As both teams' starters took to the court, the tip-off began withKevin Garnett facing Joakim Noahat center court.

The moment Noah locked eyes with Garnett,his gaze turned blood-red with fury.

Coach Malone's psychological tactics had worked even before the game began.

Amid the roar of the crowd,Noah tipped the ball back to his side, and the Bulls took the first possession.

The Bulls initiated their offense withNoah orchestrating from the high post, delivering aperfect handoff assisttoDerrick Rose, who drove in and hit ateardrop floater.

Noah hadn't always been such a polished facilitator.

In his first two seasons, most of his assists came fromgrabbing defensive rebounds and throwing outlet passesin transition.

But even back then,his court vision was evident.

Over the years, especially during the seasons whenRose was injured, the Bulls had shifted their offensive focus to Noah, andhe'd rewarded Coach Thibodeau's trustby growing intoone of the best playmaking big men in the league.

On the Cavaliers' first possession,Kyrie Irving brought the ball up the court.

But hisopening play turned into a comedic blunder.

After dazzlingRose with a series of crossovers, Irving drove into the paint, only todribble the ball off his own footand out of bounds whenRobert Covington slid over to help.

The Bulls'defense under Thibodeau was their bread and butter.

WithCarlos Boozergone, theiroffense had regressed, but theirdefense had remained elite, thanks toTaj GibsonandCovingtonstepping up as defensive anchors.

Back on offense,Rose came off a double screenset byGibson and Noah at the top of the arc.

He sliced through the Cavs' defense once more,forcing them to collapse.

Rose thenfired a pinpoint bounce pass to Gibson, whosank a mid-range jumper from the elbow.

Two possessions. Two made baskets.

The Bulls wereoff to a hot startoffensively.

It wasHan Sen's turn to take control.

Duringyesterday's practice, it had already become clear thatthe Cavs' younger players weren't fully locked in.

That much was confirmed in the game's opening minutes.

When the team struggled,there was only one solution—Han needed to stabilize them by taking over.

As Han drove toward thefree-throw line, the Bullscollapsed on him immediately, surrounding him with defenders.

It wasclear as day: Thibodeau hadwritten "Jordan Rules" all over the game plan, and Han was the primary target.

But Han, unfazed,threaded a bounce pass through the sea of defenders, hittingTristan Thompsonright under the basket.

TT caught the ball, adjusted, and went up for a two-handed dunk.

ButNoahwasn't done yet.

Flying in from behind, Noahtimed his leap perfectlyand swatted the dunk attempt away with athunderous block!

The crowd erupted asNoah grabbed the reboundandled a fast break.

Noahpushed the ball up the court himself, something he was famous for as aplaymaking center.

Rose trailed the break, caught the pass from Noah, andfinished a layup in transition.

6-0.

Anunexpected startfor the Bulls.

Malonedidn't hesitate. Seeing his teamon the ropes, he immediatelycalled a timeout.

Noah was fired up.

As he walked past the Cavs' bench, hepumped his fist and let out a primal screamin their direction.

Malone'smind games had worked— butNoah had channeled that energy into domination.

During the timeout,Garnett pulled TT asideand offered some blunt advice.

"Go up strong the first time. Don't adjust. Their rotations are too fast. You won't get a second chance."

Back in the huddle,Malone scanned the faces of his players.

Thepanicwas visible.

They hadopened the game poorly, andit showed in their expressions.

"Guys, take a deep breath." It wasTyronn Luewho spoke first.

"Relax. Just do what you've always done. We've got Han, and as long as we've got Han, everything will be fine."

All eyes turned toHan Sen.

Han nodded silently, a calm reassurance.

Malone finallypicked up his clipboardto draw up a play.

...

When play resumed,Han took over again.

This time,Garnett set the screenfor him.

The Bullstrapped Han aggressively, sticking to their"Jordan Rules"philosophy of not letting him get clean shots.

But Han didn't wait for the screen to fully set.

Instead, heburst forwardwith aquick first step, catching the Bulls off guard.

Thespeed of his second dribblewas equally shocking,leaving no time for help defense to react.

Han'sdrive was relentless,and Noah stepped up to meet him.

Noah was known for hiselite rim protection, capable ofguarding smaller players in the paint.

ButHan unleashed his signature move — the Euro step.

Noah, abig man, simplycouldn't adjust in timeto the quick change of direction.

Before Noah could recover,Han exploded off the floor, twisting in midair andslamming the ball down with one hand.

BOOM!

The ballrocketed through the rimwith a force that sentNoah tumbling out of bounds.

The crowd erupted.

The entire arena came alive.

TheQuicken Loans Arena, which had beenquiet after the Cavs' slow start, was nowrocking with energy.

In that moment, every fan had thesame thought:

"We've got Han. We're going to be fine."

On thebroadcast,Charles Barkleyshook his head in disbelief.

