Two days later, at the Staples Center.
Game 2 of the NBA Finals officially kicked off amidst a deafening roar. Los Angeles fans, with an even more fervent atmosphere than in Game 1, attempted to break down Boston's mental defenses from the very beginning.
But the atmosphere on the field was subtly filled with an unusual sense of tension and unease.
In the opening possession, the Lakers continued to use the spacing formation that had worked so well in Game 1. Marion pulled to the corner, clearing the paint. As usual, the ball was passed to Michael Jordan on the right wing.
Jordan gets the ball and faces Ron Artest.
In the previous game, Artest was in this position and got called for two fouls in a row due to impatience, which caused him to lose his composure. Jordan habitually lowered his center of gravity, leaned heavily against Artest with his back to the basket, and then made a convincing baseline drive fake with his right shoulder.
According to the script of the first game, Artest will definitely instinctively slide to block the baseline, which will give Jordan an easy space to jump.
But this time, Artest wasn't fooled. For some reason, he suddenly remembered Big Ben's swollen shoulder. He lowered his center of gravity to its lowest point, using his core strength to hold off Jordan, without even a trace of expression on his face.
Jordan immediately noticed the defender's unusually stable center of gravity, and his fake move failed to create space. With little time left on the shot clock, he had no choice but to force a turnaround fadeaway.
Just as Jordan jumped, Artest sprang out like a spring, his long arms interfering with Jordan's shooting motion.
Clang.
The basketball slammed into the rim. Garnett blocked Marion and grabbed the rebound.
Boston's counterattack came swiftly. Billups dribbled up the court and delivered a bounce pass, finding Wade cutting in from the left.
Wade received the ball and executed a quick crossover. Fisher's lateral movement was simply not fast enough to keep up with that level of first step, and he was instantly left behind.
The paint was wide open. Under the basket, Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal had already positioned himself. His feet were on the edge of Crash restricted area, his massive arms raised high. According to the Lakers ' scouting report, this reckless rookie's next move would definitely be a desperate, tooth-gritting leap to challenge the rim.
Wade strode towards the free-throw line. Two meters away from O'Neal, his shoes screeched against the floor.
"Squeak!"
He slammed on the brakes during his high-speed sprint.
O'Neal was stunned for a moment. His center of gravity had already shifted backward as he was preparing to jump and block, and he hadn't expected his opponent to suddenly stop outside his defensive range. In the Lakers ' defensive plan, Wade didn't even have this move in mind.
Wade leaped into the air, finding himself alone. He recalled Jordan's moves in the video studio, adjusted his balance in mid-air, and gently flicked the basketball with his wrist.
"Whoosh."
The crisp sound of nets being swished was particularly clear in the bustling Staples Center.
Two rounds later, the same scene played out again. Wade used Garnett's screen to get past Fisher once more. O'Neal learned his lesson and this time moved forward slightly, but still didn't completely push out of the paint.
Wade stopped abruptly again slightly to the left of the free-throw line, his backward lean not too much, but at an extremely fast pace.
"Whoosh."
They went in again.
A slight commotion broke out at Staples Center.
Just three minutes into the game, Wade hit two consecutive pull-up jumpers near the free-throw line, tying the game. Phil Jackson stood up from the high bench and gestured for a timeout to the scorer's table.
Walking back to the bench, Wade, panting heavily, took the Gatorade handed to him by an assistant coach.
Sitting in his chair, he glanced at the replay on the big screen. In fact, ever since he was drafted by Boston, mid-range shooting had been an integral part of Lin Qi's player development plan for him, a daily practice that he never missed. Although Lin Qi required the whole team to shoot more three-pointers and attack the basket more often, he did not completely eliminate the players' skill sets.
During the regular season, Wade rarely needed this move. Most nights, his fast breaks and unstoppable first step were enough to tear apart those careless regular season defenses. It wasn't until he stepped onto the NBA Finals stage and faced O'Neal that this pull-up jumper, which had been sealed away in his Stephen Curry, became the only key to breaking through the defense.
At the other end of the court, on the Lakers ' bench.
Phil Jackson remained as enigmatic and calm as ever. He walked to the whiteboard, briefly set the tone for the offense, and then handed the Mark to lead defensive assistant coach Jim Cleamons.
The Zen Master rarely deals with defensive details during games; that's the job of the assistant coaching staff.
Cleamons quickly sketched out defensive rotation routes on the whiteboard. " Boston has changed their offensive focus; they're deliberately creating mid-range shooting space for that rookie. Sean ( Marion ), whenever Wade calls a screen, immediately move up to the baseline to delay him, using your body to limit his jumping space. Force him to pass the ball, or force him to keep driving into the paint. Shaq, you don't need to rush out."
The brief timeout ended, and both teams returned to the field.
Boston has possession. Wade has the ball on the perimeter and calls for Garnett's screen again, trying to find space to jump from the right side.
However, the Lakers ' defensive formation had been adjusted accordingly. The moment the screen occurred, Marion did not choose to go behind or retreat as before, but instead decisively took a big step forward, his long arms directly covering Wade's front, using his strong body to block his path to a sudden stop and jump.
Wade's offensive rhythm was completely disrupted by this delay. He was forced to stop his ball-handling movements and could only choose to continue accelerating towards the basket.
But the distance between the free-throw line and the Crash area gave O'Neal ample time to adjust. His 300-pound frame firmly guarded the basket, and Wade barely managed a layup in mid-air to avoid the block, the ball grazing the backboard and going wildly off target.
O'Neal grabbed the rebound and made a long pass to Kidd.
Kidd slowed the pace in the frontcourt, observed Boston's defensive positioning, and lobbed the ball to Michael Jordan in the right low post.
Ron Artest was still guarding Jordan.
After the turmoil of the first game and Big Ben's warning in the locker room, Artest was very quiet tonight. He didn't even utter a single trash talk, nor did he make any unnecessary pulling movements with his hands. He simply lowered his center of gravity, using his core strength to hold Jordan's back, not giving him any easy opening to turn around.
After receiving the ball, Jordan backed down the ball and dribbled it twice with a heavy and rhythmic motion, feeling Artest's solid defensive center of gravity behind him.
Jordan slightly lowered his left shoulder, making a convincing fake turn towards the middle. Artest didn't fall for the fake and remained in place. But that was exactly what Jordan wanted; as long as the defender stayed put, he had space to shoot.
Using the momentum from the feint, Jordan pivoted on his right foot and quickly flipped towards the baseline. He jumped, hung in the air, and his body formed a perfect backward arc in the air.
Artest's reaction was superb; he jumped almost touching Jordan's body, his outstretched arms nearly blocking Jordan's fingertips. But Jordan's release point was too high, and his fadeaway completely avoided the interference.
A light flick of the wrist.
"Whoosh."
The basketball swished through the net, creating a white spray.
After scoring, Jordan remained expressionless, chewing gum as he turned and retreated to defense.
A deafening roar erupted from the Staples Center.