A villa in Toronto:
"Beautifully done! Beat the hell out of him." Vince Carter, who didn't have a game that day, was watching the game at home.
He happened to catch Goodwin beating Bruce Bowen to a pulp.
For Vince Carter, who had suffered at Bruce Bowen's hands, it was incredibly satisfying.
"Fuck, next time I'm gonna beat that son of a bitch to death too." As soon as he finished speaking, Vince Carter kept throwing punches, as if Bruce Bowen were right in front of him, pounding him again and again.
Back at the SBC Center.
Ever since Goodwin had been ejected, the whole game had taken on a different feel.
The physical play was intense, with every hit landing hard—especially when Paul Pierce was matched up against Bruce Bowen.
Paul Pierce, the king of old-school, ground-and-pound basketball, had mastered every dirty trick in the book. He just usually couldn't be bothered to use them.
But now was the perfect time to show what he could do.
"Ball." Paul Pierce held out a hand for the ball in the low post.
Mike James passed it to Paul Pierce.
As soon as he caught the ball, Paul Pierce spun around to face Bruce Bowen, then immediately lowered his shoulder and slammed his whole body into Bowen. At the same time, he discreetly drove his left elbow into him.
Thud!
The pain left Bruce Bowen's whole body rigid.
Paul Pierce took advantage of the opening, got past Bowen, jumped for a layup, and scored with ease.
After scoring, Paul Pierce turned and looked coldly at Bowen. "You dumb pig. You shouldn't have undercut Goodwin. I'm going to make you pay."
Bruce Bowen: "..."
For the rest of the game, Bruce Bowen kept taking hits from Paul Pierce. There wasn't much he