewing was knocked down again and again under the basket, and Roger was knocked all over the place in the confrontation.

Roger, who has always despised the small ball era, admitted that he began to feel that iron-blooded basketball was not so wonderful after all.

A slow tempo, fierce confrontation and a score that doesn't seem to be rising. I don't know what this game looks like, but it really tests one's will.

Roger also deeply realized his shortcomings in this highly targeted playoffs. He was not able to rush to the basket like those real superstars, regardless of everything. No matter how many steps he took to get in, he could really carry it in.

Roger still relies more on jump shots and layups, which require a lot of touch. Fortunately, he had a good touch today.

Throughout the third quarter, the Knicks and Bulls were limited to less than 20 points.

Knicks 17 points, Bulls 16 points.

Roger scored 8 points.

Pat Riley was almost on the verge of collapse. How could he prevent that damn No. 14 from making a shot?
The score at the start of the fourth quarter was 58-57, which would have been a halftime score in the small ball era. This shows how rough the defense was in this game.

From now on, every possession, every shot, every rebound, every second is crucial.

Because this is the last 12 minutes.

In the fourth quarter, Riley finally found a way to at least slightly limit Roger.

Every time Roger scored two goals in a row, Pat Riley would call a timeout without hesitation to let Roger cool down.

This trick really worked. Roger's shooting was going well today, but every time he was interrupted by Riley and then came back on the court, he would lose his rhythm. He had to miss a few shots to get back on track.

But just when he found his rhythm, Riley called a timeout!

In addition, Riley found a solution to the offensive problem in the last five minutes of the game, which was to give all the damn balls to Ewing and score them all in the inside!
Under this kind of defense, the best way to attack is to get the ball into the paint. Even if you don't score, there is a greater chance of getting a foul.

Ewing attacked frantically in the last five minutes, and even though he was often surrounded by three men, he still managed to open up the situation.

Ewing's free throw touch was pretty good today. As long as you commit a foul, he will punish you with his free throw knife.

Moreover, the Knicks have a stronger ability in grabbing offensive rebounds.

Even if the first shot missed, Ewing, Oakley and Charles Smith could still grab the ball and continue attacking.

The Knicks didn't abandon a strategy that was starting to work.

During this period, they really hit the basket every time they attacked. Anthony Mason once got a wide-open opportunity and chose to shoot. It stands to reason that there was nothing wrong with his shot this time, but what greeted him was Riley's violent roar: "How many times have I told you to hit the basket? If you do this again, get off me!"

Riley used his roar to exchange for the Knicks' extremely strong tactical execution efficiency.

On the other hand, on the Bulls side, Roger became a lone star.

He was the only light in the darkness.

But Riley kept using timeouts to cut off Roger's touch, causing Roger to not shine as brightly as in the first three quarters.

Ewing and Oakley dominated the rebounding and did whatever they wanted in the paint.

Cartwright graduated with six fouls, and Wennington also has five fouls.

The Bulls' interior defense was in great crisis.

Roger's shot in the last 42 seconds of the game helped the Bulls tie the score and also scored his 32nd point of the game.

But at this time, Riley used his last timeout to cut off Roger's touch again.

After the timeout, the Knicks, with the ball, began to attack.

Riley, with messy hair, danced on the sidelines: "Hit the ball into the basket, into the basket!"

Roger might be the first person who could get Riley to give up his exquisite appearance.

But Riley really doesn't care now. Although his messy hair makes him look a little embarrassed, it is better than being eliminated.

He thought that Roger's touch had been broken by himself, so as long as the Knicks could score in the last 42 seconds, they could win the game.

This time, after receiving the pass, Ewing used his signature bunny hop shot, but the basketball hit the back of the basket.

Charles Smith pinned Kukoc down, grabbed the rebound from the European magician's head, and then shot straight back onto the ground.

But the basketball still didn't go in. The entire basket had become a meat grinder. The confrontation between the two sides would have been enough to result in a flagrant foul in the 21st century.

The second time, the Bulls escaped death.

But after defending Charles Smith and Ewing, Oakley once again grabbed the frontcourt rebound.

After grabbing the rebound, Old Oak jumped up from the crowd and threw the ball into the basket with one hand.

This shot was so close, the basketball spun around the rim but eventually fell down!
At this moment, the New York fans' breathing almost stopped, as if they had returned to a year ago.

