Champions Creed

Chapter 92 091: Will he see me? (Please give me a monthly ticket!)
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Orlando Magic seemed to be reborn.

Their defense became tougher. They no longer just relied on the talents of Roger and O'Neal to crush their opponents, but they were really closely connected to each other like a strong team.

Don't underestimate this kind of power. You can imagine how powerful it would be if the Warriors selected Bronny and then James joined the Warriors. The power of the Warriors fans and James fans would be so strong. There would be no rivals for them on the entire Internet.

Seeing the team's momentum in catching up, Magic coach Brian Hill was excited but also felt frightened. When O'Neal and Roger were arguing on the bench, he even thought of the outline of his resignation letter.

The first paragraph thanks the players and the owner, the second paragraph brags about the regular season record and the good times, and the third paragraph is "What can I say? Brian out."

But who would have thought that it was the quarrel just now that put everything back on track.

It is not a good thing for everyone in the locker room to be harmonious. Certain people have to stand up and say certain things.

In any case, Roger successfully motivated O'Neal and made him passionate on the defensive end.

Roger and O'Neal no longer need protection from other teammates on the defensive end. They, together with others, are protecting the Magic's prospects of advancing!
At this time, New York fans were undoubtedly the most nervous. Pat Riley was trying to stabilize the situation, telling the whole team to be patient and pass the ball. With the Magic's current defense, no matter how fast the rotation was, there would definitely be gaps.

"If we win this one more game, we'll have one foot in the Eastern Conference Finals! After tonight, the New York Knicks will be the greatest winners anyone has ever seen! Keep fighting, gentlemen. We can't let those two brats easily narrow the gap to single digits!"

Riley motivated his players. They did not fail when they were trailing 0-2, and there was no reason for them to fail when the game was tied at 2-2 and they were leading by more than ten points in the fourth quarter of the decisive battle!

The game continued, Pat Williams was still staring at the court, while owner Rich DeVos continued to eat cake and play flying chess with his family.

It was obvious that he was very disappointed with the game.

But Pat Williams felt that there was still hope for a turnaround in the game and that everything was not over yet.

Just like starting a fire, he now sees a few sparks and he hopes Roger and O'Neill can blow hard to get the fire started completely!

Roger and O'Neal did exactly that. During this timeout, they became the protagonists, and Brian Hill became a spectator.

"Listen, you guys are trying your best to pressure those bastards on the Knicks' perimeter, but I will support you behind the scenes. I will try my best to blow away every guy who tries to invade the basket!" After a few successful defenses, O'Neal began to change his attitude on the defensive end.

"We have never lost three games in a row this season, and tonight is no exception! Let's all work together to get the Knicks out of Orlando with failure! Let's go, let's get on the court!" Roger also shouted.

These two young men inspired the whole team. Although they were still trailing by double digits, the team's condition was completely different from that of the last timeout.

The fierce battle started again. Mike Fratello of NBC reminded everyone: "The Magic must catch up to 11 points in less than one quarter!"

"It's not 11 points anymore. Derek Harper just widened the gap to 13 points." Another commentator, Bob Costa, shook his head.

Costa admitted that the Magic played very well in the last few rounds.

But the Knicks won't wait for you to make a comeback.

They are not the background panels in action movies that surround the protagonist and wait to be beaten. The Knicks will definitely fight hard to maintain their advantage.

Derek Harper's timely goal after the timeout helped the team gain a foothold.

This is undoubtedly a blow to the head and a bucket of cold water.

Pat Williams covered his head with his hands. The little spark he had just seen might be extinguished.

To make matters worse, Derek McKay's next mid-range shot bounced out of the rim.

In this offensive round, Roger was double-teamed as soon as he received the basketball, so he immediately passed the ball to McKay, but McKay failed to seize this excellent opportunity.

The Knicks' strategy is still working. They have piled all their defensive resources on Roger and Shark, which is an extremely correct choice.

After returning from the timeout, the Magic failed in both offense and defense.

It seems that the Knicks are still in control of the situation.

But the Magic's two young core players were not discouraged by this and they remained focused.

Starks and Ewing set a pick-and-roll, and Roger, who was already very tired, couldn't even squeeze past Ewing this time.

Starks was about to attack when he saw O'Neal rushing towards him.

He didn't expect O'Neal's defense to be so aggressive. Seeing that huge monster rushing towards him, Starks felt a little scared.

He passed the ball to Ewing almost reflexively without any hesitation.

But the basketball was not successfully passed to Ewing. Roger appeared on the passing route and directly intercepted Starks' pass!

The huge net set up by Roger and O'Neill made it impossible for the violent gorilla to move!

