Chapter 2 Second Quarter
Early in the second quarter, Coach Sloan immediately put Malone and Stockton on the court to suppress Ginobili's arrogant offensive streak. The result? The Argentinian Eagle, with his flowing long hair, couldn't care less about the "Jazz Double Towers"!
No matter who steps on the court, I'll just play my own game!
"Malone's defense is tough? So what if he's tough, I'm not going to go head-to-head with him! If he comes, I'll move. If I can't move, I'll dodge. He can chase me if he wants..."
In any case, after the Double Towers came on, they only managed to stop the Jazz's scoring drought on offense. On defense, the elusive Ginobili didn't play by the book. He turned genuine set plays into unconventional ones! This made the Jazz, who had a more rigid style and a conventional playing approach, extremely uncomfortable.
The final result was that the slippery Ginobili left the "Iron Double Towers" unable to find any solid ground to stand on!
Ginobili drove, shot, and passed, leading the Spurs' bench unit to successfully withstand the offensive pressure from half of the Jazz's starting lineup. He helped the Spurs hold their ground during the transition period, leaving Coach Popovich on the sidelines looking bewildered!
"What the heck! Who told that kid to play like that? Did I plan for this kind of tactic? When did he get so much ball possession? But... that kid is playing really well..."
Coach Sloan, unable to tolerate it any longer, ended the rotation early and sent out the full starting lineup, preparing to go head-to-head with the Spurs' bench unit... The game was already half lost for the Jazz at this point. The opponent, the Spurs, only fielded their bench unit and forced you to use your pure starters. So, when the Spurs sent out their pure starters, what lineup would you use to counter them?
During the timeout, Ginobili, who had come off the court, received a warm welcome from his bench teammates. Duncan led the way, patting Ginobili's flowing hair. David Robinson, influenced by Duncan, unconsciously did the same. He Xi Meng considered the impulse to join in the hair-patting spree but held back... Thinking about the "Demon Blade" who would soon be balding, He Xi Meng felt it was better not to accelerate the process and let Ginobili enjoy his long, flowing hair for a few more days...
After the consumption of the bench unit against the Jazz's main lineup, when Duncan, David Robinson, and He Xi Meng all stepped onto the court together, the situation on the Jazz's side became even more difficult.
At the end of the first half, the Spurs led 57-35, once again gaining a lead of over 20 points, which directly laid the foundation for their victory in this game. In the second half, the Jazz's performance did not improve significantly. Coach Sloan couldn't find any scoring sparks and could only watch the time tick away powerlessly.
103-85, the game ended. The Spurs once again defeated their opponent by a large margin. Compared to the first game, the Spurs won the second game even more easily. As many as seven players on the team scored in double digits. Duncan had a game-high 19 points, Ginobili had the second-highest with 17 points, He Xi Meng had 15 points, David Robinson had 14 points, Brad Miller had 13 points, Elliott had 10 points, and Mario Elie had 10 points...
With a 2-0 lead, the Spurs moved to Salt Lake City, the Jazz's home court.
The so-called home-court advantage, however, comes with a prerequisite: the Jazz's strength must be comparable to their opponent's...
In Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Coach Sloan, back on his home court, shortened his rotation, attempting to make up for the gap between the Jazz's bench and the Spurs by overworking his starters. This adjustment allowed the Jazz to hold their ground for the first three quarters. But as the fourth quarter began, the Spurs unleashed their full force.
He Xi Meng first assisted David Robinson on a short jumper from the low post. Then, Elliott stole a pass intended for Russell from Malone, and passed to He Xi Meng on the fast break. He Xi Meng, with a cold-blooded chase-down three-pointer, silenced the Jazz fans in the arena!
Stockton attempted to strike back with a three-pointer to boost the Jazz's morale, but his fast-break attempt missed. He Xi Meng pushed another fast break, disrupting the Jazz's defense, and then suddenly drove into the paint, only to pass back out with a beautiful assist above the rim...
The number 21 rookie arrived as expected, flying in for an alley-oop, a two-handed slam dunk that exploded the Jazz's rim!
Even more infuriating was that Duncan landed expressionlessly after the thunderous dunk and retreated back on defense just as expressionlessly, as if the earth-shattering dunk had nothing to do with him... Only when he passed by He Xi Meng, who had made the pass, did Duncan extend his right hand and lightly high-five He Xi Meng... He brushed off his jersey, concealing his merit and fame...
The continuous scoring by the Spurs made Coach Sloan on the sideline anxious. He shouted instructions to his players on the court to attack the paint.
In fact, the Jazz players on the court had the same idea, but unfortunately, the Spurs' interior defense at this moment was not something you could simply penetrate at will...
However, to implement the head coach's instructions, Stockton reluctantly passed the ball to Malone, who had finally secured a position in the paint. Malone back-down against Duncan, with Duncan playing primary defense and David Robinson providing help defense, he took a shot with the risk of being blocked... The ball bounced off the rim, but the referee's whistle blew, and Malone got a chance to go to the free-throw line.
Panting, Malone grabbed his jersey and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Looking at the score that was about to be extended to a two-digit lead by the Spurs, he seriously made both free throws with a heavy heart. Such hard-earned scoring opportunities truly couldn't be wasted...
But what made Malone collapse was that after he had struggled to earn free throws and score two points, he turned around to see He Xi Meng and Duncan executing a pick-and-roll. Duncan passed the ball to He Xi Meng, who ran around the paint to the far corner. He Xi Meng, covered by Stockton, hit a catch-and-stop three-pointer... The ease with which he scored made Malone want to spit blood!
With Duncan and He Xi Meng leading the Spurs in scoring with their hot hands, the Jazz, even if they wanted to trade baskets, simply couldn't keep up with the firepower.
Ultimately, after battling for three quarters, the Jazz were outscored 14-28 in the fourth quarter by the Spurs, suffering another double-digit defeat. With their home court broken and trailing 0-3 in the series, the Jazz were pushed to the brink of elimination by the Spurs.
All the Jazz fans knew that Game 4 was a fight for pride. But even so, they didn't want their team to give up. As former Western Conference overlords, they didn't want their team to be swept out of the playoffs in such a manner, even if they were to be eliminated...