At the start of the second quarter, the Celtics were leading 22-20.

The lineups of both teams: Bulls: Hinrich, Xu Yong, Artest, Battier, Yi Jianlian;

Celtics: Rondo, Bradley, Pietrus, Brandon Bass, Kwame Brown.

When the Bulls started their attack, Xu Yong backed up Bradley with the ball, but was double-teamed by Pietrus and passed the ball to Artest. Artest received the ball outside the three-point line and pretended to pass it inside, but after seeing Pietrus moving inside again, he directly chose to take a three-point shot.

Artest's choice of this ball was unexpectedly resolute. It was too late for Pietrus to pounce on the ball, so he turned around and chose to grab the rebound.

“Swish!”

But without a rebound, Artest's three-pointer missed.

22 to 23.

The Bulls took the lead.

While his defense has declined, Artest has had the most accurate three-point shooting season of his career this season.

Rivers seemed very dissatisfied with this ball. He turned around and called Pierce, who had rested for less than three minutes.

This ball to some extent also once again explains why the rotation of both sides is so compressed.

In such a high-intensity game, every point is crucial, and a big difference between role players and main players is the ability to make instant judgments.

Rondo's breakthrough caused Hinrich to foul, and Pierce came on to replace Pietrus.

The sideline ball was sent out again, and Pierce and Brown set a pick-and-roll before the ball was passed to Brown, but Brown failed to catch the ball and it dropped from his hands.

Artest controlled the ball, then passed it to Xu Yong, who made a fast break, shook off Bradley and then performed a flying dunk.

The emotions of Chicago fans were instantly ignited.

The Bulls started the second quarter on a 5-0 run, which was about to break the deadlock!

Looking back, Pierce faced Artest one-on-one, and after a hard back-to-back shot, he stepped back and made a fadeaway jump shot.

"when!"

The basketball still went wide of the basket.

The rebound was directly grabbed by Xu Yong.

Fortunately, Rondo was quick to commit a foul in advance, otherwise this would have been another defensive counterattack.

Seeing this, Rivers made another substitution, with Garnett coming on to replace Brown.

Brown looked slightly depressed when he left the court.

After he moved from the Bulls to the Celtics, his performance was obviously not as good as before. The biggest reason was that, just like in the previous round, his teammates didn't find his instruction manual.

If the ball had been thrown into the sky, he would have been able to complete an alley-oop.

But this is also a normal thing. What qualifications does a role player have to ask the team's senior leaders to cooperate with you?

I am afraid there is no other person who understands Brown as well as Xu Yong and is willing to help Brown.

Thinking back to the scene before the game when he wanted to find Xu Yong to reminisce about the past but was stopped by Rondo, he now somewhat regretted leaving Chicago for money.

“Swish!”

Just as Brown sat on the bench, Yi Jianlian received a pass from Xu Yong at the top of the arc and hit a three-pointer.

In terms of the role of a 3D inside player, no matter how strong Garnett's assisting defense ability is, it is impossible for him to just assist in defending Xu Yong and then immediately expand to the three-point line.

22 to 28.

The Bulls widened the score gap to a maximum of 6 points.

This time they really broke the stalemate.

Whistles and cheers filled the United Center.

They found that in addition to Xu Yao, they also liked Yi Jianlian more and more.

Rivers looked up at the score and paced on the sidelines, a little anxious.

All the players who needed to be replaced had been replaced, and the chicken soup that needed to be drunk was also drunk during the intermission, but he didn't expect the game to collapse like this at the beginning of the second quarter.

You know, the Celtics hadn't scored any points in the second quarter.

Garnett went to the high right side of the frontcourt and held the ball to assist.

But the fans at the scene were in high spirits at this moment, with deafening shouts of "defense". The Bulls' defensive intensity was at full blast, and neither Pierce nor Bradley got a chance to shoot during their open cuts.

Seeing this, Garnett made a fake shot and then broke through Yi Jianlian directly.

If it was a low-post confrontation, Yi Jianlian still had a certain chance to defend Garnett, but when he started to move, his speed was obviously not up to par, and Garnett had a good touch tonight, so he couldn't shrink his defense.

The result was that Garnett quickly broke through to the inside, then scored under the basket despite Yi Jianlian's pursuit, and caused Yi Jianlian to commit a foul.

