Divac missed his first free throw but made the second, giving the Kings 1 point.
The Spurs inbounded the ball from under the baseline. On this possession, He Xi Meng still looked for Duncan, who continued to overpower Pollard. However, during the drive, the ball suddenly bounced out of bounds.
Duncan was bewildered, and Pollard, who was defending him, was also confused!
What was going on? The entire arena fell silent.
"I didn't touch the ball!" Pollard immediately raised his hands to signal to the referee that he hadn't touched the ball.
The head referee, unable to see the situation clearly under the basket, turned to the assistant referee. The assistant referee indicated that the ball had bounced off Duncan's own foot while dribbling, and it indeed had nothing to do with Pollard.
In other words, the number 21 rookie had committed a baffling and sloppy turnover!
He Xi Meng understood the referee's call and couldn't help but laugh.
Duncan, who had been looking serious as if the ball hadn't gone off his foot, turned and saw He Xi Meng carelessly mocking his mistake. Duncan immediately lost his composure and couldn't help but offer an awkward smile, explaining, "My hands slipped..." 138 Reading Network
"Your hands slipped? Hahaha..."
Hearing Duncan's explanation, He Xi Meng laughed even harder, "Then you need to wipe your hands properly! If you make another one or two of these low-level mistakes, I think the guy on the coaching bench will go crazy!"
Duncan didn't dare to look at Popovich's expression on the sidelines. There was no need to guess; it definitely wouldn't be good.
"I'll make up for it!" Duncan promised.
"I believe you!" He Xi Meng extended his right hand, offering Duncan an encouraging high-five.
On the Spurs' side, their two core players, Duncan and He Xi Meng, high-fived in a "small celebration" without scoring. Uninformed fans might have thought the Spurs had just scored.
But who said only scoring warrants a high-five? Who said giving away a turnover can't be celebrated with a high-five?
Possession returned to the Kings. Bibby brought the ball up the court. After a series of passes, the ball somehow ended up in Pollard's hands.
Pollard received the ball in the low post and turned, attempting a hook shot.
Unexpectedly, Duncan defended him fiercely, significantly slowing Pollard's turn. This allowed David Robinson to shift over calmly, jump from Pollard's side and rear, and block Pollard's hook shot!
This was a familiar defensive coordination pattern of the Spurs' twin towers: one player hard on the offense, the other waiting for an opportunity to block.
After being blocked, Pollard didn't look dazed. Instead, he immediately turned and tried to reclaim the ball on the spot, successfully grabbing it into his arms.
With a second chance, Pollard dribbled, turned, bumped David Robinson aside, and faced Duncan, intending to pull up for a two-handed slam dunk over him.
Pollard had clearly overestimated his abilities, or perhaps he had become a little too overconfident after being blocked by David Robinson.
Was Duncan the kind of opponent you could just dunk over?
Facing the aggressive Pollard, Duncan showed no fear. He went head-to-head, placing his hands on Pollard's ball and directly blocking his shot!
If it were Webber in front of him, he might have tried, but Pollard simply wasn't qualified!
Duncan, with no regard for convention, blocked Pollard's shot with both hands. After stumbling from the block, he immediately stole the ball and threw a long pass to Ginobili, who was streaking down the court!
Because the Kings' key defender, Christie, had switched onto He Xi Meng, He Xi Meng was being hounded. However, Ginobili found an opportunity!
Bibby, shorter than Ginobili, had no defensive advantage in the fast break. As Ginobili received the ball and was about to dribble, Bibby attempted a fierce steal.
As a result, Ginobili's reaction speed was even faster than Bibby had anticipated! He immediately made a Eurostep change of direction, narrowly dodging Bibby's steal. Then, with a "particularly awkward" stride, he drove into the paint, throwing off the rhythm of the defenders. Finally, he used a "riding a horse and shooting an arrow" move, hitting the glass for a score.
The Spurs were being quite aggressive at the start!
The eyes of the entire arena turned to Adelman on the sidelines. However, Adelman stood proudly with his arms crossed. While he wasn't exactly calm and collected, he was at least unmoved, firm in his belief that his pre-game strategy was sound.
On the next possession, after a dazzling series of passes, the Kings' offense ended with Christie hitting a mid-range jumper!
The Kings' first field goal of the game came from their defensive stalwart, Christie!
This outcome was quite unexpected for the Spurs.
However, this was also a characteristic of this current Kings team. At least, the Sacramento Kings fans in attendance were accustomed to it.
Turning around, He Xi Meng didn't pass the ball to Duncan this time. Instead, he opted for a drive and kick, drawing a double-team from Peja, and then passed back to Bowen, who was lurking in the corner.
It was a good opportunity, but unfortunately, Bowen couldn't make the shot.
Divac grabbed the defensive rebound and passed it to Bibby to start the fast break.
Bibby attempted a quick spin to get past He Xi Meng. To his surprise, He Xi Meng backpedaled quickly and almost stole the ball after Bibby's spin. Bibby broke out in a cold sweat and quickly slowed down to protect the ball, opting for a half-court offense instead.
In the half-court set, the Kings passed the ball back and forth, initially feeding it into the post. Divac, facing David Robinson, didn't force a shot. Instead, he compressed the Spurs' defense slightly before passing it back to Bibby, who had cut to the basket!
Bibby caught the ball, stopped on a dime, and shot a mid-range jumper, which also went in.
The Kings' offense, which Adelman had been anticipating, slowly began to unfold. But what about the defense?
He Xi Meng brought the ball across half-court. Facing interference from Christie, he called for a screen from Bowen on the wing, intending to shake off Christie. Unexpectedly, Christie read the play perfectly and stepped up early, breaking up Bowen's screen and continuing to stick to He Xi Meng! He Xi Meng hardened his resolve and forcefully drove inside, leaning on Christie.
"Wow, didn't you say the Spurs' number 4 point guard plays soft and likes to chuck shots from the outside?"
"Yeah! Xi Meng isn't the type of guard who likes to attack the paint forcefully!"
"But his drives look pretty determined though..."
For the first time since the start of the game, He Xi Meng displayed an extremely tough drive. The Kings fans in attendance eagerly awaited what kind of move He Xi Meng would use to finish. He Xi Meng, however, made a low-hand pass, feeding the ball to Duncan under the basket.
As expected, the ball ultimately found its way to Duncan! It was just a different way of attacking, but the Spurs' focus remained the same!
"I knew it. He wouldn't force it easily, especially against Christie's defense..."
"No problem, that's the way it should be!"
"I expected this kid to pull a trick..."