The ball, with a flick of the wrist, precisely hit the front rim of the basket!
Yao Ming stepped forward, grabbed the rebounding ball, then twisted in mid-air, directly passing it to He Xi Meng, who was lurking beyond the three-point line!
In the instant Bowen turned to watch Yao Ming shoot his free throw, He Xi Meng silently moved a step sideways toward the right side of the basket, creating a small gap.
By the time Bowen turned back and lunged to contest He Xi Meng, He Xi Meng had already caught the ball and fade-away shot!
The ball traced a beautiful arc, and as the countdown timer lit up, it went straight through the net!
Yao Ming intentionally missed the free throw, grabbed the offensive rebound, and with a brilliant pass to He Xi Meng, He Xi Meng caught the ball and hit a high-difficulty, buzzer-beating game-winner!
The chemistry of their cooperation was already enough to rival the greatest duos in league history!
The Celtics staged a comeback with a game-winning shot against the Spurs, and the North Garden Arena erupted, plunging into a sea of joy!
“Unbelievable creativity!”
“Unbelievable free throw!”
“Unbelievable rebound!”
“Unbelievable three-pointer!”
The commentators repeated “unbelievable” four times, perfectly encapsulating this incredible play!
Skill and luck, neither could be spared; if even one element failed, the outcome of this shot would be entirely different!
And if this shot missed, the outcome of this game would be completely different!
And if the outcome of this game were different, the trajectory of this series would be different!
Because if the Spurs won, the series score would become 3-1, and the championship this year would essentially be decided.
But now, after the Celtics' comeback and game-winner against the Spurs, the series score is tied at 2-2!
With Carter injured, the Celtics successfully defended their home court, pushing the Finals into a pivotal Game 5!
In Game 5, back on their home court, the Spurs began to increase their defensive intensity.
In Games 3 and 4, at the North Garden Arena, Popovich did not, as he had in Games 1 and 2, deliberately emphasize increasing defensive intensity.
Because Popovich knew very well that even without Carter, as long as the Celtics had He Xi Meng and Yao Ming, sweeping the Spurs would always be impossible.
Instead of that, it was better to relax and, with normal offensive and defensive intensity, test the Celtics' limits, while also allowing the core players to rest and accumulate some energy for the upcoming fierce battles.
Given He Xi Meng’s insane form in the first two games, Popovich’s strategy of playing conservatively was very wise.
On the Celtics’ home court, they avoided He Xi Meng’s sharp edge, and then, upon returning home, they would go all out to capture victory!
Did He Xi Meng and Kerr not know Popovich’s strategy?
Of course they did, but what good was knowing?
Popovich not letting the Spurs go all out didn’t mean the GDP weren’t playing their best!
If He Xi Meng hadn’t gone all out in his two games in Boston, the Celtics might not have even had the chance to play another game in San Antonio…
So, this was a brilliant scheme by Popovich!
And He Xi Meng and Kerr had no choice but to fall into this trap!
Because the circumstances were not in their favor, the Celtics had no other option. They could only take it one step at a time, focus on the current game, and then ponder how to play the next one.
Before the start of this pivotal Game 5, Kerr and He Xi Meng urgently discussed whether to go all out in this game.
Logically speaking, why wouldn’t you go all out in Game 5?
Michael Jordan’s philosophy was to fight to the death, never giving up on any game!
But Jordan was an emotional player, and he was virtually invincible during his playing career. His opinions could be taken as inspirational, but not entirely as a plan.
Unless you believed that He Xi Meng's current dominance in the league could rival Michael Jordan in the mid-90s…
He Xi Meng was self-aware. He didn’t know if others agreed, but at least none of his good buddies in San Antonio would choose to surrender!
Good personal relationships were for off the court.
On the court, well, you fight first, then talk!
So, after much deliberation, facing the sharpening knives of the GDP, He Xi Meng and Kerr agreed: attack the first half!
Simply put, give it their all in either the first or the second half, and see how the team’s shooting touch and overall performance were.
Of course, they also had to consider the Spurs’ overall performance.
If there was an opportunity, they would ramp up the effort.
If not, they would strategically give up early.
Generally speaking, in the NBA Finals, there is no such thing as strategically giving up. However, as the head coach, he could control the scope of this strategic surrender. For example, giving more playing time to rookie players.
For this game, Kerr decided to take the initiative, aiming to surprise the Spurs at the beginning by having He Xi Meng go all out, hoping to build a certain lead.
If a reliable lead could be established, they would continue to invest their efforts and fight for a win.
If the offense faltered from the start, they would give the younger players a chance to play, hoping to disrupt the game, create a chaotic situation, and then let He Xi Meng clean up the mess at the end!
Kerr’s plan was, in fact, very reasonable and well-thought-out. He considered all possible scenarios and devised corresponding measures.
However, the Spurs were not a team that only played one tactic!
Popovich initially intended for a steady start, but seeing the Celtics’ aggressive approach from the beginning and He Xi Meng showing signs of exploding from beyond the arc, Popovich immediately adjusted his strategy, ordering Duncan to go into full offensive mode in the paint!
You attack He Xi Meng, and I’ll attack Duncan!
Let’s see which team has a better shooting percentage and which defense breaks down first!
Because they were playing at home, Bowen’s defense on He Xi Meng was noticeably more physical than in the previous two games.
Moreover, the elevator door tactic, which had been the Celtics’ key to victory in the last two games, had also been cracked by the Spurs.
For the Spurs, this tactic was not that difficult to break.
Popovich simply explained the key to the elevator door tactic to Duncan on the sideline, and Duncan himself knew how to disrupt the Celtics’ elevator door play.
First step, of course, was to set a pick!
Duncan was matched up against Gortat. As long as Duncan had a wide field of vision, the moment he saw the Celtics preparing to run the elevator door tactic, he would position himself to impede Gortat, preventing him from forming a closing screen with Yao Ming. Without the screen, the elevator door tactic would be nullified.
Second step, switch!
If the pick wasn’t set properly and Duncan failed to disrupt the closing screen tactic beforehand, then they would simply abandon Gortat and switch to defend He Xi Meng!
After all, the most important thing for the Spurs was to disrupt He Xi Meng’s three-point shot!
As long as He Xi Meng’s three-point shot wasn’t going in, even if He Xi Meng connected with Gortat after the switch, Bowen could barely hold his ground for one possession, and Finley would immediately rotate back to help Bowen double-team Gortat, preventing Gortat from easily scoring on Bowen!
Both of these methods were based on Duncan’s flexible response…