NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 154 If Only There Was a Brick
After discussion, the referees called a technical foul on Michael Thompson. They did not make an additional penalty on Meng Jin. The referees believed that Meng Jin's additional action was caused by unstable center of gravity after landing.

The referee's decision was immediately met with boos from the audience. Meng Jin shook his head. It seemed that the honorary citizenship of Los Angeles was of no use in Los Angeles.

Pat Riley temporarily pulled Mychal Thompson off the court, and he looked a little out of control.

Michael Thompson is an important member of the Lakers. Pat Riley needs him to provide firepower in the second lineup. He has already received a technical foul. If he can't control his anger and gets a second one, Pat Riley's tactical deployment will be completely disrupted.

Jordan made the free throw, and the difference between the two sides came to single digits.

The Bulls showed signs of gaining momentum, and "Magic" Johnson stood up at this critical juncture. James Worthy engaged the Bulls' defense in the interior, and "Magic" Johnson received the ball outside the three-point line.

The Bulls players all retreated to the inside, and "Magic" was in an open state. Everyone was quite confident in his three-point shooting ability, but "Magic" Johnson slapped the Bulls players in the face in this round, as he hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc.

After the ball went in, "Magic" Johnson raised his right arm amid the cheers of the audience.

It is one thing for the opponent to leave the ball open, but whether or not the opponent can make the shot is another.

"Magic" Johnson knew that the Bulls would definitely tighten their defense today, so he arrived at the gym an hour early. He did nothing else but practice three-pointers, especially the three-pointers at the top of the arc and the 45-degree angles on the left and right sides. When his teammates were double-teamed, he would pass the ball to them. "Magic" Johnson was at these three points most of the time.

It can be seen that cramming at the last minute is not completely useless.

The score difference returned to double digits. Meng Jin got in front of James Posey and asked for the ball. Jordan fed the ball. The moment Meng Jin got the ball, James Worthy adjusted his pace vigilantly. He had studied Meng Jin's video tape and knew that he liked to turn around directly after catching the ball.

This move was originally ordinary, but it became a killer move in Meng Jin's hands. His super explosive power and superior static talent could pass the defensive player in an instant. James Worthy consciously took a small step towards the bottom corner. Once the baseline was broken, Meng Jin's next step would definitely be a direct dunk, which is a route that absolutely cannot be missed.

Meng Jin's offensive idea was guessed by James Worthy. The moment he turned around, he bumped into James Worthy's chest. Meng Jin rebounded half a step, dribbled the ball with his left hand and observed the running positions of his teammates.

James Worthy appeared calm on the surface, but was secretly delighted, thinking that he had successfully defended the ball. However, who knew that Meng Jin would start again in the next second. The previous series of actions were all sleight of hand. Meng Jin's real target was still the basket, and he was still trying to get to the baseline.

After dribbling for a while, Meng Jin started directly and got in position. James Worthy had no choice but to resort to abnormal means. He pushed Meng Jin hard, and Meng Jin hooked his hand behind the basket.

He scored and caused James Worthy to foul.

Meng Jin clenched his fist to celebrate, and the muscle lines on his arms were very obvious. In this round, Meng Jin once again put on an inhuman performance, scoring the goal with almost no shooting space and angle.

"Bang!"

Meng Jin's free throw was a little too powerful and the basketball bounced out of the rim.

After Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got the ball steadily, he turned around and passed it to "Magic" Johnson. The latter's first reaction was to quickly launch a counterattack. Although the Lakers' strategy tonight was to slow down as much as possible, SHOW-TIME is something engraved in his bones.

"Magic" passed the ball to AC Green, who immediately passed it back. "Magic" Johnson once again had an open space on the outside, but this time he failed to seize the opportunity.

The Bulls quickly launched a counterattack. Meng Jin took advantage of the Lakers' unstable formation and stepped into the three-point line, taking off with three steps!
James Worthy took a step back consciously. James Worthy is the Lakers' first firepower point. If he is fouled in two consecutive defensive rounds, it will affect his playing time.

Meng Jin bombed the basket of the Great Western Forum Arena from mid-air, so arrogant!
"Magic, you won't always score those lucky shots."

During the defense, Meng Jin deliberately passed by "Magic" Johnson, and "Magic" Johnson took the ball and played singles without saying a word.

After "Magic" Johnson pushed Jordan with his back, he did not turn over, but took a step back and then took a long two-point shot from a high position.

hit!

