On the other side, Barkley and others were being interviewed.

"Karim, why didn't you see the magician in Detroit with you?" A reporter asked.

Abdul-Jabbar shrugged his shoulders and said, "He's staying in the hotel." ”

"Didn't he see the East in the East?" The reporter asked in surprise.

Barkley complained on the side: "Pistons management is a little too much, they don't want to give Erwin a ticket, and honestly, it's excessive. ”

"Oh?"

Several journalists exclaimed.

Soon, news that the Pistons were not giving away tickets to Magic Johnson spread throughout the Auburn Hills palace and to TNT reporters.

At Auburn Hills Palace, David Stern is with Pistons owner Bill Davidson, preparing to enter.

Stern took the time to come to Detroit to watch the battle this time because he wanted to be in charge himself, and he didn't want to see the Battle of Auburn Hills happen again.

The ratings of this Dongduan are very good, it has exceeded 30% of the ratings of last year's Dongdu, and he doesn't want any problems.

Stern was accompanied by Pistons owner Bill Davidson, general manager McCloskey and incoming Troy Weaver.

Davidson is older than McCloskey, he is 70 years old this year, 20 years older than Stern, and he is a well-known American philanthropist and jurist who has participated in the formulation of some American laws many times, so Stern has great respect for him.

At this time, a reporter happened to see them and hurriedly ran over and asked, "Mr. McCloskey, is it true that the Pistons refused to provide tickets to Magic Johnson?" Why? Is it because of the assassins? Or is it because the Magic is backing the Bulls, not the Pistons? ”

A series of questions not only made McCloskey a little confused, but also Stern and them.

Troy Weaver hurriedly asked, "Sir, are you sure that Magic Johnson didn't get our gift ticket?" ”

"Sure, Barkley just said that, and the magician did not appear in the palace of Auburn Hills, I heard that he is staying in the hotel now." The reporter said.

"I'm sorry, we'll take care of that."

Several people looked at each other, and Weaver stepped forward to send the reporter away.

"What's going on?"

After the reporter left, McCloskey looked at Weaver and asked solemnly.

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't know about this, I'll deal with it right away."

Weaver nodded to David Stern and boss Davidson and hurried away.

Stern shook his head and said, "Bill, it's not good for you to be like this, Erwin has made a huge contribution to the league, we can't do this to him, I hope to be changed immediately, he deserves our respect, what do you think?" ”

"I'm sorry something like this happened." Bill Davidson said apologetically.

McCloskey explained: "It should be the staff's problem, and we'll take care of it. But David, you know, there are some problems between magicians and assassins right now, and there have been some reports in the media for a long time.

Of course, I don't think Isaiah Thomas knew about it, it should be caused by his influence in the team. ”

"I hope to see the magician at the Palace of Auburn Hills."

David Stern nodded, a smile reappearing on his face.

He knew that the reason why Isaiah Thomas and the Magician relationship was so bad now was that the league's decision was also very important.

"Is it Erwin? Hello, I'm the assistant general manager of the piston, I'm sorry, our staff is a little negligent, I will send a car to pick you up at the hotel immediately......"

Soon, Weaver contacted Magic Johnson.

"No, Mr. Weaver, I'll take a taxi."

The magician didn't take it either, he wanted to cheer for Michael Jordan in front of the assassins.

In the past, the two had a good relationship, and even if the Assassin interrupted his dream of a triple crown, it did not affect their relationship, but after his illness, some of the Assassin's practices stimulated him, and the relationship between the two took a sharp turn for the worse.

……

"Iron Fist, you know, our management didn't give a ticket to the magician." In the home dressing room, Rodman grinned.

"Really?"

Zhou Quan was a little surprised, but it had nothing to do with him, he didn't have much friendship with the magician, and he immediately left it behind.

At eight o'clock, coming off the bench, the Bulls and Pistons announced their starting lists.

Bulls: Bill Carter White, Horres Grant, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, John Paxson

Pistons: John Cely, Dennis Rodman, Orlando Ulrich, Joe Dumas, Zhou Quan

"Ringer, who do you think has the better chance of winning tonight?" On the TNT commentary bench, Robert Giddah asked.

