330: 138: Perfect lineup?
No, you guys need me too much!
(Two in one!)_3 330: 138: Perfect lineup?
No, you guys need me too much!
(Two in one!)_3 Greatness isn’t something one can simply achieve by wishful thinking,
nor can it be attained by taking shortcuts.
As the buzzer sounded, Roger and Jordan both stood up.
The battle to define greatness resumed.
At the start of the fourth quarter, it wasn’t just Jordan whose stamina was flagging on the Bulls side; all the key players were struggling.
It was foreseeable that they couldn’t maintain the same defensive intensity as in the first two quarters.
In the first play of the fourth, Roger shook off Pippen, received a pass from Harper, and scored with a mid-range jump shot.
Then, weaving back inside, he took McKey’s back-to-basket feed and scored with a forceful drive to the basket.
On the other hand, the Bulls’ offense was in disarray; they hadn’t scored at all since the fourth quarter began.
That possession was no different, as Jordan, trapped, passed the ball to Dumars, who was completely exhausted.
But his three-point jump shot simply ricocheted off the rim, squandering the chance to widen the lead.
Roger sped up, advancing the ball past half court.
Dumars, missing his previous shot, immediately ran to defend.
As Roger approached the three-point line, he used a change of direction to shake off Dumars and drove to the right.
But he soon discovered Pippen had already blocked his path.
Without any hesitation, Roger pulled up for a jump shot right in front of Pippen.
The ball flew over the fingertips of both Dumars and Pippen, hitting the front edge of the hoop, but after colliding with the backboard, it bounced into the net.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Roger scored 6 consecutive points, forcefully evening out the score!
However, in this do-or-die moment, Michael Jordan finally stepped up.
That possession, the Bulls couldn’t execute any strategy, and Michael Jordan was forced to go one-on-one with the ball.
Facing a double team by Harper and Roger, Jordan, initially accelerating to the right, suddenly stopped and pulled off a crossover to the left, causing Roger and Harper to adjust their footing.
However, Jordan seized the brief moment of their possible 0.5-second of rigidity, immediately pulled off a second change of direction, squeezed through both Roger and Harper, and successfully broke through!
After penetrating inside, Jordan scored against Shaq’s help defense with a layup while drawing a foul from O’Neal!
Jordan’s move of passing two players was hailed as otherworldly, and even Bill Walton exclaimed in amazement.
Jordan’s stamina might not allow him to continue scoring consistently, but he could gather his energy for a few plays and always come up with a big move.
On the free-throw line, Jordan made the additional shot, completing the three-point play and giving the Bulls a renewed 3-point lead.
After scoring, Jordan looked at Roger: “You’re always just a bit short, Roger, always!”
Roger didn’t see it that way, his shooting was still red-hot, and he was confident he could hit a fourth consecutive shot.
Harper took the ball past half court, and Roger called for it at the top of the arc, ready to tie the game with a long shot.
Bill Wennington fouled O’Neal, voluntarily taking himself out with six fouls.
The Magic’s offensive momentum was forcefully interrupted at its peak again.
O’Neal was so frustrated he nearly forced the ball into Wennington’s face: “Playing basketball this ugly, don’t you feel ashamed!?”
Shaq was still too naive; maybe there’s such a thing as “shameful basketball,” but there’s no such thing as a “shameful victory.”
If the Bulls could win, who would care by what means they did it?
O’Neal dribbled a few times, the first free throw swishing in.
But the second one smacked the neck of the basket—his free throws still clanging, still missing!
Even by O’Neal’s standards, his free-throw accuracy today was unreasonably poor.
Rodman successfully grabbed the rebound, and then initiated a fast break with a long pass, getting the ball to Dumars as quickly as possible.
Dumars drove in and passed to the following Pippen, who easily scored with a slam dunk, re-establishing a 4-point gap.
Roger’s first attempt to tie the score was foiled by O’Neal’s dreadful free throws.
The second opportunity came in the seventh minute of the fourth quarter when Roger, with a dazzling drive and underhand layup, evened the score and then made a defensive steal off Pippen.
But in the following offense, O’Neal made a mistake in the low post.
As he prepared to pass to Roger, Jordan suddenly swooped in to snatch the ball, then exploded with incredible speed for a counterattack slam dunk, putting the Bulls ahead by 2 points again.
One step away from taking the lead, the Magic failed yet again.
Jordan spread his arms wide to Roger, just as he had to the Trail Blazers in 1992: “That’s why you can’t take my MVP away, trash.”
“Shaq messed it up again, always having issues at the most critical moments of a comeback, it’s just unacceptable!” Bill Walton expressed extreme disappointment with O’Neal’s performance.
But that’s just who O’Neal is—an overwhelmingly dominant player, yet one with clear weaknesses.
As a historical figure who was used to getting swept in the playoffs before the three-peat, Shaq certainly had his flaws.
Let’s not forget, if it weren’t for Roger, the Magic would have been swept by the Bulls in ’96!
It was Roger’s presence that raised expectations for O’Neal.
If O’Neal had to lead the team in the playoffs alone, people would realize this was the norm.
O’Neal was completely demoralized, drifting aimlessly ever since “You’re not even the best player on your team,” with more turnovers and more missed free throws, his performance just deteriorated.
His mistakes caused Roger’s second attempt to tie the score to fail again.
By now, Roger had 43 points and Jordan 38.
Roger had scored more individually, but the Bulls had maintained the lead from start to finish.
Both had done their best, but limited by the intensity of the defense, Roger and Jordan’s shooting percentages dropped as time went on, with most offensive efforts ending in missed shots.