You Cannot Stop Me

"Beep." With the sound of the whistle, the fourth quarter officially began.

Paul Pierce and Vin Baker led three substitutes onto the court, while the Los Angeles Lakers fielded an all-bench lineup.

Seeing this, the corner of Paul Pierce's mouth curled up slightly. Who are you looking down on? Do you think that just because you have a 7-point lead, you can brazenly sit on the bench and rest?

In the eyes of Phil Jackson, this wasn't about looking down on anyone; he was simply considering the situation of his Los Angeles Lakers.

Although the Los Angeles Lakers had assembled the F4 this season and looked powerful on paper, they were actually having a very difficult time.

Since joining the team, Karl Malone had only played 26 games, averaging 13.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists—a far cry from his performance last season.

Shaquille O'Neal had lingering issues; his legs had been injured for a long time, so Phil Jackson tried his best to control his playing time, especially as the playoffs approached.

Gary Payton was nearly 36 years old and, after years of battle, also had leg injuries. At the same time, his stamina was no longer what it used to be. One look at this game was enough to tell; tasked with defending the young Goodwin, he had already reached his limit after just two and a half quarters.

As for Kobe Bryant, while high hopes had been placed on him, the trouble he stirred up during the offseason led to a mountain of off-court issues. Running between the courtroom and the arena, he simply didn't have the energy to focus entirely on the game like he had in previous seasons.

Phil Jackson had already considered retiring; in fact, he had thought about it last season, but the front office had persuaded him to stay for one more year.

The camera returned to the court.

"Clang!" With a sound, the Los Angeles Lakers' first offensive possession missed.

Vin Baker grabbed the defensive rebound and immediately passed the ball to the backup guard, Ricky Davis.

Ricky Davis pushed the ball quickly across half-court, attempting to find an opportunity for a fast break.

However, the Los Angeles Lakers' substitutes retreated quickly, giving Ricky Davis no chance at all.

Ricky Davis had no choice but to slow down and wait for his teammates to get into position.

Paul Pierce quickly moved to the low post, spread his arms, backed his hips into the defender behind him, and reached out for the ball.

Ricky Davis lobbed the ball inside to Paul Pierce.

The moment Paul Pierce caught the ball, he immediately drove into the defender behind him.

He searched for his rhythm while driving.

Found it—right here!

Paul Pierce gathered the ball, turned, jumped, and released.

The motion was fluid and completed in one go, the ball leaving Paul Pierce's hand and flying toward the rim.

"Swish." With a sound, the ball went through the net.

82:87, the point gap continued to shrink.

Staples Center was silent. They really hadn't expected that a victory they thought was in the bag would vanish in an instant, potentially even becoming a joke.

"Defend this possession!" Paul Pierce shouted loudly. Now was the time to strike while the Lakers were down and tie the score.

"Yes!"

Currently, the Boston Celtics were riding high on momentum, while the Los Angeles Lakers were listless.

"Clang!" "Clang!"... Consecutive offensive possessions yielded nothing.

The Boston Celtics took the opportunity to erase the point gap.

"Timeout." Phil Jackson called for a timeout.

87:87, with 8 minutes and 36 seconds remaining in the game.

In just over three minutes, the Boston Celtics had gone on a 7-0 run, bringing both sides back to the same starting line.

"You guys played great," Doc Rivers praised the players returning from the court.

He really hadn't expected them to erase the gap; he had underestimated them.

The short timeout ended, and both sides made substitutions, bringing their starters back onto the floor.

A great battle was about to break out!

"Beep."

The Los Angeles Lakers inbounded the ball from the backcourt to Gary Payton. Gary Payton dribbled across half-court and, as soon as he crossed, passed the ball to Kobe Bryant on the left.

Kobe Bryant backed into Paul Pierce, then quickly turned and drove to the right.

Paul Pierce's feet moved rapidly to the right.

The next moment, Kobe Bryant pulled the ball back, stopped abruptly, and jumped. The entire motion was as smooth as flowing water, drawing continuous praise from the nearby Goodwin—this was Kobe Bryant.

Not a chance!

Paul Pierce jumped with all his might, desperately trying to interfere with Kobe Bryant's shot.

But he still couldn't stop Kobe Bryant's jump shot.

"Swish." With a sound, the ball, as if equipped with GPS, landed steadily into the embrace of the rim.

