First in scoring

Chapter 524 523. Night of Miracle!

Do you believe that Zhang Yang can definitely lead the team to a comeback?
No, that's not what Big Bird's trust is about.

As a superstar and one of the best clutch players in the NBA throughout his career, he knows that to lead a team against the odds, ability and luck are about 50-50, but the combined proportions may be less than half, so confidence is more important!

Back then, every time he faced an unfavorable situation, he firmly believed that he could turn the tables and made his teammates and coaches believe that he could lead the team to a comeback. That's how he taught Zhang Yang back then. Now, of course, he also has to trust Zhang Yang as much as Bill Fitch and KC Jones trusted him unconditionally back then!

And convey this trust to the players... Although this seems unnecessary, Zhang Yang changed the city's basketball culture as soon as he came to New York. After winning the first championship in 90, Ewing still had the idea of ​​​​"rebellion", but after winning the second championship, Ewing accepted his fate. He had two ideas left, one was to change teams to be the boss, and the other was to be the second in command, depending on which side paid more. Bird accurately read Ewing's thoughts and decisively gave Ewing a contract that seemed to be the same amount as Zhang Yang's at the time, giving Ewing enough face and letting Ewing happily be the second in command instead of being forced to accept reality.

However, in addition to the words and deeds of the two Hall of Fame coaches, Bird has more expectations for Zhang Yang. In his mind, this old partner has always been very special.

Zhang Yang has created too many miracles, the earliest one was in the 86-87 season finals. At that time, the Lakers were obviously stronger than the Celtics led by him, McHale and Zhang Yang, but under extremely unfavorable circumstances, Zhang Yang led the team to a sweeping reversal and "led him" to win the fourth championship of his career, surpassing Magic Johnson who only had three championships at the time. Although Magic Johnson also won the fourth championship later and tied again, if it weren't for that championship, the number of championships between him and Magic Johnson would be 4 to 3, and his historical status would be firmly suppressed by Magic Johnson.

Now, seeing Zhang Yang still enjoying the game when he was facing the extreme dilemma of "losing the dynasty", it was hard for Bird not to think of the unforgettable finals...

In the eyes of others, Zhang Yang was enjoying the game... He was indeed enjoying the game.

How could he not be excited and enjoy playing against Jordan, who was at the age of 29 and had the best physical fitness and face-to-face skills?

As for the worry about losing... no matter when, the moment he steps onto the court, his goal is to win, but sometimes there are 'reality' issues. His idea is very simple, just try your best, if you win you'll be happy, but if you really lose, it won't be him who loses the dynasty, and he will bear the brunt of the rage and collapse. He doesn't have the slightest worry about losing, he just goes for it!
However, when facing Jordan, Zhang Yang still wanted to say a lot of MMPs, what about physical fitness!
When he studied the tapes of the first six games of the Eastern Conference Finals, he was sure that the 6-year-old Jordan and the 'him' who was a few days away from turning 29 had similar basic mid-range shooting skills.

In terms of mid-range technique, he is even better, both facing the basket and back-to-basket. His combination of breakthrough and shooting techniques is not inferior to Jordan, and his sense of rhythm is even stronger.

In mid-range one-on-one defense, Jordan is more aggressive and does a better job of pressure. He is better at sticking to defense, interfering better, and less likely to lose his position. He saw in an old newspaper from the playoffs before the Eastern Conference Finals that before the start of the Eastern Conference Finals, the media compared him and Jordan together, using the words "the two best one-on-one defenders in the world" to describe them, in no particular order.

But in a one-on-one situation, Jordan's actual performance from mid-range is better than his and more invincible.

他三节34分啊！21投12中、其中三分球9中4，还有7中6的罚球，命中率比前6场的平均表现高了接近9个百分点，这特么居然还被死死压了一头！
Jordan's shooting percentage in the first three quarters tonight was 60%, which is nearly 6 percentage points higher than the previous six games!

Even when being blocked, he can still rely on his physical fitness to create shooting space. It's totally unreasonable!

But because of this, Zhang Yang's competitive spirit is stronger than ever before! Even stronger than when he faced Kobe in the finals!
...

