On the evening of May 23, 2008, the Eastern Conference Finals resumed, with intense scenes frequently unfolding during the game, making the broadcaster ESPN "laugh till it hurt."
Perhaps Kevin Garnett's pre-game pep talk had an effect, coupled with the stimulating 'chicken soup' from Head Coach Rivers, as the Celtics played with great effort from the start.
What made the sports reporters on site feel even more outrageous was that Head Coach Rivers once again used a 7-man rotation tonight, and with just over a minute left in the first half, Pierce was still on the court.
The game, which started at 8:30 PM, was severely disrupted by whistles due to frequent free throws from both sides.
"Defense!"
Amidst the cheers for Defense, the Celtics once again had an offensive possession.
Marbury's stamina had clearly declined, and he was now bent over, dribbling the ball past mid-court.
The boiling Madison Square Garden made the players' movements on the court even more pronounced.
Using Perkins' screen near the baseline on the left, Pierce attempted to shake off his defender.
But Ron Artest was chasing closely from behind, and the two arrived at the three-point line on the left wing almost simultaneously.
The referee was right on the sideline, and Ron Artest reined in his movements, but when Pierce tried to go for a screen, Ron Artest still stuck to him.
As the two pulled and tugged their way to the top of the arc, Pierce had to adjust his receiving position.
When he got the ball away from the three-point line, Kevin Garnett, who was near the baseline on the right, also moved up to try and set a pick-and-roll.
Marbury started moving towards the left corner, but Lee didn't stick tightly to his opponent.
He stopped near the restricted area, poised as if ready to provide help Defense at any moment.
Pierce, who observed the Defense immediately after receiving the ball, cursed inwardly.
If Marbury could find his shooting touch, the offensive space on the court wouldn't be so crowded.
"Boo!"
Amidst the boos, Ron Artest, who was trying to squeeze through the screen, collided with Kevin Garnett.
Both stumbled, but the referee showed no reaction.
Pierce, feigning a drive to the right, seized the opportunity.
He suddenly dribbled behind his back, and while Ron Artest was still adjusting his center of gravity, he accelerated with all his might, holding the ball in his left hand.
He seemed to have shaken off the Defense, but as Lee moved his feet early, Pierce, who had advanced to the left elbow, immediately stopped short.
He didn't pass or force a drive to the basket.
Encountering help Defense, he decisively pulled up for a jump shot!
"Paul Pierce looks a bit tired. His last two shots have hit the front of the rim. Head Coach Rivers should perhaps consider James Posey."
At the commentary table, Mark Jackson made an excuse for Pierce's declining shooting percentage.
Mike Breen, noticing that the rebound was secured by Lee, chuckled and praised again:
"It seems flying halfway across the globe hasn't affected Clay Lee's physical condition. He looks great tonight, frequently participating in securing rebounds!"
They praised him for just grabbing a rebound.
Celtics fans watching on TV were annoyed, but their team's poor shooting made them even angrier.
They had already rested, so why were they still missing so many shots?
Pierce, retreating on Defense, also had this question.
Ron Artest's Defense wasn't fully in place, but he still missed this easy scoring opportunity, and a look of frustration appeared on his face.
The New York Knicks' white home jerseys were adorned with orange and blue.
In the past, Marbury had always longed to wear this jersey, but now he only found it incredibly annoying.
Lee's flashy blue arm guard was just a show in Marbury's eyes.
He didn't feel an ounce of respect from his opponent.
"Let's go Knicks!"
Amidst the cheers, Marbury initiated a body-searching Defense again, stepping forward to contest before reaching out to disrupt, always maintaining a defensive distance to prevent Lee from easily driving.
Amidst the jeers from the front-row fans, Lee, holding the ball in his left hand, merely turned his body, casually swatting away his opponent's arm with his free hand.
After arriving at the left wing, he suddenly stopped short, exploded the ball, and instantly switched it to his right hand.
Lee in front of him suddenly lowered his center of gravity, startling Marbury, who, disregarding what was behind him, hurriedly slid to the left.
The seemingly successful Defense suffered a hidden setback.
Right in front of the referee, the two collided.
Lee twisted his body to protect the ball, and his raised left arm made Marbury gasp.
In this crucial game, Marbury showed his tough guy nature, gritting his teeth and sliding, holding Lee's lateral movement at the three-point line.
"Damn it!! This happened right in front of you!!"
Since the first quarter, Rivers had been complaining almost every possession.
Facing the screaming opposing coach, the referee still showed no reaction.
Pau Gasol was moving towards the three-point line at this moment.
Seeing Lee stop, he tacitly decided not to stubbornly set a screen, but instead suddenly twisted his body and cut to the basket.
Kevin Garnett, who had followed him out, didn't react immediately.
When he saw the basketball appear from the right side of Lee's body, who was facing away from the basket, he instinctively slid and reached out.
The spinning basketball hit the floor and rotated inward, bouncing up precisely into Pau Gasol's hands.
The latter didn't need to adjust, but continued with a scoop layup, and the ball bounced off the backboard and into the hoop.
39:50, the first half entered its final minute, and the Knicks were again leading by double digits.
