After finishing the "shake butt dance," Anthony Walker was dunked on by Duncan. Feeling embarrassed, he turned to attempt a three-pointer, but the ball bounced off the rim. Duncan leaped up and, amidst the double-teamed scramble from Kentucky University, secured the rebound.
After grabbing the rebound, Duncan passed to the fast-breaking Hosimon! Hosimon drove forward, bypassing three defenders from Kentucky, and scored with a layup!
A rebound and beautiful pass from Duncan!
Wake Forest's offensive rhythm began to subtly shift. It wasn't just Kentucky that was confused; even Dave Odom on the sidelines seemed bewildered: "Did I schedule this kind of tactic?"
The game continued.
With the score narrowed to 2 points, Anthony Walker saw his head coach stand up from the bench with an displeased expression. He knew he couldn't mess around anymore, or he'd be in for a scolding.
This time, Anthony Walker dutifully received the ball, passed it, and focused on facilitating his teammates. Tony Delk cut for a layup, attempting to repeat what he did in the first half.
However, Duncan, having been scored on multiple times by Tony Delk in the first half, was already familiar with Delk's rhythm. He waited for Delk to drive in again and then delivered a powerful block.
Tony Delk thought his drive was unstoppable, but Duncan showed him that there's a limit to trying the same thing again and again!
A sky-high block sent Tony Delk's layup attempt out of bounds.
Kentucky inbounded the ball, but with little time left on the shot clock, Ron Mercer took a hurried shot from the right corner, which missed the basket.
This time, Kentucky didn't go for the rebound but chose to retreat on defense, preventing Wake Forest from launching a fast break.
Seeing no opportunity, Hosimon slowly brought the ball up past half-court and called for Duncan's high post screen!
After this high post screen, Hosimon didn't drive directly. Instead, he did the opposite, retreating to the three-point line, feigning a three-point shot!
Kentucky was indeed caught off guard. Mark Pope, who should have been defending Duncan, switched with Tony Delk to disrupt Hosimon's shot!
Hosimon followed through with a jump pass to Duncan, who was cutting down the middle!
Tony Delk couldn't stop the cutting Duncan and was pushed by Duncan all the way to the low post.
After receiving Hosimon's jump pass, Duncan took a step, used his backside to shove Tony Delk behind him, nullifying Delk's attempt to strip the ball as Duncan turned. He then used a little hook shot, avoiding Anthony Walker, who had come from the wing to contest, and scored again!
Through a subtle coordination between Duncan and Hosimon, Wake Forest scored three consecutive baskets, successfully tying the score!
The atmosphere on the court instantly became tense!
On Kentucky's side, head coach Rick Pitino was already shouting at his players from the sidelines, urging them to strengthen their defense and not let the opponent easily penetrate the paint.
But was it really a problem with Kentucky's defense? The players on the court were following the coach's instructions from halftime to increase their defense on the perimeter player Hosimon.
The key issue actually lay with Wake Forest! Hosimon had anticipated the change in Kentucky's defensive focus, using himself as bait, and simultaneously having Duncan switch between the high and low post instead of foolishly staying in the low post, significantly increasing the difficulty for Kentucky's interior defense.
Kentucky wasn't missing any assignments, yet as soon as the ball moved, a player found himself open.
Kentucky was somewhat bewildered, unsure whether to revert to the strategy of collapsing into the paint from the first half or to follow the coach's latest instructions and expand their defense, not letting any Wake Forest player get open.
Confused along with Kentucky was Coach Dave Odom.
Dave Odom stood with his arms crossed, pretending to ponder, his furrowed brow making the fans believe that it was Wake Forest, not Kentucky, who was at a disadvantage.
The game continued, and Kentucky finally broke their scoring drought with a mid-range shot from Derek Anderson!
But Duncan quickly responded with a possession near the free-throw line, a face-up against Mark Pope, a drive, and a dunk!
"Oh my God! Tim is starting to play like a point guard..."
In the stands, the fans were already uncontrollably getting into a frenzy.
Dave Odom's brow furrowed even tighter. He had forbidden Duncan from taking face-up singles in previous training sessions.
It wasn't that Duncan lacked the skill for face-up singles. As the universally recognized "Mr. Fundamentals," Duncan was indeed a terrifying presence who could play anywhere from the 1 to the 5! But Duncan was too tall, over 2.10 meters, and his dribble was too high, making him susceptible to steals by guards. To prevent unnecessary turnovers, Dave Odom had always forbidden Duncan from face-up singles. But now, Duncan not only moved to the high post but also broke his restriction, even employing the forbidden technique of face-up singles?
What was going on? Was this still his team? Had he missed something? Or was he suffering from some form of dementia?
Dave Odom was perplexed by the changes on the court. However, Wake Forest was playing exceptionally well, chasing Kentucky's heels, and he couldn't easily make adjustments. If he adjusted and disrupted his team's momentum, the loss would outweigh the gain.
After a quick deliberation, Dave Odom decided to wait and see, letting the team operate autonomously for a while.
The subsequent game situation saw Duncan dominating, single-handedly challenging all five of Kentucky's players!
Kentucky was indeed a championship-caliber team. Just as Duncan and Hosimon managed to suppress the momentum of Anthony Walker and Tony Delk, Derek Anderson and Walter McCarty stepped up to save the team!
Wake Forest had managed to tie the score and even lead by 4 points at one point, but soon, Kentucky had tied it up again.
The scores alternated, with neither team able to gain a decisive advantage.
However, the spectators witnessed firsthand why the "Mr. Fundamentals" was called that.
Duncan, who had been quiet for half the game, erupted in the second half. He abandoned the rigid low-post play of the first half, roaming along the edges of the paint, single-handedly dismantling Kentucky's entire defense!
The game was not yet over, but Duncan had already scored 32 points! Of these, 23 were scored in the second half!