The Lakers scored successfully, but this type of scoring felt a bit more complicated than their usual straightforward approach.
In contrast, while the Spurs also emphasized ball sharing, their perimeter passing and ball movement were all aimed at creating more comfortable receiving opportunities for their inside players.
For example, on the next play, the Spurs' ball movement found its way to David Robinson. The Admiral backed down Shaq once, but instead of forcing a shot, he made an inside-to-inside pass to a well-positioned Duncan.
Duncan used his footwork in the low post, feinting twice. The first fake got Horry off balance, the second drew the help defense from Shaq. On the third move, he used a step-through layup with a reverse lay-up, successfully evading the second jump block attempt from Horry and scoring.
From these initial two possessions, the Lakers' offensive approach seemed reasonable on the surface but was actually a bit convoluted, losing the Lakers' characteristic dominance. The Spurs' strategy, while appearing simple and uninspired, was focused and clear: run the offense through Duncan.
On the Lakers' third possession, Shaq could still manage to pass because the defensive pressure from the Spurs' twin towers in the paint was very real. If Shaq didn't pass, he'd have to face the constant struggle against the double-team. And since the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs' most unwavering strategy had been to lock down Shaq!
If Shaq dared to force a shot, the Spurs were prepared to use foul tactics to stop him. It was simply a matter of who could outlast whom.
Harris didn't want to put Shaq in such a tough spot right from the start, so he tried to break down the Spurs' double-team pressure with passing. However, the effect seemed mediocre.
This was because Duncan's rotation and help defense capabilities were even stronger than Harris had anticipated! Even though Harris believed he had already overestimated Duncan's defensive ability, once the game started, Coach Harris realized that his perceived overestimation was, in fact, an underestimation.
Duncan's grasp of defensive timing, his footwork, his positioning, and even his energy conservation were all in a state of extreme precision! He was neither overly aggressive nor hesitant, always appearing in the most appropriate position at the most opportune moment, making it very difficult for the Lakers' offensive players.
On this offensive possession, Kobe, positioned high, saw Duncan's lateral movement and knew that even if he passed to Horry, Horry wouldn't get a clean shot. So, Kobe made up his mind, feinting a pass and faking out Elliott!
In the early stages of the game, the Spurs hadn't yet implemented their mismatch-defense strategy. He Xi Meng was matched up against Harper, which put less defensive pressure on him, benefiting his playmaking and offense. Elliott was responsible for guarding Kobe.
In the previous two possessions, Kobe had opted to pass to Horry in the post, so Elliott subconsciously assumed Kobe would pass again. Thus, he instinctively tried to anticipate Kobe's pass. To his surprise, Kobe, impatient to score, used a pump fake to throw Elliott off balance and then drove to the basket.
Elliott was a half-step slow, pulled back by Kobe. Duncan, who had been preparing to help Horry, immediately stopped in the center of the paint, adopting a defensive stance to meet Kobe's charge.
If he were facing an ordinary interior player, Kobe might have used the momentum of his drive to take off for a powerful one-handed dunk!
But Duncan was clearly no ordinary interior player.
In previous games, Kobe hadn't shied away from challenging Duncan head-on, but he had failed more often than succeeded. If Kobe attempted a forced dunk, the risk would be considerable. Besides, it wasn't a critical moment, not worth Kobe risking everything. Therefore, facing Duncan's formidable defense, in a flash, Kobe chose to avoid a direct confrontation and opted for a pull-up jump shot!
Elliott, in pursuit, leaped desperately to contest Kobe's shot. However, he missed the block but hit Kobe's arm, and the referee's whistle blew immediately. To prevent Kobe from getting an easy shot, Elliott was forced to commit a foul.
Kobe rubbed his sore forearm, which had been hit by Elliott, and stepped to the free-throw line. He made the first shot and the second shot. Kobe made both free throws, using the line to find his shooting touch for the game.
On the Spurs' third possession, He Xi Meng observed the Lakers' positioning. They had clearly tightened up their defense in the paint, a direct result of Duncan's successful scoring on the previous two possessions.
So, He Xi Meng didn't look for Duncan. Instead, he passed to David Robinson in the low post, then faked a move towards the three-point line at the top of the arc, and then suddenly cut back towards the basket, making a move on Harper.
Harper turned too slowly and immediately grabbed at He Xi Meng's arm, trying to impede his progress. During off-ball contact, referees tend to focus on the player with the ball and pay less attention to players without it. Therefore, slight tugging is generally permissible, especially in high-intensity playoff games.
However, He Xi Meng was no longer a rookie in the league. He returned Harper's "gray" move with his own. He used his off-arm to create a barrier in front of him. When Harper tried to grab him, he smoothly used his off-arm to push away. Harper's tugging failed, and He Xi Meng successfully cut inside from in front of David Robinson to the baseline.
David Robinson immediately made a no-look bounce pass to the cutting He Xi Meng. He Xi Meng initially intended to go for a layup, but Shaq was defending aggressively, moving to block his shot. He Xi Meng saw Shaq's movement out of the corner of his eye, abandoned the direct layup attempt, and instead used a mid-air adjustment and a reverse layup to evade Shaq's trailing block, then finished with a reverse dunk, slamming the ball into the basket!
"Wow!" The Lakers fans in the arena let out a gasp. He Xi Meng's dunks were not common. Especially after the All-Star Game this year, when he missed a dunk attempting to mimic Carter's 360-degree spin, he was ridiculed by fans for months. For the latter half of the regular season, He Xi Meng avoided all dunk attempts to avoid reopening that wound.
So much so that when He Xi Meng made this dunk, even Scarlett Johansson in the VIP box smiled and asked Kayla, "Isn't your man bad at dunking? When did he learn how?"