April 18, Boston, New Garden.
The final day of the 2000-2001 regular season.
The Boston Celtics will host the New Jersey Nets.
Prior to this, the Celtics had achieved a nine-game winning streak. The entire team was simmering with frustration and had nowhere to vent their anger, so they used the Nets, who were in a rebuilding phase and had only won 26 games all season, as the perfect punching bag.
The outcome of the game was completely decided before the first quarter even ended.
After weathering the controversy surrounding the "MVP vote split," Garnett, Pierce, and Gary Payton, the three core players, have displayed a chilling level of focus.
In the first quarter, Gary Payton's high pick-and-roll was surgically precise, and Pierce made all three of his three-point attempts. Meanwhile, Garnett completely shut down New Jersey's rookie number one pick, Kenyon Martin, on the defensive end, forcing the hot-tempered rookie into three turnovers in the first quarter alone.
With two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Pierce made a steal in the frontcourt and finished with a tomahawk dunk.
The score on the scoreboard became 62 to 34, a staggering 28-point difference.
Head coach Rick Carlisle stood on the sidelines, calmly calling a timeout as he watched the ashen face of Nets head coach Byron Scott.
Garnett walked off the court, panting heavily, his body glistening with sweat under the lights. He had only played 18 minutes in the first half, effortlessly racking up 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.
"Well done." Rick Carlisle handed Garnett a towel, then looked around at the starters on the bench. " Chris Paul, Gary, KG, Ben, and Bruce ( Bowen ), your regular season is over."
Pierce paused for a moment. "Coach, are we not playing the second half?"
"A 28-point deficit, that's enough for us." Rick Carlisle pointed towards the locker room. "Go take a shower and ice your knee. We have the playoffs in a couple of days. The rest of the time, leave it to your teammates."
Upon hearing this, Michael Redd, Türkoğlu, and Wang Zhizhi, who were sitting next to the water dispenser, all lit up.
In a top team like Boston with an incredibly deep roster, it's extremely difficult for fringe players to get playing time. Today's early blowout game was garbage time for the starters, but for them, it was Rick Carlisle's final "showcase" for evaluating the playoff rotation.
The second half begins.
Boston's starting lineup became: Chauncey Billups Billups, Michael Redd, Ron Artest, Hedo Türkoğlu, and Wang Zhizhi.
This is a roster that could be a starter or even a core player on most teams in the league, but in Boston, it wouldn't even qualify as a second unit.
The New Jersey Nets initially thought that with Boston taking out all their starters, they could salvage some pride in the second half and close the gap a little. But they quickly realized they were terribly wrong.
These young men, who had been sitting on the bench for most of the season, were now like a pack of hungry wolves that had smelled blood.
At the start of the third quarter, Billups called for a screen from Wang Zhizhi at the top of the key.
Wang Zhizhi, standing at 2.16 meters, stepped up and solidly blocked the defender. Billups used the screen to break through, and the Nets ' interior defense immediately collapsed to double-team him.
In traditional tactical understanding, a big man in the paint should roll down to attack the basket after a pick-and-roll. The Nets ' defensive formation also collapses in this way.
But Wang Zhizhi didn't follow through. After setting the screen, he nimbly retreated to the outside, directly to the three-point line.
Billups didn't even turn his head; with a bounce pass, the ball was precisely placed into Wang Zhizhi's hands.
Wang Zhizhi received the ball and was completely open. He jumped and gently flicked the ball with his left wrist.
"Whoosh!"
A three-pointer swished through the net!
"Beautiful pick-and-roll with a shot!" the Boston commentator exclaimed. "This perfectly showcases his unique value as a stretch four! The Nets ' center simply couldn't close the gap!"
After scoring, Wang Zhizhi wore a shy but excited smile and gave Billups a big high-five as he retreated to defend.
But that's not all.
On the defensive end, the Nets tried to open up the defense from the wings. But second-year Ron Artest was like a raging boar, sticking to the Nets ' small forward. His aggressive physical contact and clean, decisive steals directly drew traveling violations from the opponent.
"Give me the ball!" Artest clapped his hands excitedly.
In the next possession, Türkoğlu displayed his playmaking ability, which was far beyond his stature, on the wing, breaking through and passing the ball to Michael Redd in the corner.
This first-round rookie, who's always been at the bottom of the bench, caught the ball and displayed a silky smooth left-hand shooting touch, sinking another three-pointer!
Throughout the second half, the cheers at the New Garden never stopped.
Garnett and Pierce, sitting on the bench, were wrapped in oversized coats and holding Gatorade bottles. They excitedly stood up and waved towels to the substitutes on the field.
"Great shot, Michael!" Gary Payton whistled loudly from the sidelines.
" Ron, knock him over! Yes, that's it, don't give them any face!" Rasheed Wallace even jumped excitedly next to the scorer's table.
The atmosphere was incredibly infectious. The fringe players were having a blast; they didn't haphazardly go one-on-one during garbage time, but instead strictly adhered to Rick Carlisle's tactical system. The ball movement was fluid and seamless, and the defensive rotations were impeccable.
Sitting in the CEO's box, Lin Qi watched the joyful yet disciplined scene on the court, a satisfied smile appearing on his lips.
"This lineup, even if it were given to other teams as a starter, could win quite a few games," Lin Qi said to his assistant.
"Yes, boss. And Wang Zhizhi's tactical adaptability is getting better and better. His ability to draw defenders on the perimeter will be a great asset when facing teams with heavy centers in the playoffs."
"That's exactly why we need him." Lin Qi nodded.
"Beep..."
As the final whistle blew, the score on the scoreboard remained at 112 to 81.
The Boston Celtics capped off a somewhat boisterous regular season with a resounding 31-point victory.
The entire stadium rose to their feet and applauded. Garnett and Pierce were the first to rush onto the court, celebrating with a chest bump with Wang Zhizhi, Redd, Artest, and others who were covered in sweat. On this night, there was no barrier between starters and substitutes on this team, only a pure brotherhood fighting for basketball.
With this, the Boston Celtics concluded the season with a resounding ten-game winning streak.
Their final regular season record for the 2000-2001 season was a number that left the entire league breathless...
69 wins and 13 losses.
Number one in the entire league.
At the press conference that evening, Rick Carlisle and Garnett sat in front of the media's cameras, their expressions remarkably calm.
"Coach, with a record of 69 wins and a ten-game winning streak leading up to the playoffs, what are the team's goals now?" a reporter asked.
Rick Carlisle leaned closer to the microphone and said only a short sentence.
See you in Boston in three days.
The real battle, the playoffs, is finally about to begin.