Westphal was forced to make adjustments.
The Seattle SuperSonics switched to a 2-3 zone defense, attempting to hide the heavy-footed Vin Baker under the basket and, incidentally, block Gary Payton's drive to the middle.
Sam Cassell and Ray Allen stayed on the perimeter, while Patterson, Vin Baker, and Horace Grant lined up along the baseline. Vin Baker anchored the rim, and the other four players moved towards the strong side as the ball was passed. In theory, this would protect Seattle's weakest point, the paint.
But the Celtics ' positioning was extremely clear.
Rasheed dropped to the left corner, drawing Patterson Pierce to the right short corner and trapping Grant on the baseline. Eddie Jones remained on the right wing. The real offensive initiation point was at the top of the arc.
Garnett quickly moved up and executed a clean high pick-and-roll with Gary Payton. Gary Payton used the screen to drive hard to the right, his first step instantly drawing the defensive attention of Sam Cassell and Ray Allen.
Just as Seattle's two guards were preparing to close out and delay the shot, Garnett didn't cut to the basket. Instead, he opted for a short cut, stopping directly in the middle of the free-throw line, the weak point of the 2-3 zone defense.
Gary Payton flicked his wrist, and the ball was delivered smoothly to Garnett.
Vin Baker had to step forward. If he stayed under the basket, Garnett could shoot directly from the free-throw line. But when he left the basket, the responsibility of protecting the rim fell to the baseline players on both sides.
Ray Allen, who was also on the court, was drawn to Garnett and instinctively hunched over to try and steal the ball.
At that very moment, Jones moved.
He first feigned a move to the right corner, shifting Grant's center of gravity, then immediately reversed direction, cutting into Ray Allen's blind spot and driving straight into the penalty area at a 45-degree angle.
Grant tried to drop back to protect the rim, but Pierce had already positioned himself in the short corner, blocking his retreat. Patterson on the weak side was equally hesitant to move, with Rasheed lurking in the corner; if he moved even half a step, Garnett's pass would be sent directly to the three-point line.
In an instant, all three Seattle baseline players were pinned down in place.
Garnett delivered a subtle bounce pass. The ball pierced through the zone defense and landed perfectly in the hands of Jones was cutting to the basket.
Jones catches the ball, takes a step, and leaps into the air.
"Bang!"
One-handed dunk!
When Grant turned around, he only had time to see Jones expressionlessly let go of the rim and land on the ground.
"Textbook offense and defense!" Marv Albert raised his voice in the broadcast booth, "High pick-and-roll to the free-throw line, corner and baseline pressure, and finally a cut from the defender's blind spot on the top line! Brilliant!"
On the court, Jones turned and quickly retreated to defense. After signing a long-term contract, he no longer needed to prove himself with points. When Gary Payton, Pierce, and Garnett occupied a lot of the ball, his average points per game dropped to just over ten, but his efficiency on the court was extremely high.
The offense was extremely simplified: cuts, fast breaks, and spot-up threes. All the energy saved was devoted to defense. Doc Rivers' only task for him tonight was to guard Ray Allen relentlessly.
Back on defense, Ray Allen used Grant's screen to drive to the right. Jones positioned himself to the side beforehand, squeezing past the screen while sticking close to Grant. Drawing on his experience defending Reggie Miller in the playoffs, he accurately predicted Ray Allen's shot trajectory after receiving the ball.
The basketball had just been delivered when Ray Allen pulled up for a jump shot, his movement as fluid and precise as ever. But Jones ' fingertips were already blocking the ball.
"Bang!"
The basketball bounced off the front edge.
Garnett grabbed the rebound and immediately launched a fast break. Pierce and Jones made a quick run down the court, with Gary Payton following up in the middle. All four players pressed towards the paint, forcing the Seattle SuperSonics' defensive players to instinctively collapse and protect the rim.
Only Rasheed deliberately slowed down, lagging behind.
Garnett drove to the free-throw line and stopped abruptly. Grant and Patterson had already retreated into the paint, Sam Cassell was marking Gary Payton closely, and Vin Baker had just positioned himself and hadn't had time to turn around.
Garnett flicked the ball back behind him. Rasheed, arriving late, stopped just outside the three-point line.
Receive the ball. Adjust. Shoot.
"Whoosh!"
The basketball swished through the net once again.
Westphal slammed his fist on the scorer's table, calling a timeout.
In just four minutes, the Celtics went on a 15-4 run.
What frustrated Seattle was that all three of their defensive strategies failed: if they tried to collapse Vin Baker, Rasheed would shoot threes; if they tried to Baker out, Gary Payton would exploit his footwork to drive to the basket; and if they switched to a 2-3 zone defense, Garnett would move to the free-throw line, using inside and outside pressure to break down the defense.
Every time Seattle makes a move, Boston finds a solution on the next pass.
After the timeout, the Seattle SuperSonics decided to attack from the low post. Sam Cassell lobbed the ball to Vin Baker. Vin Baker leaned against Rasheed and drove hard with his shoulder.
"Bang!"
Rasheed took a half step back, bracing his lower body. After the second impact, Vin Baker suddenly turned along the baseline. Rasheed didn't completely block him, but instead blocked the middle, driving Vin Baker behind the backboard.
This is a defensive rotation that the Celtics have practiced countless times.
Just as Vin Baker raised the ball to drive to the basket, Garnett quickly moved away from Grant, his long arms completely covering the shooting space.
"Smack!"
