June 19, 2000, Boston, New Garden.
Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The Celtics the series 3-2, holding match point.
An hour before the game started, tens of thousands of Boston fans in green jerseys had already gathered outside the arena. Inside, in the media section, reporters were hotly debating Lin Qi's post-Game 5 question that had ignited a nationwide debate, "Who is Kobe?"
Everyone knows that Los Angeles number 8, who values his pride more than life itself, will be caught up in an extremely obsessive scoring frenzy tonight.
The atmosphere in the Lakers ' locker room had reached freezing point.
Kobe sat in the corner, having changed into his jersey earlier. He didn't participate in the pre-game tactical discussion, his eyes fixed on the floor. But in Kobe's mind, there was only the cold face of the Boston commissioner and that comment that carried a sense of complete disregard.
On the other side, Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal was wrapped in thick bandages by a physical therapist. The Big Shark's eyes were equally cold; he was fed up with the back-and-forth running, and if he still couldn't get the ball tonight, he would never again do blue-collar work for anyone.
At 8 p. m., the starting lineups of both teams stepped onto the field.
Celtics: Gary Payton, Eddie Jones, Chris Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Dikembe Mutombo.
Lakers Shaquille O'Neal: Derrick Fisher, Kobe Brian, Peja Stojaković, Jermaine O'Neal, O'Neal Jr. O'Neal.
For the Lakers, Jermaine O'Neal returned to the starting lineup. Phil Jackson attempted to increase the height of the paint to alleviate the physical pressure Shaq faced against Boston's Twin Towers.
"Beep!!!"
The referee blew his whistle, and Mutombo and O'Neal jumped for the ball at center court.
O'Neal used his explosiveness to flick the ball back to half-court, and Game 6 officially began.
The Lakers ' first possession.
Fisher had just dribbled past half-court when Kobe moved up to the top of the key to claim possession.
The player guarding Kobe was Eddie Jones.
After receiving the ball, Kobe didn't rush to pass it, but instead adopted a standard triple threat stance. He observed Jones ' defensive center of gravity and quickly took a probing step with his right foot.
Jones didn't fall for the fake, and his center of gravity shifted downwards. In that instant, Kobe released the ball and took a step forward, accelerating directly from the right wing to break through.
Jones reacted quickly, sliding sideways and using his strong chest to block Kobe's drive.
The two players made intense physical contact on the right side of the free-throw line. Kobe suddenly stopped at high speed, gathered the ball, and made a shooting fake using his left foot as a pivot.
Jones, being experienced, didn't jump easily, but his defensive center of gravity was inevitably raised slightly.
Seizing this fleeting moment, Kobe immediately pivoted on his left foot, turned, and leaned back dramatically in mid-air to unleash a turnaround jump shot as Jones lunged at him again.
The footwork throughout the singles routine was solid and fluid.
However, under Boston's intense, close-marking defense, the trajectory of this shot was ultimately affected.
"Bang!"
The basketball bounced off the front edge of the rim.
Inside the paint, Mutombo used his floor strength to firmly block O'Neal's attempt to steal the rebound, Garnett to easily secure it.
The Celtics then launched their attack.
Gary Payton controlled the ball at the top of the key. Garnett set a screen, blocking Fisher's defensive path. Gary Payton used the screen to dribble laterally, drawing O'Neal Jr.'s attention to switch, and then flicked his wrist to quickly pass the ball back to Garnett, who was positioned at the free-throw line.
Garnett received the ball. Facing O'Neal, who was lurking deep in the paint and had no time to close him down, Garnett bent his knees, jumped, and made an easy open mid-range jumper from his most comfortable shooting spot.
"Whoosh."
2-0.
The entire tactical execution was extremely simple yet highly efficient. Boston managed to score with minimal physical exertion.
