Chapter 912: Chapter 59 Rescue_3
58:76,18 points, it feels like everything has returned to the start.
The Bulls missed an offensive play, while the Trail Blazers’ defense was incredibly tight and continued to intensify.
The Trail Blazers launched a counterattack, but Porter’s outside three-pointer missed. The Bulls fought back, and Pippen drove into the basket, drawing a foul.
Both free throws made. 58:78, a steady 20-point gap that makes people anxious.
Next, Kossie and Ah Gan coordinated at the high post, a cut to the basket to receive the ball, and the layup was made. 60:78.
The Bulls’ defense seemed a bit slack, while the Trail Blazers’ defense grew tighter.
Pippen attempted to attack Gan, but this time was directly intercepted.
The Trail Blazers countered, Gan Guoyang darted inside, received the ball, and quickly passed it to Porter at the arc.
Porter took the three-point shot again, decisively, without any hesitation—scored.
63:78, 15 points. Chasing with three-pointers is always fast.
Jordan knew it was time for him to step up, attacking Lewis with the ball.
But this time his turnaround shot was predicted by Lewis, who directly blocked Jordan’s shot!
Such a scene is rare. The Trail Blazers took possession and countered, Kossie driving into the basket and drawing a foul.
Both free throws made. On normal days, Kossie’s free throws aren’t very steady, his accuracy hovering between 60-70%.
In crucial games, making one out of two free throws is common. But in the second half, all of his free throws went in.
He knew that Ah Gan despised it when one out of two free throws was made. If you can’t win even at the free-throw line, how could you conquer the opponent?
The score reached 65:78, 13 points. The 20-point gap swiftly leaned toward 10 points.
Both Beelman and Jackson made substitutions—Jackson subbed Armstrong and Grant in, taking out Parkson and Williams.
Beelman sent in veteran Thompson for Sabonis and also Petrović for Terry Porter.
Jordan charged forward, using feints and spin moves to break into the basket, switching hands for a layup and another two points!
65:80, the 15-point gap was restored. Jordan went berserk in the third quarter.
However, what worried Jackson was how no one else but Jordan could score.
The Trail Blazers’ defense grew tighter, and most importantly, they rarely made mistakes.
Gan Guoyang likewise began exerting his strength, cutting into the basket after a screen and receiving the ball amidst a double-team, exploding upwards with a one-handed dunk over Grant!
67:80. The Bulls tried attacking repeatedly, distributing the ball, but they couldn’t find good opportunities.
Armstrong forcefully went for a three-pointer, but missed. Gan Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound—down in the second half, the Bulls had zero offensive rebounds.
The Trail Blazers’ counterattack remained composed—passing the ball, screening, and prompting the Bulls’ defensive formation to shift.
The Bulls’ perimeter pressure didn’t slow the Trail Blazers’ ball movement, which was a terrible sign for the Bulls.
Perimeter pressure often comes at the cost of reduced interior defensive density—they must slow the ball movement or force dead ball situations.
However, the Trail Blazers played differently from the sluggishness of the first half. They were quicker, moving with cohesion from their season-long Princeton System training, adept at passing.
Three passes, two setups, and veteran Thompson ended up wide open under the rim, receiving Gan’s dish and dunking effortlessly.
69:80, 11 points. Just 11 points.
At this point, less than 4 minutes remained in the third quarter.
Horace Grant’s strong post attack missed, and Ah Gan’s shadow began looming again.
Gan Guoyang hauled in yet another defensive rebound, once again initiating their vital, rhythmic counterattack.
Pete Carrell would undoubtedly feel pleased—this was the essence of Princeton.
Fast means slow, slow means fast.
Petrović and Gan set up a screen play, Petrović slipping to the basket.
Porter passed him the ball, and he scored with a reverse layup! 71:80—the gap had dropped below 10 points!
With the third quarter nearly over, the Bulls had only scored 14 points.
No fast-breaks, no low-post plays, no coordination, no three-pointers, no second-chance points.
Only Jordan’s aggression, only free throws, only isolation plays.
The 19-point lead had lulled the Bulls, even Phil Jackson, into complacency.
They failed to notice just how poorly they had played in the third quarter.
Fixating on the score, thinking merely "we’re still ahead," they assumed they retained a margin for errors.
