Jordan was already 35 years old, and the Zen Master showed no leniency, not even giving Jordan any more rotation time than Jordan himself. It was clear he intended for Jordan to play the entire game.
Jordan's physique was truly god-like! When he got tired, all he had to do was hand off the ball and move to the weak side to catch his breath, and he'd be instantly revitalized… This kind of stamina was why he was a god…
As long as Jordan remained on the court, whether he was paired with Pippen, Harper, Kukoc, or Rodman, the Bulls could always keep the Lakers at bay, preventing them from narrowing the score. Whenever the Lakers showed signs of momentum, Jordan would receive the ball and deliver decisive blows…
The Lakers had several attempts to cut the deficit to double digits, but each time they were thwarted by Jordan's counter-attacks.
Harris had tried all the conventional tactical adjustments, to no avail.
As the game entered the final quarter, Heximeng advised Harris to go all in! What did "going all in" mean? Naturally, it meant giving him unlimited shots and letting him unleash a barrage of three-pointers…
But Harris was unwilling to gamble! In the first half of the fourth quarter, he still pinned his hopes of a comeback on O'Neal.
The biggest issue with O'Neal's scoring method was his low efficiency per possession. Furthermore, with free throws being his weakness, when O'Neal was in form, opponents could always deploy the "Hack-a-Shaq" tactic to cool his scoring, leading to a lack of continuity when chasing points.
Harris's expectations were dashed, and the Lakers saw no hope of closing the gap. As the game neared its end, the Bulls still held a nine-point lead. The Lakers fans in the arena were gradually succumbing to despair.
In the final moments, unwilling to accept defeat, Harris finally agreed to Heximeng's suggestion. He called a timeout and instructed the Lakers to switch to a strategy of aggressively shooting three-pointers for one last desperate push!
For Heximeng's first shot, he patiently sought out O'Neal as a transition, using O'Neal's post-up to draw the Bulls' defensive attention. Then, Heximeng used Eddie Jones's off-ball screen to cut towards the right corner, calling for the ball as he moved!
O'Neal was ready to pass. As Heximeng arrived, the ball arrived. Heximeng caught the ball, stopped abruptly, and turned for the shot!
This wasn't a particularly large open shot. Pippen, after switching, was tightly guarding Heximeng, unwilling to give him a clear shot. However, since the head coach had authorized Heximeng to take his chances, Heximeng clearly wouldn't hesitate any longer; hesitation would mean the game was over…
Because it was a quick pull-up jumper, Heximeng shot the ball with a very high arc! Pippen couldn't interfere and could only watch as the ball flew over his fingertips and straight into the basket for a three-pointer! The deficit was cut to six points.
Seeing Heximeng's three-pointer causing trouble again, Jordan immediately became alert. On the next possession, under Jordan's organization, the Bulls played very patiently, passing the ball back and forth. Just before the 24-second shot clock expired, Jordan took a mid-range pull-up jumper. After the ball bounced off the rim, it fell out again! The deficit remained at eight points.
Heximeng advanced the ball past half-court, continuing to look for opportunities outside the three-point line. The Bulls, after Heximeng's three-point touch had opened up, clearly increased their defensive rotations and double-teaming efforts. Heximeng, playing their anticipation, called for a high pick from Horry. Instead of driving to the basket, he moved laterally, feigning a direct pull-up three-pointer, which drew Harper and Kukoc to both rush and defend him. Heximeng then smoothly pulled back and passed the ball to the open Horry!
Horry's average shots per game for the Lakers had decreased from 7.8 last season to 5.8 this season, a very standard role player for a wing.
Most of the time, Horry was the best defender on the Lakers' perimeter.
At other times, Horry was also a potential killer from beyond the three-point line for the Lakers.
Like on this play, Heximeng had created an open shooting opportunity for Horry. However, at such a crucial moment, an average role player might hesitate to shoot. Opportunities are fleeting; any slight hesitation would cause this open look to disappear, but Horry was clearly no ordinary role player.
After Head Coach Harris made it clear that the Lakers needed to increase their perimeter shooting and use three-pointers as their primary method for chasing points, Horry was prepared to catch and shoot from beyond the arc! This play perfectly suited Horry. With a swift motion, Horry hit the three-pointer precisely!
The Bulls were stunned, and the Lakers fans in the arena roared with all their might, as if wanting to vent all their pent-up frustration from the game!
The deficit was once again reduced to five points! The Lakers had clearly entered the correct rhythm for a comeback.
Harris on the sidelines, when Horry hit that three-pointer, couldn't help but clench his fist and make a "fantastic" gesture!
On the Bulls' side, Pippen drove and passed, looking for Kukoc to hit a three-pointer in return. Kukoc did get an open look, but his final three-point attempt bounced off the rim! Fortunately, Pippen reacted quickly, grabbed the offensive rebound, took a dribble, and then made a step-through into the paint, attempting a hook shot over O'Neal.
O'Neal desperately contested, even risking a foul, to prevent Pippen from making the shot.
The referee's whistle blew, and Pippen went to the free-throw line.
Pippen made the first free throw, but the second one rolled out of the hoop.
O'Neal's foul had paid off. The Lakers were still trailing the Bulls by six points, but they retained possession.
O'Neal handed the ball to Heximeng to advance, and the Bulls attempted to double-team Heximeng near half-court. Heximeng immediately passed the ball to Kobe, who had run up to receive it. Kobe took on Jordan one-on-one, trying to drive to the basket, but was strongly blocked by Jordan. Kobe couldn't drive past, so he turned to his back to the basket, wanting to showcase a fadeaway jumper over Jordan…
However, before Kobe could even shoot, Heximeng used Horry's off-ball screen to shake off Harper, who was chasing him, and called for the ball!
At this critical juncture, Kobe didn't try to hog the glory and chose to trust Heximeng!
Heximeng received the ball and faked, making Harper move. He dribbled once, took a step sideways, caught the ball again, and shot another three-pointer!
The entire arena of Lakers fans erupted! Under the onslaught of Heximeng's relentless three-pointers, the Lakers had successfully narrowed the deficit to just three points.
The Zen Master couldn't help but call a timeout to adjust their defensive strategy! Kukoc came off the court, and Rodman entered.
Kukoc was good offensively, but his defense was somewhat lacking.
Rodman was not good offensively, but his defense was fearless.
Through this minor adjustment, the Zen Master aimed to further strengthen the Bulls' overall defensive intensity. Because the Bulls' current perimeter players, Jordan, Pippen, and Harper, were already their strongest trio, there was no further substitution the Zen Master could make…