Both teams made personnel adjustments.

The Supersonics sent a combination of Kassel, James Percy, Zhang Hao, Jason Williams and Ben Wallace.

Ben Wallace and Ratliff are both players who are more capable in defense, of course, they can also defend alone. It is better to leave only one person than to play together. Jason Williams is replaced to ensure rebounding. Ratliff is worse than Ben Wallace's comprehensive defense, but most of the time Doug Collins is more willing to give Ben Wallace playing time.

The Bulls sent a combination of John Starks, Kobe, McGrady, Kukoc, and Gerani McCoy to strengthen their frame protection and their scoring skills from the outside.

At the end of the timeout, the players of the two teams came on the court. While waiting for the serve, Kobe came to Zhang Hao: "Do you really think your score can be higher than Tracy and me combined? What a joke, it's just that we're not ready!"

"The ball is too hard, the floor is too slippery, the light is too bright, the shoes are not suitable for the feet, the fans are too noisy... Kobe, are there enough reasons? If not enough, I can help you think of more reasons."

Kobe retreated... He was so angry when he came to the offensive area!

He always thought that his trash talk was very powerful, his mouth was broken, and his mockery was strong.

The main reason is that he often uses his grades and performance to ridicule his opponents. Whether in junior high school, high school, or college, he is the best one, and has been tried and tested.

But when you meet Zhang Hao, you can’t compete with honors... for performance... for language organization skills... even you can’t compete with it!

"It must be because he studied for one year more than me. When I start to study for graduate school, he will no longer be my opponent!"

The game continues and the Bulls attack.

McGrady sent the ball to John Starks, entered the court, received a return pass from John Starks at a 45-degree angle on the right, possessed himself to make a breakthrough action, Zhang Hao defended carefully, and suddenly, McGrady jumped directly...

Zhang Hao immediately reacted, but before he could do it, McGrady scored a three-pointer!

After looking at the ball falling from the basket, Zhang Hao ran to the frontcourt silently.

It’s not that McGrady’s three-point shooting suddenly jumped was very good, but what’s the use of knowing? The first three steps he put on was ridiculously fast. He could hold it at the beginning of the third quarter, but after a few more rounds, McGrady began to adjust the physical investment on both ends of the offense and defense, so it was difficult to defend.

The Bulls also adjusted their defensive strategies, and only a few players discussed it themselves. Tim Floyd used the coaching information of Zen Master Phil Jackson, the Bulls retained. After the basic structure of the triangle offense was prepared, it actually had certain abilities, but that's the case, and the rest depended on the players themselves.

Kobe and McGrady are preparing to attack Zhang Hao directly.

However, after Kassel advanced to the frontcourt, he came by himself, broke through to close range, and pretended to fly Gerani McCoy, and made a layup on his body!

67 to 70, the Supersonics tied the score.

The Bulls attacked, and McGrady received a pass from John Starks and continued to play Zhang Hao one-on-one singles.

Zhang Hao did not push up because he was pulled by the opponent in the last round. Only by retaining a certain distance can he be able to defend McGrady from breaking through, otherwise even the horizontal transfer bonus of "isolated and helpless" would be difficult.

McGrady is now basically a slightly below average performance on the defensive end, and her physical strength is put into the offense, which is caused by the fierce battle in the first half.

But McGrady is very smart. He reduces his physical investment on the defensive end and allows him to perform better on the offensive end.

McGrady did not hesitate. He continued to dodge if the other party didn't hesitate. At this time, he couldn't hesitate!

This trick is purely based on the touch of the hand. Without dribbling and movement, it is difficult to find the rhythm. Both the jump and the shooting speed must be fast.

Obviously, McGrady is not in a hot state now. When he jumps, Zhang Hao presses on him and has to make a quick move. This time he gets a three-pointer and misses!

Ben Wallace blocked Kobe who was rushing to grab, and Jason Williams protected the defensive rebound!

Kobe's rushing was not completely useless. Ben Wallace did not get off quickly. Jason Williams grabbed the ball and was afraid of being intercepted by the defender to make a protective move. He didn't get the ball in the first time.

This is a manifestation of defensive awareness.

The Supersonics fell into the positional battle. This time, the defensive strategy discussed by the Bulls players during the official timeout failed again. Zhang Hao continued to run, and Kassel continued to break through John Starks!

In terms of speed and explosive power, John Starks is better than Cassel, and he is also first-class in defense, but Cassel has a good sense of rhythm and still finds a gap in breakthroughs and makes decisive progress.