After scoring the goal, Garnett excitedly roared and pounded his chest in a set of signature celebration moves, and then turned around and directly sprayed trash talk at Yi Jianlian: "You are a softie who can only shoot three-pointers, go back to your CBA."

Garnett is a typical trash talker, and his most famous remark to Anthony is "Your wife tastes like donuts."

Tonight he was relatively quiet in the first quarter because he was facing Yao Ming on the court and all his energy was focused on competing against Yao Ming.

But at this moment he was obviously unhappy about Yi Jianlian's three-pointer.

Yi Jianlian looked very frustrated.

Although it is not the first time for him to face off against Garnett, every time he faces Garnett, it is a huge challenge for him physically and mentally.

Because he can't compare with Garnett in terms of skills and abilities, and every word of Garnett's trash talk is very hurtful.

In addition, due to his personality, he doesn't have the skill of trash talking.

This is like two people boxing in a ring. They can only get beaten one-sidedly, which can easily lead to self-isolation.

After seeing this, Xu Yong walked over to Yi Jianlian, then faced Garnett, covered his nose, waved his hands, and said, "Who farted so badly?"

These sudden words confused both Yi Jianlian and Garnett.

Yi Jianlian finally couldn't hold back his laughter, but he was immediately met with a vicious cold stare from Garnett.

At this time, Xu Yong pulled Yi Jianlian away, as if the place was really smelly.

This made Garnett so angry that he almost punched.

"Try your best to defend. If you can't defend, foul hard." After they were far away from each other, Xu Yong spoke to Yi Jianlian and reminded him.

It is normal that Yi Jianlian cannot defend Garnett, but Garnett consumed so much energy in the first quarter. How much physical energy does he have to support him to keep playing like this?

Consumption is always the best way to defend. At least in terms of physical fitness, Yi Jianlian, who comes on the bench, has far more than Garnett.

"when!"

I don’t know if it was because of Xu Yong’s trash talk, but Garnett missed the free throw.

Yi Jianlian protected the defensive rebound and the Bulls advanced to the frontcourt and played positional defense.

Xu Yong received the ball outside the three-point line on the right side and directly reached out to ask Yi Jianlian to move to the high position for screen.

Because Yi Jianlian had just made a three-pointer, the Celtics didn't dare to go around the pick-and-roll this time, nor did they dare to let Yi Jianlian double-team Xu Yong, so they could only choose to switch.

After seeing the mismatch against Garnett, Xu Yong immediately signaled to move away and play one-on-one.

Consuming Garnett is only a secondary purpose. What's more important is that he can't stand Garnett.

Not to mention that Yi Jianlian accepted his suggestion to switch to 3D, which has nothing to do with the word "softie", Garnett's style of bullying the weak and fearing the strong is deeply shameful.

You like trash talking so much, why did you wait until you faced Yi Jianlian to start?

After his teammates pulled away, Xu Yong started with a drop step and decisively broke through Garnett.

Garnett has excellent defensive footwork and uses sliding steps to shrink early and maintain his defensive position.

When he broke through to the free throw line, Xu Yong made a heavy turnaround jump shot with his pivot foot.

Garnett rushed forward with all his might.

But no one expected that Xu Yong's move was actually a fake. After he jumped out, Xu Yong received the ball, turned around, and with a beautiful up and down step, he sent the ball steadily into the basket.

Garnett was fooled!

The scene was instantly filled with cheers and whistles.

This technical move is so cool.

Especially the footsteps, which were clearly explained and smooth.

Garnett also pouted at this time. Although Xu Yong was the MVP, it was always embarrassing to be teased by a third-year student.

Especially since Xu Yong had deliberately said that before.

But he is a veteran after all. He quickly adjusted his mentality and prepared to serve at the baseline.

But before he took a step forward, Xu Yong smiled at him and said, "Nice. Try."

If this sentence is directly translated, it means "good try", but don't think it is a word of encouragement. On the contrary, it is full of sarcasm.

If I have to make an analogy, it would be the girl saying, "You came in?"

This is trash talk often used by Americans, but in the basketball world, the person who made this phrase a classic was the old guy from the Spurs who loved to pat his head.

And the background board, yes, is exactly Garnett in front of us.

When talking about trash talk after retiring, Garnett said that the person he least wanted to trash talk to was Duncan.

Because Duncan usually doesn't respond directly to your trash talk, but instead says some simple words to disgust you after hitting the response ball.

