pertwk Chapter 193 Lin Tian and Jordan both leave the court! Crawford shows off.
Chapter 193 Lin Tian and Jordan both leave the court! Crawford shows off.
Chapter 193 Lin Tian and Jordan both leave the court! Crawford reigns supreme at the United Center!
These two teams had already played each other twice before this season. Although it was still a clash of titans, fans had become a little complacent. After all, playing three games in a month had diminished the hype surrounding the match, except for die-hard fans.
But when the league officially announced the final All-Star voting results a few hours before the game, the entire public opinion was instantly in an uproar, and almost all fans immediately turned their attention to this game.
CBS originally planned to broadcast the Lakers vs. Heat game tonight, a clash between two of the top teams in the East and West. It was also Riley's return to Los Angeles, a showdown between Mourning and O'Neal, and countless celebrities were in attendance at the Atlantic Arena.
But right after the All-Star starting lineup was revealed, CBS executives quickly held a short meeting and made a decision in less than a minute.
Broadcast schedule, changed!
Tonight, instead of the Lakers vs. Heat game, we'll be showing the Bulls vs. Pacers game!
If CBS executives spent more than a minute discussing a game that was guaranteed to be a ratings hit, then they would be the real idiots!
Although the announcement of the changed broadcast schedule was only released 30 minutes before the game, CBS still managed to capitalize on the All-Star Game's popularity!
Five minutes before the game started broadcasting, CBS's backend data showed that the number of viewers had already reached 10 million!
Based on experience and calculations, CBS insiders believe that as the game progresses, this number will most likely exceed 1500 million, reaching 1700 million or even 2000 million!
2000 million!
More than 90% of the finals don't get this many viewers!
This single figure alone demonstrates how brilliant Stern's decision was!
The foundation of a sports league is its competitive strength and the excitement of its games, but these only determine the lower limit of the league. The factors that determine the upper limit of a sports league are much more diverse.
But regardless of the type or method, the ultimate goal of these methods is to generate enough buzz, attention, and discussion for the alliance!
These things are all pure silver and green US dollars!
Now, Stern has all of this!
Moreover, he contributed almost nothing!
This is definitely a freebie!
Nobody in this world dislikes getting something for free!
Now, if Lin Tian were to appear in front of Stern, Stern would likely be unable to resist grabbing Lin Tian's face and kissing him several times.
Stern wanted to hug and kiss Lin Tian as much as Jordan was angry; he really didn't want to say a single word to Lin Tian!
Lin Tian knew how angry Jordan was without even meeting him, and he didn't even need to know the NBA All-Star voting results to know how angry Jordan was.
This afternoon, Lin Tian suddenly received a full 500 experience points from Jordan!
A great giver, a generous lone traveler, an admirable selfless contributor!
This is how Lin Tian positioned Jordan this season.
"Mai..." Before the game started, Lin Tian saw that the entire Bulls team had their eyes blazing with anger and didn't say a word. Lin Tian knew exactly what they had just experienced in the locker room.
They probably don't even dare to say a word, what else can they do?
At this moment, Lin Tian wanted to greet Jordan, but after only uttering one syllable, the guy snorted and turned to walk in another direction.
I won't talk to this bastard, I won't say a single word.
Okay, Lin Tian scratched his nose. He looked very embarrassed, but actually he was overjoyed.
The angrier Jordan is right now, the sweeter the fruits of his labor will be tonight!
The harvest season is coming soon!
Tonight, the attitude of the entire United Center was similar to that of Jordan himself. Everyone knew why Lin Tian received such an explosive number of votes, and why Miller and Barkley were able to make the All-Star starting lineup. Everyone also knew where these votes came from.
Lin Tian, China!
Therefore, tonight at the United Center, there were no cheers, shouts, tribute videos, or any other activities to welcome Lin Tian.
When Barkley and Miller entered the stadium, the fans booed and jeered at them!
The last bit of respect the entire city of Chicago gave Lin Tian was to silently boo him.
But that's about it.
The referee tonight, coincidentally, was still Crawford. As the chubby bald man walked to center circle with the basketball, he looked at Jordan and Lin Tian and said, "I know exactly what you two bastards are up to! Like I said, I don't care what your situation is now, or whether you want to take each other down or not."
