The whistle blew for the fourth quarter.
The Los Angeles Lakers changed their formation right from the start. O'Neal didn't go to the low post to establish position, but instead moved directly to the three-point line to set a solid screen for Kidd.
Big Ben was forced to follow, but he was clearly extremely uncomfortable with this setup. Having lost weight this year, O'Neal had regained some of his agility. In the early rounds of the regular season and playoffs, the Lakers frequently employed this high pick-and-roll between Kidd and O'Neal.
Kidd used a screen to break through, forcing Big Ben to move laterally to delay him. In that instant, O'Neal quickly turned and cut to the basket. The benefits of his weight loss were on full display; his massive body accelerated toward the rim with incredible speed. Kidd tossed the ball into the air, and O'Neal caught it in mid-air, slamming it into the hoop with both hands.
78 to 71.
This offensive strategy instantly rendered Big Ben's defensive strategy ineffective.
Turning back, Boston's offense failed to score.
The Lakers advanced the ball up the court again. This time, Jordan called for the ball on the left mid-range.
Artest immediately closed in, still making a lot of hand movements. The left mid-court is Jordan's favorite offensive area now. He no longer drives from beyond the three-point line like he used to, but relies more on back-to-the-basket moves, jab steps, and turnaround fadeaways to solve problems.
Jordan caught the ball with one hand, his back to Artest. He first made a shoulder drop fake towards the baseline, and Artest immediately slid to block. Just as Artest's center of gravity shifted, Jordan quickly used his left foot as a pivot to turn towards the middle and pulled up for a jump shot.
His movements were still textbook perfect, and his rhythm completely fooled Artest.
But in the instant he was airborne, Jordan felt a severe stiffness in his knees.
The jump height was slightly off, causing what should have been a sure thing for the fadeaway jump shot to lose its perfect arc.
"Bang!"
The basketball bounced off the front edge of the rim and rose high into the air.
Just as Artest was about to turn and position himself for the rebound, a muffled thud suddenly came from inside the paint.
O'Neal, who was initially blocked by Garnett and Big Ben Wallace, suddenly broke free from their grip. The moment the basketball bounced off the ground, he soared into the air. Big Ben Wallace tried desperately to jump and interfere, but O'Neal, who had sprung up, shoved him aside with his body in mid-air.
O'Neal caught the rebounding basketball with both hands, and facing Big Ben, slammed the ball into the basket with an unstoppable force!
"Boom!"
The basket rack shook violently, and the referee blew his whistle at the same time. Big Ben was knocked to the ground, committing a blocking foul and receiving a penalty.
O'Neal roared after landing. Jordan walked over and patted O'Neal hard on the chest.
78 to 73.
The point difference instantly narrowed to five points.
The fans at Staples Center all stood up. The Lakers ' offensive rhythm came alive again.
With six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, a similar scenario played out again. Jordan backed down on the right side of the post, and his turnaround jump shot missed again under Artest's tight defense. But this time, as soon as Jordan released the shot, O'Neal had already forcefully pushed Big Ben out of bounds.
Just as the basketball bounced off the rim, O'Neal flicked it with one hand and scored on the putback.
The Lakers are now down by only one point, 82-81.
Jordan did lose the stamina to take over the game, and his jump shots became shorter and shorter. But this inadvertently created a special connection, because O'Neal's offensive rebounding instincts turned those off-target shots into offensive opportunities.
With three minutes remaining, Big Ben's shoulder was aching and numb, but he gritted his teeth and stood up, continuing to hold the line in the penalty area. The scoreboard was dwindling, and the score was neck and neck.
With one minute and twelve seconds remaining in the game, the scoreboard showed Boston leading 85-84.
The roar of the Staples Center almost lifted the dome. Both teams were on the verge of exhaustion, and every back-and-forth run on the court felt like dragging heavy sandbags.
Boston has possession. Chauncey Billups Billups controls the ball on the perimeter, slowing down the pace and running down the clock. The Los Angeles Lakers ' defense is extremely aggressive, with Marion and Fisher constantly pressing forward, making every pass for Boston exceptionally difficult.
