With only a two-point lead at halftime, Doc Rivers didn't take it seriously at all. He knew that the real battle would come in the second half. If they lost this game, Popovich would go to Boston with a 2-3 deficit, and the old man would fight to the last Bullets, leaving no room for error.
At the start of the second half, Popovich focused relentlessly on exploiting a persistent weakness in the Celtics' defense.
He no longer had Johnson crouch on the weak side waiting for the ball, but instead directly linked him with Tim Duncan's low-post offense.
Tim Duncan received the ball in the low post, and P.J. Brown and Garnett, as usual, moved laterally to double-team him. Just then, Johnson cut directly into the open space created by Tim Duncan drawing the defense. As soon as the ball arrived, Johnson caught it and made a mid-range jumper.
This defensive gap was deliberately created by Doc Rivers in the first half after weighing the pros and cons; he had to choose the lesser of two evils, and one had to be sacrificed. Now, Popovich's task is to widen this small opening further.
Doc Rivers immediately stood up and gave a defensive signal, instructing Garnett to "advance half a step to rotate and cover."
The next possession was played with the exact same tactic. Just as Tim Duncan was about to pass the ball, Garnett stepped out of the double team half a step in advance, his terrifying lateral speed instantly filling the gap. Johnson's shooting rhythm was completely disrupted, and the ball bounced off the rim.
Popovich remained expressionless and immediately changed the tactical approach, having Johnson cut inside from a deeper corner position to push Garnett's defensive range to its limit.
When the ball reached Johnson, Garnett managed to get into position by moving laterally, but his fingertips missed the ball by just a fraction of an inch. The mid-range shot swished through the net.
Popovich showed no sign of the ease he'd gained from scoring. He understood better than anyone what that half-inch meant: even when stretched to the limit, Garnett could still close the gap by just half an inch, indicating that the Celtics' help defense system could cover almost the entire half-court. The only weakness he found was that half-inch that Garnett couldn't reach.
Moreover, Popovich's focus wasn't just on scoring; he wanted to completely exhaust Garnett's stamina.
In the first half, Pierce was tightly marked by Kersey, and the Celtics' offense relied almost entirely on Gary Payton and Garnett. Now, Popovich deliberately placed the Spurs ' offensive starting point on the side furthest from Garnett, forcing him to take an extra step and slide an extra time. He wanted to use high-intensity back-and-forth movements to gradually drain Garnett's stamina until he could no longer take that final half-inch step.
With five minutes left in the third quarter, Garnett made two consecutive hard drives in the low post, scoring one and getting blocked the other. As he retreated on defense, he bent over, braced his knees hard with his hands, and immediately gritted his teeth and ran back to his half of the court.
Doc Rivers could only stand on the sidelines, watching in silence.
Halfway through the third quarter, the power of the home-court advantage began to show.
Outlaw made contact with Robinson as he turned, the whistle blew, and it was his third foul.
Three minutes later, Outlaw helped defend and his arm lightly brushed against Tim Duncan's forearm. The whistle blew, and it was the fourth foul.
The cheers from the Alamodome grew louder and louder. Popovich stood with his arms crossed, saying nothing. The Celtics' defensive system, which relied entirely on movement and outstretched arms for interference, meant that Outlaw was prone to foul trouble, and a fifth foul was only a matter of time.
Doc Rivers still didn't make a substitution. During the dead ball situation, he looked towards the paint.
"Can we still fight?"
Outlaw stared at the floor, didn't complain about the referee, and simply nodded. "Yes." The two shared the unspoken understanding of a veteran and his coach; nothing more needed to be said.
In the final possession of the third quarter, the first thing Doc Rivers hadn't anticipated happened.
Garnett called for the ball in the elbow area with his back to the basket, guarding Tim Duncan. Instead of forcing his way into the low post as he had throughout the game, he dribbled once and stepped back half a step beyond the three-point line.
He made the exact same feint before halftime and then passed the ball out.
But this time, he didn't stop.
He took a straight jump shot and launched a three-pointer.
