radicalducati Chapter 295 The Cardinal is here in person? Then go all out against him!
Chapter 295 The Cardinal is here in person? Then go all out against him!
Chapter 295 The Cardinal himself is here? Then beat them to death! Beat them until they disband!
Pitino is not some third-rate coach, nor is he the kind of useless person who just coasts along.
On the contrary, he is definitely a top-notch coach in the NCAA. He won the 3rd Madness championship and led his team to the Final Four multiple times. He has a lot of knowledge and experience.
But the problem is that all his achievements were made in the NCAA. In the NBA, these young players don't buy into his style!
Neither Walker nor Pierce gave him much face, nor were they willing to follow his ways.
Ultimately, the team lacks a winning culture and the drive to win.
After suffering the worst margin of defeat in history in the first game, Pitino called a players' meeting.
He has a sense of shame, and he knows what it means to be virtuous. Playing like this in the first game is simply beyond his bottom line and acceptable level.
So badly they played that even the opposing coach couldn't stand it and came over to berate their team?
This unbelievable thing happened to Pitino, and he felt that if he didn't work harder and boost the team's morale, his lifelong reputation would be ruined and he would be completely finished!
Change is necessary!
Pitino scheduled a meeting for the team at 4 p.m. on the day of the second game. His plan was to hold a one-hour meeting to boost the team's morale and fighting spirit, and then the whole team would head directly to the stadium.
But when he arrived at the meeting room 10 minutes early, he couldn't help but frown.
There wasn't a single person there.
No one arrived early!
This team is just ridiculous!
Pitino glanced at his watch somewhat anxiously, then sat down and waited.
At 4 p.m., Pierce and several Celtics role players walked into the meeting room, and they even nodded when they saw Pitino.
Then, by 4:10, most of the Celtics players had arrived.
Or rather, only two people didn't show up.
Antoine Walker and Anderson.
We waited until 4:20, but those two guys still hadn't shown up.
Pitino glanced impatiently at his watch and said coldly, "Who knows where those two guys went?"
Adrian Griffin raised his hand and said, "When I came down, the two of them were playing NBA Live, saying they would come down after finishing that game."
Did you tell them the time?
"I told you, I said we're going to be late."
"Then why didn't you let them come down quickly? Why didn't you tell them that everyone was waiting for them?" Pitino's tone was getting worse and worse.
"I saw that their game was already in the fourth quarter, and there were at most 20 minutes left, so..."
Griffin was interrupted by Pitino halfway through his sentence, "So you think being 20 minutes late doesn't matter?"
Griffin remained silent, but his expression clearly told everyone that this was the truth.
Pitino nodded, said nothing more, stood up, took a deep breath, and then suddenly kicked over the large blackboard in front of him!
"FUXX! You don't treat me like your head coach, do you? You're not ashamed of losing by 50 points, are you? You think it doesn't matter if you're 30 minutes late for a meeting, are you? You all think you're super geniuses, and that winning or losing doesn't affect your money, huh?"
Pitino, panting heavily, looked at everyone in front of him and said, "Then keep losing, lose until you have nothing left, lose until you become the laughingstock of the entire league! FUXX!"
Pitino was venting his anger when the conference room door suddenly opened, and a lazy Anderson and Walker walked in. Walker immediately flashed a goofy smile and said, "Coach, I'm late, sorry."
"Do you even look a shred of remorse on your face?" Pitino pointed at Walker's nose and yelled, "Are you really sorry? Do you even care about winning or losing? Do you think I don't know anything? You fat-loving idiot, you don't deserve to be a professional player!"
Walker's face immediately fell when Pitino pointed his finger at him and berated him. He glared at Pitino and said, "I'll give you five seconds to apologize to me, or I guarantee your fate will be worse than Carlesimo's!"
PJ Carlesimo has become a laughing stock in the league these past two years. As the head coach of the Warriors, he got into a fight with Sprewell during practice, and Sprewell grabbed him by the neck and shook him repeatedly! According to witnesses, Carlesimo almost died! He was genuinely choked to death by Sprewell.
