836: 279: He is about to respond to Vince Carter (asking for monthly tickets!)_4 836: 279: He is about to respond to Vince Carter (asking for monthly tickets!)_4 He decided to give up an offensive point and assign Pierce to guard Carter in the second quarter.
Competitive sports are so cruel, you might have been at the top a few years ago, but now you’re facing being eliminated by time.
In the playoffs, Scottie Pippen can no longer serve as the team’s solid first barrier, and that’s a hard fact.
Aside from experience, Pierce is already surpassing Pippen in many areas on defense.
But Pierce never expected that he would end up facing Carter head-on, just as Pippen did.
In the second quarter, the bustling Canadian Airlines Centre seemed to only have Carter left.
His shots were like practicing alone, each one drawing a perfect arc like a rainbow and swishing into the basket!
Paul Pierce was exhausted, trying his best, and sparing no effort to block Carter’s shots.
At first, Carter would pass the ball to find better opportunities.
But after hitting the third three-pointer of the second quarter, and the sixth three-pointer in the first half, Vince Carter completely unleashed himself.
He began shooting despite Pierce’s interference, and those three-pointers kept going in!
The game nearly went out of control because as Carter kept making threes, the point difference was only widening!
Toronto fans saw hope for victory, and commentator Bob Costas shook his head: “The defending champion might once again, as Kobe said, find themselves in a tough fight against a team that only won about 40 games.”
Roger was under pressure, going head-to-head with Carter, but with Carter making too many threes, even Roger couldn’t keep the score close.
With 42 seconds left in the second quarter, Carter dribbled to the left corner.
He wanted to break through, but Pierce followed so tightly and didn’t give up any ground in the confrontation.
Carter was forced to take a horizontal step back to the three-point line and shot while leaning back.
It was an incredibly difficult shot because Pierce didn’t lose his position and was pressing tightly.
But after Carter released the ball, all the fans at the Canadian Airlines Centre raised their arms in advance.
Stephen Curry, like everyone else, stood up and raised his arms, but was unable to make any sound.
Until the entire arena heard the net swish and saw Vince Carter putting his hands beside his temples, performing his iconic motorcycle celebration.
The fans’ throats were finally unleashed, and Curry, along with everyone around, cheered nearly madly.
Toronto became a sleepless city of celebration!
Even Bob Costas exclaimed: “The 9th three-pointer, my God, Vince Carter just sunk 9 three-pointers in the first half of the game, breaking Roger’s record of 8 threes in a half during the 1997 playoffs!
Vince Carter took 10 threes in the first half and missed only one!
The UFO over Canada finally unveiled his space weapon!”
The cheers weren’t just for Carter breaking the half-time three-point record, but also because the Raptors were leading by 17 points at the half!
The Hawks didn’t play poorly, just average performance.
But Carter’s extreme firepower made the Hawks a bit
While everyone thought the defending champion would easily seal the victory and end the series, Carter once again slowed their steps!
Vince Carter tore off the purple headband, pounded his chest, and then pointed to the stands.
In the crowd, Stephen Curry also pointed at Carter.
Don’t think we’re just dunkers!
After the half-time break, back in the locker room, the Hawks players were silent.
Are 40-something win teams really playing now!?
Roger was also very angry at first, but he remembered that in the original timeline, Carter had done this in the 2001 playoffs, going head-to-head with AI.
At that time, Carter made 8 threes in the first half, but now he made 1 more.
After that, AI returned the favor with 52 points in Game 5, and eventually won the series in Game 7.
Should he wait like before, like AI in the original timeline, and respond to Carter in the next game?
No, Roger doesn’t want to wait any longer.
No one can stand in his fast track to the finals.
Before the finals, he doesn’t want to waste any time on any opponent.
Roger won’t wait for the next game, he will respond to Vince Carter right away!
Lenny Wilkens tapped the strategy board: “Paul, in the second half, continue to lock him down, Vince’s three-point touch can’t possibly last the whole game!”
This arrangement also has another implication: When Paul Pierce focuses entirely on defense, on the offensive end, the ball has to go to Roger!