There are too many honors, and I'm starting to forget them.
Anyway, He Xi Meng is too lazy to bother with these minor scuffles on the court, as long as they're not aimed at him.
What's more, He Xi Meng is quite optimistic about this young man Wade. He is loyal and righteous, generous, not infatuated with money, and possesses the spirit of a Chinese knight-errant.
Since Carter was willing to retaliate, He Xi Meng was happy to take a break and pass the burden to Carter.
When it came to dunking, Carter had never failed!
As this climax before halftime ended, the Celtics led by 3 points, 50:47.
At the start of the third quarter, both teams increased their defensive intensity, and the shooting percentages of their core players began to drop simultaneously.
However, on the Celtics' side, He Xi Meng immediately made adjustments on the court, leading the charge by driving to the basket and drawing fouls to get stable points from the free-throw line.
Since it was the Boston home court, the referees were very accommodating, and all the calls went their way.
On the Heat's side, Wade wanted to emulate He Xi Meng's approach and urged his teammates to attack the basket, but they clearly didn't draw as many whistles as the home team.
There was nothing that could be done. After all, Game 4 was being played at the North Garden Arena, not the American Airlines Arena.
By skillfully utilizing the home-court advantage, or rather, shamelessly exploiting it, He Xi Meng successfully led the Celtics to extend their lead to 8 points before the start of the fourth quarter!
The Heat had reached a very dangerous crossroads!
If they continued to play the fourth quarter in their usual way, the Heat would most likely be slowly worn down by the Celtics!
In terms of defense, the Celtics were no worse than the Heat.
In terms of drawing fouls on offense, the Celtics, with the home-court advantage, were even more adept at drawing them than the Heat.
There was really only one path left for the Heat: shooting!
Although this path was fraught with peril, if they didn't fight for it, the Heat would be completely doomed!
Coach Van Gundy was a decisive man. He looked around and finally his gaze fell on Wade: "All the ball possession will be tilted towards you. Can you make the shots?"
Wade was also a player with a super big heart. Although he was only in his second year, he immediately patted his broad chest and replied without hesitation: "Leave it to me!"
After the start of the fourth quarter, Wade truly lived up to his promise, driving to the basket with the ball like a walking time bomb!
His drives were not aimed at drawing fouls! Because he couldn't draw fouls, he could only score directly!
Utilizing his superior speed and strong physique, Wade indeed staged an extreme comeback in the fourth quarter, continuously breaking through and scoring, helping the Heat to gradually narrow the gap.
With one minute left in the game, Wade had scored 16 points in the quarter, helping the Heat successfully tie the score at 98:98!
Carter drove to the basket but missed the fadeaway jumper. Yao Ming grabbed the offensive rebound and went up for a put-back. O'Neal, unable to stop him, fouled him, sending Yao Ming to the free-throw line.
Yao Ming made both free throws, giving the Celtics a 100:98 lead over the Heat.
Wade continued to drive with the ball, but this shot bounced off the rim.
Eddie Jones fought hard for the rebound and successfully secured the offensive ball, then drove to the basket for a layup!
Carter flew in from behind Eddie Jones and fouled him, knocking him down along with the ball.
The referee's whistle blew, and Carter was called for a reach-in foul.
"What? That was a good block! He fell because he lost his balance himself..."
Carter was unhappy with the call and immediately argued with the referee.
However, at such a critical juncture, the referees would not easily change their calls, and even if the call was incorrect, they would stick to it.
What's more, in this game, the referees were generally leaning towards the Celtics!
He Xi Meng immediately ran over and stood between Carter and the referee, preventing Carter from complaining.
"It's not worth it! The game isn't over yet, and we still have plenty of time to beat our opponents... Calm down, Vince..."
Under He Xi Meng's persuasion, Carter did not blow up and instead turned and headed towards the Celtics' bench.
Coach Kerr did not substitute Carter. In a decisive moment like this, substituting anyone would be disrespectful to them.
However, during Eddie Jones's free throws, Kerr comforted Carter with a few words, essentially saying the same thing as He Xi Meng: the game wasn't over yet, so keep fighting!
Eddie Jones made both free throws.
100:100, the game was back to square one, with only 27 seconds left!
Kerr handed the tactical board to He Xi Meng: "How do you want to play this possession?"
He Xi Meng took the tactical board and said directly: "Leave this possession to me!"
"27 seconds means we have one offensive opportunity! And it's best to use the full 24 seconds. That way, the Heat will only have about 3 seconds left, making it impossible for them to complete a full offensive possession! Therefore, complex tactics will only increase the chance of errors. The best option is for me to hold the ball, chew up time, and take a buzzer-beater shot before time runs out!"
"When the countdown hits 10 seconds! I need Big Yao and Josh to come to these two positions to set high picks for me. I will break through in a chosen direction based on the situation on the court! Vince and Trevor will spread out on the wings, ready to catch and shoot at any time... If you have a better opportunity, I might also choose to pass..."
The first, second, and third options were all determined. The Celtics players took to the court to execute the final possession!
The Heat switched defenses, letting the faster and more explosive Wade guard He Xi Meng.
He Xi Meng dribbled the ball to consume time. When the shot clock entered the final 10 seconds, Josh Smith and Yao Ming appeared at the three-point line on the left and right sides respectively. He Xi Meng pushed the ball and eventually passed it to Yao Ming on the right.
One reason was that He Xi Meng and Yao Ming had better chemistry, and the other was that Yao Ming's pick-and-roll screen was more solid and of higher quality.
Wade tried to use his speed to step up early and disrupt the pick-and-roll between He Xi Meng and Yao Ming, but He Xi Meng didn't expect to shake off Wade with just one screen. After Wade forcibly squeezed through, He Xi Meng directly executed a crossover, transitioning from the right side to the middle!
Yao Ming immediately understood and executed a 180-degree turn in place, setting a secondary screen with He Xi Meng...