Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 467 The Craziest Single-Month Performance in History! Lin Tian Destroys the Entire Federatio

This first half was absolutely the happiest and most frenzied half for the Indiana players in over a month—they let loose! They let it all out!

Although our opponent is just a weak team, this weak team was incredibly arrogant last month, practically defecating on our heads!

We have to beat him until his face is covered in peach blossoms today!

For more than ten minutes during halftime, the fans were in a state of extreme jubilation. The noise they made during halftime was probably louder than that of more than half of the teams in the league during a normal game!

If Indiana had any earthquake monitoring agency or similar organization, everyone would probably be working overtime tonight.

There was no way around it; the vibrations inside the stadium were just too great.

It's definitely comparable to a small earthquake.

Then, when the third quarter began and the players from both sides took to the court again, Lin Tian continued his godlike performance and insane output that night.

On the first offensive play of the third quarter, Lin Tian faced off against the unfortunate number one, Ford, at the top of the arc.

Ford, who had only played less than six minutes in the first half, was now fully focused, lowering his center of gravity and glaring fiercely at Lin Tian: "I won't fall for it again! Don't even think about tricking me into committing a foul! I'll get my revenge for the team in the second half!"

"Impressive." Lin Tian dribbled the ball while pursing his lips. Then, he suddenly took a signature lateral step back to create distance, and then gathered the ball and raised it towards the sky.

Ford, who had just sworn not to fall for a trick and never to foul again, and to get revenge for the team, almost immediately forgot his vow. Like a dog seeing a bone, he jumped up as soon as he saw Lin Tian collect the ball and raise his hand.

Then?

Lin Tian earned 3 free throws, while Ford committed his fourth foul. Both players have bright futures and exciting performances to look forward to.

Seven seconds into the third quarter, Ford committed a foul by jumping too easily and was forced to leave the court.

This time, the guy was really angry. When he walked to the sidelines, he raised his leg and kicked a beverage bottle at the sidelines.

Then, by sheer bad luck, the beverage bottle hit the referee on the head.

The referee immediately turned around and saw Ford, whose face was full of displeasure and anger.

What are you hesitating for? It's definitely on purpose!

"Technical foul!"

Without a second thought, the referee immediately issued a technical foul to Ford.

A full beverage bottle, it hurts like hell!

The fact that the referee didn't immediately eject him is already considered very lenient.

But to everyone's surprise, Ford was completely unmoved. Instead of explaining or apologizing to the referee, he glared at the referee, spread his arms, and yelled, "Why did you give me a technical foul! I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't aim at your disgusting ugly head!"

"Your head is big, you're a big target, I could kick you anytime, and you're blaming me? FUXX! Instead of blaming me for kicking you, why don't you blame your own big head?"

Ford's unnecessary outburst can only achieve one result.

The second technical foul resulted in his immediate ejection!

This night was undoubtedly the worst and most painful night of Ford's short career; he felt that no one was more depressed and desperate than he was tonight.

Crawford: No, I am! I'm way more depressed than you!

You only lost playing time and your stats were bad, but Lin stole my life!

Why should he use my signature move?

I'm still using it!

They even use it in different ways!

It looks better than mine!

That night, Crawford was truly driven to despair by Lin Tian's beating.

He regretted it, regretted not being more discreet and reserved after the decisive battle that day, and regretted provoking that Indian.

But obviously, it was too late for regrets. He had to watch Lin Tian use behind-the-back dribbles and small hops to shake him off and score again and again.

Continuous Minotaur.

With Ford nearly self-destructing and being ejected by the referee, Crawford being overwhelmed by Lin Tian to the point of questioning his existence, and Curry's legs going weak as usual in the second half with his stamina running out early, the Bulls' most scoring players were essentially all rendered useless.

In the first half, they were able to barely compete with Lin Tian and the Pacers with their firepower, but in the second half, as Lin Tian made 5 consecutive free throws in less than 10 seconds to widen the gap to more than 20 points, they collapsed completely. Whether it was Crawford, Curry or the substitute Gil, none of them could put the ball into the basket.