After being put down by Sprewell, poor Carlesimo lay motionless on the floor for several minutes, and several Warriors players thought he had really been killed by Sprewell.
"Worse than Carlesimo?" Pitino laughed, enraged by Walker. He even craned his neck and said, "Come on! Let me see what you've got! Let me see how badly you can make me! Come on! You cowardly fatso! Come on, come at my neck! Come on! You're not leaving this house today if you don't kill me!"
Walker swallowed hard, watching Pitino's frenzied behavior, and then cursed, "You're insane! I'm not going to go crazy with you!"
After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave.
"Stop right there!" Pitino yelled. "I called this meeting today to boost the morale of you bastards, to help you regain your dignity, and to make your defeat less crushing! But now, I think that doesn't matter anymore!"
"The important thing now is you. The next game is your last chance! If you're still playing like that tonight, still so casual and lazy, then you definitely won't be staying with the Celtics next season! I'll get rid of you! I will definitely get rid of you!"
"We'll see who gets kicked out," Walker sneered, then turned and left the conference room.
"Coach, shall we still have the meeting?" After a full minute of silence, Anderson, who had come in with Walker but not left with him, mustered up the courage to ask.
"What do you think?" Pitino raised his head, looked at Anderson, and said, "All of you, get back to your rooms!"
"To you, I only have one last thing to say: You are professional players, so you must have the bottom line and dignity of professional players! If a person doesn't even care about dignity, then no matter how much money he earns, he is a piece of trash! He is wasting the talent God gave him! He will definitely go to see Satan after he dies!"
After Pitino finished speaking, he waved towards the door, and all the Celtics players stood up and walked out.
Pitino closed his eyes; he didn't want to look anymore.
He was exhausted, and he even began to doubt himself.
Why come here, and why did you end up building such a terrible team?
Am I really that bad?
"Coach." A voice suddenly came from inside. Pitino opened his eyes and saw the last player standing in the conference room, Paul Pierce.
"I want to win, I want to bring victories to the team. Although as a Los Angeles native, for the first 20 years of my life I harbored a deep-seated hatred for Bostonians, but now I'm proud to be a Celtic! I will play hard!"
After Pierce finished speaking, he nodded to Pitino, turned around, and walked out of the conference room.
Pierce's statement and support can be seen as giving Pitino a last bit of dignity and comfort.
At the very least, the teams he led weren't completely hopeless!
Isn't there still someone who wants to win?
But one Pierce alone is clearly not enough to win.
At the very least, it's completely insufficient when facing a historically top-tier powerhouse like the Pacers!
That night, the Celtics were only slightly better than before.
They didn't lose by more than 50 points tonight; they only lost by 35 points.
Although the game was decided from the start, and the Celtics were completely outmatched from beginning to end, and they offered no resistance, they did show some improvement.
Of course, this little bit of progress is really insignificant and not worth mentioning at all.
This slight improvement only meant that Bird stopped losing his temper and lashing out at the Celtics' bench.
Well, it's also possible that it wasn't because the Celtics improved, but because after the last game, the league imposed an additional $3 fine on Bird, which stung the guy.
But after securing huge victories in the two home games, this series, which was already considered by everyone to be the most lopsided in NBA history, has completely lost all suspense. At this point, no one thinks the Celtics can win even one more game.
A complete sweep was their only outcome.
The remaining question is how many points the Celtics will lose by in their final game.
And, will the Celtics undergo any major changes this offseason? After all, given such a historic domination, it would be truly unbelievable if the team didn't make any changes afterwards!
In Game 3 of the series, Larry Bird, a former Celtics legend who brought the team more than 10 years of glory and was once its leader, led his players to the TD Garden.
This is where Bird fought for more than 10 years, and it obviously has a completely different meaning for him.
He won three consecutive MVP awards, the championship, and countless honors here.