This goal was not given by talent; Roger and the Sharks' defense was serious, effective and solemn.

They are setting the tone for the entire team!

This team, which has relied on talent to get to this point, is now transforming into an iron army that prioritizes defense.

After stealing the ball, Roger quickly counterattacked. Starks chased him from behind and jumped to block him, but he still couldn't stop Roger from slamming the ball in with a one-handed dunk.

The score difference returned to 11 points, and the water just now did not completely extinguish the fire of victory. Now, the spark was ignited again.

Pat Williams' palms were sweaty. He was almost there.

As long as the score difference can be narrowed to single digits, the mentality of both sides will change drastically, and the situation is likely to be completely reversed at that time.

Try harder, try harder!
Patrick Ewing could no longer allow the Magic to close the score, so he decided to take charge of the offense himself this time. He couldn't just watch the team's advantage being consumed like this.

Ewing received the ball at the edge of the three-second zone and faced O'Neal one-on-one.

He scored 25 points in three quarters today and he was full of confidence.

Ewing first pushed a few steps inside, then turned around and prepared to make a fake shot to ignite the Sharks.

This way, even if the goal is not scored, it is possible that the shark will commit a foul.

But when Ewing turned around, he heard Oakley yelling, "Double attack!"

late.

When Ewing saw Derek McKay's face appear beside him, the ball in his hand had been cut away.

This low-profile version of the little prince Prince had already come in to assist in defense, and with a wave of his long arms, he made the gorilla lose the ball.

Ewing thought he just had to beat O'Neal in a one-on-one, no, now the Knicks really have to worry about everyone on the Magic court!

McKay immediately controlled the cut basketball and threw it forward, giving it to Orlando's most deadly weapon.

Roger rushed into the penalty area and faced Derek Harper who was chasing him, and flicked the ball over the opponent's fingertips.

"It's only 9 points away. The Orlando Magic have reduced the difference from 17 points to 9 points, which is a single digit! They refused to give up the victory in this decisive battle. Now the difference is only in single digits. What will the Knicks do?" Mike Fratello is very happy. He is a neutral fan, so he doesn't want the game to lose suspense so early.

The Magic's tenacity meant that the Knicks no longer had complete control of victory, and the game became suspenseful again.

Hearing the NBC commentary, DeVos in the box looked up at the TV screen.

But he quickly looked away and smiled at his family: "Who's next to roll the dice?"

Roger high-fived Mackay and continued to defend.

Defense is the key to the Magic's victory today. They must use defense to drive counterattacks in order to close the score.

In the subsequent games, led by Roger and O'Neal, the Magic put up perhaps their best defensive performance of the season.

You can see O'Neal actively switching defense when facing pick-and-rolls, and you can see Roger running like crazy and trying to rotate.

The Knicks' offense was not outstanding to begin with, and their efficiency began to decline amid the Magic's excellent defense.

Every time the Magic used sweat and teamwork to fill the defense and make the Knicks' offense miss, Pat Williams would wave his fist with joy.

He could feel the heat, the spark that Roger and O'Neill had just ignited was now burning brighter and brighter!
There is an abyss behind the Magic team, but as long as they can get through it, the sky will be the limitless sea!

On the other hand, the Knicks' own defense was still tight. Throughout the fourth quarter, the Knicks hardly allowed the Magic to play positional offense.

If the Magic gave O'Neal the ball, the Knicks would send Charles Smith and Oakley to take turns to foul. The Shark's free throw shooting percentage was very poor today, and it seemed that the 9-for-9 shooting in the first game had used up all his shooting talent. Therefore, as long as O'Neal was fouled, the Magic's positional offense would be equivalent to failure.

Roger had a hard time because he couldn't force shots due to his poor outside shooting, and he was constantly double-teamed and had difficulty breaking through.

New Yorkers are still using their most reliable and stable weapon to try to control the situation.

The discipline, iron-bloodedness and perseverance that Pat Riley has injected into this team are working. Yes, he has almost abnormally trained the players with high intensity and required everyone to fight to the extreme in training. But it is this kind of day-to-day training that has made the Knicks the most stable defensive team in the league.

Riley's team will never suddenly lose defense at a certain time. No one on his team does not work hard on defense, no one is not focused on defense, and no one is not committed on defense. The ultimate defensive culture has penetrated into the bones of every Knicks player.

Why do some players never make the All-Defensive Team after leaving his team? This is the role of Riley. In his team, you can't just put your hands on your hips when defending.

Both sides have given their all in the fight for the decisive game, but the Magic's sharp counterattacks are still gradually eroding the Knicks' advantage.

