NBA: The Basketball Miracle

On January 21, 1997, at the United Center, the Bulls officially appeared as the live DJ Ray Klay introduced the Knicks team.

The familiar melody of Chicago fans began to sound. With the blessing of "Sirius", Lee also heard the classic line:

"Let's welcome the 6-foot-6 guard from the University of North Carolina—"

"Michael——Joordan!!"

The United Center erupted in the loudest cheers since the game started, and Michael Jordan, wearing a red and white Bulls training uniform, ran out of the player tunnel with a serious expression.

Classic background music, huge cheers, four championship banners hanging over the stadium, all these conditions made Lee of the Knicks team feel a little disappointed:

"I can only give this X a score of 9!"

For new players, coming to Chicago to play basketball can be regarded as meeting their idol. John Wallace kept looking at Michael Jordan.

If it weren't for the serious expressions of Ewing, Oakley and Starks, Lee, the newbie who even wanted to get acquainted with Jordan and take advantage of him, had no intention of being a fanatical fan.

In the final warm-up phase before the game, he completed the shooting warm-up step by step.

Meeting old friends made Michael Jordan feel better. While warming up, he chatted with Oakley and Ewing, and all three of them had smiles on their faces.

Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines was furious when he found out that Michael Jordan didn't even look at him.

The vengeful Jordan has not forgotten that in last year's playoffs, Jeff Van Gundy called him a hypocritical bastard. There is no possibility of reconciliation between the two.

The Chicago fans at the scene were particularly enthusiastic. With 34 wins and 5 losses, the Bulls are still leading the league.

Phil Jackson was not as serious as Jeff Van Gundy. When players from both sides came to the center circle for the jump ball, he sat on the bench with a smile.

In this game, Ron Harper of the Bulls was sidelined due to injury, and backup point guard Randy Brown got the chance to start and partner with Michael Jordan in the backcourt.

The forwards were Scottie Pippen and Jason Caffey, and the center was Luke Longley.

Rodman was suspended for 11 games for kicking a photographer in the crotch during the game against the Timberwolves, and will not be able to play tonight.

On the Knicks side, Lee started again tonight, and the Bulls' home commentator Jim Dunham was joking at this time:

"It's been a long time since a rookie player has challenged Michael. Lee doesn't know what he's facing yet. Michael will completely destroy the Knicks!"

Lee did not give much explanation when facing the media. It was obvious that Michael Jordan, who was in a bad mood, was making excuses for himself and wanted to use tonight's game to vent his depressed mood.

Before the jump ball, Michael Jordan, who was in a better mood, smiled and bumped fists with the Knicks team. As Ewing successfully jumped the ball, the United Center immediately erupted with defensive shouts:

"Defense! Defense! Defense!"

Lee controlled the ball and quickly made tactical gestures, but Randy Brown did not choose to lead the defense.

The season is almost halfway through, and players in the league also know that pressure defense is useless against Lee.

It was a simple low-post tactic. Ewing received the ball in the low post on the left side. Facing Longley's top defense, he released the ball with his right hand, played with his back to the basket, approached the paint area, and immediately turned toward the baseline. After receiving the ball, he switched to his left hand and completed a layup.

Due to the interference, the basketball hit the rim and bounced out, and cheers immediately broke out in the United Center.

Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines shouted at his players to retreat, but the Bulls were not in a hurry to complete the transition offense. Pippen received the ball and slowly crossed half court.

In the first offensive round, the Bulls played very simply. After Michael Jordan received the ball in the left elbow area of ​​the free throw line, everyone opened up the offensive space.

The two big men in the interior stood near the baseline on the left and right sides, Pippen stayed at the top of the arc, and Lee followed Randy Brown to stand on the right wing outside the three-point line.

Michael Jordan just maintained a triple-threat posture and took a quick tentative step with his right foot. Alan Houston subconsciously took a small step back, and then saw Michael Jordan take a dry jump shot.

"Squeak!"

The basketball hit the back edge of the basket. Oakley in the paint area tried his best to protect the backcourt rebound. Lee rushed over to catch the ball, then changed direction to the right and continued to accelerate.

The Bulls didn't care about Lee's quick advance because Michael Jordan was already guarding in front of Clay Lee.

The confident Michael Jordan did not choose to press closely, but stopped on the right wing inside the three-point line, lowered his center of gravity, and watched Lee slow down.

"oh!!"

The Chicago fans who loved to watch the fun immediately joined in the booing. They really wanted to see the rookie get humiliated.

Lee slowed down slightly when approaching the three-point line, turned his head to look at the top of the arc, then leaned forward and suddenly passed the ball forward with his right hand.

Michael Jordan subconsciously took a step forward, and Lee immediately lowered his center of gravity and pulled the ball with his left hand.

"OH——! ClayGod!"

Seeing Michael Jordan lose his defensive position in an instant, home commentator Jim Dunham subconsciously exclaimed.

Lee scooped up the ball with his left hand and took advantage of Jordan's defensive loss to rush directly to the paint area. At this time, the Bulls had just retreated to the three-point line and there was no one inside.

