Champion Creed
Chapter 178 - 178 090 The Moment of Quenching Vote for Monthly Tickets!

178: 090: The Moment of Quenching (Vote for Monthly Tickets!) 178: 090: The Moment of Quenching (Vote for Monthly Tickets!) Before the start of the fourth quarter, Pat Riley was in high spirits.

Just think, if he could lead the Knicks to defeat the championship favorites, the Magic and the Bulls, and then ultimately lift the trophy, how would his historical standing change?

He would prove that Phil Jackson, that opportunist who only knew how to coach superstars, wasn’t fit to hold a candle to him!

When James Dolan used Phil Jackson as an example to suppress Riley, Riley truly felt humiliated.

Even Auerbach publicly stated, “If one day Phil Jackson wins the Coach of the Year award, I will refuse to go to the ceremony to present him the trophy.” How could I, Pat Riley, possibly lose to such a person?

Phil Jackson had never built a team from scratch; he always took over ready-made teams and then rigidly implanted his own tactical system.

The most ridiculous part was that he didn’t even invent that tactical system!

He never cared about the players’ development; if someone wasn’t good enough, he would just tell the management: I need a certain player.

The only thing he would do was to sow discord and manipulate locker room politics.

Every time Riley thought about how someone like that now held a higher status than himself, he felt a burning anger.

But this misunderstanding would soon be cleared up.

Soon, the Knicks management would see the difference between a coach like Phil Jackson and a mastermind like himself.

By then, they would obediently offer a 50 million US dollar contract, and obediently offer shares.

And he himself would turn the New York Knicks into the Boston Celtics of old!

Riley was fantasizing about a bright future, feeling completely confident of victory.

The defensive capabilities of the New York Knicks made him feel secure about the 17-point lead.

What team could erase a 17-point deficit in one quarter against the Knicks’ defense?

Very few, indeed very few.

At this moment, NBC commentator Mike Fratello recalled an article by a USA Today writer, which stated that Roger and Shaq were just two powerful individuals playing together, not a cohesive whole.

Thus, Fratello had his own interpretation: “The path to victory for the Magic is that the Knicks have to worry about eight or nine people on the Magic Team, not just two.

That’s the path to victory.

When this sport was created, that was the path to victory.”

The fourth quarter began with the Knicks in possession.

Starks was in good form today; his pick-and-roll with the big man Ewing was the Knicks’ most dangerous weapon.

Seeing Roger approaching to defend him, Starks fired the first shot: “Don’t rush, I’ll soon let you taste the pain I experienced last season.”

“Shut up, John.

You haven’t even played in the Finals, you don’t understand anything,” Roger responded.

John Starks wasn’t angry, but he swore that once the Knicks won the series, he would dance in front of a weeping Roger!

Starks waved his hand, and Patrick Ewing, always ready to give his all for the Knicks, stepped up to screen.

Roger’s speed around the screen wasn’t fast, his current weakness in defense.

But leveraging his size advantage, Roger quickly covered Starks.

However, just like in the previous three quarters, Starks didn’t force a shot or a breakthrough but passed the ball promptly to Ewing who popped out after the pick-and-roll.

The big man took a mid-range jump shot.

He had to admit, he still wasn’t used to this David Robinson style of play.

A catch-and-shoot mid-range jumper after moving without the ball; among the four big centers, only the Admiral favored such a floating offensive move.

But tonight, it was indeed working.

As long as it worked, the big man wasn’t resistant.

Seeing Ewing shoot, Riley felt that the Knicks’ shares were getting closer and closer to him.

Starks was also imagining the scene of dancing in front of Roger, wanting to thoroughly humiliate this ignorant kid!

But this time, a shield finally rose up behind Roger.

Shaquille O’Neal charged out like a wild horse set free, instantly blocking Ewing’s entire line of sight.

Then, to everyone’s astonishment, O’Neal swatted away Ewing’s mid-range jumper!

It was a powerful volleyball spike block that sent the Orlando Arena into a frenzy.

Ron Harper reacted quickly, being the first to chase down and retrieve the ball that had been slapped to the other half of the court, and after dribbling twice, he lobbed the ball into the air.

Roger rushed forward, caught the ball thrown by Ron Harper, and scored with a two-handed alley-oop slam!

The lead was cut to 15 points, and some Orlando fans began to cheer.

Still, DeVos in the box was continuing to play Ludo with his family.

It was a beautiful offensive play but also insignificant.

To turn the game around, it was far from enough.

Roger pointed at Ron Harper, thanking him for the pass.

Then he retreated to the half-court and high-fived O’Neal: “That’s the way to play, Shaq!”

O’Neal nodded, continuing to defend seriously.

At least tonight, he would give 100% in defense as well.

In this round, Starks still ran a pick-and-roll with Ewing.

He believed that O’Neal’s block might have been a spur of the moment because if he came out, it would leave Grant alone under the basket to deal with Charles Smith.

Grant was a great help defender but certainly not a one-on-one defensive stalwart.

