So I am the god of basketball?

Sure enough, in Game 5 of the series, the Bulls returned to Chicago and "chased and beat" Reggie Miller. Reggie Miller, who was known as "perseverance to the end," had never seen anything like this in his life. The frame.

From the beginning of the third quarter, he was breathing heavily and couldn't stop. Looking at that, you can tell how much his physical energy has been consumed.

In fact, Reggie Miller's shooting touch improved in this game. After all, he was the top shooter in NBA history before Ray Allen, and he still has some ability. It was 3-for-2 from the field. But as his physical energy was depleted, his shooting form began to decline.

The Bulls' "five small" lineup continued to misplace defenses in the fourth quarter, making it clear that Reggie Miller would not have an open shot.

After "Big Dream" handled the ball by himself for half a quarter, Reggie Miller had no choice but to stand up and hit a three-pointer from the top, giving the Pacers another breath. But it was also his last shot of the game.

He didn't score a single goal in the next half-quarter.

Olajuwon seemed to have returned to his time with the Rockets, carrying the team forward alone. In the last 3 minutes, Jordan stepped up to take control of the game, making consecutive mid-range jumpers, and finally helped the team win 91-82, 9 points. Defeated the Pacers by a narrow margin and advanced to the finals on their own doorstep.

Amid the cheers, Olajuwon stood under the basket for a long time, with a bit of unwillingness on his face.

It's not that I am unwilling to accept this game, but that I am unwilling to accept my entire career.

As early as two years ago, he had a feeling that his control of the game was slowly declining.

In this game, this feeling is even stronger and more obvious.

He himself also knows that he will decline from his peak period. After that, if he still wants to win the championship, he must find stronger teammates. Think about it, as the "No. 84 pick" in 3, I have reached the finals three times in my career, but I fell on the stage of the finals every time...

This time, he fell at the stage door of the Eastern Conference finals again.

Maybe this will be the last time in his career that he is closest to the finals.

He looked at Jordan walking towards him, and finally comforted himself:
It is actually understandable to lose to a guy like this!
他在这场比赛拿到了21分10篮板10助攻的“三双”，可以说贡献了自己的一切。但对面那个家伙也拿到了36分7篮板6助攻的全能数据，并且其中至少有7分，都是在最关键的第四节末期拿到的。

This is the reason why he lost!

Olajuwon was convinced.

The media recorded the hug between the two, and the first time they took a photo on the stage of the draft in 1984. They all predicted that this pair of "old enemies" would be mentioned for many years to come.

But it turned out that the "84 generation", who had been talked about for so long, met for the first time in the playoffs at this stage of their careers.

Bill Walton said: "It is our loss not to see these two people at their peak meet in the playoffs!"

After Jordan hugged "Big Dream", he walked towards Larry Bird. He has always respected "Big Bird", not only because he was named twice in the early days, but also because they filmed many McDonald's commercials together.

Bird said: "Congratulations, you finally defeated me in the playoffs, even though I was wearing the head coach's clothes!"

Jordan replied unceremoniously: "But in the last few minutes of the game, you should really want to come back, right?"

Bird shook his head: "No, because what you have to face next is also the 'Big Bird'!"

When it came to Meng Lang, the chat between the two ended.

Jordan stood in the player tunnel being interviewed. Questions related to Meng Lang came to him. His expression did not change much. He looked at the camera in front of him and said calmly: "We have already tasted the taste of the championship, so we will continue to defend the title." , I have never lost to a Western Conference team in the playoffs, and this time will be no exception!”

He was so confident that the Chicago media emboldened to shout the slogan "The Bulls are about to win their fifth championship."

As Jordan said, this is the fifth time in his career that he has entered the finals. Before that, his winning rate in the finals was 5 wins in 4 games. Except for the Celtic players in ancient times, no player has ever accomplished such a winning rate.

Johnson, who is known as "10 finals", had a winning rate of only 4% in the first four finals trips in his career!

