A fifteen-minute halftime break is simply not enough for the Los Angeles Lakers.
At the start of the third quarter, Phil Jackson kept Charles Oakley, O'Neal, and Barkley on the court simultaneously. The Lakers stopped forcing a retreat defense. Whenever Boston grabbed a rebound in the backcourt, the veterans in the frontcourt would immediately seek physical contact and use fouls to forcefully cut off Boston's first pass.
O'Neal's hook shot under the basket missed. Big Ben snatched the ball from the crowd with one hand, but before his feet even touched the ground, Charles Oakley's thick arm slammed into the side of his neck.
Big Ben fell to the ground with the ball, his shoulder sliding half a meter across the floor.
The whistle blows, a foul is committed prematurely.
Big Ben knelt on one knee, supporting himself with one hand on the floor before straightening up. The referee bent down, scooped up the basketball, and tossed it to the baseline. Charles Oakley, chewing on his mouthguard, exhaled. "Jumping too high will break your leg, kid."
This was one of the people Big Ben respected most; he walked away without saying a word.
The Lakers ' strategy was clear: break up the game and drag Boston into a half-court quagmire.
Boston inbounds the ball from the baseline. The battle on the backcourt is equally intense. Gary Payton has just dribbled past half-court when Kidd is already closing in.
Gary Payton misstepped, shielding the ball. "Get out of the way, Jason! Don't let your meniscus shatter in the paint and the team doctor have to carry you out."
Kidd kept his center of gravity low, his arms hanging down, completely blocking any path to the basket. It wasn't until Gary Payton attempted a strong drive, only to be blocked halfway by Kidd's chest, that Kidd spoke in a low voice, " Gary, you talk too much."
With Kidd closely guarding him, Gary Payton was unable to get the ball inside, and Boston's half-court offense ended in a hasty miss.
Possession changes hands. Kidd advances the ball up the court and lobs it into the left low post. Jordan receives the ball with his back to the Big Ben and pushes Ben Wallace back. Using the half-step mismatch created by the physical contact, Jordan steps back and turns for a jump shot. The basketball sails over Big Ben's outstretched fingertips, grazing the net and falling cleanly. The next possession, in the same low post, Jordan again turns, landing with his shoe leaving a clear white mark on the paint.
The score remained within three points. Boston's half-court offense stalled, with Billups' passes being intercepted by Charles Oakley on two separate occasions.
But Boston's young players didn't follow the Lakers ' rhythm.
O'Neal's strong attack inside missed again. Garnett forcefully grabbed the rebound over Charles Oakley's head. This time, without waiting for the opponents to swarm and foul him, he swung his arm with one hand the instant he landed and threw the ball directly to the right sideline.
Gerald Wallace has already started at full speed.
He ran with an almost desperate frenzy. His shoes scraped the floor with a sharp, crisp sound as Gerald crossed the center line in one stride.
The commentator's voice instantly filled the microphone. "A long pass from Boston! That rookie number 45 is charging again!"
Marion cut in from the wing to block, Gerald awkwardly flicked the ball to his side with his right hand, pushed off the floor with his feet, and forcefully shifted his weight to take a step forward. Two steps away from the basket, he jumped up with both feet, fully extending his body in mid-air, catching the ball with one hand, and slammed it into the basket against Marion's block.
The commentator's exclamation followed immediately. "My God! He's not slowing down! He doesn't care who's standing in front of him at all!"
Gerald used the immense force of his fall to crash into the cushioning pad behind the baseline, rolling twice. But as if he felt no pain, he pushed himself up with both hands, shook his numb arms, and immediately turned to go back on defense.
In the third row of the lower stands, several fans suddenly jumped up, their popcorn buckets snapping in their hands, scattering golden popcorn all over the people in front of them. The shouts from the front row made the plastic partition below the scoreboard vibrate loudly.
In the next possession, Jordan received the ball on the baseline after a screen and hit a mid-range pull-up jumper, attempting to slow the pace of the game again.
But the basketball had barely crossed the net Big Ben had already stepped out of bounds and picked it up. Without a moment's hesitation, he passed the ball directly to Billups from the baseline. Billups didn't even dribble; he simply raised his hand and launched a long pass that spanned half the court.