Game 1993 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 5, a year ago, was undoubtedly a nightmare for the Knicks. In the final moments of that game, Charles Smith grabbed offensive rebounds in succession under the basket and accidentally got the chance to change the score four times in a row, but he failed to finish and eventually lost the game.

Today's scene seemed to be a repeat of a year ago, with continuous offensive rebounds and continuous misses.

This time, Wennington and Kukoc held their positions tightly, fighting for the rebound.

But Oakley still squeezed past Pippen and ran to the basket. He couldn't grab the rebound behind the high wall formed by Wennington and Kukoc, but he relied on his keen sense of smell to jump up and slap the basketball to the outside!

Wennington and Kukoc's positioning was in vain, and Ewing, who was near the baseline, immediately turned around to chase the basketball that was shot out.

But when he got the basketball, Ewing had already run to the zero-degree mid-range position. Moreover, the offensive time was almost over. Therefore, he could not get to the basket.

So Ewing turned around and made a mid-range shot.

The shot was very awkward and the posture was quite ugly. Ewing almost threw the ball with one hand. But as the backboard glowed red, the basketball miraculously went into the net!

New York is boiling.

The commentators were equally excited: "Patrick Ewing scored perhaps the most crucial goal of his career! New Yorkers can breathe a sigh of relief. Their team did not repeat the same mistakes, and the nightmare from a year ago did not happen again! With 18 seconds left in the game, the Knicks led by 2 points! They already have their ticket to the finals in one hand!"

On the court, all the Knicks players hugged Ewing.

Although it was embarrassing, hard, and they shed a lot of sweat, at least they managed to save their dignity.

Tonight, even New York fans will no longer dislike the ugly gorilla.

Toni Kukoc almost cried on the spot. He covered his face and walked to Roger in frustration: "Damn it, if I could have grabbed one rebound, damn it! We were already here, we were going to grab the trophy, damn it!"

"Shut up, Tony." Roger responded coldly, squeezing his shoulder hard. "We haven't lost yet."

At this time, Pat Riley, who was so excited that he could hardly control himself, began to shout at Roger on the court:
"Hey, you little brat, you're putting failure in my mouth!
You are not MJ, you are not!

I said I would make you feel the real cruelty in the playoffs.

Kid, I'm so sorry.

But this is the NBA, welcome to the NBA!

Just bear with it, in 18 seconds you can hide in the locker room and cry with your weak European friends! "

Riley was really angry, otherwise he would never yell at the opposing players at this time.

He was really confident because the last 18 seconds were not enough for Roger to regain his touch.

At that moment, he released all the frustration in his heart.

That 18-year-old bastard was finally stepped on by him!

The game was paused again, and in the stands, New York fans began to shout "Fvck Roger" in unison again.

The bewildered Bulls players sat restlessly on the bench, letting the Knicks fans torture their eardrums with their shouting.

Now everything depends on Roger. Whether he can regain his touch immediately after these two timeouts is the key to the Bulls' victory.

Phil Jackson conveyed his arrangements. David Falk was watching the TV intently when the TV screen suddenly went dark.

Michael Jordan on the side turned off the TV with the remote control in his hand. Although Falk was still watching, there were some things he could make decisions on as he pleased without considering other people's feelings. This was Michael Jordan.

"Michael, the game is at the most tense moment." David Falk was still reluctant to leave.

"You may know a lot about law and contract negotiations, David. But I have to say, you don't understand basketball at all. It's over, the game is over, Roger is defeated. Pat is smart, he cut off that kid's touch at the last moment. How about we take a bet? Bet 5000." When saying this, Jordan couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth.

"Forget it Michael, I'm not interested in that. So, can you answer that question? When are you going to return to the NBA?"

When Jordan thought about Roger losing the Eastern Conference Finals and that people would start to miss him, he suddenly felt in a good mood.

People can see without me having to do anything that there is no way he can replace me.

So, he smiled and replied: "There is no need to be so anxious. What if there is a turnaround in the labor-management negotiations in the major leagues? Anyway, David, I'm going to play cards. It's a great night today, and I'm sure I can win big!"

When Jordan changed his clothes and got in the car, ready to go to the Hollywood Joliet Casino, the largest casino near Chicago, he didn't know it yet.

A grand show called Miracle is taking place at Madison Square Garden.

At this moment, Michael Jordan was not the only one who felt that the game had lost its suspense.

The fans inside Madison Square Garden were already cheering.