Yes, just some words, such as "Almost" and "nice.try".

These words are so concise that you can't help but listen to them.

Almost means almost, which can be understood as "you almost defended me."

The same goes for nice.try.

This may be the difference in the level of trash talk. Garnett is at the level of directly scolding others.

But what is often more hurtful than directly scolding people is Duncan's sarcastic and arrogant attitude.

After trying a few times, Garnett became particularly quiet when he met Duncan again.

So when Xu Yong uttered this sentence again, Garnett broke through his defense directly.

He could no longer control his temper and went up to push Xu Yong hard.

There was a reason why he dared to do this. At that moment, Artest was standing on the outside and couldn't get there in time.

He just wanted to let young Xu Yong know the consequences of talking such trash to a tough guy on the court.

However, he encountered an embarrassing situation just as he got started.

When he pushed him, Xu Yong didn't move at all.

What a joke. Xu Yong's core strength is so strong that he won't fall even if someone pushes him in the air. Garnett's move only made his center of gravity shift slightly.

Then the next second his pupils contracted, and his surprised look instantly turned into shock.

Because after being pushed by him, Xu Yong actually threw a punch at him!

Xu Yong's defeat of Green in the NCAA semifinals caused a sensation, but in fact, it also depends on the scope of the impact, which was more within the NCAA scope.

Moreover, that was three years ago. In an age of rapidly changing information, news from that time may not be easily searchable.

As for Xu Yong, he has never had any conflict with anyone since entering the NBA. Although he plays very tough and never backs down in front of the media, he has never fought on the court.

This is another reason why Garnett dared to do this.

But he never expected Xu Yong's reaction to be so quick and decisive.

Doesn’t this guy consider that he will be suspended for punching like that?

Fortunately, he had been in the league for many years, and he instinctively dodged and was not hit by Xu Yong's punch.

But the next second he felt a burning pain in his jaw.

When he reached out and touched it, he grimaced in pain.

Although he dodged quickly enough, his jaw was still scratched by Xu Yong's fist.

And before he could feel it again, Xu Yong was already approaching him again, swinging his fist.

He was no longer just shocked, but a little scared.

He found that he was not facing a third-grader, but a formidable and unnatural monster!

If he were given a chance to choose, he would rather the person he was conflicting with was Artest.

He could only wave his fists to maintain his tough image, and then quickly retreat.gif.

It was during this process that the players and referees on the field gathered together and forcibly separated the two.

Xu Yong also put away his fist at this time, and then said lightly: "Boring."

Yes, it's boring.

It was impossible for him to do things without considering the consequences. The moment Garnett came up to push him, he had already decided to trade one for one with Garnett tonight.

Although Garnett is not as strong as him now, his importance to the Celtics is actually not much different from his importance to the Bulls.

Because Garnett not only creates space on the offensive end, but also serves as the foundation for the Celtics' defensive system.

In addition, Rose and Yao Ming are both here tonight, so even if he and Garnett are traded one for one, the Bulls still have a greater chance of winning.

So he was prepared to have a big fight with Garnett, to make this guy who always bullies the weak and fears the strong suffer.

But I didn't expect that this old guy Garnett's reaction was so quick, especially his skill of fighting and retreating, which he had mastered to perfection.

In this regard, James, the younger generation, is still a long way behind.

After all, compared to retreating instantly, fighting and retreating can perfectly preserve a tough image instead of making people feel cowardly.

The game entered a technical timeout and players from both sides were advised to return to the bench.

As soon as Xu Yong sat down, Thibodeau walked up to him.

"You take a break for two minutes." Thibodeau did not blame Xu Yong. He even thought Xu Yong did a great job, just like he had affirmed him before when he spread his hands to Anthony. However, as a head coach, he could not express it that way.

Moreover, based on the Bulls' penalties this season, Xu Yong might even be expelled for his punching action just now.

After a while, the referee made a decision after watching the replay.

This penalty was very interesting. Garnett did not make any call, but Xu Yong was given a technical foul.

This instantly drew cheers from the fans. Rivers was naturally dissatisfied and went to the technical desk to protest, but those who understand know that protests are useless in the NBA.

However, the referee came over and explained to Thibodeau after making the decision, with many warnings in his words.

Obviously, this was a downgraded penalty.

Normally speaking, Xu Yong's punch should have been a first-degree malicious act, and Garnett's push should have been a technical foul at the very least.