Finally, with 2 minutes and 24 seconds left in the game, the Knicks only had a 1-point lead as Ewing made one of two free throws.

After the second free throw was missed, the Knicks didn't try to get the offensive rebound. Riley had already issued a death order that everyone must retreat quickly.

He couldn't let the Magic fight back anymore, he had to make O'Neal and Roger get stuck in the mud of positional offense.

In this round, the Knicks successfully forced the Magic into a position.

Riley stood on the sidelines, watching the defense intently.

The only reason the Knicks haven't panicked yet is that they're still leading.

No matter whether you are leading by 17 points or 1 point, as long as you are leading the game, your mentality will be very different.

Roger received the ball at the top of the arc, and just as he touched the ball, he was blocked by Derek Harper and Starks. "Illegal defense, illegal defense, the Knicks have been playing illegal defense throughout the entire game, can't you see it once!?" Brian Hill opened his arms and yelled at the referee.

He clearly saw that every time when Roger was off the ball, Starks would move away from his defender and prepare to double-team Roger, but the referee turned a blind eye to such behavior.

"Sit back, coach, I won't warn you again!" The referee was not willing to give in.

The referee was not intentionally biased towards the Knicks, but illegal defense is indeed difficult to define. This is the most complicated and troublesome rule introduced by the NBA to combat zone defense, and even many professional players themselves cannot explain it clearly.

Every referee has his own set of standards for illegal defense.

Therefore, the effect of illegal defense is completely different in the hands of different referees.

The referees today were obviously not very sensitive to illegal defense. In the eyes of the referees today, Starks' behavior just now was not illegal, at most it was just a borderline violation.

Roger wanted to give the ball to the shark, but he was trapped tightly and couldn't get the ball to the basket.

He wanted to force a shot himself, but his previous poor shooting percentage made him hesitate.

In the end, Roger passed the ball to Harper.

The guard, who contributed to the semifinals in G2 and averaged 20+ points per game for three seasons before he was seriously injured and joined the Magic, hopes to regain the feeling of scoring. He made perhaps the most crucial shot in his career, which was his own The Shot.

However, not everyone is Michael Jordan, who can turn the cruel basketball court into a gorgeous stage.

"boom!"

"Harper missed the chance to shoot. The Knicks' positional defense is still tormenting the Orlando Magic! Roger didn't score any positional goals in the fourth quarter, and Shaq only scored once. They were locked in! If they want to reverse the game, they can't just rely on counterattacks. They must break the Knicks' positional defense!"

Fratello's voice appeared on the TV in the private room. DeVos finished the flying chess game, got some food, and then asked his assistant to call the driver to get ready, intending to leave the stadium during off-peak hours.

While waiting, he finally looked up at the game on TV. After seeing the score, he was a little surprised, so he walked to the French window and sat down: "How was the game?"

"We're about to reverse the situation against Richie, right away!" Pat Williams' emotions were completely immersed in the game.

Rich DeVos didn't say anything else. He was only concerned about one thing now - whether Roger and O'Neal were worth tens of millions of dollars in annual salary.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, he had no expectations for the game and was even a little angry.

But after seeing the score just now, he admitted that those two guys were indeed different.

However, there is no essential difference between losing 1 point and losing 17 points.

So, he only cares about this 1 point now.

He doesn't want the process, he just wants the result, he doesn't want another season of "Oh, you played well, but it just takes some time."

Now he just wants to know whether Roger and O'Neal can make up for this point, whether they can deal with the Knicks, and whether they can make the Magic team perform better and make more money.

On the court, the fierce struggle continues.

In this round, the Knicks still tried to get the ball into the paint and pass it to Ewing.

But O'Neal's best efforts on the defensive end made it difficult for the gorilla to get into position safely.

The ball was finally passed to Ewing, who was immediately double-teamed by O'Neal and Grant.

In desperation, Ewing could only pass the ball again, and the 24-second offensive time was decreasing little by little.

Finally, the basketball fell into John Starks' hands in the last 8 seconds.

The New York outside striker had to take on this important task. He faced Roger and began to dribble the ball between his legs with his left and right hands alternately: "I'm going to end you, end you! You will definitely cry tonight!"

Accelerating, pulling the ball under his crotch and retreating, Starks tried to use this move to create a little space.

But Roger's defense this time was very focused. He immediately raised his arms to block the basketball, and Starks could only shoot against the defense.

Everyone in the stadium had their eyes on the basketball; it was a crucial shot.

Riley was standing on the other side of the court at this time. From his angle he couldn't tell whether the ball would go in, but he could see that the shot was very straight and the aim was very accurate.

The basketball flew towards the basket, and then, amid everyone's nervousness, it flew directly out of the baseline.