Pat Riley's attack on Roger just now was essentially a declaration of victory.

The big screen at the scene was still playing Ewing's thrilling turnaround shot.

It has to be said that it was an extremely ugly shot. It is hard to imagine that this ugly shot is likely to appear in the collection of Ewing's top ten shots in his career.

New York fans often complain that Ewing is not as flashy as Olajuwon in the Space City, but at least this time, they will cheer for Ewing's ugly moves.

Amid the cheering, some fans had already started to leave early.

The traffic in New York is hard to describe. If you wait until after the game to leave, it may take you more than an hour to get a taxi, and then another hour of traffic jam to get home.

Although there was an awards ceremony for the Eastern Conference champions afterwards, that thing was like the movie company logos that appeared before the movie started. It was necessary, but no one really cared.

On a remote high-rise stand, a black mother glanced at her child and said, "Let's go home."

The cute baby-faced boy holds popcorn in his hand: "Can I finish my popcorn before I leave?"

"Okay Melo, you can finish eating and leave, or you can sit in the empty seat in the front, which is closer to the court."

The little boy happily picked up the popcorn and moved forward a few rows.

He cherishes tonight's time very much. After all, considering his family's financial situation, it is a rare opportunity to watch an NBA divisional finals live, even if it is just to experience the atmosphere in the high-level stands where one cannot see the positions of the players on the court.

Finally, after sitting in the stands near the front, the little boy could see the players on the court more clearly. He saw Pat Riley arranging tactics and Patrick Ewing laughing happily.

He also saw Roger, New York's public enemy number one, sitting there, listening to the fans' encouragement of "Fvck Roger".

But he still stared at the tactical board with a firm expression, and he didn't seem to have given up the game yet.

But the boy didn't think there was any suspense in this game. According to previous practice, it would be difficult for Roger to regain his touch within 18 seconds. He just wanted to sit until the game was over and finish his popcorn.

NBC commentator Steve Jones felt a little reluctant: "Roger almost succeeded. He was just one step away from topping the Eastern Conference and defeating Pat Riley. But as Pat said, the playoffs are even more cruel. If he can't find his touch right after the timeout, the game is over."

Steve Jones has not forgotten Roger's buzzer-beater in Game 1 of the series that turned a bad game into a good one.

But to create miracles twice in one series? That's too hard.

It's normal for Steve Jones to have such thoughts. After all, not everyone is as unlucky as the GOAT, who was shot twice by Jamal Murray in one series.

After arranging the tactics, the Zen Master looked at Roger. He was now the team's only chance of winning.

The Zen Master has high expectations for Roger, not just because he is the team's top scorer.

But it’s because Roger is a vindictive villain.

He would never allow anyone to climb over his head in any arrogant manner.

Jordan and Pippen both made similar attempts, and then they both paid a very painful price for it.

Riley had just declared his victory ahead of time, and what he did was no different from Jordan and Pippen.

Therefore, Roger must be the one who wants to win the most on the field. Only he can burst out the most powerful power in this desperate situation.

Roger also stood up. Now, he was going to fulfill his promise.

He wants to completely collapse the Knicks' defense!
The game resumed and the Bulls took a sideline ball.

Toni Kukoc ran out and gave Pippen an off-ball screen. Pippen immediately started to bypass Kukoc, and Oakley, who was responsible for defending him, was stopped by the screen.

He didn't dare to commit a foul now, otherwise he would directly knock down the screen in front of him.

Pippen got an open opportunity, and Ewing was so scared that he quickly made up for it.

But Wennington, who was responsible for the sideline ball, did not pass the ball, but threw the ball to the top of the three-point arc.

While Pippen attracted the defense, Roger immediately came out of the penalty area and jumped up to catch the ball.

After Roger landed, he turned around and shot, because Anthony Mason, who was responsible for defending him, failed to keep up, this was a rare opportunity.

This shot was difficult, as it was not a comfortable rhythm to shoot after jumping up and landing. Moreover, people did not know whether Roger still had a good feel after returning from a timeout.

Roger's shooting posture was still as perfect as a sculpture. The basketball fell smoothly into the center of the net, scoring the winning goal and reversing the score!
This time, the pause failed to stop Roger!

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Riley couldn't help but curse. His manic look made him look like a vampire who couldn't get blood.

He couldn't believe that Roger, who was already covered in blood, could still get up and deliver such a heavy punch.

If this goal doesn't go in, the game will basically be over.