But one thing that needs to be noted is that, although it is true that the Bulls are given special attention, Xu Yong is now the new MVP.

Among other things, your post-game news media reported that the MVP was called for a flagrant foul on the night the trophy was presented?

This is very damaging to the image of the NBA.

Therefore, the referees will definitely take this into consideration when making calls and then adopt a flexible downgrade approach.

In fact, this did work. Rivers went back after protesting for a while. After all, Garnett pushed someone first, but he was not called for a technical foul.

Thibodeau was the same. He agreed with the referee's warning and went back to remind Xu Yong to pay attention in the next game.

Everyone accepted it, except for one person who was very hurt at this time.

Garnett who just had medicine sprayed under his jaw.

He was trash-talked and beaten, and in the end the opponent was only called for a technical foul. He couldn't help but shout, "Is there any justice in the world? Is there any law in the world?"

But that obviously wouldn't be of any use, and he could only suffer the loss silently.

Then, like Xu Yong, he rested on the sidelines for two minutes.

The score on the field did not change much in these two minutes. Two minutes later, both sides replaced their main players, and Garnett and Xu Yong were also substituted back.

When the camera turned to Xu Yong, the fans at the scene responded with overwhelming cheers.

Where is this? Chicago!

Among this group of fans who have some gangster elements, who doesn't like Xu Yong's reaction just now?

This completely strips down the underwear of Garnett, who is known for his iron-bloodedness and toughness.

Well, Garnett did become very honest after coming back.

There is no way. Putting aside the question of whether he dares to fight with Xu Yong, based on the way the referee handled the matter tonight, he would have to fight with Xu Yong unless he is desperate.

The impact of this was that the Bulls were clearly more aggressive than the Celtics for the rest of the quarter.

This is just like in the TV series Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where the main generals of both sides come out for a duel. Although the winning side cannot actually decide the outcome of the war, it has a high probability of winning, because winning is not only about the duel, but also about momentum.

At the end of the first half, the score was 36 to 47, and the Bulls ended the first half with an 11-point lead.

In a game of this intensity, 11 points can be said to be a huge difference, and the Bulls can be said to have one foot in victory.

However, in the third quarter, the Celtics showed their adjustments and resilience.

First of all, it was the momentum. Perhaps we have to acknowledge the ability of Rivers, the master of chicken soup. The Celtics played more patiently and aggressively in the second half.

Secondly, on offense, Rondo made several mid-range shots, forcing Yao Ming to pull out from the inside, and the Celtics scored a lot of points through open cuts.

The Bulls' defense was not good and their offense was also affected. By the end of the third quarter, the Celtics had narrowed the gap to 5 points.

It can be said that the Celtics’ performance in this quarter was like Ke Jie in the Asian Games, who made a strong comeback from a big disadvantage at the start and were on the verge of victory.

But in the last quarter, the Celtics were clearly weak.

Just as Thibodeau analyzed before the game, age and physical fitness are the Celtics' biggest disadvantages.

Although a few old guys were able to stay on the court with their spirit, their quality on both offense and defense was clearly declining.

It can be said that the entire game process tonight was within Thibodeau's plan.

As long as we can stay in a stalemate with the Celtics in the first three quarters, we will have a great chance of winning.

This is indeed the case. Facing the successive attacks from the two young MVP backcourt players, Xu Yong and Rose, the Celtics' defense collapsed first in the final quarter.

91 to 79, the Bulls finally won the first game of the series.

In terms of statistics, Garnett scored the most points for the Celtics, with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, including 6 mid-range shots. Just like Boozer back then, his style of pulling out to shoot is still very effective against Yao Ming.

Pierce played averagely, scoring 15 points with 5 of 17 shots; Ray Allen didn't have many opportunities, but scored 13 points with 5 of 9 shots; Rondo had a double-double performance with 14 points and 12 assists, and Bass scored 11 points.

For the Bulls, Xu Yong scored a game-high 26 points, including 10 points in the last quarter. Yao Ming had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Rose also had 20 points, Artest had 11 points, and Yi Jianlian had 6 points and 3 rebounds.

After the game, both sides shook hands, with the head coaches taking the lead.

Thibodeau had a smile on his face, while Rivers looked constipated.

In fact, if you talk about the coaching level of the two, Thibodeau may not be much better than Rivers.

