Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

Game 5 between the Pacers and the Bulls did not turn out to be the fierce battle that the fans had expected.

Michael Jordan was in very good shape today, perhaps because he was stimulated by the Timberwolves' record before the game. In the game against the Pacers, Jordan entered the mode of a god descending to earth.

In the first quarter alone, the Bulls, led by Jordan, led their opponents by nine points, 29:16.

Michael Jordan performed very well both on the offensive and defensive ends. Reggie Miller, who was facing him, scored only 4 points in the first quarter, but he took six shots, and his shooting percentage was suppressed by Jordan's defense.

In contrast, Michael Jordan scored 11 points in the first quarter alone, and this was when he was only playing offensive shots. Most of the time, Michael Jordan would choose to assist his teammates and try to mobilize their teammates' state.

And his playing style obviously had a very good effect. The whole Bulls team was in high spirits, and players in every position played very well.

As for the Pacers, perhaps because the psychological pressure of playing away from home was too great, with team leader Reggie Miller suppressed by Jordan, the performance of the entire team was not very good.

In this round of the series, the Pacers have never won an away game in Chicago. Perhaps it is because of this mentality that the players played a little restrained during the game. In the eyes of some fans who understand basketball, they were a little casual when handling the ball on the offensive end.

He doesn't look very serious.

As the whistle sounded to end the first quarter, the Bulls players returned to their rest area amid the cheers of the fans.

All the players were very calm and did not get complacent because of the big advantage in the first quarter. Their mentality was very stable.

In the eyes of Bulls fans, the emotional stability of Jordan and others is a reflection of their kingly temperament.

He will not be complacent because of a small advantage, nor will he give up because the team is in a disadvantage.

Calmness not only allows the Bulls players to perform at a better level, but also infects the fans who support them and makes the fans full of confidence in their home team.

Every Bulls fan feels that their team can achieve something. They feel that the Bulls led by Jordan can help the team achieve the feat of winning two three consecutive championships.

The rest time is very short.

As the buzzer sounded in the stadium, the rotation lineups of the two teams also entered the stadium.

Michael Jordan, who played for the entire quarter, did not leave the court in the second quarter. When he appeared on the court, the fans in the stands burst into amazing cheers. Not only were they local fans in Chicago, but many people even came to Chicago from other states to cheer for the Bulls.

It's not just people in Chicago who like Jordan. Among all NBA basketball players, Kerr Jordan has the widest audience.

Not to mention playing at home, even when playing away games, the away fans would not be stingy with their cheers for Michael Jordan.

The Bulls' lineup did not change much, with center Luc Longley being replaced by Rodman.

I don't know what Phil Jackson's plan is. Maybe he thinks the Pacers will substitute the 224cm Rick Smits.

The Pacers do not have any other big centers on their team, so they can rely on Rodman's personal abilities to cope with the next game well.

The Pacers' rotation arrangement in the second quarter was just as Phil Jackson expected. Rick Smits, who was not very physically fit, was replaced by Antonio Davis, a 4/5 swingman who was 208cm tall and weighed 111kg.

Since entering the NBA in the early 90s, he has been playing for the Indiana Pacers, playing as a substitute, averaging less than ten points per game. Antonio's offensive ability is actually quite good, with a good mid-range shot and the ability to dribble and break through.

However, his offensive status in the Pacers was not very high. It was not until he was traded to the weak Raptors in early 2000 that he officially became the team's starter and began to have more shooting rights.

In the 00-01 season, Antonio Davis also became an All-Star player. In that year's All-Star season, his personal score was able to reach 14 points, and his average number of shots per game was only 11.

Neo Davis will be able to grow into a qualified starting player in the future and become the team's secondary attacker.

But now he has not fully tapped all his potential, or rather, the Pacers have not tapped his potential.

As the second quarter began, the Bulls took the lead in launching an attack.

