Champions Creed

Chapter 98 097: The victory of the "big villain" (asking for monthly tickets!)
The entire Chicago Bulls team was filled with a raging fighting spirit at this moment.

Number 23 is not just a number, it is a symbol.

This represents their past glory and the unstoppable man.

This is like a flag of the Chicago Bulls. As long as the flag is erected, everyone can find the direction to strive for.

Jordan's influence began to decline, but it was still formidable. Just changing back to his most classic number could make this round of the series, which was already a foregone conclusion, become a hot topic.

The fans were cheering wildly and the flash lights hadn't stopped since the start of the game.

Millions of people across the United States watched the game, and countless more watched around the world.

Roger looked at everything around him and took a deep breath.

The stage is set, now it’s time to execute the sentence!

The starting lineups of both teams gathered together. In this game, Webber was directly DNPed by the Bulls, and Kukoc replaced him as the team's starting lineup.

Although he had been beaten by Roger seven times this season, Jordan, who changed back to No. 7, stared at Roger with confidence: "You're going to regret saying those words, asshole!"

"Little Michael, your glorious past as No. 23 is nothing to the agents," Roger said with a smile.

Jordan didn't say anything else. He was like a mad bull, staring at his target without saying a word.

In the original history, the most classic part of the story of Jordan changing jerseys is that he actually won the first game after changing jerseys, and even made Nick Anderson, who spoke rudely to him, make 6 of 1 three-pointers.

This resulted in, even though the Bulls still lost the series in the end, when people talk about the 95 playoffs, the first thing they think of is Jordan's satisfying revenge of beating up his opponent after changing his jersey.

This is Nike's power. If you give it a little story, it can turn it into an epic.

But in Roger's writing, the process and ending of this story had to be changed!
At the start of the game, the Magic got the first attack possession for the fourth consecutive game.

Roger started the game by playing pick-and-roll with Grant, but this time, Pippen successfully stole the ball at the moment when Roger was about to break through!
After successfully stealing the ball, Pippen fell to the floor and pushed the ball to Jordan who was rushing to the front.

No. 23 jumped directly after stepping one step inside the free throw line, and after a gliding motion that could be called an art, he scored with a one-handed dunk!

It was a perfect start, and when Chicago fans saw No. 23 gliding in the air, they forgot that the team was trailing 0-3.

On the second attack, Roger waved his hand and let Harper take control of the ball.

Then he started running without the ball.

Roger can do more than just pick-and-roll.

Pippen frantically shuttled through the off-ball screens, but in the end, O'Neal's screen still made Pippen lose his target.

The Shark now not only screens Roger with the ball, but he is also less averse to off-ball screens.

The aftermath of the century-long alley-oop is still playing a role, at least until the end of this year's playoffs.

Roger went to the right side outside the three-point line and received the basketball. Facing Jordan who was coming to defend, he raised his hand and shot.

"brush!"

"8 wins and 0 losses, 8 wins and 0 losses." Roger repeated this sentence.

There are no curse words, no jumbled metaphors, and no sarcasm.

The trash talk "8 wins and 0 losses" was like a needle piercing Jordan's heart, causing him unbearable pain as soon as it touched him.

So far this season, Jordan's record against Roger is 0 wins and 7 losses.

If we lose this game again, it won't just be a sweep in the playoffs, but the entire season will be swept by Roger.

He would never let this happen, never!

The game continued, and No. 23 Jordan made an incredible shot, a shot that truly represented Michael Jordan.

In this round, Jordan forced his way past Harper. He was so fast that even O'Neal's assist was half a beat slow and failed to stop him.

After squeezing past O'Neal, Jordan jumped straight to the basket, but Horace Grant was standing under the basket, raising his arms to block Jordan.

Jordan jumped up and hit Grant with his hips, which caused his body to twist in the air so that his back was facing the basket.

Jordan, who lost his balance and had his back to the basket, could only throw the ball back at random. Needless to say, this ball went completely astray and hit the top of the backboard directly.

The basketball fell and Grant prepared to grab the rebound.