Only when the gap suddenly shrank to 9 points did they realize the tide was turning.
Jackson immediately called a timeout. With barely 10 minutes since halftime, the smiles on the Bulls players’ faces had disappeared completely.
Jordan’s eyes seemed to burn with fury—he lashed out at his teammates again, blaming them for slacking on defense and making reckless choices on offense.
It felt as though everything had returned—not the lead or confidence, but the tension and restlessness filling the vast expanse of Chicago Stadium.
Despite leading by 9 points, a very significant margin, the mental state was entirely different from merely holding onto a tied match with the same lead.
Conversely, the Trail Blazers were calm, united, resolute—they had returned, their four-time champion pedigree rediscovered in stride.
And this time, they were even better. The Chicago Bulls had pushed the Trail Blazers to their limits, energizing the entire roster into delivering near-perfect performances on both fronts.
At this very moment, Gan Guoyang felt a deep sense of satisfaction—it was as though a neat-freak had finally tidied up an utterly chaotic room, leaving it spotless and orderly.
Back into the game, Gan Guoyang rested not a beat—he knew it was showtime.
Scottie Pippen, who had basked in triumph for a game and a half, was about to pay a price.
After the timeout, Pippen once again attempted to attack Gan, but Gan Guoyang directly intercepted him again!
For two consecutive possessions, Pippen failed to cause any damage against Gan Guoyang—nor disrupt Gan’s plays.
One-on-one, he was simply picked apart by a center—Pippen felt embarrassed.
The counterattack began, Gan Guoyang turned into a war machine, dishing the ball to Petrović.
Petrović quickly advanced and passed back to the trailing Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang charged like a savage beast—uptop was Jordan blocking, behind him Pippen chasing hard.
Launching through Jordan’s obstruction, surging despite Pippen clinging on, he sent the ball fiercely into the basket!
A foul was called on Jordan—an additional free throw!
After scoring, Gan Guoyang roared uncharacteristically, clenching his fists tightly with his arm muscles seemingly ready to burst.
And-one made. 74:80—the gap had been closed to 6 points now. This quarter, the Trail Blazers were clawing their way back.
Meanwhile, the Bulls, growing more desperate, lost their offensive rhythm further. Jordan, anxious to turn things around, charged into the paint.
But Mychal Thompson effectively sealed his lane, forcing him into an awkward pass.
Purdue caught the ball for a shot—only to be swatted away by Gan with a massive block, Kossie recovered possession.
Petrović ran another pick-and-roll with Gan, dishing it back to Gan. Gan Guoyang hesitated briefly before pulling up for a mid-range jumper—scored!
76:80, just 4 points now. The silence in the Chicago Stadium grew heavier—they were desperately hoping the third quarter could end already.
This nightmarish third quarter—what in the world were the Bulls doing? Where had their first-half form gone? Did aliens abduct them and replace the team?
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers’ defense became impregnable—Gan Guoyang soon rejected Pippen’s dunk attempt!
In mid-air, during the physical contest, Pippen was thrown off like a kite with a cut string, landing harshly.
In the final minute of the third quarter, Petrović and Gan set up another pick-and-roll—Petrović drove inside.
After drawing in defenders, he passed it back to Gan. At the high post, Gan Guoyang held the ball, but instead of shooting, dished it accurately to Dale Curry, lurking in the corner after subbing in post-timeout for Terry Porter.
Curry fired an open three-pointer—score!
79:80, just 1 point. Only 1 point!
The Trail Blazers had almost erased the 19-point deficit—with just one minute remaining in the third quarter.
The Bulls seemed stuck in quicksand, lost amidst the dense forest of the Trail Blazers’ relentless defense.
[In the third quarter, we suddenly forgot how to play basketball, while the Trail Blazers had everyone contributing—everyone scoring.
They made no mistakes, had no errors. Their faces were blank—only running, shooting, defending. They scored, disrupted us repeatedly.
It felt... like Ah Gan took his soul during halftime and gave each teammate a part of it. Every one of them looked like Gan himself.
Perfectionists, composed, flawless. And we, crashing against this steel wall, couldn’t find any gaps—no way to break through.
The higher we climbed in the first half, the harder we fell in the second. That game became a lifelong nightmare for me—a nightmare.]
——Excerpt from Scottie Pippen’s 2021 memoir "Unguarded."