Kukoc could only expand his defense. Zhang Hao and Jason Williams cooperated very well with Cassel's breakthrough. When Kukoc moved, Zhang Hao immediately moved horizontally towards the middle of the three-second zone. Jason Williams blocked McGrady, Cassel passed the ball. Zhang Hao took Jason Williams to pick-and-roll without the ball and received the ball. Kobe's defense was really fast. He pressed up and pressed Zhang Hao at the first time, but Zhang Hao, who received the ball with his back to the basket, stepped out to the far end as soon as he received the ball. When he stepped out, his body was rotating, jumping, turning over, and shooting a mid-range shot...

Hit!

This is Zhang Hao’s best-going trick to get rid of defensive shooting after catching the ball!

The players on the Bulls' field have good defenses. Kukochi's defense cannot be said to be very good, but he is above the level when playing small forwards, and he only plays as a defender. He can play in five positions, and the defense of power forwards or centers is even more good. Gerani McCoy is purely guarding the frame, and the three players on the outside are all very good. They know that the three-second area area cannot give Zhang Hao a chance to cross directly, otherwise he can only watch Zhang Hao catch the ball and turn over and jump shot.

But they no longer have Rodman, and the center is only strong in the frame protection. There are no power forwards in Clifford Robinson, Garnett, Anthony Mason Jr., Rashid Wallace, Duncan... While waiting for people, Cassel began to exert force. The Bulls' light head and heavy defense finally couldn't defend it!

The key to the change is that Zhang Hao ran like a madman on the offensive end, and it was not easy to hit the double without a ball.

Another way is to switch defense at the center, but Kobe and McGrady don't believe what Zhang Hao said he wants to do.

Zhang Hao took advantage of the pick-and-roll without the ball. Although Gerani McCoy made up for it, he could limit Zhang Hao's shooting and give the forward chance, but Zhang Hao's pass was not bad, not only not bad, so far this season, only Kidder is better than him, and he was empty at the basket. Zhang Hao has the ball in his hand. For Ben Wallace and James Percy, who had the opportunity to cut because of Zhang Hao's restraint, it was equivalent to giving Zhang Hao an assist.

At this time, Kobe's psychological quality played an important role.

"I'll chase him later. If you can make up for it, it doesn't matter if we can't. We will attack well, and I'll take the lead."

Kobe has strong adaptability at critical moments. According to common sense, this command is also very excellent. The tactics do not necessarily mean to block the opponent's offense or completely defeat the opponent's defense, but to create or maintain an advantage. Other things are just processes, and the result is the most important.

But Kobe met Zhang Hao who did not follow the rules!

If the Bulls really let the center move ahead when Kassel attracts Kukochi to make up for defense and pass the ball to Zhang Hao, they will still shoot when Zhang Hao receives the ball and give Kobe the chance to complete the pinch.

Originally, Kobe could play James Percy alone, and let his teammates help defend Zhang Hao, and he could have the opportunity to have an advantage.

Zhang Hao said he wanted to score, but Kobe refused to listen.

Even someone as arrogant as Kobe would never have thought that under Zhang Hao, he would have to shoot without passing the ball.

So, it became a pure battle between Zhang Hao and Kobe!

He was reused at critical moments. James Percy defended very hard. Although his basic defense skills were not good enough, according to the trainer's advice, he still needed to gain weight of about 10 pounds, which is 4-5 kilograms. However, James Percy's 203 cm high 220 cm wingspan was too good, and his movements were also kept up. Zhang Hao could be prevented in the training and the defense of Kobe also had certain restrictions.

The cooperation between Zhang Hao and Cassel is the most commonly used cooperation with him and Cassel, Jason Williams, and Ben Wallace. This move is not original by Zhang Hao, but was the cooperation of the Timberwolves in time and space. Garnett is good at receiving the ball and turning the jump shot, and it is a quick jump shot.

Kassel broke through to attract a clamp, Garnett cut across the middle, the center forward did not have a pick-and-roll in the three-second zone, Spreville cut in... Some adjustments were made here. Although James Percy's restraint was far less than Szebiak, Zhang Hao's scoring ability was much stronger than Garnett, and Kassel was several years younger than the three-headed monster.

In the remaining time of the third quarter, Kobe scored 6 points and 2 assists. After the third quarter, the Bulls scored 82 points. During this period, under Kobe's leadership, the Bulls scored 12 points and performed very well.

However, Zhang Hao scored 9 points on the Supersonics team alone, plus Kassel and Ben Wallace each scored 2 points. After three quarters, the Supersonics tied the score 82-82!

Zhang Hao scored 25 points in a single quarter and led the team to score 35 points in a single quarter! In the entire third quarter, Zhang Hao vs. the Bulls, the score was 25-24!

After the third quarter, Zhang Hao's personal score increased to 51 points, and he was 50+ in his third quarter in his career!

Kobe and McGrady are about to explode on the spot. Kobe currently has 28 points, McGrady has 17 points, and the two have a combined score of 45 points. Zhang Hao is really higher than the combined score of the two of them!