However, Bird previously brought glory and victory to this arena, this city, and this team, but this time, he is going to lead his team to completely crush the Celtics!
This feeling is really quite wonderful.
To let Bird experience the love of Boston fans, Lin Tian and the rest of the Pacers players deliberately entered the arena a few dozen seconds later, allowing Bird to walk into the arena first and enjoy a wave of crazy cheers from the Boston fans!
Although he led other teams to defeat the Celtics without any chance to fight back, and even contributed the team's most painful loss record, in the end, this is Larry Bird!
His popularity at TD Garden is probably second only to Auerbach.
After the fans cheered and shouted for Bird, Lin Tian led the Pacers players into the arena. The overwhelming cheers from all directions immediately stopped and were replaced by even louder and fierce boos!
Yes, Boston fans are all about clear-cut grudges!
If you want to cheer, then cheer; if you want to insult or criticize, then show no mercy!
What was interesting tonight was that the fans at TD Garden were both booing and cheering at the Pacers players, but when the Celtics' own players walked into the arena a little while later, TD Garden suddenly fell silent!
The fans neither cheered nor booed them. All the fans seemed to completely ignore them, just paused for a moment, causing a brief silence in the arena, and then the fans very tacitly ignored the Celtics players.
This team's last two games have been so disappointing!
Then, as the players from both sides began to warm up, a sudden burst of loud cheers erupted from the crowd!
The players who were warming up and the coaches sitting on the sidelines looked curiously toward the source of the sound. Then Bird and Pitino saw a smiling old man slowly walking out of the tunnel and plopping down in a prime spot in the front row.
Cardinal Auerbach!
A guy who has been a part of the Celtics' entire history, making countless contributions to the league, the team, Bird, and countless others.
A true icon, a true big shot!
He is a living fossil of the League today; among those still active in the League, no one is of higher seniority than him.
Whether it's David Stern, Jerry West, Pat Riley, or Larry Brown, they all have to treat Auerbach with utmost respect!
That's status!
There are countless legends about Auerbach, and his achievements are even more numerous!
He was absolutely a groundbreaking figure!
Upon seeing Auerbach arrive, Bird immediately jogged towards him and stood beside him, saying, "Boss."
"Larry, you did a great job." Auerbach smiled and patted Bird on the shoulder, indicating approval: "You accomplished something I never did."
"I'm still a long way from you," Bird said, unusually humble. "Whether in management or coaching circles, you're an insurmountable peak."
"That's not quite right of you," Auerbach shook his head. "Because I'm not just the highest mountain, but also the longest river! Have you ever seen anyone else who could dominate the League for 40 years?"
"Boss, you're right!" Bird quickly replied, "The mountains and rivers are all thanks to you!"
"Now I know where Larry's arrogant and conceited personality comes from." Lin Tian, who was not far from them, overheard their conversation and couldn't help but say, "Master and apprentice are cut from the same cloth, equally shameless!"
"I suspect this is a Celtic tradition!" Miller, standing nearby, nodded in agreement quickly.
On the other side, Pitino hesitated for a moment, then walked over to Auerbach and said, "Mr. Auerbach, I'm sorry to disappoint you."
"You did your best, didn't you?" Auerbach said. "I heard you almost got into a fight with that Antoine guy the other day?"
Pitino nodded somewhat helplessly and said, "I didn't do a good enough job. I failed to establish the culture that the team should have."
"You've definitely done a terrible job. The Celtics have had their worst seasons in franchise history, and that's nothing to be ashamed of! Sometimes you have to lose to win! It's all for the greater good! But this Celtics team of yours is truly the worst I've ever seen!"
"Lacking ambition, lacking fighting spirit, just getting by, only thinking about stats and post-game indulgence, this team is absolutely terrible."
"But I have to say, the thing about almost getting into a fight with Antoine was pretty good. It was an opportunity, a chance for the team to regain its energy. If done well, it could have boosted the players' morale and given them a chance to compete with the Pacers. But in the second game, you still lost by almost 40 points."
"It's terrible."
