The longest river

Chapter 150 Miller's Arrow of Revenge!
Because she was assigned the main attacking role, Yang Shuai did not travel during off-peak hours as she had done in previous matches.

In fact, he was sweating profusely when he was substituted off the field.

Jordan's relentless pressure on him in the latter part of the quarter forced him to expend significantly more energy on every offensive play.

However, his performance in this quarter was perfect, scoring 17 points in the first quarter alone.

More importantly, even though Yang Shuai was not on the court during the bench transition period, Pippen was unable to help the Bulls establish a lead.

That's not surprising at all.

Pippen is the kind of person who needs to be pampered, and Jordan's previous "indulgence" was key to the duo's ability to maintain their dual-core performance.

But Jordan scolded Pippen in a bit of a hurry today, so it's no wonder Pippen didn't perform well.

That's just Pippen's timid personality. Not to mention the trash talk Yang Shuai gave him before this season, he still remembers the trash talk he gave him last season.

Pippen's current form will inevitably force Jordan to put in more effort on the offensive end.

This led to a chain reaction, namely that Jordan was no longer able to continue to entangle with Yang Shuai on the defensive end.

Without Jordan's containment, Yang Shuai's scoring in the second quarter wasn't as high as in the first, but his impact on the offensive end was still quite significant.

At halftime, the Pacers led 48-43.

Jordan scored 26 points and 4 assists in the first half, while Yang Shuai also had 25 points and 3 assists in the first half.

If Jordan is the god of basketball, then this half of the game also makes him a "god-like man".

Of course, everyone knows that the third quarter is always the most crucial in games against the Bulls.

However, this time, the viewing experience of the competition was completely different from before.

Because the Pacers increased their pace in this quarter, they traded fast breaks with the Bulls.

Pippen received a long pass from Jordan in the backcourt and launched a fast break layup, while Yang Shuai received a pass from Mark Jackson and delivered a powerful tomahawk dunk.

Jordan made a fast break and hit a three-pointer. Schmitz, who hadn't had time to retreat to the backcourt, received a pass from Yang Shuai after a steal and quickly laid it in for a basket.

This scene is reminiscent of the modern basketball of Yang Shuai's past life.

With this style of play, both sides' physical strength was pushed to its limits.

In the latter part of this quarter, the success rate of both sides' offenses plummeted, accompanied by various turnovers.

After three quarters, the score was 68-71, with the Bulls taking a 3-point lead.

It's clear that the Bulls have the advantage in this format.

This further highlights the extraordinary nature of this Bulls team. Whether it's the quality of their superstars, their defensive resources, or even their physical reserves, they are in a league of their own.

At the start of the fourth quarter, both teams' starters were resting on the bench, while five substitutes were playing against each other on the court.

This is the first time in the series that this has happened, as both sides have been extremely exhausted.

The camera then focused on Yang Shuai again.

Yang Shuai has scored 33 points in three quarters tonight, breaking his previous playoff single-game scoring record of 31 points set against the Knicks last season.

Without a doubt, Yang Shuai not only took on the task of being the Pacers' main offensive force, but he also exceeded expectations.

To score that number of points against this Bulls team, he really showcased his offensive talent tonight.

It wasn't until there were 6 minutes left in the quarter that both sides substituted their starters onto the court.

The two sides entered the final decisive stage.

During this period of time, Yang Shuai was actually double-teamed off the ball!

Pippen stayed close to him, and then Jordan or Harper limited his ability to receive the ball.

Phil Jackson showed Yang Shuai a great deal of respect.

However, doing so will inevitably give other members of his Pacers team opportunities.

Miller, who only scored 6 points in the first three quarters due to injury, made consecutive shots through off-ball movement on the weak side, just like he did in Game 1.

Players like Miller are just like Yang Shuai felt when he first started playing one-on-one with him; you really can't give him any chance at all.

Seeing that Miller was in form, Yang Shuai decisively allocated his energy to the defensive end to confront and entangle Jordan.

It was at this moment that he realized Jordan hadn't entered the "zone" all night.

Perhaps due to excessive physical exertion tonight, Jordan was unsure if he could last until the end of the game, just like in the final moments of Game 1 when he was too exhausted to continue.
Or perhaps it's because after playing a series of high-intensity matches, Yang Shuai's attrition-based defensive strategy has started to take effect.

Either way, this is good news for the Pacers.

Jordan's efficiency dropped under Yang Shuai's tenacity, while Miller seized the opportunity to score repeatedly.

With three minutes remaining in the game, the Pacers led the Bulls 94-89.

Phil Jackson called a timeout.

The city square gardens were filled with cheers.

Yang Shuai's outstanding performance in the first three quarters, coupled with Miller's heroics in the final quarter, made the Pacers' do-or-die performance inspiring.

If they win Game 4, the series will be tied 2-2, and they will be back on equal footing with the Bulls!
After the timeout, the Bulls suddenly adjusted their offensive focus, with Jordan drawing attention on the strong side and the Bulls creating opportunities for Pippen to set screens on the weak side.