You must know that the Lakers at that time had two people, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic, but it was still difficult to maintain a 100% winning rate... but Jordan did it!
Although the one opposite also reached the finals twice and won the championship twice, there is still some gap in terms of quantity.

This is only Meng Lang's third championship trip in his career.

Jordan won the "three consecutive championships" in his third championship tour, while Meng Lang only won the "two consecutive championships" and the "first championship" all over again. In the eyes of the Chicago media, this is the relationship between Meng Lang and Jordan. gap.

There was a strong smell of gunpowder before the finals.

The major media analyzed the "keys to victory" of both sides. In fact, at this point in the playoffs, the outside world already has a good understanding of the playing styles of both sides.

The Bulls' "Death Five" and the others' stubborn fight dragged the game to the last moment, leaving Jordan to have the final say.

As the "defending champion", the experienced Bulls play this set very well, and they don't mind playing the most critical minutes. Using their outstanding defense and their strong teamwork, they taught each team one lesson after another.

This is the reason why they won 70 games last season and 69 games this season!

However, "Bleachers" has a question mark as to whether this set can be used against the Lakers, because the Lakers also have guys who are absolutely not soft on key shots:
rash!

In addition, "ESPN" gave the Bulls a suggestion: "Before every game, pray, and don't enter 'dream mode' tonight, otherwise it will be a night without any suspense. The Jazz should know what this feels like!"

After defeating the Jazz with 53 points, Meng Lang's sudden outburst and then out-of-control scoring state has an exclusive adjective: "dream mode."

ESPN mentioned in the article that Michael Jordan still has a stable output of 30 plus points. But he can no longer achieve a higher ceiling every night like Dream. Physical fitness was a key weakness that limited Jordan from playing like he did in his youth.

In addition, according to ESPN, the Lakers have more x-factors than the Bulls!

Judging from the pre-match analysis of these two authoritative media, it is not difficult to see that they are more optimistic about the Lakers.

No wonder, although the Bulls also defeated the Pacers 4-1, the outcome of almost every game was not decided until the critical moment of the fourth quarter, which made them very anxious to watch. As for the game between the Lakers and the Jazz, it can be said to be a simple "father beating son", and the Jazz had no power to fight back. Finally, there was a game where he wanted to rebel against Tiangang, but in the end, he was suppressed by Meng Lang, the "Tathagata Buddha" with one hand.

The Lakers showed a terrifying aura of falling before their opponents could exert any force.

It's no wonder these media are so optimistic about such a team.

The first game of the Finals was played in Chicago. On the night when the Bulls eliminated the Pacers to receive the Eastern Conference Finals trophy, the entire Lakers team immediately set off for Chicago.

Barkley was interviewed before the finals and said only one sentence: "I hope there will be no physical problems with my body this time. I don't want to stand off the court and watch Dream save the team by himself!"

It was happy to win, but the championship ring he dreamed of was right in front of him. He hoped that he was one of them, and that he was a member who made great efforts for the team to win the championship.

Meng Lang received a call from Monica. All her movies had been filmed. She had also received the tickets for the third game of the finals that Meng Lang had given her through "City Express": "I will definitely attend on time."

Meng Lang felt quite relaxed during the interview before the game, and he also mentioned some interesting things about "Second Dream" recently with great interest. Of course, from the fact that the Lakers canceled the locker room interview three hours before the game, it can still be seen that the Lakers' attitude towards this game is not as relaxed as Meng Lang showed when facing the media.

Some media even squatted at the competition venue, looking forward to seeing the advance meeting between Meng Lang and Jordan. In the previous games, these things always happened. Meng Lang's classic "I want to score 50 points on your head" happened in the pre-game warm-up.

Only this time, Meng Lang and Jordan did not meet during the warm-up before the game.

They did see Meng Lang, but Jordan never showed up.