Auerbach's tone was very flat, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
But Pitino felt that his back was soaked with sweat.
Auerbach is terrifying!
"Honestly, if I were still the club president, the first thing I would do would be to sack you," Auerbach continued. "But I'm not anymore; I'm just an advisor, so I can only help the team in my own way."
"That's why I'm here today. I hope my presence can help you regain your morale. I don't expect you to win, but even if you lose, at least don't lose so badly! Even if you lose, you should still show your spirit and momentum. Do you understand what I mean?"
Pitino was much more obedient than Bird when facing Auerbach, nodding incessantly as he listened to Auerbach's reprimand.
He dared not say a word, because he knew very well that although the Celtics were now pushing forward with the "get rid of Auerbach" plan and reducing the number of things associated with Auerbach in the team, if Auerbach was determined to get rid of someone, he could definitely do it!
Whether this person is the head coach or a player.
Pitino stood next to Auerbach, nodding repeatedly in agreement like a student listening to a teacher's lecture. After a full two or three minutes, the guy finally turned around and went back to the bench, as if he had been granted a pardon.
"I'm teaching your opponent right in front of you, you won't be angry, Larry, will you?" As soon as Pitino left, Auerbach turned back to look at Bird with a smile on his face.
"Old green tea b*tch." Lin Tian, who had been eavesdropping, said to Miller, "Has this old man always been this bitch?"
"Pretty much," Miller nodded. "But everyone in Boston falls for it! That's his charm, isn't it?"
Pitino returned to the team's bench, clapped his hands vigorously, and called everyone over to him. After gathering all the players together, Pitino said, "Auerbach is here, I think you all saw him! Tonight, we can lose, we can get a good lesson from the Pacers."
"But tonight we absolutely cannot lose as badly as we did the past two days, losing without any resistance! Understand? We need to show our talent, our attitude, and our toughness! This is what we, as Celtics players, must do! And what we, as players, must do!"
Pitino delivered a speech that he thought was full of passion, fighting spirit, and could ignite people's blood, but after his speech, the Celtics players' response was scattered. Obviously, the deep-seated problems did not arise overnight, and this team was rotten to the core. It was obviously impossible to wake them up with a few slogans and shouts!
In particular, when Pitino indicated that the game could be dismissed and the players could continue warming up, Walker disdainfully turned to Anderson beside him and said, "What did I tell you? He doesn't dare suspend me! He doesn't dare let me sit on the bench!"
"He needs me; he'll beg me to play ball and do my work for him! He doesn't want to lose his job, so he has to keep Mr. Antoine happy!"
"Antoine, you're not right," Pierce said, frowning as he overheard Walker's words. "The coach wants to give you a chance. We really did lose the first two games badly. Tonight at TD Garden, Mr. Auerbach will be watching. We have to..."
"Paul, when did you become the coach's lackey? Auerbach is just an old man nearing his grave, what are you afraid of him for? Let me tell you, I'm not afraid of him at all. Whether he comes or not, my playing style won't change! I'll play the same way. If he's really capable, he can trade me! Does he think I want to stay in Boston?"
On the Pacers' side, Lin Tian saw Bird finally return from Auerbach's side and said with a smile, "So, are you going to go easy on them tonight? Want to let them off the hook?"
"Let them go? Why?" Bird grinned. "Beat them to death! Like I said, beat them to death!"
"Our goal tonight is to dismantle the Celtics! This team doesn't deserve to be called the Celtics! Drive their management to despair, force them to rebuild immediately, and get rid of them all! Do you understand what I mean?"
"Isn't that a piece of cake?" Lin Tian said confidently. "We might not be able to do other things, but beating someone to death like this is a piece of cake for us!"
Bird's words effectively brought the Celtics' playoff journey to a complete end.
He wants to make his former team lose everything!
He wants to strip them naked and then dump them in Times Square, New York, at 8 p.m. on Saturday!
Embarrassing? If this team doesn't rebuild, there will be plenty of embarrassing moments to come! Since it's all going to be embarrassing anyway, I might as well personally expose your true colors!