Michael Jordan still maintained his hot hand in the first quarter, and the ball came into his hands at the beginning of the second quarter. Michael Jordan is used to launching the team's first attack, which is an attack that verifies his touch and determines his own playing style in this quarter, and also an attack that motivates his teammates.

After getting the basketball, Michael Jordan just took a simple tentative step facing Reggie Miller's defense, and then he directly dropped the ball and broke through.

The old rogue not only has perfect personal skills, but his physical confrontation is also top-notch among players in the same position.

Even a 40-year-old Michael Jordan could score by forcing shots against the power forward player. What's more, Michael Jordan was at the tail end of his prime. Although his physical function had begun to decline significantly, maintaining more than ten or twenty minutes of "show time" was not a big problem.

After using his physical advantage to push Reggie Miller away, Jordan went straight to the mid-range without any other unnecessary movements. After a sudden stop, Michael Jordan jumped up and shot without even looking at Reggie Miller who was chasing him behind him.

He had absolute confidence in his personal abilities and knew clearly that Reggie Mead would not be able to keep up with his movements under such circumstances.

And the fact was just as Michael Jordan expected. Reggie Miller was left behind by him. Facing Michael Jordan's quick stop jump shot, he had no way to deal with it. He could only raise his hands and try to interfere.

But this kind of defense is meaningless to Michael Jordan. The basketball was shot and fell steadily into the basket in front of the players on the court.

"Wow—"

The fans in the stands cheered when they saw Jordan score a goal.

Michael Jordan was naturally very pleased with the enthusiastic cheers from the fans, and returned to his own half of the court with a smile on his face.

Between offense and defense, the Pacers, led by Reggie Miller, launched a fast break against the Bulls.

Miller tried to control the lightning and wanted to pull up after receiving the ball from the outside, but was blocked by Jordan who arrived in time and was blocked hard.

Miller staggered as he fell back to the ground. Just as he was about to turn around to grab the basketball, he saw Jordan rushing past him, grabbing the basketball and rushing towards the Pacers' half.

Watching Michael Jordan break into the Pacers' basket and dunk, the score gap, which was already in double digits, was further widened at this moment.

The Pacers were in a very low state, and coach Larry Bird also realized that his players did not seem to have a strong desire to win. He frequently used timeouts and substitutions during the game, trying to rebuild the team's morale.

However, the effects of these measures are very poor.

These Pacers players seemed to have given up on beating the Bulls away in Chicago.

As the whistle sounded to end the second quarter.

The Bulls beat the Pacers 28:16 again, crushing the Pacers by a large margin.

At this point in the game, it can be said that the winner was already clear. However, Larry Bird, as the head coach, did not want to give up. In the third quarter, he still actively rotated the main players and tried to tie the score against the Bulls.

His measures more or less worked, and the Pacers finally recovered to a certain extent in the third quarter, scoring 24 points in a single quarter.

But to the disappointment of Pacers fans, the Bulls were still as powerful as ever. Even after Michael Jordan left the court, the Bulls, led by Pippen, still suppressed the Pacers by 30 points in a single quarter.

The game had reached this point, and even the unyielding Larry Bird had to admit that there was no hope of winning the game.

After three quarters, 87:56.

No matter how unwilling Larry Bird was, the game had reached this point and it was already a miracle that could turn the tide.

In the final quarter, the Pacers hastily replaced a group of substitute players, and the Bulls also had a tacit understanding and did not continue to chase the Pacers. They also replaced all their main players with substitute players with less game experience.

106: 87.

The Pacers scored 31 points in the final quarter, but this was the result of the Bulls deliberately letting the game go.

The score difference was less than 20 points, which could be regarded as the last bit of face the Bulls left for the Pacers.

After clocking out after three quarters, Michael Jordan was very satisfied with his performance today. As he sat on the sidelines and watched the substitute players fight, a faint smile was always on his face.