"Noah made the mistake of poking the bear. He just pissed off the one guy you absolutely don't want to anger."

Shaquille O'Neal chuckled.

"They'll learn. It's a process, but they'll learn."

Back inthe '90s,Byron Scotthadn't throwntriple teamsatJordanuntilJordan proved he could dominate everyone.

This waswhat it meant to be a true generational player.

...

"Defense! Defense!"

Thechants filled the arena, echoing with a passion that had beendormant for four years.

On the court,the Cavs' defensive intensity skyrocketed.

Tyronn Luehad a way with people. Hisempathy and understandingallowed him toconnect with everyone.

WithHan as their anchor, theCavs' anxiety melted away.

The Bulls' half-court offense was shut down once again.

On the other end, Han Sen continued to run the offense. Garnett stepped up for another screen.

This time, Han didn't attack immediately. Instead, he dished the ball to Garnett, who popped out to the free-throw line after the pick.

What happened next showed Garnett's experience. He didn't rush his shot. He took a moment to observe Han's movement off the ball.

When he saw Han slipping past Jimmy Butler's defense, Garnett didn't hesitate — hedelivered a perfect bounce pass through Noah's outstretched arms, leading Han directly to the basket.

Han caught it mid-stride, evaded Gibson's help defense with a graceful twist, and finished thegliding layup.

When it comes toplaymaking from the post,Joakim Noah is still a student, andGarnett is the master.

Thepick-and-roll,mid-range dagger, andplaymaking from the high post— these three weapons are what Garnett can still bring to the team offensively.

Back on defense, the Cavaliers' intensity remained high.

Derrick Rose's driving layupwascontested fiercely by TT, forcing him into a tough miss.

Noah leapt for the offensive rebound, butGarnett boxed him out perfectly, preventing him from getting a hand on the ball.

TT secured the board, and with each possession, you could sense the Cavaliersshedding their early-game nerves.

"Let's go, Cavs!" The fans shifted from defensive chants tocheers of encouragement.

The ball was back in Han's hands.

Garnett came up for another screen.

No one knew how the rest of the Cavaliers would perform tonight, butHan and Garnett, both battle-tested playoff veterans, were rock-solid.

After the screen, Garnett once again popped out to the perimeter. This time, the Bulls didn't send an immediate double-team at Han.

Han took one hard dribble toward the paint andpulled up for a mid-range jumper.

It was a simple decision, but the right one. The Bulls'wing defenders — Covington and Gibson — were already shifting over to cut off his driving lane.

Passing out to the perimeter was an option, but what the Cavaliers needed now wasa leader who could score under pressure.

Noah anticipated the shot andlunged forward with his long armsto contest it.

His timing was perfect, and his expression radiated confidence.

Swish!

Han drained the jumper, ignoring Noah's outstretched hand.

It was purepersonal ability, the type that makes defense irrelevant.

The crowd erupted into cheers.

Han had justsingle-handedly erased the Bulls' 6-0 opening run with his own 6-point streakto tie the game.

As he landed,Han shrugged toward Noah, palms up in a casual, almost dismissive gesture.

Han didn't need to say anything. Hisbody languagespoke louder than any trash talk.

Thebig screenat the United Center showed aclose-up of Noah's frustrated expression, drawinga wave of jeers from the crowd.

...

Noah hadcalled Han out by name before the game, vowing to stop him. But now, it was clear he couldn't.

The Bulls pushed the ball up quickly, looking toretake the lead.

The possession ended withJimmy Butler taking a corner three.

Butler, like Han, started his career as a3-and-D player. This season, histhree-point shooting had improved to 37.8%.

But Butler's biggest flaw wasa lack of natural talent. OnceHan closed out on him, the shot came up short, clanking off thefront rim.

The ballbounced high, hitting the floor once beforeheading toward the sideline.

BothPJ TuckerandNoahsprinted after it —Tucker from under the basket,Noah from the free-throw line.

The ball wastoo fastfor Tucker to reach it in time. Instead, he made asmart playbypositioning himselftocut off Noah's path.

But what happened nextshocked everyone.

Noahtwisted his body mid-run,avoiding Tucker, anddived headfirst toward the ball, fully extending his arm tosave it from going out of bounds.

It was areckless, dangerous play, butNoah succeededin pulling off what seemed impossible.

He crashed into thefront-row crowd, but the ball wasback in play.

Jimmy Butlerappeared out of nowhere, grabbed the ball, andglided in for a layup.

The crowd roared with excitement.

For Bulls fans,Noah's diveevoked memories ofDennis Rodman's iconic horizontal diveto save a ball from going out of bounds.

Even Han couldn't help butlook at Noah differentlyas he ran back onto the court.

Noah'sbig mouthbefore the game had made him easy to dislike. But hisfearless effort? That wasworthy of respect.