Ringer Wilson said: "At present, many media have also made predictions for the G3 game, because it is the home court of the Pistons, and since the Battle of Auburn Hills, it has become the first home court in the league, so most of the media are more optimistic about the Pistons.

My opinion is that I'm still more bullish on the Bulls and home field advantage does help the home team, but Michael has been very strong every time he has been at Auburn Hills Palace and I think he will have a good performance this one after a bit of a slump in the last game. ”

Then Robert Giddah suddenly shouted, "Oh, look, who's coming?" ”

Ringer Wilson looked at it and couldn't help laughing: "Did Mr. David Stern personally supervise the battle?" He didn't go to Union Center Court in G1G2, but now he is at Auburn Hills Palace, should this be to prevent another battle of Auburn Hills? ”

Robert Gidda laughed and said, "It's possible." ”

At 10:00 a.m., the two teams met in the players' tunnel.

Rivals, it's the East Dueling again, no one speaks, not even eye contact, the weather in May, everyone in the audience outside is sweating profusely, but the atmosphere in the passage is cold and frozen.

At 8:15 a.m., the away team came out.

"Boom!"

The loud boos were like a tsunami, buzzing in all directions, causing everyone to lose any hearing in their ears.

When Jordan came out, the boos reached their climax.

He was greeted not only with endless boos, but also with endless invective, with a raised middle finger, and even some debris thrown down.

He chewed gum quickly and ran towards the pitch without a single expression, not at all affected.

"Pistons fans doing this will only anger him and make him play better." On the sidelines, Barkley couldn't help but shake his head.

Abdul-Jabbar looked at the terrifying Auburn Hills palace and couldn't help but say with emotion: "It really deserves to be the most terrifying home stadium in the league." ”

The two of them couldn't even hear themselves, and as soon as they came out, they were drowned out by the noise.

Soon, the home team came out.

"Boom!"

When Zhou Quan appeared first, the palace of Auburn Hills was in a boil, and the cheers and shouts were overwhelming.

His performance has conquered more and more Detroiters, and all the home fans are standing up and cheering for him at the moment.

Catherine also stood up, and she was also excited to see the 20,000 fans cheering for her boyfriend, but she was also even more lost and sad.

She doesn't want to be introduced, hey, this is Iron Fist's girlfriend, but she wants someone to say, hey, this is Katherine Jones's boyfriend.

She knows that she is very good, so she is definitely not willing to be the girlfriend of the little bird next to Iron Fist, and she wants to have her own light.

"Catherine?"

When she was in a trance, Zhou Quan's voice sounded in her ears, and it turned out that she had been embraced by her boyfriend.

"Oh roar!"

When he saw Zhou Quan kissing his girlfriend, a strange cry sounded in the palace of Auburn Hills, and the applause was very warm.

"Zhou, come here, Mr. Stern has something to say to you." At this time, Bill Davidson beckoned Zhou Quan over.

"Okay, boss."

Zhou Quan nodded at the boss Davidson, and then walked over and said to Stern with a respectful face: "Hello, Mr. Stern, it's a pleasure to see you in the Palace of Auburn Hills." ”

He didn't expect the president to come to watch the game, he was a little surprised, but he couldn't see it on his face, and he was still smiling.

It was the second time he saw Stern, the first time in the draft.

"Zhou, I'm glad to see you again, too."

Stretching out his right hand, the usual smile appeared on Stern's face.

After shaking hands, he smiled and said, "Zhou, the first two games of the Eastern Finals were good, and I am very happy to see your excellent performance." ”

"Thank you!" Zhou Quan smiled.

Stern continued: "I'm also glad to see that in the playoffs, you did a good job of maintaining restraint and letting the game go smoothly.

That's good, I don't want all kinds of violence in the game, you're a smart person and I'm sure you'll make the right choice. ”

Zhou Quan smiled and nodded, "Mr. Stern, I know that basketball is different from ice hockey, and I am very willing to abide by the rules here."