The Alamodome was silent for half a second.
The ball went into the net cleanly.
Garnett had been practicing this move since his rookie season, but he had never used it in such a crucial moment.
After three quarters, the Celtics led 75-72, a three-point advantage. Johnson's defensive gap was still allowing points, but Garnett managed to create a new breakthrough from the Spurs ' defensive blind spot.
In the first possession of the fourth quarter, Outlaw received his fifth foul.
It was just a routine double-team, and then the whistle blew.
He stood still without arguing, slowly straightened up, turned around and retreated on defense. For the rest of the quarter, he still had to perform high-intensity double-teaming and lateral movement, but he couldn't make any unnecessary movements with his hands.
Seeing the call, Popovich leaned forward; he was about to play his last card.
With seven minutes remaining in the game, the Spurs suddenly sped up, employing a full-court press. Popovich was gambling on speed: the Celtics ' three big men were exhausted from moving and helping on defense, and with Outlaw carrying five fouls, he was nearing his physical limit. He wanted to use speed to directly break down this defensive system.
On their first press, the Celtics nearly made a mistake, with Gary Payton barely managing to save the ball off the sideline.
Doc Rivers called a timeout and brought in veteran Ron Harper.
This guard, who has seen it all, faced a double-team from the Spurs, and with a perfectly steady behind-the-back dribble, created space, calmly bringing the ball across half-court and handing it to Pierce at the top of the arc. Pierce, who had been harassed all night, didn't waste this open shot and swished the three-pointer cleanly into the net.
Harper, with his veteran composure, pulled the tide back from the brink of spiraling out of control, bringing the game back into positional play.
But positional warfare didn't give the Celtics a chance to breathe either.
The Spurs ' offensive surge came suddenly and struck right at the Celtics ' weak points. Johnson's mid-range jumpers came in like a machine gun. Left corner, in. Right elbow, in.
Every time the Celtics tried to collapse their defense, Garnett's exhaustion became glaringly obvious; his legs felt like lead, and his lateral movement on defense was always a beat slower.
With four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Johnson received the ball and attempted a mid-range jumper. Garnett made a desperate attempt to move laterally to defend, but this time, he couldn't reach that final inch.
Goal!
83 to 81.
Only two points left. The Celtics were on offense. Garnett, who had just made a desperate defensive save, dragged his heavy steps to the frontcourt to call for the ball, his chest heaving violently. He tried to back down Tim Duncan in the elbow area, but his legs were too weak and he lost his momentum, causing the ball to bounce off the rim.
The Spurs grabbed the rebound and launched a fast break. Johnson moved to the top of the key and found himself wide open again.
Mid-range shot, made.
83 square meters.
In the next possession, Mario Elie hit an open three-pointer from the corner.
86 to 83.
The Spurs have taken the lead. This is the first time the Celtics have fallen behind in the entire game. The cheers from the Alamodome almost lifted the roof off. Popovich stood on the sidelines, and after a whole night, he finally managed to completely tear apart that defensive gap.
Doc Rivers' choice of a "lighter cost" at halftime has now become a fatal burden.
Doc Rivers raised his hand halfway, as if to call a timeout.
But he put it down again.
He understood perfectly: calling a timeout now would only amplify the cheers from the home crowd and instantly cool down the tense muscles of these veteran players; stopping the ball now would be tantamount to waiting for death.
The ball got to Gary Payton, and Johnson came up to close him down.
The tactical intention was clear: if the Spurs use Johnson's shooting to attack our defense, we'll respond by attacking that point on offense. Gary Payton made a sharp crossover and drove into the paint, David Robinson quickly helped on defense.
Gary Payton's layup missed.
The Spurs grabbed the rebound and tried to score to seal the victory, but Johnson dribbled the ball up the court.
Gary Payton, who hasn't uttered a single word since the start of the game, remains quiet. Instead of gambling on a steal, he uses his aggressive defensive footwork to precisely force Johnson into Garnett's help defense area. Johnson is forced to jump for a mid-range shot, and Garnett, dragging his leg, moves laterally to cover, only managing to touch the ball with his fingertips.
