The whistle blew for the second half at Staples Center.
The third quarter is always the turning point of the game. For the Lakers ' veteran roster, every minute of this quarter is excessively draining their energy reserves.
The Lakers took the initiative first. Kidd passed the ball directly to Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal in the low post.
Rick Carlisle couldn't stand seeing Ben Wallace guarding O'Neal one-on-one in the first two Big Ben, so he tried to relieve the pressure in the paint by double-teaming him at the start of the second half. As soon as O'Neal received the ball with his back to the basket on the left side, Pierce, who was originally guarding the wing, immediately collapsed and double-teamed Ben Wallace.
But they underestimated O'Neal's court vision and passing ability. In the instant he was surrounded, O'Neal raised the ball high above his head. He surveyed Boston's defensive formation, quickly spotted the open space on the perimeter left by Pierce, and flicked his wrist.
The basketball soared over the heads of the double-teamers and landed precisely in the hands of Quentin Richardson, who was open at the top of the key. Richardson caught the ball, calmly adjusted his stance, and pulled up for a shot.
"Swish!" The three-pointer went in cleanly.
Whether it's Billups, Pierce, or Garnett double-teaming them, their matchups all have solid three-point shooting ability. That's why this year's Lakers are harder to deal with than last year 'Lakers.
This punitive and efficient passing directly shattered Boston's double-teaming plan. Once the Lakers ' perimeter players found open shooting rhythm, the game would instantly lose its suspense. Rick Carlisle gestured from the sidelines, indicating that the double-teaming was no longer necessary.
However, if they didn't double-team him and forced Ben Wallace to continue playing one-on-one defense from start to finish, it meant he would be exhausted by the third quarter and might even foul out. Taking advantage of the dead ball situation, Rick Carlisle made a personnel rotation. He substituted Big Ben to rest and put Rasheed Wallace in to partner with Garnett, with Rasheed at center to face O'Neal.
Over the past few seasons, Rasheed has undergone extensive and grueling lower body and core strength training in the gym. He understands that to go further in the league, he must have the physical attributes to deal with Shaq O'Neal. Now that O'Neal has significantly lost weight, although his agility has increased, his absolute lower body crushing power is no longer insurmountable. This shift in power has given Rasheed the ability to defend Shaq in the low post for a few minutes.
O'Neal received the ball again with his back to the basket on the left side. He habitually lowered his shoulders and leaned back sharply. Rasheed spread his legs and planted his weight firmly on the floor, completely lowering his defensive center. His well-trained core muscles tensed instantly, forcefully withstanding O'Neal's first attack.
O'Neal's massive frame paused for a moment, clearly somewhat surprised. But after a brief moment of astonishment, O'Neal immediately abandoned his probing disdain. He lowered his center of gravity, and with his three hundred pounds of weight accompanied by pure savage power, he slammed backward twice in quick succession.
Rasheed's expression changed instantly. The first time, he felt a muffled thud in his sternum, his internal organs trembling. The second time, his proud lower body strength defense almost collapsed instantly, his feet forced to slide back half a step on the floor. But he gritted his teeth and didn't let up, using the cushioning from the retreat to desperately stretch out his arms, blocking O'Neal's shooting vision.
With the offensive time significantly reduced, O'Neal could only force a turnaround hook shot. Under Rasheed's strong interference, the ball bounced off the rim.
Although he managed to stop the shot, Rasheed completely lacked his usual trash-talking energy. In the following minutes, he did the hard work in the paint, battling O'Neal hand-to-hand, and each physical contact made his defensive movements even slower and heavier.
Midway through the third quarter, in order to prevent the interior defense from completely collapsing, Big Ben returned to the court, replacing Rasheed.
Rasheed walked back to the bench and slumped into a chair. He was panting heavily, grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his face haphazardly, complaining to Wade next to him, "I feel like I was just run over by a fully loaded heavy truck, all my bones are about to fall apart."
In dire straits, the Big Ben once again took control of the last line of defense.
With his right shoulder wrapped in a thick bandage, Big Ben Wallace faced O'Neal in the low post. His feet were on the dotted lines of the Crash area, his knees bent at almost a 90-degree angle, and he shifted his weight to the limit. His hands were folded over his chest to protect him as he withstood O'Neal's post-up attack.
Shaq didn't exert force directly. His massive body made a feint towards the baseline with an agility that was disproportionate to his size, trying to deceive Big Ben's center of gravity, and then he delivered a full-force shoulder strike.
"Bang!"
Big Ben let out a muffled groan as he was struck by the enormous kinetic energy, his chest trembling violently, but his feet only managed to take half a step back.
"Bang!"
O'Neal exerted force a second time, Big Ben used the momentum to shift to the side and deflect the force. O'Neal lost his balance, but he used his flexibility to forcefully turn around using his left foot as a pivot, and slammed the ball towards the basket with one hand.
Just as the basketball was about to go in, Big Ben Wallace grabbed O'Neal's thick arm with both hands and pulled him down, ball and all. The two crashed heavily to the floor, the dull thud of muscles hitting the wooden floor making the front row audience gasp.
The referee blew the whistle; a defensive foul had been called. Big Ben didn't complain. He got up, dusted himself off, and coldly watched O'Neal walk towards the free-throw line. "Want to dunk? You'll have to step over me."
O'Neal missed both free throws. This extreme, wrestling-style physical play is destroying his already poor free throw shooting touch.
On the perimeter, Jordan's footwork became noticeably heavier. Artest's defense wasn't just about rough play; he had an ingrained, obsessive desire for physical confrontation. Every time their chests collided, Artest didn't even look at the ball; his bloodshot eyes were fixed on Jordan's chin.
Jordan received the ball with difficulty in the right corner. He gripped the basketball firmly with one hand, pivoted on his left foot, and made two small probing steps. In a regular season game, the defender would have lost his balance by now, but Artest was not fooled and stuck to Jordan's waist. Jordan could only squeeze out half a body length and force a pull-up jump shot.
The basketball bounced off the front edge of the rim.
Jordan gritted his teeth and retreated on defense; his heavy breathing could no longer conceal the fact that his physical strength was rapidly declining.