A few minutes later, the match began!
Big Ben once again won the jump ball. After Lin Tian got the ball, he dribbled it twice in place and then suddenly made a super long pass, lobbing the ball directly to the Celtics' basket. Carter grabbed the basketball and pulled up for a powerful two-handed dunk!
As for Griffin, who defends Carter?
He was still at the three-point line and hadn't even reacted yet. He didn't expect Carter to suddenly accelerate and drive to the basket.
Then Anderson casually dribbled to the frontcourt, called a screen, took two steps, and pulled up for a two-pointer right under the defense!
"Bang!"
It's no surprise that the accuracy of such a random and forceful attack will be extremely low!
The basketball hit the rim, and Webber jumped up and slapped it away to the three-point line. Then Christie took the ball and ran towards the frontcourt. He then made a bounce pass, and the basketball crossed half the court to the Celtics' half. Lin Tian caught the ball and started gliding.
"boom!"
After a loud bang, the Pacers scored another 2 points! The Celtics' defense was still a complete mess, utterly negligible! Of course, some of them retreated on defense, but firstly, no one was guarding Lin Tian, secondly, no one was interfering with Christie's drive, and thirdly, no one was protecting the paint.
Textbooks typically only teach retreat without prevention, and textbooks typically serve as negative examples.
The Celtics' performance in the first two rounds has already said it all.
Auerbach's arrival did not ignite their fighting spirit or passion at all; they continued to do things their own way and act as they always had.
Auerbach in the stands narrowed his eyes.
None of these brats are good enough for Auerbach!
In the first quarter, the score gap between the two sides widened rapidly.
29: 15!
In the second quarter, the Celtics' performance remained unchanged. Almost everyone on the team seemed indifferent and nonchalant, as if they were afraid of delaying the game or making it too close and dragging it out longer.
They've already booked their vacation tickets! Finishing the game quickly and getting off work early is the most important thing.
Perhaps among the entire Celtics, only Pierce played with any real effort. His shot selection was decent, and he would pass the ball if his teammates had an opportunity. Even if his defense was poor, or even if his teammates weren't defending him much, he would still do his best to defend and never let up.
This is arguably the only player on the Celtics so far who is even remotely worthy of praise.
Unfortunately, Pierce was never a good defender; his defensive ability was just so-so. Coupled with his teammates' complete lack of cooperation, his efforts seemed more like a joke.
60: 33!
At the end of the first half, the Pacers had once again taken a 27-point lead!
This match was another one where the outcome was a complete massacre!
By this point in the game, Celtics fans had stopped booing the Pacers.
What a waste of energy!
They channeled all their energy into booing the Celtics players! They were venting their frustrations wildly; they were unhappy with the team's mentality!
I'll say it again: you can be bad at your job, but your attitude can't be this bad!
Boston's Maritime Square has been completely overrun!
Even so, when the players left through the tunnel at halftime, Walker still looked nonchalant, laughing and joking with Anderson next to him, discussing where to go on vacation and have fun in the summer.
They really don't care about the team at all.
"Hopeless." Auerbach shook his head sadly as he watched the team leave.
Is this the roster the team assembled after sidelining itself?
This is utterly disgraceful!
After both teams had finished leaving the field, Auerbach suddenly stood up from his position and walked towards the players' tunnel.
In North Shore Gardens, no one will stop him from going anywhere.
In the Celtics' locker room, Pitino was at a loss. He really hadn't expected that the team he was leading could be so disorganized, with such poor discipline and sense of honor!
He's even considered resigning immediately after tonight's game to take responsibility.
If he continues to lead this team like this, it's not a question of how well he performs, but whether he can even survive the rest of his career.
I'll be so angry I'll die sooner or later.
"After the game tonight, I'm treating everyone to a good drink at the 'Hot' Club. No hurdle is insurmountable; let's forget the unpleasantness of losing with a game of pure indulgence! Anyone want to go tonight? Sign up now!"