The ball went too short and bounced off the rim. Garnett secured the rebound purely through physical strength.
The Celtics have possession, are down by three points, and have one minute and nineteen seconds remaining.
This time, Doc Rivers called a timeout.
He didn't devise any complicated tactics; he just watched Gary Payton.
Go beat up the guy you've been watching all night.
After the timeout, Gary Payton had the ball and went one-on-one against Johnson.
He calmly dribbled and observed the ball, seizing the moment when Johnson lost his balance, and changed direction to drive straight to the inside. Before David Robinson could block him, Gary Payton forced his way into the basket, also withstanding the physical Crash.
The whistle blows, and a penalty is added.
That guy, notorious for trash talk throughout the league, quietly stepped to the free-throw line. He made the free throw.
86 square meters.
In the next possession, Johnson tried to exploit a defensive lapse with a mid-range shot. But this time, Garnett moved laterally without hesitation, completely shutting down that half-inch of space and forcing the shot to miss. Garnett calmly grabbed the rebound and let out a muffled roar.
With forty seconds remaining, Gary Payton once again broke through Johnson's defense, drove into the paint, and calmly passed the ball to Pierce, who made a layup.
88 to 86.
The tactics were a direct confrontation, with Gary Payton responding to every shot Johnson made with his steady, one-on-one play.
The Spurs were forced to commit a tactical foul, Gary Payton made both free throws.
90 to 86.
With 31 seconds left in the game, Popovich used his last timeout.
He used almost every tactic on his playbook: low-post isolation plays, high-low post playmaking, shooter cuts, perimeter mismatches, and full-court press. He even managed to break through the Celtics' defense and take the lead at one point, but the Celtics fought back point by point.
After the timeout, the Spurs had their final possession. Popovich's final tactic returned to the opening move: Tim Duncan's low-post isolation play.
The ball was passed to Tim Duncan.
P.J. Brown positioned himself behind him, using a textbook lateral movement to push his receiving point outwards. Exhausted Garnett slid in from the weak side with all his might, forming a double team. Outlaw, burdened with five fouls, didn't reach out to steal the ball, but simply blocked Tim Duncan's turnaround route with his positioning.
The three inside players formed an impenetrable net, exactly like in the first possession of the game.
Tim Duncan forced a fadeaway jump shot despite being guarded by three players.
As soon as the ball left his fingertips, Outlaw instinctively raised his hand to block it, but reason instantly overwhelmed instinct, and he forcefully pulled his arm back in mid-air.
No foul, no whistle, the whole stadium held its breath.
Tim Duncan's shot bounced off the front edge of the rim.
Outlaw had positioned himself well in advance, didn't jump, and steadily caught the rebound in his arms.
After exhausting all his efforts, Popovich ultimately ran into the toughest wall.
The Spurs committed a foul, Gary Payton made both free throws.
92 to 86.
The final whistle blows.
The Boston Celtics took an early lead, reaching match point and making it 3-2 in the series.
In the visiting team's locker room, no one was celebrating. The veterans slumped in their chairs, while Outlaw leaned against his cold locker, his chest heaving. Garnett stretched his legs out in front of him, completely drained of energy. Gary Payton, who hadn't uttered a word the entire game, scored 26 points and dished out 14 assists.
Pierce struggled to score 9 points. P.J. Brown contributed a solid 12 points and 12 rebounds. Outlaw, playing the entire fourth quarter with five fouls, delivered 8 points and 13 rebounds. Garnett had 28 points, 17 rebounds, 4 blocks, and that unexpected three-pointer.
On the other side of the court, Popovich stood at the tunnel entrance.
He watched the group of Boston veterans, supporting each other and staggering as they left, his gaze falling on the back of Outlaw, who stood at the very back despite having five fouls, and he nodded very slightly.
Then he turned and walked into the darkness.
The NBA Finals will be played in Boston.