Chapter 32: Mourning Exits, the Game Belongs to Lin Tian!

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Many people say that Mourning’s temper is where the greatest difference between him and the Four Great Centers lies.

None of the Four Great Centers could exactly be called mild-tempered, but they were at least capable of controlling themselves to some extent and usually managed not to do too many irrational things.

Mourning was different. He was practically a powder keg that could explode at the slightest spark. Once his temper flared, he cared about nothing else and had to vent his anger before anything more could happen.

So, after Lin Tian and Pippen provoked him together, Mourning’s explosive temper was ignited once again. He attacked the paint more fiercely, played with greater violence, and charged even harder on defense.

The result was that Mourning scored six straight points in the paint, completely overwhelming the Bulls’ interior defense.

But the price he paid was substantial.

Kukoc drew an offensive foul on him, and when Lin Tian attacked him on the defensive end, he was called for another foul.

Less than three minutes into the second quarter, Mourning had been whistled for two fouls in succession, bringing his total to three. He had no choice but to leave the game.

Although the Heat had managed to claw back some of the deficit by then, everyone knew that Mourning’s departure meant the Heat were finished.

Jackson did not even rush to bring Jordan back onto the court. Instead, he let the players already on the floor continue.

Without Mourning in the middle, the Heat not only had Kurt Thomas, an inadequate replacement, but also lacked a single reliable defender on the perimeter. With no way to defend or secure rebounds inside or out, the game had completely turned into Lin Tian’s showcase.

First, he blew past his defender, drove into the paint, and forced up a layup over Thomas.

Then the Heat missed their shot. Pippen grabbed the rebound and fired a long pass to Lin Tian, who took off with the ball like a gust of wind, raced to the basket, and finished another layup.

Lin Tian was at it again. After calling for a screen at the top of the key, he used the pick-and-roll to blow past his man, drove into the paint, and forced in another layup while drawing a foul from Thomas.

And-one!

After scoring seven straight points, Lin Tian led his team on a tremendous run.

And Lin Tian’s performance was far from over.

On the next possession, the already-dazed Heat committed a foolish mistake. While passing the ball back and forth above the arc, they were picked off by Pippen. The loose ball was snatched up by Lin Tian, who immediately launched another fast break.

Because Lin Tian had scored seven consecutive points, nearly the entire Heat defense had shifted its focus onto him. Three Heat players charged straight at him without hesitation.

Faced with the three-man trap, Lin Tian suddenly stopped near midcourt, as if he had been frightened, looking utterly helpless and unsure of what to do.

But before the Heat fans could celebrate, and before the three defenders had completely closed in, Lin Tian threw the ball away.

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The ball flew straight from midcourt to the Heat basket.

Boom!

A second explosive sound followed.

Pippen had stolen the ball and finished the break with an alley-oop dunk, adding two more points.

47–30!

The gap between the teams was racing toward twenty points.

At that point, Riley had no choice but to call a timeout, hoping his team could steady itself.

But it was obviously futile.

Apart from Mourning, the Heat had no one capable of carrying the team on his own. Riley certainly did not dare put Mourning, who already had three fouls, back on the court, so the Heat were destined to remain completely out of rhythm.

And the Bulls had just made another adjustment.

Jordan returned to the floor. The Bulls were launching their final assault.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

That was Jordan and the Bulls.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

That was the Heat.

The two teams displayed a tremendous gap in both individual ability and tactical execution. The Heat no longer had any power to resist.

By halftime, they had scored only thirty-nine points, while the Bulls had already exploded for sixty-one.

A twenty-two-point deficit, given the pace and scoring efficiency of that era, was absolutely irreversible.

Even so, this was a home game, and the Heat still had to show some fight. So, at the start of the third quarter, Mourning was sent back onto the floor once again.

To his credit, he immediately scored on two consecutive post-ups, cutting the deficit to fewer than twenty points.

But the Heat clearly could not hold on with him alone.

Nor was there any chance of reducing the deficit further.

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The two teams began another tug-of-war, with the margin hovering around twenty points.

Six minutes into the third quarter, Jackson, whose team held a commanding lead, began rotating his lineup early. He sent his starters to the bench to rest and prepare for the games ahead, putting Lin Tian, Kerr, Kukoc, Wennington, and the others on the floor together.

On the Heat’s side, Mourning had no chance to rest. The moment he left the game, the Bulls would inevitably unleash a huge offensive run, and the deficit would immediately surge toward thirty points.

But could his presence actually prevent that from happening?

Obviously not.

People called him an Iron Man, but he was not literally made of iron. After carrying the team for so long at such an intense level, his stamina had begun to decline noticeably, even though he had rested for much of the second quarter.

Once he realized this, Lin Tian knew it was time for him to put on a show.

He called for another screen, having Wennington seal off the defender, and took Mourning one-on-one.

“Rookie, did I hear that right? You actually want to challenge me?” Mourning rarely found himself targeted for an isolation play during his career.

He immediately taunted Lin Tian. “Why don’t you go home and ask your father what kind of man I am?”

“A self-important coward. A center with no real ability. A second-rate big man inferior to Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and Shawn Kemp. What’s wrong? Do you need me to add anything?” Lin Tian fired back without hesitation.

“Kid! I’ll show you exactly what I’m capable of! I’ll block your shot so hard you’ll fly into the stands, and you’ll have to fly home!” Mourning angrily slapped the floor. He was going to summon every ounce of strength he had and teach Lin Tian a lesson. “I’ll send you crawling back to that barren, poverty-stricken hometown of yours, where you can go back to eating corn and wearing leaves! Come on, trash!”

But the instant Mourning slammed his hand against the floor in fury, Lin Tian exploded into motion.

His terrifying speed burst forth once again. Like a bolt of lightning, he flashed past Mourning.

Mourning heard only a whoosh before the rookie disappeared from in front of him.

Only then did he finally understand what Riley had meant in the scouting report he had given the team before the game, beside Lin Tian’s name: “Very fast. Be careful.”

Damn it! This was what they called “very fast”? This was clearly explosive speed!

When he got back, he absolutely had to fire the team’s scout. That scouting report had been completely useless.