The Lakers, unable to penetrate the paint early on, engaged in a scoring duel with the Spurs, relying on three-pointers from Eddie Jones and Hexi Meng.
This was a last resort. With the Spurs controlling the interior, Hexi Meng had to try and open up the Lakers' perimeter game. Fortunately, their luck was good; at least, Eddie and his own three-pointers both hit, preventing the Lakers from falling behind immediately.
The game continued.
The Spurs maintained their condensed defense, prioritizing containing O'Neal.
The Lakers stuck to their outside shooting strategy, testing who would crack first.
Of course, the Lakers' perimeter strategy deviated from the pre-game plan set by the head coach. However, since it was effective and Harris hadn't called a timeout to stop Hexi Meng from "changing tactics unilaterally," the other players tacitly accepted it as a "granted privilege" by Coach Harris to Hexi Meng.
Even O'Neal didn't question Hexi Meng's choice. Instead, he directed all his frustration towards the Spurs. He understood that it wasn't that Hexi Meng didn't want to pass to him, but rather that on several occasions he had tried to pass, but O'Neal couldn't find good shooting space. Forcing shots would compromise accuracy and consume too much energy.
O'Neal had long since solidified his position as the Lakers' undisputed leader, so he wasn't in a rush for his touches. As long as he wanted to play, he could get the ball at any time. For now, he let Hexi Meng wear down the Spurs, hoping to loosen their defense a bit so he wouldn't be surrounded like an "apple pie," to the point where he couldn't even grab a rebound.
Of course, O'Neal wouldn't be bullied.
In the paint, he had already drawn a foul on Perdue and another on David Robinson. He also sent back a shot from Duncan and grabbed three rebounds. Although he hadn't scored, O'Neal was still contributing to the team's fight against the Spurs in his own way.
About six minutes later, Coach Harris finally initiated the Lakers' rotation. He subbed out Fox for Campbell, moving Horry to small forward to match up against Duncan. This was exactly as Hexi Meng had envisioned before the game.
Upon seeing the Lakers' chubby number 41 on the court, and number 5 Horry dropping from power forward to small forward to guard him, Duncan became even more alert.
This was because Hexi Meng had told him before the game that Horry was Duncan's true opponent.
With Campbell's addition, the Lakers' interior presence immediately strengthened, and O'Neal began to score in the paint, leading to a more balanced game. As the two teams battled fiercely inside, Hexi Meng took the opportunity to recover his energy on the perimeter.
After Horry replaced Fox in guarding Duncan, Duncan's ability to score at will from the mid-to-low post was directly neutralized, and his shooting percentage dropped from its initial high.
After all, Horry was a full level above Fox in terms of height, weight, and physical ability.
With their interior offense stalled, the Spurs also tried to open up their perimeter game. However, DeNagro missed all three of his attempts in the first quarter under Eddie Jones' tight defense.
Eddie Jones' defensive ability had consistently been underestimated by the league. His individual on-ball defense and help-side defense on the wing were quite outstanding.
Hexi Meng's arrival with the Lakers, and his role in accelerating Kobe's development, had, in a sense, taken away some of Eddie Jones' ball-handling and shot opportunities. This had implicitly forced Eddie Jones to improve his spot-up shooting and individual defense.
Eddie Jones was the Lakers' second-in-command, but he often served as the team's de facto 3-and-D player.
As the first quarter neared its end, O'Neal and Eddie Jones both went to the bench for a rest, with Kobe and Fox entering the game.
The Lakers' lineup was adjusted to Campbell, Horry, Fox, Kobe, and Hexi Meng. Horry and Hexi Meng continued to play.
On the Spurs' side, Popovich maintained the core of the twin towers plus Johnson, substituting out Perdue and DeNagro for Chuck Person and Jalen Jackson.
Campbell continued to guard David Robinson, and Horry continued to guard Duncan.
In Hexi Meng's opinion, Popovich's decision to keep the twin towers in was a poor one.
Popovich's intention was likely to gain a slight lead with the twin towers during O'Neal's absence. However, he underestimated Hexi Meng's court control and Kobe's scoring ability.
In the final two minutes of the first quarter, the Spurs did score six points thanks to the twin towers.
But on the Lakers' side, Hexi Meng and Kobe executed small plays, assisting Kobe in hitting a mid-range pull-up jumper and a scoop layup after a cut.
Hexi Meng also received a drive-and-kick pass from Kobe, slipping to the left corner and sinking a three-pointer from the zero-degree angle.
The Spurs scored six points, while the Lakers scored seven!
Popovich's attempt at strategic maneuvering backfired, exhausting the twin towers' energy and instead being countered by the Lakers' twin stars.
This also laid the groundwork for potential issues for the Spurs in the second quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, Popovich substituted David Robinson, allowing the younger Duncan to continue playing, supported by Perdue.
On the Lakers' side, Hexi Meng and Horry went to rest, while O'Neal and Campbell entered the game, accompanied by Fox, Kobe, and Van Exel.
Without David Robinson, the Lakers' heavy twin combination could overpower the Spurs' pairing.
While Duncan could play center, he was still a bit slender when he first entered the league. If he had to go head-to-head with a prime O'Neal and Campbell, it would be extremely taxing.
With David Robinson beside him, Duncan could avoid much of the direct confrontation, but Perdue could not replace David Robinson's role.
O'Neal, who had not scored much in the first quarter, with Campbell's assistance, avoided the "shield" of Perdue and repeatedly attacked Duncan.
After his first shot was inadvertently blocked by Duncan, O'Neal abandoned shooting and focused solely on dunks.
As a result, Duncan failed to block three consecutive shots and was repeatedly dunked on by O'Neal.
Worried that Duncan might develop a psychological complex from O'Neal's dunks, Popovich quickly brought David Robinson back into the game and substituted Duncan out for a rest.
Duncan left the court expressionless, showing no visible signs of frustration or anger. Back on the bench, Duncan looked up at the big screen for a while. The screen was replaying the footage of Duncan being violently dunked on by O'Neal.