Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

The Timberwolves' fast break counterattack was like mercury pouring out of the ground. In just a few seconds, the basketball was passed from the backcourt to the hands of Wudao who was pushing the fast break in the frontcourt.

Under the double-team of the Bulls' returning players, Wu Dao, who was rapidly advancing to the three-point line, suddenly paused and quickly turned his head to look at Marbury who was rushing from the middle.

Cole, who had been chasing and reached Wu Dao, couldn't help but pause when he saw this scene. His sight was also diverted by Wu Dao's action and he looked at Marbury who was in mid-air at this time.

At the same time, Michael Jordan, who had originally planned to enter the inside and take position in advance, was forced to stop after noticing Wu Dao's gaze. He pressed towards Marbury and did not want to give the Timberwolves a chance to shoot open shots.

There was nothing wrong with the defensive choices of the Bulls' returning players, but they seemed to have forgotten that Budo's greatest ability was not passing.

After a simple visual guidance, Wudao, who had stopped, suddenly accelerated. While he suddenly blew the ball with his right hand, he leaned his body hard on Cole, directly knocking Cole out. After quickly passing Cole's defense, Wudao rushed into the basket, grabbed the ball with one hand and jumped up, and directly dunked the ball into the basket.

"Bang--"

The loud noise echoed in the stadium, causing the Timberwolves fans in the stands to stand up and cheer.

The Timberwolves' attack lasted only 5 seconds. The Bulls' defense was broken like paper in the face of their offensive.

"Return to defense faster and don't give the Timberwolves a chance to chase and fast break."

"Move, everyone move!!"

The biggest problem for the Bulls' lack of defense this time was actually Pippen. Coach Phil Jackson gave him the task of defending Martial Arts' defensive vanguard, but Pippen seemed to be a little too proud of himself after scoring, and his speed in returning to defense was a little slow, which gave the Timberwolves an opportunity to take advantage.

However, Coach Phil Jackson naturally would not hold Pippen accountable for such a small mistake. After standing on the sidelines and giving a stern reminder to the players on the court, Coach Phil Jackson did not say anything else.

His reprimand did not name anyone, but anyone with a discerning eye knew that Coach Phil Jackson was talking to Pippen.

The Timberwolves are a very strong opponent for the current Bulls.

Even with the help of the referee, they must not take it lightly.

A mentality similar to Pippen's must never be allowed to appear again. Pride and complacency will ruin the team. Coach Phil Jackson clearly realizes this.

The Timberwolves' fast break scores completely woke up the Bulls. With such a slight lead, the Bulls players unknowingly walked into their comfort zone. However, on the court, that kind of comfortable mood is absolutely not allowed to appear.

Pippen rubbed his cheeks and saw his teammates quickly enter the Timberwolves half and take their positions early after serving the ball in the backcourt. As his teammates were advancing towards the Timberwolves half with the ball, Pippen's eyes fell on Wu Dao, staring at the back of this young man, his eyes became deep.

This kid can beat Michael!

For some reason, this thought suddenly appeared in Pippen's mind.

Michael Jordan's invincible image was engraved in Pippen's mind early on, and defeating Michael Jordan seemed to have become Pippen's obsession.

At this moment, Pippen suddenly felt that the team's victory or defeat became less important. What he desperately wanted to see was Michael Jordan losing and being embarrassed.

I’m afraid that my brothers will suffer and I’m afraid that my brothers will drive a Land Rover.

The relationship between Michael Jordan and Pippen, who appear to be brothers, is not as harmonious as they appear in front of the media.

Perhaps only the two players themselves know the dirty tricks between them.

"Snapped!"

While Pippen was distracted, the basketball was already in the hands of Michael Jordan. Under the defense of Wudao, Michael Jordan dropped the ball and broke through. After a fierce physical confrontation, he directly chose to advance in disguise. While Wudao was chasing him, Michael Jordan made a fake shot and then made a strong shot with time difference.

In mid-air, Michael Jordan put his elbow on Wu Dao's chest and then made a strong shot.