Three minutes into the third quarter, the Bulls managed to score their first points of the game with a putback by Chandler!

But this one putback was clearly not enough to help the Bulls close the gap, and the difference between the two sides continued to widen.

With four minutes left in the third quarter, Lin Tian broke through Gil again, drove hard to the basket, and scored a layup, bringing his total to 60 points once more!

This also widened the gap between the two sides to 30 points!

Just look at the helpless, dejected, confused, and dazed expressions on the faces of the Bulls' key players, and you'll know: the Bulls are finished tonight!

At this point, Carlisle stopped letting Lin Tian play and waited only one round before calling a timeout during a dead ball to substitute Lin Tian.

Before leaving the field, Lin Tian suddenly turned around and jumped onto the scorer's table, shouting to the fans in the stands, "That's my horse!"

"This is my horse!"

"This is my horse!"

The fans at Conseco Centre were finally free. They cheered along with Lin Tian, ​​and every shout felt like a sharp blade piercing Crawford's heart.

regret!

The good news is that with Lin Tian off the court, the Pacers' revenge tonight has come to an end.

Yes, it's just that tonight's revenge has come to an end!

Lin Tian is a notoriously petty person. How could he possibly just bully you once and move on after seeing you act so arrogantly and wantonly in his territory?

In particular, the Bulls and Pacers will have to play two games in a row!

With such a tight schedule, it's hard to even forget.

What can Lin Tian do? He can only win one more game!

The second game, which moved to the United Center in Chicago, was almost a carbon copy of the first game.

Lin Tian scored like crazy. The Bulls managed to find their rhythm and respond at times, but most of the time they could only take a beating, getting thoroughly beaten by Lin Tian and the Pacers.

In every aspect, these two teams are not in the same league!

If there's any difference between the two games, it's that Lin Tian's performance dipped slightly in the second game. He only scored 42 points in the first three quarters, and his total score for both games barely exceeded 100.

And, in the final moments of the third quarter, when Lin Tian once again faced Crawford and executed his signature behind-the-back dribble and hop step, then hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to bring his score to 42 points, Lin Tian once again jumped onto the scorer's table and shouted at the fans.

Again!

But unlike Crawford, whose current status means that even if he shouted that at the fans in the United Center, Chicagoans might not necessarily listen to him.

How can someone who has been protected by a lion possibly look down on a wild wolf?

But Lin Tian is different.

He was once one of the lions of Chicago, and the fiercest one at that.

The second-best Chicago GOAT after Jordan, truly deserving of the title.

He shouted "This is my horse!" at the United Centre, receiving a wild cheer, shouts, and incredibly excited response.

Then, the referee came over and gave Lin Tian a T, indicating that he couldn't do that.

Even though Lin Tian quickly returned to the bench and began to put on various protective gear and ice packs to take care of himself, the fans in the stadium were already going wild.

He said, "This is my horse!" He still feels this is his home!

He still loves us!

He only temporarily brought his talent to Indiana. After all, he was a kid from Chicago. Young Caesar, after seven years of venturing out, Lin finally missed home!

If you miss home, then bring him back!

"Come home, Lin! Come home, Lin!"

"We want forests! We want forests!"

"Give us Lin! Give us Lin!"

"Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!"

The fans at the scene began to roar wildly, chanting Lin Tian's name and the name of General Manager Jerry Krause.

Since Jordan, Lin Tian, ​​Pippen, Rodman and others left in 98, the Bulls dynasty collapsed overnight. The Bulls have never made the playoffs again, and Krause has never received a single cheer or shout in the United Center or in the whole of Chicago.

Fans feel like spitting at him whenever they see him.

Six years! It's been a full six years since Jordan left!

Klaus once again felt the passion and love of the fans.

Klaus, who was sitting in the private room, actually had a few tears in his eyes. This fat man who only cared about profit was actually a little moved!

See, our fans still love me! They still know how important I am!