"During the game, you two better behave yourselves! Hide your off-field tempers! Otherwise, I guarantee you'll both be out of the game early, understand?"
The only response to Crawford's harsh words was Lin Tian's yawn and Jordan's continued expressionless chewing of gum. Neither of them seemed inclined to give Crawford any face tonight.
Crawford didn't care about that; as long as he said what he needed to say, that was enough! As for whether those two guys would cause him trouble, we'd see!
"Look, the United Center tonight is incredibly unfriendly! There wasn't even a single cheer for Lin when he came out, which is completely different from the Christmas Day game!"
Smith's voice came through the television, brimming with anticipation: "But I think tonight's game will most likely be even more exciting than the Christmas Day game!"
"That's right! No matter how much hype there is in the Christmas game, it's still strictly speaking just a regular season game. But tonight's game, well, tonight's game is essentially a regular season game too."
Marcus added, "But Michael is clearly furious tonight. He won't accept losing his All-Star starting position, and he'll definitely give the Pacers a piece of his mind tonight!"
"As for how far he can go, and how terrifying a fully-powered Jordan playing like a madman against the Pacers would be, I think tonight's game will give us a perfect answer!"
As the two commentators finished speaking, Crawford glanced at his watch, tossed the basketball into the air, and Longley stretched out his arm as far as possible, flicking the ball up and passing it to Jordan.
Jordan took the basketball and immediately started advancing, showing no intention of passing the ball to point guard Harper.
Rose lowered his center of gravity, stretched out his arms, and looked as if he were facing a formidable enemy. He knew how angry Jordan was tonight, and he also knew how difficult Jordan was to deal with. Before the game, he had made ample mental preparations and was just waiting for the game to begin.
But clearly, Rose underestimated Jordan's anger.
After dribbling all the way to the three-point line, Jordan suddenly changed direction and drove into the three-point line. Then, just as Rose caught up, Jordan suddenly swung his elbow back and hit Rose in the chest, almost making Rose spit out blood. Only then did Jordan calmly take a lateral step and pull up for a mid-range jump shot!
"Whoosh!"
After scoring, Jordan chewed his gum, looked at Rose, and said coldly, "Kid, if you don't want to die, get lost. You're not in this tonight!"
Rose opened his mouth, intending to say something, but seeing Jordan's expressionless and murderous look, he chose to keep quiet and didn't dare to retort.
The arrogant Rose was completely intimidated by Jordan's aura.
Not only did he not retort, but he also quickly ran towards the frontcourt, completely avoiding eye contact with Jordan. He lowered his head and practically ran away from Jordan, as if he would be torn apart and eaten by Jordan if he stayed there for even one more second.
Ross's evasiveness made Lin Tian frown; he didn't like such a soft approach.
But Lin Tian didn't say much. After all, that was the enraged Jordan. It wasn't too unacceptable for his legs to go weak in the face of such a Jordan.
However, being so intimidated that he doesn't even dare to make eye contact, Rose is unlikely to perform well tonight.
Even though Jordan ignored Rose after scoring and quickly went to Miller to guard his old rival, Lin Tian still felt that Rose was definitely done for tonight.
The following games also illustrated this point very well. On the offensive end, Rose was completely out of sorts. Several of his shots and layups were noticeably soft, clearly because he was not mentally or physically prepared, and his whole body was trembling.
Miller was relentlessly pursued by Jordan like a sworn enemy, and couldn't find any good scoring opportunities. Longley and Rodman in the paint were doing their best to entangle Barkley and Schmitz, and with Pippen's timely and quick help defense, Lin Tian was the only one on the Pacers team who could consistently score!
On the defensive end, Jordan almost single-handedly crushed Rose with just a jump shot and a harsh remark, even though Rose continued to hurl trash talk on every subsequent offensive possession.
But in Lin Tian's view, his subsequent trash talk was at most just lashing out at a dead man or a casual side effect. Rose had been completely dumbfounded by his physical and mental trash talk. Rose might have already died in the first round of the game tonight.
