The Knicks finished their first round early, while other series were still fiercely contested, giving Zhang Yang more ti to understand and adapt to the changes brought by the new regulations.
Ti moved to April 29th, and the first round finally reached its last ga day. The Jazz Team, quickly toughened up, faced last season’s runner-up, the Rockets, as the third seed in the West. Although they still lost, it was not as one-sided as last season. They dragged the series to ga five, but still, they regrettably lost at ho to the Rockets, 91-95, exiting in the first round.
Before this ga started, the second round had already seen so series begin, as ga five matches in the first round are usually accompanied by the start of ga one in the second round.
Zhang Yang and his team faced off against the Chicago Bulls, who had been in New York preparing for two days.
This "Zhang Yang" was already very showy.
Having witnessed the "Tsunami Combination" and being certain that he was the one and only super three-point shooter of this era, Zhang Yang showed Jordan—who thought he was ntally prepared—what it truly ans: My showiness is beyond your imagination!
Zhang Yang shot 13 of 28, including 9 of 19 from beyond the arc, and 7 of 8 free throws, exploding for 42 points. He led the Knicks to a 98-90 victory over the Chicago Bulls, taking a 1-0 series lead!
Trailing three-pointers, jumping from a ter and a half beyond the line, step-back threes, isolation threes off a screen, off-ball catch-and-shoot spin threes...
Jordan watched as Zhang Yang sunk 9 three-pointers, tying the single-ga playoff record for threes?
Oh right, the previous record-holder was also Zhang Yang, in the East Final three years ago when he went 9 for 15 from three and exploded for 65 points against none other than Jordan.
The last ti, Zhang Yang was in explosive form, scoring more than 20 points in the final quarter to hit 9 threes, but tonight, Jordan felt Zhang Yang was just average, not explosive, and his accuracy didn’t match that day.
But man, he shoots a lot, and despite shooting so much, he maintains his accuracy!
By Ga 2, the Bulls began crowding Zhang Yang’s periter shot, sticking close in one-on-one defense, focusing on denying Zhang Yang the long-distance catch, and switching directly when Zhang Yang set screens...
This kept Zhang Yang’s three-point shooting to 6 for 2, but the side effects far outweighed the benefits.
Defending too tightly, Pippen got bypassed by Zhang Yang with one step more often;
By denying long-distance catches off the ball, Zhang Yang would fake running to the periter, then suddenly cut in at the right mont;
By switching on off-ball screens, when the screener noticed, he would also cut in imdiately. The screener was often Oakley, and if Kukoci failed to hedge before the switch, it was hard for Pippen to hold Oakley back when not fully in place.
The Knicks scored even more in this ga. Zhang Yang scored 28 points, leading the Knicks to a 103-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls, taking a 2-0 series lead!
In Ga 3, the Bulls did not adjust their defense, still focusing on denying Zhang Yang, while Zen Master chose to counter from another angle—scoring.
Jordan went crazy, shooting 15 of 33, including 1 of 3 from three, and 9 of 10 free throws, scoring 40 points and leading the team to 106 points.
They also managed, through team efforts, to limit Zhang Yang’s scoring below 30 again, with only 27 points, and... 6 rebounds and 9 assists!
Zen Master had a counter, Big Bird wasn’t a dumb bird!
Ewing scored a team-high 28 points, along with 10 rebounds and 2 assists;
Sixth man John Starks shot 7 of 13, including 2 of 2 from three and 5 of 5 free throws, racking up 21 points!
The Knicks had three players score 20 , six players in double figures, winning 112-106 on the road against the Chicago Bulls, taking a 3-0 series lead!
In Ga 4, despite Jordan’s 45 points on 18 of 38 shooting, plus Pippen’s 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, the Bulls managed to pull one back with a 104-94 victory, avoiding a sweep.
But it wasn’t because the Knicks played badly.
The Bulls didn’t change their tactics; Zen Master couldn’t think of sothing better when Jordan’s skills were out of sync, so they just fought hard.
The Knicks stuck with their Ga 3 strategy, but the wings missed their long-range shots tonight, preventing suppression, resulting in a loss.
On May 8th, back at ho, the Knicks narrowly defeated the Chicago Bulls 104-101.
Jordan, with 39 points on 15 of 35 shooting, including 0 of 1 from three and 9 of 12 from the line, had 20 missed shots.
In the final monts, Jordan showed willingness to take responsibility. Despite not attempting a single three-pointer all night, he went for a tying corner three, setting an example for future players who resemble him, but it didn’t even graze the rim...
He used the strength one would use for a corner three before the three-point line was shortened.
Except for Ga 1, Zhang Yang didn’t score in double figures in any other ga, averaging 29.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.2 steals, leading the Knicks to a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Bulls, advancing to the East Final!
After the ga, Zhang Yang proved through actions that he and the "he" here had the sa nature.
"I seed to see a poor replica. Who’s that wearing the number 45 jersey? Is he saying he’s twice as great as Jordan? I really pity his math. Out of generosity, I’ll let him know, 23 doubled is 46, not 45. That number doesn’t deserve the surna Jordan."
...
The next morning, Zhang Yang read the news that Jordan had rented a gym the night before, summoning his personal trainer Tim Grove to New York...
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