On the other end of the court, the Lakers ' offense remained sluggish. Kobe received the ball with difficulty in the left corner, and facing Jones ' close defense and Pierce's collapsing help defense, he still did not pass the ball to O'Neal in the paint. Instead, he forced a turnaround jump shot under the interference of the two, and the ball missed again.
The game had only been going on for two and a half minutes when the score was 8-2. Kobe missed his first three shots.
Just then, Doc Rivers walked to the scorer's table and made a substitution that surprised everyone.
Less than halfway through the first quarter, the Celtics substituted starting shooting Eddie Jones with 19-year-old rookie Ron Artest.
"They're substituting Eddie Jones so early?" Bob Costas on the NBC commentary desk looked very surprised. " Jones ' defense was excellent, he didn't lose his position at all. What is Boston doing?"
"Just look at Artest's positioning," Isiah Thomas said, pointing to the court with a shocked tone. " Boston abandoned their perimeter rotation and help defense! They're having this rookie guard Kobe one-on-one. This isn't just a substitution; it's changing the very foundation of their defensive system!"
On the court, Kobe looked at Artest standing in front of him, his eyes becoming even sharper.
Lakers have possession. Kobe has the ball on the right wing, and Artest immediately closes in. Unlike Jones, who maintains a half-step distance to prevent a drive, Artest directly uses his broad chest to block Kobe. Kobe tries to find his rhythm with consecutive crossover dribbles, but Artest's foundation is extremely solid. No matter how Kobe fakes out, Artest doesn't fall for the fakes and maintains direct physical contact.
With six seconds left on the shot clock, Kobe was forced to drive hard from the left. The two collided heavily near the free-throw line. In the past, the Celtics ' interior or wing players would have collapsed to double-team him at this point. But this time, they didn't.
Pierce kept a close eye on Peja, while Garnett and Mutombo focused all their attention on the two O'Neal in the paint. The entire perimeter was completely cleared out, becoming a huge one-on-one arena.
Kobe lost his explosiveness during the contest, and with Artest's heavy weight on him, he forced a fadeaway jump shot.
"Bang!"
The basketball hit the backboard and went wide again.
"Keep shooting, man." Artest stated the facts expressionlessly as he retreated on defense. "Mr. Lin Qi is right, when you have the ball, all you see is the basket. You don't even glance at your teammates."
These words struck Kobe with deadly precision.
The next game saw the same scenario that had played out at Staples Center repeated itself at the New Garden in a more extreme way.
Because Artest took on the task of guarding Kobe alone, and the Celtics coaching staff issued a strict order of "no double-teaming and no help defense," Boston's defensive resources were unleashed like never before.
Garnett and Mutombo formed an impenetrable wall in the paint. Whenever Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal positioned himself in the low post, Mutombo would block him from behind with his knees and chest, while Garnett completely left O'Neal Jr., who lacked a mid-range shot, open and brazenly fronted him to interfere with Shaq's receiving routes.
In the 8th minute of the first quarter, O'Neal struggled to push Mutombo half a body length away in the paint, then opened his massive hand and loudly called for the ball. But on the perimeter, Kobe was embroiled in a battle of wills with Artest. Ignoring O'Neal's post-up maneuvering in the paint, he forced a pull-up jumper over Artest's tight defense and took a three-pointer.
"Bang!"
The basketball bounced off the rim again.
O'Neal watched the basketball bounce away, his arms hanging limply at his sides. He didn't even turn to look at Kobe, but silently ran back to the backcourt.
The Celtics, having unleashed tremendous energy on the defensive end, unleashed a complete offensive explosion.
Gary Payton controlled the team's rhythm. Without the fatigue from frequently helping defend Kobe, the veteran displayed the dominance of a historic point guard. In the 10th minute of the first quarter, Gary Payton called for a pick-and-roll at the top of the key, Garnett quickly moved up. Facing the Lakers ' outdated defensive rotation, Gary Payton accelerated into the paint, drawing O'Neal's help defense before gracefully tossing the ball into the air.
