Duncan took the jump ball, tipping it to Heximeng on this side. Marbury immediately closed in, pressuring Heximeng's body, trying for a fierce steal.
As a result, Heximeng's core strength was unwavering. He directly backed up and withstood Marbury's assault, keeping the ball in his hands. Then, with a fake right-hand drive, followed by a beautiful behind-the-back spin, he created distance from Marbury!
Marbury still wanted to get close. Heximeng directly used consecutive crossover fakes, and with a side-step acceleration, he blew past the overbearing Marbury!
At this moment, Georgia Tech's defense had not yet stabilized. Heximeng directly accelerated, charging headlong into the opponent's formation...
Seeing Heximeng pick up the pace, Duncan understood immediately. He began to drive up the middle, coordinating with Heximeng who was driving on the right!
Marbury was right behind Heximeng, not giving up. At the same time, Marbury saw Duncan's movement and loudly warned his teammates to watch the middle!
However, Duncan, having picked up speed, gave his opponents no chance to slow him down. With a 360-degree sharp turn, he blew past Georgia Tech's Ellisma!
Heximeng tossed the ball high from the middle. Duncan leaped into the air and slammed home a two-handed alley-oop dunk, putting Wake Forest University on the scoreboard first!
The arena erupted in a roar of cheers, the fervor rivaling that of an NBA Finals game...
Heximeng, having assisted, quickly retreated to his own half, high-fiving Duncan in celebration.
Marbury, with a grim expression, brought the ball across half-court.
From the Nike Hoop Summit to the NCAA Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament finals, the strongest point guard Heximeng had encountered before this should have been Tyronn Lue!
Tyronn Lue's offense relied mainly on speed! Solid fundamentals, coupled with a quicker-than-average first step, were Tyronn Lue's primary means of driving and scoring! However, during the Nike Hoop Summit, Tyronn Lue had stars like Kobe and O'Neal by his side, so his offensive freedom was not vast. He didn't pose a significant threat to Heximeng.
Marbury was different from Tyronn Lue! Although Drew Barry was a junior and Matt Harpring a sophomore, logically, Marbury, a mere freshman, should have been Georgia Tech's third core player.
However, during the regular season, Marbury's outstanding performance had won over his two senior teammates, replacing the nominal captain Drew Barry to become the team's de facto leader!
In other words, on this Georgia Tech team, Marbury held the primary offensive initiative!
Furthermore, Marbury's offensive skillset was also different from Tyronn Lue's.
Marbury not only had speed and shooting, but also respectable post-up offensive ability!
If Tyronn Lue was a more traditional smaller point guard, Marbury was the type of point guard with very strong offensive aggression!
Although Marbury also focused on organizing and passing, when opportunities arose to score himself, Marbury was absolutely ruthless! And Marbury would often drive to the low post to directly challenge the big men under the basket...
On this possession, Marbury chose a wide crossover fake, attempting to throw Heximeng off balance. Heximeng knew his opponent's tendencies and didn't focus his gaze on the ball, nor on Marbury's fierce eyes. Instead, he steadily retreated, maintaining a step's distance from Marbury, while concentrating his attention on Marbury's shoulders, observing his power exertion tendencies...
As a result, Marbury's several fakes failed to shake off Heximeng. Forced to, Marbury passed the ball to Drew Barry on the wing, who then passed to Matt Harpring in the corner!
Matt Harpring faked a shot towards the basket, drawing out Wake Forest's small forward Jerry, who was guarding him. He then drove into the paint and, facing the rotating Duncan, Harpring attempted a layup with a euro step, but he underestimated the area Duncan was covering.
Harpring's euro step layup after hanging in the air was still swatted down by Duncan, who also hung in the air!
Heximeng, who had retreated, scooped up the loose ball. After securing the ball, Heximeng turned and began to drive, intending to cross over Marbury with a change of direction for a fast-break layup!
This move had been consistently effective for Heximeng in previous games!
But this time, Heximeng ran into a wall!
Marbury was also a tough player, bold yet careful. He immediately judged that he wouldn't be able to catch up to Heximeng's accelerating drive if he turned around. Therefore, he opted for a gamble steal!
Heximeng thought he had crossed over Marbury with his change of direction, but in reality, Marbury's hand shot out from behind Heximeng, precisely stealing the ball!
Having successfully stolen the ball, Marbury gave Heximeng no chance to get back on defense and immediately pulled up for a mid-range jump shot, which he made!
There was nothing to say. Heximeng raised his right hand, signaling to his teammates that it was his fault.
Duncan, walking past, patted Heximeng on the head, telling him not to worry and to relax...
Heximeng was caught off guard by Duncan's surprise gesture.
Turning back, Heximeng brought the ball up. Marbury, like a wolf, was still closely watching Heximeng's every move.
Unlike Tyronn Lue, Tyronn Lue's defensive strength was in his tenacity, but his 1.83m height was a hard disadvantage. Therefore, Heximeng could shoot over Tyronn Lue's head with relative ease.
But Marbury was 1.88m tall, similar to Heximeng, and his core strength was significantly greater than Tyronn Lue's. His defensive movements were more intense, and his defensive awareness was more aggressive...
In short, his defensive threat was greater!
"Kid, want to try driving past me again?"
Marbury started his trash-talking again, aiming to disrupt Heximeng's mindset. If Heximeng were a true rookie, fresh off a flight from across the ocean, just getting accustomed to North American basketball culture, he might have indeed fallen into Marbury's trap, acted out of pride, and engaged in a one-on-one, disregarding the team's overall strategy. But the current Heximeng was not only not a rookie but also very familiar with the basketball culture of this continent. Facing Marbury's weak and elementary "trash talk," Heximeng chose to ignore it directly!
This possession, Heximeng called for a screen from Rusty on the left. After creating a mismatch against Drew Barry, he faked a drive to the left, but instead made a no-look bounce pass to Duncan in the low post!
After receiving the ball, Duncan took one back-down dribble. As the double-team came, he used Ellisma to turn and hit a little hook shot!
Although this pass wasn't officially an assist for Heximeng, in the eyes of head coach Dave Odom, it was no different from an assist.
Marbury's taunting tactic failed, and Heximeng didn't fall for it. He resolutely focused the offense around Duncan, which put Georgia Tech, whose interior defense wasn't particularly strong, in a rather passive position!