But the key point here is that Thibodeau is Rivers' former assistant coach and the first assistant coach.

To put it in a very figurative way, he may know this Celtics team better than Rivers.

After the game, the league did not escalate the conflict in the second quarter and directly adopted a cold treatment approach.

This can be said to be something that was expected. Of course, the cold treatment approach cannot stop fans from talking about this matter. Fans are discussing it heatedly on social media.

What many people didn't expect was that this discussion somehow turned into a criticism meeting of Garnett.

"KG is the foulest-mouthed guy in the league, and his trash talk is endless. He even said 'Happy Mother's Day' to Duncan on Mother's Day. It is well known that TD's mother died at an early age."

"Yeah, that guy is really terrible. Villanueva once said in an interview that KG once directly sprayed him as a cancer patient. Brother, this is simply a personal attack. Villanueva just has a hairless disease."

"What's worse is that KG not only insults his opponents, but also his teammates. Glen Davis' nickname 'Big Baby' was given by him during the team's training session."

"And if you observe carefully, you will find that KG bullies the rookies who have just entered the league most of the time. When he meets a really tough guy, he will consciously shut up. This is a guy who bullies the weak and fears the strong."

"As a Minnesota fan, let me share something you may not know. In 2003, a rookie named Rick Rickert, a 6-foot-11 forward, was trash-talking KG to Rickert in a practice game, but unfortunately he lost the game, and Rickert talked back to him, and then he got into a fight and sent the other guy to the hospital."

"Haha, he is that kind of guy. Just because he is an American, he is called iron-blooded, while Nowitzki is called a softie. In fact, Garnett is beaten by Nowitzki every time they play against each other. In terms of team performance, he is far behind Nowitzki. His toughness lies in his iron-blooded jump shot and his fighting and retreating."

"I've long wanted to see this guy get beaten up on the field. Thanks to Xu, it seems like my constipation that I've had for years has been cured. I feel relaxed all over now."

"Honestly, I didn't expect Xu to be such a tough guy. Then I checked and was shocked. Xu kneed a guy named Draymond Green in the NCAA semifinals because that guy had tripped him before. If someone told KG this before the game, KG would definitely be more obedient than ever before." Comment from "KBforever".

"Really? Let me check where it is."

"Really, that guy named Green will participate in the draft this year, and you can ask Xu's teammates during his NCAA period, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, and Jeff Ayers, they are all playing in the NBA now." Comment from "KBforever".

…

When Garnett woke up the next day, he wanted to read the fans' questions about the penalty on social media, but it almost made him become autistic.

Because in addition to the fans' criticism, Harden also gave an interview in front of reporters, confirming that Xu Yongfei had kneed Green in the face, and also vividly described Green's miserable condition at the time.

As he watched speechlessly, the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

I don’t know whether he was helpless about the fans’ reaction or was glad that he didn’t really get into a fight with Xu Yonggan.

Now let’s talk about the real-time situation of the other three groups in the divisional semifinals.

The Heat played their first game against the Pacers smoothly and it was a bit one-sided.

This is somewhat different from the historical encounters between the two teams.

This is mainly due to two reasons. First, although Boozer is better than West in offense, his defense has become worse as he gets older.

James was also very excited when playing against this "traitor" and scored 30+ in the first game.

Another one is Odom. Odom has indeed significantly enhanced the Heat's bench, while the Pacers did not get George Hill as they did in history. Collison was promoted to the starting lineup, and the strength of the bench has also declined significantly.

The Lakers and Spurs played fiercely, and the Lakers narrowly won Game 1.

Then the Thunder and the Mavericks were more surprising. The Thunder won a big victory over the Mavericks in the first game.

Ibaka and Gasol, who were defeated by Nowitzki last year, fought hard on the defensive end this year and the effect was very good.

Ibaka, in particular, has made significant progress.

In fact, many people have forgotten that Ibaka was only in his sophomore year last year. This talented inside player improves very quickly.

Then, Leonard, who was highly expected by Dallas fans, was still too immature in front of the evolved Durant and was basically defeated.

Of course, it's not just Leonard, Marion is also completely unstoppable.

Durant this year gives people the same feeling as Nowitzki last year. No matter who comes, it will be useless.

…

After two days of rest, G2 of the Bulls and Celtics series continued in Chicago.

In this game, both teams continued to show their ability to adjust.

