Payton, having sank the three- Gary Payton, turned to the bewildered Mark Cuban and taunted, " Mark, your scouting report needs to be shredded! I could make that shot with my eyes closed!"
Cuban was so angry that he plopped back into his chair, grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the table, and took a big gulp.
In the next two possessions, Gary Payton and Okur ran a pick-and-roll at the top of the key. As soon as the Mavericks ' interior defense collapsed, Gary Payton's pass immediately flew to the perimeter. Okur hit a three-pointer over the defense, and on the next possession, Rasheed Wallace hit another three-pointer at the top of the key. After making the shot, he even shook his head and danced towards the Mavericks ' bench.
Midway through the second quarter, Rick Carlisle substituted Wade for Tyronn Lue, keeping both Gary Payton and Wade on the court together, alongside Pierce, Garnett, and Big Ben.
As soon as this two-guard lineup was deployed, the Dallas Mavericks ' backcourt immediately found itself in a tough battle.
The Mavericks inbounded the ball from the baseline. Nash had just received the ball and dribbled forward two steps when Gary Payton closed in. Gary Payton lowered his center of gravity, trash-talking non-stop, blocking Nash's right-side driving lane and forcing Nash towards the left sideline.
Just as Nash dribbled past the center line, Wade, who was originally guarding Finley, suddenly left his defender on the wing and rushed over to surround Gary Payton. The two of them stretched out their long arms at the corner of the center line, blocking Nash in the dead corner of the sideline.
Nash couldn't even see the gap in the pass, and in a panic, he jumped up to try and lob the ball towards the middle, Wade up and intercepted the ball in mid-air with one hand.
"Good break! Run!" Gary Payton yelled from behind, waving him to charge forward.
Wade dribbled the ball on the fast break, took three big strides to the three-point line, and leaped into the air over Josh Howard, who couldn't get back on defense in time. In mid-air, he tucked his stomach in and pulled up for a layup to avoid the block, then backhanded the ball off the backboard and made the shot.
In the next possession, the Mavericks switched to Finley controlling the ball up half-court. This time, Wade guarded Finley with his chest at the top of the arc, while Gary Payton watched the passing lanes. Just as Finley had the ball under his waist, Gary Payton seized the opportunity, took a step forward, and with his right hand, shoved the ball away with a snap.
The basketball rolled towards the center line, Wade had already started moving. He bent down and scooped up the basketball with one hand, with a wide-open space in front of him. He rushed into the free-throw line, leaped up, and completed a windmill dunk.
As Wade ran back to half-court, he gestured with his chin towards Gary Payton: " Gary, that steal was a little slow, the ball almost went out of bounds."
"Stop talking nonsense, rookie," Gary Payton chuckled, "Get back on defense, or I'll deal with you if you leave anyone open!"
The Celtics' bench erupted in cheers. Whenever Mavericks guard was double-teamed and made a mistake, Brian Scalabrine and Gerald Wallace would wave white towels and sway to the beat of the DJ's music on the sidelines.
When the halftime whistle blew, the scoreboard showed 72-46. Boston had scored 72 points in the first half, with all ten players who took the court contributing points and a total of 23 assists.
In the second half, Boston's starting lineup returned to the court.
With the score difference so large, Garnett and Pierce played with increasing ease. In the third quarter, Garnett was constantly facilitating the offense, frequently receiving the ball in the elbow area of the free-throw line, sometimes handing the ball off to Wade, sometimes lobbing it high to Raja Bell who was cutting along the baseline, and occasionally pulling up for a mid-range jumper when Nowitzki took a half-step back.
With four and a half minutes remaining in the third quarter, the score was 98-69.
During Celtics half-court offense, Pierce attempted a behind-the-back pass to Big Ben on the right side, but the ball hit Ford's heel and bounced towards the center circle.
Standing at the top of the arc Nash grabbed the rebounding basketball, looked up and saw that Michael Finley on the right side of the frontcourt had already made a run, and immediately sent a long pass.
When Finley received the ball beyond the three-point line, there was no one in front of him. He dribbled once, adjusted his footwork, took three big strides into the three-second zone, and jumped up with the basketball in one hand, preparing for a fast break layup.
