"Beep, beep!" A crisp, piercing whistle suddenly rang out like a battle horn, announcing the official start of the fourth quarter!
At this moment, the tension had reached its peak, and everyone's heart was in their throat.
At this critical juncture, the head coaches of both sides had coincidentally made the same decision: give their starters a brief rest and send in the bench players.
As soon as the game resumed, the court was filled with the scent of gunpowder.
The battle-hardened veteran Paul Pierce charged forward like a tiger descending the mountain, brimming with ferocity.
Drawing on his years of accumulated experience and polished skills, he repeatedly received passes from his teammates that came flying like meteors.
Catch, jump, release—the movements flowed together in one seamless motion. The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air before dropping cleanly into the basket.
At once, thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the Boston Celtics bench.
Paul Pierce was red-hot and unstoppable, hitting several shots in a row and scoring six points by himself. He successfully helped the team steady itself and cling tightly to its slim remaining lead.
However, the Golden State Warriors' bench players were no pushovers either.
They kept the score close without yielding an inch, like a pack of hungry wolves relentlessly hunting down the Boston Celtics.
On every possession, whether attacking or defending, they gave everything they had.
Thus, the two teams' bench units entered into an exceptionally fierce tug-of-war.
As they traded blows, the score rose in turns, with the gap constantly hovering around a single point.
Though the Golden State Warriors gave it their all, they still failed to take the lead; while the Boston Celtics held the upper hand, they were unable to extend the margin any further.
Second by second, time slipped