Eastern Conference Finals, Game 5, Boston New Garden
The Boston Celtics lead the series 3-1.
Just one more win, and the series would be over. This unquestioned confidence permeated the streets of Boston. Outside the arena, astute vendors had even begun selling Eastern Conference champion T-shirts on the street—rough green with white lettering that prominently proclaimed "1999 EASTERN CHAMPIONS."
In the Celtics' locker room, head coach Doc Rivers stood silently in front of the tactical board for a long time. His gaze swept over the roster repeatedly before he finally picked up a marker and wrote Ron Harper's name in the starting lineup.
In the visiting team's locker room, the Pacers ' starting lineup remained unchanged, still the one Larry Bird Larry Bird trusted most: Mark Jackson, Reggie Miller, Chris Mullin, Dale Davis, and Rick Smits.
The Celtics ' starting lineup has changed: Gary Payton, Ron Harper, Eddie Jones, Kevin Garnett, Dikembe Mutombo.
When Larry Bird Larry Bird saw the five-man lineup displayed on the big screen, he stared at the roster with his hands on his hips, remaining silent for a long time. The defensive aggression of this lineup was almost overflowing from the paper.
Not far away, Reggie Miller was stretching his shoulders. He glanced habitually at the other end of the court and saw Harper pull off his training uniform and slowly walk towards the center circle with a blank expression.
Their eyes met.
From the very first minute, the match descended into a quagmire of hand-to-hand combat.
Backed to the brink, the Pacers unleashed a ferocious fighting spirit, each battle for position accompanied by heavy physical collisions. Amidst the two teams' chilling starting shooting percentages, only " God's Left Hand " Chris Mullin suddenly went on a rampage in the first quarter. The veteran repeatedly used screens to emerge from beyond the arc, sinking consecutive three-pointers, briefly helping the Pacers take the lead and sending shivers down the spines of the Boston fans.
However, after the timeout, the Celtics immediately made adjustments. Eddie Jones began to tightly guard Mullin. From the moment he received the ball in the backcourt, Jones used his body to engage in full physical contact, quickly wearing down the veteran's stamina with continuous close tackles and shoves.
The intense physical contact quickly paid off. Under the relentless defense, Mullin's shooting space was severely compressed, his movements began to distort, and the basketball started bouncing off the rim repeatedly after each physical collision.
At this stage of the series, both sides have already revealed their tactical strategies to each other, and there are no secrets left.
The Celtics have completely figured out the Pacers ' Achilles' heel. Ultimately, this has begun to evolve into a pure one-sided attack on athleticism and roster depth... The Celtics are younger and stronger at almost every position, and have far more room for maneuver than their opponents.
But the veterans' grit held up the Pacers, and their fighting spirit and experience forced the game into the fourth quarter.
Chris Paul Pierce came on as a substitute during a crucial rotation period.
Facing the Pacers ' exhausted and sluggish bench, this young forward scorer completely took over the game. Pierce fully utilized his physical advantages, repeatedly posting up in the low post, taking pull-up jumpers in the mid-range, and even driving directly into the paint to draw fouls. His stamina and offensive skills became an unstoppable weapon during this period, and in just a few possessions, he overwhelmed the Pacers ' second unit.
Larry Bird Larry Bird watched from the sidelines, gritting his teeth. He knew he couldn't wait any longer. Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, he had to bring back all his starters and begin a relentless double-team on Pierce, both off the ball and with it.
In the first half of the fourth quarter, the Pacers raised their defensive intensity to the highest level of the series.
Within three minutes, the Celtics committed two consecutive 24-second violations under suffocating pressure. On the other Pacers, Mullin hit a mid-range jumper in the midst of a scramble for the Pacers, and then Dale Davis grabbed an offensive rebound over Garnett and forced a putback for a layup.
78 to 76.
The difference is now only two points.
The noise in the New Garden subsided. That anxious feeling of the doors being closed but not quite shut, of fearing the cooked duck would fly away, began to spread in the hearts of every Boston fan.
At the crucial moment, Gary Payton stepped up.
Gary Payton controlled the ball at the top of the key. The veteran, who had been famous for a long time, appeared unusually calm. After dribbling the ball across half-court, he used his broad back to firmly block Mark Jackson, deliberately slowing down the pace of the offense. Only when there were only ten seconds left on the shot clock did he wave to his left.
Pierce received the ball on the left wing, facing off against a serious-looking Mullin.
There were no unnecessary fancy moves.
A probing step, a drop in the shoulder, and an extremely forceful, aggressive breakthrough.
Mullin couldn't withstand the impact and could only retreat in a sorry state while waiting for the inside defense to come to his aid. " The Flying Dutchman " Rick Smits had already stepped up, but as soon as he raised his huge arm, Pierce had already thrown himself up.
"Bang!"
With a dull thud from the impact, Pierce threw the ball as he lost his balance in mid-air.
The basketball grazed the backboard and went in off the backboard.
"Beep--!"
The referee blew the whistle, and an additional penalty was imposed.
Pierce slammed his fist onto the wooden floor. Before he could even stand up, he sat down, clenched his fists, and let out a low growl.
The long-suppressed cheers erupted instantly.
He went to the free-throw line and made the extra free throw.
81 to 76.
Reggie responded within ten seconds.
He suddenly started from the weak side, first using Dale Davis's screen to rush towards the baseline, and halfway there, he suddenly made a reverse cut, moving towards the top of the arc against the defense. Harper's reaction was noticeably a beat slower this time, and Mark Jackson's pass was also quite timely.
