NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 115 A Useless Guy
"Let's go, the game is over."

Larry Bird reached out and pulled up McHale, who was sitting at the baseline.

What McHale couldn't get out of his mind was Meng Jin's buzzer-beater.

It was his own passing error that led to the famous scene of Meng Jin stealing the ball and slam dunk.

Danny Ainge also came over, and the two of them helped McHale back to the locker room. His ankle was now swollen like a steamed bun.

No one in the Celtics blamed McHale. He scored 28 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists tonight. He scored 4 points at the start of overtime despite playing with an injury. He spent most of the game defending Meng Jin. He has done everything he can.

After losing G1, Boston fans just felt a little angry. They felt that this was not right, but they still believed that the Celtics would have the last laugh in this series.

After losing Game 5, many Celtics fans had despair in their eyes. The Bulls had already got the match point with a total score of 3 to 2, and the next game was the Bulls' home court. Victory in this series seemed to be getting further and further away from them.

In the locker room, the Bulls players were venting their emotions. Although this was not a resounding victory, it was more satisfying than any other victory!
They didn't dare to be too arrogant outside just now. After all, it was Boston's home court, and it would be irrational to overly provoke the Celtics players.

"Did you see Larry Bird's dead face? Hahaha!" Oakley laughed in his seat.

Although he was sent off, he saw Larry Bird's expression on the locker room TV.

"I was more concerned about the expressions of the Celtics fans. They looked like they were going to cry any second," Jordan laughed.

这场比赛乔丹拿到了30分12助攻7篮板4抢断2盖帽，但他却不是今晚的主角。

After the locker room opened, more than half of the reporters crowded in front of Meng Jin.

Meng Jin's score in the previous two games was less than 20 points. After two games of silence, he exploded again.

今晚孟进全场出战49分钟，32投15中，罚球8中5，拿到35分14篮板4助攻3抢断2盖帽。

The game was fierce and the efficiency of both sides was not high.

"Talk about that incredible moment, with five seconds left, stealing the ball from McHale and then dunking to win the game. How did you do that in a split second?"

"I saw the look in Kevin McHale's eyes."

Meng Jinyun's casual words left the reporters present confused.

The reporter continued to ask: "Did you see the look in McHale's eyes?"

Meng Jin nodded: "Yes, I saw him glance at Robert Parish before he sent the ball out."

"That's it?"

"That's it." Meng Jin nodded.

The reporters present couldn't believe it. With just one glance, Meng Jin dared to risk missing Larry Bird and pounce on "The Chief"!
But it is true, Meng Jin did gamble, but he gambled right.

Reporters took note of Meng Jin's words, and his description added a bit of legendary color to this buzzer-beater.

"Meng, what does winning this game mean?" the reporter asked.

Meng Jin: "It means we have won a victory."

"You don't look very excited," the reporter asked.

Meng Jin regained his composure after a brief celebration. The purpose of celebration is to boost morale and vent emotions, but celebrating without thinking about anything else is stupid. The series is not over yet, and Meng Jin has seen many examples of teams being overturned after opening champagne in the first half.

"Should I be excited? The work isn't over yet, we still have one last game to play."

The reporter caught the point of this sentence: "Meng, do you mean that you will solve the Celtics at home in Game 6?"

Meng Jin nodded without disguising, "Just now during the game, I saw that McHale sprained his ankle, and I also found that Larry Bird's back has been uncomfortable. In order to reduce their pain, I will resolve this series as soon as possible."

The reporters all laughed after hearing this. Meng Jin's description reminded them of the butcher and the prey. In order to prevent the injured prey from continuing to suffer, the butcher decided to directly cut the prey's neck.

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

As soon as he got off the plane, Meng Jin heard the fans cheering in unison.

At first Meng Jin thought these people were shouting Jordan, but when he walked through the crowd, he found that many fans were shouting "MVP" in his face.

It's true that Jordan is the real regular season MVP, but Meng Jin played an MVP-level performance in Game 5. Although John Paxson's three-pointer in regular time and Jordan's tying mid-range shot are both important, people usually only remember the hero in the final moments.

The next day, the news that the Bulls won Game 5 spread throughout North America. Major mainstream media outlets spoke highly of the Bulls' performance. ESPN's report was the most insightful. Their headline was "Tonight's Bulls players are just like their team logo: frowning, blood-red, hell-flaming Avengers!"

