Jalen Jackson grabbed the defensive rebound and passed it to Johnson to advance!
In the Spurs' paint, Duncan set a screen for David Robinson, giving David Robinson a mismatch against Horry.
Unexpectedly, during David Robinson's post-up, Horry, with both courage and meticulousness, pulled the "chair" from under him. David Robinson, caught off guard, lost his balance, and Horry stole the ball!
After stealing the ball, Horry immediately passed it to Heximone!
Heximone received the ball and accelerated. "Little General" tried to steal it but failed, then attempted a foul, but Heximone batted away Johnson's tug with his left hand, continuing to push the ball forward!
At a critical moment, the head referee deemed the play advantageous to the Lakers, so he did not call a foul on "Little General"!
Heximone quickly charged forward. The fastest and most aggressive player to retreat for the Spurs was Jalen Jackson!
Jalen Jackson wanted to use his own effort to stop Heximone's fast break!
Heximone glanced at his teammates following up behind him. Kobe was the fastest, already reaching the top of the arc in the middle. Eddie Jones was second, two steps beyond the left three-point line... But the Spurs' pursuit was also very rapid. Jackson was right behind Heximone, and Duncan was behind Kobe...
In a flash, Heximone abandoned the idea of passing to a teammate and chose to confront Jalen Jackson head-on!
For this play, Heximone took three steps, then moved one step horizontally from the right to the middle, feigning a right-handed dunk to draw Jalen Jackson's defensive attention. Then, he pulled back, switched to his left hand, and laid the ball up off the glass...
With his strong hang time and core strength, Heximone elegantly and stylishly completed this difficult move, finally scoring the basket!
The entire stadium erupted, with fans collectively marveling at Heximone's incredibly difficult layup!
81:79. At a crucial moment, Heximone helped the Lakers score 2 points, gaining the lead.
The Spurs were naturally unwilling to give up. In the previous possession, David Robinson failed his one-on-one attempt. In this possession, David Robinson set a screen for Duncan. Johnson's pass was perfect, assisting Duncan directly before he turned and shot before O'Neal could switch to defend!
81:81. Duncan, with a clutch shot, hit the glass for the equalizer, tying the score again.
With less than half a minute left in the game, Harris, for caution's sake, called a timeout to strategize for this possession.
Without a doubt, Harris entrusted the opportunity for this crucial shot to the Lakers' leader, O'Neal. This was a common practice in the league, and it was understandable.
After the timeout, Heximone, following Harris's instructions, successfully passed the ball to O'Neal in the paint. O'Neal lived up to expectations, throwing in a shot despite the double-team from David Robinson and Duncan, regaining the initiative for his team!
83:81!
For the Spurs' final possession, Popovich gave the opportunity to David Robinson. However, David Robinson's fadeaway jumper after backing down O'Neal bounced off the rim. Duncan rushed in, attempting a put-back dunk, but was fiercely fouled by Horry, who was chasing him from behind!
Duncan went to the free-throw line. He made the first shot, 82:83. The second shot... missed!
Duncan's second free throw, which would have decided the game, missed!
Chaos ensued under the basket! The Lakers wanted to secure the defensive rebound, while the Spurs hoped to grab the offensive rebound and win with a buzzer-beater...
As a result, the final buzzer sounded, and the Spurs narrowly lost to the Lakers by one point, missing out on overtime and a chance for a last-second win!
Although the Lakers won the game, it was a close and thrilling victory.
Heximone did not play as brilliantly in this game as in the first, but he still recorded 15 points and 8 assists.
His 15 points, second only to O'Neal's 25, ranked him second on the Lakers.
Eddie Jones only scored 9 points in this game, while Kobe, coming off the bench, scored 13 points.
For the Spurs, Duncan scored 26 points, and David Robinson scored 21 points.
Duncan was still the highest scorer for the Spurs, but unfortunately, he missed the final free throw, failing to lead the Spurs into overtime... Although, even if they had reached overtime, the Spurs might not necessarily have defeated the Lakers...
The Lakers successfully defended their two home games, taking a 2-0 lead into San Antonio for the third game of the Western Conference Semifinals.
For Game 3, Popovich continued to employ the same lineup and strategy as in Game 2, clashing with the Lakers in a defensive battle!
At the same time, he introduced second-year rookie power forward Malik Rose into the rotation, further strengthening their inside presence. Popovich was determined to play defense in the paint to the end...
The Spurs were fortunate, and their home basket was incredibly tough, fiercely refusing to let the Lakers' shots fall...
At halftime, the Spurs led the Lakers by 10 points. After three quarters, the Spurs were ahead by 19 points!
The game directly entered garbage time.
In the fourth quarter, Coach Harris took off all his starters and replaced them with the second unit and some players from the third unit to get a feel for the game...
Ultimately, the Spurs decisively defeated the Lakers 86:69, tying the series.
In this game, only O'Neal scored in double figures for the Lakers.
Heximone shot 1-of-8 from three-point range, having his worst shooting performance of the season.
In addition to Heximone's 1-of-8, Eddie Jones shot 2-of-9, and Kobe shot 2-of-10. The Lakers' perimeter shooting was completely off, making their loss unsurprising.
In Game 4, the emboldened Spurs were ready to build on their previous victory and defend San Antonio.
However, the Lakers' outside shooters found their touch again. After going 1-of-8 from three-point range in the previous game, Heximone shot 4-of-8 this game. While not his peak performance, it was back to his normal level.
Besides Heximone, Eddie Jones and Kobe also regained their shooting touch. The Lakers used their mid-range and long-range shooting to kill the Spurs!
82:73. The Lakers broke the Spurs' second home-court advantage and successfully took match point.
In Game 5, back in Los Angeles, the Spurs, facing elimination, attempted to change their strategy and heavily utilize shooter Deshawn Stevenson, gambling on three-point shooting!
Stevenson did not disappoint, hitting 5 three-pointers throughout the game and scoring 17 points!
However, this perimeter threat was not enough to defeat the Lakers. Heximone responded to Stevenson's three-pointers with his own, neutralizing Stevenson's impact and ensuring the Lakers wouldn't fall behind due to his performance.
Meanwhile, after four relatively quiet games, O'Neal finally erupted in Game 5, breaking through the Spurs' "three-tower" defense. He recorded 34 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks, helping the Lakers win another game and defeat the Spurs 4-1 to advance to this year's Western Conference Finals...