He Xi Meng observed Ginobili's movements, ready to clean up any mess.
Ginobili initiated, using a quick stop and change of direction to try and get past Bonzi Wells. Wells, however, met him head-on, his chest absorbing Ginobili's sideways push. Ginobili stumbled, but no whistle blew, and the game continued!
Ginobili gritted his teeth and drove again, but his direction seemed off, leading him straight into the embrace of the Trail Blazers' five players!
On the sideline, Popovich couldn't help but touch his forehead, feeling utterly helpless at Ginobili's choice.
"There are so many ways to the basket, why must you choose the most difficult one?"
Just as the Spurs fans in the arena thought Ginobili was about to turn the ball over or receive a huge block, Ginobili, for reasons unknown, managed to break free from the Trail Blazers' encirclement. He then executed a sudden turn, passing the ball to Yao Ming, who was now outside the encirclement and not far from the basket!
Yao Ming, who had been preparing to fight for a rebound, was quite surprised to suddenly receive the pass from Ginobili!
However, surprise notwithstanding, Yao Ming slightly adjusted the position of the basketball in his hands and immediately attempted a short floater.
Rasheed Wallace lunged to block Yao Ming's shot, but he couldn't reach it at all...
The floater was good, and Yao Ming smoothly scored two points!
He Xi Meng breathed a sigh of relief. As he jogged back on defense, He Xi Meng offered a small piece of advice to Ginobili, who had just made the assist: "Manu, can you please look at your route more clearly when you drive next time? I was terrified when you charged into their encirclement!"
"Well, I was terrified too! I looked up and saw they were all Trail Blazers players! Where were you guys? Did you abandon me?" Ginobili spread his hands, explaining the situation with a tone that was half-serious, half-joking.
Duncan, passing by, overheard Ginobili's explanation and couldn't help but let a hint of a smile show on his usually serious face. He ruffled Ginobili's hair and kindly reminded him, "You better not play like that again! The coach hates anything that raises his blood pressure..."
Yao Ming didn't quite catch what they were saying. He just ran over to high-five Ginobili: "Great pass, Manu!"
Rasheed Wallace, having just been outplayed by Duncan and then scoring a little by overpowering David Robinson, had only just begun to feel a bit better.
Unexpectedly, a rookie center stepped up and made a floater right in front of him...
Although this rookie center was a bit tall, did being tall make him so arrogant? Did it give him the right to be so dismissive?
Rasheed Wallace decided to show this rookie center a thing or two. If he could take down David Robinson, he could certainly take down Yao Ming, this newcomer!
"Welcome to the NBA, rookie!" Rasheed Wallace's mouth was as active as his actions when battling for position with Yao Ming.
"Uh... thanks! Actually, someone already congratulated me."
"Who? Who congratulated you?"
"Olowokandi! The Clippers' center."
"That bust! What right does he have to welcome rookies? He's a rookie himself... Don't compare me to him..."
Saying this, Rasheed Wallace secured his position, took the ball from Amar'e Stoudemire, and called for it.
"I'm about to start, you better be ready to hold your ground..."
As he spoke, Rasheed Wallace initiated a back-to-the-basket post-up, testing Yao Ming's core strength. To his surprise! Rasheed Wallace discovered that Yao Ming couldn't hold him at all!
Therefore, he didn't bother with a turnaround jump shot at the edge of the paint. Instead, he happily pushed Yao Ming step by step towards the basket and finally turned for a close-range floater!
Rasheed Wallace thought his straight-arm floater, with its high release point, was enough!
But then...
"What the hell! What's going on?"
Rasheed Wallace's vision went black. A palm the size of a fan's waved in front of his eyes, swatting at the basketball he had just released, sending his seemingly sure-fire floater flying away!
By instinct, Rasheed Wallace scrambled after the blocked ball and went back to his post-up.
"The push-up was fine! No problem!" The Crying King muttered to himself. "The problem was with the final shot..."
This time, Rasheed Wallace decided to add a fake move. After turning, he faked, then faked again, and faked again...
The Crying King felt like he was about to vomit from his own fakes. Finally, he pulled up, intending to complete a one-handed slam dunk over Yao Ming!
As a result, Yao Ming's palm landed precisely on Rasheed Wallace's basketball once again! With a powerful push, he successfully batted the seemingly inevitable dunk away from Rasheed Wallace's hands!
Rasheed Wallace's mistake was choosing to challenge Yao Ming head-on near the basket! If Rasheed Wallace had used the same tactic against David Robinson, turning and shooting from the low post, Yao Ming would have had a harder time blocking his straight-arm jumper.
However, due to Yao Ming's rookie status and how easily he was able to hold his ground in the post, Rasheed Wallace became complacent, thinking it would be easier to score closer to the basket. He didn't realize that He Xi Meng's defensive strategy for Yao Ming was to let these power forwards come into the paint and then, using his height advantage, wait for the opportunity to block!
Rasheed Wallace suffered two consecutive blocks, losing face completely.
Worse still, Yao Ming grabbed the rebound and immediately passed it to He Xi Meng. He Xi Meng pushed the ball up the court for a fast break and sank an ultra-long three-pointer from two steps beyond the three-point line!
Defensively beaten, and offensively beaten!
Rasheed Wallace glared at the nearby referee, quietly asking, "Wasn't that last play a foul?"
Rasheed Wallace hit his own hand, indicating that Yao Ming's block on his dunk was questionable.
"No! That was a good play!"
"How are you sure it was a good play?"
The referee finally realized that Rasheed Wallace was looking for trouble.
"Just play your game! We're watching for fouls!"
...
Rasheed Wallace was about to continue arguing with the referee when Pippen walked over, blocked him, and pulled him back towards the team bench.
The head coach immediately called for a timeout, as Cheeks saw signs of Rasheed Wallace losing his composure.
After continuous battles with Duncan, David, and Yao Ming, The Crying King's emotions were running a bit too high, and he needed to go to the bench to calm down and rest.
After Rasheed Wallace left the court, the Trail Blazers brought in veteran Shawn Kemp!