Facing a "corpse," Jordan naturally showed no mercy and maintained his accuracy and form. In less than 4 minutes, he made 5 of 6 shots, racking up an impressive stat line of 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist.
Then, just four minutes into the first quarter, Lin Tian finally couldn't stand it anymore. When Jordan made his sixth basket, scoring 13 points in less than half a quarter, he grabbed Rose and pulled him aside, saying, "You guard Ron, I'll take care of Michael!"
"Lin, where's your All-Star starter? He doesn't even have the courage or guts to guard me, how dare he be an All-Star starter? Huh?" Jordan, seeing that Lin Tian had taken over, didn't stop and continued to berate him.
"We have three All-Star starters, which one are you looking for?"
Lin Tian dribbled the ball forward while chatting idly with Jordan.
It's worth noting that the Pacers weren't playing well tonight, and they were severely restricted by the Bulls. So, if Lin Tian wants to go against the enraged Jordan who scored 13 points in less than half a quarter, he'll have to go all out!
Facing Hubble, Lin Tian also scored 11 points in 4 minutes.
This four-minute game was essentially a microcosm of the first quarter for both sides.
Jordan vs. Lin Tian!
The outcome of the match basically depends on these two players; who can deliver a more insane and unstoppable performance!
At least in the first quarter, the two were evenly matched. Lin Tian made 7 of 11 field goals, 2 of 4 three-pointers, and 2 of 3 free throws, scoring 18 points and 2 assists. However, due to his teammates' poor performance, Lin Tian also made 2 turnovers.
Jordan scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 4-of-4 free throws. Neither Lin Tian nor Rose could stop his offensive firepower under his rage.
But for the Bulls, their biggest advantage tonight was a fully recovered Pippen!
After the Pacers' offense stalled, they were completely unable to stop the Bulls on the defensive end. While Jordan scored 22 points in a single quarter, Pippen also managed to score 8 points in the first quarter!
Led by these two players, the Bulls scored 35 points in the first quarter!
On the Pacers' side, there was no one else to share Lin Tian's burden. Barkley and Miller were completely shut down, combining for 1 of 5 shots and only making one basket for 2 points. Rose was completely stunned by Jordan and Pippen, going 0 for 3 and scoring no points.
If it weren't for Dumars coming off the bench and hitting two open three-pointers, the Pacers would have been down by more than 10 points in the first quarter!
Even so, they only scored 28 points in the first quarter, trailing the Bulls by 7 points!
In the second quarter, Jordan didn't rest. He was on the court again, his eyes bloodshot. He was giving it his all today, determined to crush the Pacers, to crush Miller, and to let the world know who the real All-Star starter is!
Seeing Jordan come on, Lin Tian certainly wouldn't sit on the bench. The situation of tonight's game was already very clear. Before his teammates found their form, Lin Tian had to hold on!
On the first offensive possession of the second quarter, Lin Tian dribbled the ball up the court. Since Jordan's primary target Miller was resting on the bench, the Bulls no longer had Harper guard him and instead had Jordan lower his body to match up against Lin Tian!
"Come on, Lin! Come on, let me see what a team with three All-Star starters is like!" Jordan stood on the three-point line, slammed his hand on the floor, and roared like a wild beast. Today, he was going to show these Indiana country bumpkins how serious the consequences of taking things from him were!
"Whoosh!"
Lin Tian's response to Jordan's floor-slapping protest was to take advantage of the moment Jordan bent down to slap the floor, then pull up and shoot a three-pointer that went in!
"What are you doing on the floor, Michael? Did you drop your money? Do you want me to help you find it?" After scoring, Lin Tian mocked Jordan while reaching out and slapping him on the butt.
"Fuck!" Jordan cursed, then quickly crossed the baseline and made his way to the frontcourt. At this moment, teammates, tactics, and overall vision were all to hell with him!
Facing Lin Tian, Jordan, who was in a frenzy, pulled up and shot as soon as he dribbled into the three-point line!
"Whoosh!"
After another crisp sound, Jordan, taking advantage of his 7-centimeter height, dribbled past Lin Tian and scored a goal!
