In the quiet TD North Shore Garden Arena, after the Celtics' offense started, there was finally some sound: rhythmic cheering.
In the mid-range, Pierce took over the basketball again and faced LeBron James one-on-one.
During the Cavaliers 1.0 period, Pierce was considered the best small forward against James. His offensive kaleidoscope attributes could always defeat James' defense one-on-one and then score.
The same goes for this ball. In a sudden stop fake move during the breakthrough, Pierce directly shook James away, forcing Darko Milicic to step in ahead of time.
Then Pierce passed the ball inward and found Garnett. Garnett took two steps inside and made a dunk, scoring 2 points.
The cheers at the North Shore Garden Arena also erupted when Garnett completed the dunk and roared.
At the critical moment, the connection between Pierce and Garnett worked. 91:86, the score gap was reopened to 5 points.
The Cavaliers' offensive round was the same as the previous round. Lin Yu ran on the weak side and then forced the ball.
James suddenly passed the ball during the breakthrough, passed through the crowd again, and stumbled into Lin Yu's hands.
But this time, Rondo's defense followed closely and pounced directly in front of Lin Yu, who was catching and shooting.
With a bang, Lin Yu's key shot hit the frame!
Perkins grabbed the rebound, and Lin Yu returned to defense expressionlessly.
The Celtics continued to suppress the rhythm and slowly controlled the half. Pierce singled out James for the third consecutive time.
But this time, James' defense was perfect, forcing Pierce to turn around and shoot a huge fadeaway jumper, which hit the frame without any suspense.
After two rounds of one attack and one defense with no results, the game entered the last two minutes.
The Cavaliers' attack, James' single, and after passing the screen, Lin Yu, who was still wandering on the weak side, asked for the ball again.
As a result, Laga Rondo seemed to have seen the Cavaliers' offensive strategy, and with one lunge and a snap, he intercepted the ball.
"The Celtics stole the ball and they counterattacked!"
Lin Yu was helpless. He had known this scene would happen for a long time. He used his characteristics to constantly and frantically ask for the ball in a position that was not conducive to catching the ball. There would always be a time when the ball would be stolen. Especially, Lin Yu's opponent was a golf businessman.
Rondo is extremely tall, has a long wingspan, and is extremely good at stealing.
Rondo rushed to the backcourt with the ball, and the cheers at the North Shore Garden Arena erupted, and like the tide, it seemed that the Celtics were not far away from winning this game...
"In the counterattack, Laga Rondo rushed to the front. He was only two or three steps away from the basket. If the ball goes in, the score gap will be widened to 7 points!"
Mike Brown on the sidelines was very impatient. He didn't think much about James's continuous risky passes, because although James's style of play was not what he expected, it was in line with his adjustment arrangements.
In singles, whether he forced a shot or distributed the ball, Mike Brown did not emphasize that it was understandable that James chose to distribute the ball in the face of the opponent's tight defense.
But the basketball was cut off, and in the last two minutes, the score gap would be widened to 7 points. The situation suddenly became very bad, because originally, they had a chance to narrow the score gap to 3 points.
"Raga Rondo, he jumped for a layup and chose the safest way..."
The commentators on the scene were a little excited and excited. The Celtics were getting closer and closer to winning.
But, there was a heavy blow!
"Oh...gosh...China Lin!"
This is John Smith's voice, he shouted excitedly.
"Everyone thought that Ragnarok Rondo's steal and counterattack would give the Celtics a 7-point lead, but China Lin's pursuit defense and a key nail-biter blocked this.
Everything happens!"
On the court, Lin Yu, who had just finished nailing the big shot, rushed forward with the ball expressionlessly. At this time, the situation on the court was already in chaos.
Rondo fell into the backcourt, and the Celtics' two big men rushed to around the three-point line and now returned to defense. Pierce and Ray Allen also urgently returned to their defenders.
But obviously, they all missed Lin Yu.
Lin Yu rushed to the frontcourt and without any hesitation, Lin Yu directly chased a three-pointer!
Everyone's breath was suffocated. In the last minute and a half, the crucial three-pointer came again...
Whoosh!
When the basketball pierced the net, the Cavaliers' bench boiled.
Mike Brown clapped his hands and shouted toward the court: "Defend, defend, defend well, we are only 2 points away!"
With only 2 points left, the Cavaliers' morale was high and everyone played perfectly. Pierce's single was flanked and the ball split to one side. Ray Allen, who was receiving the ball, was targeted by the Cavaliers' rotating defense.
The Celtics could only pass the ball back and forth, and then they ran out of 24 seconds and still failed to score. Garnett's mid-range shot finally failed.
Lin Yu picked up the rebound in the backcourt and launched a counterattack.
During the counterattack, he hit another three-pointer.
But... Rondo's follow-up defense was very good and interfered with the ball... With a bang, Lin Yu's chasing three-pointer hit the frame.
Amidst the exclamations and cheers from the audience, Lin Yu remained expressionless.
Mike Brown on the sidelines became more and more anxious. He felt that Lin Yu's shot was unreasonable and missed the opportunity to overtake the score.
In fact, if played properly, the Cavaliers will be unable to break through the Celtics' increasingly tenacious strong-side stacked zone defense. They can only continue to try very risky strong-side to weak-side transitions, and then lose the ball.
Chasing and grabbing one is the best option.
When the Celtics grabbed the rebound and counterattacked on the strong side, the game had already reached its best minute.
A difference of 2 points is only enough time for two or three offensive rounds. Everyone understands that every next ball is crucial.
The Celtics were very cautious. They passed the ball back and forth, giving the ball to Pierce or Garnett for a single. If there was no chance, no one would take action.
On the one hand, it is time-consuming, and on the other hand, they just want to score 2 points in a safe way, giving themselves a very safe 4-point advantage.
But the Cavaliers' defense was tenacious and did not give the Celtics any chance.
More than 20 seconds later, Pierce forced a mid-range shot, and with a bang, Darko Milicic jumped under the basket and grabbed the rebound.
Milicic, who has a soft touch, immediately passed the ball and found James.
In a quick counterattack, Lin Yu and James were on one side, and when they were about to rush to the frontcourt, he activated his special feature again.
The basketball flew from one side to the other. Lin Yu caught the ball and hit another chasing three-pointer.
boom!
"Raga Rondo always stands in front of China Lin, and he once again let China Lin's chasing three-pointer hit the frame!"
In the commentary box, Mike Fratello shook his head: "China Lin's shot selection is too bad. He seems to be very impatient."
"In this game, he has taken 36 shots, but only hit 14 of them, with a hit rate of less than 40%..."
The Celtics grabbed the rebound, and Doc Rivers also used the last timeout. Because there were only 31 seconds left in the game, the Celtics had only one last attack left, and so did the Cavaliers.
