After the timeout, all eyes in the arena were once again on He Xi Meng!
With Duncan out, He Xi Meng had not only become the Spurs' primary ball-handler but, indirectly, their scoring core as well!
So, would He Xi Meng choose to focus on facilitating or scoring?
"Big Yao, come up to the high post!"
As soon as he crossed half-court with the ball, Christie was already on him, disrupting He Xi Meng's dribble, trying to force him to give up the ball.
He Xi Meng didn't do that. Instead, he shielded the ball with his body and called for Yao Ming to come up from afar.
After Yao Ming arrived, He Xi Meng first passed the ball to Yao Ming near the free-throw line. Then, he set an off-ball screen for Ginobili as they moved, forcing the Kings to switch defenses. He Xi Meng seized the opportunity, cutting towards Yao Ming, and they executed a hand-off!
After receiving the ball, He Xi Meng used Bibby's positioning to forcefully drive into the Kings' paint...
"Don't tell me it's going to be another underhand pass at the end?"
This time, it wasn't!
After being thoroughly outplayed by Turkoglu, the Spurs desperately needed a morale-boosting basket!
So, He Xi Meng didn't hesitate. He exploded for three steps, weaving through Divac and Pollard, hanging in the air for a layup, and with a reverse finish, he spun the ball into the net!
Rose's signature move was truly effective! Apart from being a bit hard on the knees, it had almost no flaws.
Crucially, it was a major blow to the opponent's morale, feeling like a fatal stab!
After making this driving layup, He Xi Meng didn't celebrate at all. Instead, he loudly urged his teammates to get back on defense, to try and stop this possession!
When playing from behind, defense was even more important than offense!
Only by stopping the opponent from scoring could you have a chance to close the gap. Otherwise, if you score one, they score one, and you just enter a scoring duel. And in a scoring duel, it's not favorable for the trailing team! The pressure would be immense, and shooting percentages could easily go awry. Conversely, the leading team, feeling more relaxed, would have more stable shooting percentages.
The Kings wanted to keep targeting Turkoglu, but the Spurs were not about to let that happen!
As soon as Turkoglu started dribbling, Ginobili rushed up to help Bowen double-team him, nearly stealing the ball from Turkoglu.
Turkoglu quickly secured the ball and passed it to Christie.
Facing Ginobili's recovery defense, Christie drove hard from the side, attempting to penetrate the Spurs' paint for a layup!
But Christie clearly underestimated Yao Ming's lateral defensive ability!
Yao Ming arrived under the basket instantly and swatted Christie's layup away!
Ginobili, who was chasing Christie, seized the opportunity to grab the ball and turned to initiate a fast break!
Bibby quickly stepped up to impede him, trying to buy his teammates time to get back on defense. But Ginobili didn't stop dribbling. As Bibby lunged, he passed the ball to He Xi Meng on the other side!
At this point, Christie was still behind He Xi Meng, unable to interfere.
Beside He Xi Meng was only Turkoglu, desperately trying to recover and block He Xi Meng's direct layup.
Turkoglu was good offensively, but defensively, he was average! Especially against a point guard like He Xi Meng, Turkoglu, being a bigger man, was much less agile.
He Xi Meng received the ball and dribbled to the three-point line, feigning a crossover and acceleration!
Unsure if it was a bluff, Turkoglu immediately changed direction to retreat.
He Xi Meng seized the moment, executed a sharp stop and pull-back, followed by a step-back three-pointer!
By the time Turkoglu recovered his balance and leaped to contest, the ball in He Xi Meng's hands had long since flown over his head, heading straight for the rim!
With a crisp swish of the net, He Xi Meng's first three-pointer of the game was accurately sunk!
A driving layup plus a step-back three-pointer!
Since coming onto the court, He Xi Meng had scored 5 consecutive points, instantly narrowing the Spurs' deficit from 9 points to 4!
On the sideline, Popovich nodded with satisfaction, "This is the right rhythm!"
On the bench, Duncan also nodded with satisfaction, "This is the right Xi Meng!"
With He Xi Meng's surge, the Kings' aggressive momentum was effectively curbed.
Bibby orchestrated his teammates with ball movement, eventually passing the ball to Turkoglu. The Kings were still persistent, wanting to continue Turkoglu's hot streak.
The Spurs, on the other hand, were equally resolute!
Bowen immediately called for Ginobili, and the two continued to double-team him from front and back, denying Turkoglu any opportunity to dribble and adjust.
Turkoglu gritted his teeth, opting for a high post isolation play, trying to leverage his height advantage to force a shot over both of them!
But such a shot was clearly too forced, lacking any rhythm. It devolved into relying on individual skill or sheer luck!
And such attempts clearly went against Adelman's overall offensive principles for the Kings: getting the ball to the player in the most advantageous shooting position!
In the first half, Turkoglu was that player. But now, it seemed Turkoglu was no longer the one.
"Peja!" Adelman called out to Stojaković on the bench without hesitation, "Get ready to go in!"
Since the advantage couldn't be sustained, cutting losses decisively was the best option!
Adelman's decisiveness was evident.
Turkoglu's pull-up jumper for two points missed, and Yao Ming grabbed the rebound. He turned to pass to He Xi Meng, but Bibby anticipated Yao Ming's next move, flew in, and stole Yao Ming's pass! He took one dribble, adjusted, and hit a close-range turnaround jumper for two points!
Yao Ming had committed a turnover!
"Sorry, Xi Meng, I didn't see Bibby there!"
"It's alright! Learn from your mistakes! The main thing is your pass was too predictable, so before passing, you really need to observe your surroundings! Don't rush the fast break, we have an advantage in half-court offense..."
"Okay!"
The growth of young players inevitably comes at a cost. Yao Ming's occasional mistake wasn't a big deal, but he needed to learn from it. Such a turnover on a fast break had a considerable impact on team morale.
Ginobili inbounded the ball from the baseline, and He Xi Meng advanced again.
To atone for his earlier mistake, Yao Ming constantly moved around the basket, engaging in physical battles with Divac.
He Xi Meng, seeing Yao Ming's determination, found a way to get the ball to Big Yao. Yao Ming strained himself to back down Divac, who looked relaxed and kindly "reminded" Yao Ming, "You need to step up your strength training..."
Yao Ming refused to be outdone! If absolute strength wasn't his advantage, he'd try footwork!
Yao Ming faked a spin move, pretending to give up on the strong drive and opt for a hook shot!
Divac didn't expect it to be a fake. He thought Yao Ming had taken his "advice" and abandoned the plan to drive to the basket. As a result, Yao Ming faked Divac into stepping forward, then pulled the ball back, squeezed past Divac with a side step, took a step, leaped forcefully, blocked Divac's interference with his left hand, and slammed the ball into the basket with his right hand!
Who said Yao Ming had no temper?