Zhang Yang is back on the court, and he is in good physical condition now. Bird's lineup rotation is better than when he last came to the 80 line under Stu Jackson's coaching.

Compared with Stu Jackson, Bird was more "generous" and was willing to sacrifice some of his one-on-one defense efficiency, letting Starks and Gerald Wilkins defend Jordan in the second half of the first three quarters, creating conditions for Zhang Yang to rest on the defensive end. Of course, this was based on the two's excellent defensive abilities, and at the beginning of each quarter when Jordan was in the best physical condition, Zhang Yang was still allowed to go head-on. Moreover, after Jordan exploded and scored 4 points in a row at the end of the first quarter, Zhang Yang was the one defending Jordan at the end of the second and third quarters.

Through such adjustments, Bird allowed Zhang Yang to maintain an efficient offensive level throughout the Eastern Conference Finals, averaging 45 minutes of playing time. This was a way to deal with Jordan, that physical freak - averaging 46 minutes per game, defending Zhang Yang alone the entire time, and still maintaining his offensive and defensive standards.

Playing with Zhang Yang were Mark Jackson, McDaniel, Oakley and Ewing.

He saw the opposing team's lineup was John Paxson, Jordan, Pippen, Horace Grant, and Cartwright.

Just like them, the opponent no longer used a lineup that was designed to attack. That lineup had too many defensive loopholes. Even though Bird, who spent a little over the budget to set a new record for total salary in NBA history and had an 11-man rotation of main players, could only provide the most basic defense with his hedge lineup.

In the final quarter of Game 7, both Bird and Phil Jackson chose a conservative lineup, which meant they believed in the stars.

The intermission is over, the fourth quarter begins, and the Knicks attack first!

Mark Jackson received the ball and advanced to the top arc. Facing John Paxson's close protection, he made a good shot. The positions and movements of the other Knicks players were the same as at the beginning of the game. Ewing fell into the low post on the right side, Zhang Yang cut in from the left side of the free throw line, McDaniel went around the high post on the right side and went to the left side, aiming at the position before Zhang Yang cut in, and Oakley was in the long two-point area on the left side.

Jordan tried his best to follow Zhang Yang's footsteps and actively confront him, although the effect was not great. This guy is a power freak like him, and the only difference between him and him is in explosiveness. But if he doesn't confront him enough, he will be even more difficult to defend. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, Zhang Yang's hit rate reached 53.1%, which is higher than the regular season. But under his defense, the hit rate in the first 6 games dropped to 48%, which is lower than the regular season. It is more or less effective.

Jordan followed Zhang Yang into the three-second zone from the left. He was ready to double-team with Cartwright and Pippen to compress the offensive space of Zhang Yang and Ewing, and cut off the pass to the high position. This was the defense arranged by the Zen Master during the intermission. The Zen Master predicted that the Knicks would let Ewing, who had an absolute advantage, start the offense in the final quarter. The Knicks' offensive position this time also confirmed the Zen Master's guess.

However, when Zhang Yang ran around the three-second zone from the baseline, Jordan still did not see Ewing catch the ball!
Just as Jordan followed Zhang Yang's footsteps and ran out of the three-second zone, Ewing turned around and blocked him!

Zhang Yang stopped suddenly, turned around, and rushed out perpendicular to the baseline!

Jordan, Pippen and Cartwright reacted extremely quickly and switched defense in unison. Jordan immediately started to defend Ewing from the front. Cartwright took two steps to the left sideline of the three-second zone and stood in front of McDaniel, while Pippen had already rushed towards Zhang Yang from the left elbow area, completing the switch in the first time and avoiding the violation of early double-teaming!
Mark Jackson threw the ball to the right side of the top arc when Zhang Yang was two or three steps away from the three-point line.

John Paxson tried to intercept the ball but failed! But he immediately rushed in the direction where the ball flew.

Zhang Yang received the ball at the three-point line, turned around and left the three-point line, facing John Paxson and Pippen, and took off and shot a three-pointer...