On the Celtics side, the defensive intensity was significantly lower than in the first game, and the rotation was also expanded to include a ninth man.

On the Bulls side, Thibodeau watched the video and adjusted his defensive strategy against Garnett, using leaving Rondo open and defending Garnett as a defensive strategy for positional warfare.

The adjustments on both sides can be said to be very targeted, and are the labels of two fully mature teams.

But the final result of the game was completely beyond everyone's expectations.

Because Rondo just exploded, and in an incredible way.

16 of 24 shots, 2 of 3-pointers, 44 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists. [Note 18]

It is hard to imagine that these are the statistics that a player who averages less than 12 points per game and has a career high of only 14 points and is called "Long Bu Shooting" by fans can produce.

Even Xu Yong never expected it.

But he did it, and not without any signs.

Because in G1, Rondo was allowed to shoot in the third quarter, but he made consecutive shots.

In other words, this may not just be a matter of eating dumplings, but a state of mind.

If we have to analyze it, the way the management handled Ray Allen was actually a disguised way of supporting Rondo. His current number of shots is second only to Garnett, reaching 15.8 times per game, which shows that the coaching staff also supports him. All of this gives Rondo confidence.

Rondo may have even tougher genes than Garnett, and he can actually do seemingly impossible things in certain games.

"We will give them a warm welcome when we return to Boston, and it will be a game they will never forget."

After winning the game, Garnett continued to show his tough side in front of reporters.

Yes, the next two games will be played in Boston, and the Celtics grabbed the home-court advantage after winning G2.

The weather in Boston is a bit cold.

This port city in the northeastern United States will not officially warm up until June, when the highest average temperature is only around 20°.

Regarding this, Xu Yong had already experienced it two years ago when the Bulls came here because there was no hot water.

And the temperature this year seems to be even colder than two years ago.

But I don’t know if the Celtics have a change of heart this year, there is hot water in the guest team’s locker room even though it is so cold today.

Of course, Xu Yong was still very cautious.

On the day of the game, after the floor was laid, he took Butler to the competition venue as soon as possible and went in for training in advance.

The purpose, of course, is to try out the floor tactics that Hinrich had mentioned before.

After trying it all over, they found that there were really no problems with the floor.

This made him suddenly feel uncomfortable.

Could it be that the Celtics have finally found their conscience this year?

"Maybe winning the second game made them feel they could beat us head-on," Butler said.

This inference is quite reasonable. Tricks like that are only used when you can't beat them.

If I can defeat you head-on, there is really no need to use those things, because that would make it seem like an unfair victory.

However, when the game started in the evening and Xu Yong and his teammates entered the stadium, he found that Butler was still young.

Because this stadium is so cold.

The Bulls received the official notice one hour before the game started.

Because the arena is old, the air conditioner at the TD Garden broke down tonight.

This evil cannot be said to be a coincidence, it can only be said to be blatant.

And there's nothing you can say because at this point in time, it's impossible to delay the game.

"It's really hard to guard against." Butler said with a wry smile. He has gained a lot of experience at such a young age.

"At least everyone is the same." Xu Yong didn't think much of this.

He had heard about the air conditioner breaking down before. It was said that when the Heat played against the Spurs in 2014, the Spurs' air conditioner also broke down.

At that time, James suffered a leg cramp for this reason, and was carried off the court with his legs up in the air by his teammates, which became a world-famous painting.

However, Xu Yong knew that it actually had little to do with air conditioning. Just like he said, everyone was the same, so why did you get cramps?

That is more of a personal problem for James. Like cramps and groin problems, they have accompanied James throughout his career.

The other people in the locker room heard Xu Yong's words and nodded in agreement.

Compared to the targeted damage to the visiting team's locker room water heater and floor tactics, this air-conditioning tactic is indeed the same for everyone.

Half an hour later, players from both sides entered the gym to warm up.

Xu Yong looked up and saw that everything around him was green.

Green is the main color of the Celtics, and everyone at the scene tonight was equipped with a green blanket on their seats. Some people even covered their heads with it to keep warm.

Seeing the careful preparations of the stadium, if there were any doubts before about whether the air conditioner was really broken, now there is no doubt at all.

As a historically powerful (old rogue) team, the Celtics are truly shameless when it comes to being shameless.

However, since it has been confirmed that this is the Celtics' traditional skill, the Bulls players are instead full of fighting spirit.

