At halftime, in the Pacers' locker room, a friendly locker room meeting was underway.

Bird, who has always been calm and calm on weekdays, rarely began to spit fragrant and curse.

"If this game were me, it wouldn't necessarily be like this!"

Bird yelled at everyone that he was unhappy with his team's performance in the first half.

Bird seldom roared, he didn't like that, he had always been a calm man.

And today was only the first half of the first game of the playoffs, and Bird was so angry.

This shows a problem: when it comes to the playoffs, Bird is very, very serious.

He doesn't want any signs of slackness and underestimation in the team.

As a player, Bird used to be the king of force, and he pretended to force him to do anything.

And as a manager and coach, Bird was successful, but never tasted a championship.

From Michael Jordan, to Kobe, O'Neal, to the Pistons Five Tigers, the Auburn Hills Palace incident, last season's trade, every time Bird's Pacers came close to success, either there was an insurmountable mountain in front of them, or there were unexpected events that disrupted his deployment.

Year after year, and again and again.

This year, Bird is ready to do another three-year plan.

However, Li Liang's existence proves that it may not take more than three years.

So for the playoffs, Bird is more hungry for victory than these players.

He was originally a man with a desperate desire for victory.

As a player, he can personally go on the field to solve the opponent, but sitting on the sidelines, the sense of powerlessness will be much stronger.

When Bird finished firing, he calmed down and said just one word, "Defend well, guys." ”

Everyone didn't speak, just silently gathered together, and Garnett shouted "Defence!" ”

The second half of the game is about to begin.

Before going on the field, Li Liang patted Bird's arm, and then reappeared with his teammates.

The fans at the Consec Arena are still enthusiastic, and everyone is still fully confident that they can cross the Celtic.

A big screen above the stadium showed a promotional documentary of the team's playoff game, and this year's goal was to win the championship.

At the start of the second half, Celtic took the lead in attacking.

In the first half, Celtic's positional attack was very good, and the ball was very well transferred.

Bradley, Smart, and Turner all scored three-pointers from the outside.

Even Olynyk hit a three-pointer from the outside.

The Celtics took advantage of their agility and took advantage of the Pacers' impatience in mentality, rushing to chase points and ignoring defensive solidity.

The Pacers in the third quarter were clearly different.

One-on-one half-court marking, with a high concentration of the whole team.

The Celtics, who lacked the ability to carry the ball individually, immediately found that moving the ball was useless.

The ball arrived, followed like a shadow, and finally Bradley forced a shot from the top of the arc, but the ball didn't touch the basket.

The Pacers defended the Celtics for a 24-second break!

If the Celtics have a top-tier ball-handling attacker who shoots a shot with his individual ability against high-intensity defense, the pressure is all on the Pacers' side.

It's a pity that Celtic didn't, the only one with this ability, who was still sitting on the bench off the field, the 175 little man.

After a few rounds in the third quarter, Stevens realized he had to get Thomas Jr. on the court early.

Thomas Jr. was selected with the 60th pick because of his height.

But he worked tirelessly to average 20 points per game in the NBA for the season, which is a remarkable achievement.

After coming to the Celtics, Thomas Jr. started off the bench, but he was the most important scoring point for the Celtics.

In the first half, Thomas Jr. became the team's offensive engine in the second team.

But in the third quarter, the Celtics have not scored for four consecutive rounds!

The Pacers managed to play a wave of 10-0 offensive climax, and instantly overtook the score.

The Pacers' defensive intensity is amazing, and the Celtics, who don't have offensive strengths, can't parry it at all.

For the Pacers, the playoffs really began in the second half.

Stevens called a timeout and replaced Thomas Jr.

It's not time for Thomas Jr. to play, but there's no way, the playoffs are just a move, and if something goes wrong, you have to think about it immediately.

For Stevens, he has a lot of ideas in his chest, but he doesn't have any cards in his hand.

A 60-pick Thomas Jr. is already the best card he can play.

Thomas Jr. really scored when he came on the court.

He used his speed to get rid of Hill and hit a pull-up jump shot to score two points.

Finally quenched the thirst of the Celtics.

But one goal is not enough.

Soon, little Thomas was taken care of by Li Liang.

In the next defense, Thomas Jr. passed the ball and broke through, and was directly cut off by Li Liang, who was sandwiched by the upper line.

JR-Smith is already down, Li Liang has a long pass to JR, an empty basket, and a direct dunk is successful.

When the Pacers' defense improved, their offensive efficiency immediately improved a lot.

Quickly counterattack, fight alone, and use the simplest way to strike the opponent when the opponent's foothold is not stable.

Li Liang really gradually entered the state on the defensive end - after the timeout, this thing actually installed a [golden shield] for himself......

It's something he's only used in the Finals in the past, and it's a rage drain.

But Li Liang still used it, and he felt that it was necessary to lay a good foundation atmosphere for the whole team.

In the past two playoffs, the Lakers and Clippers have won championships by attacking and balancing offense and defense.

This time the Pacers had to rely on defense.

Moreover, Li Liang is no longer a rookie, no longer a duo, he is the boss of the Pacers.

Boss, you have to show the example of the boss, how can you direct traffic?

Li Liang, who has increased his data by 15%, is very scary.

Especially his perimeter defense, when he started switching, the Celtics barely had anyone who could score one-on-one on his head.

Not only because of ability, but also because of momentum, the momentum of the Celts was completely suppressed.

With an 18-5 super attack wave, it took the Pacers half a quarter to completely turn the situation around.

Seeing this situation, Bird also did not decide to let go and let go.

Winning 1 point is the same as winning 58 points, but the effect is still different, and one will be remembered for a long time......

The Pacers don't need to win that much, but the Pacers want to win with a sense of pressure, and the ones who want to win will make the Celtics lose their fighting spirit.

Defending is the best way to break the opponent's will.

The steely defense allows the opponent to score more than eating.

After the fight, the opponent will definitely think, "Please, I'm here to play basketball, not iron, I want to shoot and score!" ”

The Celtics are a team with strong willpower and a lot of discipline.

But more than halfway through the third quarter, I was already about to feel that way.

The score in a single quarter did not break 10!

After a timeout, Bird brought Garnett on the pitch.

The defensive combination of Li Liang and Garnett is really a nightmare for outside players.

Stevens reacted fairly quickly and immediately changed his moves, allowing the players to cut into positions and hit the back of the Pacers.

But the move succeeded for two rounds, and Garnett immediately began to crouch near the three-second zone and not come out much.

At the same time, the Pacers as a whole stared at people and did not relax for a moment.

If you are relaxed, a mouthful of dung will come over and you will understand what the fragrant taste is.

The sky above the Consec Arena was filled with roars, expletives, and the sound of command.

It's something that's bound to come out of a high-intensity, intense game.

At the end of the third quarter, Li Liang went to rest.

He scored just six points in the quarter, but grabbed eight rebounds, two steals and one block.

The Pacers allowed the Celtics to score just 11 points in the quarter, leading the Celtics by 12 points at the end of the third quarter.

12 points, which doesn't look like much, but the Celtics have 11 points in one quarter, and the Pacers don't score in one quarter, and you can't catch up.

Besides, can you not score?

Li Liang raised his defense to the extreme, and the moment the [Golden Shield] was put away, he was distressed when he saw the number of anger points that jumped out in front of him!

TM, when I go to Boston in two days, I can't get angry yet!

Li Liang was already thinking, should he scold the Celtics after the game?

Stir up the fire?