Marbury's offense this time involved extensive passing with Haplin and Drubari on the perimeter, looking for an opportunity to shoot directly!
With He Ximeng's constant reminders, Wake Forest's defense remained solid, without obvious loopholes.
Marbury then resorted to a personal drive, following He Ximeng into the paint, drawing Jerry's help defense from the right corner, and then passing the ball to Drubari, who had come to the right corner to set up.
Drubari caught the pass and shot, smoothly hitting a corner three-pointer, helping the team take a 5:4 lead!
Marbury's court vision is actually excellent!
Sharp in individual offense, fierce in defense, and outstanding in organizing ability... apart from a bad temper and a somewhat unruly personality, Marbury is actually a very well-rounded guard! It's just a shame that in the future NBA, Marbury could never find a coach who understood him, nor a team that could fully build its offense and defense around him... In the end, it was on the other side of the Pacific that a self-indulgent Marbury found rebirth...
Of course, this is all in the future! The current Marbury is full of hope, striving to showcase himself in anticipation of qualifying for this year's draft... a high lottery pick. Marbury disdained low picks.
On Wake Forest's side, although He Ximeng didn't fear Marbury, he didn't want to confront him head-on. There are many ways to win, and a direct confrontation is always the last resort.
With Duncan, a powerful weapon in the paint, and the opponent's relatively weak interior presence, He Ximeng saw no need to abandon his team's advantage and engage in a physical brawl... This wouldn't be courage, but foolishness... He Ximeng wasn't foolish!
Therefore, on this offensive possession, He Ximeng continued to pass the ball on the perimeter, waiting for Duncan to successfully establish position and gain an advantageous spot, then immediately passing the ball to Duncan for an inside score.
This style of play wasn't flashy, and it didn't even boost He Ximeng's individual statistics, but it was Wake Forest's most stable and efficient method of play! It was also the most troublesome strategy for Georgia Tech.
The greatest truths are the simplest! The most clumsy and primitive half-court offense, in fact, tested the players' fundamental skills, patience, and resilience the most.
In the early stages, the two teams traded blows!
Although Georgia Tech couldn't stop Duncan's dominance in the paint, they maintained a stable scoring rate on offense thanks to Marbury's skillful play.
The scores of the two teams increased alternately, and the game was very exciting.
As the first half neared its end, both teams began to substitute their starters for reserves. However, neither side dared to make five substitutions at once.
For example, when Wake Forest's Dave Odom took Duncan off the court, He Ximeng had to remain on the court. And when He Ximeng went to rest, Duncan was brought back in.
Georgia Tech was similar; Marbury, Haplin, and Drubari rotated leading the team and resting, preventing the opponent from going on a run.
At the beginning of the second half, the situation was similar to the end of the first quarter. Both head coaches actively rotated players and changed lineups, hoping to achieve a different effect and see if they could widen the score difference during the rotation periods.
On Georgia Tech's side, Marbury, taking advantage of Duncan's absence from the paint, repeatedly attacked the basket for scores, even giving his team a 7-point lead!
Dave Odom almost couldn't hold on. Just as Duncan was getting up to head to the scorer's table, He Ximeng first hit a step-back three-pointer over Marbury, and then, during a defensive switch, intercepted a return pass from Drubari to Marbury!
Having stolen the ball, He Ximeng shook off Marbury's pull and sprinted forward, breaking free from Marbury's interference, and then dashed to the opponent's basket at full speed!
Seeing Matt Haplin flying in from the flank, He Ximeng, not daring to underestimate the shot-blocking ability of this defensive stalwart, leaped into the air and completed the score with a powerful two-handed dunk, using the force of the rim to avoid Haplin's lateral impact...
If it had been a one-handed dunk, he might have been knocked down by Haplin during his descent...
But to the live audience, it looked like He Ximeng, after the two-handed dunk, was still not satisfied, hanging on the rim and doing pull-ups... a "rim abuse"!
This slightly brutal action immediately ignited a frenzy of cheers from the fans, making He Ximeng feel a little guilty... After all, He Ximeng hadn't intended to show off his physical strength; he was purely trying to evade the lateral collision that Haplin might have caused...
A three-pointer and a dunk, He Ximeng scored five points in a row, helping Wake Forest stabilize the situation. More importantly, the second dunk greatly boosted morale, dispelling the damage to the team's spirit caused by Marbury's consecutive drives.
Dave Odom called Duncan back to the bench, allowing him to rest and recover his strength for the final battle.
On Georgia Tech's side, when the head coach saw that Marbury and Haplin couldn't handle He Ximeng, he immediately brought back Drubari, preparing for a three-on-one situation to try and widen the gap again...
As a result, this move completely ignited He Ximeng's determination to score!
In the next few minutes, He Ximeng, unable to defend against Georgia Tech's three-core passing and cutting combination on the defensive end, switched to offense as defense, relying on his newly found hot hand to continuously hit three-pointers from the perimeter!
When Marbury's normal defense proved ineffective, he resorted to a rough foul, knocking He Ximeng down, intending to intimidate him. But He Ximeng dusted himself off, stood up, and calmly made all three free throws, continuing to ignore Marbury's provocation!
Thanks to He Ximeng's scoring outburst during this period, Wake Forest successfully weathered the opponent's continuous assaults, buying Duncan valuable rest time!
When the head coach called for a timeout and recalled He Ximeng and the other players on the court to the bench, He Ximeng was met with a welcoming line of applause from his teammates!
Because during that period, He Ximeng had individually made three three-pointers, a dunk, and three free throws, totaling 14 points!
Single-handedly battling against Georgia Tech's three leading scorers without falling behind, He Ximeng deserved the honor bestowed by his teammates!
Duncan, while happy, extended his "magic claws" again, trying to mess with He Ximeng's hair, but He Ximeng calmly dodged him to the side...
After a brief rest, the two teams entered the final five minutes of decisive battle. Duncan returned to the court, and He Ximeng shed the offensive burden, retreating to the second line and resuming his role of delivering the ball.
But with the experience and lessons learned from his scoring spree just now, how could Georgia Tech dare to relax their vigilance against He Ximeng?