Pippen, who was less than 27 years old, had really good physical fitness. He really got to the position where he could block the three-point shot, but it was still a little short. Zhang Yang was well versed in the "snake path" and leaned back directly when he jumped!
Pippen was only a hand's distance away from blocking the ball shot by Zhang Yang, but it was just a tiny difference, and he couldn't block it!

The ball flew over Pippen's palm and into the basket...and it went in!
101 to 101, the Knicks tied the score in the final quarter!

Jordan, who was fighting with Ewing for rebounds, saw the ball fall into the basket. He put his hands on his hips and shook his head with a wry smile. When he picked up the ball and passed it to Pippen, he muttered, "Jack's shooting is really the best in the world."

Pippen, who was a little irritated by Zhang Yangyan's attack, suddenly became less irritable after hearing this. After all, it was not shameful to be scored by an opponent who even a proud man like Jordan could admit defeat.

As we all know, Jordan looked down on Magic Johnson and Markelle, commenting on the former as "a passer without a sky hook" and the latter as "a clown hiding behind Laimbeer". The only person Jordan admired but also refused to obey was Bird, and now there is a "Saint Jack".

Pippen retreated to the frontcourt, passed the ball to Jordan, and then prepared to cut in to receive the ball.

Jordan leaned against Zhang Yang in the high position and grabbed the ball with one hand.

In the first three quarters, Zhang Yang was beaten by him and cursed in the street. He was actually cursing in the street during the break between quarters. He made 4 three-pointers in three quarters... Now he has made 5, leading the team to score 98 points in three quarters. If he hadn't gone crazy tonight and scored 39+8 in three quarters, the game would have been ruined!

But this also made him more eager to defeat Zhang Yang. Unlike Zhang Yang, he could no longer afford to lose... However, having no worries and having a cliff behind him can make a player fight hard without fear!
When Pippen reached the left baseline, Jordan turned around and faced the basket, standing in a three-threat posture, raised his elbow to pull Zhang Yang's center of gravity higher, and broke through!

Jordan came to the elbow area, Oakley double-teamed him in advance, and Zhang Yang immediately stuck to him after being passed. Jordan stopped and jumped up before the two of them could confront each other, and took a close-range jump shot facing the interference of the two...hit!
103 to 101, the Bulls led by two points again, and Jordan's score increased to 41 points, the first time in this Eastern Conference Finals that he scored 40+ points in a single game!

After the offense and defense switched, Zhang Yang continued to run without the ball.

Jordan succeeded in scoring a one-on-two shot, but it didn't discourage him. Instead, he praised him in his heart, saying "It's worthy of being the best pull-up jump shot in history." Now he just wants to give back to the other party!
The rule of not being double-teamed in advance is very friendly to him. Before receiving the pass, he does not need to worry about being double-teamed in advance and can make full use of off-ball screens.

This time Jordan chased more fiercely. He anticipated the double screen of Oakley and Ewing in advance, dodged continuously like a loach, and used his burst of acceleration to catch up with Zhang Yang, preventing Zhang Yang from creating a chance to shoot directly due to dislocation.

But Zhang Yang still took advantage of a little bit of time difference. Before being caught by Jordan again, he received the ball, turned around, and prepared for the shot. He jumped, and took a fadeaway jump shot against Jordan's defense... and it went in again!
Looking back, Jordan rushed to the basket and made a layup against Ewing.

In the next offensive round, Zhang Yang also received the ball directly outside the top arc, made a fake shot and rushed forward, avoided Pippen's blockade with the European step, and jumped with the third step to slam the ball into the basket with one hand, and his single-game score also increased to 40+!

The two of them attacked each other fiercely, and the players on both sides tried their best to defend, but the court was like a back garden in front of them. They scored points as if they were in an empty space.

This is why Pippen couldn't afford, and Ewing had already given up, the idea of ​​competing with the team leader.

Even though they are called superstars, they can still feel from time to time that they are not playing the same kind of basketball as these two guys.

Just like now, these two guys rely on their personal abilities to score more efficiently than they imagine that they can lead the team to play the best offensive coordination! And it is just imagination, the actual performance is another matter.

