Chapter 210 Re-enacting that night

The Celtics called a timeout. Meng Jin disrupted all their plans. Now the Celtics had to substitute their starters early.

The coach originally wanted McHale and Reggie Lewis to lead the team first, after all, Bird’s back injury was getting worse.

But Bird ignored the coach’s arrangement, took the initiative to apply for the game and walked to the front. Bird’s back was indeed very painful, but if he lost this game, his pain would not only be in his back.

Bird hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc right at the start, helping the team stabilize the situation.

Meng Jin turned around and used the pick-and-roll to single out Bird. The Celtics would consume Meng Jin, and Meng Jin would also consume their core players. Larry Bird’s physical fitness is not as good as it used to be, and he has a serious back injury. Bird will feel pain when there is a strong confrontation. Meng Jin pushed Bird with his back and then immediately turned over and shot, pressing him to score the ball.

In this game, the Celtics were very determined to double-team Meng Jin, and Meng Jin also adjusted his playing style accordingly. He simplified the attack and used the least amount of moves to complete the attack.

After scoring, Meng Jin put great pressure on Bird on the defensive end, forcing him to not even receive the ball in the next round.

The Celtics’ on-site commentator said that Meng Jin could only play in the limelight for half a game at most, and if he continued playing like this, he would have no strength in the second half.

Meng Jin also knew that playing like this would consume a lot of energy, but there was nothing he could do because the team’s defensive leader was now sitting on the bench because of a migraine.

Bird is an important part of the Celtics’ offense. The Celtics rely heavily on his organization. The ball did not pass Bird’s hands and the Celtics played very stiffly in this round. After several ineffective passes, the Celtics did not pass the ball to an open space. Finally, Reggie Lewis shot against Grant and hit a long two-pointer from a high post.

The top star of this Celtics team is still Larry Bird, but the top scorer has been replaced by Reggie Lewis. Compared with Larry Bird, Reggie Lewis is younger and more energetic. Due to his physical fitness, his ability to solve problems is also stronger. The Celtics regard him as the core of the team’s future.

The Bulls fell into positional battle again, Meng Jin had the ball, and his teammates used a double screen tactic on him.

Now, as long as Meng Jin has the ball, the other nine players from both sides will all gather around him. The Celtics players will try their best to defend him, while the Bulls players will try their best to cover Meng Jin and help him get rid of the defense.

Meng Jin dribbled the ball sideways continuously, then suddenly pushed off the ground to accelerate into the three-point line.

While accelerating, Meng Jin turned his head to look at Paxson behind him. This action was extremely deceptive and made the Celtics players hesitate.

It was this hesitation that gave Meng Jin space to accelerate. With the help of inertia, Meng Jin jumped near the free throw line and made a chic gliding layup.

In this ball, Meng Jin once again demonstrated his abnormal physical fitness. In the previous second, he was lowering his center of gravity and accelerating, and in the next second, he had already taken off and completed the glide.

In the next few minutes, the Celtics tried to let 196cm Kevin James defend Meng Jin. It was not because they thought James could defend Meng Jin, but because defending Meng Jin was too tiring. If Reggie Lewis consumed too much energy, it would affect his performance on the offensive end.

Meng Jin remained efficient against James. James could not do what Reggie Lewis could not do.

At the end of the second quarter, the Celtics coaching staff even tried to let Brian Shaw defend Meng Jin. The coaching staff asked Brian Shaw to reach out and interfere as much as possible when Meng Jin was dribbling, so as to consume his energy as much as possible.

Facing a small guy like Brian Shaw, Meng Jin did have to be more careful when dribbling the ball and be more focused. However, this trick of wasting physical energy did not work on Meng Jin. His [Physical Energy] attribute reached 99. Meng Jin played the entire first half in the high-intensity confrontation without blushing or beating his heart. Under his leadership, the Bulls suppressed the Celtics in the first half and led by 63 points with 50 to 13.

Meng Jin had 33 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in the first half.

During the halftime break, Pippen was still covering his head. However, even if Pippen’s migraine was healed, Coach Bach did not plan to use him in the second half. The Bulls’ current rhythm is very good, and suddenly replacing Pippen, who hardly played in the first half, would affect the team’s chemistry.

Meng Jin continued to play in the second half. He didn’t need to rest, nor did he dare to rest.

On the surface, the Bulls led by double digits, but it was all due to Meng Jin’s strength. Once Meng Jin left the court, the Celtics would quickly close the gap or even overtake the score. Fortunately, Meng Jin continued to stay on the court. The Celtics played two waves in the third quarter. Brian Shaw and Reggie Lewis were in hot form and led the team to a 32-22 lead in a single quarter.

The Celtics often play like this this season. They let Brian Shaw and Reggie Lewis play. After three quarters, the Bulls still held a three-point lead. If Meng Jin did not play the full quarter, the Bulls might collapse.

Meng Jin’s touch declined in this quarter under the siege of the Celtics, but he still scored 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in the quarter. After three quarters, Meng Jin’s personal score reached 45 points. There is no need to watch tonight, he is heading for 50+ again.

“I don’t care how many points that guy scores, I just want to win.” Larry Bird, who didn’t speak for almost the entire game, said during the intermission.

Bird also said this a few years ago, and his opponent was also the Bulls, but the man who went berserk had already retired.

Jordan scored 63 points in that game, but the Celtics took away the final victory. Bird is ready to replicate that night.

The Celtics coaching staff also adopted Bird’s advice. At the beginning of the final quarter, they focused more on their offense instead of thinking about how to defend Meng Jin.

Bird showed his strength right from the start and scored 5 points. He first scored two points from the high position with the help of a screen, and then he broke through Meng Jin and scored 2+1.

To be honest, Meng Jin didn’t know how the ball went in. After Bird was competing with Meng Jin in the air, he half turned around without looking at the basket and hooked the ball backwards. The basketball bounced on the basket several times before bouncing in.

This is a truly magical ball.

After the free throw, the Celtics took the lead by 2 points.

The home fans began to cheer, and the on-site commentator began to look down on the Bulls: “This Bulls team relies too much on Meng Jin. The other players have problems with their mentality, especially since the second half of the game. Everyone is watching Meng Jin play. Meng Jin has played all the time so far. As his physical fitness declines, his offensive efficiency is bound to decrease. The Bulls’ offense will inevitably reach a dead end.”

Before he finished speaking, Meng Jin slapped the commentator in the face.

Meng Jin ran back in the right corner, Cartwright and Grant helped him block the defensive players one after another, and Meng Jin received the ball and shot at a 45-degree angle.

“Shh!”

The basketball goes hollow into the net.

The Celtics attacked, Reggie Lewis rushed in with the help of a screen, and Cartwright raised his hands to interfere.

Cartwright is very experienced. He did not press down with his hands, not giving Reggie Lewis the opportunity to foul, while at the same time interfering with him to the greatest extent.

This is what it means to have an old man in the family is like a treasure. Although Cartwright’s physical fitness has declined, he has experience that ordinary inside players do not have.

After the Bulls defended this round, they quickly launched a counterattack. Four Celtics players returned to the defensive half court as soon as possible. The opportunity was not particularly good, but Meng Jin still seized it.

After receiving the pass, Meng Jin held the ball in his left hand, accelerated into the inside, and found the best breakthrough route with a Z-shaped step!
“Bang!”

Meng Jin used a slam dunk to help the team overtake the score again.

Celtics fans could never have imagined that this game would be so stalemate. You know, after the first two games, they shouted the slogan of sweeping the Bulls.

(End of this chapter)