"Snapped!"
After landing, Jordan, who never suffered a loss, gave Lin Tian a smack on the butt: "Do you need me to lend you a few centimeters of height, shorty? Or next time I won't jump that high, so you can defend me instead of just watching me shoot?"
Lin Tian responded directly to Jordan's trash talk by quickly driving into the paint and forcefully scoring a layup over Wennington!
After landing, Lin Tian turned around and saw Jordan, then smacked Jordan in the backside again.
"Snapped!"
Lin Tian hit him a little too hard this time; the sound was loud enough for the audience in the front row to hear.
"You two! What are you doing! Watch yourselves! If you hit someone again, I'll kick you both off the court!" Before Lin Tian could even say anything trash after his punch, Crawford rushed over to warn the two of them to watch their temper!
"We're just kidding, sir! Michael doesn't care at all, right, Michael!"
"Snapped!"
As Lin Tian spoke, he put all his strength into giving Jordan another whack on the butt!
"This is how we express our friendship!"
"Great! This is how we express our friendship!" Jordan endured the pain and used all his strength to slap Lin Tian's butt again!
"Snapped!"
The sound was crisp and loud, and Crawford even felt a slight pain in his ears from the vibration.
Lin Tian gasped in shock at Jordan's attack, then raised his hand to return the favor.
When Crawford saw that the two of them were still playing around, it was going on and on. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, so he took out his whistle and gave each of them a technical foul!
But after he made the two T gestures, Jordan and Lin Tian showed no remorse whatsoever. Jordan spread his hands and said, "We're good friends, we were just saying hello, why won't you let us say hello?"
"Snapped!"
As soon as Jordan finished speaking, Lin Tian slapped him on the butt again and said, "We used to play like this every day when we were teammates, you can't stop us! Even the referee can't forbid us from greeting each other, right?"
"Besides, the way we greeted each other wasn't by swearing or giving each other the middle finger or anything. It was such a harmonious and friendly scene, and you actually gave us a technical foul?"
Just as Jordan raised his hand to hit Lin Tian again, Lin Tian cleverly dodged with a spinning jump and raised his hand to hit Jordan again, Crawford finally lost his temper!
"Technical foul! One for each of you! Both of you are second! Get out! Get out of here! You two, get out!" Crawford blew his whistle frantically, pointing to the player tunnel, signaling the two guys to get out of there right away.
"I didn't do anything!" Jordan stared wide-eyed in disbelief, spreading his hands. He simply couldn't accept the fact that he had been ejected like that.
He has played for more than ten years and knows the referee's standards better than anyone.
He's Michael Jordan, and he's protected by superstar referees!
No referee would give him two technical fouls and send him off at this point in the game!
He had never been ejected by a referee in his previous professional career!
After all, the fans at the stadium and those watching on TV were there to see Jordan!
In a business league, as long as the fouls aren't too outrageous or show too much disrespect for the referees, the referees will definitely be lenient when necessary, since they can't afford to offend the audience.
Of course, it's one thing for the referees to be lenient, but it's even more important that Jordan himself had his own sense of proportion! He never committed malicious fouls against his opponents, and his trash talk and aggressive moves were always just right. He would be called for fouls and technical fouls, but he always managed to maintain the right balance.
For example, tonight, he felt that his performance and actions were completely within the bounds, and he shouldn't have taken even one tit, let alone two!
But today, Crawford actually dared to give him two technical fouls in a row, no, four!
And Lin Tian's two too!
This bald madman actually dared to punish both himself and Lin Tian at once?
Jordan stared wide-eyed at Crawford, nodding repeatedly. Lin Tian, standing beside him, said, "Michael, forget it. Since he called the call, let's just leave. There's no need to get angry and argue. Offending the referee won't do any good, and we might even get further suspensions."
"What do you mean, offend him? Do you think I'm afraid of a bald guy? Additional suspension? Do you think I'm afraid of that?" Jordan immediately lost his temper and unleashed a torrent of abuse at Lin Tian.
"Who are you calling bald? Aren't you bald yourself?" Crawford touched his bald head, and at this point he couldn't hold back anymore, so he opened his mouth and spat back.
