Popovich's adjustment was wise, as Yao Ming, overall, was not yet a match for O'Neal.
Without Duncan's help defense, it would be difficult to contain O'Neal's strong drives on the defensive end.
On offense, Yao Ming could use his height advantage to overpower Samaki Walker, but overpowering O'Neal was unrealistic.
Under O'Neal's physicality, Yao Ming missed two shots at the edge of the paint.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Duncan knew he couldn't slack off anymore. If he continued to slack, the lead hard-won in the first quarter would be eaten away by the Big Shark.
Thus, Duncan quickly stepped up to take over possession and scored two baskets against Da Zhi!
"You attack my Yao Ming, I'll attack your Da Zhi!"
The two Chinese players, who should have been focal points for their respective teams at this time, suddenly found themselves in unfortunate circumstances, becoming the soft targets and background characters for their teams, getting beaten by the opposing team's strongest players!
Duncan's effort helped the Spurs stabilize their position, curbing the Lakers' trend of shrinking the deficit and ensuring they maintained a certain lead.
In the latter half of the second quarter, both sides gradually brought back their starting lineups. He Xi Meng once again exerted his strength, scoring 9 points in half a quarter and a total of 23 points by halftime, helping the Spurs end the first half with a 7-point lead.
Popovich was quite satisfied with the team's performance in the first half, especially the big men in the paint who effectively contained the Big Shark, limiting O'Neal to just 9 points at halftime.
"Defend well! Keep the rhythm the same. As long as we control the paint, we control this game!"
"On offense, Xi Meng, you have a hot hand today. You can shoot boldly, don't be limited by shot selection!"
"Tim, your timing on passes after drawing double-teams in the first half was excellent. Continue that in the second half!"
...
After receiving Popovich's affirmation and instruction, Duncan immediately perked up: "Am I ordered to pass, and you are ordered to score?"
"Don't get cocky too soon! Don't forget the Kings' precedent. In those games, the Kings always led, but the Lakers chipped away at the lead to tie it up! The defending champions are tenacious! Not so easy to beat!"
"I know! I'm not getting cocky. Which eye of yours saw me getting cocky?" Duncan denied vehemently.
He Xi Meng glanced at Duncan, who was pretending to be serious, and said helplessly, "Your face is full of pride! But I advise you not to laugh out loud! I'm worried that if you laugh, the referees won't be able to handle it! If they call you for a technical foul, that wouldn't be good..."
"Referees? What does my laughing or not laughing have to do with the referees?" Duncan was a bit confused.
"Don't ask! You won't believe me even if I tell you. Just remember, when you're sitting on the bench, try not to laugh!"
"What kind of logic is that?"
"There's no logic! This is my advice. Maintain your cool demeanor!"
"Uh... alright..."
As the second half began, the Lakers, just as He Xi Meng predicted, began to exert pressure on both offense and defense. Just like how they dealt with the Kings in the previous round, they were a team that came on strong later in the game!
Kobe took the lead, driving and shooting, scoring 10 points in the third quarter!
O'Neal followed suit, dominating the paint and forcing David Robinson to commit 2 fouls, forcing him to leave the game early.
Led by the OK combination, the Lakers even narrowed the score to just 3 points!
Just as the Spurs were about to repeat the Kings' mistake, it was He Xi Meng!
He Xi Meng's outside shooting touch was truly excellent today!
After scoring 23 points in the first half, He Xi Meng was quiet for most of the third quarter, but at the critical moment when the Lakers were closing in, his three-pointers began to fall again!
He Xi Meng first hit a fast-break transition three-pointer, then used Ginobili's off-ball screen to shake off Kobe, who switched to guard him. He received an inside pass from Duncan and hit an unguarded three-pointer from the right corner.
After hitting two consecutive three-pointers, the Spurs' lead was once again expanded to 9 points!
The Lakers' hard work throughout the quarter was directly undone by He Xi Meng's two three-pointers.
In the fourth quarter, the Lakers still didn't give up!
Horry and Fisher had a mini-explosion, with the former scoring 8 points and the latter scoring 7. With their efforts, the Lakers once again narrowed the deficit to 2 points before the end of the game!
At the crucial moment, it was He Xi Meng's clutch play!
He used a high pick-and-roll from Duncan, faked a pass back to Duncan, causing O'Neal to hesitate in his close-out. Then, he drove all the way to the basket and made a difficult, mid-air lob shot, sinking the ball cleanly!
"Good shot!" On the Spurs' bench, Parker was extremely excited to see He Xi Meng pull off that move. He felt that he could also execute this move very well...
Turning around, He Xi Meng defended Kobe's fadeaway jump shot on defense, successfully preventing the Lakers' attack and solidifying their 4-point lead.
With less than half a minute left on the clock, Popovich did not call a timeout. He Xi Meng took it upon himself to control the clock near mid-court, draining the 24-second shot clock.
Phil Jackson flipped through He Xi Meng's personal stats for the day: 20 shots taken, 14 made; 10 three-pointers taken, 8 made; 7 free throws taken, 7 made, already scoring 43 points!
With He Xi Meng's shooting percentage, it was best not to foul him! It would just be giving him points. It was better to let He Xi Meng run down the 24 seconds and successfully defend this possession.
As He Xi Meng held the ball with less than 10 seconds left, he started from near mid-court. Duncan very tacitly moved to the three-point line to set a screen for him!
"Switch!" Kobe, blocked by Duncan, immediately reminded his teammate Horry.
Horry's first instinct was to go behind to prevent He Xi Meng's drive!
Unexpectedly, He Xi Meng had no intention of driving hard. He directly used Duncan's back as a launchpad, took a step back, and shot!
Kobe's reaction was not slow!
Horry went behind to defend the drive, and Kobe went in front to defend the three-pointer!
But the one thing Kobe didn't anticipate was that He Xi Meng's shot was even more decisive and quicker than they expected!
He wasn't deciding to shoot a three-pointer at the last moment because Horry went behind; he had already prepared for a step-back three the moment Duncan's screen came up!
He Xi Meng predicted that Horry's footwork wouldn't be fast enough to establish position before Duncan, so he made his decision in advance!
The result was that even though Kobe lunged with all his might, he still couldn't stop He Xi Meng from making this step-back three-pointer!
106:99!
He Xi Meng hit his 9th three-pointer of the game, and his 46th personal point of the game!
Kobe pursed his lips, his brows furrowed, shaking his head in frustration.
The game clock had not yet expired, but it felt over!
A 7-point deficit with over 20 seconds remaining, the Lakers' chances of a comeback were slimmer than climbing to heaven...