As for Zhang Yang and Jordan, they both entered a state of "ignoring external things" during the game. They forgot about the five championships surpassing Magic and the eight-year itch. They had the same goal - to do everything possible to put the ball into the basket and defeat the opponent!

After both of them scored over 40 points at the beginning, they soon reached nearly 50 points.

However, the one who was closer to 50 points was not Jordan, who had 41 points after making the first shot in the final quarter, but Zhang Yang! Jordan still played with an all-around style and ranked first in scoring, but when he was tightly doubled, he would not hesitate to pass the ball to his teammates if they had a good opportunity. One of his ways to put the ball into the basket was to use his own threat to create easy shooting opportunities for his teammates.

Zhang Yang can't be said to be alone. He actively looks for shooting opportunities. If Mark Jackson or Ewing doesn't pass the ball to him, he doesn't get annoyed. He actively pulls the ball to create good shooting opportunities for his teammates. But if the ball is passed to him, he will just shoot!
Oakley and Ewing's rebounding advantage was so great that Jordan averaged 8+ rebounds per game and became the team's rebounding leader. He chose to trust his teammates... for offensive rebounds!
In the middle of the final quarter, Jordan made two assists in three rounds and made a shot in the other round, beating the Knicks 3-6 and turning a one-point deficit of 2-111 into a three-point lead of 112-1, forcing Bird to call a timeout.

After the official timeout, the Bulls were ready to expand their advantage in one go, but Zhang Yang received the ball directly at the top of the arc and hit a three-pointer against Jordan, tying the score again!

Zhang Yang's personal score reached 51 points, from 5 points behind Jordan in the third quarter to 46 points ahead of Jordan who currently has 5 points!
Looking back, Jordan got angry and went straight to the basket and made a layup.

When the Knicks attacked, Mark Jackson made a fake pass to trick John Paxson into double-teaming Zhang Yang. John Paxson moved sideways two steps and didn't see the ball, so he hurried back, but Mark Jackson had already reached the free throw line, stopped steadily and shot a mid-range shot... and it went in!
It was the Bulls' turn to attack, and Jordan once again succeeded in a singles play, making a sudden jump shot while running from close range.

During the offense-defense transition, Zhang Yang moved aside to rest, and Mark Jackson sat on John Paxson from the three-point line, pushed the ball from the three-point line to the free throw line, and made a turnaround jump shot.

It happened again, how many times tonight...Jordan held his jersey in his mouth, sucked the sweat off his face and ran to the front court.

With those two shots just now, his score has also reached 50+, and he also has 9 rebounds and 11 assists, which is only a stone's throw away from the first 50+ triple-double in the playoffs in history. However, no matter how exaggerated the data is, it will not make any change to the current situation.

Zhang Yang's three-pointer stifled the Bulls' attempt to gain momentum during the official timeout. With the help of Mark Jackson's big butt squatting shot, the game once again entered a tug-of-war!
6 three-pointers. If Jordan remembers correctly, it is the second highest in playoff history. Only in last year's first round when the Pacers defeated the Celtics 130-118, the Pacers player Chuck Person made 7 three-pointers in a single game, which was higher than this.

Others have always said that his mid-range shots and layups are unreasonable, but he thinks players like Zhang Yang are the truly unreasonable ones. For people like Persson, even Reggie Miller and Bird, three-pointers are just a means to create space, while Zhang Yang's three-pointer is a super killer that can kill the game!
Jordan tried hard to calm himself down and get back into the focused state he was in the first half of the quarter.

The more critical the moment, the more you can't mess up. Now it depends on who can endure longer! He knew that Zhang Yang was waiting for him to make a mistake first!

His playing style, with passing and closer connection with teammates, is his advantage. The 6-2 score that created the possibility of widening the score difference is the best proof of this. But he would not deny the advantage of Zhang Yang's playing style, which is that he does not make mistakes easily.

The two teams continued to attack under the leadership of the two MVPs, with the scores rising alternately, but it was difficult for both teams to gain a real advantage.