There's no other reason; he's just annoyed that Jordan, a bald guy, called him bald! If it were Lin Tian calling him bald, he'd accept it!
After all, Lin Tian's hair is more lush than the vegetation in the Amazon rainforest, so it's fine to criticize him. But Jordan's head is bald, so bald that even a mosquito would slip and do a split if it stood on it. Why are you criticizing me?
"I'm just too lazy to get a trim. If I wanted to grow my hair, it'd be back in two weeks at most," Jordan said, his eyes wide. "Besides, a suspension? I'd be suspended for just saying hello to someone? I'll go back and complain about you, you damn bald guy!"
"Get ready to be fined and suspended!" After saying this, Jordan stopped staying on the court. After all, he had already been ejected, and if he stayed on the court, he might really be subject to further punishment.
As he turned to leave, he didn't look at Lin Tian even once more. Even though they had just been on the same side, Jordan didn't want to say a single word to Lin Tian now.
Why should I, Lao Tzu, be removed from the All-Star starting lineup?
Why should some guy like Miller steal my All-Star starting spot?
I'm not talking to you bunch of bastards!
As Jordan strode off the court, Lin Tian received another notification from the system.
Unfortunately, experience is still the best teacher!
I'm so angry today, I'm about to explode with rage, can't you at least give me something good?
Lin Tian felt that as he grew stronger, the system became increasingly stingy with the loot it dropped. He had to give that bastard Jordan a good push!
Right now, the angrier person isn't Jordan or Lin Tian, nor is it Crawford, or even anyone at the United Center.
The most furious person was the head of CBS sports programming, who had been secretly pleased just minutes before as the number of viewers was climbing toward 2000 million!
What a wise decision!
He's prepared to write about the high viewership share of a match that was broadcast at the last minute and only had a 30-minute pre-match warm-up. He also plans to mention his cleverness in his autobiography or memoirs every week for the next few months.
But now, this bastard Crawford has actually sent off Jordan and Lin Tian?
That damn bald guy actually kicked both of the two biggest ratings draws out of the stadium?
How dare he?
What the hell was he thinking?
Have you lost your mind?
What about my viewership ratings? Why would viewers even watch sports if I didn't?
The CBS executive was so angry that he immediately called Stern.
complaint!
Severe punishment!
Suspended!
Some things don't matter, but this kind of thing, this kind of thing that threatens his livelihood, he absolutely will not tolerate!
If referees arbitrarily send off star players and ratings champions for such baseless reasons, then what's the point of them broadcasting games in the future!
Before he could even make the call, someone called him back.
"This is David." The caller was none other than Stern, who was equally quick-witted.
"I'm sorry, Crawford's call was really stupid!" Stern preemptively apologized before Stern could even get angry, and his attitude was remarkably good: "I will immediately organize a training course for referees to properly train them on the issues of standards and refereeing criteria."
"This situation will absolutely never happen again!"
Stern was no less angry than anyone else at that moment.
With such great hype, such a great match, and both players in such great form, it looks like it's going to be a 50+ point showdown.
But the result?
You, Crawford, managed to foul both of them out in just over a quarter.
How am I supposed to sell tickets and generate buzz then?
In particular, this game was the last time the Bulls and Pacers would meet in the regular season!
Whether they will meet again this season, or whether they will face off again in the playoffs, is something no one can say for sure!
In a match of this caliber, you, Crawford, just because Jordan and Lin Tian joked around and slapped each other a few times, you ejected them both?
That's absolutely insane!
It's not a pity to die!
Crawford, of course, had no idea that his capricious officiating had offended two bigwigs at the same time, and he was secretly pleased with himself.
I'm tough! Viti and Bavita are nothing compared to me!
A referee should act like a referee!
Crawford had no idea that he was about to face a terrible disaster.
Lin Tian had already walked to the Pacers' bench and said to his teammates, "I've already taken Michael out of the game, now it's up to you guys."
"You guys have to pull yourselves together! You have to beat the Chicagoans!" Lin Tian clapped his hands and loudly encouraged his teammates, who hadn't been performing well in the first quarter, hoping to help them regain their form and win the game!
