Near-Buzzer Beater

"FUCK!" The Indiana Pacers head coach held an A4 sheet of paper in his hand, which contained the data for the third quarter. Specifically, the first line showed Paul Pierce with 6-of-8 shooting, a field goal percentage as high as 75%, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line, racking up 14 points in a single quarter.

He had scored more points in one quarter than he had in the entire first half.

The Indiana Pacers head coach had already begun to regret his tactical arrangement, having actually assigned Artest to defend Goodwin.

If not for that decision, how could Paul Pierce have suddenly heated up!

"Artest, your task for the rest of the game is to lock down Paul Pierce for me."

Facing the head coach's words, Artest nodded.

The short break ended, and with the final 12 minutes remaining, neither side wanted to lose this game.

The Indiana Pacers didn't want to lose to the 11th-seeded team in the East; how embarrassing that would be!

The Boston Celtics wanted to use this game to regroup, and at the same time, this was also Goodwin's first game since landing in the NBA.

Of the 10 players on the court, everyone except Goodwin was a starter.

"Beep." As the whistle blew, the decisive battle began.

As soon as both sides started, the defensive intensity was dialed to the max. The collision of muscles was exceptionally fierce; even though Goodwin's defensive ability was average, he fought with all his might to stop the Indiana Pacers' offense.

"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"... Because the defensive intensity had ramped up, neither side scored for a full four minutes.

At such a critical moment, Goodwin stepped up.

Goodwin suddenly made a back-cut, shook off his defender, and ran to the three-point line at a 60-degree angle on the left side.

Vin Baker, who had the ball, immediately passed it to Goodwin.

Goodwin caught the ball, jumped, hung in the air, and released it—the motion was smooth and fluid, quick as a flash.

The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air.

"Swish." With a sound, the ball dropped steadily into the embrace of the rim.

Three-pointer made.

"Ahhhhhhh!" "Oooooooo!" "Ahhhhhhh!" "Oooooooo!" "Ahhhhhhh!" "Oooooooo!"... In an instant, the entire arena erupted. After waiting for four full minutes, the deadlock was finally broken.

The fans could finally breathe.

Clap, clap, clap, clap! On the sidelines, Doc Rivers was clapping frantically; this shot was absolutely crucial.

81:78

Thanks to Goodwin's made three-pointer, the Boston Celtics took the lead once again.

But ten seconds later, the home fans began to feel suffocated again.

Jamaal Tinsley used a screen to pull up for a mid-range jumper.

"Clang!" With a sound, the ball missed.

But the rebound was grabbed by the Indiana Pacers.

The moment the ball bounced out, Jermaine O'Neal jumped immediately and tipped the ball outward, right to an unguarded Reggie Miller on the perimeter.

NO!

Goodwin, who was closest, rushed over, but it was too late.

Reggie Miller jumped, hung in the air, and released a three-pointer.

The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air and accurately hit the embrace of the rim—three-pointer made.

81:81

The score was tied once again.

After scoring, Reggie Miller couldn't help but glance at Goodwin in front of him and said, "When it comes to three-pointers, I won't lose to anyone!"

The confidence of the reigning three-point king!

"Oh." Goodwin didn't offer any rebuttal to this, just replied indifferently.

Reggie Miller: "..." Boring!

Reggie Miller immediately turned around to get back on defense.

The Boston Celtics inbounded the ball to Mike James, who quickly dribbled across half-court. Once across, Mike James handed the ball to Vin Baker.

The moment Vin Baker caught the ball, Paul Pierce and Goodwin, who were on opposite sides, began running off the ball.

"Watch Goodwin." "Be careful of Paul."... The Indiana Pacers players reminded each other.

Just as the Indiana Pacers shifted their defensive attention to those two, Vin Baker suddenly took off, accelerating past his defender, and before the help defender could arrive, he pulled up for a mid-range jumper.

"Swish." With a sound, the mid-range shot went in.

83:81

The Boston Celtics took the lead again.

"Did you forget that the Celtics still have me, Vin Baker?" After scoring, Vin Baker roared at the Indiana Pacers players, as if to tell them that the Boston Celtics' scoring options weren't just Paul Pierce and Goodwin, but also him, Vin Baker.

