The rest is just noise

Madison Square Garden's single-quarter scoring record belongs to Jordan, who set a record of 27 points in a single quarter in the 1988 Finals.

At this moment, Jordan obviously wanted to break the record when he raised this question, because Wilson scored 18 points in the first quarter and seemed to have the upper hand in the duel with him, so it was reasonable for him to fight back.

But that's not what Jordan wants.

What he wants is to focus the opponent's anger on him, so that the offensive pressure on his teammates will be greatly reduced.

He is no longer the arrogant young man who was arrogant and arrogant.

The shameful fact that he has not won a championship in the NBA so far in his career reminds him that a person's strength can only win for a while.

A team like the Knicks cannot be defeated individually.

The Knicks' defensive intensity against Jordan has escalated dramatically, but Jordan's power of calling names has become more and more astonishing.

There are two players on the Knicks court that he named.

One is Ewing and the other is Christie.

Although Ewing has the best high-level defensive statistics among active players, no matter how good a defensive big man is, he is just a toy in front of a ball-handler with no shortcomings in his arsenal.

It didn't take much effort for Jordan to beat Ewing.

Just a little change of pace, quick stops, quick starts, jump shots, and it's over.

In the next four minutes, Jordan took six consecutive shots, including the initial 2+1, and made all of them. He scored 13 points in a row, leading the Trail Blazers to tie the score.

38 to 38

During this period, the Knicks' response relied entirely on inside offense.

Reggie Williams on the outside felt inaccurate, and Christie was no longer left open. Wilson, who performed well in the first quarter, took fewer shots in order to activate his teammates. He only scored 2 points in the second quarter.

Sometimes, being selfless doesn't bring good results.

So Louis called a timeout and asked Wilson: "Benj, you took 11 shots in the first quarter, and only one shot so far in the second quarter. Are you tired, or are you being guarded?"

Wilson has not rested for a second since the game. If he said he was tired, it would be excusable. Louis could also take the advantage of him and replace him.

However, Wilson's response was: "I don't want to be a one-man show anymore."

"That big-eared bastard just performed a one-man show for four minutes. What was the result? They tied the score! Now clear your mind of all those weird thoughts and come back on stage!"

Then Louis called up Stevens and replaced Reggie Williams, who had a poor touch, and then asked Muhammad Rauf to replace Doug Christie, who completed the mission.

The Trail Blazers are already using name-calling tactics.

Riley doesn't mind people saying that he succeeded by imitating Louis. If you can win, there's nothing wrong with standing on the shoulders of giants.

A regional killer like Barkley who plays indiscriminately in singles is not suitable for naming, because no matter who defends him, the effect is the same, so Riley did not replace him. Instead, he replaced Ze, who was responsible for guarding the rusher in the previous few minutes.

Will McDaniel is replaced by Clifford Robinson, and paired with Causey and Mason, as well as Jordan, who has shown his fangs, the offensive and defensive pressure brought by the Trail Blazers will be even higher.

Wilson took Louis' words seriously.

After returning from the timeout, he first broke the Blazers' full-court press. He faced Jordan's one-on-one defense in the frontcourt and allowed his teammates to open up without calling a pick-and-roll.

In other words, there is no roll call in this round, and Wilson has to rely on his personal ability to complete the offense.

It is a pleasure to watch Wilson's offense. He has the perfect height and wingspan for the same position, combined with excellent explosive power, coordination, and ball feel. When he performs beautiful changes of direction, he is like a dynamic picture.

Unparalleled paintings.

He changed direction with his hips, changed direction with his back, and used a one-handed dribble to break away from Jordan's defense, and he suddenly stopped outside the paint area on the right side and leaned back.

Jordan showed extremely high defensive qualities. Wilson could not completely get rid of him, but because he was more than half a body behind, in addition to causing interference, he could not affect Wilson's shots more.

"Whoosh!"

40 to 38

The battle between Joe and Wei is the biggest attraction in the biggest basketball game of our time.

Some people say that they are upgraded versions of Tragedy Master and Big Bird, which is obviously wrong. Could it be that they are downgraded versions of Tragedy Master and Big Bird? Their styles are completely different.

Jordan did not call back Wilson as others expected.

