Kidd misread the play, and He Xi Meng nailed a fast-break three-pointer!
The home crowd in Boston erupted in cheers.
He Xi Meng's shot was incredibly decisive and powerful!
Kidd's expression soured, and Pierce's wasn't much better.
The Celtics' two previous scoring possessions had come from the Nets failing to score and the opponents capitalizing on fast breaks!
Such plays were the biggest drain on morale!
On the Nets' third possession, Pierce called for the ball again, but Kidd didn't give it to him!
Kidd called for a high pick-and-roll from Jason Collins, creating a mismatch to exploit Yao Ming! After drawing Josh Smith's help defense, he executed a no-look behind-the-back pass to Kostić on the weak side!
Kostić caught the ball and went for a layup, finally breaking the Nets' scoring drought!
This play, Kidd exploited Josh Smith's lapse in help defense.
Seeing Kostić score so easily, Josh Smith looked frustrated!
"Take it easy, Josh!" He Xi Meng comforted Josh Smith. "Stay calm, trust Big Yao! Just don't lose your position so easily!"
Josh Smith nodded and quickly ran to the frontcourt.
The biggest problem for young players wasn't usually laziness, but over-excitement, thinking they were invincible and wanting to block every shot!
Veteran point guards like Kidd loved to exploit the weakness of young players' aggression to achieve their goals!
He Xi Meng's role was to help the young player stabilize his composure. Making mistakes wasn't the issue; the real problem was not realizing one's mistakes, then being repeatedly exploited by the opponent, and finally losing emotional control and collapsing the game!
With experienced big-game players like He Xi Meng and Carter on the Celtics, the probability of such a situation occurring was extremely low.
Kidd didn't expect such small loopholes to defeat the opponent, but every bit counted, and accumulating them was also great!
When it was the Celtics' turn for a set play, He Xi Meng continued to feed the ball inside to Yao Ming!
If the Celtics' weakness was the two rookies at shooting guard and power forward, then the Nets' weakness was Jason Collins and Kostić in the paint!
Kidd and Pierce could go head-to-head with He Xi Meng and Carter, but Yao Ming was simply impossible for the Nets to defend one-on-one!
However, head coach Frank was still unwilling to give up and wanted Jason Collins to try defending him solo!
On the first post-up, Yao Ming was caught off guard and accidentally stripped by Pierce.
This time, Yao Ming was much more careful, surveying his surroundings before beginning his post-up dribble.
Jason Collins wasn't weak in terms of strength, but unlike Shaquille O'Neal who liked to power through with his rear, Yao Ming's approach was more direct.
Yao Ming's post-ups habitually incorporated footwork changes and shifts in balance. The biggest advantage of this was that it made it difficult for opponents to withstand Yao Ming's momentum, allowing him to pivot and turn around his opponent's body at any time!
Jason Collins was mentally prepared for the difficulty of defending Yao Ming, but he still couldn't stop Yao Ming's post-up fadeaway jumper!
With Yao Ming starting to score in the paint, the game was effectively on track for the Celtics!
On the next possession, Kidd drove and dished, assisting Scalabrine on a wing three-pointer!
He Xi Meng returned the favor, driving and dishing to Carter for a wing three-pointer of their own!
Kidd drove again, pulling up for a mid-range jumper to test his feel, but Tony Allen's close-out defense was fierce, disrupting Kidd's shot.
The ball rimmed out, and Kidd pursued it, hoping for a put-back.
Josh Smith swooped in from the wing, disrupting Kidd's put-back attempt, and the basket area devolved into chaos.
The ball bounced off someone's foot and went out of bounds. The referee ruled that the ball last touched Pierce's toe before going out, awarding possession to the Celtics!
Pierce, who hadn't scored a single point since the start, was seething and naturally protested, verbally assaulting the referee!
The referee, deeming it a first offense, initially issued a verbal warning!
But Pierce continued to chatter incessantly, and Kidd couldn't stop him!
The referee, reaching his limit, turned and assessed Pierce a technical foul!
Pierce froze in disbelief!
He hadn't expected the referee to actually give him a technical foul?
"This is Boston, right? The Garden? My... well, okay, it's not my home court anymore..."
Suddenly realizing his situation, Pierce's anger vanished instantly.
Here, at the Garden, he no longer had the privilege to provoke the referees.
Nets head coach Frank quickly called for a substitution, taking Pierce out to cool down.
In reality, Pierce had already calmed down. He wiped the sweat from his brow and returned to the bench without a word.
He Xi Meng designated Yao Ming to take the technical free throw!
The Celtics certainly had no shortage of capable free-throw shooters!
This season, Carter's free-throw percentage was 82%, Yao Ming's was 85%, and He Xi Meng's was 89%!
Each one higher and more terrifying than the last.
He Xi Meng gave this scoring opportunity to Yao Ming to help him find his rhythm and warm up. He had a premonition that when the Nets couldn't defend Yao Ming, they would resort to double-teaming or fouling him.
If the Nets dared to double-team in the paint, the Celtics would dare to shoot from outside.
And if the Nets dared to foul Yao Ming...
Either way, it was a losing situation for them, depending on the Nets' choice.
Yao Ming stepped up to the free-throw line and calmly sank one point.
On the ensuing Celtics possession, Carter drove from the right and dished to He Xi Meng at the top of the arc. He Xi Meng had an open look, and seeing the Nets' defenders scrambling outwards, Yao Ming found himself open inside…
He Xi Meng didn't hesitate, firing a direct pass to Yao Ming!
Yao Ming dribbled, turned, took a step to drive to the basket, and before Jason Collins could react, he slammed the ball home with a one-handed dunk!
Yao Ming began to consistently score, putting immense pressure on the Nets' interior!
Kidd's ability to orchestrate and assist was undeniable, but even the best playmaking required finishers to capitalize on opportunities!
After Pierce left the court, Richard Jefferson checked in.
However, Richard Jefferson missed both of his attempts against Tony Allen's defense.
It was clear that the knee injury had a significant impact on Richard Jefferson's performance, primarily due to the psychological scar, causing him to hesitate from making full-contact moves.
Tony Allen's defense was already formidable, and with Richard Jefferson not playing at his full capacity, he naturally couldn't find enough space to shoot, leading to the ball bouncing off the rim.
He Xi Meng, of course, wouldn't miss such a good opportunity to extend the lead, continuously connecting with Yao Ming inside!