WithRose's explosiveness fadingandButler still growing into his role, it wasNoah who seemed like the Bulls' true leader.

Now, Han could understand why Noah had talked so much pregame.

The Bullshad once carried the hopes of an entire city, tasked withrestoring the franchise's glory. Butinjurieshadshatteredthat dream.

This season was theirchance at redemption.

...

Back on offense, Han wasimmediately doubledas soon as he crossed half-court.

Thibodeau's defensive schemes were extreme, buteffective.

Han waited for the double to commit, then calmly passed toKyrie Irving, who was wide open for athree-point attempt.

Irvingcaught, shot, and released smoothly. The shot looked perfect —great form, great trajectory— but itrimmed out.

TheCavs' nerves hadn't fully settled, particularly among the role players.

Watching them, Han was reminded of the1991 Chicago Bulls, who hadnerves in their first-ever Finals appearance, withonly Jordan and Pippen scoring in double figures in Game 1.

CoachTyronn Lue's pregame speechhad beenmotivational, butstepping onto a new stage always brings pressure.

Noah grabbed the reboundand quicklypushed the ball upcourt.

The ball foundJimmy Butler, who attacked the basket for anotherfast-break layup attempt.

ButHan was already chasing him down.

Butler rose for the layup, but Hansoared from behind,pinning the ball against the glassfor achase-down block.

The arenaexploded.

Noah'sdesperate divehadignited the Bulls' spirits.

IfButler had converted that fast break, theBulls' momentumwould have snowballed.

ButHan's blockshut them down.

He grabbed the rebound,immediately turned, andpushed the ball in transition.

Butler tried to foul him, butHan spun behind his backandaccelerated past him.

The crowd watched in awe asHan streaked down the court like a one-man fast break, unstoppable.

Theonly Bull left to stop himwasNoah, who had barely crossed half-court.

At thefree-throw line, Han made his move.

A quick crossover left Noah behind, but Noahrecovered quicklyandlungedto contest the shot.

Han,already anticipating the contest,adjusted midair, switching to aleft-handed layupwith asmooth up-and-under finish.

The ball dropped through the hoopas the crowd erupted once more.

One-man coast-to-coast.

Han'srelentless attackleftNoah stunned.

For the first time,Noah's confident expression wavered.

Herealized something terrifying:

Playoff-mode Han Sen was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

...

The Bulls' half-court offense was shut down once again by the Cavaliers' defense.

In the "original timeline,"Pau Gasol had joined the Bulls this season, becoming a key pillar of their half-court game.

Without him, Chicago could only rely onDerrick Rose's drivesorJoakim Noah's playmaking from the high post. But with Rose's diminished explosiveness and Noah'slack of scoring threat, the Bulls' half-court offense wasn't as potent as it once was.

In fact, underTom Thibodeau, this Bulls team had risen to prominence largely because of theirdefense-first, fast-break system.

When they couldn'tstop the opposing offense, their overall effectiveness took a massive hit.

This was one of themajor reasons— aside from injuries — why the Bullsnever found success.

In the frontcourt, Han Sen held the ball andimmediately faced a double team.

This time, however, he didn't pass out of it. Instead, heaccelerated before the defenders could fully close in, cutting toward the basket from the other side.

His drive wasdecisive, quickly reaching thefree-throw line.

But theBulls' help defensewas impressive. They quickly collapsed on him, withNoah raising both arms, charging toward Han Sen, who had already left his feet.

Noah had one goal —stop Han Sen from attacking the paint at any cost, even if it meant committing a foul.

The collision wasfierce. Noah wasknocked to the floor, and Han Sen wasdisrupted mid-air, unable to complete a normal layup.

ButHan Sen's incredible body controlallowed him toadjust mid-air, switching to apull-up floaterinstead of a layup.

Swish!

It was ahigh-difficulty shot, yet Han Senstill made it look easy.

At the same time,the referee's whistle blew.

The call?Blocking foul on Noah.

Thecrowd erupted.

Fansjumped to their feet, pumping their fists in the air, their cheersreverberatingthrough the arena. The noise levelexploded.

Still lying on the floor,Noah stared at the ceiling, then slowly turned his head to see the referee'soutstretched armsignaling the and-one.

Noah exhaled heavily, letting his head fall back against the hardwood. His chest rose and fell as he tried to catch his breath. But it wasn't the physical toll that weighed on him.

It wasthe thought creeping into his mind— a thought that had been there before, but now refused to leave.

He had seen it every time he walked bythe statue outside the United Center.

The words beneath it:"The best there ever was. The best there ever will be."

It was meant to bea statement of fact, a reminder of what the Bulls franchise represented.

But now, lying there on the court,Noah couldn't help but question it.

Was Jordan trulyuntouchable?

Or wasHan Sen proving the world wrong?

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com