But that damn No. 14 made the shot.

Roger made that crucial three-pointer in just 2 seconds.

Some fans who had originally left the stadium began to return to their seats. The little boy named Melo stuffed another mouthful of popcorn into his mouth, and his eyes were completely attracted by the basketball court.

The game is still to be played!
As the game continued, the Bulls undoubtedly pressed the Knicks full court and interfered with their baseline serve.

Everyone on the Bulls team stuck to their opponents, and Roger also pursued Derek Harper relentlessly.

After Charles Smith took the ball from the referee, he found that he couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to.

Everyone was bitten tightly, and in front of Charles Smith, Wennington raised his arms to block the view.

Time passed second by second, and Charles Smith had to make a choice. If there was a timeout violation, the ball would directly belong to the Bulls.

Finally, the person who caught Charles Smith's eye was Derek Harper.

He and Roger ran side by side towards the baseline, which was Charles Smith's only chance to pass the ball.

Just as the referee was about to blow the whistle, Charles Smith passed the ball.

But the moment the basketball flew out of his fingertips, Harper was knocked down by Roger!

This caused the basketball to fly directly into Roger's hands, and the Bulls completed the steal!
"This is a foul, are you fucking blind!?" Riley shouted loudly at the referee, his voice full of fear.

He was scared, he was very scared now, he was calling for help frantically like a drowning man.

But the New York godfather's call for help was not responded to, and the whistle he expected did not sound.

In the final moments of Game 5 of the series, it was the whistle that saved the Knicks. But as Roger said, luck will not always be around Riley.

After Roger finished stealing the ball, he did not shoot immediately, but turned around and dribbled the ball out of the three-point line. With no one defending him, he chose to shoot again and directly secured the victory.

"brush!"

Roger seals the deal again!

"82 to 78, Roger made two three-pointers in a row. In 5 seconds, he miraculously helped the team go from being 2 points behind to overtaking by 4 points! God, this 18-year-old genius brought us an epic performance!" Steve Jones grabbed Bob Costa beside him and shook him hard.

He had no reason to do so, because his brain was so stimulated that he couldn't think. To use a popular phrase 30 years later to describe Steve Jones at the scene, "his CPU burned out."

Pat Riley rolled up the sleeves of his Armani suit and almost rushed to the referee.

Assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy grabbed Riley around the waist, and years later he would make the news for grabbing Mourning's thigh.

"Your stupid whistle ruined this game!" The mixed emotions of anger and fear made Riley tremble all over.

"Go back to your seat, Pat, and don't make me kick you out." The referee was not willing to be outdone. Throughout the game, their standards for whistling had been very lenient, which led to such a low score and hit rate.

In basketball games, it doesn’t really matter whether the penalty standards are loose or strict, as this is not a seafood product.

It is important that the penalty standards are consistent.

You can't be tight on one side and very loose on the other side, or be loose in the first half and suddenly tight in the second half.

Today's referees maintained a consistent standard from beginning to end. They have been encouraging confrontation today, so there was no problem with the ball where Roger knocked down Harper just now.

Just when Riley was getting angry, he saw Roger waving at him not far away: "Pat, I'm really sorry."

This was in response to Riley's words to Roger, "Son, I'm so sorry," after winning the competition twice before.

"I'm going to kill that bastard, I'm going to kill him!" Riley lost his composure on the court in the first game, his suit and hairstyle became a mess.

Jeff Van Gundy continued to hold Riley tightly: "Forget it, Pat, you don't want to have titanium implants in your eyes."

This sentence persuaded Riley.

Jeff Van Gundy has always been a master at mediating conflicts.

The game was still going on, and the cheers from the Knicks fans at the scene had become much quieter.

On the one hand, it was because many people had already left, and on the other hand, it was because they could no longer cheer.

Their throats were clogged with blood.

Little Melo grabbed a handful of popcorn in his hand but forgot to put it in his mouth.

He didn't expect that Roger would beat him back in such a brutal way in this game.

Let's review what just happened. Roger first made a very difficult three-pointer after receiving the ball, then stole the ball from the Knicks' baseline, then dribbled out of the three-point line, turned around and shot a three-pointer.

The probability of these three things happening at the same time is too low, but Roger made them come true one by one!
Even old Winter didn't expect everything to go so smoothly. Tactics are tactics, but execution is another matter.

And Roger just executed all the best theoretical results!