Garnett, cutting in from the weak side, leaped high, caught the ball with both hands, and completed a powerful alley-oop dunk!
At the end of the first quarter, the Celtics led 31-15, a 16-point advantage.
Kobe took 9 shots in the quarter, making only 2 for 5 points under Artest's pure physical play. O'Neal, on the other hand, only had 1 shot attempt in the quarter, scoring 2 points from free throws.
In the second quarter, both sides began to rotate substitutions.
The Lakers brought in Brian Shaw, Tyronn Lue, Devin George, A.C. Green, and John Salley. The Celtics fielded Chauncey Billups Billups, Ron Harper, Bruce Bowen, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace.
This is the Celtics ' proud "second unit".
Facing the Lakers ' bench, Boston's bench players displayed overwhelming strength. Billups controlled the ball steadily at the top of the key, and his court vision and rhythm kept the Lakers ' young Tyronn Lue scrambling. In the paint, the " The Wallace Duo " frontcourt of Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace completely outclassed the aging A.C. Green and Salley in terms of height, strength, and mobility.
In the third minute of the second quarter, Billups and Rasheed executed a classic pick-and-roll. Billups drove and passed the ball to Rasheed, who received it beyond the three-point line and decisively shot, "Swish!" The three-pointer pierced the net.
In the ensuing defensive possession, Ben Wallace dominated the paint like a beast, snatching the defensive rebound right over A.C. Green's head. Billups received the ball and launched a fast break, where Ron Harper easily scored a layup.
In just three minutes, the Celtics ' second unit went on a 10-2 run, extending their lead to 24 points.
Phil Jackson was forced to bring back his starters early, with Kobe and O'Neal returning to the court.
However, the Lakers ' tactical system has completely fallen apart.
When Kobe returned to the court, facing Artest who was still sticking to him like glue, his offensive choices became more extreme. He tried to close the gap single-handedly, forcing shots from all sorts of unreasonable positions.
In the 6th minute of the second quarter, Kobe was forced to the baseline by Artest in the right corner. With no shooting angle at all, he forced a jump and attempted a drifting shot. The ball didn't even touch the rim and flew directly out of bounds. In the 9th minute of the second quarter, Kobe had just crossed half-court when he pulled up for a three-pointer over Artest's defense, but missed again.
As Kobe's shooting spree frantically stalled, the Lakers ' defense became extremely chaotic. The Celtics capitalized on every long rebound opportunity, launching a fluid and relentless fast break. Pierce was unstoppable on offense, finishing with his strength and varied rhythm whether facing Peja's defense or Kobe's switches. Garnett turned the Lakers ' paint into his own Garden, driving inside and shooting outside, leaving O'Neal Jr. feeling utterly hopeless.
The buzzer sounded to signal the end of the first half.
The score was a glaring 68-40. The Boston Celtics walked into the locker room with a massive 28-point lead.
Fans at the New Garden were ecstatic; with a 28-point lead at halftime, the championship seemed within reach.
The halftime statistics were displayed on the big screen: For the Celtics, team basketball was executed flawlessly. The team dished out 18 assists in the first half. Pierce scored 20 points in the first half. Garnett had 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Gary Payton had 10 points and 7 assists. Even substitutes Billups and Rasheed each contributed 7 points.
The Lakers ' statistics, however, starkly demonstrated the complete failure of this extreme individual heroism. Kobe Brian took a staggering 18 shots in the first half, making only 5 for 12 points and 0 assists. Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal had a paltry 4 shot attempts in the first half, scoring just 8 points.
In the locker room tunnel, Kobe walked silently toward the visiting team's locker room, his jersey completely soaked with sweat, his eyes revealing an incomprehensible obsession. Not far behind him, O'Neal stood with his head down, his steps heavy.
The two stars, both wearing purple and gold jerseys, walked in the same tunnel, yet it was as if they were in two parallel universes that never intersected.