But a black shadow quickly rose from his side, easily surpassed him in the air, then grabbed the basketball and made a tip-in. Jordan relied on his incredible speed to shoot and steal the ball, successfully scoring!

4 to 3, No. 23 Jordan pursed his lips and pumped his fist, he got back the feeling of those days!
Seeing Jordan, wearing the No. 23 jersey, put on a series of wonderful performances after the opening, the appetite of fans all over the world was whetted.

They saw the dawn of a miracle in the dark.

Jordan performed very well throughout the first quarter.

He scored 13 points in a single quarter, leading the Bulls to a 6-point lead.

The United Center almost melted. Imagine a plump high school cheerleader winking at a young boy who was just beginning to fall in love. The heat was doubled. This was probably how Chicago fans felt at that moment.

Every Chicagoan was cheering, and all cameras were focused on No. 23 Jordan.

NBC special guest Magic Johnson lamented: "The youngsters of the Magic team are probably trembling right now!"

not at all.

O'Neal was a little angry, but not because of Jordan, but because he felt that the referee did not call several fouls on Longley in the first quarter.

What about Roger? He couldn't be calmer.

The Bulls were able to take the lead today only because Jordan was in good shape in the first quarter.

But in terms of tactics and strategy, the Bulls still haven't found any way to break the deadlock. And the Magic are still dissecting the Bulls' defense like butchering a cow.

So, Roger believes that the Bulls' lead is only temporary.

If Jordan's condition fluctuates even slightly, the situation of the game will immediately reverse.

You can't expect a building that is about to collapse to stand up again just because the last steel frame is still holding.

It's only a matter of time before it collapses.

Don't be impatient, let Chicagoans get excited for a while.

Amid the cheers of Chicago people, Jordan brought the United Center to a climax again and again.

In the second quarter, Jordan extended the lead to 9 points after scoring a drifting shot over Harper's head - the Bulls' largest lead in the series.

After scoring the goal, Jordan looked at Roger and pointed at his feet: "You want to win here? Then you have to knock me down completely! This is my home court, my home court!"

At that moment, Michael Jordan really felt that he could win. He had completely entered the role, and the No. 23 jersey seemed to have really helped him find his past tyrant genes.

He and this jersey are a perfect match!

The game remained tense until the last 3 minutes and 24 seconds of the fourth quarter.

In this round, Roger dribbled the ball outside the three-point line, called for a pick-and-roll, and easily scored 2 points using the pick-and-roll almost in a conventional way.

After this goal, the Magic tied the score again.

This was the fifth time in this game that the Magic wiped out the Bulls' lead.

The Zen Master paused the game and Michael Jordan left the court panting.

Although the score was tied, Chicago fans were still excited.

After all, this time, it is the Magic that are chasing the Bulls.

Everyone believed that Jordan, who had already scored 37 points, could keep the victory in Chicago that night.

After leaving the court, Jordan glared at Phil Jackson with bloodshot eyes: "Don't even think about replacing me!"

At this moment, he was like a desperate gambler, eager for the cards in the hands of the sexy dealer.

For Jordan now, playing time is the card dealt to him by the Zen Master, and he must rely on this "card" to turn everything around.

Although Jordan has not been substituted since the start of the game today, a true gambler will continue to choose to go all in even when the chips are running out.

Jordan felt that he could win, not just this game, he even felt that he could become the first player in history to successfully come back from a 0-3 deficit.

As long as he can maintain this state, he will definitely win.

There are many Chicago fans who think so. Jordan has been magical throughout the whole game today. Now the Magic have just tied the game. The No. 23 player can definitely lead the team to win the game!
Watching Jordan's performance tonight, Magic Johnson even shed tears exaggeratedly on the national live broadcast and wiped his eyes with a handkerchief:

"I could feel Michael's emotions and feelings during this game. You know, at this time, you're really pursuing it desperately, you put your heart, your soul, and you give everything you have, just to pursue victory. This feeling is damn wonderful."

At one point he was so choked up that he couldn't speak.

