Chapter 200: Famous Bathroom Interview

“Meng, you played a lot of exciting and even cruel scenes tonight. What I want to ask is why you played so aggressively tonight? Is it because the opponent was the Celtics?”

This is what an NBC reporter asked during the post-match press conference.

“No, this has nothing to do with the Celtics. Tonight is my brother Scottie Pippen’s debut and I don’t want him to lose his first game with the Bulls.”

After Meng Jin finished speaking, Pippen beside him kept laughing.

The reporter asked, “Scottie, are you satisfied with your debut?”

Pippen answered very honestly: “Satisfied, the team won the game, and I also made a certain contribution.”

“Meng, are you satisfied with Scotty’s performance?”

Meng Jin frowned deliberately, then said, “No, I think this guy should practice 500 free throws after the game, so that he won’t miss the triple-double because of only 9 points!”

Meng Jin said this and the whole audience burst into laughter, and Pippen also laughed beside him.

This game is the Bulls’ last game in February. On March 2, the Bulls return home to face the Mavericks.

Before the game, more than 100 reporters flocked into the Chicago Stadium, because Meng Jin had scored 7+ in seven consecutive games before that. If he scored 50+ in another game, he would break the record held by Chamberlain.

The reporter specifically interviewed Chamberlain, who said: “I am very upset that the record was tied. If I had known, I would have been more serious and scored 15 points in 20 or 50 consecutive games.”

The reporter laughed after hearing this, but Chamberlain didn’t. The reporter thought it was a joke, but Chamberlain looked serious.

Chamberlain continued: “Although I am unhappy, I am not surprised. I have seen that Chinese kid play. Compared with other players on the court, he performs like another species, but I can deal with him. If I had known, I would have retired a few years later so that I could play with him.”

Chamberlain started to show off again. The reporter said he couldn’t stand it anymore and ended the interview quickly after asking a few simple questions.

On the evening of March 3st, Chicago Stadium, home locker room.

Before the game, Bach gathered everyone together.

“We had a mission tonight besides winning.”

Before Bach finished speaking, a voice came from the corner:
“Help Meng get 50 points!”

Bach turned around and saw, “Grant, you have learned to answer questions quickly?”

Bach nodded and said, “That’s right. Try to feed the ball to Meng as much as possible. He scored 8+ in 50 consecutive games. This opportunity doesn’t come every season.”

Everyone nodded. In fact, they would have done the same even if Bach hadn’t said it.

Pippen and Grant are Meng Jin’s brothers, Paxson and Cartwright have a good relationship with Meng Jin, and all the substitutes are his younger brothers.

In other words, this is Meng Jin’s team, and everyone is willing to help Meng Jin achieve his goal.

Meng Jin naturally would not refuse his teammates’ kindness. No one would not be interested in data and records. If Meng Jin said that he did not want to cheat Chamberlain’s record, he must be lying. However, Meng Jin has his own bottom line. He always puts victory above personal data, and will never do things like rushing in for a layup in garbage time for advanced data.

Meng Jin took 11 shots in the first quarter of the game and scored 15 points. The Bulls were trailing by 4 points after the first quarter.

The Bulls’ purpose was too obvious, almost an open play. Everyone was helping Meng Jin break the record. The Mavericks coaching staff quickly realized this, which actually saved the Mavericks effort because they only had to target Meng Jin on the defensive end.

In the second quarter, Meng Jin continued to attack fiercely. At the end of the half, Meng Jin scored 22 points. Tonight, Meng Jin’s efficiency was not high. First, his touch was not good. Second, the other Bulls players really wanted to help Meng Jin break the record. Many times, they did not shoot even when they had the chance. They just wanted Meng Jin to shoot. Therefore, the Bulls often had such a scene in the first half. The basketball returned to Meng Jin’s hands after going around in circles, but there was not much time left for Meng Jin to attack. So Meng Jin could only force a shot, which seriously affected his efficiency. Imagine that a game shoots a lot of buzzer-beaters, and the hit rate must have declined. During the halftime break, Meng Jin took the initiative to raise this point. He asked his teammates not to deliberately pass the ball to him, just play normally. As long as they play normally, it is no problem to cut 50 points against the Mavericks, a weak team in the West.

