One Year Left to Play-Chapter 361 - 111: True Double Kill Against the Bulls!
At times like this, you have to make use of every favorable condition.
Continue posting up against Pippen!
Pippen didn’t know who he ticked off. He could see that Zhang Hao had held in his anger for being blatantly fouled for most of the quarter and was now venting it, but not against Rodman, it was against him, Piao the Second!
Just as Pippen expected, Zhang Hao was thinking about the pain from the blatant foul before he got the ball, using it to make himself more excited and decisive.
Another decisive turnaround fadeaway shot...
Zhang Hao’s ferocity showed at this moment! He made it again!
points!
Zhang Hao also scored 40+! Competing against Jordan’s 44 points on the other side!
to 111, now in the fourth quarter with 8 minutes 23 seconds left, the Lakers stretched the lead to 5 points!
It wasn’t just Pippen, others also noticed Zhang Hao’s aggressive positioning for the ball and relentless solo play... it was like someone who was unjustly penalized or provoked – was the anger from being fouled delayed?
With 3 and a half minutes left, trailing by 5 points, Pippen advanced to the frontcourt. No matter what Zhang Hao said, he refused to listen and passed the ball to Kukoc.
The Lakers’ players focused on guarding Anthony Peeler and Jordan. No one expected Kukoc to shoot directly from the top arc!
Not logical?
Yes, but it went in!
Jordan immediately ran up to high-five Kukoc.
to 116, the gap narrowed to two points.
They didn’t dare let Zhang Hao play solo any longer. When the Lakers attacked, Jordan chose to double-team Zhang Hao!
Zhang Hao quickly passed the ball, Van Exel caught it at the free-throw line and passed to Sibaros, who shot despite Rodman’s defense, and Rodman committed a heavy foul on Sibaros’ right arm.
Two free throws!
Rodman’s fouls are always effective; he’s too smart on defense.
Sibaros is typically average at free throws, hitting one out of two, 117 to 114, now a 3-point lead.
However, this play exposed an issue, a problem for the Bulls––their effectivity in team defense had diminished.
In the next possession, Kukoc passed to Rodman, who hit a floater, Zhang Hao passed to Van Exel, who in turn assisted Jason Williams for a successful layup.
Both teams chose to leave the least noticeable opponent open, yet even the least noticeable players scored; for the Bulls, this was unfavorable!
Jordan stayed patient for a few rounds without playing solo, but he could no longer hold back. With Kukoc lacking a shooting opportunity and Pippen’s breakthrough-instituting style being restricted by Zhang Hao, Jordan decided to do it himself!
Facing Anthony Peeler’s defense, Jordan hunched down and moved along the three-point line. The rhythm set in, and he jumped over Anthony Peeler, taking the three-point shot...
Nearly 33 years old, playing 30 minutes into a back-to-back game’s second match, Jordan’s jump still made it tough for the young Anthony Peeler to contest!
Jordan shot a strong three-pointer! His second successful three-point shot of the night!
all!
The audience erupted!
Finally tied! They waited so long, and that man did not disappoint their expectations!
The Lakers players collectively cursed out—except for Zhang Hao.
It was because Zhang Hao quietly ran forward that the Lakers players, nearly exploding after maintaining the lead for so long only to be tied, calmed down significantly.
"Heart Return (Silver) triggered..."
This was a prompt that Zhang Hao often saw after joining the Lakers. Seeing it now was happier than ever.
However, upon reaching the frontcourt, he realized his defender had become Jordan!
At this point, only the physical monster Jordan and the young, unaffected by the back-to-back games, Zhang Hao could maintain stable offensive performances. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
Jordan chose to guard Zhang Hao himself!
Crucial possession!
Zhang Hao decisively made his choice and began moving along the baseline!
Indeed, Pippen’s all-round defense made his overall defense slightly better than Jordan’s, but in single defense, Jordan was more formidable.
Jordan and Rodman switched defenses decisively. Now the only defensive player Jordan could trust was Rodman, who went for several rounds at a nightclub after a win over the Pacers the previous night...
Zhang Hao came off the baseline to the left side of the three-second zone, immediately turning to shoot, wanting to make it quick.
Rodman had an inhuman level of endurance.
Zhang Hao caught and quickly turned to shoot, Rodman rushed in place, but too late to jump, not even enough time to reach out and contest.
However, as Zhang Hao shot, he felt it was too hasty. In a flash, he thought of a certain era’s league-leading shooting guard...
"Ah..."
A miserable scream echoed in the arena, reaching everyone’s ears.
The ref was moving to get a clear angle on Rodman and Zhang Hao’s direction of contact when he saw Zhang Hao screaming and falling back...
Rodman maintained his sprint posture, hands on his chest, palms open.
The ref blew the whistle! The sound of piercing the whistle and the ball clanking off the rim resonated together!
Rodman was stunned at that moment—What did I do?
Looking down, he saw his hands were still on his chest... he intended to raise them for blocking, but didn’t make it in time!
As Rodman realized, he shouted painfully, "He flopped!"
But not only the ref, even the Bulls players didn’t believe Rodman’s claim.
This was a man who, when blatantly fouled, held back his enraged teammates in high school, someone who, even after such a nasty fall, just gritted his teeth and went for free throws, would he flop?
The ref decisively signaled a shooting foul on Rodman, giving Zhang Hao two free throws.
After Zhang Hao was lifted up, Rodman approached Zhang Hao closely, raising his head to bump faces with him.
