212: 101: Even if you score 40, I’ll stick with you to the end!
(Asking for monthly passes!)_4 212: 101: Even if you score 40, I’ll stick with you to the end!
(Asking for monthly passes!)_4 Houston fans were stunned too: first they got slamd, then bloodied…
this Dream really did have the aura of the Admiral!
Derrick McKey caught up with the basketball that Shaq had sent flying, and then counterattacked with a slam dunk.
10 to 6, Tomjanovich’s thoughts weren’t wrong, whoever fumbled first would feel even more disheartened.
Now, it was the Rockets players’ turn to hang their heads.
Coach Tomjanovich hastily called a tiout, looking at Roger who had just inspired his teammates with a slam dunk and stabilized the situation, suddenly feeling a sense of crisis.
Once again, Roger stepped up when the team needed him most.
Every ti, he did sothing at the key monts that changed the course of the ga.
Last season, he always blocked Jordan at critical monts.
Just now, when the Magic Team’s offense was stuck, it was Roger again, leading the team out of the tunnel with a forceful slam dunk, overcoming the first hurdle.
Many might say it was luck, just like Jas Bond in the “007” series, always encountering enchanting ladies.
Roger just happened to be at the critical monts, doing the right thing.
But Tomjanovich was the last to believe in luck, for his journey with the Houston Rockets had many calling it luck.
But he knew it wasn’t.
This guy, always stepping up in critical rounds…
he too possessed a fierce champion’s heart!
Although he didn’t want to admit it, Tomjanovich’s confidence was sowhat shaken.
Initially, he believed that as a periter player, Roger could in no way outscore Dream.
But now, he didn’t think it was as absolute as he had imagined.
The tiout soon ended, and the ga resud.
All the players from the Orlando Magic appeared extrely excited, confident.
That naturally included Roger.
As soon as Olajuwon entered the court, Roger approached him, resting his hands on his knees standing by him, “Hakeem, how does it feel to bleed in Houston?
Still think my scoring only leaves you battered?
No, this year I won’t just leave you battered.
Even if you score 40 points, I’ll stick with you to the end!
Sorry Hakeem, but after you lose, you can’t use fasting as an excuse anymore.”
After speaking, Robert Horry threw the inbounds pass, and the ga started again.
O’Neal continued to stick close to Olajuwon, and everyone else was marking their man tightly.
They were full of killing intent, they were full of confidence, as if no one could take the championship away from them.
Roger’s continuous scoring bestowed a championship-like quality to the Magic Team’s play.
Their championship hearts were beginning to awaken!
Throughout the rest of the ga, the battle between Olajuwon and Roger was intense.
When Olajuwon scored, Roger scored.
As Olajuwon narrowed the score, Roger widened it again.
He fiercely exchanged blows with Olajuwon throughout the ga, not falling behind in stability at all.
The Rockets tried everyone to lead the defense against Roger, all to no avail!
Without Dream’s defensive help, Roger was unstoppable!
Olajuwon went all out, continuously scoring over O’Neal’s head.
20 points, 30 points…
his score kept increasing.
In the tenth minute of the fourth quarter, Olajuwon started from beyond the three-point line, moving like a guard, and executed a crossover in front of Shaq!
Shaq clearly didn’t anticipate Olajuwon, as a center, to play this way; he even thought Dream was positioning high for a play.
Thus, Shaq was easily bypassed by Olajuwon.
After breaking into the paint, Dream, facing Grant who had co to help defend the basket, used one of Roger’s moves, jumping early, lofting the ball over Grant’s fingertips, and scoring successfully!
This move completely exposed Olajuwon’s identity as a tall guard, earning him his 41st point of the ga!
This was Olajuwon’s sixth ti scoring 40 points in this year’s playoffs — Stephen Curry, the Slam Dunk God, only had seven playoff 40 scores in his entire career, only one more than the tis Olajuwon scored 40 in one season’s playoffs!
At that mont, the Rockets were trailing by 5 points.
All they needed to do was to exert a little more effort to catch up.
So, in this defensive play, the Rockets’ effort was palpable.
Drexler was going all out, almost as if he wanted to burn out all the oil in his tank, clinging tightly to Roger like old roots entangling a tree.
This was undoubtedly another turning point in the ga, just like the first quarter’s “first to make a mistake” play.
The outco of such monts directly decided which chapter the ga would enter next.
Coach Tomjanovich clenched his teeth tightly, “Just stop this one ball, just this one, and there’s still hope to turn the ga around.”
The ball just couldn’t reach Roger’s hands, and the 24-second shot clock was also running out.
Harper could only lob the ball to O’Neal.
Shaq pushed inside a bit, attracting Hakeem and Mario Elie to double-team him.
But as he jumped, Shaq passed the ball to the cutting Horace Grant!
O’Neal kept his cool, and Horace Grant took the pass and went straight for the layup.
But Robert Horry appeared just in ti and smacked the basketball away with a slap!
Horry’s role in the Rockets went beyond just shooting three-pointers.
At this ti, with his robust athletic abilities, he was also an outstanding defensive player.
Throughout the finals, Horry was averaging 3 steals and 2 blocks per ga.
McKey picked up the basketball, didn’t think twice, and imdiately passed it back to Roger.
The prior chaos had caused Drexler to relax his defense on Roger, giving Roger half a step of space.
After receiving the ball, Roger didn’t even stop to brake; he just jumped up, and under Drexler’s desperate block, he drifted for a three-point attempt.
This was undoubtedly a difficult shot.
The ball eventually hit the rim, and Coach Tomjanovich breathed a sigh of relief.
But the next second, the ball bounced into the net, Roger’s drifting three-pointer at the buzzer was successful!
That was Roger’s 42nd point in the ga!
Once again, he ca through in a crucial mont, hanging a lead of 8 points over the Rockets and scoring more than Hakeem!
The ga moved into the next chapter, nad the Rocket’s demise!
This play trendously impacted the Rockets and allowed the Magic to clinch the ga in one breath.
109 to 104, the Magic won G3 with a 5-point advantage, breaking into the Rockets’ first ho ground!
This provided them with a confidence foundation for their three-ga away stretch!
Roger scored a total of 45 points in the ga, setting a new finals record.
Hakeem scored 41 points, he did dominate Shaq one-on-one and managed to contain O’Neal today, but he couldn’t overco the Magic or beat Roger.
He slamd Dream, took ho the Dream’s ho ground, and promised, “Dream really scored 40 points today, and Roger truly gave it his all too!”
Tonight, Roger proved that his worth in the playoffs was not inferior to Hakeem’s!
From now on, people would say, “From the 1995 NBA Finals to AC Milan in 2005 to the Nuggets leading by 20 points in Ga 7 of 2024, all these events tell us not to carry a star and his team’s past performances into tonight’s ga!”
Dream was dominant in previous gas, but this didn’t an Roger couldn’t defeat him!
At the end of the ga, even Bill Walton, who had always praised Dream, was impressed by Roger’s performance:
“Hakeem has lost his magic, because Roger is the true magician!
Roger, in crucial monts, has terrifying consistency!
Every crucial mont for him is like ‘Groundhog Day,’ repeatedly achieving the sa outco—scoring!”
If there is anyone in this world who can defeat the perfect Hakeem…
it must be the mad scorer Roger!”
2 to 1, Orlando Magic lead in the finals.
Only one last step away from the championship!
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