463: 175: No Game 7 this year!
(Requesting monthly passes!)_2 463: 175: No Game 7 this year!
(Requesting monthly passes!)_2 But Roger didn’t hesitate; he raised his hand and shot.
The fifth three-pointer!
So far, Roger was five for five from downtown.
Steve Jones and the Orlando fans erupted together, borrowing the famous phrase from CBS commentator Ian Eagle during the 1993 McDonald’s All-American Game: “Roger is simply taking whatever he wants from the basket at will!”
That year in the McDonald’s All-American Game, facing a four against five situation, Roger had beaten the team led by Jerry Stackhouse by scoring 40 points.
Since then, Jerry Stackhouse had unilaterally declared himself Roger’s lifelong rival.
In that game, Roger could score from any position under any defense.
At this moment, just like that moment!
Phil Jackson began to realize something was wrong and immediately yelled at his players on the court, “Stick to him; don’t give him any space to shoot!”
But it was too late; Roger’s touch was as hot as Florida’s climate.
In the fifth minute of the second quarter, Roger, holding the ball against Larry Johnson, suddenly pulled up for the sixth time.
After that, Roger was substituted out for a few minutes; the Knicks players thought this would disrupt Roger’s rhythm.
In the ninth minute of the second quarter, facing a double team, Roger passed the ball to Wilkins, then quickly cut inside.
But after just a few steps, Roger pushed Larry Johnson away and ran back beyond the three-point line, caught the ball, and faced Larry Johnson’s nearly fingertip-close defense to sink the three-pointer.
The brief break hadn’t cooled off Roger’s touch.
The Orlando fans had gone wild; everyone was standing as the chant for MVP broke through the stadium, soaring into the skies.
Over the next few rounds, under the Knicks’ tight defense, Roger did not make any more threes.
He got few shooting opportunities, and one of the rare chances even came under Jordan’s disruption and missed.
Roger’s streak of consecutive threes had been broken.
But Phil Jackson still felt uneasy.
I’m afraid it wasn’t that simple.
With 33 seconds before the end of the second quarter, the ball was in Magic’s court.
Roger, at the top of the three-point arc, received the ball and played a pick and roll with Derrick McKey, breaking through Larry Johnson’s defense.
But Oak Tree Oakley didn’t hesitate to double team, and Roger didn’t pass or stop but instead took a step back to avoid running into Oakley, then continued dribbling laterally.
Oakley covered Roger as quickly as possible, but he wasn’t as quick-footed as Roger.
When Roger ran to the left side of the three-point line, he had already shrugged off half of Oakley’s body, ready to shoot.
But just as Roger was about to shoot, Michael Jordan surged up to block!
This was already the third Knicks player to defend Roger in this play.
Roger could only drive hard against Jordan, with Oakley catching up to help Jordan encircle Roger.
But after powering up, Roger immediately stepped back beyond the three-point line and launched the ball before the offensive time ran out.
Michael Jordan and Oakley both blocked, but the Knicks’ defense couldn’t have been better.
Yet, Roger still managed to hit this three-pointer under pressure, without space or a clear path, over Michael Jordan, Larry Johnson, and Oakley—three men together couldn’t suppress the red-hot Roger!
The eighth three-pointer of the half, setting a new playoff record for threes in a half!
He looked like he was practicing shots alone in the gym, each ball tracing a beautiful arc, each one flying straight into the basket!
By then, the Magic were already leading by 17 points at the half.
Roger displayed the dignity of an MVP with a mythical performance.
With his fiery hot hands, he clutched Michael Jordan’s throat.
After the basket, Roger looked at Jordan, spread his hands, shrugged, and without saying anything, just walked away smiling.
This was what Jordan did to the Trail Blazers in 1992, but Roger did it in an even more brutal way, letting Jordan experience that pain!
In the second half, although Roger’s magical touch was gone under the Knicks’ tight defense, and he didn’t make more threes,
Roger wasn’t just a one-trick pony with his three-pointers.
Even as the three-point opportunities were locked down, he still found ways to keep scoring.
In the end, the Magic still crushed the Knicks 118 to 100.
Roger exploded for a career playoff high of 50 points; no one expected that in the first game of the East finals, Roger would pull off such a spectacular feat, sending a powerful message to the Knicks.
At that moment, a nine-year-old boy in Charlotte was deeply moved by the performance he had just seen.
His father was also an NBA three-point shooter, yet he had never put on such a terrifying display.
In fact, the most threes his father ever made in a single game was seven, fewer than Roger had made in just one half today.
Roger’s eight threes in a half performance was like butter melting into bread, seeping into the boy’s dreams.
Who says shooting can’t kill a game?
Who says shooters can only be role players?
Who says great dunks can’t also be great shooters?
At the game’s end, Michael Jordan walked back through the players’ tunnel with a somber face.
He had played well too, with 34 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds.
But in the face of Roger’s divine performance, it was hardly notable.
In the past, it was always Michael Jordan who made others look lesser with great performances.
But tonight, he was the one who looked lesser in front of Roger’s great performance.