On the Chicago home court, under the cheers of tens of thousands of fans, Jordan, the boss, led his team in a fierce comeback. With the toughest defense and the most fluid offense, they cleanly took two sets in a row, instantly leveling the series to 2:2, and shattering the Lakers' hope for a quick victory!
The Los Angeles media, who had clamored before the game that "The Bulls are dead, the Lakers will rise," were slapped in the face by Jordan, boss!
The series had returned to its starting point.
Whoever won the crucial King Mountain battle would gain the first match point for the championship.
This critical battle took place on the Lakers' home court. With the support of the home fans, the Lakers had a relatively smooth start.
O'Neal continuously attacked the basket. When the Bulls could no longer resist, they tried to disrupt the Lakers' scoring rhythm with fouls. Unexpectedly, O'Neal today was as if divinely assisted, making 6 out of 8 free throws in the first quarter! The Bulls' attempt to steal failed and backfired; not only did they fail to disrupt the Lakers' scoring rhythm, but they also burdened Longley and Rodman with 2 fouls each, severely weakening the Bulls' interior defensive strength.
The Lakers' interior had been completely opened up today, but their perimeter was under a joint lockdown from Jordan, boss, and Harper!
He Ximeng was 1 for 8 from three-point range, his shot severely off.
The Bulls were fortunate to have curbed He Ximeng's performance from the outside, preventing a complete collapse on both interior and perimeter and a blowout by the Lakers.
Even so, He Ximeng continuously assisted O'Neal, helping the Lakers maintain an advantage on the court. Although the advantage was not significant, it was still an advantage.
Jordan, boss, tried hard several times but could not reverse the unfavorable situation. As the game was nearing its end.
As a result, just before the game ended, the relatively unknown Kukoc suddenly exploded, launching from the three-point line and hitting two consecutive three-pointers, instantly erasing the deficit for the Bulls and rendering the Lakers' entire game effort in vain!
The score, at the last moment, returned to a tie.
At a critical juncture, He Ximeng still used his assist ability to break through and pass to Eddie Jones cutting to the basket, helping him draw a foul from Pippen!
Eddie Jones made both free throws, helping the Lakers stabilize their position.
Although the Bulls had the last possession, just before the end of the game, Jordan, boss, made a side-jump shot, tying the score again, leaving only 10 seconds for the Lakers.
Harris called a timeout to set up the final play. With the score tied, the Lakers undoubtedly chose to give the final possession to O'Neal in the paint!
However, on the surface, the Lakers could not be so blatant, directly passing to O'Neal would be too easy to intercept.
Therefore, someone was needed as a decoy to attract defensive attention!
This person would be either Eddie Jones or He Ximeng!
Kobe was not yet at that level; from a team status perspective, it should be Eddie Jones, and from a team position perspective, it was He Ximeng.
Harris's final choice was He Ximeng!
In fact, the Bulls seemed to fear He Ximeng more than Eddie Jones. Because over these past few games, He Ximeng's unreasonable three-pointers had left a profound impression on the Bulls...
After the timeout, Horry came to the sideline to inbound the ball. He Ximeng first screened for Eddie Jones off the ball, and Eddie Jones made a move as if wanting to catch the ball, but it was a feint. He drew the Bulls' defensive attention away from He Ximeng, who was the real target behind him...
He Ximeng followed up smoothly, received the pass from Horry, turned, used Kobe's off-ball screen, passed to Harper, and faced Jordan, boss, in a one-on-one defense!
He Ximeng wanted to accelerate past Jordan, boss, but Jordan, boss, was still vigorous and stuck to He Ximeng like glue!
He Ximeng had no choice. He put on an air of preparing to fight Jordan, boss, to the death, with the attitude of "I'll dunk on you" or "you'll block me," truly attracting the Bulls' defensive gaze!
Faced with such a great opportunity to become a Los Angeles hero, He Ximeng, at the last moment, chose to pass!
He Ximeng flew up and, facing Longley's defense in front and Jordan's pursuit from behind, still had the energy and composure to observe his teammates' positions, and finally, right under Jordan, boss's nose, before the countdown ended, sent the ball to O'Neal!
O'Neal caught the ball, rose up, and forcefully slammed it into the basket!
Everything was within He Ximeng's control, everything was within the perfect range...
In Game 5 of the Finals, O'Neal dunked to kill the Bulls!
As the entire stadium erupted in cheers, celebrating this hard-won home victory, O'Neal immediately hugged He Ximeng and lifted him high, spinning him around...
The Bulls' coaching staff protested the final play! Phil Jackson believed the shot was too late. However, after reviewing the replay, the referees and the scorer's table determined that O'Neal's final shot was not too late, the two points were valid, and they also added 0.9 seconds back to the clock for the Bulls!
If you have the guts, try to complete a counter-game-winner within those 0.9 seconds!
No one believed the Bulls could complete a counter-game-winner, even with a god-like Jordan on their team...
But honestly, He Ximeng had seen too many bizarre game-winners and counter-game-winners in his previous life, so he was the most worried person on the Lakers' side, even more nervous than head coach Harris!
When Harris arranged for Kobe to harass Jordan and prevent him from receiving the ball, He Ximeng even volunteered to assist Kobe in dealing with Jordan, boss...
As a result, the Lakers' twin stars tried very hard, but Jordan, boss, still managed to break free from Kobe through Pippen's off-ball screen, and with a reverse cut after a sudden stop, he created separation from He Ximeng and got an opportunity to jump!
Harper's pass was perfectly timed. Jordan, boss, caught the ball in the air, turned, and shot in one fluid motion. Unfortunately, the ball bounced off the rim, and Jordan, boss, failed to reverse his fate. The Bulls lost to the Lakers by two points!
The Lakers tenaciously won the King Mountain battle, gaining the first match point.
O'Neal scored a game-high 39 points and made the final game-winning shot, shining brighter than anyone else!
He Ximeng's scoring data in this game was dismal. Under the containment of Jordan, boss, and Harper, he only scored 9 points, not even in double digits. However, he provided a game-high 12 assists and, at the last moment, delivered the winning assist to the Big Shark! Not a hero, but better than a hero...
However, in North America, which values lone heroes, He Ximeng's "modest and low-key" and even seemingly less heroic behavior did not receive universal approval.
For example, Kobe, in a private review after the game, believed He Ximeng's pass on the final play was a mistake...