...

During the break between the festival, the emotions of the players of the two teams were completely different.

It was not a turnaround. Although the Supersonics were 11 points behind in the first half, they were not too frustrated at that time. More importantly, the role players were upset that they did not make a shot, and the whole team felt very stressed.

Now that the score is tied, the Supersonics players are naturally extremely excited. They chased 11 points in a single quarter, which is still the key third quarter.

The Bulls, which were tied, did not have the calmness of the Supersonics in the first half, and the entire team was extremely frustrated.

What drove them crazy was that Zhang Hao could actually play like that in the third quarter!

As an opponent, you can clearly feel that Zhang Hao is running with all his strength in every attack. If you can't tell the fatigue, you can still maintain shooting stability under such circumstances!

Kobe suddenly remembered his long-time rival Richard Hamilton in high school!

But in terms of physical conditions and shooting skills, Kobe can conclude that Hamilton will not be able to reach Zhang Hao's level in his entire life.

Destructive power is not the same level at all!

The game was like this, which was a huge blow to any player, and Kobe also suffered a huge blow, but he was unwilling to give up! In any case, he did not want to give up at any moment, and he did not want to be an ordinary player.

Seeing that even McGrady, who had 17 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks in three quarters, had already shown that lazy expression of "acceptance", Kobe didn't speak during the entire quarter.

The break between the two teams ended and the fourth quarter was played.

The Supersonics, Cassel and Zhang Hao continued to play, Ben Wallace and Jason Williams also continued to play, James Percy was tortured by Kobe in the third quarter, and Artest was replaced.

James Percy was also convinced. He was almost purely defending Kobe as a defensive player in the second half of the third quarter. As a result, Kobe was even more competitive than him on both offense and defense. He was still full in the first half, but he still jumped around.

The Bulls still sent the main players, John Starks, Kobe, Ron Harper, Kukoc and Perdo to play.

The final quarter starts and the scores are tied. From this perspective, the two teams are on the same starting line in the last quarter.

As soon as he came up, Artest received the ball and cut into the inside line, causing Peldo to foul, and went to the free throw line to make both free throws.

84 to 82, the Supersonics overtook the score!

Compared with James Percy, Artest's current outside shooting is actually more accurate, but his stability is extremely poor and his defensive end is not as good as James Percy. His skills and basic skills are even rougher, but his physical fitness is super strong, and he is a naughty young man. No matter how fierce the center on the opposite side is, he will chisel in with the ball.

The score was overtaken at the beginning of the fourth quarter, which was even more powerful for the Bulls.

But Kobe did not give up, and the 1-to-9 mode was turned on!

The Supersonics have taken the initiative, not only on the scene, but also on the scoring.

In the first half of the fourth quarter, the Supersonics scored 14 points!

The Bulls only scored 10 points in 6 minutes and 37 seconds, Kobe scored 8 points alone, Kukoc and Ron Harper each caused a foul on the Supersonics, but both made only 2 free throws.

96 to 92, the Supersonics lead by 4 points!

In fact, the Supersonics have been playing a little more than the second half of the third quarter, but they scored less, because Kobe's never-give-up-the-natured playing style has inspired his emotionally depressed teammates. Although the scoring did not help Kobe, the defensive ends were all more destined, and there was no feeling of becoming more and more depressed in the second half of the third quarter.

The timeout was called by the Supersonics, Artest was tortured by Kobe. Today, the two major rookies in the Supersonics suffered a critical hit, but neither of them showed a "fear" expression on their faces, which made veterans such as Dell Curry, Schramf, and Maxville appreciate it very much.

Although he had the initiative and also gained a lead in the score, the Supersonics were not careless and called a timeout in time.

In addition to replacing Artest with James Percy, the Supersonics also replaced Ben Wallace, Cassel, Jason Williams and Zhang Hao with Ratliff to continue.

The Bulls sent a combination of John Starks, Kobe, McGrady, Kukoc, and Gerani McCoy.

After the timeout, Zhang Hao took the ball with his back against Kukochi and turned around, and took a step down from Kobe's backup defense and made a jump shot!

59 points!

98 to 92, the Supersonics' lead expanded to 6 points, Zhang Hao also scored 8 points in this quarter, and his personal score increased to 59 points, leading the total score of the Plan B duo, which was also 6 points.

Seeing that the score difference would continue to widen, McGrady received a pass from John Starks, facing Zhang Hao's defense of preventing breakouts and interfering with the shooting, and made a three-pointer!

The Bulls have not scored so cleanly for a long time.

After resting for half a quarter, McGrady not only recovered some of her physical strength, but also regained her fighting spirit at the beginning of the game! She regained the courage to surpass Zhang Hao!
To be continued...