After the game, Lin Tianke had an important plan! A plan that would definitely make Jordan bleed a little more and give him some good stuff.
But if we lose the game, then the plan can't be implemented.
"Reggie! Without Michael keeping you occupied, you'll definitely outrun Steve Kerr, who's guarding you. Show them what the league's best shooter is all about! And you, Jaylen, you don't need to keep guarding Michael anymore; you can focus all your energy on offense!"
"Let them see just how good the best new generation of swingmen in the East really is! Charles, you need to prove you're still the MVP!"
Lin Tian patted each of his teammates on the shoulder. He didn't want his plans to fall apart because of their slackness or poor condition!
After encouraging everyone, Bird looked at Lin Tian and said, "You don't need to encourage me anymore. You've already finished all my work. You don't want to do the boss's work too, do you?"
Lin Tian smiled, shrugged, and patted Bird on the shoulder, saying, "I'll be waiting for your good news in the locker room."
After saying that, Lin Tian walked towards the locker room.
This time, as he left the field, the fans at the United Center finally began to boo intermittently.
After Lin Tian and Jordan left the arena, the game continued. Without their respective leaders, both teams' scoring efficiency and shooting percentage declined significantly.
Lin Tian originally thought that without Jordan, the Bulls only had Pippen to carry the team, while the Pacers still had two top stars, Barkley and Miller, the rising star Rose, and veterans like Dumars and Ainge.
No matter how you look at it, the Pacers are the better team on paper, and they should be able to control the game and quickly overtake the Bulls.
But Lin Tian didn't expect that the actual situation of the competition was completely different from what he had imagined!
Although Jordan was no longer with the Bulls, Pippen's excellent form and perfect performance allowed them to withstand the Pacers' comeback at the end of the second quarter, maintain their lead, and even further widen the gap!
55: 46!
At the end of the first half, the Bulls had a 9-point lead!
After Jordan left the court, Pippen put up a perfect stat line of 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in just half a game. In addition, Harper, Longley, Kukoc and others also performed well. It is normal for the Bulls to lead by 9 points at the end of the first half.
During halftime, the entire Pacers team looked somewhat dejected as they walked into the locker room.
After all, the Pacers' inability to close the gap and maintain their lead even without their star player was a significant blow to them.
Their lofty ambitions seemed particularly laughable at this moment.
As a result, without Lin Tian, we are just a mid-tier team with a winning percentage of around 50%, whose only goal is to strive for the playoffs.
This idea caused a huge sense of frustration for those arrogant and overconfident guys on the Pacers.
Without Lin, are we really that bad?
Lin Tian, waiting for his teammates in the locker room, saw the team's lack of morale and knew that if he didn't quickly find a way to boost the players' morale, there was no point in playing the second half; they might as well just surrender.
"Charles, Reggie, come here for a second, I have something to say to you two." Lin Tian waved his hand, calling over the two most dejected and lifeless team leaders to his side: "Do you want to hear what my plans are?"
"A plan?" Barkley was taken aback, not knowing what Lin Tian was talking about.
"It's a plan to make Michael so furious he won't be able to eat or sleep for three days straight," Lin Tian chuckled. "I guarantee that if we win the game, I have a way to drive Michael absolutely crazy!"
"Is there really such a good thing?" Miller asked curiously.
"It's just a game. Even if Michael is upset about losing, it's not like he won't be able to sleep for three days." Barkley, one of Jordan's best friends, also said that Jordan wouldn't get furious over losing a game, even if the game was very important and had extraordinary significance.
No matter what, Jordan isn't that fragile!
"Normally, Michael wouldn't be that stupid, nor would he take the result of a regular season game too seriously, even if he had just lost his All-Star starting position a few hours before this game."
Lin Tian laughed and said, "But what if, after this match, I add fuel to the fire in front of the media? What if I drop some bombshells on them?"
Lin Tian lowered his voice as he spoke, whispering in Barkley and Miller's ears.
As soon as Lin Tian finished speaking, Barkley and Miller's eyes lit up! Their previous dejection had miraculously disappeared. The speed at which they changed their expressions was astonishing even to Lin Tian himself.
