The game began with Diop fulfilling his promise, doing his best to disrupt Nowitzki.
He Xi Meng also kept his word, working hard to block Jason Terry's passes towards Nowitzki.
Seeing that passing in that direction was difficult, Jason Terry switched to Daniels on the wing.
Daniels, however, was ferocious. Without hesitation, he caught the ball and drove hard at Ariza, heading towards the Celtics' paint.
Ariza wouldn't let him pass easily, trailing Daniels closely, waiting for the moment he dodged Yao Ming to leap from behind and swat Daniels' layup onto the backboard!
Yao Ming made a mistake during the tip-off, allowing Dampier to grab the ball, but he didn't let Dampier get this defensive rebound. He fought hard, secured the ball, and turned to pass it to He Xi Meng.
The Celtics' first defensive possession was a success.
This success was largely due to Daniels' assistance.
If Daniels continued to play with such recklessness, he would soon lose his position in Dallas.
The management brought Daniels to Dallas to support Nowitzki, not to cause trouble for him.
However, these troubles were for Mavericks coach Avery Johnson to worry about.
After all, Avery Johnson always looked at He Xi Meng with ill intent.
Last season, every time the Mavericks faced the Celtics, the games were as fierce as playoff matches, as if the Celtics were the Mavericks' sworn enemies.
In fact, the Mavericks and the Celtics had no real feud.
Last season, the Mavericks were defeated by the Spurs, with no involvement from the Celtics.
But Allen Iverson Johnson simply disliked He Xi Meng. Especially now that he was in the Mavericks' home arena, "The Little General" was even more unwilling to let the Celtics leave Dallas with a victory.
Therefore, to act on the coach's wishes, Jason Terry began trying to disrupt He Xi Meng from half-court, making things difficult for him.
However, Jason Terry was known for his offensive prowess, and defense was not his strong suit.
Despite Jason Terry's efforts, his defensive efficiency was mediocre.
He Xi Meng used his body as a shield, backing Jason Terry across half-court without affecting the Celtics' advance.
After crossing half-court, He Xi Meng showed no inclination to hold the ball, passing it to Carter immediately and running to the right corner to lurk.
Carter drove straight at Adrian Griffin and scored the first points of the game with a mid-range turnaround jumper!
Clean and efficient, without any hesitation.
"Vince is leading the charge again..." Nowitzki sighed inwardly, a sense of foreboding creeping in. He might suffer the same fate as Gasol in the last game.
On the Mavericks' second offensive possession, Nowitzki, to escape Diop's interference, didn't hesitate to come near the free-throw line to receive the ball. After catching it, Nowitzki had his teammates spread out and drove at Diop one-on-one.
Nowitzki's post-up game was quite impressive, top-tier among big men.
But the Celtics didn't allow Nowitzki to single-handedly attack Diop. The moment he put the ball down, He Xi Meng rotated over, heading straight for the ball in Nowitzki's hands.
Fortunately, Nowitzki was alert. The instant his teammates warned him, he quickly pulled the ball back, narrowly avoiding He Xi Meng's steal.
With his offensive rhythm broken, Nowitzki passed the ball to Jason Terry, who had gotten open.
As Jason Terry received the ball and prepared to shoot, Carter had already switched onto him, taking He Xi Meng's defensive position.
If this were the Spurs, they would constantly move the ball, share it, until it reached an open player.
But the Mavericks' tactical discipline wasn't yet at the Spurs' level.
Jason Terry didn't opt to pass again. Instead, after a pump fake at Carter, he drove hard towards the Celtics' paint.
Such a simple play obviously wouldn't break through the reigning champions' defense.
But luckily, Jason Terry wasn't as clueless as he appeared.
Just before falling into the double-team of Carter and Yao Ming, Jason Terry shrewdly passed the ball back to Nowitzki in the mid-range.
With the 24-second clock winding down, Nowitzki was forced to receive the ball and shoot a mid-range fadeaway jumper over Diop.
With the tight clock and the distance, and Diop clinging to him... if this shot went in, how incredible would Nowitzki's touch be today?
The Dallas fans in the arena hoped Nowitzki could be extraordinary just once, but unfortunately, not today.
Nowitzki's fadeaway jumper bounced off the rim. Erick Dampier fought to clear Yao Ming and grabbed the rebound, then turned to attempt a layup.
Yao Ming was already furious about the rebound. Seeing Dampier dare to follow up with another attempt, he extended his arm for a block, swatting Dampier's turnaround layup towards the sideline.
Ariza on the wing got to the loose ball first and turned to pass it to He Xi Meng.
He Xi Meng took a few steps forward with the ball and, seeing Carter driving on the left, delivered a long pass.
The ball and the player arrived in perfect sync!
Carter flew all the way to above the rim. It seemed almost disrespectful to his shoes to not dunk.
So, without time to think, Carter caught the ball with one hand and slammed it through the hoop.
A beautiful alley-oop dunk!
But Carter didn't seem too excited after the dunk, as he suddenly remembered his promise to reduce dunks and shoot more.
"Xi Meng is definitely doing this on purpose..."
As Carter turned to go back on defense, He Xi Meng smiled broadly and high-fived him.
It was as if the person who had just dunked wasn't Carter, but this imposter "King of San Antonio" Carter.
I'm not good at dunking myself, but I love assisting others to dunk. Is this an illness? Does it need treatment?
Carter scored 4 straight points, helping the Celtics take the lead against the home team Mavericks.
The Mavericks were somewhat embarrassed by their two turnovers in the early possessions.
Nowitzki again came near the free-throw line to receive the ball. After a hesitating jab step and a dribble drive, he caught the ball, spun, and before the Celtics' double-team could arrive, executed a "golden rooster" style fadeaway jumper!
With the "golden rooster's" leg supporting him, even if Diop wanted to press up, he couldn't.
Nowitzki finally scored the Mavericks' first point of the game.
The Mavericks' offense began to open up gradually, but on defense, they still had no good way to limit the Celtics' scoring.
After assisting Carter with a flying dunk, He Xi Meng immediately followed up with a two-handed rim-rocker for Yao Ming in the paint.