Magic's reaction convinced fans around the world that this was destined to be a great night.

It was destined to be a night when No. 23 Jordan created a classic story.

Old Erving's emotions have been brewing to this point, the Bulls can't possibly lose, right?

The script had been written since Jordan appeared at the United Center wearing No. 23. In a desperate situation, with Magic Johnson in tears and all of Chicago expecting him, Jordan would bring the game back to Orlando and make the complacent Roger and O'Neal lose face.

This is a night about pride and courage, which are two extremely important things for a competitive athlete.

Just like AI in the future, he only won one game under the rule of the OK combination, just one game.

But why is he so popular among fans? Because he proved that he is an unyielding fighter with pride and courage. He can be defeated, but his dignity cannot be trampled. Even if the entire West has surrendered to OK, he will never bow his head.

Some people lose but win respect, while others win but lose respect. Pride and courage distinguish these two types of athletes.

Now, Jordan has to prove his pride and courage and prove that he cannot be trampled upon.

Proves that the divinity of No. 23 has not faded!
Inside the United Center, all the fans spontaneously shouted MVP.

Jordan clenched his fists: "We are close to victory, very close!"

The electronic buzzer indicating the end of the pause made everyone's blood boil, as if the movie had entered its final climax.

On the 23rd, it’s time to win the game!

Then, the villains from Orlando showed up. The scenario now should be that Jordan beat up the villains in the last three minutes and vented all his frustration.

But right from the start, tonight's script was a bit unconventional.

In the first attack after the timeout, the Magic once again sent three people to double-team Jordan.

The moment Jordan caught the ball, in addition to Harper, Roger and McKay also rushed towards him.

Jordan had no chance to find a more suitable offensive position. He could only force a shot despite Harper's interference before the other two players could close in.

"boom."

Didn't make it.

It doesn't matter, Jordan told himself it doesn't matter, and the Chicago fans also told themselves it doesn't matter.

It’s just one goal, maybe the Magic can’t even score?
"brush."

Roger's mid-range jumper after the pick-and-roll went in again, as if it was a machine executing the input command. The Magic took the lead, and Roger continued to repeat the sentence: "8 wins and 0 losses."

It doesn’t matter, Jordan told himself it doesn’t matter again, and the Chicago fans told themselves it doesn’t matter again.

Even at the climax of the movie, the villain has to go through a dying struggle.

Jordan continued to attack, Kukoc set a screen for him, but Horace Grant double-teamed Jordan without thinking.

Jordan passed the ball to Kukoc. Jordan didn't like this so-called European magician at first, but after working with him this season, Jordan found that this kid was actually quite courageous. At the critical moment, at least he was more trustworthy than Webber and Anderson.

Kukoc is indeed trustworthy, provided he can catch the ball.

When Grant went to double-team Jordan, Roger had already locked onto Kukoc, knowing that would be Jordan's passing target.

Sure enough, the moment Roger appeared in the passing route, Jordan also passed the ball.

After stealing the basketball, Roger rushed across half court and launched a fast break counterattack.

With a big windmill dunk, the Magic led by 4 points.

"8 wins and 0 losses Michael, 8 wins and 0 losses!" The curse-like voice once again lingered in Jordan's ears.

The magician wiped his tears awkwardly. Damn, he started crying too early. "Michael is angry. Roger shouldn't have provoked him like that."

What happened next? Jordan turned around and shot backwards again under the fierce double team. In the last period, the Magic double-teamed Jordan more resolutely.

Michael Jordan was playing these difficult shots throughout the entire game, and you couldn't expect him to be very consistent all the time.

Especially when he plays the entire game.

O'Neal grabbed the rebound and the Magic fought back.

This time Roger broke through Pippen from the baseline and went straight to the basket.

Pippen and Longley both jumped into the air, almost forcing Roger behind the backboard, leaving him no room to perform a pull-up move.

Chicago fans all stood up. Would this be a successful defense? Was this the real beginning of the climax?

Unfortunately, no.