Sure enough, in the third quarter, the Bulls immediately tied the score after resuming their normal offensive rhythm. Meng Jin and Pippen made consecutive fast breaks. Pippen threw a long pass and Meng Jin raided the basket. The audience exclaimed that they had found a familiar feeling. The last game was Pippen’s debut with the Bulls, and this game was Pippen’s first show at the Bulls’ home court. Since Jordan left the team, fans have not seen anyone pass the ball so comfortably to Meng Jin.

This kind of fast break pass may seem simple, but it actually tests passing skills and foundation. The passer must pass the ball the moment the opportunity arises. Not only does he need good awareness, but he also needs excellent passing techniques.

After three quarters, the Bulls took the lead.

By the middle of the fourth quarter, the score between the two sides had widened to double digits, and Meng Jin’s score had unknowingly reached 51 points.

The most excited person at the scene was not Meng Jin, not the Bulls players, nor the Bulls fans, but the group of reporters who came from all over the place.

Because Meng Jin scored 50+ tonight, their trip was not in vain.

In the next few rounds, Meng Jin hit another difficult fadeaway mid-range shot, bringing his personal score to 53 points.

After watching this ball, commentator Johnny Cole laughed and said that there was no need for Meng Jin to lean back for this ball, because the defender’s hand only reached his chin after jumping. But sometimes Meng Jin made moves not to avoid the defender, but to find a comfortable shooting posture and shooting rhythm.

For example, sometimes even when he is playing against a point guard in a mismatch, Meng Jin will habitually hold the ball in his left hand, shake his shoulder, and then pull up for a jump shot. The shaking is not to shake off the defensive player, but simply to make his shots more rhythmic.

最终芝加哥公牛主场103比88拿下达拉斯小牛，孟进贡献了超全队一般的得分，全场砍下53分7篮板4助攻2盖帽2抢断。

After the game, all the Bulls players ran into the bathroom excitedly to take a shower. While taking a shower, Grant excitedly said that Meng Jin had made history. Pippen was also very happy that he had become a part of history.

However, the group of people could no longer laugh after taking a shower. Dozens or even hundreds of reporters swarmed into the locker room, blocking them from leaving the bathroom. Moreover, the situation became even more serious because more reporters tried to squeeze in.

You have to know that every record of Chamberlain is very abnormal, and it is not easy to break his records.

Meng Jin tried several times but failed to squeeze back into the locker room.

He was a little speechless. It was like having a home but not being able to return.

At this time, a reporter threw a bath towel in front of Meng Jin and said, “Meng, you can accept the interview in the bathroom!”

There was a burst of laughter at the scene. Meng Jin looked down at his pants, then looked up at the crowd of heads in front of him and thought, well, this is the only way.

Meng Jin wrapped a bath towel around himself and began the interview.

A reporter asked: “Meng, you just completed the feat of 8 consecutive 50+ games. What are you thinking at this moment?”

Meng Jin answered without hesitation: “I think it’s time to expand the home team’s locker room.”

The audience burst into laughter again, and the next reporter asked: “Is your next goal to break Chamberlain’s single-game 100-point record?”

Meng Jin thought for a moment and said, “It’s difficult to score 8 points in eight consecutive games, but 50 points in a single game is another difficult thing. I am happy to challenge it, but it is not in my goal. If you want to ask me what my goal is, then I think it should be the championship trophy.”

After answering a few more questions, Meng Jin ended the interview. There was a group of naked teammates waiting behind him, and he didn’t want his teammates to catch a cold because of him.

The next day, the reporter stopped Jordan at the baseball training field and asked, “Yesterday, Meng broke Chamberlain’s record of 7 consecutive games with 50+ points. What do you want to say?”

Jordan’s face suddenly turned bad after hearing this, but he still pretended to be indifferent. Jordan shrugged and said, “I haven’t paid attention to the NBA for a long time. I am now a baseball player, so please ask me something about MLB.

(End of this chapter)