Spectrum Arena — the 76ers fans in attendance felt this was definitely worth the ticket price!
On the court...
Is it still shameless? Just ask: do you still have any pride? Relying on sheer toughness, doing whatever you want? Do you think being resilient means you can just run your mouth? Did you think you were my little fan, with a bit of body, backbone, and personality like me?
Did you see Uncle Joe's bicep?
In the latter half of the second quarter, if Jordan's voice were translated, it would probably sound like this...
The scene was tragic.
At this moment, Su Feng's name was already being mentioned alongside the great predecessors.
He was beaten. Beaten by Jordan.
In this league, you truly "never walk alone."
Jordan scored another 10 points in the second half of the second quarter and even pulled off a rogue-style one-handed slam that hadn't been seen in a long time.
This kind of move, unlike Kobe's finesse with smaller hands, was pure bullying with big hands and long reach.
But...
What left Jordan's BOSS speechless was that this kid was really hammering away right in front of him!
The boss was nearly exhausted.
And after Iverson caught his breath, Grandpa Pippen's ankle folded again!
Even after the rotation, the Bulls relied on high-speed switches to cover for Pippen, but Iverson was simply on fire tonight.
What are the traditional skills of the four quarterbacks? That's a high crit!
In Su Feng's previous life, both Iverson and Kobe had classic performances against the Bulls. The reason? Pure metaphysical "critical hits."
In the 1996/97 season, before Christmas, Iverson nearly led his team to topple the Bulls. That game, Iverson shot 11 of 23, including 4 of 8 from three, scoring 32 points and leaving the Bulls drenched in cold sweat.
In the 1997/98 season, in a regular-season game against the Bulls, Bryant scored 33 points against Jordan in a single matchup, prompting Chicago media to crown him the "Jordan Successor."
Tonight, Iverson was unstoppable.
With Su Feng acting as a shield in front, AI's damage output simply exploded.
So, on a personal level, Jordan did beat Su Feng. But at the team level, halftime score: 55 to 52 — the 76ers were catching up again!
Because behind Jordan's many isolations, the rhythm of the other Bulls players was declining.
Su Feng vaguely remembered that in this game in his previous life, the Bulls had five players scoring in double figures, overwhelming the 76ers with collective firepower.
Most of that game, Iverson was targeted miserably.
But tonight, things were different.
Jordan scored 10 points in the second half of the second quarter, but his overall shooting percentage slipped to 50%.
Su Feng only had 7 points at halftime, shooting 3 of 8, but in the eyes of the 76ers' coaching staff, Su Feng was simply the most impressive player on the floor.
Facing Jordan again and again, without backing down.
Coach Davis must have thought: what is love for basketball? This is love for basketball!
Especially during halftime, when BBC broadcast an exclusive interview with Su Feng.
In Su Feng's previous life, Miller was hyped as Jordan's lifelong rival... But tonight, Su Feng carried a "rookie aura" that was shining brightly.
The timing of this BBC interview was perfect.
If Jordan had heard how composed Su Feng was in the first half, even he might have believed Su Feng was a true devotee.
You hear lines like: "If history is a breeze, why should people struggle against it?" "I've seen Philadelphia at four in the morning." "I love basketball, nothing more."
Hearing these words, even Jordan might have thought: "He worked so hard just to pay tribute to his idol!"
"I'm in love with number 23 on the 76ers! Never give up — I feel full of power!" "Come on! Don't admit defeat, as you said — go make history!"
The miracle of fandom was born, as a group of high school kids became the first batch of Su Feng supporters.
And don't laugh — Americans really bought into it.
During halftime, Philadelphia fans were moved to tears.
When Su Feng returned to warm up, the cheers echoed as if he had already scored 30 points against Jordan!
Even the Bulls players felt Jordan was being too ruthless.
Pippen swore he never threw that scornful look at Jordan because of any bet.
After the break, Jordan, catching his breath, looked at Su Feng standing with his hands on his hips — and at that moment, he truly respected him.
Which superstar hasn't been forged through beatings?
Forget it — fans, critics, even haters... They're still fans.