Bring Lin back?

It's not that it's impossible...

Although Klaus can be a bit timid at times, he is mostly a man of action. Feeling a bit emotional, he immediately picked up the phone and called the team owner, Reinsdorf.

"Boss, what do you think about us working hard this offseason and re-signing Lin?"

"Of course! Are you sure you can do it?"

"Yes! We have feelings for Lin. We didn't fall out back then. Scott was able to come back, so why can't Lin? As long as we give him money, that's fine! Lin has said before that his new contract is only about money! Indiana has almost no chance of keeping him, and has never tried to keep him."

"He'll definitely leave. If we give him enough money, I think we have hope!"

"Enough money? 1 million over 4 years?" Reinsdorf muttered. "If it's Lin, it's not impossible."

……

Klaus felt as if six dots had flown past his head.

1 million in 4 years?

He didn't know how to talk to his boss.

Call him stupid? At least he knew that Lin Tian's contract with the new team could only be for a maximum of four years.

One hundred million? Just hearing that number made Krause want to shove Reinsdorf's head against the horn on the Bulls logo and rub it hard.

Anyway, based on Klaus's connections and the information he's recently gathered, even 1 million over 3 years might not be enough to win over Lin Tian, ​​let alone 4 years?

If Lin Tian is willing to say even one more word to me, it would be a sign that Lin Tian is showing me kindness!

"If all else fails, adding a little more isn't out of the question," Reinsdorf's voice came again. "I can accept something like 1.1 for 4 years! I'll leave this to you. You can give Lin Bao a lower price first, like 9000 million for 4 years, and then slowly raise it to show our sincerity."

"Oh, and you could also call Scott. He and Lin get along quite well, don't they? The two of you together should be able to handle Lin!"

Klaus was cursing furiously as he listened to Reinsdorf's words.

He was completely disillusioned with this stingy boss.

You're telling me to go find Lin myself, fine, but you're also making me bring Pippen along?

Damn it, all that's making me lose face twice is...

Does Pippen not know how much Lin Tian is worth in his contract? Does he not know that a four-year, $100 million contract is utter nonsense?

Klaus was 100% certain that if he went to Pippen with this price and invited him to help persuade Lin Tian, ​​he would only receive merciless ridicule and looks of disbelief.

I'd be mistaken for an idiot by Pippen.

A strong urge to resign suddenly surged into Klaus's heart.

This was a thought and impulse he had never had since becoming the general manager of the Bulls.

Because after Reinsdorf said that, Klaus became certain of one thing.

That means the Bulls are doomed! With a boss like that, unless the team gets incredibly lucky and gets another number one draft pick (1.7% chance), this team is finished!

The world is so big, Klaus wants to see it.

……

Lin Tian had no idea that his battle had made Klaus want to resign and go home, but of course, Lin Tian didn't care about it.

His goal wasn't to get Klaus fired.

If we had to pinpoint Lin Tian's next goal, it would be to get all the general managers in the league fired!

After two big wins against the Bulls, the Pacers had a day off and then traveled to Boston's TD Garden to face off against the Celtics, their top contender for a playoff spot!

Currently, the Celtics have a record of 35 wins and 35 losses, ranking eighth in the Eastern Conference, while the Pacers, thanks to these two wins against the Bulls, have also improved their record to 34 wins and 35 losses.

If the Pacers beat the Celtics tonight, they will overtake their opponents in winning percentage and return to the top eight in the Eastern Conference!

On the other hand, the Celtics, who have been in good form recently, will extend their lead to 1.5 games if they can win this crucial game in the playoff race. This lead will give them back control of the playoff race!

Before the start of this season, the Celtics traded away one of their star players, Antoine Walker, because the team's performance had been stagnant for many years. However, the assets they received in return were unremarkable, and the team went from having two stars to having only one without any reinforcements.

This has turned the Celtics, who used to get 47 or 48 wins in the past few years, into a team that hovers around 50% win rate this season.

