Champion Creed
Chapter 135 - 135 077 A Jordan who can't even make it to the finals

135: 077: A Jordan who can’t even make it to the finals?

Awesome!

135: 077: A Jordan who can’t even make it to the finals?

Awesome!

“Roger slaughtered the Bulls from Chicago; he was like a ruthless butcher!

Scoring 50 points in a single game, after becoming the youngest to score 40 points last season, tonight, Roger has become the youngest player in NBA history to score 50!

Rick Barry, that proud and untamed man, held the record for the youngest at 50 points for a full 30 years at 21 years and 261 days.

But this evening, an even prouder and more rebellious man turned that page!

At 19 years and 101 days old, Roger wrote his name on a brand-new page!

This time, this record might last even longer than Rick Barry’s!

Folks, this is the magic of the Magic World, this is the immortal show of Orlando’s greatest magician!”

Mike Fratello heaped all the praise on Roger, having never complimented anyone other than Jordan this much in a game that included him.

But tonight, many things changed.

Someone who could steal accolades from Jordan, someone who could steal attention from Jordan, someone who could snatch victory from Jordan, had appeared!

Not just Fratello, but many basketball fans across the country were realizing—Michael Jordan’s era might really be slowly fading away.

Roger certainly couldn’t overturn Jordan’s dominance all at once; however shaky Jordan might have been tonight, his string of championships was still unshakeable.

But at least, Roger’s appearance introduced a major instability in Jordan’s reign.

Jordan hoped to refute this through his comeback and victory, but his return, his duel with Roger tonight, precisely proved that his reign was beginning to falter!

At that moment, Roger made a “shut up” gesture toward Jordan on the court.

This time Roger said nothing, to be exact, he didn’t need to say anything.

Because there was no more perfect final strike than this.

He shook off Jordan’s defense, and facing Pippen’s help defense, he scored his 50th point of the game over the heads of these two men who in their dreams wanted him gone.

This was simply more perfect than the grand finale of the “Avengers” series, and saying another word would be gilding the lily.

Roger didn’t need to say more; the 50 points would speak for him.

This time, he didn’t have to say anything to make Jordan feel a ton of insult.

No, this was already the second time in the game that Roger made Jordan feel a ton of insult.

Magic fans were more than satisfied, just as moviegoers always hope to see an exciting post-credits scene at the end of a movie.

When Roger stepped over Jordan in the first quarter, the fans were all looking forward to another similar thrilling moment from Roger.

Their expectations became reality.

Now, with just over a minute left in the game, the Chicago Bulls were down by double digits.

This almost made them lose their will to fight.

Phil Jackson quickly called for a timeout to interrupt Roger’s hot streak.

How ridiculous, when Pat Riley did this during last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Zen Master sneered at such an ugly way to play the game.

He thought it was an act of incompetence.

But now, he had become Riley himself.

There was dead silence on the Bulls’ bench, Webber was silent from Jordan’s scolding, Pippen was silent from Roger’s moves.

Jordan was silent too, Roger really did shut him up.

Last time Jordan lost to Roger, it was just an informal one-on-one.

Hence, Jordan could still save some face.

But this time, in a nationally televised game, in front of all the fans, Jordan was defeated by Roger twice in a row!

And 50 points in a single game, something Jordan hadn’t managed to do this season.

He lost thoroughly!

The last time Jordan felt such frustration was in 1990.

Back then, the Chicago Bulls had finally pushed the Detroit Pistons to a Game 7, thinking they had a hope of getting past the Pistons.

But the team was crushed 74 to 93.

However, in that game, even the Pistons didn’t have a player whose individual performance surpassed Jordan’s.

He got 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists, while the Pistons’ Baby-Faced Assassin only had 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists.

The Bulls lost that game because of the combined 27 shots from Grant and Pippen that resulted in just four made baskets.

But today’s defeat was of an entirely different nature.

Michael Jordan, as usual, put on a crazy performance, 44 points for the entire game.

But Roger made his second consecutive 40+ point game look worthless with 50 points.

Today, Roger didn’t just lead his team to victory over the Bulls; he completely overshadowed Michael Jordan’s individual performance!

“Now, even Jerry Krause has to admit that Roger’s trade was a complete disaster!” Fratello’s words reached Jordan’s ears, and he looked at Nick Anderson and Webber beside him, unable to contain his anger.

His decision had gotten him stuck in the mire.

In the last minute or so of the game, the demoralized Bulls couldn’t stir up any more waves.

Michael Jordan’s personal score was also fixed at 47 points, failing to surpass Roger.

