The third quarter opened with Captain Qiao driving for a layup, drawing a foul from Eddie Jones. At the free-throw line, Captain Qiao stuck out his tongue and sank both shots, successfully extending the Bulls' lead to double digits!
During halftime, O'Neal had just finished his chicken soup and was determined to assert his dominance in the paint.
However, Rodman immediately went physical, grappling with O'Neal at the edge of the paint, even fouling to prevent O'Neal from easily receiving the ball…
Coach Hasley’s dream of breaking through the interior was persistently unfulfilled, while the Bulls steadily increased their score through Coach Phil's triangle offense.
By the end of the third quarter, the Bulls had extended their lead to 18 points!
Just as the Chicago fans believed this Christmas Day battle was heading into garbage time,
Coach Hasley decided to try a last-ditch effort, making a gamble on this festive occasion!
He substituted Campbell, Kerrsey, and Van Exel, bringing in Cory Blount, Kobe, and Hexi Meng.
While it might seem like the Lakers were giving up, Harris still kept O'Neal and Eddie Jones, two core players, on the court.
But if you considered it a fight to the finish, Harris sent out three young players at once, two of whom were rookies this year, clearly intending to gain experience.
Coach Phil, watching from the sidelines, squinted and stroked his small mustache, unable to figure out what scheme the “Silver Fox” across from him was planning.
However, out of caution, Coach Phil chose to rest Jordan but kept Pippen and Rodman on the court to anchor the team.
The timeout ended, and the game resumed.
Hexi Meng re-entered the game, and Harper’s defensive intensity was clearly much higher than Randy Brown’s. Harper’s height also obscured Hexi Meng’s vision, forcing him to increase his dribbling range to get a full view of the unfolding play.
On their first possession, Hexi Meng called for Cory Blount’s high-post screen!
O’Neal had expended a lot of energy in the paint today, and he might not have the strength to drive to the basket after a high-post play.
Therefore, Hexi Meng chose Cory Blount, who had more stamina and a more stable mid-range shooting ability.
Currently guarding Cory Blount was the Bulls’ reserve power forward, Kukoc.
Kukoc was a well-rounded player, skilled in offense, playmaking, and rebounding, but his defense was not his strong suit.
Facing the Lakers' mismatch, Kukoc opted for a switch, chasing Hexi Meng towards the basket, intending to double-team him with Rodman under the rim to block his shot.
Hexi Meng, of course, wasn’t that foolish. After drawing Kukoc away, Hexi Meng planned to pass back to Cory Blount at the high post. But unexpectedly, Harper anticipated Hexi Meng’s intention, positioned himself early, and completely blocked Blount’s receiving lane!
Hexi Meng nearly committed a turnover, quickly regaining control of the ball. Then, with a sudden stop and a spin, he dared not venture further into the paint, as going any deeper would leave no room for maneuver, forcing him to directly confront Rodman under the basket…
Frankly, Hexi Meng felt a bit intimidated by the gruff, tattooed Rodman. This guy was the inspiration for Sakuragi, known for his unpredictable play. Hexi Meng had no intention of engaging in a physical battle with him; that daunting task was best left to O'Neal…
After the sudden stop and spin, Hexi Meng intended to pass to Eddie Jones on the perimeter for support. However, Pippen was sticking to him like glue, and Eddie Jones couldn’t shake him off immediately…
Kobe was way out on the weak side, completely out of sight…
All of Hexi Meng's passing options were shut down by the Bulls. Was he being forced to go one-on-one?
In a flash, Hexi Meng gritted his teeth, suddenly spun back, and executed a surprising maneuver around Kukoc back into the paint. Facing Rodman’s grinning rush, Hexi Meng executed a high, soft floater that sailed over the defensive efforts of the “Worm” and landed precisely in the basket…
“You really think I can’t shoot just because I don’t take jump shots?”
Hexi Meng's sudden shot surprised not only the Bulls but also his Lakers teammates. Everyone had assumed Hexi Meng wasn’t good at mid-range shots, but was that really the case?
How could a man who could extend his shooting range to near the logo line not know how to hit a mid-range jumper?
It wasn’t that he couldn’t, it was just that he didn’t want to.
Because the process of breaking down the defense and driving to the basket presented opportunities for a point guard to take a mid-range shot, as well as an opportunity for the point guard to create chances for his teammates.
Offensive-minded point guards would choose to score themselves during this process.
Playmaking point guards would choose to assist their teammates for scores.
Hexi Meng belonged to the latter category, which was why his mid-range scoring ability seemed weaker… In reality, it was all an illusion…
“That little floater was pretty nice!” O’Neal complimented Hexi Meng as they jogged back on defense.
“It had a bit of my floater’s flair… Hahaha…”
O’Neal chuckled at his own joke.
The game continued, and Pippen orchestrated the offense.
With Jordan out, Pippen pulled Harper and Kukoc into the triangle offense, aiming to assist Kukoc in scoring.
But Kukoc’s touch was off today, and the shot bounced off the rim.
Rodman, battling O’Neal under the basket, managed to grab the offensive rebound.
However, as strong as Rodman’s rebounding was, his scoring ability was equally weak.
He missed a point-blank put-back, a close-range layup…
O’Neal secured this rebound, preventing Rodman from taking it. Holding the ball firmly, O’Neal then passed it to Hexi Meng, who had run over to receive it.
The Bulls were very aggressive on the offensive boards, essentially preventing the Lakers from launching fast breaks.
Under Harper’s trailing interference, Hexi Meng advanced the ball past half-court step by step.
Although Hexi Meng tried to avoid direct physical confrontation in the paint, in this era that championed physicality everywhere, even guards faced physical challenges when pushing the ball. Hexi Meng had anticipated this and had been training his core strength.
Therefore, Harper’s attempt to disrupt Hexi Meng’s rhythm and playmaking through physicality was a bit of an underestimation of Hexi Meng’s abilities.
After crossing half-court, Kobe immediately ran up to set a screen for him, giving Hexi Meng no chance to refuse.
After the screen, Kobe spun and established position on Harper, reaching out for the ball…
Hexi Meng knew Kobe would do this… But considering his effort and the fact that he had indeed created an opportunity, he passed him the ball immediately…