Chapter 898: Chapter 55: Fatal Blow_4
"Yes, I need to rest. Let me return in the fourth quarter."
Against the Pistons, and during the regular season against the Trail Blazers, Jordan did not want to rest for even a minute in the second half.
Tonight, it’s really not possible. An away game, first finals, overly tense, nerves highly strained, massive energy consumption in the first half, and taking on offense and defense led to Jordan not planning his energy reserves well.
He got thrown off by Gan Guoyang, and after sitting on the bench at the end of the third quarter, he felt he didn’t want to get up. He had to rest for a while.
Jackson hesitated for a moment and said, "Gan is likely not going to rest."
Jordan took a sip of water and said, "I know, but I need it. I got thrown off by him. I need to regroup."
Jordan did not get obsessed with matching Gan Guoyang’s playing time.
To rest means to rest, he accurately judged his own body.
Moreover, there is still the entire fourth quarter to turn things around.
Jackson agreed, Jordan went to rest, Hodges came on.
Counting the breaks, dead balls, and stopped play, Jordan had about five minutes of breathing time.
On the Trail Blazers’ side, Gan Guoyang returned to the court as usual, with his stamina entirely unaffected.
Because everything was within his planning and control, he appeared aggressive but was actually methodical.
Seeing that Jordan wasn’t playing the last two minutes of the third quarter, Gan Guoyang knew his approach had worked.
"Michael, you have no idea what can happen in two minutes."
Gan Guoyang keenly seized this opportunity, gathering his teammates on the court to change the strategy that Beelman had just set up during the timeout.
Beelman was still playing it safe, asking for further defensive strengthening. He substituted Mike-Sanders for Porter, planning for Sanders to hold for two minutes, finishing the third quarter.
But Gan Guoyang saw the flaw when the Bulls didn’t have Jordan, the opponent lost their backbone. "We must extend the lead to over 10 points in these two minutes!"
Gan Guoyang commanded his teammates to play fast.
It was certainly risky, but when an opportunity arises, it must not be missed.
Trail Blazers’ sideline ball, Petrović passed to Gan Guoyang, who received the ball at the high post, and the Trail Blazers ran a Princeton cut play.
Petrović ran toward the basket as Sanders ran around Gan Guoyang, drawing defensive attention away, one inside and one outside, briefly pulling apart the Bulls’ defense.
Gan Guoyang found an opportunity in the middle, dribbled forward a step, and shot directly from three-point range!
A decisive long shot, also Gan Guoyang’s first three-pointer of the night.
The ball’s arc was high, rising to the peak before dropping quickly, swishing through the net!
Three-point success!
"Shit."
The one who cursed out wasn’t Jackson, nor Jordan, but Beelman.
"This wasn’t the play I set up... Ah Gan made his own decision again... Good shot, good shot."
No matter if it was a decision on his own, making it was a good shot.
In previous games, the Bulls consistently guarded against Gan Guoyang’s long-range shots, preferring to let him drive at the high post rather than risk him shooting.
This time they relaxed, giving Gan Guoyang a very good opportunity, which he capitalized on.
If Jordan were here, he would have immediately found a way to respond, but he wasn’t, only Pippen was on the court.
The Bulls continued their leisurely pace with Triangle Offense, unaware that the Trail Blazers were prepared to speed up.
Pippen’s mid-range shot from the wing missed, Gan Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Trail Blazers players all sprinted forward.
Gan Guoyang made another risky full-court pass, Reggie Lewis caught it, turned, jumped, and slammed it into the basket with both hands!
Lewis ran too hard on this play, lost balance after the dunk, and fell to the ground.
But he immediately got up, and the Trail Blazers applied full-court press defense on the spot, forcing the Bulls to make consecutive passes.
Horace Grant, tangled up, was slow in passing to Pippen, allowing Gan Guoyang to rush in and steal it!
Another turnover, Gan Guoyang quickly advanced with the ball, and Grant rushed to hug Gan, committing a foul.
The Bulls were breaking down mentally, fouling led to free throws.
Gan Guoyang stepped up to the free-throw line, making both shots, as the Trail Blazers put together a 7-0 run against the Bulls in just over a minute, widening the lead to 12 points.
The largest point gap of the game, Gan Guoyang’s "military adventure" succeeded, using the two minutes Jordan was resting to lead the substitute players in a deadly counterattack.
The Bulls made a mistake, they had been making mistakes since before the game started, media pressure, energy reserves, and pre-game preparations left them less prepared than the seasoned Trail Blazers.
During the game, the Bulls underestimated the intensity, and Jordan was especially unprepared for a comprehensive battle with Ah Gan.
After all, with previous opponents, playing at 100%, or even 80-90%, was enough to secure the win, but not against Ah Gan and the Trail Blazers.
They are a super team with 4 championships in 6 years, a basketball war machine led by the Sun King.
Although Hodges hit a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, helping the Bulls reduce the gap to 9 points, keeping a sliver of hope for the fourth quarter turnaround.
But a 9-point deficit made things exceedingly difficult for the Bulls in the final quarter, especially when the fourth quarter started, and Bulls players saw Ah Gan still standing on the court, their morale collapsed.
