Byron Scott, standing on the sidelines, frowned and walked over to the scorer's table, loudly complaining to the referee.
On the court, Yao Ming took a breath and glanced at Big Ben, who was running back calmly. As a player with high basketball IQ, after being blocked twice in a row, Yao Ming immediately understood the Boston Celtics ' plan.
Without needing reminders from the coach on the sidelines, Yao Ming made adjustments in his mind.
With seven minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Celtics had tied the score at 14-14.
Wade called for a pick-and-roll at the top of the key again, and Garnett, as usual, backed down to set a screen and bounced out to Brand.
This time, when Wade broke through Andrei Miller with a screen and Big Ben began to descend into the paint, Yao Ming Big Ben come and stick to him.
Just as Big Ben was about to lower his center of gravity to block Wade's shot, Yao Ming started moving ahead, quickly circling around in front of Big Ben and lunging forward a step inside the free-throw line, spreading his long arms to block Wade's shot!
"Beautiful!" Al Michael shouted, " Yao Ming didn't let Big Ben block his lower body, and rushed out to intercept him!"
Just as Byron Scott on the sidelines was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the situation on the court suddenly reversed.
The instant Big Ben noticed Yao Ming had circled around to his front, he turned his foot and his body, which was originally preparing to block backward, instantly turned into a reverse block.
Below the basket behind Yao Ming, there was no one.
Wade, dribbling along, saw this scene clearly. Without even stopping or jumping, he flicked his wrist upwards and tossed the basketball directly towards the top of the basket.
Big Ben turned and took a step, forcefully pushing off the ground with both feet and leaping into the air. In mid-air, he firmly grasped the basketball with both hands and slammed it into the hoop!
boom!
The basket made a muffled thud, and Big Ben swung around on the rim before landing steadily.
16-14, the Celtics take the lead!
The entire 20,000 fans at the New Garden jumped up from their seats, their cheers nearly lifting the roof off the arena. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in the front row excitedly bumped chests in celebration.
"My God, Hubie, did you see that play just now?" Al Michael exclaimed. " Yao Ming wasn't blocked this time; he went around to defend Wade ahead of time, which ended up giving Big Ben an alley-oop opportunity!"
"That's the most interesting part of this tactic, it's a dead end, Al," Hubie Brown shook his head repeatedly in the commentary booth, his tone full of admiration. "It's an unsolvable binary choice. If Yao Ming stays under the basket to protect the rim, Big Ben will cut in and block his lower body, and Wade can go in for a floater or dunk. If Yao Ming rushes out to defend against a drive, he'll be open behind him, and Wade can just toss the ball up into the air, and Big Ben Wallace can turn around and slam it home with an alley-oop dunk. Rick Carlisle and his coaching staff must have practiced this play countless times in the gym!"
Byron Scott, looking livid on the sidelines, immediately called a long timeout.
However, the Nets ' troubles were just beginning.
Late in the first quarter and into the second quarter rotation, Rick Carlisle fielded a second unit of Tyronn Lue, Prince, Artest, Rasheed Wallace, and Okur, before bringing in Tyson Chandler Chandler to partner with Rasheed.
The Nets substituted Wang Zhizhi and Richard Jefferson. Byron Scott had thought that the strange screen-and-roll setup under the basket would stop after Ben Wallace went to the bench, but Tyson Chandler Chandler was still able to screen for Artest and Tyronn Luka Dončić when they cut to the basket. And when Okur and Rasheed were on the court at the same time, the two big men could stretch the floor and shoot three-pointers, tearing the Nets ' defensive setup apart.
When the halftime whistle blew, the Celtics were already leading 58-45 by 13 points.
ABC's director switched the camera to the front row right on time. In the shot, Lin Qi was chatting and laughing with Keanu Reeves, Brad Pete, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck, while the big screen displayed the promotional text for " Kingmaker Part 1" showing in theaters across the United States. The cheers in the arena rose one wave after another.
In the second half, Byron Scott was forced to abandon his pre-game strategy of retreating, allowing Kirilenko and Brand to extend their defense outwards. Yao Ming also had to move up to the free-throw line to try and cut off Boston's pick-and-roll initiation.
But as soon as the Nets ' defense moved outwards, the baseline immediately revealed a weakness.
With seven minutes left in the third quarter, Wade drew a double team on the wing and passed the ball to Garnett at the top of the key. Garnett faced Brand, who was rushing out, and raised the ball overhead with both hands, as if to shoot.
The Nets ' defensive focus was instantly shifted to the perimeter.
On the weak side baseline, Pierce suddenly cut to the basket using Raja Bell's off-ball screen. At the same time, Ben Wallace, who was originally standing near the free-throw line, quietly slipped towards the basket.
Yao Ming reacted quickly, turning around and taking long strides to retreat back into the paint to help defend Pierce.
But Big Ben was a fraction of a second faster, stepping into the paint, standing firmly with his feet apart, and shifting his weight down, once again trapping Yao Ming's lower body on the edge of the three-second zone.
Yao Ming's pursuit was abruptly halted, his long arm still two meters from the basket.
Pierce received a high lob pass from Garnett, drove into the paint through the opening left by Big Ben, and, facing Kirilenko who couldn't help defend in time, jumped on one foot and dunked the ball with one hand.
"The game is no longer in doubt," Hubie Brown said with a smile, looking at Byron Scott on the sidelines with his hands on his hips and a helpless expression. "All the coaches in the league will be working overtime tonight watching film, because Boston just demonstrated a completely new pick-and-roll game to the entire league."
After this offensive surge at the end of the third quarter, the Nets ' interior defense completely collapsed, and the point difference was heading straight for twenty points.
The final three minutes of the fourth quarter became garbage time, with Brian Scalabrine and Gerald Wallace coming off the bench to finish the game.
When the final red light came on and the buzzer sounded, the score on the big screen was 112-91. Garnett had 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 9 assists, while Wade 22 points and 8 assists. Ben Wallace, who only took 5 shots and scored 10 points and grabbed 16 rebounds with alley-oop dunks and layups, walked off the court draped in a towel. The 20,000 fans at New Garden chanted his name in unison, and the cheers lasted for a long time.