Roger, who was forced behind the backboard, passed the ball past Longley's head and threw it to O'Neal who was standing under the basket. After receiving the ball, the Shark directly jumped up and dunked on Kukoc to score!
This is the essential difference between the Magic's offense and the Bulls' offense. Because the Magic's defense is so outstanding, the Bulls' tactics have run out, and Jordan can only rely on his personal ability to solve the problem.

But on the Magic's side, because the opponent did not put enough defensive pressure, the tactics were still being executed in an orderly manner.

Roger can still break through, and O'Neal can still wreak havoc under the basket.

The offensive stability of the two sides is completely different.

This is why no matter how far the Bulls lead today, the Magic can catch up.

If this game is compared to playing with building blocks, the Bulls have no instruction manual and can only rely on their personal abilities to put it together. They may be smooth, but they may also get stuck.

As for the magic? Just follow the instructions step by step. It may not be fast enough, but it is definitely stable.

As I said, if Jordan's condition fluctuates even the slightest, the situation of the game will immediately reverse.

And now, clearly, volatility has emerged.

"8 wins and 0 losses." The voice appeared again.

The Magic are now leading by 6 points, and what's even more terrible is that the game time is constantly decreasing.

Jordan looked at his No. 23 and clenched his fist: "One more round, bitch!"

Come again!

At this moment, Roger felt that even if Jordan was a bastard, he was a brave bastard who dared to face adversity.

Very good, to show my respect to you, I’ll do it a few more times!

Jordan's physical fitness was reaching its critical point, but he loved the feeling of exceeding his limits.

This is not the first time he has played the entire game in a crucial match. In Game 91 of 5 when they won their first championship, Jordan played for 48 minutes.

That feeling, as the magician said, is indescribable. Once you break through this critical value, you will feel that you can easily control the world.

Jordan broke through and made an extreme pull-up shot under multiple defenses, and Magic Johnson almost jumped up.

But the basketball that bounced out of the basket pushed him back into his seat.

"It still didn't go in! Michael missed, the Magic team firmly controlled the rebounds, and the Bulls didn't have any chance for a second attack." Magic was a little depressed. He was expecting a miracle to happen, but the young people of the Magic team didn't give Jordan the chance to write a legendary story.

Harper dribbled across half court and passed the ball to Roger.

The moment Harper passed the ball, Jordan went straight to double-team Roger, giving Roger no chance to play pick-and-roll.

Roger quickly passed the ball back to Harper, who took the ball and went straight into the penalty area and scored an easy layup.

Nick Anderson failed to quickly rotate to Harper, and O'Neal helped block Longley who was protecting the rim. So Harper's goal was not much different from completing a layup training.

"How did someone like you who can't even do basic defensive rotations get into the NBA?" Jordan finally got angry at Nick Anderson.

Nick Anderson felt aggrieved. He had no idea that Jordan would suddenly go crazy and double-team Roger. He was totally unprepared for this and naturally did not immediately turn to Harper.

Roger attracted too many defensive resources, and a loophole needed to be filled by another person, so the point that originally belonged to that person would be missed.

After all, in an era where double team defense and early double team attacks are not allowed, the existence of a defensive weakness is too fatal.

The Magic led by 8 points, and Michael Jordan was knocked down by another heavy punch.

Roger was like the referee who counted down the seconds in a boxing match. Every time Jordan knocked down, he would appear in front of Jordan and say, "8 wins and 0 losses, Michael, you can't beat me in a single match."

The Zen Master called a timeout with just over a minute left. Inside the United Center, fans were still chanting “MVP,” as if that would give the Bulls the lead.

Everyone is still waiting for Jordan's final performance. Is it about time? Even in the most slow-moving climax, the protagonist can start to fight back, right?
Phil Jackson knew that the playbook was no longer working, so he used some reverse psychology in this timeout:
"It's been a great year, but I knew you wimps couldn't handle it. We'll win next year, but not this year. Thanks for the hard work."

Jordan didn't lose his temper because he understood Phil Jackson and knew his purpose.

