But the UFO also took flight and successfully completed the dunk. These two points can't be dismissed, right?
Now it's up to the Nets. Can Kidd and Pierce hold this possession?
Forget about dunking. Neither Kidd nor Pierce are known for their dunking prowess.
The Nets fans only hoped that Kidd or Pierce could help the team get two points, keep the score close, and ultimately help the team win this game...
But they were destined to fail!
Because Pierce's isolation play against Carter on the next possession, a mid-range turnaround jumper, missed!
Josh Smith grabbed the defensive rebound for the Celtics and continued to pass it to He Xi Meng to advance the ball.
He Xi Meng immediately seized the opportunity to push for a fast break. Carter sprinted forward, drawing the main defensive attention of the Nets. He Xi Meng feigned another connection with Carter for an assist, but instead, he suddenly rose up from a step beyond the three-point line and forced a shot over Kidd's defense!
To the astonished eyes of the entire New Jersey crowd, He Xi Meng's "unreasonable" three-pointer was accurately made!
Scoring 5 points in a row, the Celtics sealed the victory!
Although Pierce hit an unreasonable tough shot three-pointer before the end of the game, it was of no avail.
In the end, 99:97, the Celtics reversed and defeated the Nets in overtime, completely shattering the Nets' hope of winning.
In this game, Pierce scored 36 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists. Kidd had 16 points, 16 rebounds, and 13 assists. Richard Jefferson scored 23 points and 8 rebounds!
These three players accounted for nearly 80% of the Nets' scoring, and their performance was outstanding, but they still failed to help the team win.
And the loss in this game completely crushed the Nets' confidence in winning.
He Xi Meng, Carter, and Yao Ming all scored over 20 points!
He Xi Meng had 25 points, 12 assists, and 6 rebounds. Carter had 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Yao Ming had 20 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks!
In addition, Josh Smith and Ariza also scored in double figures. With the "Big Three" as the core and spearhead, the Celtics continued to play with multiple players contributing, making it impossible for the Nets to defend.
The quality of the superstars plus the depth of the bench determines who can go further in the playoffs.
The quality of the Nets' core players was not an issue, but their bench depth was far inferior to the Celtics'! This destined the Nets to not go far in the playoffs.
And in the previous seasons, the reason why the Nets dominated the Eastern Conference was not because the Nets were too strong, but because the Eastern Conference was too weak. No team could reach championship level...
In Game 4, the Nets wanted to repeat their strategy from Game 3, where they almost won, by tightening their defense and trying to take Yao Ming out of the game.
But the Celtics also made adjustments!
He Xi Meng went on a three-point shooting spree from the opening, hitting 4 three-pointers and 1 layup in a single quarter, scoring 14 points and stunning the Nets!
Yao Ming in the paint became a decoy, not shooting when opportunities arose, but constantly feeding the ball to He Xi Meng and Carter on the perimeter.
By the time the Nets reacted, the Celtics had already taken an 11-point lead, 27:16.
In the second quarter, the Nets went all out. Pierce and Kidd remained on the court, continuing to battle against the Celtics' rotation players!
On the Celtics' side, head coach Kerr also hesitated slightly, wanting to let He Xi Meng and Carter stabilize the situation and maintain the lead until the end.
"There's no need to be so cautious! Our young players need a bit of pressure to accelerate their growth! If not now, when?"
With He Xi Meng's support, Kerr immediately took off the starting lineup, leaving only Yao Ming, who had not played much in the first quarter, to anchor the team!
The other four players were: Ariza, Kevin Martin, Hu Wei Dong, and Payton!
Kerr sent out three rookies in one go, fully implementing He Xi Meng's slogan of "training the rookies"!
In the playoffs, with the outcome not yet decided, to dare to play like this, one has to admit that Kerr has a big heart! And truly dedicated to his profession as a head coach!
Facing Payton, Kidd started to explode!
To be honest, Kidd's scoring ability has always been criticized. But when he's really pushed to the limit, his penetration and layups can be very sharp!
During the rotation, Pierce was struggling to find his rhythm against Ariza.
Kidd couldn't stand it any longer and started to drive hard against Payton!
And it was quite effective!
Before He Xi Meng returned to the court, Kidd successfully scored 4 baskets against Payton, scoring 8 points in half a quarter!
Old Payton was getting agitated and resorted to a rarely used trick: trash talk!
But this tactic works well against rookies, but against Kidd... it was like spitting into the wind!
As one of the most mature young players in the league, Kidd's calmness and self-control on the court were widely known and praised!
Before He Xi Meng's emergence, Kidd was the representative of the most mature young players in the league! None other!
Of course, now there's He Xi Meng, both with young bodies but old souls.
Kerr had to pull Payton off early and replace him with He Xi Meng to stop the team's decline at the point guard position.
The Nets seized the opportunity to narrow the gap, trying to reverse the situation in one go.
But He Xi Meng first stabilized the Celtics with a pull-up mid-range jump shot after a drive, and then on defense, he joined forces with Yao Ming to stop Kidd's drive.
After one offense and one defense, they successfully stopped the Celtics' slump and maintained a 3-point lead before halftime.
At the beginning of the second half, Carter suddenly went on a rampage, receiving a kick-out pass from He Xi Meng after a drive, and hitting two consecutive three-pointers from the wing!
The Nets quickly intensified their defensive pressure on Carter. As a result, He Xi Meng called for Carter to hold the ball, allowing Carter to drive while He Xi Meng moved to the wing.
The Celtics' strategy remained largely the same!
It was still the pick-and-roll between He Xi Meng and Carter!
However, the roles of driver and shooter were swapped!
The shooter became He Xi Meng!
Compared to Carter, He Xi Meng's movements were even more unpredictable, and his shots were more decisive and firm!
Two more three-pointers!
The Celtics made 4 three-pointers in the second half, extending their lead to double digits again...
In the fourth quarter, veteran Payton re-entered the game as a substitute.
Before taking the court, He Xi Meng advised Payton: "Stop obsessing over who is attacking the opponent! Rely more on the strength of the young players within the team, and transform their strength into your own..."
Old Payton took his advice and adjusted his mentality.
"You drive, I'll organize! As long as the score keeps going back and forth, I don't care who scores? We'll just go at each other..."
Under the guidance of this correct mindset, Old Payton returned to his peak form, playing exceptionally well in the fourth quarter, dishing out 6 assists in the period and leading the Celtics' young players to successfully withstand the Nets' final-quarter comeback...