The longest river

Chapter 151 Game 7, Game 7!
While everyone was celebrating wildly, Bird stood there calmly.

This time he wasn't showing off, but because the game wasn't really over yet; there were still 0.7 seconds left.

The Bulls called a timeout.

"Prevent Michael from receiving that ball."

After the timeout, Berdra made one last request to Yang Shuai.

That's why he remained calm beforehand; even with only 0.7 seconds left, Jordan could still make a game-winning shot.

After the timeout, all the Bulls players stood at the free-throw line, a move that was Phil Jackson's signature "Starburst" tactic.

Players suddenly spread out from the strong side to the weak side like a star explosion, creating defensive chaos through multiple screens and cross-cutting.

This tactic was too complicated for Yang Shuai to fully understand, but he only needed to focus on what Bird had instructed: prevent the ball from reaching Jordan.

Therefore, he could focus his attention on Pippen serving the ball and the straight line between him and Jordan.

Pippen passed the ball, and Yang Shuai rushed forward.

"Snapped!"

Before the ball reached Jordan's hands, Yang Shuai forcefully flung the racket away.

The long whistle blew out from the sidelines immediately afterward.

Upon seeing this, Bird finally excitedly pumped his fist.

The stadium was once again filled with cheers from the fans.

The game is over, and the Pacers have won!

They're back to square one with the Bulls!

The scene erupted in celebration, with Pacers players surrounding Yang Shuai and Miller, shouting and yelling.

Miller turned around and hugged Yang Shuai, then patted him hard on the back.

Although this is not the final victory, they have rekindled their hopes.

"When everyone thought they had lost hope, they told everyone that hope was still there. That's Indiana, that's the Pacers!"

Ernie Johnson was also excitedly shouting during the commentary.

If Game 1 showcased the Pacers' strength, then tonight they demonstrated their resilience and hunger for victory.

"Chicago will still have the last laugh."

Albert was still sticking to his point of view at this point.

But on a night like this, no one would care about his voice anymore.

The post-match press conference.

A reporter asked Jordan about the last shot.

Do you think that was a foul?

Miller's shot clearly involved pushing someone.

"No, if the referee didn't blow the whistle, then there wasn't one."

Jordan showed that he could accept defeat.

When the Pacers held their press conference, Miller was asked the same question.

"No, I just gave him a light push."

Miller certainly wouldn't admit he fouled, but what he said wasn't wrong either, because that level of pushing is a very common action in this era.

It can only be said that the referee did not choose to decide the game with a whistle at the last moment, but instead handed the game over to the players.

With the score tied 2-2, the Bulls and Pacers will face off in a pivotal Game 5.

At the same time, the fourth game in the Western Conference also came to an end a day later.

The Rockets lost their second home game, and the Jazz tied the series 2-2.

The course of this match was also very tortuous.

The Rockets initially took the lead, but Malone elbowed Barkley on defense, which angered Barkley so much that he immediately retaliated.

Barkley was ultimately ejected, while Malone only received a flagrant foul 1 for not retaliating.

Yang Shuai was deeply moved by this result.

Malone has elbowed so many people throughout his career, but he has been ejected and suspended very few times.

To put it bluntly, Malone's elbow strike is just like Rodman's mental manipulation tactics; both are methods they use to change the course of a game.

It was at this time that Yang Shuai was able to better understand what Bird had said back then.

They play basketball, not kickboxing; those old guys' ultimate goal is to win the championship.

Barkley has always been a tough player, hooking Bird's neck and slamming O'Neal, always gaining the upper hand in these kinds of confrontations.

But this time, he paid the price for his stubbornness.

Of course, Ma Long's behavior also brought him a lot of criticism. Many people called him dirty and said he didn't deserve to win the championship.

Back in Yang Shuai's era, many people lamented how regrettable it was that the "Utah Jazz duo" couldn't win a championship, but in this era, the Jazz are completely the villains.

A day later, Game 5, the pivotal game between the Bulls and the Pacers, tipped off at the United Center in Chicago.

The course of this match was quite surprising, as the referee completely stole the show.

Jordan got a whopping 18 free throws in this game! The Bulls also got more than 40 free throws throughout the game.

With this number of free throws, the Bulls easily defeated the Pacers 103-88.

This is also the only game in the series so far where the point difference is more than double digits.

This game brought up an easily overlooked issue: Jordan's total number of free throw attempts throughout his career has always been consistently high.

Especially in the playoffs, let's not even mention Jordan's average of 14.5 free throws per game in his first playoff series. Just last season, Jordan averaged 10.4 free throws per game in the playoffs.

