Champion Creed
Chapter 490 - 490 182 He can now guzzle the blood of his enemies!

490: 182: He can now guzzle the blood of his enemies!

(Requesting monthly tickets!)_4 490: 182: He can now guzzle the blood of his enemies!

(Requesting monthly tickets!)_4 “Enough, cut it out!” the referee in charge of the tip-off warned Roger and Malone.

He definitely didn’t want the teams to start brawling before the game even began.

Malone was fuming, swearing to himself that there would be no issues with his free throws today!

The basketball was thrown into the air, and the Magic owned the possession.

In this game, the Jazz Team employed the same defensive strategy as in the last game.

They daringly left everyone else unguarded and focused on double-teaming Shaq and Roger.

This move still worked; this far into the season, you couldn’t expect Harper, Wilkins, McKey, and Anthony Bowie to maintain their touch.

In the low-shooting-skill 1990s, this was the offensive space the stars had to deal with.

Throughout the first half, the Magic’s shooting percentage was held to just 34%.

Apart from Roger and O’Neal, everyone else combined scored only 8 points!

Defensive Player of the Year Mutombo even had a bizarre stat line of zero points, six rebounds, and five blocks by halftime.

All of this highlighted the Jazz’s formidable defensive strength.

With this level of defensive intensity, the Utah Jazz should have been able to take down the Magic and spoil their celebration night by halftime.

But they couldn’t do it.

Why?

Their leading star was a wimp.

In the second quarter, with the Jazz controlling the last offense, Karl Malone faked past McKey, then, facing up against the helping defense of Wilkins, he forcefully drove to the basket.

Facing Michael Cage under the hoop, Malone swung his elbow and muscled through in mid-air.

In the intense confrontation as the basketball hit the rim, the referee’s whistle blew, and Karl Malone was at the free-throw line.

Seeing this, the Jazz fans in the venue were so nervous they dared not breathe heavily.

They were truly afraid that any little disturbance might affect Malone’s free throws.

Karl Malone took the basketball, took a deep breath, bounced the ball, muttered a “spell” devoutly, and then looked at the basket while performing a textbook free-throw routine.

However, immediately after, Malone saw Roger standing to the side, laughing at him as if to say, “Look at this fool, doing so much useless stuff, laughing to death, he can’t shoot at all.”

The first shot missed the basket.

Karl Malone looked bewilderedly at the basket and sighed.

Then came the second shot; the basketball bounced several times on the rim but again popped out.

The fans at the Delta Center held their heads in their hands, utterly disappointed.

Throughout the first half, Karl Malone was only 4 for 11 from the free-throw line!

Some people are crownless for a reason, and Karl Malone’s nearly useless free-throw ability in critical games even reminded O’Neal of his former teammates Nick Anderson and Chris Webber.

Michael Cage grabbed the rebound, and with the first half over, the Jazz led by 7 points, 44 to 37, moving into the second half.

Though leading, no Jazz players or fans were satisfied with the result.

If only Karl Malone’s free throws weren’t so awful, the Jazz clearly could have been leading by double digits!

Roger looked at Malone and shook his head, “Luck indeed won’t strike twice, but Karl, this has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with your incompetence.”

Karl Malone’s confidence in free throws was shattered, now he trembled and sweated coldly whenever he stood at the free-throw line.

During the halftime interview, O’Neal stated frankly, “They didn’t seize the opportunity to finish us off, which is a pity, because we won’t miss the same opportunity!”

The second half was still intense.

The Utah Jazz, just like last season’s SuperSonics, wouldn’t give up easily, fighting till the very end even with the slightest chance.

But their own shooting percentage was also declining, so the Magic were slowly closing the gap.

The Magic were about to drain the Jazz Team’s blood, but they were always just a bit shy of taking the lead.

Every time they neared taking the lead, Stockton would find Karl Malone with a long pass, scoring on the counterattack.

Speaking of tank-like power forwards, Karl Malone was absolutely the strongest of the 1990s.

Once, Malone’s childhood dream was to be a long-haul truck driver.

For this dream, aside from playing basketball, he obtained truck driving licenses in 25 states of the United States.

He might not be able to speed on the highways in an 18-wheeler, but on the basketball court, he was like an out-of-control truck.

Of course, Karl Malone was still not the fastest fast-breaking muscle-bound forward in history.

That title belongs to the true GOAT in fast breaks, but that’s another story.

Time quickly moved on, and the second half was nearing its end.

O’Neal and Roger’s scoring did not explode in the second half.

O’Neal struggled to dominate the paint under the close defense of Malone and Mutombo.

Roger, facing such aggressive double-teaming by the Jazz, also found it hard to score continuously.

So, though the game was tight and tied numerous times, the Magic never managed to take the lead.

All the Salt Lake City fans were screaming madly, and the live broadcast occasionally showed that giant sobering device, with no one knowing whether the Magic could ultimately drain their enemy’s blood today.

In the final 1 minute and 25 seconds, Stockton and Malone executed a signature pick-and-roll, Malone catching the ball after the screen and taking a mid-range jump shot.

Unfortunately, the basketball hit the rim again.

Now Malone was not only missing free throws, but his favorite mid-range shots were also continuously clanking.

The Jazz’s shooting percentage had hit rock bottom.

Thousands of miles away, in Spokane, Washington, Jack Stockton, John Stockton’s father, angrily pounded the table in his small bar and exclaimed, “Damn it!”