"Obviously, he was afraid to see me before the game!" This was Meng Lang's explanation for Jordan's absence, and he was a little disappointed. He had a lot of shit ready to say to Michael Jordan.

Why is this old man avoiding him now?

The Bulls did not cancel the pre-game locker room interview. After Jordan learned about Meng Lang's remarks, he just smiled slightly. His attitude was no longer as ups and downs as it was at the beginning. He was used to Meng Lang's "rude words". Anyway, this series is over. Finally, he will make this damn guy shut his mouth!
However, for those media who are not optimistic about the Bulls, Jordan still has something to say. He is not yet used to being the underdog before the finals: "We'll see, after the first game, you guys will You will know what the weaknesses of the Lakers are!”

That's what he said, and that's what the Bulls did.

The much-anticipated first game of the series began. The Lakers faced the Bulls away from home. From the beginning, the rhythm of both sides was very tight, and they missed consecutive shots. Until 3 minutes and 14 seconds passed in the first quarter, neither side had a chance. To get the first point tonight, the score is an embarrassing 0-0.
It's just that the atmosphere of this game became more solemn and serious.

Because the current situation is here, it is already obvious that no matter who it is, as long as they can get the first point, they can take the initiative in the game.

In the end, it was Michael Jordan who was the first to break the deadlock. He used his trademark mid-range shot to help the team get the first 2 points in the game.

Then the Bulls naturally dominated the situation.

The entire game entered their rhythm, which gave the Bulls a 6-point lead.

Chuck Daly also took the "Lakers' fifth pick" without hesitation. ——The Lakers have played against the Bulls twice. This is the first time that the Lakers have come up with a "five small" lineup earlier than the Bulls.

This disrupted the Bulls' rhythm to a certain extent, and the Lakers took back a certain amount of the initiative.

The score was also tied by the Lakers at this time. At the end of the first half, the two teams were tied 45-45.

But Chuck Daly wasn't very satisfied.

Because even so, the Lakers are still in the rhythm of the Bulls. This is a stalemate team. If they want to defeat them, they must establish the score lead as soon as possible. It's just that this time Phil Jackson didn't watch Chuck Daly change his lineup to expand the advantage. At the beginning of the third quarter, the Bulls also took on the "five small" lineup early, trying to prevent the Lakers from expanding the score.

And whenever Meng Lang starts to attack continuously, Michael Jordan will definitely stand up and challenge him.

The two scored 13 points each in the third quarter.

After the fourth quarter, the Bulls showed their fangs and began to make a fuss about Jones, Kobe, Ben, and Divac, who had never played in the finals. Their lack of experience caused them to make one mistake each.

4 people made 4 times. They made consecutive mistakes in the fourth quarter. Needless to say, this had an impact on the situation. The Bulls successfully took a 6-point lead and maintained this point difference until the end. Jordan and Pippen double-teamed Meng Lang, which made the Lakers lack someone who could step forward to save the team at the last moment.

90 to 84, at the end of the game, the Bulls defeated the Lakers with a 6-point advantage at their home court.

Meng Lang scored 31 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.

In this game, Jones, Kobe and Ben made a total of 8 turnovers, accounting for more than half of the team's turnovers. Their youth cost the Lakers in this game.

Jordan scored the Bulls' highest 26 points. After the game, he faced the media with a "Look, I'll tell you" look: "Our goal is to win the second 'dynasty'!"

Bill Walton summed up the game: "The Bulls made a lot of detailed adjustments, which was the key to them winning this game. Of course, they are indeed a different team in the Finals. The Lakers need to realize At this point, they should have realized that the second game will be a very important game for the Lakers! "

Let Michael Jordan gain a 2-0 advantage, which will undoubtedly bring this round of finals to an end early.

Meng Lang didn't say much on the bus back to the hotel. He just said: "In the next game, you have the right to hold the ball. I want to focus on scoring!" (End of Chapter)