During the entire second half, apart from the two of them, the others could hardly score.
Grant came over wanting to set a screen for Jordan, but this wasn’t a good choice.
Because Gan Guoyang directly switched to defense, Gan Guoyang took the lead in defending Jordan!
Jordan tightened all his muscles, like a panther, intently staring at Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang lowered his center of gravity, arching his back like a golden lion, firmly guarding Jordan.
The desperate struggle between the leaders, it’s either you die or I perish.
Time slowed down at that moment, years of rivalry condensed in this crucial offensive-defensive play.
The moment they looked into each other’s eyes, time and space twisted at a certain point, as if they returned to 1984, their first encounter on the NBA court.
Regular season, the rundown Chicago Stadium, the exhausted Trail Blazers, and the solitary Bulls battled to the end, it was all about scoring, scoring, and scoring.
The world seemed to only consist of the two of them, the ball in their hands, and the basket behind them, everything else was unnecessary.
The strongest spear, the toughest shield, collided together.
With 5 seconds left in the attacking time, Jordan made his move.
On the left side, an unpretentious explosive drive, with no fancy techniques.
Pure speed and explosive power created a breach in Gan Guoyang’s airtight defense.
Unparalleled explosiveness, if it were someone else defending, Jordan could take another dribble and rise for a slam dunk.
But the one defending him was Gan Guoyang, and at the moment of physical contact, an impact as solid as a boulder blocked Jordan’s path upward and forward.
The time was running out, Jordan had to jump to initiate the attack, if he faked a move or turned, there was a possibility of a shot clock violation.
But at the moment of jumping, Jordan could feel a hint of weakness in his legs, the jumping height wasn’t enough!
Still entangled in the air, Gan Guoyang stretched his arms straight, completely sealing Jordan’s shooting space.
In mid-air, Jordan was stagnant, his body leaning back, he had an extremely short time to make a choice.
Perform a high-difficulty pull-up jumper, or...
"Michael Jordan suddenly passed the ball to Scottie Pippen cutting through the middle!"
"Pippen dunk!"
"Woh, the dunk missed! The ball flew out!"
"Scramble for the ball, Sabonis rushed out, grabbed it back!"
"Reggie Lewis pushing forward, passed to Porter, Porter then passed to Ah Gan!"
In just a few seconds, the situation turned dramatically.
Jordan made a good pass, but Pippen missed the dunk.
An obvious must-score dunk bounced off the rim throat.
Sabonis, regardless of everything, picked up the ball, ultimately tri-passed and redirected to Gan Guoyang sprinting to the frontcourt.
Time was already insufficient, calling a timeout would allow the Bulls to set up their defense, making it tough for the Trail Blazers to execute their offense.
Gan Guoyang took the ball outside the right three-point line, stepped forward and halted, this time standing outside the three-point line.
With a glance from the corner of his eye, making sure he didn’t step on the line!
Jordan lunged forward, Gan Guoyang didn’t have time to fake and rise again.
Both jumped simultaneously, in the air, Gan Guoyang sidestepped slightly, hovered briefly, avoided Jordan’s block, and tossed the ball toward the hoop.
The ball flew into mid-air, the light came on, the game was over.
Yet the ball was still in flight, flight, reaching its highest point and descending.
Tall and beautiful arc, finally falling heavily into the net.
A "swish" sound, as clear as celestial music.
The Rose Garden Arena erupted, the game was over.
86:87, the Trail Blazers miraculously beat the Bulls at the last moment.
After scoring, Gan Guoyang didn’t raise his arms in celebration, didn’t jump crazily.
He and Jordan both fell to the ground due to losing their balance.
He looked at Jordan, and Jordan looked at him.
"Michael, are we still friends?"
Gan Guoyang shouted loudly as fans and teammates crowded around.
Jordan struggled to get up from the ground, while Gan Guoyang was already surrounded and lifted by teammates and fans.
Jordan watched Gan Guoyang being celebrated in the crowd, murmuring: "Of course, but I’ll still kill you, Sonny."
After saying that, he lowered his head and left the arena through the passage, leaving only a red number 23 figure behind.
Gan Guoyang moved through the crowd, watching Jordan from afar, knowing that their rivalry wasn’t over.
(End of volume nine, "Black OR Yellow.")