The second half of the match has begun.
In the Orlando Magic's locker room, Doc Rivers had clearly brewed a hearty pep talk during halftime. At the start of the third quarter, the Orlando Magic's young players tried to regain their composure with even more aggressive play.
O'Neal Jr. established position aggressively in the paint, forcefully hooking a shot over Ben Wallace's defense and drawing a foul. He roared and pounded his chest, trying to rouse the team's morale.
"Come on!" Doc Rivers clapped his hands loudly on the sidelines, encouraging them, "Play like this! Stay tough! Don't back down!"
The free throw was made, narrowing the gap to 11 points.
The Orlando Magic seemed to see a glimmer of hope for a comeback. But that hope proved extremely fragile in the face of the Boston Celtics ' dominance.
Rick Carlisle didn't even call a timeout; he just made a gesture from the sidelines.
On the Celtics ' offensive possession, Garnett, not wanting to go toe-to-toe with the O'Neal Jr., instead pulled out to the three-point line and set a solid screen for point guard Gary Payton.
The Orlando Magic's defender against Gary Payton was Darrell B. J. Armstrong, who is only 1.83 meters tall. With Garnett's broad shoulders providing cover, B. J. Armstrong was completely blocked.
Gary Payton used a screen to drive straight into the paint, and facing Brad Miller who came out to help defend, the veteran made a bounce pass to Ben Wallace behind O'Neal Jr. who was cutting down the court.
"Boom!"
After receiving the Big Ben, Ben Wallace slammed it home with both arms, the rim groaning in pain as it was pulled apart.
The Orlando Magic's newly ignited morale was instantly extinguished by this powerful dunk.
This is precisely what makes the Celtics so terrifying. They don't need their head coach yelling frantically on the sidelines; the players on the court can keenly read the weakest link in the opponent's defensive system and then deliver precise strikes.
In the latter part of the third quarter, the Orlando Magic's stamina began to suffer.
They were a young team, having just finished a brutal seven-game series against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, and after only three days of rest, they flew to Boston for the Eastern Conference Finals. Brad Miller's steps grew heavier, and Michael Redd's breathing became rapid under Artest's relentless defense.
But at this moment, Rick Carlisle made a substitution that humiliated the entire Eastern Conference.
He started using his old twelve-man rotation again, bringing in a group of fresh, fully-energized players. The arrival of Chauncey Billups Billups, Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, and other bench players brought the game to an even more frantic pace.
The point difference was quickly widened to 20 points.
The broadcast camera then focused on Orlando Magic head coach Doc Rivers. He had completely lost the passion he had shown in the first half. He stood with his hands on his hips, watching the team's collapse on the court, his brow furrowed and his eyes filled with helplessness.
He didn't call a timeout.
During the three-minute 12-2 run by the Celtics, he didn't call a single timeout! He seemed to be hoping that the players on the court could regain their touch through self-adjustment, just like in the regular season.
"What's going on?" In the VIP box, assistant Margaret looked at Doc Rivers, who remained unmoved on the sidelines, and asked in bewilderment, "They've been completely crushed, why don't you call a timeout to disrupt our rhythm?"
Lin Qi shook his head, a hint of sarcasm playing on his lips.
"This is Doc Rivers' biggest coaching flaw," Lin Qi aptly observed. "He's an exceptionally good locker room speaker; he can get the players' morale up to the max. His motivational speeches are very effective when the team is winning or struggling."
But what about adversity?
"When the team's tactical system collapses on the court and the head coach needs to come up with a concrete tactical change plan, he becomes a block of wood. He occasionally has flashes of brilliance, but that's not the norm." Lin Qi pointed to the man in a suit on the sidelines. "He rarely finds a suitable solution quickly. Many times, he just shouts 'Play harder' from the sidelines, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't make up for the gap in skill and tactics. Rick Carlisle is completely different; he has the best in-game tactical ability among coaches."
Lin Qi's assessment was perfectly proven a few minutes later.
By the fourth quarter, the Orlando Magic were down by nearly 30 points, and the game was no longer in doubt.
In front of the visiting team's bench, Doc Rivers finally called a timeout to substitute the starters.
This ruthless bullying by their former team shattered the Orlando Magic players' mental defenses.
With the final buzzer sounding, the Boston Celtics defeated the Orlando Magic 118-92, easily securing a winning start to the Eastern Conference Finals.
During the series, the league announced its annual awards, and Doc Rivers was officially named General Manager of the Year.
The next three matches followed almost identical scenarios.
In Game 2, the Orlando Magic attempted a lineup change, with Doc Rivers trying to use Türkoğlu to isolate and attack Artest. However, this played right into Rick Carlisle's hands. Under the physical strain of Artest and Stephen Jackson taking turns attacking, Türkoğlu not only failed to energize the offense but also committed numerous turnovers.
In Game 3 back in Orlando, the Orlando Magic, buoyed by their home crowd, kept the score close in the first half. However, in the second half, the Celtics ' twelve-man rotation once again demonstrated their terrifying ability to wear down their opponents. While the Magic's starters were exhausted and staggering in the fourth quarter, Boston's bench still provided a constant stream of energetic players.
What was most disheartening was that throughout the series, the Orlando Magic players genuinely felt a humiliating sense of loss, as the Celtics never treated them as a real opponent.
When the Orlando Magic were giving it their all to win a game, they found that Rick Carlisle was still substituting players at will, as if he didn't take them seriously at all.
May 27, Orlando TD Waterhouse Centre.
The score was 105-98. The Boston Celtics swept the Orlando Magic 4-0, advancing to the NBA NBA Finals with an undefeated playoff record of 11 wins (3 wins in the first round)!
At the post-game press conference, Doc Rivers ' voice was filled with deep exhaustion and helplessness.
"We gave it our all, but Boston was just too strong. They not only had the best starting lineup in the league, but also an incredibly deep rotation. To be honest, sometimes I even felt... it wasn't fair."
This General Manager of the Year accepted his defeat wholeheartedly.
Meanwhile, in the away team's locker room, Lin Qi was watching the television screen on the wall.
On the screen, the Western Conference Finals are in full swing, with the most intense Game 5 showdown unfolding. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings are locked in a fierce battle at Staples Center, with O'Neal and Jordan panting heavily, and the Kings players completely exhausted.
" Rick," Lin Qi called out to the head coach without turning his head.
"Yes, boss." Rick Carlisle walked up to Lin Qi.
Neither of them glanced at the Orlando Magic's stats, which they had just swept. Their eyes were glued to the screen, watching the two teams locked in a fierce battle in the Western Conference Conference's inferno.
"Ready to head to the West Coast?" Lin Qi raised a glass of champagne, his eyes gleaming with the excitement of a hunter finally seeing his prey fall into a trap. "After using these Eastern Conference cowards as 11 sparring partners, our twelve-man rotation will finally come in handy."