They didn't slip much, but they were completely out of the competition in the playoffs.

Or rather, their goal has shifted from making a splash in the playoffs and striving for a breakthrough to simply getting into the playoffs.

From this perspective, the Pacers and the Celtics have vastly different goals!

The course of the match afterwards proved everything.

Pierce, playing as the sole star, was helpless against the Pacers' strategy of using Artest as the primary defender and Christie to double-team and harass him at any time. He simply couldn't break free from the two players' targeting, and every offensive play was extremely difficult.

If it were before, the team would have had Walker to help him out of his predicament.

The problem is, besides Pierce, the team only has LaFrentz, Ricky Davis, and others. Can they really expect these players to beat the Pacers?

Pierce felt it was more reliable for him to continue to confront Artest head-on!

Throughout the game, Pierce, playing alone, was relentlessly attacked and contained by the Pacers. He only made 8 of 21 shots, scoring just 20 points while also committing 4 turnovers. With the team's leader performing so poorly, it goes without saying that the rest of the team also fared even worse.

In this crucial playoff seeding battle, the Celtics failed to pose much of a challenge to the Pacers, who easily defeated them!

It was after this game that the Pacers' winning percentage returned to 50%, and the team returned to the playoffs after a month's absence!

Eighth in the East!

And their next target...

Well, there's basically no next target. The seventh-placed Cavaliers are now 41-30, 5.5 games behind the Pacers. With only about 10 games left in the regular season, it's practically impossible for the Pacers to overtake the Cavaliers.

"I know the odds are slim," Lin Tian said after the game against the Celtics. "But I don't care. Our goal is to win as many games as we can, and to surpass as many opponents as we can!"

"We aim for the highest possible ranking to enter the playoffs and begin our playoff campaign!"

"So what are your goals for this year's playoffs?"

"What's your goal this year?" In response to the reporter's question, Lin Tian smiled confidently: "Nothing's changed, still the championship! Our goal this year remains the overall championship!"

"But you only have a 50% win rate right now, you're only ranked eighth in the East, you..."

"We will create miracles!" Lin Tian shrugged and continued to tell the reporters, "Never underestimate the heart of a champion!"

The heart of a champion!

Lin Tian plagiarized Tomjanovich's famous quote, but none of the reporters present dared to refute it.

It's not just because the Pacers have won five championships in the past six years, nor is it just because Lin Tian has returned to the court.

The biggest reason is that Lin Tian played 40 minutes tonight and scored 49 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, almost a triple-double. Also, after being fully reinstated in the last three games, he has scored at least 40 points in three consecutive games. His performance is really a bit scary!

However, Lin Tian's subsequent performance told everyone that his form was just beginning to improve! And his statement, "Never underestimate the heart of a champion," was no joke!

At the same time, Lin Tian also proved that his firepower is not only effective against weak teams.

Lin Tian will play against any of the league's top teams without hesitation!

Against New Jersey, the second-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, Lin Tian played the full 48 minutes, scoring 58 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists. In the final minute of the game, he twice took advantage of screens to isolate and score against Yao Ming, hitting three-pointers on both occasions, thus securing the victory and giving his team their fourth consecutive win!

After this four-game winning streak, the Pacers embarked on their final Western Conference tour of the regular season.

In the first game, against the Western Conference powerhouse Mavericks, facing the league's most offensively potent team, Lin Tian once again played 47 minutes, scoring 61 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals.

In the final three minutes of the game, the Pacers were down by 10 points, but then Lin Tian scored 16 points in a row with drives to the basket and outside shots, including a buzzer-beating mid-range jumper to seal the victory!

Lin Tian led his team on a 16-3 offensive surge in 3 minutes, allowing the Pacers to narrowly escape and win their first game of the Western Expedition.

The Pacers then traveled to San Antonio to face the Spurs, who were ninth in the West, only one game behind eighth, and were struggling for a playoff spot!