This is not the first time that the Zen Master has used this trick. He said something similar before the seventh game against the Knicks in 92. The result was that the team shot 58% in that game against the Knicks' terrible defense.

At that time, it was not just Jordan, but the entire team, from the starters to the substitutes, who all exploded.

This time, Jordan was inspired again. He was so competitive that he couldn't stand hearing those words. Although he knew that the Zen Master said that on purpose, he still found it irritating.

He believes that his teammates must have been motivated and there is still a chance for the competition!
But today, the plot has been going against the routine.

After the timeout, the Bulls' first attack, Nick Anderson's open three-pointer missed.

Nick Anderson is not the type to be motivated, and he is now dejected.

He had just been scolded by Jordan, and after the timeout the head coach said some inexplicable words, which made Nick Anderson not excited at all.

He didn't even know why Jordan passed the ball to him!
The basketball missed the target again and the magician was panicking.

and many more.

Are we watching a movie where the villain wins in the end?
Roger began to reap the game. This time, facing Kukoc's strong delay of insufficient quality, Roger went directly through the gap between Pippen and Kukoc, and then successfully scored with his signature mid-range layup.

The Magic lead by 10 points!
"8 wins and 0 losses, it's coming soon, Michael, don't worry, it's coming soon."

"Shut up!"

"8 wins and 0 losses!"

"Son of a bitch!"

"8-0, Michael."

Jordan:
At the United Center, the shouts of MVP disappeared.

In front of the TV, some fans also swallowed their saliva.

They hadn't realized until now that this wasn't some legendary night.

It was Roger's night of killing.

One round later, Jordan made a strong attack and tried to cause damage, but what awaited him was a bloody attack from O'Neal.

The match was hopeless, but Roger kept going.

Execution is not that simple!
This time he passed the ball to O'Neal, which instantly attracted the Bulls' double-team and made Pippen relax his vigilance.

As a result, the Shark immediately passed the ball back to Roger. By the time Pippen reacted, Roger had already completed a mid-range shot.

Pippen's daze, Roger's goal, the quiet United Center, and Magic Johnson who stopped talking and wished he could permanently delete the scene of him wiping his tears.

These are the final farewell to Michael Jordan.

With a 12-0 run, the Magic completely took the game away.

There was no exciting comeback from a lower position, no miracle of No. 23, and no tense drama of dragging the game to the decisive moment.

The Chicago Bulls were cleanly defeated in the final moments by the "big villain" who was already more powerful. It's that simple.

Competitive sports are not movies, and the ending of the story is not necessarily a sky full of flying ribbons.

Not every story can be like that of Zhang Chi, the protagonist in the "Speeding Life" film series, who is always passionate and always has tears in his eyes until the end.

The moment the ball went in, it was as if a sharp sword flashed across Jordan's neck. His face was full of confusion and sadness. He never thought that his comeback would end like this.

After Roger scored the goal, he pounded his chest at Jordan, who was standing there in a daze, and shouted with a smile: "8 wins and 0 losses, for you, legend number 23!"

Jordan stood there with his hands on his hips, his expression becoming unusually calm.

No one knew what he was thinking.

Perhaps he finally realized that the long night was coming and the years were passing.

He glanced at Orlando's No. 14, the boy who had once been in his shadow, now standing opposite him, arrogantly declaring his victory, just like he did when he was young.

Roger, what a threat.

In the end, No. 23 Jordan was brutally knocked down under the attention of the whole world.

Agent Zero left the Bulls with no illusions.

105 to 95, the Orlando Magic defeated the Bulls again in the grand United Center.

The total score was 4-0, and Michael Jordan experienced a 4-0 sweep for the first time in his career!
At the end of the game, Roger jumped onto the technical table, pumped his fist, and shouted in front of all the Bulls fans: "What can I say? Bulls out!"

The magician looked at Roger standing in front of him and shook his head.

I shouldn’t have cried.

Who could have thought that the climax of the story would be the villain scoring a 12-0 goal.

This is the only one who can stop Jordan from creating a miracle.

Tonight, he witnessed the birth of a top villain.

(End of this chapter)