Walker had barely settled into his seat when he started calling out to his friends and acquaintances, preparing for tonight's post-game activities.
"Antoine! We haven't lost yet! What do you mean by this? There's no way you're celebrating before the game is even over!" Pierce stood up, facing Walker, and said, "If you don't want to play anymore, you can go celebrate at your party right now. The team doesn't need you!"
"Who do you think you are? Who do you think you're talking to?" Walker, known for his fiery temper, was shoved off the bench by Pierce's public rebuke. He shoved Pierce, yelling, "Don't forget who's in charge! You dare talk to me like that? I guarantee you won't be on this team next season! I guarantee you'll be fired!"
"Snapped!"
Pierce suddenly threw a punch, hitting Walker squarely in the face, yelling, "You're a piece of trash! You don't deserve to be a professional player! You're garbage! I want to win! I want to play basketball properly!"
"Snapped!"
Then Pierce threw another punch, landing on Walker's face: "The team doesn't need someone like you! Not at all!"
After the two punches, Walker was completely bewildered. He sat on the bench in disbelief, watching as the usually dominant Walker was suddenly intimidated by Pierce's outburst. He sat there motionless, not daring to retaliate at all.
"You're not needed in the second half! You can pack your things and get out!" At this moment, Pierce finally woke up! His inherent confidence and reckless leadership shone through: "And everyone else, if you want to leave, you can all leave with us!"
"We're terrible! We're not strong! We're no match for the Pacers! But the team doesn't need idiots like this who want to go out and have fun before the game is even over, nor does the team need all those other morons who don't crave victory and only think about having fun and making money!"
"There are 29 teams in the league, you can go wherever you want and coast along, but not with the Celtics!"
Walker finally recovered. He jumped to his feet, looked at Pierce, but didn't make a move: "Who do you think you are? Who do you think is the boss of this team?"
"Me! I'm the boss of this team!" Pierce shoved Walker back into his chair. "I'm Paul Pierce, I'm a Los Angeles native, but right now, I'm proud to be a Celtics player!"
After Pierce finished speaking, he stopped looking at Walker and turned to look at everyone.
"For the second half, anyone who wants to play, anyone who's not afraid of losing face, can come on with me! We can't win, I know we can't win, but we can make the Pacers suffer! I'm confident we'll give them a good beating tonight! If you've got the guts, come on with me in the second half!"
Auerbach lowered his hand, which was about to push open the locker room door, and turned around to return along the player tunnel. He whistled along the way, clearly in a good mood.
In the second half, Bird immediately noticed that Walker was not in the starting lineup. He then couldn't find Walker on the Celtics' bench either; the guy simply wasn't there. Seeing Pierce standing in the middle of everyone, clapping his hands heavily to encourage his teammates, Bird, though not present, guessed what had happened.
This is definitely a mutiny.
Then Bird turned his head and saw Auerbach looking at Pierce with admiration, confirming his guess.
It seems that Pierce has solidified his leadership role in the Celtics during halftime!
At least judging from the players' spirit and energy in the second half, the team was clearly different.
Bird leaned back comfortably in his chair, and he was happy to see that his beloved team seemed to be getting back on track.
On the first offensive possession of the second half, Pierce once again aggressively reached for the ball in the low post. After receiving the ball, he used a crossover step to shake off Christie, then pulled up and made a mid-range jump shot.
After scoring, Pierce roared and sprinted back to prepare for defense. The other Celtics players also noticeably quickened their pace, and their defense became more aggressive. It was clear that they were no longer just going through the motions; they were significantly more intense on the defensive end!
This is the effect, right...?
Lin Tian and Webber executed a pick-and-roll at the high post, leaving Webber completely open and unguarded. Lin Tian then made a bounce pass to Webber, and the two immediately turned to chase and defend Webber, leaving Lin Tian exposed again.