This ball is not Magic Johnson's regular offensive method. Jordan had no idea how he would play it. Even if he had expected it, it would be difficult to limit Magic Johnson. The height difference between the two is there. Throughout his career, Magic Johnson has had a clear height advantage over his opponents. This advantage can help him easily create shooting and passing opportunities. If he can practice his shooting, his career will reach a new level.

After scoring the goal, Magic Johnson did not forget to respond to Meng Jin, saying, "Was this a lucky goal?"

Meng Jin asked for the ball with his back to the basket and continued to play one-on-one. This time Meng Jin did not try to turn around, he chose to break through facing the basket.

Meng Jin didn't make any fake moves, he just passed the ball with his left hand and walked towards the baseline.

The bottom line again?

James Worthy reacted quickly, taking a step back to block the baseline immediately. He is also a small forward known for his speed and explosiveness.

However, James Worthy didn't know that Meng Jin's failure to make a fake move was the biggest fake move. In this round, he didn't intend to break through James Worthy so blatantly and openly. As soon as Worthy shrank, he immediately pulled up and hit a mid-range jump shot.

In the Lakers' next four offensive rounds, "Magic" Johnson shot three times. He was officially competing with Meng Jin, but he only made one shot. This kind of one-on-one play is not what "Magic" Johnson is good at. Once the opponent realizes that he is not passing the ball and is going to shoot, the threat of "Magic" Johnson will be much smaller.

The Bulls launched continuous counterattacks, Jordan and Grant also returned to their best form, and before halftime, the Bulls narrowed the score to just 6 points.

In the Lakers locker room, Pat Riley still looked calm and composed. The Lakers were still in the lead temporarily. Although Magic Johnson took too many shots in the second quarter, he did not think there was any problem because the team needed someone to take care of the shots after Byron Scott was absent. However, Pat Riley suggested that Magic Johnson reduce his mid-range and long-range shots and play more back-to-the-basket singles. After all, his height advantage and hook shot made it difficult for Jordan to interfere with him.

In the second half, the Lakers played well in the first 6 minutes, and the score difference remained at 6-8 points. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recovered some strength after the halftime break. Although he can't do anything overwhelming in the interior now, he still has a certain lethality. Collins didn't pay too much attention to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's performance. No matter how well the old man played, he could only last a few minutes. His endurance was gone. He basically played for three minutes and recharged for two hours.

As expected, after playing half a quarter, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went down to rest, and it seemed that Pat Riley would not send him to play in the second half.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has played for 19 minutes so far in this game. Pat Riley has really treated him very hard. In the first two rounds, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's playing time was just over 20 minutes.

Michael Thompson replaced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and he started off with some big moves, especially towards Meng Jin.

When he was fighting for position under the basket, he directly elbowed Meng Jin twice. In the next few minutes, Meng Jin had a big outbreak, which was almost a replica of the second half of the second quarter. However, this time Meng Jin was completely open and entered a state of selflessness, scoring 11 points in a row.

This was not the first time that Meng Jin entered this state. In his previous life, he had read in "Sports Weekly" that Jordan and Kobe had both entered this state, which they called Zone.

Pat Riley called two timeouts and let AC Green, James Worthy and "Magic" Johnson take turns defending, but the results were very poor.

In the last two minutes of the third quarter, Pat Riley double-teamed him. One step outside the arc, Meng Jin faced the double-team of James Worthy and AC Green. He made a prediction in advance and moved in advance before the two of them could double him. Meng Jin pushed the ground with his right foot and broke through in the direction of AC Green. Although AC Green braked immediately, he still blocked James Worthy. Meng Jin cleverly used AC Green to set a screen for him. After passing the two, everything became simple. Meng Jin turned around and easily fooled Michael Thompson who came up to make up for him, and then made a layup.

After this shot, the Chicago Bulls also overtook by 2 points.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss had a very dark face on the sidelines. After the first quarter, he was still able to smile and show off his strategy to his daughter, but now he couldn't say anything.

But what made him even more ashamed was yet to come.

In the next round, Meng Jin intercepted the ball from James Worthy. After Worthy made a back-to-back shot, he wanted to turn around, but was cut right by Meng Jin.

After getting the ball, Meng Jin drove straight into the game, and AC Green returned to defense and stood in the paint area one step ahead.

If Meng Jin rushed over at this speed, he would definitely hit someone with the ball, but if he flew over through the air, it would not count.

