Most of the time, the Trail Blazers follow Carl’s tactical diagrams and Bird is responsible for issuing orders.
Now, Bird must step up. He has set up an outside double-screen tactic.
PJ Brown and AC Green screen for Van Exel, while Gan Guoyang is lurking on the weak side.
A simple and clear tactic, Van Exel has been feeling hot tonight, worth a gamble.
Sure enough, after the timeout ended, the double-screen tactic worked, attracting Van Exel’s attention.
Rodman focused on the Three Second Zone and surprisingly left Ah Gan open. Gan Guoyang receives Van Exel’s pass, and scores a three-pointer!
He wouldn’t waste such an opportunity, 94-90, the Trail Blazers close in by 4 points, reigniting hope in the Rose Garden.
Three minutes remain, the teams fall into another tussle. Jordan’s breakthrough layup misses, and Gan Guoyang’s mid-range shot also misses.
Pippen slows down, isolates Riddle at the top of the arc, backs down and turns for a jump shot which misses. Rodman grabs the rebound and goes for a layup, but is blocked by PJ Brown.
It’s chaos under the basket, Harper grabs the ball and passes it out, Jordan feigns a shot but doesn’t shoot. He stops to organize and drag the time.
In the final minutes of the game, time moves fast. Gan Guoyang can’t pull out, so he hands it over to Alon Magee to defend.
As a result, Jordan makes a quick stop and jump shot, perfectly accurate!
96-90, leaving the Trail Blazers with only 1 minute.
Bird calls for another timeout, substitutes Kobe in, taking Alon Magee out.
Bird pulls out the tactics board again, drawing an offensive strategy for Gan Guoyang at the low post.
Kobe’s role is to catch and facilitate on the flank, with a height advantage over Van Exel and Riddle.
"Get the ball to Ah Gan, that’s your task," Bird reminds him.
Kobe nods, but inside he feels he can do more than just that.
After the timeout, Kobe successfully delivers the ball to Gan Guoyang at the low post.
The Bulls immediately double-team, and Gan Guoyang dishes the ball to Van Exel at the top of the arc.
Van Exel launches a three-pointer! But it misses, and Gan Guoyang snags the Offensive Rebound.
He shoots immediately, not only scoring but also drawing a foul from Rodman!
The referee blows the whistle, and Rodman is furious; he’s already committed five fouls.
One more foul and he’s out. He argues with the referee but to no avail.
Finally, he takes off his jersey, angrily sits back on the bench, having fouled Ah Gan four times tonight.
He actually tried hard to defend tonight, but to no avail, the physical difference was too great.
Gan Guoyang makes the free throw; tonight, he is a perfect 15 for 15 from the line, unstoppable.
96-93, only 3 points difference, the Bulls enter a danger zone.
But at times like these, Jordan’s focus and fighting spirit are often at their peak.
A light and casual breakthrough into the middle, like a hot knife slicing through butter.
Driving to the basket for a layup, drawing a foul from Gan Guoyang, this ball the Trail Blazers’ defense was careless.
Jordan hits both free throws, 98-93, again a 5-point lead, with only over 20 seconds left in the game.
These two free throws are extremely deadly, the Trail Blazers almost have no way to catch up, time is running out.
And Bird has used his last timeout.
"No matter what, score quickly and then defend with all we’ve got, we have to gamble!"
Bird doesn’t draw a tactic but hands the ball to Gan Guoyang to control, then quickly initiates full-court defense.
Gan Guoyang nods to show he understands; they have no retreat, only a very slim chance to win, but they must fight for it.
The Trail Blazers players are exhausted, the intensity of the Bulls is completely different from ordinary teams, and this is only the regular season.
Over on the Bulls side, Phil Jackson insists on allowing two points, definitely not giving the Trail Blazers any three-pointers.
"Two points, let them score two points, definitely no threes!"
If Jackson had gotten advice from someone, he would choose to foul tactically now, sending the Trail Blazers to the free-throw line, which would be the safest option.
Unfortunately, Jackson didn’t receive advice from a tactical master, didn’t think there could be such a shocking move, seeming to give away points but actually securing the win.
The Bulls refuse any three-pointers, they perform full-court pressure defense, their attention entirely on Gan Guoyang, and the ball ends up with Van Exel.
Van Exel dribbles through, stops at the arc for a quick three-pointer, and scores!
It’s an incredibly simple but exceptionally effective offensive move.
Gan Guoyang’s screen drew most of the attention, Van Exel seized the chance and made the most of it.
The atmosphere on site reaches extreme tension, the Trail Blazers still have a glimmer of opportunity.
This is when Jackson made a huge mistake: he didn’t call for a timeout.
The Bulls still had one timeout left, but Jackson didn’t plan to use it immediately.
He had laid out the strategy for if the opponent scored just during the last timeout, and trusted his players.
However, this time facing the Trail Blazers they made a mistake, and once again it was Pippen, the baseline inbound had a deviation.
Kobe darted in like a nimble cat, intercepting the pass meant for Jordan, then smoothly laid it in!
98-98! The teams are tied!
The entire Rose Garden Arena erupted.
The bars in Los Angeles erupted.
In his apartment, the introverted Hu Weidong shouted at the TV.
Hu’s mom came out of the room, asking her son what happened, Hu Weidong awkwardly said, "Nothing, nothing, just watching the game."
After scoring, Kobe bounced around like a fawn, barely containing his excitement.
Gan Guoyang had to remind him, "Hey hey, it’s not over yet, it’s not over yet!"
Only then did Kobe calm down slightly, but inside he was still relishing that steal.