With six seconds left on the shot clock, Billups threaded the ball through a gap in the defense to Chris Paul Pierce at a 45-degree angle on the right. He was being guarded by Sean Marion.
Pierce kept his eyes on Marion's position. Pierce lowered his center of gravity, made two probing steps, and suddenly accelerated to the left to break through. Marion reacted quickly, retreating and sliding to block the breakthrough route.
Just as Marion shifted his weight completely backward, Pierce slammed on the brakes, using his left foot to take a large step back, retreating to the outside of the three-point line.
This was a space that was created entirely through core strength and rhythm. Pierce calmly pushed the ball out before losing his balance.
The basketball arced high through the breathless gaze of 20,000 fans in the arena.
"Whoosh!"
Hollow core into the net.
88 to 84.
Boston built a four-point lead with 54 seconds remaining.
Staples Center fell into a deathly silence for a moment, followed by a huge chorus of boos.
Pierce pounded his chest, backing away to defend himself while giving Billups a heavy high five.
With less than fifty seconds remaining, Phil Jackson didn't call a timeout; he left the final decision to the players on the court.
Kidd quickly advanced past half-court. Rick Carlisle made a targeted substitution in the previous possession, fielding a lineup of Chauncey Billups Billups, Chris Paul Pierce, Ron Artest, Kevin Garnett, and Rasheed Wallace.
Kidd attempted to lob the ball into the penalty area. But Garnett and Rasheed used their incredible wingspan and speed to cut off all possible passing options.
Unable to find an opportunity inside, Kidd had no choice but to pass the ball to Michael Jordan on the left wing.
Ron Artest remained on Jordan's defensive end. After a game of intense physical play, Artest was breathing heavily, but he gritted his teeth and continued to defend Jordan.
Jordan gripped the ball with one hand, sweat dripping from his chin onto the floor. He backed down, leaning back twice in quick succession. Artest didn't give an inch. Jordan made a convincing shoulder fake towards the baseline, then quickly turned towards the middle, preparing to execute his signature turnaround fadeaway jumper.
Artest was faked out half a step by the baseline move, and he was unable to regain his balance to block the shot.
But just as Jordan turned and pulled up for the ball, about to raise it above his head, a long shadow suddenly burst out from the weak side of the paint.
It's Kevin Garnett.
The moment Jordan turned and exerted himself with his back to the basket, Garnett decisively took two astonishingly long strides, directly lunging towards the path Jordan would inevitably take as he turned.
Jordan's jumping height was not what it used to be, and Garnett's terrifying wingspan almost completely covered the basket in front of him. But in the last moment in the air, Jordan still showed his keen court vision.
Seeing that his shooting angle was completely blocked, he did not force a shot. Instead, in the extreme state of his body about to fall, he turned the shooting motion into a pass, flicking his wrist to pass the ball from under Garnett's arm to Sean Marion, who was cutting in along the baseline.
After the pass, Jordan lost his balance and fell to the floor, but Marion caught the ball and pulled up.
Garnett was still in the air, Artest was blocked behind him, and the basket was wide open in front of Marion.
However, just as Marion was about to complete the dunk, a figure sprinted from near the free-throw line, blocking the lights of Staples Center.
It's Rasheed Wallace.
"Don't even think about it!"
Rasheed leaped into the air, stretching his explosive power and exaggerated wingspan to the limit. His long arm swung in a semi-circle in the air and slammed hard onto the basketball that Marion had just raised.
"Smack!"
A solid block!
Rasheed swatted the basketball away in mid-air, sending it crashing into the seats of the front-row spectators.
The referee blew the whistle to signal a dead ball. Marion tumbled out of bounds, his face filled with disbelief, while Rasheed landed and roared to the sky, pounding his chest and letting out a beast-like howl towards the stands.
The suspense is finally over.
In the ensuing scramble of fouling by the Lakers, Billups calmly made both free throws. The final buzzer sounded.
90 to 84.
Despite being severely exhausted, the Boston Celtics fought their way to victory at Staples Center thanks to Pierce's clutch three-pointer, Garnett's crucial help defense, and Rasheed's game-winning block in the final moments.
They tied the series 3-3 after an epic run in the NBA Finals.