"Oh!!"
The beautiful assist made the New York fans in the Madison Square Garden cheer loudly.
Kevin Garnett also showed his tough guy nature at this moment, angrily pounding the basket support when inbounding the ball, staring fiercely at the retreating Spaniard.
"The moment to test the Celtics' willpower has arrived! They must hold the score in the final moments of the first half."
Mark Jackson saw that the The Big Four were starting to falter and subconsciously encouraged them.
Mike Breen, seeing Ray Allen actively call for the ball, immediately praised him:
"A decisive drive, Ray Allen has responded repeatedly at crucial moments tonight."
The simple and direct tactic had a remarkable effect.
Ray Allen received a hand-off pass from Perkins in the right elbow area and immediately drove straight to the basket with the ball in his left hand, drawing a foul from Chandler.
He directly pulled his opponent down, earning his second personal foul before halftime.
Chandler was quite satisfied with his performance and smiled as he handed the ball to the referee:
"You guys don't have much time left! Man, don't look at me like that."
With a furious glare, Kevin Garnett frequently used eye attacks tonight, but this only made Chandler feel bewildered.
The latter, with hands on his hips near the paint, loudly retorted:
"See you in Boston! I'm fed up with games like this…"
The chattering Kevin Garnett was still finding reasons for the deficit, incidentally talking trash to the referee, staring and ranting.
Ray Allen missed his second free throw, and the rebound was easily secured by Pau Gasol.
Lee's speed from receiving the ball to making a long pass was incredibly fast.
When the ball flew across half-court and landed in the hands of the fast-breaking Raja Bell, the latter had already reached the right wing.
After receiving the ball, he quickly pulled up for a jump shot!
"Oh!"
The New York fans in the Madison Square Garden sighed with some regret.
The basketball hit the rim and bounced out, and the long rebound was picked up by the retreating Pierce.
The latter initially wanted to immediately dribble and rush past half-court, but Ron Artest blocked his path, forcing Pierce to stop short and dribble behind his back.
Ron Artest, reacting extremely quickly, immediately slid horizontally.
In the entanglement, Pierce smoothly passed the ball to Marbury, who was waiting near the mid-court line.
The slightly hurried pass made Marbury twist his body to scoop up the ball.
Just as he extended his right arm, and before the basketball had fully contacted his right hand, Lee, who had suddenly accelerated from behind, got there first and disrupted the ball.
Cheers erupted once again.
The basketball flew towards half-court, and Marbury used all his might, trying to get in front of Lee to regain control of the ball.
But Lee, starting at the same time, was faster.
He arrived first, forcefully squeezing past his opponent's side.
Marbury, who still hadn't given up on Defense, continued to chase.
In a blink of an eye, the two were already close to the three-point line.
At the top of the arc, Lee didn't stop, ignoring the pull from behind him.
He continued to accelerate while leading the ball forward.
Both moved so fast that Mike Breen in the commentary box only had time to exclaim:
"God! Marbury made a brave defensive choice!"
"..."
Chasing the ball in the paint, Lee took a step.
Marbury, who was chasing him, still didn't give up, trying to hang onto him.
He had intended to knock his opponent out of bounds, but he was half a beat too slow in his lunge.
Marbury's chin and shoulder collided first, his face instantly distorted, and he completely lost his balance, falling horizontally in front of Lee.
In a flash, seeing the basketball hit the backboard high and fall into the net, the baseline referee was stunned.
Madison Square Garden erupted again at this moment.
The frequent confrontations thrilled New York fans, and everyone was cheering excitedly.
Head Coach Rivers on the sidelines was fuming.
Marbury, whose chin had been hit, had a cut on his lip from his teeth, and was lying on the floor with blood in his mouth.
Yet the referee remained indifferent:
"This is murder! Are you guys blind?!"
The assistant coach couldn't stop the enraged Head Coach Rivers, who rushed over to the sideline referee and roared loudly, receiving only a technical foul.
The referee made the call, and the New York Knicks received another technical free throw.
With the Head Coach leading the charge, Kevin Garnett, seeing his teammate surrounded by staff, also glared and charged towards Lee.
Unfortunately, the Celtics had a "traitor."
Ray Allen stopped him, frowning and saying loudly:
"Calm down! Do you want to be ejected?!"
As the team's defensive core, everyone on the Celtics was protecting Kevin Garnett.
If he were ejected, the game would be over.
Without Defense, no one could match New York in an offensive shootout.
Ray Allen had expected to put in some effort, but he didn't expect Kevin Garnett to stop after being pulled once.
He muttered angrily under his breath, then joined the verbal sparring at the top of his lungs.
By the time Lee shot his free throw, Pierce and Ron Artest's war of words had escalated into mutual shoving.
The pre-game pep talk had worked.
Pierce, while pulling, yelled at Ron Artest:
"Fuck! Basketball doesn't lie..."
"You'll be beaten to a pulp! You're just a shortcut-taking piece of shit!"
Ron Artest, pulled away by the referee, continued to shout relentlessly.
Not having played a game like this in a long time had left him completely out of rhythm, frequently missing shots in the first half, which only fueled his anger.