Just as Finley leaped into the air, a green figure rushed out from his left rear blind spot.
The moment the mistake occurred, Wade, who was originally standing outside the three-point line on the left side of the opposing team, turned around, lowered his head, and sprinted at full speed, crossing the entire court in just over two seconds.
Just as Finley was about to flick the basketball toward the backboard, Wade leaped off the ground from outside the Crash area, his long right arm reaching over Finley's shoulder, and slammed the basketball down hard!
The basketball was pressed against the backboard.
Finley landed and, propelled by inertia, went out of bounds. The rebounding basketball landed near the free-throw line. Garnett, who had just crossed half-court, caught the ball in his arms.
After landing, Wade used his right hand to brace himself on the floor to regain his balance, quickly got up, and turned to sprint towards the Mavericks ' half of the court.
Garnett seized the opportunity, grabbed the ball with his right hand and pulled it behind his ear. Like a quarterback on a football field, he exerted all his strength and launched a long pass across the entire field straight to the frontcourt.
This is Garnett's tenth assist tonight.
The basketball soared through the air, while Wade sprinted across the ground. Nash and Josh Howard, the Mavericks ' fastest defenders, desperately rushed back, barely managing to get inside the three-point line when Wade caught Garnett's long pass from just outside the free-throw line.
Facing the gap where two defenders were closing in, Wade received the ball and took two big steps, passing between Nash and Josh Howard. He pushed off the ground with both feet and soared into the air, pulling the basketball behind his head with his right hand, and slammed it down towards the rim!
The basketball hoop shook violently, and the 20,000 fans at the New Garden simultaneously covered their heads and jumped up from their seats.
Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace on the sidelines pounded their chests and roared to the sky, while Gary Payton jumped up from the bench, pointing at Wade on the court and laughing heartily.
In the commentary booth broadcasting live across the US, Al Michael jumped up from his chair, grabbed the microphone, and shouted, "My God! Did you guys see what just happened? He chased down and blocked Michael Finley from the corner, then spun around the court to catch the ball and dunk—it all took less than five seconds! That guy is as fast as lightning!"
"That's amazing!" Hubie Brown exclaimed, his face flushed. "The speed at which he just blew past two people in one step, we should just call him The Dwyane Wade!"
" Dwyane Wade! I love that nickname, Hubie!" Michael slammed his fist on the table, laughing. "And that long pass from Garnett just now gave him his tenth assist of the night! 26 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists— Kevin Garnett got a triple-double before the third quarter was even over!"
On the court, Wade landed steadily, and Garnett ran over and hugged him tightly, rubbing his head vigorously. Pierce and Raja Bell also ran over and patted his back.
On the sidelines, Don Nelson shook his head, smiled wryly, and gestured for a timeout to the scorer's table. He then substituted all five key players —Nash, Nowitzki, and Finley— off the court, effectively conceding defeat.
As Wade wiped his sweat and walked towards the bench, Gary Payton approached with a towel, casually placing it over Wade's head. "Remember to hang on the rim. You forgot when you landed. Do you want the team doctor to drain fluid from your knee every day from now on? Next time, hold back a bit on your dunks and save your energy for the playoffs."
"Got it, Gary," Wade pulled off the towel and grinned at Gary Payton. "But if you had been running in front, Kevin's long pass would probably have gone straight out of bounds."
"You little rascal, you've got some nerve, haven't you?" Gary Payton chuckled and pretended to kick him, causing Rasheed and Pierce on the bench to burst into laughter.
The fourth quarter became a training ground for Tayshaun Prince, Gerald Wallace, Tyson Chandler Chandler, and Brian Scalabrine. Whenever Scalabrine got the ball on the court, the 20,000 fans in the arena chanted for him to shoot, making the arena feel like a festival.
As the final red light flashed and the buzzer sounded, the score on the big screen settled at 132-98. Garnett finished the game in three quarters with 26 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists, Wade scored 28 points and 11 assists. Gary Payton, coming off the bench, scored 11 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals, shooting 3-for-4 from three-point range.
The three walked back to the players' tunnel side by side, and cheers erupted from the stands.