Chapter 211 Dare not celebrate
Meng Jin’s continued high efficiency made the Celtics players nervous. They originally imagined that Meng Jin’s shooting percentage would drop in the fourth quarter due to his physical decline.

However, there seems to be no sign of this at the moment.

Celtics offensive round.

Larry Bird almost made a mistake. When he was holding the ball with his back to the basket, he was suddenly double-teamed. Grant surrounded him from the other side. Bird fell to the ground during the confrontation, but he pushed the ball away before falling.

Reggie Lewis got an open opportunity, but he was not very motivated and missed the shot.

Although Reggie Lewis is the Celtics’ key training target, he is still some distance away from being the team leader, especially in handling key balls. This kind of missed open shot has a big impact on the team’s morale. If it were Larry Bird, he would definitely not miss this opportunity.

Meng Jin turned around and grabbed the rebound without hesitation, and directly passed the ball to launch a counterattack.

Hodges took two steps and passed the ball to Paxson.

After receiving the ball, Paxson took a shot. He wanted to grab a three-pointer, but Brian Shaw didn’t give him a chance and immediately stuck to him.

Paxson received the ball and passed it sideways, and Meng Jin appeared one step outside the top of the three-point arc without knowing when.

At this time, the Celtics’ penalty area was empty. After receiving the ball, Meng Jin let himself go, dribbled one step and raised the ball with one hand, and then made another powerful slam dunk!
Celtics fans were terrified. Meng Jin was like a monster, a tireless monster. In the fourth quarter he was still running all over the court like he had just started the game.

After this dunk, Meng Jin’s score in this game rose to 51 points.

The Bulls once again took the lead by 4 points.

In the next round, the Celtics pushed the ball inside, Robert Parish took the ball and turned around, and Cartwright once again contributed key defense and successfully interfered with the shot.

Robert Parish’s hook shot missed, and the Bulls started to counterattack again. Meng Jin made a mid-range shot in the counterattack.

“Bang!”

The basketball bounced out of the frame.

The home fans breathed a sigh of relief. Now they get nervous whenever Meng Jin takes a shot. This is an uncontrollable physiological reaction.

The Celtics did not seize the opportunity to close the score. Bird missed the three-pointer. Meng Jin blocked the ball in Bird’s face. Even a player with a big heart like him found it difficult to make the shot under severe interference.

Meng Jin grabbed the rebound and moved forward. This time the Celtics’ defense was good and did not give Meng Jin a chance to make a fast break.

Meng Jin pulled back at the top of the arc, then suddenly accelerated to attack the inside. The Celtics lineup retreated, and Meng Jin smartly passed the ball to Paxson.

Paxson shot a three-pointer from the 45-degree angle on the left side, and the basketball went into the net.

The Bulls extended the lead to 7 points.

In the Celtics’ offensive round, Bird showed his organizational talent and assisted Reggie Lewis to score.

After this goal was scored, the TD Garden regained some vitality. If the Bulls hadn’t scored again, they might have widened the score. Remember, this was the fourth quarter. If the score was easily widened, the Celtics would have no time to correct the mistakes they had made before.

Paxson controlled the ball across half court, but the Celtics guarded Meng Jin tightly and didn’t let him receive the ball.

Meng Jin did not waste his energy. He pointed at Grant and signaled Paxson to pass the ball in another direction.

Meng Jin is not in a hurry now, but the Celtics are.

Grant took the ball and played one-on-one, taking a tentative step and then making a mid-range shot.

His teammates scored consecutively, which helped Meng Jin relieve a lot of pressure.

Reggie Lewis was eager to catch up, so after getting the ball, he rushed into the crowd and his layup was accurately blocked by Cartwright.

“Chief” Parish grabbed the frontcourt rebound but did not dare to go up. Meng Jin rushed in from the outside, ready to block a block on Robert Parish at any time.

Robert Parish was too experienced. After sinking the ball, he glanced behind him and then passed the ball.

“Shh!”

Larry Bird hits an open three-pointer!

There was cheering at the North Shore Gardens. This ball was crucial and was a bit like a winning ball.

Bach hesitated on the sidelines whether to call a timeout. After all, the most terrifying thing at this time is to make mistakes.

Meng Jin waved his hand at Bach very confidently, meaning that he could handle it.

Meng Jin did not receive the ball immediately. He asked for a screen and then handed over the pass from Paxson, then cut directly to the middle without stopping.

Reggie Lewis followed up on defense, and Meng Jin made a big change of direction under his hips, switching the ball from his right hand to his left hand.

At the moment of changing direction, Meng Jin received the ball and started.