Including this series so far, Jordan is averaging 12 free throws per game, including the last game.

This is related to Jordan's playing style. Jordan's physical gifts combined with his ability to fight made it easy for him to draw fouls.

But there are clearly special privileges involved. As a star player in the league, it would be impossible for him not to receive "superstar treatment."

However, this match was a bit too exaggerated.

"I want to see what happens when Scottie (Pippen) defends Michael like Hansen does, and see how long he can stay on the court."

Bird also expressed his dissatisfaction with the officiating after the game.

"Nobody wants to watch such an ugly game; that's not what the fans want."

Yang Shuai also directly criticized him.

In his senior year of high school in his previous life, he didn't watch much NBA. Besides being busy with his studies, another important reason was that the NBA had changed by then.

A basketball league partnered with a betting company to bet on every game, completely treating the fans like monkeys.

He had thought such things didn't happen during Stern's era, but it seems there are still quite a few biased referees.

He could understand the league's purpose, after all, without Jordan, the Finals viewership would plummet, but as an opponent, he could not accept such a move.

Moreover, after the press conference, Bird immediately called NBA executives to complain.

This is one of the advantages of having a league legend as your head coach.

As one of the league's "50 Greatest Players," and a figure whose prestige in this era was not much less than that of Jordan, Bird still had a significant influence on the league.

Vaccaro also used Reebok's influence to pressure the league through the media after the game.

Who would like a team that needs referees to win?

This article in the New York Times also sparked heated discussions among fans.

This also raised questions about Jordan.

If a player needs the referee's help to win a game, can he still be called a "GOAT"?

Some Bulls fans spoke out for their team, arguing that Miller had gained an advantage by not being called for pushing Jordan in Game 4, and that the Bulls deserved to have an advantage in Game 5.

However, this sparked a rebuttal from Indiana fans, who argued that Miller's call was only for one possession, while the Bulls' call was for the entire game, making the comparison a complete denial of the efforts made by both teams in the first 47 minutes of Game 4.

However, many neutral fans share Yang Shuai's sentiment: they want to see the same intense clashes as in the past four games, rather than having the referee dictate the match.

Two days later, Game 6 of the series returned to Indianapolis.

Before heading to the arena for Game 6, Bird gave another personal speech to the Pacers players in the locker room.

"The game isn't over until the final whistle blows. I believe in you, just as I believed in you from the beginning."

"Do your best on every possession, every screen, protect the rebounds, and make open shots. We've proven we can win, we just need to do it again."

In Game 6, Bird made a bold adjustment, promoting Jermaine O'Neal to the starting lineup to partner with Schmitz.

This seemingly bold move was, in fact, the culmination of his season-long mentoring of Jermaine O'Neal.

Of course, the most important purpose of this adjustment is to maximize the Pacers' spacing tactics.

From the start of the game, the Pacers displayed an unprecedented desire to win.

The two teams quickly engaged in a fierce battle.

The good news is that, perhaps due to external pressure, the referees stopped trying to steal the spotlight.

At the end of the first quarter, the two teams were tied at 24.

At halftime, the Pacers led the Bulls 51-46.

After three quarters, the Pacers still led 75-70!

Miller had a cold shooting night, making only 2 of 11 shots, including 0 of 5 from three-point range.

Playing with an injury in the previous game clearly aggravated his ankle injury, which greatly limited his performance on the field.

However, Yang Shuai and Schmitz both stepped up in this match.

Yang Shuai scored 24 points in three quarters, while Schmitz also contributed 20 points.

And then there's Jermaine O'Neal. Although he didn't take many shots, he capitalized on his opportunities, making 4 of 5 mid-range shots and maximizing the Pacers' spacing system.

On the other hand, the Bulls seemed to be affected by external pressure or perhaps they were not mentally prepared for the Pacers' performance tonight. Apart from Jordan, everyone else was not in good form.

In the final quarter, both sides were giving their all on defense.

During this process, the Pacers did what Bird asked of them: they executed every pick-and-roll, every defensive play, and most importantly, every rebound.

They didn't get repeatedly outrebounded by the Bulls like they did in the final play of Game 4.

最终，尽管乔丹23投12中，罚球11罚10中高效得到了35分，但步行者队最终仍以92比89守住了他们的最后一个主场！
Although the process was tortuous, just as Yang Shuai said at the press conference after the Game 1 match, they were prepared to play a full seven games, and now the two sides are about to face off in a decisive Game 7!

(End of this chapter)