Reggie Miller catches the ball, jumps, and shoots.
His body even shifted sideways in mid-air, but his attack motion remained completely unchanged.
The basketball arced high and fell precisely into the Nets.
Three point hit.
81 to 79.
With 3 minutes and 12 seconds remaining in the game, the score was 86-84.
The Celtics only leading by two points.
This time, possession of the ball fell into Gary Payton's hands.
Garnett understood immediately and set a screen, but Pacers center Smits, as usual, chose to retreat and defend the paint.
Gary Payton used a screen to drive to the free-throw line, then suddenly stopped before the defense closed in and pulled up for a shot.
An extremely simple pull-up jump shot.
"Whoosh!"
Hollow core into the net.
88 to 84.
With the final minute approaching, the suffocating atmosphere made the fans in the stands hold their breath. Reggie Miller, through a double-team, faced a diving defense and sank a difficult long two-pointer, keeping the score close at 88-86. Everyone in the arena stood up; those young men who had been wearing championship T-shirts and ready to celebrate were now sweating profusely.
The Celtics had their last full offensive opportunity of the game.
The ball returned to Gary Payton's hands.
Gary Payton stood at the top of the key, dribbling to run down the clock, while using his other hand to constantly direct his teammates to create space.
Ten seconds...
Nine seconds...
Eight seconds...
Seven seconds...
He didn't pass the ball to Pierce until there were only seven seconds left on the shot clock.
The entire arena of 20,000 people, including the Pacers ' five defensive players, knew he was going to go one-on-one.
Pierce had the ball on the right side, and the Pacers ' tough center, Dale Davis, switched onto him. Compared to his previous defender, Davis was bigger, but his footwork was noticeably slower. Pierce lowered his center of gravity and made two quick crossover dribbles, forcing Davis to take a half-step back to prevent a drive.
Just as Davis shifted his weight backward, Pierce leaped into the air, looking as if he was about to launch a three-pointer.
Davis instinctively shifted his weight and lunged forward to block the shot.
However, this was just a trap. Pierce managed to retrieve the ball in mid-air, made a clean left turn, and grazed past Davis's body.
Smits, the center, could only desperately come over to help defend, his presence overwhelming.
But this time, Pierce didn't gamble on the whistle. In the instant of the mid-air confrontation, he deftly tossed the ball to the other side of the basket with both hands.
A black figure leaped into the air from the weak side; it was Kevin Garnett.
"Boom--!"
Garnett caught the basketball in mid-air with one hand and slammed it into the hoop.
90 to 86.
In that instant, the sound waves from the New Garden almost lifted the roof off.
Larry Bird Larry Bird remained standing on the sidelines, arms crossed, motionless.
He completely entrusted the final, decisive attack to the players on the court.
Mark Jackson slowly advanced the ball across half-court. Only 14 seconds remained.
All eyes in the arena, and indeed in front of television screens across the United States, were fixed on Reggie Miller.
Reggie started his off-the-ball run from the right corner, a move he'd made countless times in his life.
Eddie Jones was pressed close behind, blocking his way.
First line of cover, bypass.
With the second cover, Eddie Jones was bumped, but gritted his teeth and chased after them again.
At that moment, Reggie made an unexpected run, pushing aside the defense and circling wildly towards the top of the arc.
Mark Jackson's pass arrived as expected...
In a life-or-death situation, the ball was still passed to their best striker.
Reggie catches the ball, jumps, and hangs in the air.
Eddie Jones was indeed a half-step too slow.
But just as Reggie jumped to shoot, Garnett had already moved in to cover from the side.
He moved laterally with lightning speed, and the instant Reggie left the ball, Garnett stretched out his long arm and caught the basketball in mid-air with one hand.
Taking advantage of his height and wingspan, he cleanly and decisively snatched the ball from Reggie's hands in mid-air.
Garnett let out a roar in mid-air, clutching the basketball to his chest.
"Beep----!"
The final whistle ripped through the stadium's clamor.
90 to 86.
The Boston Celtics defeated the Pacers 4-1.
Advance to the NBA Finals.
The revelry erupted completely at this moment.
Golden ribbons fluttered in the air as the Eastern Conference champions' podium was quickly erected in the center of the court.
Lin Qi stood quietly at the sidelines, not pushing forward with the crowd.
He simply stood with his hands in his pockets, watching the commotion before him.
Doc Rivers had somehow moved next to Lin Qi and gently nudged him with his broad shoulder.
"This time, you'll finally admit it, won't you?" Doc Rivers' tone carried an undisguised smugness. "At least as the head coach, I didn't mess things up tonight."
Lin Qi turned his head and looked at the coach who looked relieved.
" Doc," Lin Qi's voice was calm and restrained, "You can have five minutes of happiness tonight."
Doc Rivers paused, his smile freezing for a moment, "And then?"
Lin Qi slowly raised his head and looked up at the towering roof of the New Garden.
Above, hanging silently are the champion banners of a bygone era.
"Then, prepare for the NBA Finals," Lin Qi said calmly.
Doc Rivers followed his gaze, staring at the heavy honors, and the pride in his eyes gradually faded.
"Okay," Doc Rivers said.
In the center of the court, the Eastern Conference championship trophy was raised high.
Countless flashes of light exploded in an instant, like a white wave.
And within that dazzling light, every Celtics knew one thing clearly...
The real end is yet to come; they have four more wins to go.