In a strong breakthrough with the main purpose of drawing a foul, Michael Jordan took advantage of the fact that Bu Dao did not dare to defend with all his strength and found a shooting opportunity on Bu Dao.

However, due to the physical contact, Michael Jordan's shot was inaccurate, and the basketball hit the edge of the frame and bounced out. But what Michael Jordan didn't expect was that the referee on the sidelines completely ignored the physical contact between him and Wu Dao and didn't blow the whistle.

Although the referee's whistle favored the Bulls, when the Bulls maintained the lead, the referee would try his best to hide his presence. It is impossible for them to favor the Bulls at all.

There are also many requirements for blowing the whistle.

Every referee who can umpire in the NBA can be considered experienced.

Pippen's brief absence of concentration also made him lose the possibility of grabbing the frontcourt rebound. After grabbing the rebound, the Timberwolves quickly threw the ball to the frontcourt, and it seemed that they were still preparing for a fast break.

However, this time, the reaction speed of the Bulls players was much faster. After Jordan missed the shot, he did not stay in the Timberwolves' half for long, but quickly returned to defense.

After losing the chance to grab the rebound, Pippen quickly ran towards Wudao, not wanting to give the Timberwolves a chance to fast break.

The Timberwolves' offensive tactical system revolves around Wu Dao, and the same principle applies even to fast breaks. As long as the Bulls can keep a close eye on Wu Dao, the Timberwolves' fast break threat will be much weaker.

After receiving the pass from his teammate in the frontcourt, Marbury quickly advanced towards the frontcourt. After realizing that the Bulls players returned to defense quickly enough, Marbury slowed down his speed and stopped on the left wing of the court, waiting for his Timberwolves teammates to come up for support.

Wu Dao was at the top of the arc, and the other players were in the inside and on the right wing.

After Marbury quickly passed the ball to Wudao, he quickly ran in the direction of Wudao, seemingly preparing to do a pick-and-roll for Wudao. However, halfway through, the Bulls players discovered that Marbury's intention was not to do a pick-and-roll.

The figures of Marbury and Wudao passed each other, and Wudao quickly passed the basketball to Marbury. As their figures passed each other, Wudao, who had completed the pass, quickly blocked Cole who came to defend, creating a scoring opportunity for Marbury.

After receiving the ball, Marbury dribbled sideways for a step and then took a three-point jump shot. Marbury even had plenty of time to adjust before the shot.

Under the gaze of the fans, the three-point ball went into the net with a crisp sound.

"Good shot." Wu Dao, who made the assist, patted Marbury on the back and praised him happily.

Although the Bulls thought clearly and knew how to curb Martial Arts' offensive point, the Timberwolves could not sit idly by.

Wu Dao knew very well that he would be the target of the Bulls, and he was also aware that the referee was slightly biased towards the Bulls. In this situation, Wu Dao chose to reduce the number of shots as much as possible to weaken his own weight to a certain extent.

This will divert the referee's attention away from you.

The game between the Timberwolves and the Bulls has entered a white-hot stage. The Timberwolves' fast-paced offense and defense transitions also increased the Bulls' speed. The number of rounds in the game was much greater than in the previous two games.

Led by Michael Jordan, the Bulls maintained a relatively high offensive efficiency. By the end of the second quarter, the Bulls had scored 31 points in the quarter.

On the other hand, although the Timberwolves were the ones who took the initiative to speed up the pace, they did not gain an advantage in the fast break competition in the second quarter due to the referee's deliberate bias. The team scored "only" 29 points in the quarter.

Although Wu Dao consciously reduced his number of shots, the Timberwolves' offensive efficiency did not drop too much. Although Kerr's appearance strengthened the Bulls' outside threat to a certain extent, the veteran was like a sieve in front of Marbury and was completely no match for Marbury.

In addition, Marbury had a very good touch in today's game. He scored 11 points in a single quarter against Kerr, which was one of the best performances of his playoff career.

At the end of the first half, the difference between the Bulls and the Timberwolves had reached 7 points.

Although the Bulls had taken the lead, they were not satisfied with the result. A 7-point difference was not an irreversible score difference for a team of this level, and at this point in the game, the Bulls had no way to ensure their victory.

