Chapter 1069: 343: He Is My Curse, and Yours Too!

Words : 965 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

Chapter 1069: Chapter 343: He Is My Curse, and Yours Too! Michael Jordan saw the situation and sank into the low post because James was attracted by Marion, so the person responsible for defending Jordan at this time was Michael Reed. This was a spot Jordan was very confident he could dominate! After securing the position, Marion bounced the ball to Michael Jordan. Jordan faked a shoulder move, turned left, and made a jump shot. Reed quickly reacted, leaping up to block. But Jordan immediately adjusted, faked Reed in the air, and turned right for another jump shot. Facing Big Z’s interference, Jordan increased the arc of the basketball. Finally, the basketball soared over Big Z’s fingertips and swished through the net! The brilliance of this back-to-the-basket play made everyone in the arena stand up and cheer. Even at 41, the fluidity and spectacle of those moves were still top-notch in the league. 4-2, the Atlanta Hawks took the lead! In front of the TV, Roger never thought in his lifetime that he would feel happy because of that bastard Michael Jordan’s scoring. “Look, Kevin, the moves of the old blood, no matter how long the new blood trains, they can’t replicate them.” “Why replicate his moves? Winning is all that matters.” Their conversation grew increasingly confrontational, much like the rivalry on the court between the two teams. After the first quarter, LeBron James and Michael Jordan contributed one exciting score after another, thrilling the fans. Breaking free from Roger’s defense, James attacked the basket with ease, dominating the rim three times in the first quarter alone. The intensely competitive Michael Jordan, on the other hand, used brief attacks, taking no more than three dribbles to penetrate the Cavaliers’ defense repeatedly. The match unexpectedly turned tense; the veterans were unwilling to be dominated by the younger players. In the second quarter, when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen went to rest, the Cavaliers took the opportunity to stretch the lead to seven points. It looked like the rotations would be the Achilles’ heel for the Hawks. Therefore, in the second quarter, Michael Jordan told Terry Stotts, who took over as the Hawks’ head coach after Lenny Wilkens retired: “Reduce my and Scottie’s rest time!” In the second quarter, Michael Jordan went all out. He stopped and popped for mid-range jumpers, scored with his back-to-the-basket play, and used deceptive rhythms to cut out for shots. These classical mid-range skills, complex fakes, exquisite footwork, and varied rhythms were like walking into a historical museum, with dusty old treasures shining brightly again today. Michael Reed never thought a 41-year-old would be so hard to guard; he couldn’t imagine how Roger had managed to defeat this guy at his peak. Reed had a mistaken understanding of Jordan’s strength because, in front of Roger, whether it was LeBron James or Michael Jordan, they seemed as if they couldn’t play basketball, and Jordan put on extremely shameful performances in the two matches against Roger. But when you personally go to defend Jordan, you marvel at his strong offense while also marveling at Roger’s even stronger defense! Jordan contributed one brilliant jump shot after another, narrowing the deficit to just three points by halftime. Until the buzzer sounded, Roger and Garnett, who claimed to have no interest in the game, realized they had been watching for a while. Garnett took a sip of water and no longer spoke of “Michael has no chance of winning”: “Shall we watch the second half?” “Of course.” Roger answered without hesitation. The two sat on the couch, neither willing to stand up. In the second half, LeBron James continued to attack the paint. He played decisively today, which was what all the James fans wanted to see. This time, this young number 23 didn’t get lost in critical moments. He certainly wouldn’t get lost, as James knew very well this was the night he could establish his reputation. After saying those words in an interview, he needed a victory to completely change the downward trend of his rookie season. Michael Jordan’s shooting accuracy wavered in the third quarter, providing James a golden opportunity to cement the win. Yet Scottie Pippen stepped up. He couldn’t help Jordan with scoring pressure too much now, but he disrupted the Cavaliers’ passes several times in the third quarter, using experience and precise anticipation to compensate for speed, breaking off the Cavaliers’ momentum repeatedly just as they were about to surge. Seeing the fans cheering for him, the fans waving his big head cutouts, Scottie Pippen felt very gratified. This was what a real retirement tour was about! At the end of the third quarter, the Cavaliers still led by seven points, but this was definitely not the outcome LeBron James or any Cavaliers player wanted to see. Under the veterans’ tenacious resistance, the gap wasn’t widened, leaving the suspense for the fourth quarter. This meant the playoff ticket was still not firmly in the Cavaliers’ grasp. During the third quarter break, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were panting heavily. The fans around were shouting at them. “Take down LeBron, you’ve got this!” “One more quarter, hold on!” “May the Atlanta Savior bless you!” The coach was excitedly pounding the tactics board: “I’ll say it again, speed up the collapsing! Except for Michael Reed, we can leave anyone on the Cavaliers open! We must ensure one thing: don’t let LeBron break through easily! Stop him, take him down!” The shouting fans, the roaring coach, the formidable opponents, the tough competition, the intense desire to win… Shawn Marion felt a bit dazed; on this night, he seemed to return to Roger’s era, as if he was competing against the Cavaliers for the championship.

Chapter 1069: 343: He Is My Curse, and Yours Too!

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