Honestly, if Su Feng hadn't spoken, Jordan might have thought the kid was pretty good.
But why speak?
Jordan didn't yet realize that the story between him and Su Feng had only just begun.
…
In the third quarter, every time Su Feng defended Jordan, he received applause from the fans.
On Datianchao TV, Director Zhang commented: "The 76ers' fans really understand the game. Don't just look at Jordan's scoring today as if he's slicing through defenses effortlessly — in fact, he's not doing so well."
Sun Zhengping echoed: "As Director Zhang said, Su Feng has imposed effective restrictions on Michael Jordan. Well, we'll check the technical stats later — for now, let's keep watching the game."
On the court, the Bulls gradually widened the lead in the third quarter.
Their style of play wasn't complicated. In short, their trademark was defensive counterattacks.
By the time the NBA moves the three-point line back next season, and with the Bulls another year older, they will still rely on defense — holding opponents under 90 points per game — to win.
At halftime, Phil Jackson made a targeted adjustment: whenever Iverson drove inside, recover quickly, and let Jordan take on Su Feng directly.
The 76ers couldn't hold the paint, because the Bulls kept pushing the ball against Williams and Weatherspoon.
Stackhouse grew anxious — he was playing well tonight, and if he could beat the veterans just once... How cool would that be?
But... brothers, defend!
On the sidelines, Pat Claus couldn't stand it anymore, because the 76ers' interior defense had already collapsed.
Look at Su Feng and Iverson fighting desperately... Do you deserve to be called "The Answer"? Do you deserve the title "The King" on defense?
With 5 minutes and 26 seconds left in the third quarter, Coach Davis quickly made a big substitution.
But by then, the Bulls were already leading the 76ers 74–62, a 12-point margin.
And in the 1990s, 12 points were no less daunting than in the future — especially against the Bulls.
It was much harder to stage a comeback in this era than it would be later.
Iverson was no Curry, Su Feng was no Klay, and the Bulls had no sharpshooter either.
But giving up? Impossible.
This had nothing to do with stubbornness. It was purely Su Feng's love for basketball.
Because if it were only about pride, Su Feng could have copied the Celtics' grinding style.
Basketball games are meant to be won. If you can't win, why keep playing? For Su Feng, the answer was simple: because he loved the game.
After the 76ers' substitutions, Su Feng and Iverson exchanged a glance.
At that moment, big eyes met big eyes, big fists bumped small fists. Well, Iverson's hand wasn't small — but it depends who you compare it to...
"Let's go!"
The substitutions ended, and the 76ers went on the attack.
As early as the second quarter, Su Feng had already replaced "McGrady's pull-up jumper."
The skill change did not affect Su Feng's actual shooting motion, but now it was time to gamble.
On the court, Jordan, who had just caught his breath, secretly vowed that an opponent as good as Su Feng must be guarded by Pippen in the next game.
Don't ask — the answer is simple: Pippen was the utility man.
Cough... at this moment, Pippen was also uncomfortable.
In his view, if given the chance, he would trick Jordan into defending Iverson. After all, a young player like Iverson was truly rare.
On the floor, Iverson suddenly exploded after dribbling twice between his legs.
Meanwhile, as the Bulls collapsed their defensive line, Su Feng moved to the perimeter.
Su Feng successfully pulled Jordan away for Iverson, and Big Ben slipped out of the paint.
Rodman chose not to rotate out, because Longley was simply too slow. If Rodman followed the ball, Iverson would surely drive inside.
Boom—!
On Su Feng's side, the pick-and-roll was completed. On the other side, Iverson's sudden pass connected!
In Su Feng's previous life, the reason the "Splash Brothers" were so hard to guard was their ability to feed off each other. As long as one created an opening, the other benefited.
"Ai Feng" wasn't the Splash Brothers, but tonight, Su Feng and Iverson's "Golden Double Gun" effect — 1 + 1 was greater than 2.
Jordan tried his best to fight through the screen, but Su Feng already had the shot.
To avoid Jordan's chase-down block, Su Feng released his wrist early, firing quickly.