Boston's speed was on full display at that moment.
In the commentary booth, before the commentator could even finish saying Jordan's name, his voice suddenly rose. " Boston's quick inbound pass from the baseline! Billups' long pass, Gerald ( Wallace ) is still running! Is he not going to stop tonight?!"
The Lakers' defense was still in disarray, with only Barkley's massive frame in front of the paint. Gerald sprinted at full speed, leaping from just inside the free-throw line. He gathered the ball in front of his chest and charged straight into Barkley's thick chest.
A thud echoed in mid-air. Barkley, weighing over 200 pounds, was forced back half a step by the reckless force of the impact. Gerald was knocked backward in mid-air, but managed to lock his core by using the hang time. He stretched out his right arm with difficulty and shoved the ball into the basket with one hand before losing his balance and crashing heavily to the floor on his back.
"Beep..."
The referee blows the whistle, the goal stands, and a penalty is awarded.
The commentator jumped to his feet, grabbed the microphone, and yelled, "And one! Gerald Wallace smashed a shot over Charles Barkley! This kid plays like he's playing his life! He treats every fast break like it's his last shot!"
Gerald slid more than a meter across the floor. Before his teammates could even pull him up, he braced himself with his hands on the floor and sprang to his feet, pounding his chest and letting out a roar towards the arena ceiling.
The New Garden was completely out of control. Almost the entire audience was standing, and deafening screams echoed under the dome.
O'Neal straightened up and tugged at the collar of his sweat-soaked jersey with one hand. He glanced at the coaching bench. Beads of sweat from his forehead dripped down his nose and onto the hardwood floor, forming a small, dark puddle.
The Lakers called a timeout. Phil Jackson stood in front of the bench, raising and lowering his clipboard, but didn't draw a single line for a long time.
After the timeout, the Lakers tried to get the ball inside to stabilize their position. But the moment Kidd lobbed the ball to the low post, Garnett suddenly came around from the wing and stole the ball. The basketball bounced off the floor, and Garnett delivered a long bounce pass.
In the middle lane, the tireless number 45 once again followed at full speed.
The commentator's voice was noticeably hoarse. "It's him again! The veterans in Los Angeles can't keep up with him!"
Gerald caught the rebound and jumped off one foot from just inside the free-throw line. In mid-air, he pulled the ball over his head, executing an explosive tomahawk dunk with one hand. Upon landing, he braced himself on the rim with both hands, his legs swinging violently in the air before he released his grip and landed.
The continuous back-and-forth running finally slowed down the Lakers veteran's defensive pace. With two minutes left in the game, the point difference widened to double digits. Big Ben grabbed the last defensive rebound, and Billups started dribbling beyond the three-point line, slowing down the pace.
The final buzzer sounded, and the red lights around the backboard illuminated.
111 to 101.
The big screen displayed the full game stats: For the Lakers, Jordan scored 32 points in a losing effort, while O'Neal had 24 points and 14 rebounds. For Boston, Garnett grabbed 18 points and 16 rebounds. Gerald Wallace, who broke down the Lakers' defense with fast breaks in the second half, scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
In the VIP boxes on the top floor of the stadium, double-glazed windows isolate the noise from the outside world.
Lin Qi looked at the center of the court, where Garnett was celebrating with his teammates by bumping chests.
At the player tunnel entrance not far away, O'Neal dragged his feet into it, keeping his head down and not glancing back at the scoreboard.
They won this Christmas battle. This strategy of using extreme running to exhaust the opponent's stamina proved incredibly effective tonight.
This is a viable strategy for the regular season because there's ample room for error, and losing a game isn't a big deal.
However, once the playoffs, a best-of-seven series, are played, the intensity of the competition increases dramatically.
Tonight's attempt to force an early foul and pull would likely be tolerated by referees in the playoffs.
When opponents use proper physical contact to drag every fast break into a half-court situation, and when outside shooting touches drop under intense pressure, blindly running back and forth will only deplete your energy prematurely, leading to a vicious cycle of being unable to defend or make shots.
But in the end, they won the game.
See you in June.