Michael Jordan, who had a quick reaction speed, immediately chased up to defend, and when he saw Lee taking three steps into the paint area, he also jumped up and quickly blocked the shot.

After the aerial confrontation, Lee found helplessly that Michael Jordan had made up for his previous loss of position with his speed. Finally, he grabbed the ball with his left hand, tilted his body, and barely shot it!

After deliberately raising the arc, the basketball just passed Michael Jordan's fingertips.

"squeak!!"

The whistle blew and the ball went in. The basketball hit the rim twice and finally fell into the basket obediently.

"oh!!"

At the United Center, all the Chicago fans exclaimed in surprise, and then there was a burst of shouting. It was a beautiful goal, and even many spectators cheered along.

The Knicks bench and the atmosphere team were all having fun. Everyone was waving towels wildly, jumping up and down on the sidelines, hugging their teammates, and cheering and celebrating.

The "Sam Gold" style dribble had an explosively provocative effect, and after landing, Michael Jordan felt that he had been shown off.

Then when he saw Lee calmly high-fived his teammates as he walked towards the free throw line, the smile on Jordan's face after the opening of the game completely disappeared.

"Very good, nice dribbling move!"

While Lee was shooting free throws, Michael Jordan, with a sullen face, tilted his head and praised him next to the paint area. The Bulls players around him noticed the boss's mood change and their expressions also became serious.

"Too bad you almost blocked the shot!"

Lee made the free throw, responded with a chuckle, then shrugged his shoulders and turned his head to retreat, without even looking at Jordan's murderous expression.

The fans at the scene naturally couldn't hear the conversation between the two, but when they saw this scene, they started to cheer loudly.

The Knicks were in a good mood, with Charles Oakley even grinning, but soon the game went wrong.

The first to suffer was Alan Houston, who was facing Jordan. Michael Jordan started the back-to-the-basket mode, attacking from both sides, and in addition to jump shots, he also began to attack the basket frantically.

On the defensive end, Randy Brown seemed to have received instructions and no longer spared his energy. He led the defense and frantically harassed Lee throughout the court.

The Knicks' offense was not affected too much. Lee did not make any mistakes, and Ewing was in good shape, scoring frequently in the low post.

But Jeff Van Gundy found that the pace of the game was slipping towards the Bulls, and Michael Jordan even started shooting three-pointers.

By the end of the first quarter, Michael Jordan, who had played the entire first quarter, felt that he had not had enough, while Alan Houston, who walked to the bench, had his eyes wide open.

At 26:33, the Knicks had good offensive efficiency, but were still behind by 7 points.

Michael Jordan only scored 18 points in the first quarter, including 5 of 9 shots, 2 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, and 6 of 7 free throws.

Jeff Van Gundy was very satisfied with the performance in the first quarter. He squatted in front of the players and encouraged them loudly:

"Hold on, play good defense, we played very well, and we must be patient on both offense and defense!"

Clay Lee played the entire first quarter, making 2 of 3 shots, 1 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, and 1 of 1 free throws, scoring 6 points, 1 rebound, and 3 assists.

Ewing made 4 of 6 shots in the first quarter and scored 8 points and 2 rebounds efficiently. Throughout the first quarter, the Knicks' offensive rhythm was slow, but they only made two turnovers, perfectly executing the pre-match game plan.

Strengthen the defense, try to reduce the Bulls' shooting percentage and drag the game into the Knicks' rhythm.

Jeff Van Gundy had a good idea, but plans could not keep up with changes, and Michael Jordan started an unreasonable one-on-one mode.

With the blessing of multiple buffs, the bad-tempered Jordan went crazy, roaring, sticking out his tongue, and punching to celebrate.

The rhythm of the game was indeed slowed down, but Jordan's scoring speed was not slow. In the second quarter, he made 3 of 6 shots and scored 9 points.

After entering the third quarter, he made 5 of 7 shots and 2 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, scoring 12 points.

The turning point of the game was in the last quarter. Ewing's offense was cut off again.

He made 1 of 6 shots and scored 2 points, while Jordan made 5 of 8 shots and scored another 12 points.

The Knicks could not climb out of the hole they dug in the first quarter. The Bulls suppressed the opponent throughout the game 84:88 and successfully won the game.

Michael Jordan played for 44 minutes, made 18 of 30 shots, 5 of 8 from beyond the three-point line, and 10 of 11 free throws, scoring 51 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers.

The United Center was already boiling, and Chicago fans were cheering for Jordan. 51 points, a season high!

At this moment, Jeff Van Gundy looked at Phil Jackson, who was in the audience with a relaxed smile, with a long face, and barely maintained his demeanor:

"Congratulations, 35 wins!"

Phil Jackson just shook hands, ignored Jeff Van Gundy, and turned away.

"Shit!!"

With the Chicago fans' mocking voices ringing in his ears, Jeff Van Gundy cursed angrily after returning to the locker room. But when he saw the depressed expressions of his players, he calmed down.

Lee listened to Van Gundy's rich chicken soup, but secretly felt it was a pity in his heart that without Rodman, they had the advantage in rebounding tonight, but were killed by the shots of Jordan.

That night, Michael Jordan, who scored the highest points in a single game this season, once again became the target of media pursuit, and everyone followed suit to flatter him!

