The second quarter began, but the game did not return to normal as the Boston team had hoped.
Tracy Murray, who had a brief stint with the Celtics, became the Bullets ' surprise weapon in this quarter.
With Sam Cassell off the court, Boston's defensive rotation faltered for a moment. Murray, using Juwan Howard's one-sided screen, received the ball on the right side beyond the three-point line and pulled up for the ball against the defender.
The ball went in cleanly and decisively.
Two rounds later, the Bullets countered, Murray, in his full-speed retreat, hadn't even fully adjusted his core, forcing another shot while on the move.
The three points are counted again.
In just four minutes, the former Boston Celtics scored 11 points over the Boston Celtics using cuts and spot-up shots. This unreasonable burst of individual hotness directly tore apart the Celtics' originally solid half-court defense.
The score was 38-23. The deficit widened to 15 points midway through the second quarter.
An unsettling, deathly silence filled the entire stadium.
"Change of players."
On the sidelines, Rick Adelman turned and waved to Ben Wallace and Steve Nash beside him, then turned back and calmly glanced at Garnett.
" Kevin, come down and sit for a while."
Garnett ripped off his vest, plopped down on the far end of the bench, and covered his face with a large white towel.
Just as Nash, with his flowing long hair, and Ben Big Ben, dressed in a rugged black suit, stepped onto the wooden floor, the tunnel door behind the bench was pushed open.
Lin Qi loosened his tie and walked unhurriedly to Garnett's side. He pulled over a folding chair with remarkable ease and sat down next to Garnett.
Garnett, standing nearby, had a white towel over his face, his chest heaving violently.
Lin Qi didn't speak immediately. He first handed over a bottle of water with the cap on, then looked towards the court. At that moment, Big Ben had just positioned himself in the low post and immediately gave Webber, who was about to receive the ball, a nearly savage side-step Crash.
Staring at the back of the green number 12 on the field, Lin Qi finally spoke calmly.
"I consider you a smart person, so why did you make a foolish mistake along with those reporters?"
Lin Qi's voice was low, but in the bustling arena, every word was sharp. "This whole week, the entire American media has been comparing you to Webber, forcing you to win that supposedly 'best power forward duel.' So when you stepped onto the court, all you could think about was how to prove yourself, and you ended up stepping right into Webber's most comfortable rhythm."
Garnett's body stiffened abruptly beneath the towel; he clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and remained silent.
Lin Qi leaned back in his chair. On the court, Big Ben once again used his chest to push Webber out of the receiving position in the low post, forcing the Bullets ' pass to go directly out of bounds. Looking at the number one draft pick, who seemed a bit disheveled on the road, Lin Qi continued.
"Comparing you to Webber is a game the American media created for ratings. They want you to become the next Webber and then beat him. Why should you play along with their wishes? In my opinion, you and Chris Webber are not the same type of player at all. You don't need to play their game. When you step onto the court, your only task is to help Boston win."
Lin Qi pointed to the green-clad figure on the field who had just collided violently with Chris Webber again.
Chris Webber was the number one pick in the 1993 draft; he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Ben Wallace, the 58th pick in 1996, was the last name selected that night in the draft.
Lin Qi patted Garnett's knee and stood up.
"Now, the one dragging that number one draft pick into this mess is precisely the last person selected this draft night. Geniuses often die from arrogance. Look closely at how Big Ben plays; he always has his own rhythm. Go play your own basketball, Kevin."
The back-and-forth battle on the field quickly became extremely ugly.
As soon as Webber received the ball in the low post, Webber tried to push backward, but it felt like he was pushing a truck with its handbrake on. He couldn't find any momentum in his lower body, and in the end, he could only make a hasty hook shot before losing his balance, and the basketball didn't even touch the rim.
But in the blink of an eye, this tough, tenacious defense, capable of killing a thousand enemies, instantly became a suffocating poison on the Boston Celtics ' offense.
As Nash dribbled past half-court, he looked up to find the paint completely blocked. Chris Webber had left Big Ben open for a full two meters, not even sparing him a glance. As long as Big Ben didn't enter the paint, Webber treated him like he wasn't even on the court. He relentlessly collapsed and double-teamed him, completely blocking Nash and Finley's driving routes.
You torment me on the defensive end, I ignore you on the defensive end.
A bizarre scene unfolded on the court; this distorted ecosystem of mutual stalemate brought both teams' scoring to a complete standstill in the latter half of the second quarter.
The halftime whistle blew, and both teams went four consecutive possessions without scoring a single point, leaving the score at 42-32. The Boston Celtics walked toward the player tunnel with a 10-point deficit.
As the players re-entered the field in the second half, Boston's formation momentarily surprised the commentators broadcasting the game nationwide.
Rick Adelman immediately brought on P.J. Brown, Kevin Garnett, and Dikembe Mutombo all at the same time.
After setting up this three-tall lineup, Garnett walked over to P.J. Brown. The two whispered a few words to each other at the top of the key, Garnett patted Brown on the back, and then took up a defensive position on the wing.
In the first possession of the second half, Chris Webber called for the ball in the low post on the left side for a one-on-one attack. But this time, he was met head-on by P.J. Brown, a player with an extremely stable chassis and a weight of 240 pounds.
Brown lowered his center of gravity, Webber twice tried to force his way inside, but the wall of flesh behind him remained unmoved. When Webber tried to turn and find space to shoot, Brown's 2.11-meter height and long arms had blocked all angles, forcing Webber to pass the ball back to the outside before it died. In the following possessions, Juwan Howard's strong low-post attacks on the other side were also blocked outside the paint by Brown's tough physical confrontation.
With Brown dominating the low post and Mutombo protecting the rim, Garnett was completely freed up to become a sweeper sprinting across the court.
In the second quarter, Tracy Murray, who was on fire, received the ball on the right perimeter again after a screen. Following the defensive pattern from the first half, Murray thought he had an open shot and pulled up for the jumper. However, the moment the ball left his hand, Garnett, who was originally a meter away, used his revolutionary lateral quickness to get into position and slapped the ball down in mid-air with his 7-foot-5 wingspan.
Unable to penetrate in the low post or make shots from the outside, the Bullets' offensive framework, which they relied on in the first half, was completely cut off by this highly mobile triple-height defense.
Sam Cassell pushed the ball across half-court, Garnett received it directly at the high post above the free-throw line, facing the basket.
Garnett held the ball to his waist, making a series of feints and shoulder drops to create a one-on-one stance. Just as Webber mistakenly thought Garnett was going to force a breakthrough and shifted his weight upwards, Garnett subtly pushed the ball away with both hands in front of his chest.
Connect the high and low positions.
The basketball grazed Webber's armpit and was precisely passed straight into the heart of the Bullets' paint. The Bullets, whose defensive focus had been completely drawn to the high post by Garnett, had no time to collapse. P.J. Brown, who had cut to the basket, caught the ball, jumped up, and slammed it into the hoop with both hands.
On defense, Brown frees up Garnett's sweeping range; on offense, Garnett's high-post gravity frees up low-post space.
The matchup problems that plagued Boston in the first half were completely resolved in the first two minutes of the second half by the offensive and defensive details delivered by this lineup.
Bullets head coach Bernie Baker quickly called a timeout.