Two days later, New York.
The Knicks' charter flight landed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport that evening.
Outside the cabin windows, gray dusk hung over the Windy City, and the wind off Lake Michigan sent the flags beside the runway snapping.
Li Fei sat by the window, gazing at the city outside, his expression calm.
He wasn't thinking about Jordan, Malone, or this series.
He was thinking about the NBA Finals. About the Lakers, the Houston Rockets, O'Neal, and Kobe.
He knew the Chicago Bulls were finished—not because he was arrogant, but because he had seen the eyes of those veterans on the court.
Jordan's eyes still held the will to fight, but Malone's held nothing but exhaustion, and Ewing's nothing but resignation.
Once a team's core players began accepting their fate, that team was already dead.
Game 3 tipped off at the United Center. The Chicago Bulls fell into complete disarray.
Hanburen changed his starting lineup again before the game—Harper, Jordan, Malone, Kukoc, and Luc Longley.
He had given up on Ewing, on the three-big lineup, and on every strategy he could think of. But the Knicks blew this lineup apart in the first quarter—Luc Longley was too slow, Kukoc too soft, and Malone too short.
Li Fei scored 14 points in the first quarter alone, going 4-for-4 from the field and 6-for-6 at the line. Every basket felt like another death sentence for the Chicago Bulls.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 34–18. The Knicks led by 16.
In the second quarter, Hanburen tried another lineup—Cassell, Jordan, Malone, Kukoc, and Ewing.
He brought Ewing back and sent Harper to the bench, hoping to use Ewing's height to contain Sabonis.
But Ewing's knees were already too swollen for him to run. He spent four minutes