Pippen's layup after receiving a pass from Jordan drew a foul from Davis.

Just then, Jordan whispered something in Pippen's ear and patted him on the chest.

Clearly, Jordan realized he had been a bit too harsh on Pippen and switched back to his doting mode.

This change really worked; Pippen made both free throws without hesitation.

Pippen then intercepted Mark Jackson's pass to Miller on the defensive end, and then assisted Harper on the fast break to score a goal.

Pippen has always had the ability, but his mentality on the court has always been a big problem, and only Jordan could "coax" him into a good state. At a crucial moment, Yang Shuai finally created another opportunity, cutting in to receive a pass from Jackson and scoring a layup over Kukoc's help defense for a 2+1 play.

"MVP! MVP!"

When Yang Shuai stepped to the free-throw line, the crowd erupted in MVP chants for the first time, a testament to his performance that day.

Yang Shuai made the free throw, and the Pacers still maintained a 4-point lead.

However, looking back, Pippen, having rediscovered himself, received a cross-court pass from Jordan on the weak side and hit a three-pointer!

Against this Bulls team, the chances of them underperforming and winning are very slim!
Both teams missed one shot each, and with one minute left in the game, the Pacers still maintained a slight lead of one point.

Phil Jackson still did not call a timeout.

Jordan received the ball again after reaching the frontcourt, but this time he did not pass it to the weak side. Instead, he signaled to pull up and then isolate Yang Shuai.

Jordan held his breath, and so did Yang Shuai.

The two players kept colliding, and in the end Jordan chose to drive to the baseline and pull up for a jump shot.

Yang Shuai lunged forward the instant he made his move.

This is a recurring pattern in this series.

Jordan leaned back to avoid Yang Shuai's interference, and the basketball barely flew past Yang Shuai's fingertips towards the basket.

"when!"

Jordan's shot missed!

Yang Shuai made great contributions on both offense and defense tonight!

But before the fans could even cheer, Rodman grabbed the offensive rebound!

Just now, when Yang Shuai was adding a penalty, Phil Jackson substituted Rodman back in.

Rodman passed the ball to Pippen on the outside. Pippen, who had just scored a series of points and was brimming with confidence, took the ball and drove straight to the basket.

He drove into the paint and used a layup to dodge Schmitz's defense.

The ball bounced off the front of the rim and didn't go in!

However, Pippen grabbed the offensive rebound again!
The Pacers were completely outrebounded on the offensive boards in this possession.

Pippen grabbed the offensive rebound and passed the ball to Jordan.

Jordan didn't make many adjustments this time; he simply caught the ball and took a mid-range jump shot.

Yang Shuai jumped again with all her might to interfere.

"Shh!"

But this time, Jordan hit the game-winning shot right over Yang Shuai's defense!

The Bulls rallied to take the lead 97-98 in the final moments.

The fans at the stadium were in an uproar.

Even Yang Shuai, you can't stop Jordan's game-winning shot every time.

Bird called a timeout.

After the timeout, the fans in the stadium were so tense they barely dared to breathe.

If they can't pull off a game-winning shot, the Pacers' season will most likely be over.

These are the three seconds that determine the effort of an entire season.

The camera kept switching back and forth between Yang Shuai and Miller.

The only game the Bulls won last season was thanks to Yang Shuai's game-winning shot, and the scene in that game was extremely similar to this one.
Miller was the Pacers' best player in the fourth quarter tonight.

"beep!"

The whistle blew from the sidelines, and the Bulls began to run their positions on the court.

Yang Shuai ran towards the baseline from the outside of the free-throw line, using Davis's screen, to receive the ball.

However, Pippen, who had regained his form, focused all his energy on following Yang Shuai, and Yang Shuai did not get a chance to receive the ball.

At that moment, Miller, who was originally crouching inside the free throw line, began to use screens on the weak side to make his way to the strong side.

Jordan was about to block him when he saw this, but Miller, due to his ankle injury, was unable to shake off Jordan by running.

So he simply reached out and shoved Jordan!
Jordan didn't have time to react and was pushed away.

Right after pushing Jordan away, Miller seemed to unleash his strongest inner desire and sprinted toward the sideline.

Mark Jackson's pass bypassed Harper's interference and flew towards Miller.

Under the tense gaze of the fans in the stadium, Miller received the ball, then turned and shot in one smooth motion.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment, and everyone stared at the basketball that had flown away, not daring to breathe.

"Shh!"

The next second, the sound of a basketball piercing the net came from the loudspeaker.

"Mr. Big Heart" hit the game-winning shot!
The city square stadium instantly erupted in cheers.

Miller jumped up and pumped his fist in celebration after seeing the ball go in, and at that moment his ankle pain seemed to completely disappear.

Yang Shuai had already rushed to the basket to grab the offensive rebound. When he saw Miller's crazy expression as he turned around after the basket, he was also excited.

Miller, who was unhappy with Jordan's "privileges," personally fired his arrow of revenge in tonight's game, hitting Jordan right in the heart!

(End of this chapter)