In this game, Carlisle brought out Artest to match up against James, and this strategy proved to be quite effective! Under Artest's relentless defense throughout the game, James still managed to put up an impressive stat line of 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists on 10-of-24 shooting, but he also committed 6 turnovers!

If it weren't for Randolph's dominant performance in the paint, racking up a massive double-double of 39 points and 18 rebounds, the Spurs would have been crushed by the Pacers long ago!

But thanks to Randolph's outburst, the Spurs kept the score close until the very end!

Then it was Lin Tian and Artest again. With 23 seconds left in the game, the two suddenly increased their defensive intensity near the free-throw line, double-teaming James. Then Artest stole the ball, and Lin Tian received the ball and made a fast break dunk, extending the lead to 5 points!

Then Popovich called a timeout and gave some instructions. James then made a relentless and forceful drive to the basket, unleashing his signature tomahawk dunk!

With a loud "boom!", the Spurs successfully narrowed the gap to 3 points with 10 seconds left in the game.

Then the Spurs intentionally fouled, and Lin Tian made both free throws. James then raced against time to drive to the basket and dunk for another 2 points. However, with little time remaining, the suspense of the game was completely eliminated.

In this game, in addition to the Spurs' star duo scoring more than 60 points, Lin Tian himself played 47 minutes and scored 55 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists, nearly achieving a triple-double. It was precisely because of Lin Tian's firepower and his steady performance in the final moments that the Pacers once again narrowly escaped defeat!

The Pacers then traveled day and night to Salt Lake City, where they faced the Utah Jazz, led by Jermaine O'Neal and Karl Malone.

As Lin Tian's mortal enemy and Lin Tian's number one unlucky guy, Ma Long had already announced that this year would be his last year and that he had decided to retire.

Perhaps because of his decision to retire, or perhaps because he has finally let go of his obsession with the championship, Ma Long has become surprisingly calm this season. He even shook hands and hugged Lin Tian before the game.

"Lin, you won!" For the first time in his life, and most likely for the last, Ma Long praised Lin Tian face-to-face: "You are my strongest rival in this life. You are stronger than me, and I accept my defeat wholeheartedly. But tonight is our final battle, and I will absolutely not lose again!"

"Karl, thank you for the compliment," Lin Tian said with a smile. "But I have to say, there are many people who have defeated you, from Iverson to Pierce to Michael, Robinson and Olajuwon."

"I'm just one of them, insignificant!"

"Furthermore, the term 'arch-rival' refers to a situation where there are back-and-forth battles, wins and losses, and it is difficult to determine a winner or loser, with neither side being superior to the other."

"But between the two of us, we don't have that! I've always been the one dominating you!"

"Go to hell! Don't give me a chance, or I'll retire half a month early just to give you an elbow and make you be carried out lying down!" This time, Ma Long was really angry with Lin Qi. He gave him the middle finger and then turned and left.

Lin Tian and Ma Long definitely still hate each other and will never become friends, nor will they simply let bygones be bygones.

But at least tonight, when they met for the last time on the NBA court, the two of them somewhat put aside their grudges.

Let's settle things on the basketball court!

Perhaps it was the relief of letting go of his inner turmoil, or perhaps it was the ease of finally letting go. In any case, Malone, who averaged only 15 points and 7 rebounds per game this season and never scored more than 30 points, unleashed his most insane firepower of the season on this night.

He scored a game-high 41 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, while his frontcourt partner, Jermaine O'Neal, added 30 points and 15 rebounds. The two top big men combined for 71 points, completely overwhelming the Pacers' interior defense.

But faced with the two's insane output and perfect condition, Lin Tian, ​​unsurprisingly, also continued to unleash his power!

He didn't rest for a second tonight, playing the full 48 minutes and racking up 68 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists! His firepower alone almost offset the combined outbursts of Malone and O'Neal. Thanks to his incredible performance, the Pacers managed to gain a 5-point lead in the final two minutes of the game.

Then, the Jazz relied on their inside game to dominate, and the weakness of their outside help became apparent. Their starting guard, Arroyo, was unable to pass the ball properly to the inside when facing Lin Tian's all-out defense.

