This offensive possession, while He Xi Meng didn't make the final shot, his extremely aggressive attitude and intention to drive to the basket drew the Kings' defensive attention and broke their defensive line.
Duncan slipped to the basket during the chaos, caught the ball, and was about to go for a layup.
Pollard defended very actively, flying over with all his might, intending to block Duncan's shot.
As it turned out, Duncan's previous shooting motion was just a fake!
After retrieving the ball, Duncan quietly waited for Pollard to fly past before rising up for a jump shot.
Pollard, enraged and unwilling to admit defeat, tried to interfere with his right hand as he descended.
Duncan played along, offering his right arm for Pollard to hit, and simultaneously shot the ball towards the basket, almost getting a three-point play!
The ball rolled out. Duncan glanced regretfully at the replay and turned to walk to the free-throw line.
He made both free throws! As the main scorer today, Duncan's touch was very steady.
Adelman on the sidelines finally made a move! His first command was to substitute Pollard for Fonderback.
Fonderback was shorter and lighter than Pollard, but his footwork and agility were superior.
Adelman realized that even with the support of the system, Pollard was struggling to contain Duncan. So, he decisively initiated adjustments, wanting to see if Fonderback's defense would be more effective than Pollard's.
Although this adjustment by the Kings couldn't completely contain the Spurs' twin towers, it did subtly slow down the Spurs' scoring efficiency, proving to be somewhat effective.
In comparison, the Kings' perimeter defense against He Xi Meng today was their most successful.
Under Christie's tight interference, He Xi Meng barely got any shots off. His only two attempts after weaving through screens missed the rim. He scored zero points in the first quarter.
Correspondingly, the Spurs' defense against the Kings' key inside scorer, Peja, was also quite successful.
Under Bowen's tight interference, Peja missed all four of his shots in the first quarter, also scoring zero points.
Through strong defense, both teams achieved an exchange of effectiveness.
The Spurs' offense in the first quarter was primarily focused on Duncan and David Robinson in the paint.
The Kings' scoring in the first quarter mainly came from the high-low cooperation between Divac and Bibby.
The score initially showed the Spurs leading, but the Kings, through relentless effort, chased the score point by point. By the end of the first quarter, the score was essentially tied.
As the rotation period began, the Kings' bench players immediately found their rhythm!
Terry entered the game and, from the free-throw line area, faced up against Stephen Jackson and made a turnaround jump shot.
Honestly, Adelman putting the 2.08-meter Terry to play small forward was a bit unconventional.
Divac, Fonderback, Terry!
The Kings' reserve frontcourt was taller and stronger than their starting frontcourt!
Stephen Jackson was not a weak defender, but he was only 2.03 meters tall and significantly lighter than Terry.
Facing Terry's strong post-up and turnaround jumper, Stephen Jackson couldn't find a good solution, and Terry continued to exploit him.
Popovich saw Stephen Jackson's struggles and even substituted in Duncan to partner with Yao Ming in the paint, bringing in Malik Rose to guard Terry!
Although Malik Rose wasn't as tall as Terry, he was at least as strong and could withstand Terry's post-up game.
As a result, Terry transitioned to playing off the ball. His catch-and-shoot was equally accurate, even hitting a three-pointer from beyond the arc!
In just over four minutes of rotation time, Terry alone scored 13 points!
He led the Kings on a 15-6 run, successfully forcing the Spurs to call a timeout.
The Kings' bench players lived up to their reputation!
Yao Ming didn't perform exceptionally well during Terry's scoring spree.
With the veteran Divac interfering, Yao Ming had trouble getting the ball. Furthermore, the chemistry between Parker and Yao Ming was far from what He Xi Meng and Yao Ming had. This resulted in the Spurs being unable to leverage Yao Ming's advantage during the rotation period.
Duncan had exerted himself in the first quarter. He was initially prepared to rest in the second quarter but was unexpectedly pulled back into action by Parker. Duncan was naturally reluctant and intentionally or unintentionally passed the ball back to Parker and Stephen Jackson, wanting these newcomers to perform well. However, these newcomers failed to grasp "the big boss's" intention. Their shots were hesitant, and their few attempts had low success rates, ultimately leading to the team being called for a timeout by Terry alone.
Looking back, this period was when Duncan was leading the team alone, and performing this poorly was quite embarrassing!
"Tim, go rest. Simon, the team needs you to score now! You can't be like you were in the first quarter! You have to find a way to shake off Doug. If the outside scoring isn't working, the difficulty of inside scoring will increase significantly..."
The old man's words made it sound like He Xi Meng hadn't given his all in the first quarter.
"Coach is right! Simon, it's up to you this quarter..."
After the old man finished speaking, Duncan, with his innocent big eyes, added the perfect final blow, as if to say, "You didn't give your all in the first quarter!"
He Xi Meng glared back at Duncan, retorting with his eyes: "Was I not giving my all? I was just executing the head coach's tactical arrangement, letting you and David be the primary offensive options first."
The two main generals of the Spurs didn't speak, engaging in a silent battle of eyes. This left their teammates bewildered, unsure what coded message they were exchanging.
Duncan went to the bench. Popovich paired Yao Ming with David Robinson, with Bowen and Ginobili assisting He Xi Meng on the wings.
On the Kings' side, with He Xi Meng on the court, Christie would inevitably return!
Adelman wanted to continue the defensive strategy from the first quarter and keep stifling He Xi Meng!
"As long as He Xi Meng is contained, the Spurs can't execute their offensive tactics fluidly... The twin towers are not to be feared!"
Adelman's words pushed He Xi Meng into the spotlight, making him the target of everyone's attention.
Divac, Pollard, Terry, Christie, Bibby!
The Kings brought back their entire starting lineup except for Peja!
This was because Terry's shooting touch was too hot in the first half of the quarter.
Therefore, even though Peja had scored a team-high 32 points in the previous game, he had to make way for Terry in this quarter!
Another effect of the Princeton offense was that role players could explode at any moment. As long as you had touch, Adelman would give you time and opportunities!