With a crisp sound, Garnett slapped the ball out of bounds.
Meanwhile, Pierce had rotated to Grant's position, cutting off Vin Baker's passing lane. Gary Payton, meanwhile, was positioned in Sam Cassell's receiving lane, ready to intercept a back pass.
"My God! The Celtics ' defense is so tight!" the commentator exclaimed. " Garnett's help defense covers half the field! Vin Baker thought he had shaken off Rasheed, but he ran right into Garnett's help defense!"
After landing, Garnett pounded his chest and gave Rasheed a high five.
This is precisely the defensive advantage the new rule gives the Celtics. With the illegal defense eliminated, Garnett no longer needs to stick close to his assigned player. As long as he avoids the defense for three seconds, he can use his top-notch mobility and wingspan to sweep across a wide area within the legal zone.
Rasheed was responsible for absorbing the initial wave, forcing the opponent in a specific direction. Garnett was responsible for weak-side help defense. Pierce rotated in to cover as needed. It was a seamless defensive rotation system.
Under this tight offensive and defensive system, the Seattle SuperSonics resistance quickly crumbled.
Rasheed moved the heavy interior players away from the paint, Garnett stepped up to the free-throw line to break down the zone defense, and Jones and Pierce constantly cut to the wings and applied defensive pressure. The Celtics displayed a completely different style of play on the court.
Having completely broken free from defensive constraints, Gary Payton had one of the most efficient nights of his career.
Throughout the second half, his reading of the game was extremely clear: when the Seattle SuperSonics double-teamed him, he would steadily pass the ball to Garnett; when the Seattle SuperSonics collapsed their defense, he would decisively shoot from the outside; and whenever the Seattle SuperSonics tried to defend one-on-one, he would use rhythm and physicality to steadily defeat Sam Cassell or Patterson.
With three and a half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Celtics led 115-91 by 24 points.
Gary Payton received a pass from Garnett beyond the three-point line and pulled up for the ball against the onrushing Sam Cassell.
The basketball streaked across the sky above KeyArena.
"Whoosh!"
Hollow core into the net.
The outcome of the match was no longer in doubt.
Doc Rivers clapped his hands on the sidelines, called a timeout, and substituted all the starters.
Gary Payton walked toward the bench, panting. Meanwhile, his final stats for the night were displayed on the giant scoreboard in the KeyArena dome.
42 points, 15 assists, and 5 steals.
Zero misses, with a hit rate as high as 62%.
Seattle fans in the stands looked up, staring at the dominant statistics, and the entire arena fell into a brief silence.
Immediately afterwards, an elderly fan in the front row silently stood up, raised his hands, and clapped.
As if it were contagious, one, ten, a hundred... in a short time, all the Seattle local fans in the stands stood up one after another. Seventeen thousand people stood up together and burst into thunderous applause.
They accepted the defeat gracefully and paid tribute to the former king who had destroyed their home turf in the purest form of competitive sports.
Gary Payton delivered a near-perfect performance, proving to the city the true value of his Finals MVP award.
Alongside him, Garnett also delivered a comprehensive stat line: 24 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
With the final buzzer, the score was 121-97. The Celtics secured a decisive victory in this nationally televised game.
After the game ended, Gary Payton dropped his aggressive stance. He chewed gum, waved to the surrounding stands, and accepted the applause that was two years overdue.
Sam Cassell was waiting in the players' tunnel.
"You bastard." Sam Cassell wiped his sweat and rolled his eyes. "You only got 42 points back here? Why don't you play like this normally?"
"Mind your own business, I'm in a good mood today." Gary Payton said without changing his expression.
Sam Cassell glared at him for two seconds, and then they both burst out laughing.
Garnett walked up from behind and put his arm around Sam Cassell's neck. " Sam, you guys played pretty well too."
"He scored 42 points, you scored 24 points, and together you gave us 21 assists." Sam Cassell shook his head helplessly. "Are you saying this to mock me?"
In the post-match press conference room, the media swarmed around Gary Payton.
" Gary, were you being aggressive tonight because you wanted to prove something in Seattle?" a local reporter asked.
Gary Payton leaned back in his chair, spread his hands, and asked in return.
"The restricted area was like a busy road in the early morning all night. Tell me, why did I have to step on the brakes?"
The next day, the headlines of sports media across the United States were no longer mocking Boston's roster experiment.
The Seattle Times ran a headline on its front page that conveyed a sense of powerlessness.
Unstoppable Gary Payton, an unbreakable green machine—we watched helplessly as the Finals MVP destroyed KeyArena.
This report, along with the videotape of the game, appeared on the desks of head coaches across the league in record time.
In the general manager's office in Boston, Lin Qi calmly turned the page of the newspaper, a cup of black coffee in his hand.
The entire league is still struggling to cope with the "defensive three-second rule" and "zone defense," still trying to teach those heavy-handed big men how to change their defensive habits, and still complaining about the struggles of perimeter defenders under the new rules.
But the Celtics have already submitted their "standard the Answer " under the new rules.
Replace tonnage with mobility, use space to stretch and dismantle zone defenses, and punish delays by handling the ball from multiple points.
This was not a lucky victory that relied on a burst of core skill, but rather a devastating blow from an advanced tactical system to the old-fashioned defense.
Under the new rules, the slow-paced, muscle-wrestling era of the 1990s is being replaced by a more modern basketball system.
Lin Qi and his Boston were the very hand that pushed open the door to this new era.