Haslem and Miller, who had been relentlessly suppressed by the Jazz throughout the game, showed their true colors at this moment, using fronting, aggressive physical contact and confrontation to squeeze the space and angles for these two to receive the ball.

After employing a two-pronged approach, in the final two minutes of the game, Malone and O'Neal were even unable to receive the ball to initiate an attack, let alone score.

In this situation, the Jazz only scored a total of 2 points in the last two minutes, which was an insignificant mid-range jump shot by Arroyo after the game was already decided.

The Jazz suffered a disappointing loss due to a lack of firepower in the final moments and a weak outside offense.

With this, the Pacers' record has reached 39 wins and 35 losses! Since Lin Tian was fully reinstated and began playing without restraint and unleashing his full offensive potential, the Pacers have achieved a 7-game winning streak! In these games, Lin Tian has scored over 40 points in all of them, including 3 games with 60+ points and 1 game with 50 points!

Lin Tian has been playing like a madman in these 7 matches!

More importantly, since defeating the Celtics, Lin Tian has barely rested. In the four games against the Nets, Mavericks, Spurs, and Jazz, he played more than 47 minutes in all of them! He played the entire game in two of them!

All those who said Lin Tian lacked stamina mid-season shut up after Lin Tian's crazy burst of output.

After all, if someone is still lacking stamina after so many games of relentless attacking, then there is no one in the league with any stamina left!

After defeating the Jazz, the Pacers finally faced a relatively weaker opponent: the Trail Blazers, currently ranked 11th in the Western Conference and already in the process of rebuilding.

Facing such a weak team, Lin Tian finally didn't have to play the entire game again, and his fiery performance finally started to decline.

He played 41 minutes, shooting only 11 of 25, and recorded a triple-double of 33 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. The Pacers finally avoided going to the final possession again and easily defeated the Trail Blazers, continuing their winning streak.

After such a perfect road trip, the Pacers achieved their goal of winning five consecutive road games, bringing their entire March season to a close!

They started with a 2-3 record and ended with an 8-game winning streak!

They achieved an impressive record of 10 wins and 3 losses throughout the month, ranking third in the league during the same period!

If you didn't watch the game, you would definitely think that the invincible Pacers team is back!

But if you watched the game, or at least looked at the statistics, you would know: it's not that the invincible Pacers have returned, but that the invincible Lin has returned!

The Pacers' winning streak and breakout performance were all thanks to Lin Tian alone!

Throughout March, Lin Tian played 13 games, averaging 39.1 minutes per game. This includes 5 games at the beginning of the month where his playing time was limited, and 5 consecutive games where his playing time was limited to no more than 30 minutes! This further illustrates how crazy Lin Tian's performance was in the last few games!

在这13场比赛中，林天场均拿下45.5分11.3篮板8.8助攻2.8次抢断的恐怖数据！

而如果只算他解除了限制之后的8场比赛，那幺林天场均更是能够轰下夸张的53.3分10.9篮板8.3助攻3.5抢断！

It's no exaggeration to say that a god of war has descended to earth or Jesus has come to earth!

More importantly, while Lin Tian was playing so brilliantly, the Pacers also won eight consecutive games!

Lin Tian wants both the data and the results!

Of course, Lin Tian also won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for March, which is not a particularly prestigious award, but it was the first time Lin Tian had won it this season.

This March, Lin Tian struck fear into the hearts of the entire league. Almost every team was terrified by Lin Tian's firepower and were thankful that they did not encounter Lin Tian and the Pacers during this period and did not become his victims!

With March over, the gap between the Pacers and the Celtics has widened to two games. With only seven games left in the regular season, it will be very difficult for the Celtics to overtake the Pacers!

Thanks to Lin Tian's March celebrations, the Pacers finally emerged from their predicament and barely secured a playoff spot!

But along with this good news, some bad news also arrived as March came to a close. (End of Chapter)