Phil Jackson remained calm. He had said before that Roger was not the kind of person who would watch others climb over his head.

Yes, they just need him.

The worst thing for the Knicks at this point was not that the score was tied, but that Pat Riley could no longer use timeouts to cut off Roger's touch.

He no longer had any tricks to limit Roger.

There was nothing he could do about No. 14!
With 13 seconds left in the game, the Knicks trailed by 4 points.

New Yorkers fell into an indescribable despair. Even though Roger was exhausted, he could still make New York despair.

This time, the Knicks successfully kicked the ball out from the baseline, and Starks took control of the ball and ran quickly across half court.

Pat Riley's voice has become hoarse, and now Jeff Van Gundy is taking his place on the sidelines directing: "Look for three-point opportunities, three-point opportunities!"

The Zen Master also blew the whistle: "Don't foul!"

However, Starks' mind went blank as he controlled the ball across half court, and he couldn't hear what Riley was shouting.

Just a dozen seconds ago, he was celebrating his victory. But now? They were about to be eliminated.

This huge gap made Starks unable to react at all.

For the New York Knicks, they were thrown into disarray and had no timeout to catch their breath.

For the Bulls, Roger's 5 points in 6 seconds boosted the morale of the whole team. There was already a gap in momentum between the two teams.

The balance of victory is tilting rapidly!

Pippen defended Starks throughout the game, and there was no tactical arrangement after the timeout. Starks was like a headless fly, running around all over the half court, and he didn't know who to pass the ball to.

Starks is a sharp nerve knife, but controlling the game is not his specialty.

He controlled the ball and avoided Pippen's pressure. Pippen fought hard, but the referee remained indifferent.

This is the scale that Pat Riley desires, and this is the violent defense that Pat Riley likes most.

But now, he spit on it all!
Starks couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to, and couldn't get rid of Pippen. As he dribbled, he found himself on the narrow wing and walked into a dead end.

In this position, he couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to.

"Send it out, idiot, send it out!" Riley shouted at the top of his hoarse voice.

Under Pippen's pressure, Starks dribbled the ball to a zero-degree angle and prepared to turn around and walk out of the three-point line to escape from this cage.

But the moment he turned around, his feet slipped.

Starks' balance was destroyed, and he wanted to use his core strength to stabilize himself, but he was too tired.

Seven bloody battles plus Riley's devilish extra training had already drained his body.

He fell down, just like the unlucky Devin Brown who fell down while dribbling in McGrady's moment, and contributed a classic confused expression.

As he fell, the ball was out of Starks' control.

Pippen ran up and picked up the ball the moment it slipped out of his hands.

Because he rushed too hard and his center of gravity was too low, Pippen lost his balance.

But before he fell, he pushed the ball towards Roger who was running forward!

Pippen still hates Roger to this day, but... to hell with the New York Knicks!

Roger got the basketball and rushed across half court first.

It all happened so suddenly that no one on the Knicks had time to react.

By the time Derek Harper caught up, Roger had already run outside the three-point line in the other half of the court.

Then, comes the most classic moment.

After Roger ran up, he didn't stare at the basket, but turned his head and stared at Pat Riley on the sidelines.

Neither side spoke, but the meaning was clear enough - Roger was going to look Pat Riley straight in the eyes and stab the dagger into his heart!
Roger wants that damn bastard to repent for his arrogance in the face of failure!

"Boom!"

"A tomahawk slam dunk! Roger put the Bulls ahead by 0.4 points with 6 seconds left in the game! He killed the game, he killed the game! The New York Knicks had no chance, once again, they fell under the bloody horns! Once again, they fell at the door of the finals!"

The popcorn in Melo's hand fell directly to the ground. He originally just wanted to stay on the field and finish the bucket of popcorn.

But what did he see now?
He witnessed one of the bloodiest massacres in playoff history!

In the last 18 seconds, Roger blocked the Knicks' defense repeatedly and completely broke down the defense!

"Beep!!!"

The shrill buzzer sound brought Melo back to his senses. The game ended with a score of 84 to 78. The New York Knicks were reversed despite leading by 18 points in the last 2 seconds!

Every detail, every round, and every move of the game were deeply engraved in his mind.

He was determined to become a young superstar like Roger!

"Cameron, go home, the game is over." The black mother stroked her child's head.

"Mother."

"Ok?"

"I want to be a player like Roger in the future!"

"You will, Merlot. You can do it."

(End of this chapter)