87:89

The Los Angeles Lakers took the lead once again.

"Ahhhhhh." "Ooooooo." "Ahhhhhh." "Ooooooo." "Ahhhhhh." "Ooooooo."... Staples Center finally regained its usual sound, the fans who had been holding their breath for several minutes finally releasing it all in this moment.

We have Shaquille O'Neal, we have Kobe Bryant, and we have Gary Payton; how could we possibly lose!

Yet, within a dozen seconds, Paul Pierce quickly provided a response.

With a series of pump fakes, he created space for a shot and released it without a moment's hesitation.

Swift and decisive, the two-pointer dropped.

Answer ball!

89:89

"Yes!" Paul Pierce roared.

Immediately after, no matter how the Los Angeles Lakers scored, the Boston Celtics always had a player who could step up and respond.

Lead, tie, lead, tie...

Time flew by, and with 2 minutes and 13 seconds remaining, the score was 98:100 with the Boston Celtics in possession.

"Mike, the ball!" Goodwin used a screen from Mark Blount to run to the 60-degree three-point line on the left side.

Mike James delivered the ball immediately.

The ball arrived right as he reached his spot.

Goodwin didn't adjust at all upon catching the ball; he jumped, hung in the air, and released.

With a "swish," the ball settled securely into the embrace of the rim.

Goodwin had hit another three-pointer.

This was Goodwin's seventh three-pointer of the night.

101:100

The Boston Celtics had taken the lead.

"Ahhhhhhh..." The Boston Celtics bench went wild, cheering frantically; having been suppressed for the entire game, they finally released their emotions in this moment.

Shaquille O'Neal's expression shifted, and he said to Gary Payton, "Payton, give me the ball."

"OK!"

The Los Angeles Lakers reorganized their offense, Gary Payton dribbled the ball across half-court, and immediately fed it to Shaquille O'Neal in the paint.

Upon receiving the ball, Shaquille O'Neal shoved against Mark Blount behind him like a bulldozer; Mark Blount retreated repeatedly, and even when Vin Baker came over to help on defense, he couldn't stop Shaquille O'Neal.

Shaquille O'Neal turned and threw down a two-handed dunk.

101:102

The Los Angeles Lakers were back in the lead.

Not far away, the corners of Goodwin's mouth curled up slightly; since we can't stop them, we'll compete on offense—3 is always greater than 2!

I believe in my three-point shot, especially tonight.

Seven for eight from three-point range, a terrifying 87.5% shooting percentage; it was as if he were cheating.

The Boston Celtics inbounded the ball, and Mike James quickly dribbled across half-court; once across, Mike James looked for Paul Pierce.

But Paul Pierce was being hounded by Kobe Bryant, who wouldn't give him any chance to receive the ball.

So, Mike James had no choice but to look for Goodwin.

Goodwin ran along the baseline from one end to the other, then hit the brakes and sprinted toward the 45-degree three-point line on the right.

Rick Fox used every ounce of his strength to stay right on Goodwin's heels.

The next moment, a figure blocked Rick Fox's path.

With a bang, Rick Fox collided directly into him.

In an instant, Rick Fox lost sight of Goodwin.

Mike James flicked his wrist and passed the ball over.

The moment Goodwin caught the ball, he quickly jumped and hung in the air.

"Watch out!"

Vin Baker's voice reached Goodwin's ears, but the next second, a massive figure charged toward him.

Goodwin ignored it and followed his own rhythm, releasing the ball.

The moment the ball left his hands, there was a loud thud.

Goodwin was sent flying like a balloon.

He then slammed heavily onto the floor.

Hiss... it hurts, it hurts, it hurts.

In that instant, Goodwin felt as if he were standing in the middle of the road and had been struck by a speeding truck.

"WTF, you're trying to kill someone."

"What the hell are you doing, you son of a bitch."

Countless voices reached the ears of Goodwin. Goodwin took a moment to steady himself, opened his eyes, clutched his aching back, and slowly stood up from the ground.

When his teammates saw Goodwin stand up, they couldn't be bothered to bicker with Shaquille O'Neal anymore and walked straight over to check on Goodwin.

"How are you, Goodwin?"

"Goodwin, are you alright?"

"Goodwin, let the team doctor take a look."

Goodwin shook his head, his gaze fixed directly on Shaquille O'Neal, who stood not far away with a face full of apology, and said coldly: "You cannot stop me."