If O’Neal came out, the Magic’s basket area would become very empty.

After the pick-and-roll with Ewing, O’Neal again chased out.

No one knew why the Shark, who had always been lazy in defending pick-and-rolls, suddenly became so active in the fourth quarter.

Ewing didn’t want to chase the reasons.

Seeing O’Neal pounce out, the gorilla fed the ball to Charles Smith under the basket.

Charles Smith pushed Grant away and then turned to lay up the ball, with Grant pushed aside, unable to catch up.

The Knicks seemed about to extend their lead to 17 points.

And then, the next second, the whole court heard a thunderous “bang.”

Roger slapped the ball against the backboard with one hand!

The moment Ewing passed to Charles Smith, Roger had started sprinting under the basket, helping on defense.

It proved to be the right decision.

Charles Smith indeed took the shot; he overcame Grant, but not Roger.

After completing the block, Roger quickly passed the ball up to Harper, who led the counterattack, breaking through and passing the ball to help Derrick McKey, who followed up with a layup.

Now only 13 points separated them.

Brian Hill punched the air in celebration.

At this point, grinding out position battles with the Knicks was tough, so he needed his team to suppress the opponents on defense, look for counterattacking opportunities, and avoid positional battles with the Knicks as much as possible.

Starting with Roger motivating O’Neal to seriously defend Ewing’s pick and roll, everyone’s defensive enthusiasm had been sparked, making Magic’s defense quite successful.

Pat Riley’s face was grim, but he didn’t call a timeout right away.

Calling a timeout can disrupt the opponent’s rhythm, but it might also boost their morale.

Calling a timeout right now would be like telling the Magic that they were hurt, which would excite the entire Magic team.

The more difficult it is for the opponent to cope, the more excited the other side becomes; this is a common psychology.

So Riley did not call for a timeout, believing that the Magic would not continue to close the gap so smoothly.

Because both Roger’s and O’Neal’s defenses were not good enough, even with three defensive role players protecting them, he would still show weaknesses.

On the Knicks’ offense, Starks was tightly guarded by Roger.

He passed the ball to Derek Harper on the left.

Harper lobbed the ball to Ewing, and Grant immediately helped defend, double-teaming the gorilla with O’Neal.

The gorilla, seeing the situation, passed the ball to Charles Smith, but as soon as he caught the ball, he was stopped by the defending McKey.

Charles Smith had no choice but to find Oakley.

However, as Oakley caught the ball, Roger quickly covered it as well.

Oakley didn’t have much one-on-one ability, and even when facing a smaller player, it was unstable, so he passed the ball back to Starks, whom Roger had let go of.

Starks took the ball and shot a three-pointer immediately, but he didn’t get a clean shot.

For as he shot, Derrick McKey arrived in time to contest it, causing Starks to miss!

This round, every player of the Magic was actively moving, trusting each other and unselfishly covering every gap.

Their defensive rotation was near perfect!

Just as NBC commentator Mike Fratello had said before the fourth quarter, the Knicks needed to worry about eight or nine guys on the Magic, not just two.

This was the Magic’s path to victory.

The Magic couldn’t do this on offense, but they did on defense!

Now, on offense, the Knicks had to worry about every Magic player’s defense!

O’Neal grabbed the rebound, passed the ball out, and immediately sprinted forward to join the counterattack.

Ron Harper, as the one slicing the cake, this time drove forward and passed the ball to Shaq, who was following up the middle.

The Knicks immediately positioned three players behind the free-throw line, almost forming a human wall to defend against O’Neal.

O’Neal jumped for the ball, but…

He didn’t go straight for the basket.

The large-bodied player pulled a guard-like move in the air, switching from shooting to passing, and handed the ball to Roger, who had cut under the basket.

Roger took off from the spot with a windmill slam—a loud boom signalled the Magic’s counterattack!

With the difference down to 11 points, the Orlando fans raised their arms and stood up in unison.

Riley called a timeout!

As the game paused, Riley saw only numbers 14 and 32 on the court, one tall, one short, standing tall on the playing field, their serious expressions fixed on the scoreboard displayed on the big screen.

The scene conveyed an intense sense of oppression to Riley!

NBC commentator Mike Fratello felt the same way.

These two powerful individuals, after the recent timeout, might truly begin to unite as a single entity.

A good sword must be forged in intense heat.

Roger and Shaq had it too easy before, with 62 wins in the regular season and a 5-game winning streak in the playoffs.

They were excellent raw materials, but had not yet been tempered into a sharp edge by high heat.

For Roger and Shaq, the fourth quarter of today’s game was that intense heat.

If they couldn’t endure this tempering, their combination might completely collapse and fall apart.

But if they made it through…

It could very well be the birth night of the strongest duo in history!

Everything hinged on the fourth quarter.

If the Roger-and-O’Neal Magic were to become truly great, if a championship must have a moment for its character to ascend, then the fourth quarter of the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinal’s decisive battle was the moment when the championship qualities of the Magic were forged.