[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1164":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1444694,1896,"Chapter 1164 - 20: An Imperfect Ending (Part 3)","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1164",1164,"\u003Cp>They intensified the pressure at the 45-degree angle and baseline, strictly preventing baseline drives and backdoor cuts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, they relaxed their guarding of the previously emphasized middle, leaving only Jordan to guard the center, while the wings pressed towards the baseline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Davis held the ball in the middle, with no one in front of him, ready to let him shoot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Davis didn’t dare to shoot and passed it to Lewis coming around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lewis received the ball, cut through the middle, and Jordan’s defense was impenetrable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lewis tried to pass to Bernard King on the wing, but McGrady intercepted it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bulls counterattacked, with Jordan jumping in the air and passing to McGrady following up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>McGrady took a mid-range jump shot and scored again!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>McGrady scored 6 points in the second quarter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bulls narrowed the score to a 7-point difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the Bulls’ defensive efficiency has declined this season,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>it’s not because they lack ability but because they often lack focus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once they fully concentrate, the Bulls remain the best defensive team in the league.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang knew that he had to make a move now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He abandoned the perimeter and moved to the left low post.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At his preferred elbow area, he received a pass from Lewis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, Buck Williams was defending him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bulls immediately double-teamed him, surrounding him with three players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang calmly made a bounce pass through the gap to Lewis cutting through the middle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lewis received the ball, leaped high, and slammed it home with one hand!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When a low-post beast gets the ball in his familiar spot, the damage to the opponent’s defense is devastating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chicago Bulls knew this was the price they had to pay for defending Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>McGrady’s fourth outside shot this time missed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Trail Blazers counterattacked, but Lewis’s pass to Bernard King was too high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bernard King desperately retrieved the ball and passed it back, only to be intercepted by the Bulls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John Paxson pushed the counterattack and passed to the following Jordan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jordan, not fast but full of fakes, changed direction and drove in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After shaking off Gan Guoyang, he passed to Buck Williams, who scored an uncontested two-handed dunk!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This season, the Trail Blazers have made far more unnecessary mistakes than in the previous two seasons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is also the reason they lost more games; the team’s discipline and cautiousness have declined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The confrontation between both sides became increasingly intense, and the Trail Blazers’ outside shooting percentage gradually declined under the Bulls’ high-pressure perimeter defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, inside, Gan Guoyang’s control of rebounds and strong low-post threat prevented the Bulls from completely suppressing the Trail Blazers’ offense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whenever the score got close, Gan Guoyang would use low-post offense, coordination, and offensive rebounds to score and regain the advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At halftime, Gan Guoyang had already scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, including 6 offensive rebounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jordan gradually picked up pace in the second quarter, but it was clear he was still holding back, with 10 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals by halftime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The score was at 54:60, with the Trail Blazers maintaining a 6-point lead as they headed to the locker room for halftime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was evident that even with Jordan holding back, the Bulls were slowly closing the gap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eroding the considerable advantage the Trail Blazers built in the first quarter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not for Gan Guoyang’s two unreasonable three-pointers at the end of the first quarter, the score might have been tied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the Bulls’ tight defense, other Trail Blazers players were somewhat affected, with shooting percentages declining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, turnovers increased, and in the final minutes of the second quarter, it was total chaos on both sides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You lose, I steal, attacking each other in transition; some shots went in, others didn’t, leading to quick transitions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This chaotic situation was what the Bulls preferred to see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Phil Jackson knew that in a structured offense, the Bulls were no match for the Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers have Ah Gan, an all-around weapon, and the best long-range shooting space in the league; playing against them in a structured game has no future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They must muddy the waters, disrupt the game patterns, and enter into a chaotic perimeter battle; the Bulls would then have the advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bulls have better perimeter offensive and defensive resources, better ball control, and superior one-on-one ability from the perimeter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Jackson originally didn’t want this, but he had no other options.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Losing to the Trail Blazers in the finals for two consecutive seasons, the Bulls have put in all their effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, it wasn’t a matter of non-combat offense; it was just that the Ah Gan spot was unbeatable, simply unbeatable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that’s the case, Jackson decided to disrupt the game and see if this method would diminish Ah Gan’s impact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first half, it seemed to be working, as the Bulls were gradually regaining control, and there was more left to play in the second half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, starting the game by digging a hole for themselves and frantically filling it later, this approach is not at all to Jackson’s liking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning to the locker room, he still got angry with the players, stating he didn’t want to see such a terrible start again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jordan also reprimanded his teammates, considering them inattentive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is Portland; we lost the finals here twice; we should win here!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tried to motivate his teammates’ fighting spirit, inciting a sense of revenge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, it seemed that the Bulls’ teammates weren’t very convinced by Jordan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pippen sat on the bench chewing gum, saying nothing, unwilling to talk more with Jordan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Horace Grant snorted in disdain, grumbling, \"You only scored 10 points.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tension between the two was palpable, almost breaking into an argument in the locker room.\u003C\u002Fp>",975,"2026-06-06T01:41:51.304Z",1,"novelbin.me","9ea543a1cf4c99bb024ac8243328859041b2053d20da626bd37d122d0b40430e","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1314","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1313",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]