At the end of the game, Michael Jordan, the star player, scored 20 points with 12 of 4 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, and 3 of 29 free throws, performing exceptionally well.

Pippen, known as the strongest second-in-command in history, also scored a terrifying stats of 20 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.

大当家的大当家和二当家的投射命中率都接近60%，就连库克奇都是13中8，以61%的命中率砍下了19分。

In contrast to the Bulls' star players, the Pacers' star Reggie Miller only scored 14 points in this game. Under Michael Jordan's defense, although his shooting percentage remained very good, his number of receptions and shooting speed were suppressed.

Michael Jordan not only demonstrated his dominance as a GOD on the offensive end, but he was also outstanding on the defensive end.

The Pacers were completely crushed in this game with both offense and defense.

The series between the Bulls and the Pacers was tied at 3:2. After the game ended, Wu Dao, who was far away in Minnesota, was also paying attention to the games in the Eastern Conference.

I also watched the entire G5 live broadcast across the United States in front of the TV.

The personal ability displayed by Michael Jordan during the game also made Wu Dao a little frightened.

If a player is only strong offensively, that makes sense.

But if a player must have an unstoppable offense and be able to lead the team to tear apart the opponent's defense, and at the same time be responsible for defending the opponent's vanguard on the defensive end, this is a huge test for the player's physical fitness and personal ability.

Wu Dao didn't know who was better in one-on-one defense, his own or Michael Jordan's. If there was one thing that Wu Dao was very clear about himself, it was that his overall view was still lacking compared to Michael Jordan.

Facing an off-ball expert like Reggie Miller, Wu Dao thought that even if he defended himself, he might not be able to defend better than Michael Jordan.

He is often disturbed by the movement of other players, and it is difficult for him to make the most accurate defensive choices when faced with choices like Jordan.

This is also the area where martial arts needs to be improved, but improvement in this area is extremely difficult.

This requires the accumulation of a great deal of game experience and cannot be accomplished overnight. Similarly, it cannot be achieved by relying on a certain player or coach to point the finger at it. This is a laborious process and is not so easy to improve.

Under the attention of fans across the country, Game 6 between the Pacers and the Bulls was also played in Indiana.

Before the game, Budo predicted that the Pacers would beat the Bulls.

It wasn't because he knew the Pacers could win, but because Wu Dao knew the league.

Unlike the game between the Timberwolves and the Lakers, the strength of the Pacers and the Bulls is very close.

When the players on both sides perform normally, it is not easy to determine the winner.

This kind of game is often easily manipulated by the referee, and the referee's whistle will directly determine the outcome of the two teams.

In order to sell more tickets, it is foreseeable that this round of series in the Eastern Conference will be played into a game 7.

The result of the game did not surprise Wu Dao. The Pacers defeated the Bulls at home with a score of 92:89, only leading by three points.

The outcome of this game was not determined by the individual abilities of the players on both sides; the referee also made a great effort in this game.

However, this does not deny the ability of the Pacers players. It is just that anyone with a discerning eye can see that without the help of the referees, the Pacers have no way of defeating the Bulls.

Under such circumstances, the Eastern Conference Finals turned into a game seven.

The seventh game between the Bulls and the Pacers attracted much attention. Even someone like Wu Dao, who had already predicted the outcome, was very interested in this game.

After getting a ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals through some connections, Wu Dao also rushed to Chicago, intending to witness the outcome of the game in person and take a good look at their next opponent in the finals.

This is a game that determines life and death.

Both the Pacers and the Bulls performed at their best.

The intensity of this game was also very high, and both teams made 100% efforts on defense.

In the end, the Bulls were still better.

88:83, the Bulls defeated the Pacers and entered the finals.

In this game, Michael Jordan scored 28 points by either driving or shooting, and made 15 of 10 free throws.

No one knows how much of the referee's support helped the Bulls win.

What fans can remember is that the Bulls defeated the Pacers and will meet the Timberwolves in the finals.

(End of this chapter)