Meng Jin took off without caring about the free throw line. After gliding for a distance, he tilted his body in the air and dunked the ball through AC Green in a superman flying posture!
AC-Green said that he was just an earthling like me one second ago, so how did he become a superman the next second?

The scene was dead silent, and the fans in front of the TV were cheering wildly. The whole scene gave off a sense of unreality.

At this moment, Pat Riley could no longer remain calm. He pulled his tie wildly, called a timeout, and then angrily yelled at AC Green: "Why don't you pull him down? This is our territory! Don't let him run wild!"

AC Green said with a look of grievance: "I wanted to cause him to run into someone with the ball."

Pat Riley raised his voice when he heard this and yelled, "You know he has this ability. Next time this happens, pull him to the ground and I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong!"

"Understood!" The Lakers players shouted in unison, with Michael Thompson shouting the loudest.

In the last 36 seconds of the third quarter, Meng Jin received a pass from Jordan and hit a jump shot, scoring 17 points in a single quarter.

Meng Jin scored a total of 21 points in this quarter, and his personal score had risen to 40 points after three quarters.

This score silenced the Lakers' commentators. This didn't seem like a score from the finals. If you didn't watch the game, you would think the Lakers were defenseless. But the audience who didn't miss a single minute of the game knew best that the Lakers had already tried their best.

Meng Jin also felt the intensity of the game, but he didn't think it was too great. After all, he had just experienced the baptism of the Detroit Pistons. After playing against those bad boys and then playing against other teams in the league, he immediately felt that the defensive intensity was not on a different level.

The Pistons' 62 wins this season were due to their iron-clad defense. Judging from the statistics, they are a completely civilian team. Their biggest star Isaiah Thomas only scored 18 points and 8 assists, which would make him only second in command in other teams.

The Lakers showed a strong desire to win in the fourth quarter. They didn't want to lose at home in the first game of the finals. This was very demoralizing. You know, the Lakers haven't lost a game so far in the playoffs this year, let alone the finals.

"Magic" Johnson returned to his job in the last quarter. He organized the team's offense in an orderly manner and did not shoot randomly like he did in the second quarter. All his shots were made around the paint area to ensure his hit rate.

In the last 43 seconds, the Los Angeles Lakers narrowed the score to 107 to 109.

In the Lakers' offensive round, if this ball was scored, it would at least tie the score.

However, at this most critical moment, the Lakers made a low-level mistake. James Worthy hesitated after turning around in the interior. He did not shoot or pass the ball at the first time.

The closer it gets to the critical moment, the more likely people are to have ideas. The same goes for the big-hearted player James Worthy. He just thought too much. Jordan seized the opportunity and cut off the ball from his senior.

Jordan cut the ball right under the referee's nose, very cleanly and neatly.

After stealing the ball, Jordan pushed forward without thinking, and "Magic" Johnson retreated to the three-point line alone. He was the last barrier of the Lakers.

Meng Jin made a high-speed run without the ball, and Jordan delivered the most important assist of the game. He had a soft touch and gently threw the ball into the air.

When "Magic" Johnson looked back, Meng Jin was already in the air.

"Magic" Johnson pushed Meng Jin without thinking!
Meng Jin held his core in the air, slammed the ball in with both hands, and it landed steadily at the baseline.

AND-ONE!
Two points are valid, Meng Jin needs another penalty!
"Magic" Johnson covered his head in frustration. He gambled everything to let Meng Jin shoot free throws, but the result was Meng Jin's famous scene.

4 points gap, 33 seconds.

"Shh!"

Amidst the boos, Meng Jin widened the gap to 5 points.

This was a 2+1 that decided the outcome of the game. In the next round, the Los Angeles Lakers failed to attack and were forced to send Jordan to the free throw line.

"Shh!"

"Shh!"

With two free throws, G1 completely lost its suspense.

终场哨向，孟进带着胜利和54分7篮板3助攻3抢断3盖帽5失误的数据回到了更衣室。

The night sky in Los Angeles is dark tonight. Meng Jin led the Bulls to their first defeat in the playoffs this season!

In an interview after the game, Meng Jin bluntly stated: "This is the Lakers' first playoff loss of the season, but they don't have to worry because it won't be the last."

The reporter asked James Worthy: "When Meng Lian scored 17 points, what were you thinking?"

James Worthy answered without hesitation: "I was thinking it would be nice to have a brick in my hand."

(End of this chapter)