If you want to score, you must shoot first.
The ball's arc was slightly flat, the speed was fast, and it swished cleanly through the net!
74 to 65!
Su Feng had reached 10 points for the night.
Spectrum Arena erupted again, ignited by "Ai Feng."
What does never giving up mean? It means refusing to quit.
The game continued. The Bulls attacked — you could lose your skin, but you might still slip on a banana peel.
Pippen was careless on a cut to the basket.
His ankle was sore, so he didn't jump with full effort, just tried to lay the ball in easily.
But who expected Su Feng to abandon Jordan at the last second and rotate over?
No choice — without gambling on defense, it was too hard to keep up with the Bulls.
So when he saw Pippen's cut, Su Feng had already signaled Big Ben to form the first line of defense.
Pippen, who had shaken Big Ben, thought everything was fine — but he underestimated Su Feng's explosive burst.
Su Feng turned, grabbed the rebound point, and even Rodman couldn't fight through this time. The 76ers pushed back!
Su Feng sprinted immediately, and after receiving Big Ben pass, Iverson drove forward.
The old rogue, retreating fastest, glanced at Su Feng standing outside. After hesitating for 0.1 seconds, he collapsed back inside.
Iverson had already reached the free-throw line. Without hesitation, Su Feng was loaded on the perimeter.
This was a fast-break three!
Coach Davis was anxious on the sideline.
In his mind, this was the perfect chance to score quickly...
Now!
"Good shot! I said earlier, if we want to catch up, we must shoot decisively!" Davis shouted, jumping with excitement.
Beside him, Jason and Rick looked at Davis's shameless celebration and stayed silent...
Su Feng hit back-to-back threes!
74 to 68!
The 76ers were closing the gap again!
"The 76ers are rising, this is it!" Director Zhang shouted on Datianchao TV.
In the 90s, fast-break threes weren't unheard of. Su Feng had watched Bulls vs. Jazz games in his previous life, where Hornacek often pulled up for transition threes.
Of course, in this era, fast-break threes were still rare. So when Su Feng launched, even the 76ers fans in the arena were a little stunned...
But when I entered, the cheering was over!
The game continued, and the master was still meditating...
Su Feng remembered once reading a line written by Hu Mi: "If today Phil Jackson calls a timeout, that means I've lost!"
Looking back, Jordan hit another shot — his 32nd point of the night.
76 to 68.
After Su Feng's two consecutive three-pointers, Jordan switched into serious defensive mode, battling back and forth with Su Feng.
The quality of their jerseys was the only thing holding up — otherwise, anyone watching might think they had torn them apart.
This time, Iverson looked for Su Feng, and the Bulls' defense shifted toward Su Feng's running position.
But for shooters, as long as there aren't three defenders in front, it's an open look!
Su Feng received the ball, facing Jordan.
He jumped high, leaning back as he rose, increasing the arc of the shot.
His 219 cm wingspan made the difference.
Jordan was just 1 cm away from blocking Su Feng's shot.
Clang—!
After landing, the "old rogue" breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Su Feng miss.
In Jordan's view, if Su Feng could score under that kind of defense, he might as well retire and let Su Feng be his co-pilot.
But just as Jordan prepared to push the fast break, Big Ben, locked in with Rodman, grabbed the precious offensive rebound.
Big Ben's strength was incredible — Rodman clearly lost this battle.
He underestimated Big Ben, and even his usual jersey tricks didn't work.
At the last moment, Big Ben slipped past Rodman, grabbed the ball, and flicked it outside.
Jordan, already two steps ahead, nearly stumbled from Big Ben's unexpected pass...
Seeing Su Feng ready to shoot again, Jordan lunged back to contest.
But it was too late.
Swish—!
This time, Su Feng didn't miss.
76 to 71. Spectrum Arena erupted!
Watching Su Feng energize his teammates, Jordan realized how tough this kid was.
Too resilient...
At that moment, the KFC spokesperson moved.
Instead of calling a timeout, Phil Jackson pulled Harper aside and whispered instructions.
On the next Bulls possession, Harper deliberately slowed the pace.