This season, Vin Baker was averaging 14.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists, counting as the Boston Celtics' second scoring option.

The Indiana Pacers players: "..."

Being stolen from like that was a bit of a blow to the Indiana Pacers.

"It's alright, let's focus on the next possession," Reggie Miller, acting as the veteran leader, immediately comforted his teammates.

He didn't just say it; he backed it up with action.

Reggie Miller moved off the ball to receive a pass, then drove toward the paint while leaning into Goodwin without hesitation. After two steps, Reggie Miller delivered a surgical pass that sailed over several players, landing perfectly in the hands of the cutting Jermaine O'Neal.

Jermaine O'Neal jumped up and finished with a two-handed slam.

83:83

The two sides were tied once again.

Over the next few minutes, the teams traded baskets, with the lead changing hands or the score being tied countless times.

As time ticked away, the clock reached the final 30 seconds with the score at 92:92 and the Boston Celtics in possession.

"Ball!" Paul Pierce moved to the low post to call for the pass.

Mike James lobbed the ball into Paul Pierce, who immediately slammed his weight into Artest behind him upon receiving it.

Artest gritted his teeth, holding his ground against Paul Pierce's impact.

Both players' stamina lights were flashing red, but neither wanted to falter in the final moments, forcing themselves to endure the exhaustion through sheer willpower.

I have to make this shot!

I have to get this stop!

Thump, thump, thump... After several failed attempts to drive, Paul Pierce turned and launched a fadeaway jumper.

"Don't even think about shooting!" Artest leaped with all his might, lunging at Paul Pierce.

Seeing this, Paul Pierce leaned his torso back, attempting to evade Artest's block.

Artest saw this and threw his entire body into Paul Pierce; he would rather die than let him score.

With a loud thud, the two collided in mid-air and both plummeted to the floor.

In the moment of his descent, Paul Pierce forced the ball toward the rim.

Boom!

The two hit the ground hard, but they immediately looked up toward the basket.

"Clang!" The ball struck the back of the rim.

"YES!" Artest shouted in excitement, but the next second, his excitement vanished.

Mark Blount had snatched the offensive rebound right in front of Shaquille O'Neal.

"Blount, ball!" Goodwin, left unguarded in the corner, shouted.

"Goodwin, Goodwin!" the Indiana Pacers head coach shouted in a panic from the sidelines.

Jamaal Tinsley, the closest defender, sprinted over with everything he had, but he couldn't stop Goodwin from shooting.

Goodwin caught the pass from Mark Blount and, without a moment's hesitation, jumped, hung in the air, and released the ball.

Under the gaze of over 20,000 pairs of eyes in the arena, the ball flew toward the hoop.

"Swish." The ball dropped cleanly through the net.

Three-pointer good.

95:92

With 4.8 seconds remaining, the Boston Celtics held a 3-point lead in the final moments.

"Timeout." The Indiana Pacers head coach called his final timeout.

Back on the bench, Goodwin was swarmed by his teammates.

"Great shot, Goodwin."

"Ice in your veins, Goodwin."

"Well done, Goodwin."

Up to this point, Goodwin had played less than 20 minutes, hitting 4 of 6 from three-point range for 12 points, with every single three-pointer proving vital for the Celtics, especially the final one.

After a brief celebration, Doc Rivers quickly drew up the defensive strategy for the final play.

"Beep." The whistle blew, and both teams returned to the court.

The Indiana Pacers wanted to get the ball to Reggie Miller, but Doc Rivers had already anticipated this and assigned two defenders to him, refusing to let him touch the ball.

With no other choice, the ball went to Jamaal Tinsley, who was also being smothered by the defense.

"Ball!" Just then, Artest moved over to receive the pass.

Jamaal Tinsley passed to Artest, who launched a three-pointer.

"Clang." It missed.

At the same time, the game clock hit zero!

In the end, the Boston Celtics secured the victory at home with a 3-point lead.

In an instant, TD Garden became an ocean of joy.