In fact, in the NBA, I've never tried to profit from the deliberate conflict caused by the hockey executioner.

It's true that there have been quite a few violent incidents on me, but the last time we were on the phone, I explained that it was all a provocation by the other side, and I was forced to fight back.

I'm not an American, I'm Chinese, I'm yellow-skinned, here, in America, I can't be weak, otherwise I'll be bullied badly.

You may not know that when I first arrived in the United States, I tried to back down at UCLA, and the result was double the humiliation and bullying.

Therefore, sir, I can only promise you that I will not take the initiative to provoke others, and I will not take the initiative to exercise violence, but if the other party exercises violence against me, I will definitely fight back. ”

Stern was a little surprised by Zhou Quan's toughness, but he could understand it, and after a little muttering, he said: "I can accept your counterattack, but Zhou, once you fight back, you will also accept punishment."

Also, you're boxing at UCLA, and there's probably no one in the league who is your opponent, so you can't defend too much, and you'll have to promise me. ”

"I can promise you that." Zhou Quan smiled.

Stern was happy and said, "Zhou, I noticed that you don't have a tendency to immigrate, why is that?" ”

Zhou Quan was stunned, although this was his private matter, he still explained: "In fact, I think that even if I immigrate to the United States, I will not be able to change my skin color, and it will not help my career in the United States much."

At the same time, I am even more proud of my country and nation, and I do not want to give up my nationality for the sake of my personal career. ”

Stern nodded, and then asked, "So what do you think about the future development of China?" ”

Zhou Quan thought for a while and said: "We have such a large population and are very industrious, I believe that one day we will develop." ”

Stern nodded thoughtfully and smiled: "Since a few years ago, the NBA has given away some clips to CCTV, and this year will be the same."

After the playoffs, I'll add some of your highlights to the clip, hoping it will help you develop back home. ”

"That's great! Thank you, Mr. Stern. Zhou Quan said happily.

……

At 8:28, the referee blew a whistle to signal the players of both sides to get ready to play.

"Victory! Victory! Victory ......"

Michael Jordan was surrounded by all the Bulls players in the middle and started roaring with the most angry voice, and all the Bulls players roared with him, and then two thousand Bulls fans.

"We are tough, tough, iron-willed, and we are fearless......"

But the next moment, the sound of the Bulls was drowned out by an even greater shout, and there was no splash at all, and there was only one voice left in the Auburn Hills palace, the shouts of 20,000 Pistons fans.

"Play."

Almost at the same time, Zhou Quan and Jordan roared and waved, leading their teammates onto the court.

"The G3 battle starts, it's definitely going to be a tight game, but we don't want a repeat of the Battle of Auburn Hills, so please keep your emotions in check and avoid too dangerous moves. Everyone must remember the words of Iron Fist, you are playing, not fighting. ”

On the TNT commentary seat, Robert Giddah reminded.

Then Ringer Wilson suddenly said, "Oh, look, the magician has arrived. Haha, put him behind the Pistons' bench, that's the best position, but he's afraid he doesn't like it very much. ”

Robert Jida said happily: "No way, the tickets have already been sold out, and that seat is probably still privately adjusted." ”

But he was wrong, Magic Johnson was very happy to sit behind the Pistons bench, so that his cheers for Michael Jordan and the Bulls would be more accessible to the Assassins, which was kind of bad fun, and he just wanted to disgust the Assassins.

The assassin was indeed answered, and his position was right in front of the magician, and he couldn't help but wonder the management, how did he arrange this guy so close? He was afraid of being infected.

"Jump ball, Pistons offense." That's when Ringer Wilson shouted.

Zhou Quan took the ball, Jordan blocked in front, his left elbow was crossed, he began to push forward, and after reaching the frontcourt, he went to the right wing.

"Pick-and-roll."

Jordan immediately understood that this was a tactic that the Pistons often played in the last game, with Iron Fist and Joe Dumas doing the pick-and-roll on the right wing, and then Iron Fist singled John Paxson.

