"Holy crap! Xi Meng is going to explode!"
"You're right, he should explode. Xi Meng hasn't scored over 30 points in these past few games, has he?"
"Huh? It's true! Damn it! I was so caught up in the game, I didn't even notice Xi Meng was just cruising!"
"This won't do! Time to whip him! At the very least, He Xi Meng should show some MVP-level dominance in this game!"
"Come on! MVP, let's chant together..."
He Xi Meng hit two consecutive three-pointers to start the game, his strong performance immediately drawing cheers of MVP from the Boston fans.
Wade couldn't retaliate with a three-pointer against He Xi Meng, so he continued with his signature drives.
But He Xi Meng was once again in Wade's path, helping Tony Allen double-team Wade!
Wade now had two options: a pull-up jumper or pass to Damon Jones, whom He Xi Meng had left open!
What was going on?
He Xi Meng wanted to shift the Heat's offense towards Damon Jones?
But Damon Jones was only a role player on this current Heat team. If he had to be ranked, he would only be fourth at best.
After O'Neal, Wade, and Eddie Jones, then Damon Jones would barely make the cut!
Wade hesitated for a moment, he didn't pass, and instead chose his pull-up jumper, wanting to see how his shooting percentage was today!
Unfortunately, Wade's pull-up jumper touch was mediocre today. The ball bounced off the rim, Yao Ming boxed out O'Neal, and securely grabbed the defensive rebound.
It was the Celtics' turn to attack again, and the ball went back into He Xi Meng's hands.
This time, how would He Xi Meng handle the ball, would he shoot from three-point range again?
Even though the game had just started, the entire Heat team felt like they were facing a formidable enemy!
Wade actively called for Damon Jones to switch on defense.
Wade wanted to use his agility, explosive power, and excellent jumping ability to disrupt He Xi Meng's shot and prevent him from continuing to score three-pointers.
But when the three-point king finds his rhythm, it doesn't matter if it's Damon Jones or Dwyane Wade, the result is the same: an in-your-face shot!
He Xi Meng's moves were incredibly simple: feigned drive, quick stop, and a step-back jumper!
None of these moves were particularly difficult, but when combined and executed with fluid grace, they became an unstoppable three-pronged attack!
He Xi Meng's third three-pointer of the game was also good!
This time, it wasn't just the Boston fans in the arena, but even "Air Jordan" Jordan, sitting in the VIP box, excitedly waved his hands and, along with Larry Bird, chanted "Xi Meng is MVP"... 138 reading network.
With a 9-0 start, He Xi Meng, with his scorching hot shooting, declared to the Heat: this game, the Celtics are determined to win!
On the Heat's third possession, Wade drove and passed to Eddie Jones. Eddie Jones then drove again into the Celtics' defense, successfully breaking through and drawing a foul from Josh Smith, who was attempting a block.
Eddie Jones made both free throws, helping the Heat break their scoring drought.
But on the next possession, He Xi Meng feigned a shot, making the Heat's hearts pound, before finally deciding not to shoot from three-point range. Instead, he drove to the basket, drawing nearly three Heat players into a double-team. He Xi Meng then made a no-look pass to Carter, who was cutting on the wing. Carter faked out Eddie Jones, took one step, and pulled up for a shot from the free-throw line, which also went in!
The Celtics started 4 for 4, this shooting percentage was incredible. How could the Heat possibly compete?
It was thanks to this strong start that the Celtics successfully led the Heat by 10 points by the end of the first quarter!
During the second quarter rotation, Coach Van Gundy, who disliked shortening his rotation, was forced to push his starters, keeping Wade and Haslem on the court and only subbing out the aging O'Neal for Mourning.
On the Celtics' side, Coach Kerr, as usual, subbed out Yao Ming and Carter but kept He Xi Meng and Tony Allen on the court as key defenders against Wade.
In recent games, Tony Allen had become increasingly skilled at defending Wade.
While he couldn't stop Wade from scoring, Tony Allen could significantly reduce Wade's scoring efficiency, thereby reducing the overall scoring efficiency of the Heat.
He Xi Meng's primary purpose for staying on the court was to maintain control and prevent the Heat from going on a scoring run.
It had to be said that Kerr's decision was extremely wise.
Early in the second quarter, Wade connected with Haslem for an alley-oop, and Haslem successfully finished multiple times under the basket against the Celtics' interior defense.
In the previous few games, Haslem's main role had been as the Heat's defensive anchor, and he hadn't shown much offensive threat.
Unexpectedly, Coach Van Gundy unleashed this tactic in this game, almost embarrassing Malone on the Celtics' bench.
Because the current Malone couldn't keep up with Haslem's pace.
Fortunately, He Xi Meng was on the court.
After determining that Malone couldn't stop Haslem, He Xi Meng chose to attack as defense, having Malone use his remaining mid-range shooting ability to counter Haslem's scoring, which helped old Malone save face and allowed the Celtics to maintain their lead.
Although the lead had shrunk, they still had a lead. When core players like Yao Ming and Carter returned, the Celtics still held a six-point advantage.
No longer burdened by the rotation lineup of veterans and youngsters, He Xi Meng immediately shed his shackles and reignited his scoring spree!
He Xi Meng first executed a classic hand-off pick-and-roll with Yao Ming, drove into the paint, and aggressively attacked O'Neal!
In recent games, O'Neal had been terrified by the onslaught from He Xi Meng and Carter.
In every game, the Celtics' first objective was to wear down O'Neal, then use Yao Ming's inside advantage to slowly grind out the game...
O'Neal was also fed up!
If he were in his prime, O'Neal would have definitely made He Xi Meng and Carter taste the "O'Neal special block." But now, O'Neal didn't dare make too many moves, spread his arms, planted his feet, and tried to stay as still as possible... Blocking shots? If he didn't want to foul, he had to keep his hands up!
Seeing O'Neal's cooperative stance, He Xi Meng realized he couldn't draw a foul, so he honestly opted for a pull-up layup after hanging in the air, sidestepped O'Neal's interference, and easily made the shot off the backboard...