The ball was indeed aimed well, but the arc was wrong. Roger's interference forced Starks to adjust the arc, but it was obvious that he did not adjust it well.

"Starks missed all three shots under Roger's defense. What a great defense! Roger was not out of position at all in this defense. Starks thought he could use Roger as a weakness like he did last year. No, it's impossible anymore!" Fratello shouted from the bottom of his heart. He was very excited.

Roger looked directly at Starks who failed in his shot and said, "Dancing? That's right, I'm going to dance on your dead bodies!"

In the box, Pat Williams excitedly swung his fist and almost hit DeVos in the nose.

"Sorry sir, sorry! But I'm...so good, we still have a chance!" Williams realized that he had lost his composure and hurriedly straightened his messy collar.

With one and a half minutes left in the game, Brian Hill did not suspend the game or interrupt the players' emotions.

Well, he was mainly aware that his timeout would be useless. If the timeout was useful, the Magic would have already cracked the Knicks' positional defense.

Can they overtake the Knicks this time? Can they break through the Knicks' positional defense? It all depends on the players.

"Shaq, give me the ball!" Roger waved to the shark who was serving the ball from the baseline.

O'Neal immediately knew that Roger would have to handle this crucial round that would decide everything himself.

But can the Knicks' defense allow him to achieve his wish?

"Roger controlled the ball across the center line. This was a very crucial attack. Can the Magic team overtake the score?" Fratello clenched his fists. For this young combination, this attack meant too much.

The Knicks will not give the Magic chances again and again. If they cannot overtake this time, the Magic's momentum will most likely be completely interrupted.

"Sir, the car is ready." Inside the private room, the assistant reminded DeVos that it was time to get in the car.

DeVos said nothing, but waved with her back to her assistant.

He wants to finish this round.

Starks was defending Roger, and Derek Harper was still following Riley's strategy. He simply let go of the man with the same last name as himself and ran up to double-team Starks.

Before Derek Harper could double-team him, Roger took a step to the right, then suddenly changed direction to the left and broke through Starks!

Ewing temporarily left the Shark, blocked the middle and protected the basket.

O'Neal had a fleeting moment with only one question in his mind: "Will Roger think of me?"

No, Roger faced the aggressive Ewing and the interference from Starks on the side, and shot a one-step jump shot in the penalty area.

O'Neal was a little disappointed. Roger finally took action himself, and he was still the same.

But... the shark soon discovered, damn, this was not a cast at all!
That's a fucking pass!
That guy wanted to do an aerial relay with me!
Roger was not a good passer, and the pass was a little too high. But O'Neal timed his jump well, and his athletic ability was enough for him to catch the slightly high pass.

Charles Smith reacted and jumped up to stop O'Neal from dunking.

But it's too late.

The Knicks missed their last chance to kill the young Magic.

Now, they have evolved into their complete form.

"Rogerto shaq!!!"

"boom!"

Fratello's yell and the loud noise of O'Neal's dunk blended beautifully together.

The score was reversed, and the fans in the stands of the Orlando Arena rolled like waves.

Pat Williams hugged DeVos beside him, not caring about his image anymore: "Overtaken! Overtaken, the two of them smashed the Knicks' defense! Damn it, Roger and Shaq are the best combination in history, fuck the Knicks, fuck Pat Riley, fuck it!"

At that moment, he wasn't watching the game, he was part of it.

It’s burning, the fire has finally started!
"The score has reversed! Roger and O'Neal used a beautiful aerial relay to reverse the score! The New Yorkers' 17-point advantage is now gone! The Knicks suspended the game, and coach Pat Riley was roaring, just like last year!"

As the referee blew the whistle to stop the game, O'Neal pointed to the sky with joy, enjoying this unprecedented pleasure.

With his mouth wide open and his eyes sparkling with excitement, he rushed towards Roger and hugged the teammate he had been dreaming about: "You saw me, you saw me!"

"Of course I saw you, I told you I'd pass the ball to you Shaq, I told you we'd beat the crap out of those New York bastards! And, Grandma Odessa was right."

"She's right, everything will be fine!" O'Neal responded happily.

Ron Harper couldn't help laughing as he looked at Roger and O'Neal hugging each other.

At that moment, they truly had a tacit understanding.

In the past ten minutes or so, they really found something, something that laid the foundation for the championship.

The Sharks, who have always been lazy on defense, began to do their best to defend the opponent's pick-and-roll.

Roger, who always acts in a domineering manner, made a beautiful pass to assist O'Neal to overtake the score.

They developed a truly inseparable bond, and they were no longer just two strong but separate individuals.

Orlando's sword was finally tempered!

(End of this chapter)