The cheers in the Madison Square Garden grew louder.
Although the game was not smooth and there were constant free throws, it was a good experience to watch occasionally, and New York fans were even happier to see their opponents suffer.
40:54. Lee also made the extra free throw, and after the four-point play, his personal stats became even more impressive.
With little time left in the first half, Lee expected Marbury to rest, but he didn't expect him to tape his mouth and continue playing.
"Well done, buddy! Many players can't experience the feeling of the playoffs here!"
Near the baseline, Lee spoke to Marbury for the first time in the game, encouraging him with a smile.
Seeing his opponent glare at him, he added:
"You should be happy. Tomorrow's newspapers will definitely be all about you!"
"Fuck! You stole everything from me!"
His swollen lips made Marbury's words unclear.
He hadn't expected the game to turn out this way and his eyes were red with anger.
He involuntarily increased the force of his dribble.
Lee didn't immediately understand his opponent's logic, but seeing Marbury charge head-on, he immediately cooperated with a slide step.
According to the previous tactic, Marbury should have passed the ball immediately after crossing half-court.
However, with little time left in the first half and having suffered a major disadvantage, he completely forgot the tactic for a moment.
Leaning into the Defense, he abruptly lowered his center of gravity after a sudden stop, quickly performed an in-and-out dribble with his right hand, pushing the ball outward, then instantly completed an early change of direction.
Turning his body sideways, trying to drop his shoulder and accelerate, Marbury, who had switched to his left hand, tried to force his way through, but Lee, who had adjusted his center of gravity, was perfectly positioned, and the two collided again.
Perkins, who had come up to the high post, watched helplessly as his teammate crashed into Lee's arms.
Just as he crossed the top of the arc, Marbury stopped.
After the collision, Lee first swatted the ball, then directly stole it.
Perkins wanted to go help, but he didn't expect Lee to yank the ball out of Marbury's arms, even causing his teammate to stumble, and he instinctively stopped.
Vaguely seeing that the basketball in Lee's hand seemed to have dented, Perkins' dark face showed an expression of disbelief:
"Damn it..."
"Squeak!!"
The referees blew their whistles continuously, and all three rushed over to separate the two.
Only the fans in the Madison Square Garden were still loudly booing and cheering, some even yelling insults, complaining that the referees had ruined a good show.
Noticing it was a jump ball, it was Mike D'Antoni's turn to complain.
On the New York Knicks' bench, the atmosphere group also joined the Head Coach in booing, and Mike D'Antoni, fully invested, also shouted at the top of his lungs:
"You ruined a perfect steal and fast break!"
The lenient officiating was originally meant to create opportunities for the Celtics and incidentally increase viewership, but the referees didn't expect it to have the opposite effect.
The New York Knicks' scoring efficiency decreased, and their opponents completely fell apart.
Fortunately, the first half was almost over.
The referees discussed it, then appeased both coaches, and did not reverse the call, maintaining the jump ball ruling.
Both players crowded near the free-throw line at half-court, and the Madison Square Garden became relatively quiet.
Lee posed, and while the referee was preparing to toss the ball, he praised his opponent again:
"Buddy, you're a true tough guy, but you're not suited to play in New York!"
"Only winners are welcome here. I helped you reunite with Kevin. Maybe you should thank me..."
Steve Javie, who was preparing to toss the ball, vaguely heard the gist of it and almost burst out laughing on the spot.
Marbury was about to respond, but Lee suddenly faked, and he instinctively jumped up with him.
The laughter grew louder.
By the time the referee tossed the ball into the air, Marbury was noticeably a step slow, and Lee easily tipped the ball to his teammate.
Laughter, curses, cheers—the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden became frantic.
The exuberant New York fans were more passionate than the Boston fans who had been quiet for many years, but unfortunately, most players couldn't feel it.
Marbury, who had completely experienced the New York playoff atmosphere, was now completely broken.
At this moment, he felt like a clown, constantly being toyed with and hurt by Lee, with the referees as "accomplices."
Before crossing half-court, Marbury pounced like a "hungry tiger."
Lee, reacting extremely quickly, seemed to have been prepared, and also pushed the ball and changed direction.
The referee was still pacing, and Marbury was knocked to the ground again by Lee.
The whistle blew again, and players from both sides rushed over again, shoving each other...
Kevin Garnett charged the hardest, but was gradually held back by his teammates and stayed behind.
Perhaps the angry curses had an effect.
The referee called a double foul, and both Head Coaches simultaneously started making substitutions.
Lee, walking towards the bench, smiled and high-fived repeatedly.
Some excited New York fans stood up and shouted loudly:
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
On the other side, Marbury, supported by his teammates as he walked to the bench, was in pain all over.
Ever since he "kicked," he had gradually fallen behind, being "elbowed" to the point of doubting life...
Returning to his seat, Marbury gasped in pain repeatedly.
When the team doctor lifted his jersey, Glen Davis, standing nearby, stared wide-eyed.
There appeared to be some swelling in his ribs:
"God! You're really a tough guy!"
"..."
....
By the way, don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me :)