Champion Creed
Chapter 134 - 134 076 The Complete Collapse of Michael's Myth Thanks to the generous reward from the family's head of household!_4

134: 076: The Complete Collapse of Michael’s Myth (Thanks to the generous reward from the family’s head of household!)_4 134: 076: The Complete Collapse of Michael’s Myth (Thanks to the generous reward from the family’s head of household!)_4 O’Neal stood up and yelled like a madman, “Chris, I told you, you’re nothing compared to Roger!”

Harper led the counterattack with the ball, but Pippen, responsible for the chase-down defense, managed to pull off a big block that stopped the Magic from extending the lead to double digits.

Seeing Pippen complete the defense, Jordan’s hanging heart finally settled.

Then he turned his head and roared at Webber, “Trash, you’re nothing compared to Roger!”

Webber: ???

At this moment, Jordan and O’Neal achieved an unprecedented tacit understanding.

Alright, trading Roger was a complete and utter loss, even Jordan himself admitted that now!

But he couldn’t let the outside world think so, Michael Jordan, even if truly mistaken, would not be willing to admit it.

He had to use a victory to cover up the stupidity of the trade.

On this offense, Horace Grant double-teamed Jordan the moment he caught the ball.

Jordan saw Webber open, but he didn’t pass.

He had completely lost trust in Webber at the critical moment.

Honestly, at this stage, Webber’s role on the Bulls was even less than that of Rodman, who wasn’t much of a scorer.

With Jordan and Pippen monopolizing much of the ball control, Webber’s playmaking and scoring abilities had no room to shine.

What he could do on offense, Pippen could do as well.

But the defensive value Rodman provided was something Webber lacked.

It was indeed a stupid trade, a foolish one led by Jordan.

And now, he was paying the price for his foolishness.

Under the defense of two players, Jordan, not willing to pass to Webber, forced a fadeaway shot.

The basketball hit the rim; the shot was short, Jordan failed to score.

Fortunately, Pippen grabbed the offensive rebound and scored on the putback, otherwise, the Bulls would have faced the embarrassment of the lead widening to 10 again.

But just as the Bulls narrowed the gap, Roger widened it back to 8 points with a turn-around jumper after a pick-and-roll.

His personal score had reached 48 points; with every point he scored, Chicago fans felt an extra stab of pain.

Such a perfect player should have been wearing the red jersey of Chicago!

Jerry Krause, that idiot!

Krause, on the other hand, had a different voice in his head: “Michael, that idiot!”

The 8-point lead remained, and with O’Neal off the court, the Bulls hadn’t come any closer to victory.

Jordan was already pondering the worst outcome; if he lost this game, he would be disgraced in every way.

He told the management it didn’t matter whether Shaq and Roger teamed up, yet he couldn’t beat them.

He wanted to come back and show everyone that his era wasn’t over, yet he couldn’t hold down Roger.

If he lost this game, his reputation would suffer greatly.

Amid his frustration, Jordan once again encountered a double team on the offense.

The front line assembled by Pat Williams was effective; Harper and Grant didn’t let Jordan have a single comfortable round, with the Magic’s tall forwards’ rapid double-teaming turning the previous battles of Olajuwon and now Jordan into tough fights.

Webber raised his hand for the ball, but Jordan still didn’t pass it.

Honestly, Webber didn’t see how Jordan’s behavior was any different from Roger’s; how could he have the nerve to constantly complain about others not being team players?

Jordan forced an acceleration to shake off the two defenders and then attempted a fadeaway shot, but this time his jump shot fell a little short.

Two consecutive shots that were too short signaled that Jordan was too tired; he had rested for only two minutes the entire game so far.

Yes, even with such long playing time, an athletic freak like Jordan wouldn’t normally be completely drained.

But it must be acknowledged that his consistency was starting to suffer.

This time, Derrick McKey firmly blocked Pippen, and the old rebounding king Michael Cage secured the board without giving the Bulls another chance!

The cheers in the Orlando Arena reached a climax, as Cage’s rebound meant that the Magic had the chance to extend the lead to double digits!

Cage passed the ball to Roger, who took charge of the offense himself.

As always, the starting move for the Magic’s offense was a pick and roll between Roger and Grant.

But this time, as Roger moved past Grant, the player who showed up to defend him was Michael Jordan!

Jordan couldn’t stand to watch Webber get beaten time and time again, so he decided to personally defend the pick and roll between Roger and Grant.

This was the first time since the shameful matchup in the first quarter that Jordan exposed himself directly to Roger.

Would Jordan strike back with a heavy blow, or would he be beaten again?

No one knew.

Seeing that it was Jordan, Roger also slowed down the pace and didn’t choose to attack directly.

Pippen didn’t dare to leave Grant completely open, so instead of joining Jordan to double-team Roger, he followed Grant as he cut inside.

Finally, the Bulls completed a perfect defensive switch, and now it was Jordan against Roger one-on-one.

Roger was assessing the situation while Jordan, arms outstretched, began to trash talk endlessly: “Know the real reason you were traded?

Because last season you failed to lead your team to the championship.

Sports are brutally honest: without a title, you don’t even have one to your name.

If it had been me last season, the United Center would already boast four championship banners!

You were traded because you’re a champion of nothing—that’s the simple truth.

You’re a loser, and tonight you will be too!”

Roger didn’t respond, fully concentrating on his offense.

He stared straight into Jordan’s eyes as if trying to see through his heart.

First, Roger made a wide move to the left sideline, preparing to break through, but Jordan immediately laterally moved to block the lane.

Jordan wasn’t clairvoyant; it was because Pippen was on the other side.

If Roger had tried to break through in that direction, he would literally be walking into a trap.

So Jordan was certain that Roger could only break to the left.

His rich experience paid off, and he correctly guessed the direction of Roger’s drive.

But just as Roger was about to collide with Jordan, he made a second, wide change of direction, shifting towards the side where Pippen was ready to help defend.

This move directly shook Jordan off by half a step.

Jordan was too tired, and this affected not just his shooting but also his lateral movement.

Although not very obvious, in a high-level contest, a half-second of hesitation could decide the outcome.

Seeing Roger actually shake past Jordan, Pippen immediately came over to help, but he was a beat too slow.

Roger released his shot between the timely, albeit slightly off, defense of Jordan and Pippen—50 points!

The ball went in, and Roger looked towards the incessantly trash-talking Jordan and silently placed his index finger on his lips.

Without a single word, Roger delivered a powerful response!

In their second one-on-one, Jordan was defeated again, becoming the backdrop for yet another highlight moment for Roger.

Tonight, the myth of Michael Jordan’s indomitable spirit completely collapsed.