In the end, Roger became the only player in the game to score over 50 points and took the victory!

When the buzzer sounded, Michael Jordan didn’t shake hands with anyone from the Magic Team and went straight into the players’ tunnel.

For a top-tier player like him in the league, this was a very unsporting behavior.

Media condemned the Detroit Pistons who refused to shake hands with the Bulls after losing the East finals in 1991, but when Jordan faced a humiliating defeat, his actions were no more gracious than those of the “Baby-Faced Assassin.”

Toni Kukoc was the only Bulls player to hug Roger after the game: “My chest still hurts like hell, bastard!”

“Do you need me to call a couple of masseuses to your hotel room to help alleviate the pain?” Roger joked.

“Dude, you didn’t like these things back in Chicago!”

“Not me, Shaq did.

I can get him to arrange it for you.”

Kukoc congratulated Roger, but after all, he was a Bulls player, so he couldn’t join the celebration party tonight.

After speaking with Roger for a few moments, Kukoc left the court.

But the Magic players’ praise for Roger wasn’t something that could be summarized in just a few sentences.

After the game, no matter who from the Magic Team was interviewed, they would always mention Roger.

My job tonight was to watch Roger score one spectacular goal after another from the bench and wave my towel.

So, I have no regrets.

I completed my mission excellently.

— Shaquille O’Neal talked about fouling out tonight.

50 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; undoubtedly, this was the most incredible individual performance I’ve ever seen.

I’d like to praise Michael too, but sorry, tonight I just can’t praise anyone other than Roger.

— Brian Hill discussed Roger’s 50-point night.

Roger taught Michael a harsh lesson!

Let me be a real leaker for once.

I guarantee that after today’s game, Jordan will make Chris Webber cry!

That’s the kind of person he is, he can’t accept failure, and he’ll force the pain of defeat on others.

The perfect teammate is just an illusion; the news about Michael is hardly ever true!

— Horace Grant excitedly talked about defeating Jordan.

Roger himself was also highly sought after, from the court to the tunnel to the locker room and then at the post-game press conference; he felt like he spent over an hour just doing interviews.

Although he had already answered countless questions, at the press conference, Roger was still called upon frequently by the reporters.

“Roger, you got the game’s highest 50 points.

How are you feeling right now?”

“I’m excited, but not because of the 50 points, but because I scored 3 more points than Michael Jordan.”

“During that 50th point, what did Michael say to you on defense?

Can you share with us?”

“Of course, Michael didn’t say any dirty words.

He just said that I was traded because I couldn’t lead the team to a championship, while he could.

And you all saw how I responded to him.”

“So, would you like to talk about the Bulls trading you?”

“I’ve said it, it’s a complete disaster.

Now, I believe the fans in Chicago feel the same way.”

“Then, the last question, if Michael had been replaced by you last season, do the Bulls have the chance to win four consecutive championships?”

Roger’s smile disappeared as he prepared to seriously answer this question:

“That’s the biggest what-if in NBA history.

Hakeem is a great player and so is Michael.

Most importantly, they’ve never faced off in the playoffs.

So, this what-if is unpredictable.

And that’s why I don’t like what Michael said!

He acts as if he were there last season, they would’ve definitely won!

I could say if it was me on the Bulls in ’90, we would’ve gotten past the Pistons early on.

Who can’t play the what-if game?

Previously, there were a lot of unfriendly comments about me in the media: Without Michael, the Bulls are nothing; Michael could lead Scott to championships, Roger couldn’t, so Roger will never surpass him; Roger is the world’s number one bullshitter because he proved the Bulls still need Jordan.

Listen, these foolish comments can stop once and for all!

No one knows what might’ve happened, so don’t act like trading me for Michael last season would’ve guaranteed a Bulls victory.

Let me tell you what’s definitely going to happen: trading me for Michael, the Bulls wouldn’t even make it to the finals, and that will soon become a well-known fact!

Not just this season, as long as I’m in the East, he might even never make it to the finals again.

Feel free to pass that message to that jerk!

Hey, you must have seen the ‘Roger Magic Show’ commercial, right?

That brainless bull said I was just a flash in the pan, but now, I just need one hit to turn him into bullshit!”

This was the moment Roger had been waiting for, every single day since he was traded by the Bulls, he had waited for today, for a game against the Bulls giving 200% to rout Jordan, and then to say everything on his mind!

In Orlando, Roger doesn’t know how many championships he’ll win, whether he’ll dominate the league.

But he will try his best to first dominate Michael Jordan!

A Jordan who can’t even make it to the finals?

That would be too cool!

By that time, he should’ve learned some respect, right?