After defeating the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in the opening game, the whole of Boston was buzzing all night.
The next morning, the most prominent spot at the local newsstand was completely dominated by the dominant green color.
The Boston Globe's sports headline was simple, direct, and very uplifting. "The Surprise of the Tenth Pick."
In the large accompanying image below, Chris Paul Pierce stands at the free-throw line, head down, dribbling the ball. Frequent flashes of light highlight the rookie's profile, revealing an unusually composed demeanor and a coolness far beyond his years.
Outside the arena, an excited Boston fans formed a long line stretching two blocks in front of the official store. The unsold #34 green home hoodies from the previous night were put back on the shelves and sold out in less than half an hour. The checkout machines jingled incessantly; Boston fans, having endured the entire lockout period, desperately needed a victory to release their emotions.
However, at 12:20 pm, this enthusiastic atmosphere was interrupted by a fax.
The Celtics' management submitted their roster for the back-to-back game against the Philadelphia 76ers that night to the league office. When the document arrived at the New York headquarters, the staff member responsible for reviewing it stared at the blank sheet of paper coming out of the fax machine, stunned for a full five seconds.
Dikembe Mutombo... [out of action due to injury].
Ron Harper... [out of action due to injury].
In the detailed section for the reasons for injury, there were two strings of seemingly rigorous but actually somewhat laughable medical terms.
[ Mutombo: Risk Prediction for Acute Soft Tissue Effusion in the Right Ankle]
[ Harper: High-risk warning for degenerative patellar tendinitis in the left knee]
These two lines of reasoning seemed utterly ridiculous in 1999, a year that championed intense physical confrontation and the belief that minor injuries wouldn't keep you off the front lines.
To put it simply, Mutombo played too hard on the inside defense last night, landing too many times, resulting in some normal muscle soreness in his ankle; while veteran Harper simply had a rheumatism flare-up in his knee due to the cold winter weather in Boston. If it were any other team, the coach would have already had the players wrapped in compression bandages and continued playing.
But Lin Qi had these two reports, signed by a top medical team, which were completely in accordance with the league's rules and procedures, leaving the league office with no grounds for accusations of unfair play.
At 3 p. m., the tone of Boston Sports Radio suddenly reversed, from praising the previous night to filling the screen with skepticism.
"Can anyone tell me if management is secretly hiring a bunch of fragile, high-risk individuals who'll end up in the hospital at the slightest provocation? Last night, Dikembe slammed five shots into a New York's head—he's strong enough to knock over a truck—and after a nap in Boston, he's suddenly a patient needing special care?"
The host's voice boomed loudly through the radio speakers, making the listeners' eardrums ache.
"We've waited half a year for this season! And in the very first back-to-back game, they're already using the tactic of resting their starters? Is this their way of showing sincerity to Boston fans? Don't forget, Philadelphia is led by Allen Iverson tonight! Everyone knows how strong that kid's scoring ability is! Sending a bunch of inexperienced youngsters to fill in, are we planning to hand over our home court to Philadelphia for nothing?!"
The radio station's hotline was practically overwhelmed with calls. Some hot-tempered workers were yelling into the microphone, questioning why they had to watch a depleted team play the game they had saved up for with their tickets. Other veteran fans were making sarcastic remarks, saying that the Celtics had gotten cocky after beating the Knicks and didn't take Larry Bird Brown's Philadelphia 76ers seriously at all.
By evening, this public opinion storm had even attracted the attention of national media outlets.
In ESPN's flagship studio, a well-dressed commentator shrugs at the camera, a dismissive smile on his face.
"I've played in the professional league for twelve years and I've never heard of any 'high-risk warning for degenerative patellar tendinitis'." He shook his head with a chuckle. "Back in my day, knee pain? That wasn't an injury, it just meant you hadn't warmed up enough! Tighten your bandages, go out and compete with your opponents, and once you've warmed up, all the pain will be gone."
The atmosphere in the locker room at the New Garden Arena was extremely oppressive.
The young players, already dressed and ready, were scattered around, their eyes always unconsciously drifting towards the corners.
Two veterans, not wearing green jerseys but only suits, were sitting there, exuding a strange aura.
Dikembe Mutombo remained silent, his face ashen, the usually easygoing giant's oversized suit jacket taut over his powerful muscles.
For a top center who won two consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards and whose fighting spirit was at its core, being forced to sit on the bench when he was Patrick Ewing and injury-free was more painful than being dunked on by Ewing on the court. In the context of the 1990s, this excessive protection was almost a torture of his dignity... It was as if reminding him that his body had reached an age where it needed to be carefully protected.
Ron Harper, standing next to him, was clearly more experienced. The veteran, who had won three rings in Chicago, leaned back in his chair, slowly chewing gum, seemingly indifferent and detached. However, his constantly shaking right leg and his squinting eyes staring at the court tunnel still betrayed a professional player's strong discomfort with this "modern medical fraud."
Head coach Doc Rivers stood in front of the tactics whiteboard, his hand gripping the pen tightly.
