At halftime, the score was 48-46, with Boston trailing by only 2 points.
Garnett walked to the bench. He had scored 15 points in the first half, which looked efficient. But only he knew how hard those 15 points were earned.
Tim Duncan and David Robinson, sitting opposite him, still looked relaxed.
In a one-on-one situation, Garnett wouldn't be afraid of either of them. But tonight, the Spurs were using two top-tier big men in a seamless tactical rotation. In several possessions in the second quarter, when Garnett attempted a face-up drive, Tim Duncan timed his drive perfectly, while the Admiral the wing instantly surrounded him. Under the cover of these two long arms, Garnett was forced to pass the ball twice in mid-air and was even forced to step out of bounds, making for a somewhat embarrassing scene.
The Spurs calmly positioned themselves, scored, and grabbed rebounds, fitting their basic tactics together as precisely as machine parts, demonstrating a mature system and effortless teamwork.
The atmosphere in the away team's locker room during halftime was somber.
The fatigue from the consecutive away games had completely taken hold. Several young players leaned back in their chairs, not even wanting to speak. Garnett sat in front of the innermost locker, panting heavily with a white towel over his head, his mind filled with the suffocating feeling of falling into the Twin Towers trap in the first half.
In terms of physical talent, he believed he was second to none. But Tim Duncan's calm and composed demeanor, and the Spurs' Twin Towers' near-zero-error tactical rotations, put him under unprecedented mental pressure. He began to understand why Lin Qi insisted on having him lead the team through this ordeal.
In the second half, the game turned into a head-to-head battle between two top power forwards.
Garnett used every trick in the book, cutting inside and shooting outside, even hitting a three-pointer from the top of the arc, trying to force the Spurs ' defense out with his shooting range. But the Spurs ' defensive discipline was too strong. Every time Garnett scored with his individual ability, the Spurs could immediately respond with the simplest movement or selfless passing between the inside and outside, allowing Tim Duncan to easily score two points in the paint.
The point difference between the two teams didn't seem to be wide, but the Spurs scored with great effort every time, while the Celtics were just holding on with an indomitable spirit.
With one minute remaining in the game, the Spurs led 100-99 by one point.
The ball was in Boston's hands, Doc Rivers didn't call a timeout.
Garnett orchestrated the play from the high post, handing the ball off to Eddie Jones who was cutting to the basket.
The latter used cover to break into the middle and made a sudden stop and shot before the Admiral to the rescue.
Boston takes the lead, 101-100.
The away team's bench erupted in cheers, while the Alamodome fell silent.
Spurs on offense.
Avery Johnson dribbled the ball up the court, showing no panic, and calmly passed it to Tim Duncan on the left low post.
Garnett stepped up to defend. Tim Duncan backed down and pushed twice, then suddenly turned towards the baseline with five seconds left on the shot clock. Garnett's defense blocked his face, but Tim Duncan jumped under the pressure, flicked his wrist, and the basketball bounced off the top right corner of the rim and cleanly banked into the net.
The Spurs regained the lead at 102-101, leaving the Celtics with eight seconds to run.
Doc Rivers requested a timeout.
At the whiteboard, Doc Rivers quickly drew the final shot. Everyone thought the ball would go to Garnett, the star player of the night, but Doc Rivers ' pen circled Chris Paul Pierce's name heavily instead.
" Kevin, they'll definitely double-team you," Doc Rivers said quickly, then looked at the rookie, " Chris Paul, the opportunity is yours, are you ready to shoot?"
Pierce didn't speak, he just nodded.
After the timeout, the ball was inbounded. Garnett stepped up to set a screen, feigning to receive the ball, which immediately drew Tim Duncan and Robinson's defensive attention. Pierce used Eddie Jones ' solid screen to cut out from the weak side and received the ball securely in the right elbow area.
Standing before him was Spurs veteran Sean Elliott.
Without hesitation, Pierce used his signature solid step to create half a body length and then took off.
But just as the ball was about to leave his hands, David Robinson, with his terrifying athleticism, lunged across the paint. His enormous hand, casting a massive shadow, instantly obscured the view. Pierce caught a glimpse of that long arm out of the corner of his eye and instinctively felt a flicker of panic, fearing he might be blocked.
To avoid being blocked, he subconsciously added a little more force to his right hand at the moment of release, causing the arc of his shot to be slightly higher.
The slight deformation completely altered the feel of the ball, sending it past Robinson's fingertips and bouncing high off the back of the rim.
The final buzzer sounded, and the San Antonio Spurs narrowly won 102-101.
Pierce stood there, stunned, staring at the ball that had bounced off the rim, unable to recover for a long time.
It was so close.
A little bit.
Garnett racked up 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Tim Duncan contributed 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
The two young, talented centers are evenly matched statistically.
The players from both teams greeted each other, and Garnett walked up to Tim Duncan.
"Well played." Garnett said with a stern face.
Tim Duncan, with a faint smile on his face, said softly, "You too. By the way, you bumped into me pretty hard when we were boxing out earlier, be gentler next time."
Garnett was speechless and rolled his eyes at him.
Watching the calm back of number 21 as he turned and walked towards the player tunnel, Garnett stood in center circle for a long time. The Tim Duncan in front of him was completely different from Chris Webber. Webber's strength was aggressive and flashy, while Tim Duncan was like a giant rock, no matter how big the waves Crash over him, he just stood there unmoved.
See you in the playoffs.
Garnett silently recited it to himself.
In the CEO's office in Boston, the television was replaying the game-winning shot that had popped up on the screen.
Lin Qi sank into the leather swivel chair, a glass of cold black coffee in his hand.
He wasn't discouraged; instead, he looked at Garnett's unwilling eyes on the screen and slightly curled the corners of his mouth.
"Did you see that, Kevin?" Lin Qi murmured to himself, "That's the last Mountain standing between you and the championship."
In the history of the previous generation, the Spurs were the ultimate winners of the shortened 1999 season.
Tim Duncan will lift his first NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy this summer, ushering in a new era for the Spurs.
If Boston wants to reach the top, they must defeat this Spurs at some point in the future.
However, in today's fiercely competitive Western Conference, the Spurs will have to get past the Lakers first if they want to reach the NBA Finals.
Moreover, in this timeline, thanks to the butterfly effect brought about by Lin Qi, the Los Angeles Lakers will only become stronger.
He put down his cup and turned off the TV.
He eagerly awaits to see who will ultimately stand on the stage of the NBA Finals.