At Shaquille O'Neal's words, the Lakers Fans who had been celebrating the Lakers' 16-point halftime lead calmed down, each of them beginning to feel a vague sense of unease.
Both sides had returned to their Locker Rooms.
Over on the Pistons' side, the players were all somewhat silent.
Although the Pistons' offensive efficiency was high, they were somehow down by 16 at halftime.
It felt as though the Lakers could make every shot they took.
No matter how the Pistons defended, they simply could not stop them. That was deeply frustrating.
After returning to the locker room, head coach Billups began tirelessly trying to raise the team's morale.
In truth, though, neither King Arthur nor Antoine needed encouragement. They had seen plenty of big games and could maintain their fighting spirit even when the wind was against them.
Danny Russell did not need encouragement either. He had played alongside Wang Yi for several seasons and had learned Wang Yi's resilience. The phrase "Never give up, never abandon" had already been deeply engraved in his heart.
The ones who needed encouragement were everyone else.
Head coach Billups said to the group:
"We all know that the Lakers' shooting percentage today has been extremely high."
"But everyone also knows that this is highly abnormal."
"It will be difficult for them to maintain such an abnormal shooting percentage in the second half."
"Once the second half begins, as long as we play normally, we'll quickly close the gap."
"So what we need to do now is not lose heart or get discouraged, but regain our fighting spirit."
"Regain our defense, regain our offense."
"Remember, this is Detroit. This is Little Caesars Arena. This is our home court."
"We will never allow anyone to take our championship away on our own turf!"
Billups' speech