Chapter 80: The Cliff

That night, the Jazz swept the Lakers 4-0, advancing to the finals first.

Before the series started, Jazz fans were very worried. Stockton had missed 18 regular-season games due to surgery and was not in his best form. Hornacek was an excellent shooter but terrible on defense, and only Malone made the All-Star team. The scary thing about the Lakers was that they had four All-Stars, and fans across the country wanted to see the Lakers in the finals.

Comparing the players, the Jazz were far behind. The media and experts mostly favored the Lakers to advance. However, the Lakers were crushed by 35 points in the first game and continued to lose afterward.

O'Neal was the only Laker who performed normally, averaging 31.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block per game, with a 54.8% shooting percentage. Malone averaged 30 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, with a 51.2% shooting percentage.

The star players of both teams had explosive stats, but the Lakers' perimeter players were a bunch of bricklayers, leading to their downfall.

The next day, the Knicks vs. Bulls Game 4 began.

The Knicks strengthened their defense at the start and changed their offensive tactics. Ward organized from the middle, with Ewing and Oakley on the sides setting screens for Houston and Starks. They would run to catch and shoot or pass to Ewing for mid-range one-on-ones and assists, while Oakley focused on grabbing offensive rebounds.

The Bulls quickly fell behind by a large margin, and Jordan was off his game.

Jordan wasn't a god, just a powerful mortal, and mortals make mistakes. He could score 40+ in one game and miss 20 shots in another.

Today was one of those off days for Jordan.

Facing his old rival Starks, he wanted to perform but was in a slump, shooting 2 for 11 in the first half.

When Jordan couldn't make his shots, he could pass to teammates during the regular season and adjust his playstyle. But in a high-intensity game like this, who could he pass to? Longley, Harper, Rodman?

Besides Pippen, the other Bulls players couldn't contribute much offensively, so Jordan had to tough it out himself.

Kukoc was also a bricklayer in this game, shut down by Johnson. Rodman was often left open on the perimeter and couldn't dominate the Knicks' three rebounding experts.

By the end of the third quarter, the Knicks led 81-57, a 24-point lead, and the game was almost in garbage time.

Starks exploded, scoring 28 points in three quarters, hitting 7 of 12 three-pointers.

In the final quarter, the Bulls couldn't get going. Bulls fans showed their loyalty, cheering continuously, and no one left early, even in the last two minutes.

Many suspected this might be the last time Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman played together as teammates at the Bulls' home court. If they played like this at home, could they create a miracle and escape unscathed in New York?

The Knicks won 103-81, leading the series 3-1, putting the Bulls on the edge of a cliff.

Now, Knicks supporters breathed a sigh of relief. Bulls fans were infinitely pessimistic, with only a few still believing the Bulls could come back and beat the Knicks, citing the Knicks' collapse last season.

In NBA history, only six teams have come back from a 1-3 deficit: the 1968 Celtics, the 1970 Lakers, the 1979 Washington Bullets, the 1981 Celtics, the 1995 Rockets, and the 1997 Heat.

There had never been two consecutive years of such comebacks, making the Bulls' chances of advancing almost zero.

Back in New York, Jerry and Thomas Bentley, along with the Johnson siblings, celebrated the victory over dinner.

Scarlett Johansson had finished filming "The Horse Whisperer" and, with no new scripts for now, returned to New York for school, occasionally dining with Jerry.

Hunter was as excited as if he were a member of the Knicks. "Jerry, we have to advance in the next game. We worked so hard to convince Dad to come to the game. Beating Jordan is amazing."

"We'll definitely win; the Bulls are done."

"Can we win the championship?"

"Of course, the Jazz aren't as good as the Bulls." Jerry laughed.

Scarlett blinked and quietly observed Jerry without speaking.

Seeing Jerry again after finishing the movie felt like a lifetime ago because his achievements were so surprising. Last summer, no one believed the Knicks could get this far.

Initially, she just thought Jerry was a likable friend of the opposite sex, but now she felt a sense of accomplishment knowing him.

Thomas was also observing Scarlett, curious.

Why does Jerry get along so well with this young girl? With his current status, he's far more famous than a child star.

Could it be that he has a special preference? He's never dated anyone, and he's 24 this year. That's not normal.

Should I remind him? If the media finds out, his image will be ruined.

"Tom, why are you so quiet today?" Jerry asked.

Thomas quickly found an excuse. "The stock market has been rising a lot lately. I'm wondering if I should sell. The financial crisis in Asia might affect the U.S."

"Do what you think is best, as long as you make a profit."

"Don't worry, I won't lose money." Thomas said confidently.

They didn't spend much money, aside from daily living expenses. Jerry had been investing his salary. After taxes, he had about $100,000, and the stock market was doing well, with Thomas doubling their investment.

Thomas also invested his salary, and together they had nearly $400,000. As two young professionals, reaching this level in a year was something to be proud of.

Jerry asked with a smile, "How's the investment company coming along?"

"The location is set, and we can start anytime, but we don't have enough funds to invest in anything yet. And... do you have the time?"

"I have plenty of time. I'm sure the NBA lockout will last a long time, and many games will be canceled next season. The players' salaries are just too high."

Jerry knew the future and understood how unreasonable the current NBA labor agreement was. Even if the owners shut down the teams and quit, they wouldn't agree to pay star players $30 million a year. Jordan's salary this season was an exception.

The Bulls could only maintain their payroll with the huge revenue from Jordan's influence through advertising and broadcasting rights, but they wouldn't want to continue next season. The root cause of the Bulls' internal conflict was money.

In short, without standardizing salaries, the NBA wouldn't see further growth.

Jerry analyzed the situation for the three, leaving them in awe.

After dinner, they went home separately. Thomas asked, "Do you really think Scarlett will become a big star? I think she's pretty average. There are many prettier girls in Hollywood."

"Yeah, and I also think we'll become super-rich." Jerry laughed.

"Are you thinking of investing in movies?" Thomas shook his head. "I don't agree with that. We don't know the film industry, and it's too risky."

Jerry smiled slightly. If his judgment couldn't pick out movies worth investing in, then all those years working in front of a computer were wasted. In his previous life, his biggest entertainment was watching films and TV shows.

He had a good memory of future famous movies, TV shows, American shows, Korean dramas, Japanese dramas, and domestic dramas, and he had noted them down in a notebook.