Chicago, 20 May 1997.

The frenetic atmosphere of basketball has rendered this sin city red.

The logo of the bull can be seen everywhere, and Michael Jordan's spray painting is everywhere.

The trapeze man is the god in everyone's hearts in this day and age in this city!

This year's situation in the East has not changed since the beginning, and the Chicago Bulls are the absolute rulers of the East.

Hill played a challenger for a while, but due to limited technical moves and the team's lineup, he left the position of a competitor with the Bulls after being targeted.

The Knicks, the veteran powerhouse, are no longer favored to be a championship contender because of Ewing's aging. Even in the playoffs, Ewing was crazy and played a dominant performance again to crush Mourning, making it clear to everyone that the reason why there are only four of the four centers is because in addition to the four of them, other centers in the league are of another level.

However, the Heat came to Mashburn with a mid-season trade from Pat Riley, making them the Bulls' biggest competitors in an instant. The Heat's season-ending record is no less than that of any team that has been contending for a championship.

However, the Heat's performance in the playoffs did not play as dominant as in the regular season.

In the first round against the Magic, Penny Hardaway was silent in the first two games, and then cut two consecutive 40+ games in the next three games, one 30+, and almost completed the black seven alone.

3:2 The Heat relied on Tim Hardaway's opposition advantage against Nick Anderson and passed the risk.

In the second round against the Knicks, it was a big battle of seven games!

Ewing arranged Amozo Mourning, who wanted to be on the top, to play superstar dominance, and directly penetrated the Heat's inside line!

You must know that the Heat's interior line is a combination of tough guy Mourning and PJ Brown, and this defensive intensity is second to none in the league. Ewing was able to crush both of them together, which was enough to justify the name of the four centers.

It's a shame that Alan Houston, John Starks, didn't play as well as Tim Hardaway. Tim Hardaway proved himself worthy of the league's All-Star team in the first two series, and he carried the team through two rounds, arguably after Mourning and Mashburn were blown up.

But when he came to Chicago and met the league's strongest outside defense team, the Bulls, and Jordan, Pippen, and Harper, could Tim Hardaway still play?

The answer is – no.

Heat 77:94 Bulls.

On the Bulls' home court, in this game, Houston's mini-SHOWTIME triumvirate was defended and only scored 77 points!

A score that borders on shame.

If the offensive tempo of the two is slow, the scoring is low.

The bulls on the other side of the key didn't slow down! They're running and fighting with the Heat!

Run! Use the fast attack rhythm that the Heat are best at to crush the Heat!

Tim Hardaway made 4 of 14 shots! 13 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists!

This is a stark contrast to his previous two series in which he surged to 30 points, and Tim Hardaway acted like a child.

"It's too strong. Michael and Harper's defense devastated the Heat. "Larry Bird was the commentator for the game, and he clearly felt Jordan's influence on the game.

Jordan and Harper took turns defending Hardaway in this game, and Jordan defended Hardaway in the third quarter, so that the point guards in this league couldn't even dribble easily across the halfcourt!

Such a defensive oppression is simply terrifying!

Tim Hardaway was delayed in this game, as the team's offensive engine and the absolute core of SHOWTIME's style of play, Tim Hardaway's poor performance could almost mean the collapse of the Heat's offensive system.

It was enough to see how unhappy Pat Riley was with Tim Hardaway's performance at the end of the match.

"Damn, if my point guard is Kobe......." Although Tim Hardaway has played perfectly in the first two rounds of the regular season and playoffs, he has played no worse than the Magic.

But it was all played when the opposing players were very rubbish, and the god operator Pat Riley didn't know that Tim Hardaway would pull his hips when he met a strong defensive player, after all, he was not a superstar, and his height still had a congenital disadvantage.

But he really didn't expect Tim Hardaway to collapse so completely.

Mourning finished with 21 points and eight rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting, which was the only point that Pat Riley was satisfied with for the team. But it can be seen from the number of shots that although Mo Ning was not restricted, his teammates really had no way to give him the ball.

If it was Kobe, Mourning would definitely have 20+ shots in this case, and Kobe's independent offense would never be completely blocked by the Bulls with just one player, even Jordan.

But Tim Hardaway couldn't do it at all.

And the Heat is almost powerless against Jordan's defense.

Jordan was 15-of-31 from the field, 7-of-10 from the free-throw line, and went crazy to score 37 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 turnovers.

The mid-range one-shot overshoot the Heat's guard line, and the lack of defensive ability of the Heat's guards is infinitely magnified.

"The gap is too big, maybe more than one level apart between these two teams." Larry Bird gave the series a verdict in the middle of the game.

"Five games, maybe four. This series will be over. ”

This is the confidence of Big Bird Bird.

In fact, Jordan didn't see the Heat as an opponent either.

This year's Bulls are the hegemons of the East, and no team in the East has the strength to provoke the Bulls.

They have only one opponent, and that is the final championship of many top teams in the west.

Regardless of which side of the Lakers or Houston wins, this opponent deserves the respect and seriousness of the Bulls.

And the series on the Eastern side is just a warm-up for Jordan and the Bulls.

Just use the combination of Mourning and Tim Hardaway to simulate Kobe O'Neal, although compared to the original OK, the Heat has dropped countless notches, but it can still be compared.

After the eventual game, the league also announced additional penalties for Big Ben and Barkley.

Big Ben was fined $20,000, and O'Neal announced that he would pay the money.

Barkley was fined $30,000.

The league brushed the clash past and let the media focus on Kobe Bryant and the Bulls.

O'Neal was found to have no structural injuries after an MRI, and after confirmation by the team doctor, it was the same as Kobe Bryant's bruises.

Second game! O'Neill is back!

Without Barkley, G2 Houston will play again at the Lakers' home court OK!