This kind of drastic change of direction without deceleration is unique in the league. Reggie Lewis suddenly lost his defensive position. When he turned around, Meng Jin had already made a shot in the restricted area. The basketball bounced twice and fell into the net.

Meng Jin scored his 53rd point of the game.

The Celtics missed a shot in the offensive round, and Meng Jin did not rush to speed up after getting the rebound, because not every round is suitable for a counterattack.

After crossing half court, Meng Jin and Grant played a pick-and-roll. After attracting a double-team, Meng Jin passed the ball to Grant.

Grant held the ball for a second, then immediately passed it to Meng Jin. The two of them had a very good understanding and played a wall-to-wall pass similar to that on the football field.

Meng Jin took the ball and headed towards the penalty area. Bird and the “Chief” worked together and pulled Meng Jin down at the same time.

Both of them knew very well that if Meng Jin went to the free throw line, he might miss the shot, and if Meng Jin rushed forward, the two points would definitely be given to him.

After the referee blew the whistle, Robert Parish took the initiative to reach out and take the blame on himself.

Meng Jin made both free throws and his personal score increased to 55 points.

Bird couldn’t say something like “God is playing in a Mengqiu jersey” because the last time he said that was when the team won, so he acted very magnanimously.

The Celtics called a timeout and prepared to readjust their offensive strategy.

After the timeout, the Bulls unexpectedly started a full-court press mode. Bach is not the kind of coach who would put himself in a passive position.

This was Coach Bach’s trump card. He had practiced full-court press many times in training games. The Bulls’ full-court press was very effective. The Celtics’ shooting percentage was not high in the next few minutes. When the game came to the last 3 minutes, the Bulls still held an 8-point lead.

The Bulls players were all out of breath. The full-court press had greatly consumed their physical energy. Coach Bach yelled at them from the sidelines, telling them to hold on, as heaven or hell would depend on the last three minutes.

Brian Shaw dribbled across half court under pressure, Reggie Lewis came up to receive the ball, and Meng Jin defended him.

As the game reached a white-hot stage, the Celtics began to let Reggie Lewis attack, and Meng Jin’s defensive target also changed from Larry Bird to Reggie Lewis.

Reggie Lewis looked at Meng Jin and did not choose to play one-on-one. He passed the ball out.

After a circle, the ball returned to Reggie Lewis.

The Bulls’ defense became more intense, and the Celtics couldn’t find a breakthrough, so they could only let Reggie Lewis play one-on-one.

Reggie Lewis looked up at the meter and saw that there were only 11 seconds left in the offensive round, so he decisively went for the ball.

As soon as Reggie Lewis passed the ball, Meng Jin immediately put pressure on him, using the Death Coil to make continuous steals, making Reggie Lewis’ dribbling become hurried!

Reggie Lewis made up his mind and rushed to the right.

Meng Jin followed Reggie Lewis closely.

Reggie Lewis dribbled the ball with his back to the basket, but Meng Jin still did not hesitate.

Reggie Lewis received the ball and took a step back. Meng Jin quickly took a step forward, not giving him space to shoot while using his body to pressure Reggie Lewis’ space.

Reggie Lewis moved his pivot foot in panic.

“Beep beep beep!”

The referee blew the whistle decisively, and Meng Jin prevented Reggie Lewis from committing a traveling violation at the critical moment!
Everyone sighed that Meng Jin was an iron man, as he still had the strength to press the opponent’s key player even at this time.

Meng Jin’s physical fitness is indeed very good, but it is not unlimited. Up to now he has felt that his physical strength has obviously declined.

After all, I didn’t rest the whole time tonight, and I played to my best on both offense and defense.

When the game reached the final moments, Meng Jin relied more on his strong spirit for support.

Now every time Meng Jin passes through a security check, it makes a clanging sound. Don’t ask, the answer is that he has a will of steel!
After defending the ball, Meng Jin challenged Reggie Lewis on the offensive end. Reggie Lewis lost his defensive position and could only use the foul tactic.

Meng Jin was very steady at the critical moment and made both free throws.

At this time, his personal score had exceeded 60 points and reached 61 points.

In the next minute and a half, Meng Jin hit two mid-range shots, bringing his personal score to 65 points.

The game came to the last 50 seconds and the Celtics were unable to turn the tide. Boos rang out in the stadium, half for Meng Jin and the other half for the Celtics tonight.

The fans couldn’t accept the outcome of being eliminated in the first round, and some even wanted to rush into the stadium after the final whistle.

The Bulls players did not celebrate after winning the game. Celebrating at this time would be no different from suicide. Under the escort of security personnel, the Bulls players immediately went into the player tunnel and returned to the visiting team’s locker room.

(End of this chapter)