Jordan successfully got his 10th rebound, and the first playoff 50+ triple-double in history was born, but the Knicks defended as they should and grabbed the rebounds as they should. They did not deliberately focus on Jordan's offensive rebounds to avoid being seized by Pippen for a counterattack.

Similarly, the Bulls did not double-team Zhang Yang, whose score was rapidly approaching 60+. They had already done their best. If they strengthened their defense further, they would not be able to do even basic defense well, because the opponent was Ewing, a top scorer who averaged 6 points in the first six games of the Eastern Conference Finals and had already scored 26 points tonight.

For both teams, it doesn’t matter how crazy the performance of the opposing star is, as long as they can win the final victory!

The long-desired championship, the third true dynasty in NBA history!

However, this time, it was no longer the Bulls who created the opportunity to widen the score gap... At 10 minutes and 11 seconds in the final quarter, Jordan broke into the inside and missed the pull-up shot against three people, failing to tie the score again!

Pippen's attempt to steal the ball was unsuccessful, and Oakley secured the defensive rebound.

In the transition of offense and defense, Mark Jackson passed the ball to Zhang Yang who asked for the ball outside the three-point line.

The current score is 131 to 129, with the Knicks leading by two points.

This time, Zhang Yang did not use teamwork to create opportunities. His teammates were already exhausted. Just like just now, Jordan and Horace Grant were already open, but he still headed for the basket even though the double-team was in place in advance. Now it was time for a real bayonet fight!

After receiving the ball, Zhang Yang didn't wait and broke through directly!
Pippen immediately left McDaniel open and came over to block him, and Jordan was also ready to turn around and double-team him.

But Zhang Yang took advantage of the rhythm to make a breakthrough and suddenly hit the ball out of the three-point line. Jordan and Pippen, who were blocked at the free throw line, rushed over... Zhang Yang had successfully lifted the ball and used his backward move to avoid the two people's defense!

The ball flew over the Qiaopi combination and flew towards the basket...

Hit again!

13 of 7 three-pointers, tying Chuck Person's single-game playoff three-point shooting record!
With this three-pointer, Zhang Yang's score in the final quarter reached 25 points, and his total score increased to 59 points!
The score between the two teams reached 134 to 129. After two quarters, the Knicks once again took a 5-point lead!
At the critical moment, Jordan was still very good. When it was the Bulls' turn to attack, facing Zhang Yang's open defense, he chose to shoot directly and made a three-pointer... and it went in!
55 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists!

But looking back, Mark Jackson held the ball on the left side of the top arc and swung it to the 45-degree angle on the right. Zhang Yang turned around and rushed out from the middle of the three-second zone, came to the 45-degree angle on the right to receive the ball, turned over, glided in the air and hit another three-pointer towards the flying Jordan!
In this time and space, Elgin Baylor's single-game scoring record in the playoffs was broken after this goal!
Chuck Person's single-game three-point shooting record was also broken!

35投22中，其中三分球14中8，外加11中10的罚球，张杨今晚得分提升到62分！
137 to 132, the Knicks led by 5 points again, and there were only 58 seconds left for the Bulls!

Zhang Yang scored two three-pointers in a row, and McGrady's Square Garden fell into a carnival!
The score gap was so sudden that the final quarter lasted for more than 10 minutes. The hearts of the fans at the scene were in their throats. Several fans were so nervous that they fainted and were carried out by security personnel to generate income for the medical complex. But they didn't expect that in just over 40 seconds, the score gap was widened by their Saint Jacks!
What was even more shocking were the players on the field.

If Jordan hadn't made a three-pointer out of the blue, turning his 3-for-0 three-point performance into 4-for-1, the game would have been over!
The Zen Master did not call a timeout. The purpose of calling a timeout is to create better shooting conditions. But at this moment, the only one who could score a goal was Jordan. Pippen scored 24 points and 5 assists tonight, which was his best performance, and it was achieved thanks to Jordan's more exaggerated containment than in previous games.

If you can't use tactics to create better scoring conditions, it's better to let the players do it directly, just like in the last round, Jordan used a three-pointer to pull the score back that was about to collapse.