The fact is exactly the opposite of people's expectations. Jordan seemed to be "afraid" of Wilson and took the initiative to lean on people with his back to help Thomas create opportunities.

Thomas cut in from the center, caught the ball, and jumped up. Ewing flew to defend, but he used an extreme pull-up layup to avoid the rebound.

"Look at MJ, this is the most correct way of playing." The tragedy expert praised Jordan full of praise, "At this stage of his career, he has integrated individualism and teamwork!"

Jordan's behavior made Louis uneasy.

This sense of uneasiness comes from the possible consequences of his actions. For example, will Wilson stop taking shots again? Will he once again think about his previous selfishness that almost caused the team to collapse?

The answer is yes.

As expected, Wilson did not continue to attack. Ewing ran to the high post to set him up for a pick-and-roll, but he directed Ewing to move down. Although his offense with the ball forced the Blazers to switch defenses, causing Ewing to be misplaced against the Blazers' small man.

After catching the ball, he can use his body to ravage the opponent at will. This is the right choice, but Louis would like to see Wilson continue the offensive momentum that has frightened his opponents.

"You think if I call a timeout and let him continue his personal attack, will he be obedient?" Louis asked.

Tomjanovich believes that Wilson will still be obedient, but within a few rounds, he will change back to his original state.

"He seems to have some unresolved issues," Tomjanovich said.

Zhao Yuanzheng said: "Old road, to untie the bell, the person who tied the bell must also be tied."

To untie the bell, someone needs to tie it? Who is this person? Is it Ewing?

It's obviously not Ewing. After all, after this guy was beaten in the locker room, he couldn't wait to express that he wanted to get punched again. His despicable face made people feel physically uncomfortable. How could it be Ewing?

Louis quickly thought that this person was not a specific name, but a group of people.

This group of people are teammates that include Ewing.

Whenever Wilson wants to take over, he will think about how passive his previous actions have put the team into, and then he will hesitate.

This is an inner demon, and it is a bigger problem than James's forward-thinking and backward-looking scapegoating because he thinks too much or looks too far ahead.

To make matters even more difficult, the problem is beyond Louis' reach.

It is impossible for Wilson to get rid of his inner demons on his own. The only people who can help him get rid of his inner demons are his teammates.

This made Louis feel extremely passive.

If Wilson can't get all his teammates, including Ewing, to think "Benj, lead us to win this game" and take action at the same time, he can't be firing on all cylinders without any distractions.

Louis hated this passive feeling, but he had no right to complain, because this hidden danger was planted by himself.

From the moment he did not dissuade Wilson from his selfish behavior, and from the moment he expected Ewing to become a perfect leader, this was destined to happen.

It can even be said that the test for Ewing is not over yet.

When the team needs it, can he give up his self-esteem and pride as a leader and become Wilson's sheepdog?

This is harder than repaying a debt with a punch in the locker room. It tells the world that Wilson is more reliable than him at the critical moment.

Just when Louis' thoughts were wandering, Isiah Thomas, with the help of Jordan, transformed into a deadly assassin.

It's like the roll call tactic was tailor-made for him.

He has absolute speed and can beat any Knicks player head-on. At the same time, he also has a sharp pull-up jump shot. As long as he has the touch, no God can stop him.

Jordan chose to attack Thomas, and when Wilson decided to put away his selfish side and encourage his teammates as much as possible, Thomas showed the fans all the energy that a superstar should show at this time.

Rauf couldn't guard him at all.

Ewing's help defense was ignored by him.

Even Kemp was toyed with by his changing rhythms while applauding.

From that point on, until the end of the first half, Thomas controlled the rhythm of the game, like a God of War, scoring 13 points and 3 assists in half a quarter.

In this half of the game, all the Blazers' points were related to Thomas.

Thomas' god-like performance reminded the MSG audience of how Thomas, who was one of the Celtics' Big Three at the time, produced tons of output with an injured leg and almost killed the game 6 years ago.

"Tonight's Isiah is just like Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference Finals." Bob Costas said, "That's still the greatest game I've ever seen in my life."

But Laimbeer said with an unhappy face: "I don't want to mention that game."

"I was at the scene." The tragedy master was very willing to mention Lu Kai's sad past.

At this time, at halftime, 60 to 52, Thomas' heroic performance gave the Trail Blazers an 8-point halftime lead over the Knicks.