417: 162: I am the Mayor of New York!
(Vote for me!)_4 417: 162: I am the Mayor of New York!
(Vote for me!)_4 But just like before, not a single New York fan was foolish enough to celebrate victory prematurely.
There had been enough tragedies created by Roger at Madison Square Garden, and until the time completely ran out, you never knew what he would do in New York.
Brian Hill didn’t call a timeout because he only had one left, and he wanted to save it for a more critical moment.
So, the decision for this play was entirely left to the players.
Or to be more direct, it was completely left to Roger and Shaq.
Ron Harper nervously took it over half-court, as Roger kept moving actively.
But O’Neal quickly secured his position, so Harper lobbed the ball in.
After O’Neal caught the ball, the swift double team from The Big Ape and Oakley was in place.
But Shaq didn’t recklessly go for a one-on-one play and instead bounced the ball low to Roger who had run to mid-range.
O’Neal’s pass was very pretty, and after one dribble, Roger jumped up to take the shot.
However, Jordan and Larry Johnson were both right on his tail, so Roger threw the ball up amid heavy interference.
Phil Jackson exhaled.
It seemed like Roger and Shaq would once again fail amidst the endless double-teaming.
Just now, O’Neal had chosen to let the role player resolve the issue and failed.
This time, Roger decided to take the shot under a double team; he couldn’t possibly succeed.
Roger’s shot was indeed difficult, as Ewing and Oakley were both prepared to contest the rebound.
But they quickly discovered that the trajectory of the basketball was somewhat off!
Everyone thought Roger would finish off the game after receiving O’Neal’s assist, but surprisingly, Roger passed the ball back to O’Neal for an alley-oop.
This pass was very secretive, yet Shaq understood instantly, leaping to catch the basketball firmly and slamming it into the basket right under Ewing and Oakley’s noses!
The continuous passing between Roger and O’Neal had broken the Knicks’ tight double team!
This duo, declared as the strongest by Magic himself, had now cut the lead to just 1 point.
By now, Roger had already racked up 36 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block, with O’Neal contributing 35 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
The strongest duo was still generating suspense on this Christmas night.
No sooner had Michael Jordan given the New York fans a moment to breathe than Roger quickly re-enveloped them in a strong sense of suffocation.
Phil Jackson also didn’t call a timeout.
He seemed to be enjoying the showdown and had no intention of interfering at all.
The Zen Master didn’t call a timeout mainly for two reasons; first, he didn’t want to give Magic the chance to set up their defense.
Secondly, and this may seem unbelievable, but the Zen Master truly thought that losing a game wasn’t important, even if it was the highly anticipated Christmas matchup.
If this loss could make Jordan and Ewing more vigilant, then from the perspective of the whole season, it would be more effective than winning the game.
The master of mind games, Phil Jackson, would never turn down such a loss.
The Knicks’ offense was identical to before, with Ewing providing a high post back-down, drawing out Shaq.
Michael Jordan made a backdoor cut without the ball, looking for opportunities to attack the basket.
But after Roger blocked off all passing lanes, Jordan turned and ran to mid-range.
For Jordan, every corner of the court was his sweet spot.
Last play, Jordan had just scored over Roger with a mid-range catch-and-shoot.
Jordan didn’t mind doing it again; nothing was more suitable as a Christmas gift than landing the game-sealing shot over Roger.
But as Jordan made his cut, he felt someone pulling at his jersey.
Looking back, he saw that Roger had grabbed hold of his shirt with one hand, making it hard for him to accelerate and shake off the defense.
Although Roger only pulled for a moment, it still affected Jordan’s offense.
In the end, Jordan caught the ball and once more took a jump shot.
However, unlike the last time, Roger had closed that slight gap and now blocked Jordan’s key jumper in mid-air with a solid block!
Michael should be shooting two free throws!” Bob Costas yelled out.
“That was a clean play, Bob.
It’s all about the referees’ tolerance.
The officials have been lenient all day; didn’t you see how rough the Knicks’ interior defense was?
In their judgment, if they think it’s a clean play, then it’s a clean play!
There are only 16 seconds left, Roger has blocked Michael’s key jump shot, and he still has the chance to lead Magic to a victory at Madison Square Garden!”
Bob Costas and Magic had different interpretations of that play.
One person believed Roger had committed a foul first.
The other thought, since everyone loves a game with full contact, why not have a hard-hitting game on Christmas night?
New York fans erupted in boos, hurling insults at the referee.
Without a doubt, they felt that Roger’s blatant jersey-pulling was a foul.
But the referee made no signal, believing it was a good steal.
Jordan didn’t have time to spread his arms in protest to the referee or to kneel before a camera to catch the spotlight.
The play was indeed controversial, but Jordan’s first thought was to rush back on defense.
He always believed that victory was in his own hands, no matter the interference from the outside.
The entire Knicks team immediately thought to retreat quickly; such discipline was ingrained in their marrow.