After Jordan received the pass from Pippen in the frontcourt, he decisively turned around and jumped up to shoot a three-pointer, just as the Zen Master expected... However, Zhang Yang jumped up even faster than Jordan!
58 seconds is different from more than a minute. And Jordan just made a three-pointer. Zhang Yang was sure that this guy would throw it again! He didn't retreat that far on defense this time, and rushed directly when Jordan received the ball and turned around!

The timing was just right. When Jordan jumped up and lifted the ball, he suddenly found that the ball was about to be covered by Zhang Yang's big hand. With the same barefoot height, Zhang Yang's 4-centimeter wingspan advantage played a key role at this time!

Jordan used his strong waist and abdominal strength to lean back and successfully avoided Zhang Yang's block and shot the ball... but the force added to the lean back was too great!

The ball hit the rim with a bang and bounced back toward the top arc. Jordan was forced to step back and stand firm when he landed. He quickly pounced on the bouncing ball, but Zhang Yang turned around and pressed forward, snatched the ball before John Paxson, turned around and counterattacked!
Jordan tried his best to catch up, with more than 40 seconds left, he couldn't give up. He hadn't rested for a second tonight and was already feeling exhausted, but at this moment his adrenaline burst out and he rushed back to the three-point line at a speed faster than Zhang Yang, ready to continue Zhang Yang's advance and double-team Pippen who was catching up.

If you defend it, you still have a chance!

However, Zhang Yang slowed down after rushing through the center circle, grabbed the ball and stepped over when he was one step away from the three-point line, staying half a step outside the top arc.

Jordan, who was standing on the free throw line, and Pippen, who understood his boss's intention and rushed through the center circle, were a little confused when they saw this scene - no, it's impossible, right?

The voices of the fans who were cheering for Zhang Yang's counterattack suddenly stopped. Did it stop here?

The big bird on the sidelines also took two steps forward unconsciously - Zhang San, what are you doing? What are you jumping for? Wah...father! Father love me!

Zhang Yang faced Jordan who was flying towards him in panic and made a three-pointer!
The score difference comes to 8 points!
He is not a white-haired old KFC man, nor a charlatan Zen master, standing on the sidelines with eyes wide open and mouth wide open.

How dare this guy? He actually scored a goal like this!

With 15 of 9 shots, Zhang Yang once again broke the single-game three-point record in the playoffs! With 36 of 23 shots, Zhang Yang's single-game score increased to 65 points, also continuing to break the single-game scoring record in the playoffs!

After a moment of daze, the Zen master's legs went limp and he sat back... He sat down on the ground with his buttocks. This was completely the end!

The situation that Bird tried hard to avoid at the end of the third quarter happened to the Bulls.

This extremely embarrassing scene of the Zen Master made the already impatient Bulls players even more flustered, and Pippen received the ball and quickly advanced to the frontcourt.

Jordan was surrounded by Zhang Yang and couldn't receive the ball outside the three-point line, nor could he cut in. Now he had no choice but to shoot three-pointers.

As time was running out, Pippen took a three-point shot facing McDaniel... and missed!
With 41 seconds left, if they fast-forwarded and committed a tactical foul on the right player, the Bulls would have had a slim chance of a comeback as they didn't call many timeouts tonight. But now, even that slim chance is gone.

Ewing grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Bulls didn't even commit a foul inside. Jordan clapped his hands and shouted "foul" on the outside. His teammates were all confused and didn't react. He could only rush in and hug Charles Oakley, who had the worst free throw shooting ability on the opposing team... But this foul only reflected Jordan's unwillingness to admit defeat, and it had no other effect.

Oakley missed both free throws. With more than 20 seconds left, Jordan received the ball and rushed to the frontcourt to imitate Zhang Yang's three-pointer, but it also went in. After Zhang Yang grabbed the defensive rebound, he didn't even foul Jordan again.

At 10:22 pm, the final whistle sounded.

Zhang Yang scored 65 points in a single game, overpowering Jordan who scored 55 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, and led the Knicks to defeat the Bulls 140-132, winning the seventh game and advancing to the finals!
(End of this chapter)