The reason why he didn't defend Zhou Quan in the last game was because of the loss of blocking and dismantling tactics.

In response to this tactic, Phil Jackson asked them not to change their defense in the last game, but the effect was average, often after he bypassed Joe Dumas, and then chased Zhou Quan, he had to be one and a half beats slower, so Phil Jackson asked them to try the defensive change tactics today.

Such tactical considerations are because Zhou Quan has not shown outstanding outside singles skills, and under normal circumstances, the outside shooting rate is low.

In the outside single defense Zhou Quan, as long as others follow their own people, they can limit his strongest passing ability to the greatest extent.

But it's a pity that such defensive tactics didn't achieve their goal in the last game, because in the last game, Zhou Quan went directly into the paint area, compressed their bag to the greatest extent, and completed a deadly pass in the crowd.

"Changing guards?"

Zhou Quan bypassed behind Joe Dumas, found that John Paxson was following him, and immediately began to accelerate, directly changing direction to accelerate over, if Paxson dared to block him, he would directly knock over and kill in.

However, instead of choosing to block, Paxson stuck to his left side, interfering with his ball-handling breakthrough and preventing him from making an easy shot.

The Bulls didn't arrange a wing pack, and Grant was in the low post on the right wing and didn't come out to pack, so the Pistons didn't have any open spots, and he had to choose to play by himself.

The Bulls are already clear about his defensive tactics, and it's still the same as the last game, not to contain him without getting into the paint.

This is a test of his mid-range singles ability, and it is said that he naturally has a mismatch advantage in the No. 1 position, and if John Paxson is not effective in singles, then there will be a big decline in his evaluation and future potential assessment.

Zhou Quan advanced some distance to the paint area, and seeing that he was close to the right waist, Paxson, who had no choice, had to speed up and go around to the front to take the top defense.

Zhou Quan immediately started to play with his back, facing upwards, holding the ball with his left hand, and after two back arches, he smoothly approached the right waist position.

With a low right wing and a step inside the right sideline in the paint area, Grant is ready to wrap the clip, and as long as Iron Fist dares to come in, he will be the first to wrap the clip.

His current position seals the possibility of Zhou Quan slipping to the bottom, if Zhou Quan wants to come in, he can only turn around and break through, and he has even simulated the next offensive and defensive scene in his heart: he moved into place first, and then was knocked down by Zhou Quan who turned around and broke through, and finally the referee's whistle sounded, and Zhou Quan committed a foul on offense.

At this moment, with his right foot as the axis and his left hand controlling the ball, Zhou Quan suddenly turned up, flung his right elbow and knocked away John Paxson behind.

The next moment, Grant shook off Rodman and quickly moved up, ready to take the lead.

"Cobra?"

However, as soon as Grant moved upwards, Zhou Quan saw his movements in the corner of his right eye.

In the full-level panoramic vision, there is no difference between his afterglow and facing the face, and when a person turns around, his eyes are turned first, so he sees Grant's movements for the first time, and it is time for him to strain.

He didn't have any good feelings about Grant, because it was this guy who caused the Battle of Auburn Hills, which made the assassins more and more injured, and seriously affected the current state of the assassins, otherwise the Pistons would have been stronger.

The next moment, when Grant was in one step and blocked his way, he suddenly changed direction slightly downward, and at the same time stuffed the ball between Grant's legs with his left hand and passed it to himself in the next moment.

The next moment, he slipped sideways between Grant and Paxson, and the ball went through the crotch and into his left hand.

"Bang!"

Then, he jumped up, held the axe in one hand, and violently smashed the dunk, instantly blasting the Bulls' basket, so that Cartwhite who was fighting with John Seley in the low post on the left wing had no time to return to defense.

"Boom!"

The palace of Auburn Hills was in a state of boiling.

On the commentary seat, the bearded John Lowes excitedly shouted: "Beautiful! Iron Fist penetrated all of the Bulls' defense with the first shot, and he made the Bulls' defense useless. ”

(End of chapter)