By the time Webber passed the ball back to Lin Tian with another behind-the-back pass, no matter how much the Celtics increased their intensity in the second half, it was too late. They could only watch as Lin Tian raised his hand to shoot and easily made the shot!
"Paul, you need to shout!" After scoring, Lin Tian looked at the somewhat frustrated Pierce and couldn't help but say, "Shout loud! Even a little profanity! Encouragement, yelling, reminders—anything goes! That's what makes a true leader!"
Pierce paused for a moment, then nodded to Lin Tian, clapping his hands and saying, "It's okay, it's okay! Great defense! Great defense! Next time, let's communicate even more promptly! Let's shout more when we defend screens to remind our teammates! We'll get this ball back!"
"yes!"
The Celtics' fighting spirit has finally been rekindled!
Led by Pierce, the Celtics played better and better in the second half, producing some very beautiful offensive plays from time to time!
Even midway through the third quarter, the Celtics forced the Pacers into a 24-second violation!
After the successful defense, Pierce excitedly raised his arms and shouted!
"Well done! Well done! We can do it! We can do it! Show everyone we can!"
The fans at TD Garden watched Pierce, brimming with passion on the field, as he showed no signs of giving up and continued to inspire the team, encouraging his teammates to play defense, make runs, cooperate more, and keep striving.
After a long period of silence, cheers suddenly erupted again at the North Shore Garden Square, seemingly led by someone.
"Paul! MVP!"
"Paul! MVP!"
"Paul! MVP!"
The fans gave their highest level of cheers to Pierce, and also to the team that had disappointed them so much.
Although the team is still far behind and will likely be swept tonight, the fans are clearly very satisfied!
They saw what they wanted to see!
Is it strange that they lost to the 75-win Pacers?
Losing is normal!
It would be even better if we could lose with such dignity, like we did tonight, losing the game but not our spirit!
Fans are sometimes really easy to please!
Auerbach's smile grew even wider.
He knew that a brand new culture was beginning to emerge in the team. Although tonight was destined to be a crushing defeat, the team's new system had been established, and the team would start a new round of rebuilding with Pierce as the core!
The team may still struggle to achieve much in the next 1-2 years, and there is a high probability that they will continue to linger in the lottery, but Auerbach is very satisfied with Pearce's performance today.
This team will eventually rise again!
I just don't know if I'll be able to live to see that day.
Amid cheers and shouts from the fans, the score gap between the two sides widened, and the Pacers' lead grew larger and larger.
Yes, the bigger the lead, the more they can take! After all, there is a huge gap in strength between the Pacers and the Celtics, and the Celtics are missing Walker, so they only have Pierce as a reliable offensive option right now. The Pacers are the best at dealing with teams like this!
In addition, the Pacers players hadn't forgotten Bird's instructions.
Beat them to death! Destroy this Celtics team, smash them into pieces, and relentlessly attack the direction where they've been scattered!
In this situation, while the Pacers couldn't possibly play with such ruthless intensity when leading by 30 points, they certainly didn't relax too much.
Simply put, they didn't go all out, but they didn't hold back either.
85:53!
At the end of this quarter, the Pacers had a 32-point lead. They were still winning the quarter, but only by 5 points!
Facing a relentless Celtics team, the Celtics only lost by 5 points in a quarter and held the Pacers to under 30 points in the quarter for the first time in the series!
That's enough! Enough to make Boston fans happy!
In the fourth quarter, neither side fielded their starters, and the game officially entered garbage time. However, the Celtics' role players did not relax in the fourth quarter; they continued to demonstrate their attitude.
They won this quarter!
This was the only quarter in the three playoff games they won!
Although it was garbage time and the Celtics only won by 8 points, they certainly showed their attitude in the second half of Game 3.
They were unwilling to accept it.
Although they suffered a crushing defeat in this series, losing by more than 100 points in three games, they still delivered a performance that satisfied the fans in the last two quarters!
As I said before, fans sometimes have very high expectations, but sometimes they are also very easy to satisfy!
For example, the fans of the Chinese men's national football team...
(End of this chapter)