After a short break, players from both teams returned to the court again. The Bulls replaced Cole, and Luc Long also returned to the court. Pippen was replaced and Ron Harper replaced him.

The Bulls' third quarter lineup also became Michael Jordan, Ron Harper, Luc Longley, Rodman, and Tony Kukoc.

Even after such an intense two quarters, the Bulls still hold a 7-point lead.

But Phil Jackson did not dare to let his guard down at all and still did not replace Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan only had a short rest of a few minutes in the first quarter, and the rest of the time was public rest time, which was a huge physical burden for a player of Michael Jordan's age.

But Jordan had no complaints about this. On the contrary, he liked the feeling of being relied upon by the team and the feeling of "the team can't do without me".

The Timberwolves, who were lagging behind, did not give up the chance to win the game. Similar to the Bulls' configuration, the Timberwolves did not replace their main players, and Wu Dao still remained on the court.

Instead, Marbury got some rest time, and Garnett returned to the court after the rest. According to the normal game rhythm, in the 48 minutes of game time, the playing time of these main players will probably accumulate to more than 40 points.

High-intensity games are a major test of the players' physical fitness.

Fortunately, the Timberwolves' young players are at an energetic age and can survive games of this intensity.

As the buzzer sounded in the stadium, players from both sides returned to the court.

Due to the intense physical exertion, the offensive efficiency of both sides weakened in the third quarter, but the offense-defense transition rhythm of the two teams still maintained at a relatively high frequency.

The players of both teams were unwilling to give in to each other, and their offense became more and more concise. A large number of tactical runs were reduced, and simple individual singles became the main theme of the offense for both teams.

In such a chaotic battle, Michael Jordan's advantage was infinitely magnified. Michael Jordan's touch in today's game was excellent. After the first two quarters, he made 13 of 7 shots and 5 of 4 free throws, scoring 18 points.

Even under Martial Arts' defense, Michael Jordan still played with such terrifying efficiency. His performance today was completely different from the previous two games.

As for the Timberwolves, Wu Dao had already committed two fouls, and the referee's biased decisions had a huge impact on him.

He grew up in a tough basketball environment. After entering the NBA, he was baptized by tough guys like Malone at an early stage. This made his martial arts defense influenced by these people, and the defense was often accompanied by fierce physical confrontation.

This defensive habit cannot be changed in a short time. Under the referee's full "defense", martial arts will inevitably become restrained.

Not only was he not playing well on the defensive end, but Wu Dao was also not playing well on the offensive end.

The Bulls invested a lot of defensive energy in Martial Arts, and Pippen also tried his best when defending Martial Arts, frequently confronting Martial Arts physically and not sparing his own physical strength at all.

He is different from Wu Dao. The Timberwolves need Wu Dao to step up on the offensive end and take on a large number of shots. At the same time, they also need Wu Dao to suppress Michael Jordan's outside scoring to a certain extent.

But Pippen only needs to focus on the defensive end.

Under Pippen's exhaustion, Wu Dao also had a very hard time fighting. It was not until this time that Wu Dao truly felt what it meant to be no match for four hands with two fists.

Fortunately, the other players of the Timberwolves are good enough, Garnett can also take on offensive tasks to a certain extent, and Tom is also an All-Star level player who can also share the pressure with Wu Dao. This allows the Timberwolves to struggle under the Bulls' offensive.

26: 23.

The Timberwolves still maintained their offensive efficiency in the third quarter. As for the Bulls, Michael Jordan reduced his shots due to personal physical exhaustion. Although the Bulls' efficiency did not drop too much, they were still slightly behind the Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves scored 26 points in a single quarter, suppressing the Bulls and narrowing the gap to three points.

Thanks to the efforts of many Timberwolves players, the suspense of victory remained until the fourth quarter.

After three quarters, Wu Dao's personal score was "only" 19 points. At the same time, he also had three fouls.

In the eyes of Timberwolves fans, the team's prospects are still optimistic and they have not lost yet.

(End of this chapter)