After the three referees repeatedly reviewed the video replay and deliberated for five minutes, a ruling was finally reached regarding the conflict on the field.
Kobe and Artest each received a technical foul. The fan who threw the iced cola in the stands was handed over to the Chicago Police Department by security personnel.
To prevent the situation from escalating further, Rick Carlisle calmly made a substitution, replacing the still-emotional Artest with Raja Bell. As Artest walked off the court, all the players on the Boston bench stood up, high-fived and bumped chests with him, welcoming him back to the bench.
The games resumed, but the atmosphere at the United Center had plummeted to rock bottom.
For the remainder of the third quarter, the Chicago Bulls completely lost their will to fight. Jalen Rose and Marshall were like zombies on the court, their footwork heavy on defense and they didn't even bother with symbolic runs on offense. Only Kobe was still tirelessly calling for the ball.
By the fourth quarter, the game was no longer in doubt, with the score difference between the two sides approaching the 50-point mark.
According to NBA convention, at this point in garbage time, both head coaches should substitute their starters and let the reserves finish the game. Rick Carlisle did just that, substituting Pierce and Billups early on, leaving only Garnett on the court to continue working on tactics with Wade and other young players.
But in front of the Chicago Bulls ' bench, head coach Beal Cartwright looked extremely embarrassed. He tried to substitute Kobe, but Kobe ripped off the towel offered to him, his face grim, and stubbornly returned to the court.
He was unwilling to accept this. He couldn't bear being humiliated like this by Boston on home soil. He wanted to use his best skills, at least... he couldn't lose.
Thus, in the fourth quarter at the United Center, an extremely rare and absurd scene unfolded, a scene rarely seen in NBA history.
During the twelve-minute garbage time, Kobe led four fringe substitutes of the Chicago Bulls, taking a crazy number of shots on the court.
He drove to the basket, pulled up for a stop, hit a fadeaway jumper, and forced a three-pointer over the defense. At this stage, the game had become a bizarre individual show. Once Kobe got the ball, the four Chicago Bulls ' substitutes didn't even have the slightest desire to run and screen. They were like practice partners, tacitly spreading out the space, then standing still with their hands on their hips, watching Kobe do it all by himself.
When Kobe forced a fadeaway jumper over two defenders, and the basketball bounced high off the rim, the Chicago Bulls rookie in the paint didn't even bother to jump and fight for it; he simply turned around and slowly ran back.
Beal Cartwright on the sidelines had completely given up coaching. The head coach stood outside the sideline with his arms crossed, like a soulless statue. He didn't call tactics or timeouts, just stared blankly at the farce unfolding on the court. He knew he had completely lost control of the team.
On the Chicago Bulls ' bench, the scene was even more disheartening. Jalen Rose had a white towel over his head, leaned back in his chair, and even turned his head to chat with Donyell Marshall about where they would go after the game, not glancing at the court again. The other veterans were also either looking down at their toes or flipping through stats, with indescribable bitter smiles on their lips.
The Chicago fans in the stands also ran out of patience during this endless series of one-on-one matches.
From the frenzied cheers of the first quarter to the silence of the third, and now... every time Kobe forced a shot that missed, a suppressed sigh would rise from the stands. By the middle of the fourth quarter, the sighs had completely turned into boos mixed with jeers. Large numbers of fans began to rush to the exits, voting with their feet, leaving the suffocating arena ahead of time.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the court, Kevin Garnett is demonstrating a different basketball philosophy.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Garnett delivered a subtle no-look behind-the-back pass, precisely finding Dwyane Wade cutting off the baseline.
Wade received the ball and easily made a layup.
Following the goal, Rick Carlisle called a timeout and substituted Garnett for a rest. The entire Boston crowd rose to their feet and applauded him. This pass marked Garnett's 11th assist of the game.
When the final red light came on and the piercing buzzer echoed through the United Center, the stands were completely empty.
Many Chicago Bulls players were no longer interested in seeing the final score on the scoreboard.
125 to 67.
The Boston Celtics thrashed the Chicago Bulls by a staggering 58 points on the road.
The moment the match ended, the statistics sheet was quickly photocopied and distributed to every media reporter present.
Kevin Garnett played 32 minutes, efficiently scoring 28 points, grabbing 17 rebounds, and dishing out 11 assists – a triple-double.
Kobe Brian played 45 minutes, taking a staggering 46 shots, but only making 16. He scored 43 points, while the rest of the Chicago Bulls combined for a dismal 24 points, and his assists total was a glaring "0".
46 shot attempts, 0 assists.
The moment the buzzer stopped, Kobe stopped at center circle.
He rested his hands on his knees, panting heavily, sweat dripping from his chin onto the floor of the United Center.
A few seconds later, Kobe straightened up and subconsciously looked around.
As is customary after a match, a teammate should come over to give him a high-five or say a few words of encouragement.
But no.
In his line of sight, his Chicago Bulls teammates were dispersing in twos and threes. What bothered him most was that Jalen Rose, Donyell Marshall, and others who should have been on his side were now walking to the other side of the court. Instead of showing any frustration after the crushing 58-point defeat, they went up to the Celtics players, such as Chris Paul Pierce and Chauncey Billups Billups, hugging and high-fiving them, and even chatting and laughing as if celebrating the end of a meaningless exhibition game.
Not a single person wearing a Chicago Bulls jersey walked towards Kobe.
Kobe stood alone in the center of the massive Chicago Bulls logo. He pursed his lips tightly, his tongue restlessly licking his cheeks inside his mouth, the muscles in his face twitching slightly from extreme tension. In the empty arena, where only the sound of media camera shutters could be heard, his completely isolated figure appeared incredibly lonely.