Boston won the second game.
The victory was ugly; the two teams battled fiercely until the final two minutes before the score difference widened.
The score became 2-0.
In the locker room after the game, Doc Rivers stood by the whiteboard and said, " The Knicks will definitely fight us tooth and nail when they get back home."
Lin Qi sat beside him listening without saying a word. He knew best that this Knicks was indeed a tough nut to crack.
In the original history, they should have made a comeback in this playoffs.
They upset the Heat in the first round to complete the "Black Eight" miracle, then swept the Hawks and eliminated the Pacers, advancing to the NBA Finals as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
In the league's more than 50-year history, no eighth-seeded team has ever achieved this.
They truly have the ability to create miracles.
Unfortunately, in this timeline, their first-round opponent became Boston.
Madison Square Garden.
The Celtics ' bus drove out of the Lincoln Tunnel, and the Manhattan skyscrapers sliced the setting sun into fragments.
On the street, New York fans held up signs that read, "Sweeped last year, upset this year, Boston, go home!"
Gary Payton sat in the last row of the carriage, watching the signs flash by outside the window.
At this time last year, the Celtics were swept 3-0. He will never forget the frustration of watching helplessly as the coach made a mess of things.
In his heart, that humiliation was second only to the time he lost to Jordan in the NBA Finals.
The others clearly hadn't forgotten either.
Lin Qi opened a copy of the New York Post; the front page featured a photo of the Knicks' home celebration last year, with the headline in large letters. "Welcome back to your grave."
Lin Qi turned around, leaned back in his chair, and raised an eyebrow at the person in the back. "Tell me a joke."
"A New York found a magic lamp, rubbed it, and a genie appeared, saying he could grant him one wish."
"This New York Yorker said: 'I hope for world peace, and for no more wars.'"
The elf shook his head. "This involves over two hundred countries and thousands of years of historical grievances; it's simply impossible. Find something more realistic."
"A fan said, 'Then let Gates and Buffett go bankrupt, and I'll become the world's richest person!'"
The elf still frowned. "The global financial system is too complex, and too difficult to operate... Think about it again. This time I'm definitely not making excuses."
A fan handed over his copy of the New York Post: "Okay, let the New York Knicks pull off an upset this year and make it all the way to the NBA Finals."
The elf stared at the newspaper for two seconds, then his expression changed instantly. He shoved the newspaper back into the fan's hands, wiped away a bead of cold sweat, and said, "... Dude, how about we talk about world peace again?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Bo Outlaw was the first to break down. This guy, who had an extremely low threshold for laughter, buried his head in his knees, laughing so hard he was shaking all over. In the end, he simply lay back in his chair, laughing so hard he was breathless and tears were almost streaming down his face.
Harper in the front row also fell for it, spraying the water she had just drunk evenly all over the back of the seat in front of her.
With a smile on his face, Garnett casually threw a crumpled piece of paper at Lin Qi.
Throughout the entire carriage, only Gary Payton, sitting in the last row, remained unmoved.
He rested his chin on his hand, rolled his eyes coldly, and uttered a sarcastic remark.
"Lin, you really have no talent for telling jokes, it's so cold."
Lin Qi chuckled, not minding at all.
This commotion completely dispelled the somewhat oppressive atmosphere in the carriage.
At 7:40 p. m., Madison Square Garden was already packed.
As soon as the Celtics stepped into the warm-up area, they were met with a deafening chorus of boos and jeers from the crowd.
The first quarter began with cheers at Madison Square Garden that nearly lifted the roof off.
The Knicks were like a completely different team when they returned to their home court.
Patrick Ewing took the lead, turning and hooking the ball in.
Two possessions later, " Mid-Range King " Allan Houston cut into the mid-range and pulled up for a shot, but unfortunately the ball bounced off the rim.
But Sprewell was sprinting all over the court. The instant the ball bounced off the court, he had already taken off in the paint and slammed the offensive rebound and the ball together into the basket, right over Mutombo. After landing, he roared at the stands, his dreadlocks flying high.
As Garnett retreated on defense, he slowed his pace slightly and stared at Sprewell for a while. He didn't find the arrogant guy annoying; on the contrary, he found the man's spirit quite interesting.
The Knicks ' offensive onslaught wasn't over yet. On the next possession, Allan Houston cut to the free-throw line using Patrick Ewing's screen. He caught the ball, bounced, and pulled up for a shot.
Swish!
The ball went into the net cleanly.
Madison Square Garden erupted in chaos.
Houston then tried again, in the exact same spot. Eddie Jones was already pressing against his chest to defend, his arm practically right under Houston's nose, but he still couldn't block the shot.
Goal!
The roar of the crowd in the stadium grew louder and louder.
At the end of the first quarter, the Knicks led by 7 points.
Boston played extremely awkwardly, and the suffocating hostility at home was palpable to everyone.
Pierce waited on the sidelines to go on the court, his throat dry with nervousness.
In the second quarter, Pierce entered the game.
The substitution was unremarkable; the audience barely even glanced at him. But as soon as he stepped onto the court, Pierce started calling for the ball.
He backed down in the low post on the right side, first pushing in, then stepping back for a jump shot, which went in. A few boos began to rip into the arena.
He continued to call for the ball, using his shoulder to push past the defender and draw a foul, making one of two free throws, drawing louder boos. He received a pass from Garnett and continued his post-up game, scoring again. He received the ball, pulled up for a jump shot, and scored again. He forced his way into the paint and was brutally tackled by Larry Bird Johnson, but he got up, dusted himself off, and made both free throws.
The boos from Madison Square Garden were deafening, filled with profanities, as if they wanted to drown him in their spittle.
Pierce looked up, meeting the insults and boos.
Then, he grinned.
This wasn't just empty boasting. He genuinely felt that playing in such a formidable home arena was incredibly exciting.
At halftime, the Knicks ' lead had been eroded to just 2 points.
Halftime, away team locker room.
As soon as Lin Qi entered the locker room, Gary Payton, sitting in the middle, raised an eyebrow at him. "Lin, that joke you told on the bus, the more I think about it, the worse it seems. Today I'll show you what I'm capable of."
Everyone in the room turned to look at him.
"It was near the end of the first half, I think. That point guard from New York was trash-talking me when he was guarding me, implying that I'd slowed down and asking if I was getting old." Gary Payton shrugged, draped the towel he was using to wipe his sweat over his shoulder, and casually tossed out the sentence.
"I told him right then and there: 'Kid, you [beep] said I was old last night too, but she still begged me to do it again.'"
The moment the words left his mouth, the entire locker room erupted in chaos.
Bo Outlaw nearly slipped and fell after hearing this, slapping his thigh and laughing hysterically. Harper in the front row immediately covered his face with an ice pack, his shoulders shaking with laughter. " Gary, you can make up such rubbish!"
Lin Qi leaned against the door, watching the laughter filling the room, and chuckled a few times himself.
Gary Payton caught the dirty Socks and tossed it aside, his smile fading as he suddenly became very serious, glancing around at everyone in the room.
"Jokes aside, the New York are hanging on by a thread right now. Let's step up our game in the second half, 'one more time,' and beat them again. Let's sweep them!"
"Sweep them away!" Garnett was the first to stand up and roar.
After Gary Payton's antics and provocations, the remaining tension from the first half completely dissipated, and the whole team was now focused on their ruthless determination to take the field and defeat their opponents.