Great Western Forum, Los Angeles.

James Worthy walked into the training hall holding a newspaper with an incredible look on his face.

"Guys, the Celtics lost again at home. What happened to those guys? Maybe we have to change our finals opponent this year."

"The series isn't over yet. Larry won't be eliminated so easily. The Celtics don't have such a tradition. They will fight back. All they need to do is win two games in a row."

"Magic" Johnson's tone was nonchalant, as if he had seen through everything.

"No, they have no chance." Jabbar, who was usually taciturn, suddenly spoke.

All the players turned to stare at the Lakers captain. Magic looked puzzled: "Why?"

"When have you ever seen the Celtics lose two home games in a series?"

Jabbar didn't explain much, just said a few words and went on the court.

"Magic" Johnson stood there in a daze, thinking over and over what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had just said. Yes, when did the Celtics ever lose two home games in a series?

This is a sign that their dominance is declining. "Hey, Irving, it's time to go on the court. Let's take care of ourselves first."

Byron Scott smiled and patted Magic's butt. They are currently tied 2-2 with their second-round playoff opponent, the Jazz, and the decisive battle between the two sides is about to begin.

Many fans support the Lakers, but more fans hope that the Lakers will be eliminated like the Celtics. The dynasty rivalry is indeed fascinating, but fans will also get aesthetically fatigued. The duel between "Magic" Johnson and "Big Bird" Bird has dominated the screen for too long, and fans are eager to see some fresh faces.

On May 5, the G19 match between the two sides was held at the Chicago Stadium.

Before the game started, Meng Jin got angry, which was very rare.

ESPN reporters asked stupid questions in the pre-match interview, "Meng, if we lose this game, will you be confident that you can win Game 7 when you return to Boston?" "Will you be scared when facing the powerful Celtics?" "The Boston Celtics are always tough. Are you ready for a tough battle with them?"

Meng Jin directly responded: "Are we ready for a tough battle? I think you should ask the Celtics this question. It is more appropriate for them to answer this question. We are leading 3-2 now, we just won Game 5, and we won two away games. I don't know what you guys have to do to respect the Bulls, but it doesn't matter. Who cares? We will win Game 6 and then make these stupid questions disappear."

Meng Jin turned around after he finished speaking. Madonna rushed over and gave Meng Jin a passionate kiss without paying attention to anyone around. "That's so cool. This is what I always say about releasing your nature. I love you more and more."

Madonna is very contagious and her personality has indeed influenced Meng Jin, but she cannot control Meng Jin because Meng Jin only does what he wants to do.

Madonna came to watch the game again tonight, but Cindy Crawford disappeared from Meng Jin's life for a long time. The two have different personalities and different pursuits. Madonna doesn't care about the eyes around her or the media's comments, but Cindy Crawford is different. She is very worried that the scandal with Meng Jin will affect her career. Since the last gossip about the two broke out, they have basically had no contact.

G6 started soon, Collins adjusted the lineup, and Grant was pushed to the 5th position.

The commentator on the scene described Collins' change of formation as a pursuit of extreme run-and-gun, wanting to use speed to give the Celtics the final blow. In fact, Collins' adjustment was forced.

Dave Korsin is injured, and the Bulls have no reliable power forward. Judging from their performance in the previous few games, Grant did not play well, but Cyrus played even worse.

In contrast, Collins decided to give the more energetic Grant a try, which was equivalent to choosing the fresher piece of shit between two pieces.

Grant was lost at the start. He wanted to make a fast break as quickly as possible, but ignored his job of rebounding. He wanted to give Parish some intensity, but received two fouls in less than 5 minutes.

Collins had no choice but to replace him. Sellers' performance was not much better after he came on the court. He made mistakes and missed people constantly. The most important thing was that the two of them couldn't even protect the most basic defensive rebounds. The rebounding ratio between the two sides at halftime was 25 to 18, and the Chicago Bulls fell behind by a full 7 rebounds.

Oakley was under a lot of pressure and focused all his energy on rebounding. He grabbed 11 rebounds in the first half and only took two shots on the offensive end.

Bulls fans are too tired to complain. They didn't expect that the team's inside line still has room for improvement. Only when Dav Korsin was not on the court did the fans realize the importance of this big man.

