Sometimes, through feeding the ball, one can indeed regain shooting touch within the same game. However, such situations are ultimately a minority.
More often than not, good shooting form lasts for one game, while poor shooting form lasts for another.
In this game, the Heat successfully froze He Xi Meng's shooting touch, naturally hoping to keep him cold throughout.
On the Celtics' side, Kerr encouraged his players.
"Guys, Yao Ming is blocked in the paint, and Simmons is blocked outside. The space we have the most potential to open up is from the three-point line to the paint! Right now, the one most capable of completing this task, Vince, is you!"
Carter had been playing at an even pace this game. His drives were sharp enough, but his three-point shooting touch was similar to He Xi Meng's, rather cold.
The mid-range area was once Carter's primary scoring zone.
It was only after transferring to the Celtics, under He Xi Meng's influence, that Carter increasingly extended his shooting range and became more obsessed with three-pointers.
However, his mid-range turnaround jump shot was something Carter was grateful he hadn't neglected in his private practice.
After all, among the league's top four guards, whether Kobe, McGrady, or Iverson, they all relied on mid-range shooting as their main scoring method.
Although Carter showed signs of fading, he dared not give up directly.
At crucial moments, it indeed proved useful!
When the Celtics desperately needed to catch up, Carter utilized his mid-range post-up skills, first overpowering Williams, then overpowering Wade. After a series of consecutive scores, he successfully erased the Heat's efforts from the first half and shattered the Heat's hopes of an easy victory.
The game was dragged into its final decisive moments by Carter.
The Heat employed the same tactic, concentrating all possessions on Wade, to prevent the Celtics from "accidentally" fouling O'Neal.
Wade, of course, knew the importance of the situation. Whether his decisions in these few possessions were sound directly determined whether the Heat had a chance to play a Game 7 against the Celtics. Therefore, Wade opted against shooting from outside, choosing to drive directly to the basket twice.
On his first drive, Wade used a time-out and successfully laid the ball in.
On his second drive, Wade was trapped by a three-man double team from the Celtics. Seeing that Yao Ming was about to block him, Wade chose to draw a foul, actively leaning into Yao Ming to initiate contact and draw a whistle.
Yao Ming desperately twisted his hands backward, trying to avoid the foul, but the referee blew his whistle.
The honest Yao Ming was also furious. A home-court call once or twice was understandable, but was this going to be endless?
Because Yao Ming chased after the referee to explain, where did he commit a foul?
If it was his hands, they were raised high in the air, with no downward motion at all…
"I won't listen, I won't listen, I don't want to listen!" The referee, knowing he was in the wrong, completely ignored Yao Ming and walked directly to the scorer's table.
He Xi Meng quickly stopped Yao Ming, "Forget it, it's not worth it! Worst case, we go to Game 7! Besides, we haven't lost yet!"
In the NBA, arguing with referees is the most pointless thing to do.
The head coach can confront the referee to exert some pressure. But for players, it's best to let it go. The more you try to convince the referee, the less likely they are to give you an explanation, and the more likely they are to make things difficult for you.
The wisest course of action is to express your dissatisfaction to the referee and then immediately back off, letting the referee know that you are addressing the issue, not the person.
Referees are human and make mistakes. If you point out their error and they acknowledge it, they might secretly try to compensate you later in the game.
If they don't acknowledge it, no amount of nagging will change their mind or get you any compensation.
Yao Ming knew this principle. He was simply pushed to his limit emotionally and had to vent.
Now that he had vented, Yao Ming took several deep breaths and swallowed the unfair outcome.
"How about, for this final shot, you take it?"
As Wade shot his first free throw, He Xi Meng tentatively asked Yao Ming.
"If Dwyane makes one, I'll take the final shot! If Dwyane makes both, then you and Vince will have to settle it. I don't want overtime!"
The two teams were currently tied. If Wade made one free throw, it would put the Heat up by 1 point against the Celtics. If Wade made both, it would put the Heat up by 2 points.
This scene felt familiar. Yes, at the end of Game 4, the two teams were in a similar situation. Wade made all four free throws, giving the Heat a 2-point lead over the Celtics.
He Xi Meng executed the final offensive play, but unfortunately, his last-second three-pointer missed.
This time, Wade was not as fortunate. He made the first free throw, but the second one bounced out.
Yao Ming secured the defensive rebound, and Kerr called a timeout to strategize for the final offense.
With only 8.7 seconds left, there was ample time for a final play.
The issue now was that the Celtics were trailing by 1 point. Should this final offensive play go for two points or three?
Logically, they should go for two points, as scoring closer to the basket is easier.
However, there are two sides to every coin. The Heat knew it was easier to score close to the basket, so they would undoubtedly be defending against the Celtics' drives to the hoop. At this moment, going against the grain and aiming for a three-pointer, wouldn't the probability of success be quite high?
After much thought, Kerr's gaze fell upon He Xi Meng.
He Xi Meng had just discussed this issue with Yao Ming and immediately blurted out, "Go inside, for two points!"
This was the most conventional and reliable choice. Regardless of the team, this choice would be considered reasonable.
And for the current Celtics, the person most capable of scoring inside was naturally their center, Yao Ming!
Thus, Kerr immediately arranged a pick-and-roll play. He Xi Meng would inbound the ball from the sideline, Yao Ming would set a screen near the free-throw line and then cut down the middle to attack the basket, with Carter providing a wing screen to handle any special circumstances.
On the Heat's side, unsure of the Celtics' final choice, Riley decided to spread the defense evenly. The sole focus was to disrupt He Xi Meng's catch and ideally disrupt the Celtics' tactical execution.
Wade and Williams intensely guarded He Xi Meng, and indeed, it was quite effective!
Ariza, taking the inbound pass from the sideline, failed to find an open passing lane twice, almost committing a basic inbound violation.
Fortunately, He Xi Meng reacted quickly. After the second tactical screen failed and he couldn't get the ball, he loudly reminded Ariza, "Give it to Vince!"
The young Ariza then stopped fixating on passing to He Xi Meng and instead passed the ball to Carter on the far wing!