By the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers used rebounds to drag out the time, missing shots but slowly playing after grabbing the boards.
Jackson watched the time slipping away and had to call a timeout to let Jordan come on.
According to the original rotation plan, Jordan should have re-entered the game with about 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
But now, it’s not feasible— there are more than 8 minutes left until the end, Jordan must play, or else there will be no chance.
On Bird’s side, he also immediately substituted Gan Guoyang, and an eager Gan Guoyang asked Bird: "Can I still play the third position?"
"Get to the three-second zone and protect the rebounds," Bird scolded. Was this guy standing akimbo getting too comfortable?
All the key players from both sides came on, entering the final battle, or rather, the Bulls’ final struggle.
The Trail Blazers have maintained suppression throughout, as they have done in all games earlier this season.
There hasn’t been a single uphill battle— but facing the defending champions this time, the Trail Blazers need to be cautious.
The Bulls indeed came out fighting desperately, with the entire United Center resounding with cheers.
The fans raised signs reading "27-1," hoping to end the Trail Blazers’ winning streak here.
Jordan immediately used his breakthrough to draw a foul from Sabonis and went to the free-throw line, making both shots.
At this point, Jordan had already scored 28 points, and his individual offense tonight wasn’t an issue.
The Trail Blazers’ possession, Brellock dribbled past half-court, without being tightly defended by Harper.
The Bulls changed their defensive strategy, abandoning a full-court press because it didn’t work.
Instead, they employed a swamp defense luring the Trail Blazers’ ball handler to drive inside.
The Bulls defenders stuck closely to the ball handler, allowing no room for outside shooters, encouraging drives instead, then quickly rotated, collapsed, and trapped near the three-second zone.
The Bulls players formed a swamp near the three-second zone, creating a dense defensive area with their forwards, guards, and center.
Anyone who dared to drive into this area might seem closer to the basket, but in reality, they were surrounded in a crowd, blocked, stripped, or collided by Bulls players.
This move was the Bulls’ ultimate defensive tactic for critical moments, and many teams and players had drowned in the Bulls’ swamp mire.
The Bulls employed this tactic again, with Brellock choosing to break through the middle, but his small stature quickly found himself surrounded by big defenders.
Passing out, Gan Guoyang facilitated at high post, quickly forwarding to the other side’s Kobe— still on the court.
Kobe chose a baseline drive, had a chance, but after Jordan let him drive inside, his layup was disrupted and missed.
Kobe believed a Bulls player had fouled him, gesturing at the referee, as Gan Guoyang shouted: "Stop whining, get back on defense!"
The Bulls launched a fast break— they were trailing, so they needed to score quickly. Jordan received the ball, charged into the paint, and scored a changing hands layup.
Meanwhile, drawing a foul from Sabonis, he went to the free-throw line for an extra point, Jordan led the Bulls in a 5-point catch-up.
Bird called a timeout for adjustments. Back in the game, the Trail Blazers used a small exterior triangle formation, getting the ball to Gan Guoyang at a 45-degree angle.
The Bulls immediately double-teamed, Gan Guoyang passed the ball back to Sabonis in the lane. Sabonis made a move inside, causing the Bulls’ defense to collapse again.
Sabonis calmly passed to Brellock in the right corner. Brellock passed again, hitting Mu Lin on the right— Mu Lin also passed, the ball circled back to Gan Guoyang on the left.
Gan Guoyang was already prepared beyond the three-point line and shot directly upon receiving the ball!
The shot launched with the last three seconds of the 24-second timer and hit accurately!
This shot made the entire Bulls’ defensive momentum deflate a notch.
They had executed their defense to perfection, collapsing, double-teaming, extending, rotating— every step perfectly executed.
But the Trail Blazers had more offensive space than other teams, and Ah Gan’s threat made it even harder for the Bulls to create the swamp.
Just this possession alone saw the Bulls rotated relentlessly in defense, exhausted from the passing game, only for Gan Guoyang to sink the shot.
On offense, Jordan had to face Kobe’s persistent defense, but Jordan was already in peak condition and wouldn’t be stopped.
Whatever the team’s strength gap, whatever the tactical disparity, he just wanted to get the ball in the basket.
Faced with a double-team from the Trail Blazers, he first passed out to the perimeter, then spun inside, receiving a pass from Kukoc, aggressively attacking Gan Guoyang head-on!
The duel between two of NBA history’s best was intense, but this time Gan Guoyang did not allow Jordan to score, using a perfect aerial block to deny Jordan’s layup.
After landing, Gan Guoyang again shoved aside Rodman, who was trying to grab the rebound, securing the board.
The Bulls attempted an immediate steal, but Gan Guoyang, full of energy, wouldn’t give them a chance.
He dribbled past half-court to stabilize the situation, then in a steady offense, Gan Guoyang moved to the low post for a physical post-up, Bulls players swarmed like bees as soon as he received the ball.
In the crowd, Gan Guoyang protected the ball, found footing, and jumped for a soft hook shot— the ball bounced off the rim before sliding out.
Jumping again to tap it in for a putback!
In crucial moments, Gan Guoyang continued to be the Bulls’ nemesis in the paint.
Rodman, thwarted twice by Gan Guoyang in rebound contests, angrily slammed the ball towards the basket support.