He had argued with Lin Qi last night. Resting players in the first back-to-back games was too much of a target; the criticism would be overwhelming for the coaching staff. But Lin Qi calmly told him, "Just do it, Doc. Trust me."
The arrow is on the bowstring; it must be released.
Doc Rivers took a deep breath, cleared his hoarse throat, and turned his gaze to the few slightly uneasy young faces in the center of the locker room.
"Alright, stop looking so sullen." Doc Rivers ' voice, with its characteristic huskiness, carried a powerful resonance in the small space. " Dikembe, Ron, your job tonight is to wear those fancy suits and sit on the bench as cheerleaders. Got it?"
The two veterans grunted in response.
"As for you guys..." Doc Rivers ' gaze swept over Chauncey Billups Billups, Chris Paul Pierce, Rashard Lewis, and finally settled on center Brad Miller, who had just been signed from the Italy league.
"Everyone on the radio and TV outside is calling you 'youngsters.' They bet you'll be completely disoriented by Allen Iverson's crossovers tonight, and they bet we'll hand over the home win."
Doc Rivers suddenly grinned, revealing a provocative smile.
"Tonight, I'll give you plenty of playing time. If you don't want to be a laughing stock on national television, go up there and prove that all those experts out there are blind!"
The competition has officially begun.
The Philadelphia 76ers clearly came to Boston with the mentality of proving themselves. Allen Iverson came out of the game with a fiery temper. On his first basket, he didn't even call for a screen, but directly used his extremely fast first step to tear apart Boston's first line of defense beyond the three-point line.
Throughout the first half, the court became a one-man scoring show by Iverson. With lightning-fast changes of direction, pull-up jumpers that ignored contact, and difficult layups, he scored nineteen points by himself, even forcing the Celtics ' defensive system to frequently break down.
Philadelphia's veteran coach Larry Bird Brown sat calmly on the bench, even cracking a relaxed smile at his assistant coach while chewing gum. In his view, Boston, having lost their interior anchor Mutombo and perimeter defensive stalwart Harper, was nothing but a disorganized mess, utterly unable to withstand Iverson's onslaught.
But as the whistle blew for the second half, Larry Bird Brown's smile began to freeze.
He discovered that things weren't as simple as he had imagined. The young Boston players weren't discouraged by the defensive collapse; instead, they channeled all the frustration and resentment they had felt from being ridiculed all day into a relentless, tenacious defensive effort.
Chauncey Billups Billups lowered his center of gravity, using his powerful physique to block Iverson's path to drive time and time again, regardless of the cost. He couldn't keep up with Iverson's speed, but he could use his chest and shoulders to make solid physical collisions with Iverson, constantly wearing down Iverson's stamina and making every point incredibly difficult for him.
What stunned the Boston fans was the slightly bulky center Brad Miller. This guy, who went undrafted, displayed incredibly refined passing skills when positioned at the high post. His fluid playmaking, honed in Europe competitions, threw Philadelphia's man-to-man defense into disarray.
Miller held the ball at the top of the free-throw line, feigning a pass to the wing, but suddenly flicked his wrist, delivering a subtle bounce pass. The ball grazed the defender's fingertips and landed precisely in Pierce's hands as he cut in. Pierce caught the ball, took a long stride, and dunked for the score!
"Great! That's how you do it!" Doc Rivers was pumping his fists wildly on the sidelines.
As the team's absolute core, Kevin Garnett completely unleashed his dominance in the paint after losing Mutombo.
He no longer needed to worry about the space congestion caused by the Twin Towers' positioning; he single-handedly held up the paint on both ends of the court. Defensively, his massive defensive coverage made it difficult for Philadelphia's penetrators to penetrate. Offensively, he would sometimes dive into the low post for isolation plays, and sometimes stretch the perimeter to execute perfectly coordinated inside-out passes with Brad Miller.
With two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the score was still neck and neck between the two teams.
Iverson attempted to seal the game with his individual skill in a crucial moment. He used his signature dribbling to shake off the first line of defense, but this time, he was met with a pre-planned double-team from Billups and Pierce.
Pierce used his solid lower body strength to hold Iverson back, effectively cutting off Iverson's point of leverage for jumping, forcing Iverson to make a hasty shot while off-balance.
The ball bounced off the rim and flew away.
Garnett grabbed the defensive rebound and, without even landing, launched a long pass in mid-air. The basketball whistled across half-court and found Rashard Lewis, who was already speeding down the court.
Lewis received the ball, adjusted his position, and, under the watchful eyes of the entire audience, decisively launched a three-pointer.
The basketball arced high and swished perfectly!
Instantly, the New Garden erupted in a deafening roar of cheers.
The final whistle blew, and the score was 104-97.
The Boston Celtics, despite resting two key players, managed to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers, led by Allen Iverson, at home.
The depleted team, ridiculed by the entire American media all day, won.
And the victory was clear and undisputed.
The post-match statistics table silenced the clamor and doubts that had been raging during the day.
Chris Paul Pierce came off the bench and efficiently scored 22 points. Chauncey Billups Billups, although he only scored 15 points, delivered 8 assists and held Iverson to just 12 of 30 shooting. Center Brad Miller also contributed an impressive 7 assists.