At the same time, I can't help but sigh: Just how many people did that bastard Jordan offend!
Why is it that everyone gets so excited and crazy when they hear that they can embarrass Jordan? It's like they just came home after a game and saw thirty naked women waiting to have a sex party.
"Don't worry, Lin! Leave everything to me!" Barkley patted his chest and said, "Tonight, I'll fight tooth and nail to beat the Bulls! If Dennis dares to come and guard me, I'll kill him!"
"Charles's right. If we don't win this game today, how will I ever face anyone in the league again? Even if I break my legs, I'll win this game! We're down by 9 points, so what? There's still half the game! In the second half, we'll crush them!"
The fact that the team's two most important key players besides Lin Tian both expressed their support made Lin Tian feel very reassured.
He was confident that the game was in the bag!
Unless Pippen transforms into Jordan in the second half and scores 4 or 50 points, the Bulls are definitely out for tonight!
Lin Tian, feeling smug, didn't notice that less than three meters away from where he, Miller, and Barkley were plotting, Rose, who had performed well in the first half, scoring 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, was watching them with great displeasure.
He doesn't understand.
He clearly had the best performance in the first half, so why didn't Lin Tian talk to him for a bit? Why didn't he invite this small group that was obviously having a tactical meeting?
Why bother calling those two old guys over there and having them mutter and grumble on and on? What good will that do?
If those two old guys were any good, they wouldn't have failed to score in double digits in the first half, and the Bulls wouldn't have finished the first half with a 9-point lead!
"Jalen Ross's emotions fluctuated, resulting in a loss of 50 experience points!"
Lin Tian had just finished discussing things with Miller and Barkley when he received a system notification.
Curious, he looked over Miller's shoulder and saw Ross with a face full of resentment, jealousy, and displeasure.
This kid, is he up to no good?
Lin Tian muttered something, no longer paying attention to why Ross had suddenly given him 50 experience points; that wasn't something he needed to worry about right now.
What he needs to think about now is how to properly provoke Jordan after the game!
Soon, halftime ended, and Lin Tian was once again the only one left in the Pacers' locker room.
Then, Lin Tian leisurely found some food and drinks, and then turned on the TV. Even if he couldn't play, he still had to watch it properly!
As soon as Lin Tian turned on the TV, he saw Barkley posting up and drawing a double team, then passing the ball out to Miller.
"Whoosh!"
Miller didn't hesitate or hold back after receiving the ball; he pulled up and shot, sinking a three-pointer!
This three-pointer was not only the first basket of the second half for both teams, but it also seemed to unlock the Pacers' full potential, setting the stage for their furious offensive onslaught!
Barkley made a strong post-up play, Miller hit another three-pointer, Schmitz made a mid-range jump shot, and Dumars, who started after replacing Lin Tian, also made a rare layup.
In the first 3 minutes, the Pacers went on a 12-0 run, taking the lead in the game!
During this offensive surge, the Pacers only had Rose, who didn't even touch the ball, let alone contribute on offense. Then, Rose, who was a bit out of his element, was beaten by Pippen with a 2+1 play, and the Bulls tied the score again!
Regardless, both sides are now on equal footing for the next game. Although Jordan and Lin Tian are gone, and although CBS viewership has dropped from a peak of nearly 2000 million to 7-800 million, this game is still a thrilling one!
The score remained close until the final minute of the game, with the Pacers holding a one-point lead. Pippen then missed a layup, and Miller responded with a three-pointer to extend the lead to four points, effectively sealing the victory.
Then Kerr's game-winning three-pointer bounced off the rim, Barkley grabbed the rebound, found Dumars who was cutting down the court, and assisted him to make a layup, extending the lead to 6 points!
At this point, there were less than 20 seconds left in the game.
With Jackson calling the final timeout and Kukoc missing a three-pointer after receiving the ball, the Bulls ultimately lost this crucial game.
In the locker room, Lin Tian had already raised his arms and started cheering when Dumars extended the lead to 6 points. When the final whistle blew, Lin Tian knew it was time for him to shine!
(End of this chapter)