At the last moment, the Bulls finished with a shot by Pippen.
But Pippen missed, Weatherspoon secured the rebound, and when Iverson tried to push the break, the Bulls were already set.
Rodman even gave up on the offensive rebound — because the Bulls knew how to win. Against the 76ers, the priority was controlling the rhythm.
"I really don't get a chance..." Su Feng muttered, looking at the Bulls' defensive formation.
This Bulls team might make mistakes or underestimate opponents, but in controlling tempo, they were far superior to the current 76ers.
After Su Feng's burst, the Bulls immediately stabilized.
And now, it wasn't Pippen guarding Iverson anymore.
Compared to gambling on defense, the Bulls clearly valued winning more.
Bang, clang, iron... both sides traded misses.
At the end of the third quarter, the Bulls led 80 to 73 heading into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, the Bulls showed their experience — every possession, every defense, calm and deliberate.
Stackhouse failed to deliver, and Davis had to bring Su Feng and Iverson back early.
Perhaps Davis had forgotten his own rule: Su Feng was supposed to play only 30 minutes per game, never exceeding the limit.
Oh, coach!
On the Bulls' side, Phil Jackson didn't rush to bring Jordan back. Instead, he used Pippen and Rodman to hold the line.
It wasn't until the last six minutes that Jackson looked warmly at Jordan, who had reloaded like a CD: "Michael, let's finish this game."
…
102 to 90.
The 76ers failed to create a miracle that night.
Although Su Feng, the little goblin, gave Jordan plenty of trouble, Jordan's incredible core strength made him unshakable.
Of course, once he returned to the locker room after the game, Jordan could no longer "pretend."
He was so exhausted that he collapsed directly into a chair.
Is it easy? Is he easy?
To impress the younger generation — do you think Jordan has it easy?
God knows how tired he was today.
This was more painful than playing back-to-back games.
But with no rotation available, Jordan had to keep up appearances, no matter how hard or tiring it was.
"Oh, Scottie, I won tonight." Of course, tired or not, winning the bet was worth one more point in Jordan's eyes.
"..."
Meanwhile, Pippen rubbed his ankle, muttering curses under his breath.
On the other side, Su Feng — battered all night by Jordan's relentless defense — lay back in his chair after returning to the locker room.
Despite the defeat to the "losing bull," Su Feng saw the possibility of beating the Bulls in the regular season and completing the first stage of his [Challenge Michael Jordan] mission.
In this game, Su Feng shot 6 of 16, including 4 of 8 from three, with no free throws, finishing with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block.
He earned an A-level rating — the highest possible in a loss.
Su Feng believed the system must have been impressed by his performance.
Unfortunately, the A-level score carried only a coefficient of 7.5. After the game, he touched the 5,000 mark, totaling 4.12 million hits.
Iverson scored 34 points, his second straight 30+ game, but the loss left him in low spirits.
The "Golden Double Guns" didn't realize how much NBC valued them after the game.
To ease the sting of defeat, Su Feng and Iverson stayed in the locker room.
Because, coincidentally...
NBC's second live broadcast that night was Timberwolves vs. Lakers.
If Su Feng remembered correctly, Kobe Bryant was about to make his career debut.
As Kobe's best friend, Su Feng couldn't miss the chance to witness it.
While Iverson and Su Feng watched the locker room TV...
Los Angeles, Staples Center.
After watching the Bulls–76ers game, Kobe felt his blood boiling.
"Coach, will you let me play today?"
He couldn't wait for the future!
Didn't you see Su Feng battling Jordan?
Even though Jordan scored 38 points, Su Feng... He actually scored 16!
And the whole game, he went one-on-one with Jordan.
Kobe felt his blood rushing.
Come on, Coach Del Harris — use me!
"Kobe, I'll arrange for you to play. Be patient." Harris patted his shoulder and smiled.
"Okay, coach." Kobe was thrilled. In his mind, he'd get at least 20 minutes of playing time.
Well... Actually, that depended.
On how long Shaquille O'Neal stayed on the floor against the Timberwolves.