Dav Korsin was filled with emotion on the sidelines. He had been scolded by fans for most of the season, but he didn't expect that these two guys would be the ones to help him clear his name in the end.

It is true that Dav Korsin is at the bottom of the league's No. 5 position, but it is also true that without Dav Korsin, the Bulls' inside line is weaker.

In the second half, Meng Jin had no choice but to retreat to the inside frequently to help the team protect the defensive rebounds.

The Bulls had fewer fast breaks, and the Celtics had fewer second chances.

Both sides basically abandoned tactics in the second half and competed in willpower.

McHale continued to play in this game, and Meng Jin did not show mercy to him just because he played with an injury. The greatest respect for such an opponent is to give it his all.

The game was decided in the last 2 minutes. Meng Jin received a pass from Jordan and withstood the pressure to hit a key mid-range shot!
Sometimes a game can change a player's confidence and temperament. For Meng Jin, G5 was a battle of promotion. After the buzzer-beater, his temperament on the court became calmer and more decisive.

In the next minute or so, the Bulls worked together to keep the Celtics at bay. In the end, they won Game 1 91-85 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals!
The on-site commentator Johnny Kerr excitedly shouted after the game: "The Chicago Bulls have found the 'answer', Meng Jin is our 'answer'!"

The word "Answer" was first proposed by Bob Verdi, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, but it was popularized by Johnny Cole. After this game, the nickname "Answer" officially became popular.

After winning Game 6, all the Bulls gathered together and celebrated wildly.

Jordan almost cried. At that time, he had not seen much of the world, and entering the Eastern Conference Finals was the most exciting thing in his life.

Meng Jin looked at Jordan's useless look and hugged him in his arms: "Michael, we will have many more moments like this in the future."

The reporter on the sidelines pressed the shutter, and the scene of Jordan leaning on his girlfriend became one of the classic photos of the two.

This series made Jordan realize a truth: if he wants to win, he doesn't need to make his teammates better, he just needs to make Meng Jin better.

Tonight, Jordan scored 23 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds and 4 steals. He tried hard to defend and actively passed the ball to Meng Jin.

Meng Jin had 27 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. If Dav Korsin hadn't been injured, he could have easily scored 30+. The weakness in the interior forced him to retreat to the interior most of the time to help his teammates defend and grab rebounds.

John Paxson scored 15 points and 4 assists tonight. He completed his task perfectly. After making that key shot in G5, Jordan obviously trusted him more, which can be seen from the number of times he passed the ball to him today.

Oakley had 7 points and 18 rebounds. Today he dunked his shooting button and only did one thing the whole time, which was to grab rebounds.

Grant scored 7 points and 4 rebounds. This game gave him valuable experience.
On the Celtics side, Bird and Robert Parish, one inside and one outside, scored 24 points respectively. Grant and Cyrus helped Parish find the feeling of returning to his peak.

McHale had 15 points and 7 rebounds in the game. He was able to achieve these results with just one leg. McHale said he really tried his best tonight.

After the game, players from both sides shook hands and Gilmore gave Meng Jin a big hug.

In the middle of the season, Gilmore re-employed and joined the Celtics. He only played for 7 minutes in the entire series and had little presence.

"When I left the Bulls, I said you would become an All-Star player sooner or later. Let me correct that sentence. You will become a superstar. I am proud of you. Believe me, this Celtics team is more afraid of you than it looks. I am in their locker room and I know what they talk about every day."

"Okay, Artis, you've been hugging me for too long. Be careful or those Celtics guys won't let you go back to the locker room." Meng Jin said with a smile.

Gilmore: "I'm not afraid of anything. I'm going to retire after this season. Today is the last time I'll see those guys."

Meng Jin: "What a pity, the slowest classic car in the league is gone just like that."

Gilmore: "I'm going to start enjoying life. I'm going to spend the rest of my time with my wife and kids. I've been in the league for too long and I owe them too much."

"I wish you all the best."

Meng Jin hugged Gilmore tightly. Their fate on the court ended, but their friendship did not end. Gilmore lived in Chicago and they could meet at any time.

When Meng Jin drove away from the Chicago Stadium, a drizzle began to fall from the sky, just like the mood of Bostonians at the moment.

(End of this chapter)