Without any hesitation, Paul lobbed the ball towards the basket.

Wei Guo jumped and received the ball under the basket. After faking it, he turned and got past Garnett. Perkins and Pierce rushed over to help defend, but no one noticed that Kobe was completely left open in the corner.

Passing the ball without looking...

Wei Guo flicked the ball behind his back from his waist, and the basketball immediately ended up in Kobe's hands. At the same time, Wei Guo left the three-second zone.

"Whoosh!!!"

Kobe's open three-pointer went in cleanly.

14:19!!

The Lakers are down by 5 points.

If the Lakers hit a few more three-pointers like that, they'll definitely be able to take the lead.

Rivers sighed, "Wesley and Kobe are too reliable... Only if either of them has a bad game can our chances of winning be more than 50%."

really...

Even with a seven-minute lead, Rivers did not lose his composure.

Knowing the vast gap between them and the Lakers, even if the other players are off their game, the Celtics' chances of winning are no more than 50% when Wei Guo and Kobe are playing consistently. If Paul and Gasol quickly regain their form, the Celtics will be in even greater danger. Right now, he can only stand on the sidelines and keep cheering on his players.

......

The first quarter has ended.

21:27!!

The Lakers are down by 6 points.

Garnett returned to the bench, turned around and saw Coach Sanders behind him. Coach Sanders nodded at Garnett, "Kevin, keep it up!"

Just four words...

Garnett couldn't help but want to cry.

Many players in the league had unhappy childhoods, and Garnett was no exception. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother remarried, but his stepfather was not good to him. In order to survive, Garnett started working at a very young age, doing jobs such as bricklaying and car washing. He could work for 20 hours straight to feed his sister.

Even so...

His childhood was also difficult. His mother and stepfather did not support him playing basketball, so he could only practice secretly. Fortunately, his talent and hard work allowed him to make a name for himself in middle school and successfully enter the league.

After entering the league, Garnett met his first mentor, Timberwolves head coach Saunders. Saunders provided Garnett with a lot of help and witnessed Garnett's transformation from a 'young wolf' to a 'wolf king'. He and Garnett had a mentor-student relationship.

Mr. Sanders is considered a legendary coach in the league.

He and Gentry are old acquaintances. When he coached the Timberwolves, he was defeated by Gentry many times. After he moved to the Pistons in 2004, he also faced Gentry many times, winning more often than losing. This year, he led the Pistons to a loss to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

tonight...

Coach Sanders came to the Celtics' home arena just to cheer on Garnett.

......

The second quarter begins.

The Celtics' key players took a short rest, with Tony Allen, PJ Brown, and Sam Cassell coming on as players.

Rivers understands this well: the more intense the game, the less you can rely on your starters. A taut string is easy to break, and if that string breaks at a crucial moment, it will ruin all the effort of the night.

Garnett and the others also took a break...

Try to restore your physical strength and condition as much as possible.

On the Lakers' side, Gentry's tactics were exactly the opposite. He simply substituted Bynum for Gasol and Vujacic for Odom, while Paul, Kobe, and Weiguo remained on the court, hoping to take the lead in the second quarter.

Anyway...

Both Kobe and Weiguo employed a tough, physical style of play; playing a full 48 minutes was nothing to them.

This game is crucial. If we can win this game, the next game will be much easier... that will be the moment to witness a sweep and win the championship. But if we lose this game, the remaining games will be tougher and tougher. Even if we go to the Lakers' home court, the Celtics will launch a strong comeback.

The Celtics are on offense.

Tony Allen received a pass from Cassell and made a three-pointer!

21:30!!

The Lakers are down by 9 points.

Gentry's eyelids twitched; he was somewhat dissatisfied with the defense just now... Vujacic was only one step away from Tony Allen, and after Tony Allen received the ball, he didn't help defend in time, which allowed Tony Allen to easily score a three-pointer.

Kobe resisted the urge to swear...

Wei Guo is the team leader, and it's not his place to speak until Wei Guo speaks.

The best response was to score a basket as well. When Paul was dribbling, Kobe came out to challenge him. Tony Allen guarded Kobe one-on-one, and Kobe dribbled past Tony Allen with a series of crossover steps. He was about to drive to the basket for a layup... but Tony Allen grabbed Kobe's neck and knocked him to the ground!

That defensive move was too big and very dangerous!

Conflict is imminent...

The referee had already blown the whistle and was still debating whether to call a flagrant foul when Kobe got up from the ground, pointed at Tony Allen, and yelled, "You fucking want to die?!"

Tony Allen was already regretting it. None of his good buddies were there. This was... if the Lakers players rushed up and attacked him, there wouldn't be anyone to protect him. When Kobe pointed at him, Tony Allen trembled in fear. Fortunately, Cassell stepped in front of Tony Allen in time and explained, "He didn't do it on purpose... You don't need to pick a fight with a rookie, do you?"

That's a very...

If Kobe kept harping on this, it would make him seem petty, and Kobe just kept sneering.

Even the usually composed Gentry jumped up, yelling, "What the hell... what the hell... what the hell... is this playing basketball or fighting? Don't you guys have any professionalism?"

It's also because Gentry is too polite. When he wanted to swear, the only swear word he could think of was "fuck you," and the key is that not many people could understand it. It was a swear word directed at the Celtics, and because he was angry, he even used Chinese, leaving everyone in the audience completely confused.

......

The solution to this conflict is simple: eject Tony Allen from the game.

The referees did just that. Tony Allen leaving the game wasn't a big loss for the Celtics. He was a rookie who played less than five minutes a game, and tonight he even contributed a three-pointer. The Celtics were definitely in the clear.

The conflict has subsided, but the matter remains unresolved.

Wei Guo walked up to the Celtics' bench and said with a sneer, "Garnett, if you don't know how to teach your little brother, I'll teach him for you!"

There's a hidden meaning in his words...

Wei Guo wasn't just talking about educating his younger brother; he was reminding the Celtics why they had lost by over fifty points in their last game. Rivers panicked, and things started to take an unfavorable turn.