After all, what players hate most is this kind of despicable means.

At the other end of the court, the Celtics players were also warming up before the game.

Their positions were also very interesting at this time. Ray Allen was alone on one side, while Pierce, Garnett and Rondo were on the other side.

It seems that the relationship within the Celtics is more tense than Xu Yong imagined, and Ray Allen is isolated.

But this is actually normal, just like the classic line in the movie "Green Book": I'm not black enough for black people, and I'm not white enough for white people, so am I black or white?

In this part of America, black and white are, as their physical definition suggests, two extreme opposites.

It is normal for black people like Hill and Ray Allen to be isolated (Battier is white, he just looks darker).

As for people like Garnett, Pierce and Rondo, you can tell they are pure black people just by looking at their playing style.

"Paul, what's wrong with you?" After seeing Pierce sit down on the sidelines early, Garnett couldn't help but stop training and come over to ask.

Pierce looked up. His face was too dark to show any color, but his expression did not look very comfortable.

"It's okay." Pierce shook his head without further explanation.

Seeing this, Garnett stopped asking questions. It wasn't because he wasn't curious, but he believed that if Pierce really had problems with his personality, he could handle it himself.

When Garnett walked away, Pierce let out a long sigh.

The weather has turned cold in the past two days. He doesn’t know if he caught a cold or what, but his stomach feels uncomfortable.

For this reason, he ate less than usual these two days and chose more cereal-based foods to replenish his energy.

NBA players have different physiques than ordinary people, so this is not really a big problem for him.

However, because the air conditioning in the stadium was broken, the temperature inside the stadium was relatively low, which made him feel uncomfortable in his stomach again.

Fortunately, before the warm-up was about to end, he suddenly sat up straight, and after the staff in the second row frowned and covered their noses, Pierce stood up from his seat.

Well, I feel much better now.

Garnett looked back and saw that Pierce had adjusted himself, so he stepped forward and punched Pierce in the chest.

He knew Pierce could handle it.

And in his opinion, Pierce's problem just now was more of a psychological one.

In the two semi-final games, Pierce averaged only 16 points and his shooting percentage was only 38%. This performance was very average, and even according to the requirements of the team's core, it could be said that it was a bit of a stretch.

But fortunately, he and Rondo are in good shape, so as long as Pierce adjusts his condition, it is not impossible for them to beat the Bulls.

After the warm-up, the scene entered the opening ceremony.

The enthusiasm of Boston fans is very high.

The Celtics are at the same level as the Lakers and are one of the only two veteran teams in the league, so they have a very strong fan base.

Especially since they defeated the Bulls in Game 2 and gained home-court advantage, the series situation was very good and the fans' emotions were getting higher and higher.

You can even see many people holding signs saying things like "Let's defeat Xu again" and "Xu is the second-best MVP".

It is obvious that Boston fans are displeased with Xu Yong after someone brought up his remarks from two years ago.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

The starting lineups for both sides are the same as in the previous two games.

Thibodeau's bold strategy in the first round worked. Even though the game was intense, neither Rose nor Yao Ming suffered any injuries.

Amid the cheers of the fans, Yao Ming pushed the ball back to half court, marking the start of the game.

Yao Ming's first hook attempt under the basket missed the rim.

Looking back, Garnett's iron-blooded jump shot at the free throw line also missed.

And this was not a coincidence. The two teams played for almost five minutes, and the total score on the field did not exceed ten points.

I don’t know if it’s because of the low temperature in the stadium, but the feel of the ball on both sides was very average.

At this time in the stands, Celtics general manager Ainge smiled slightly, hiding his achievements and fame.

As a former Celtics legend who came from a player background and also served as a general manager of an NBA head coach, he has a thorough understanding of the game.

Rondo's outbreak in G2 was just a coincidence and cannot be replicated. If the two sides play normally, the result will most likely be the same as G1. Even if the Celtics can drag the series to the end, they will most likely still lose.

Therefore, he would never have the naive idea that he could beat the Bulls just because he won G2.

Returning to home ground to show off one's traditional skills is an inevitable choice.

To be honest, even if the Celtics' offense has improved this season, there is still a big gap between them and the Bulls.

The only way to win is to rely on defense.

To enhance the advantages brought by defense, the natural thing is to bring the Bulls' offense to the same level as the Celtics.

So to achieve this, is there a more effective way than low-temperature cooling?