The Chicago Bulls ' locker room was so quiet you could hear the exhaust fans running.
Trailing by 30 points at halftime, Kobe took 22 shots, while the other four starters combined only took 10 shots.
Bang!
A muffled thud broke the silence. Jalen Rose slammed the towel he was using to wipe his sweat onto the locker.
"What the hell are we doing?" Jalen Rose stood up, his gaze sweeping across half the locker room to Kobe, who was sitting in the corner icing his knees. "Are we playing professional basketball, or are we just accompanying someone in a shooting practice?"
Kobe looked up, his eyes equally cold. "If you could make those damn open shots, or grab even one rebound in the paint, I wouldn't need to force a shot against three defenders."
"An open shot? You call that an open shot?" Power forward Donyell Marshall couldn't hold back any longer. He stood up and shouted, "When you dribble for a full eighteen seconds beyond the three-point line and then throw a ticking time bomb to your teammate, you call that an open shot? What do you take us for? Cheerleaders standing on the court watching your show?"
"Enough! Shut up, all of you!" Head coach Beal Cartwright tried to control the situation, clapping his hands. "In the second half, we need to move the ball around, we need to defend..."
"Coach, if you can't control him, why should we listen to you?" Jalen Rose interrupted the head coach rudely, pointing at Kobe with disappointment and exhaustion in his voice. "He doesn't care whether the team wins or loses. That guy in Boston was absolutely right; he's playing like he's playing 1 against 9. Since he thinks he can take care of those musclemen in Boston by himself, then let him play by himself in the second half."
After saying that, Jalen Rose plopped back down on the bench, covered his head with a towel, and didn't say another word.
Kobe gritted his teeth, his jaw muscles twitching slightly from the effort. He silently unpacked the ice pack on his knee and tightened his shoelaces again. In his basketball world, if his teammates weren't trustworthy, he would win the game in his own way.
But the harsh reality is that this is in the NBA, and the opposing team is the Boston Celtics, who have the strongest defensive system in the entire league.
The second half began, and the situation did not improve at all during the halftime break; on the contrary, it continued to spiral into an even more dire state.
Garnett continued to selflessly facilitate on offense, with Pierce and Billups hitting consecutive open shots.
As for the Chicago Bulls, whenever Kobe couldn't get the ball, the rest of the Chicago Bulls would execute a few plays. Antonio Daniels would use screens to drive, and Marshall could find shooting opportunities on the weak side, but the scoring was very scattered and couldn't generate sustained firepower.
Once the basketball returns to Kobe's hands, all ball movement comes to an abrupt halt.
Jalen Rose practically stopped moving on the court. Brian Grant was sleepwalking on defense, allowing Ben Wallace to grab offensive rebounds over him. Kobe was still calling for the ball, still struggling to get shots off against the relentless defense of Artest and Raja Bell.
With eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, the score was 88-45.
The point difference had widened to over 40 points. Chicago fans in the United Center were numb; many began leaving early, while those who remained erupted in boos. No one could say for sure who those boos were directed at.
The intense defense, the huge point difference, the isolation of his teammates, and the boos from the entire arena—these emotions piled up in Kobe's mind, making his actions increasingly aggressive and his emotions increasingly agitated.
The conflict finally broke out during a half-court battle.
Kobe tried to circle out to receive the ball in the right corner. Artest constantly subjected Kobe to rough physical contact in Kobe passing lane.
After repeated physical collisions, Kobe lost his patience. When Artest chested at him again, Kobe suddenly exerted force, raised his elbow, and swung it heavily into Artest's neck to clear space for the ball.
This was a very large movement.
Artest was hit in the neck and staggered back half a step. He regained his balance, reached out and grabbed Kobe's jersey collar, pulling him forward forcefully.
"Are you looking for death?!" Artest roared, pressing his forehead against Kobe's.
Kobe didn't back down, grabbing Artest's jersey with both hands, and the two instantly became entangled, shoving each other.
The moment they saw Artest and Kobe get into a physical altercation, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, and Kevin Garnett, who were on the other side of the court, took long strides and rushed towards the center of the conflict like madmen.
Pierce and Billups immediately dropped their defenders and ran over.
In two seconds, four Boston players formed a high wall, firmly protecting Artest in the middle, and using their physical advantage, they forced Kobe back to the vicinity of the baseline.
On the other hand, the Chicago Bulls...
Jalen Rose stood outside the three-point line, coldly watching Kobe surrounded by Boston players, without even moving an inch. Donyell Marshall even turned and walked towards the bench to get a towel. Only Antonio Daniels walked over symbolically and stood next to the referee, but didn't try to pull any Boston players away.
Not a single teammate went to help Kobe.
In this home arena with 20,000 Chicago fans, Kobe Brian was surrounded by five Boston Celtics players along the baseline, like a completely isolated island. His teammates' indifference was more glaring than the scoreboard showing their deficit.
The three referees on the sidelines frantically blew their whistles, and several security personnel rushed onto the field to try to separate the two sides.
Because the Boston players were primarily protecting Artest, the situation was initially in the referee's hands.
But at that moment, something happened in the audience that completely ignited the powder keg.
A Chicago fan sitting in the front row, feeling extremely frustrated by his team's crushing defeat and Kobe being surrounded, suddenly stood up. Holding a half-full glass of iced cola, he crossed the scorer's table and hurled it at the crowd of Boston players.
"Bang!"
A paper cup filled with ice and brown liquid hit Artest squarely on the back of the head. The icy cola flowed down Artest's broad back, and ice cubes fell to the ground.
Artest, who had already been pulled away by Pierce and Garnett, froze instantly.
He slowly turned his head, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot, like a raging beast, staring intently at the fan in the stands who had thrown the cup.
Artest let out a deafening roar. He shook off the referee's hand and strode towards the scorer's table.
"Stop him!!"
Rick Carlisle was yelling anxiously from the sidelines.
At the critical moment, a pair of strong arms grabbed Artest's waist from behind.
It was Ben Wallace, the most powerful center in the entire league, who managed to keep the berserk Artest stuck in place.
" Ron! Calm down!" Ben Wallace roared.
At the same time, Rasheed Wallace and Garnett rushed to the scorer's table, using their broad bodies to block the stands from Artest. Rasheed pointed at the fan who had thrown the cup and yelled, "Security! Arrest him! Can't you Chicago accept defeat?!"
Riot police at the scene quickly intervened and took the fan who threw the Coke away. With the strong reassurance of his teammates, Artest managed to prevent the situation from escalating into an irreversible brawl.
But this brief two-minute conflict became the most classic microcosm of the entire match.
The Boston Celtics, whether in good times or bad, whether facing fouls or provocation from fans, have shown amazing cohesion, protecting each other like brothers.
The Chicago Bulls, a team with the league's most individually talented scorer, fell apart and became estranged when faced with deficits and conflicts.