Although the Knicks lost the game, Lee once again topped the list of the top 10 plays. ESPN's Sports Center program repeatedly played that beautiful 2+1 that dribbled past Jordan.

On the morning of January 22, the Knicks set off for Indiana. Jeff Van Gundy did not allow players to hang out with Michael Jordan after the game. Last night in the hotel, Oakley had a quarrel with the coaching staff.

Once on the plane, Ewing also had a sullen face and the card game was cancelled.

"There's no need to blame yourself. The Bulls were well-rested. I don't think anyone in the league can limit Jordan in a one-on-one defense."

Lee whispered to comfort Alan Houston beside him. It was really a bad feeling to be completely defeated by the opponent.

Michael Jordan played in an old-school style, rarely using pick-and-rolls. No matter who was defending, he played the same way.

"We almost won the game. The whole team only had 8 turnovers. Such a game rarely happens. If we had defended twice more, the result of the game might have been completely different."

Alan Houston still thought it was a defensive problem, but Lee didn't say anything. He felt that offense was more important when playing against the old men's team.

The Bulls clearly lacked firepower, scoring only 88 points in total and frequently falling behind, giving the opponent a chance to catch their breath.

Playing for 34 minutes, he made 6 of 13 shots, 1 of 3 from beyond the three-point line, and 3 of 3 free throws. Lee followed the coaching staff's requirements in last night's game and did not throw too many three-pointers, but scored 16 points, the second highest on the team.

Ewing made 10 of 23 shots, 21 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks and 5 turnovers. The gorilla performed very well.

But losing to an old rival in this way was really disappointing. Several veteran players were in a bad mood and when they arrived in Indiana, they had no intention of doing any off-court activities.

The loss to the Bulls also made the New York media furious. The next day, the newspapers were all criticizing Jeff Van Gundy's tactics, and Ewing also took the blame.

The media who like to fan the flames don't care about the locker room atmosphere. The New York Post even wrote two articles:

"Patrick Ewing is not a qualified leader"

"The Rookie of the Year: New York's Future"

These newspapers put pictures of Ewing and Lee together, and it turned out that this is a world where looks matter. Some New York fans also began to agree with some of the views.

On the morning of the 23rd, the NBA announced the voting results of the 1997 Cleveland All-Star Game:

Michael Jordan of the Bulls received 2.45 million votes and was successfully elected as the 1997 All-Star vote leader.

At the same time, Michael Jordan also set a record, becoming the first player in NBA history to receive more than 2 million All-Star votes.

With 51 points and a record-breaking All-Star vote share, all the doubts from the past few days disappeared, and the flattery situation reappeared.

Charles Barkley received 1.87 million votes, ranking second. In third place was Grant Hill, with 1.86 million votes, continuing his previous high popularity.

The gorilla received 1.39 million votes and was elected as the starting center for the Eastern Conference All-Stars without any suspense.

The All-Star starting lineups are officially released, with the following five players from the Eastern Conference:

Michael Jordan, Anfernee Hardaway, Grant Hill, Scottie Pippen, Patrick Ewing;

The starting five for the Western Conference All-Stars:

Gary Payton, John Stockton, Charles Barkley, Shawn Kemp, and Hakeem Olajuwon.

After the All-Star starting lineup was announced, the New York media once again suffered from collective amnesia and turned around to sing praises for Ewing.

In the sports section of the newspaper that day, the big gorilla went from being the scapegoat to NBA 50 superstar Patrick Ewing.

Of course, as a skilled in fanning the flames, the New York media did not forget Lee.

In the Eastern Conference guard voting rankings, Clay Lee ranked second to Anfernee Hardaway with 580,000 votes, surpassing other veteran guards.

The New York media began to hype up Lee's selection for the All-Star Game, and almost hyped him up as the best point guard in the Eastern Conference!

In the game on the evening of the 23rd, Reggie Miller of the Pacers was eating lemons like crazy, and he and his teammates frantically chased and defended Lee throughout the court.

The two sides had many verbal altercations, and Charles Oakley almost got away with trash talk. In the fourth quarter, he took advantage of the opponent's breakthrough and simply knocked Reggie Miller to the floor.

The front-row fans of the Pacers saw Lee still smiling and clapping, and threw their drinks directly into the venue.

"Shut your stinky mouth or your head will explode!"

Charles Oakley continued to yell in the direction of the Pacers.

Reggie Miller got up from the floor and wanted to rush over to punch the old man twice, but was pushed by Lee and staggered again.

Despite the referee's constant pulling, the two sides eventually wrestled together.

When the coaching staff of both sides separated the crowd, the angry referee turned around and expelled Clay Lee, Charles Oakley and Reggie Miller from the game.

The Pacers only received 500,000 votes and were outshined by the rookie players.

Their record was only 19 wins and 20 losses. Reggie Miller, who was ejected from the game, had a sullen face and was in an extremely bad mood.

Lee walked towards the player tunnel, not caring about the shouting and cursing of the fans on both sides, and even had the mood to wave to the grumpy old guys:

"Is this the NBA's fame and fortune?"

...

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