On the sidelines of the court, Coach Sloan's face was solemn, his brows tightly furrowed. He had said what he needed to say, and yelled what he needed to yell, but he was the head coach, not the player. The battle on the court still depended on the players themselves.
As the Jazz's on-court core, Stockton and Malone naturally understood the consequences.
In the next offensive possession, Malone aggressively sought the ball and then isolated Duncan one-on-one, driving towards Duncan's long arms and forcing a mid-range jump shot.
Not to mention, Malone's mid-range jump shot was indeed something special. Even with Duncan's interference right in front of him, Malone didn't flinch, his heart steady, and smoothly sank the shot.
If they couldn't defend, they would counter with offense to keep the score close. That was Malone's mindset.
Stockton, finding it difficult to effectively defend He Xi Meng with his standard defensive techniques, decided to employ some tricks to improve his defensive quality and perhaps force a steal.
In the previous two seasons, He Xi Meng had been incessantly annoyed by Stockton's petty moves. But it was precisely through the tempering of those two seasons that this season, when Stockton tried to pull the same tricks, they didn't work so well against He Xi Meng. He Xi Meng, with the advantage of the home court whistle and a bit of "acting" inherited from Kayla, successfully drew two fouls on Stockton in the first quarter.
Coach Sloan had no choice but to substitute the backup point guard Howard Eisley early, letting a dejected Stockton rest and calm his emotions.
Stockton's attempt to steal had backfired, instead giving He Xi Meng more room to operate. Furthermore, the Jazz's strategy of collapsing their defense gave the Spurs' perimeter players ample space to operate… In the two minutes He Xi Meng played while Stockton was off the court, he hit two more three-pointers, further extending the Spurs' lead to 8 points!
The first quarter ended with the Spurs leading the Jazz 23:15.
During the rotation period, the Spurs featured Brad Miller as the core, supported by Malik Rose, Jaren Jackson, Ginobili, and Terry Porter.
On the Jazz's side, Coach Sloan had expected Ostertag to dominate the rotation period, but Brad Miller, with the help of Malik Rose, successfully withstood Ostertag's post-up drives.
On offense, Brad Miller retreated to the three-point line. When Ostertag didn't follow, Brad Miller directly hit a mid-range jumper from near the free-throw line and a three-pointer from the top of the arc, effectively drawing Ostertag out to the high post.
With Ostertag out of the paint, the Jazz's interior became a playground for Jaren Jackson and Ginobili. With Terry Porter facilitating, they repeatedly drove to the basket, directly attacking the rim for scores.
During the rotation period, thanks to the outstanding performance of the bench unit, the Spurs further extended their lead to 13 points!
Coach Sloan was once again forced to adjust, bringing in Malone and Russell from the starting lineup early to bolster the team's overall defensive strength…
In the first half, the Jazz were completely led around by the Spurs, with the game's rhythm entirely controlled by the Spurs.
In the third quarter, Malone repeatedly scored through strong drives, attempting to lead his team in closing the gap.
However, the current Spurs were not afraid of scorers like Malone.
While they didn't have a perfect solution to stop Malone when he was on a rampage, the Spurs could offset the damage of Malone's scoring by scoring equal points.
Simply put, it was "you do your thing, I do mine."
Malone hit a mid-range jumper, and Duncan responded with a low-post bank shot.
Malone drew a foul on a drive, making both free throws, and David Robinson also drew a foul on a low-post shot, making both free throws.
Malone's drive drew a double-team, and he passed to Stockton on the perimeter who hit a three-pointer. Duncan and David Robinson passed inside to draw the Jazz's double-team, then kicked it out to He Xi Meng on the perimeter, who hit a three-pointer…
Malone, with the help of the entire team, managed a brief offensive surge, but the Spurs matched them point for point, keeping the score tightly controlled and giving the Jazz no opportunity to narrow the deficit. 138 Reading Network
The Jazz were inherently a team that excelled at defense but struggled at offense. If they couldn't put significant pressure on the opponent's defense, they were destined to lose when trying to outscore them. Especially against a team like the Spurs, who were not weak defensively and not weak offensively either, the Jazz couldn't gain much advantage in a shootout.
Ultimately, the Jazz, unable to launch their comeback in the third quarter, voluntarily accepted their defeat. They didn't even field their starting lineup in the fourth quarter.
94:75, the Spurs won by 19 points at home against the Jazz, getting off to a good start in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Four Spurs players scored in double figures. Duncan had a game-high 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists. He Xi Meng had 20 points, 9 assists, and 2 rebounds. David Robinson had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists. Brad Miller had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Only two Jazz players scored in double figures. Malone had a team-high 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Stockton had 10 points, 6 assists, and 2 rebounds.
The second game of the Western Conference Semifinals was also held at the Spurs' home court. The Jazz once again suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the Spurs. However, this time, they weren't defeated by the twin towers plus He Xi Meng, but by the Spurs' bench.
In fact, in the first game, the Spurs' bench had already shown a dominant advantage, leaving the Jazz's reserve lineup with little ability to retaliate.
In the second game, the Jazz's starting lineup was unified and managed to withstand the Spurs' starters in the opening stages, but once the rotation period began, the Spurs exploded and started to pull away!
Ginobili first received a clever high-post assist from Brad Miller and made a cutting layup.
Then, Ginobili stole the ball from Howard Eisley and, on a fast break, finished it cleanly with a trailing three-pointer.
Before the Jazz could even react, Ginobili had scored 5 points with a combination of drives and shots. That wasn't all. On the Jazz's next possession, they attempted a lob pass to Ostertag for an interior score. However, Ostertag's post-up attempt was tenaciously defended by Brad Miller.
Malik Rose secured the rebound and passed it to Terry Porter to advance the ball. Ginobili led the charge, cutting across the frontcourt again, taking the ball from Terry Porter, then driving and making a no-look behind-the-back pass to Brad Miller, who was following in the middle, assisting him with a successful two-handed dunk…
In the final two minutes of the first quarter, led by a suddenly explosive Ginobili, the Spurs once again gained an 8-point lead, leaving the Jazz disoriented…