He Xi Meng simply instructed Alston to hold his position, and whether he could prevent Ginobili from scoring was up to fate.
Regarding Ginobili, He Xi Meng believed the best approach was to counter offense with defense.
As long as their offensive scoring could offset the damage brought by Ginobili, it would be enough. After all, Ginobili couldn't be Jordan for the entire game…
When Ginobili sank an unreasonable three-pointer, He Xi Meng didn't hold back.
Having finally found his shooting touch, He Xi Meng was unwilling to miss this opportunity. Turning around, He Xi Meng called for a high pick-and-roll from Josh Smith, switched onto Duncan, dribbled back, feigned another three-point shot, but instead accelerated to the side, got past Duncan who stepped up, and drove into the Spurs' paint. Facing Diaw, who had rotated over, He Xi Meng made a mid-air floater, scoring directly!
In the previous two games, the Celtics were dominated by Duncan in the starting lineup, and by Ginobili in the rotation. With Parker sprinkled in between… their offense was relentless for 48 minutes. Any slip-up by the Celtics would be seized upon by the Spurs and exploited to the fullest, leading to a domino effect that broke them down piece by piece.
Therefore, for this game, the Celtics had made thorough preparations before tip-off.
At He Xi Meng's suggestion, Coach Kerr redistributed the playing time of the Celtics' Big Three to ensure that their offensive firepower could match the Spurs' during the rotation periods.
He Xi Meng, regaining his shooting touch today, was the first to step up and withstand Ginobili's offensive surge.
By the end of the first quarter, the Celtics still held a 5-point lead over the Spurs!
At the start of the second quarter, Liu Yudong came off the bench and, with Parker orchestrating the offense, made consecutive pull-up jumpers from the mid-range.
Liu Yudong's sudden outburst was truly unexpected by He Xi Meng!
This period was supposed to be Parker's scoring time, so the Celtics focused their defensive attention on Parker. Unexpectedly, Parker faked and instead created opportunities for his teammates, catching the Celtics off guard.
Popovich always takes the unconventional path.
With He Xi Meng on the bench resting, Carter was supposed to take over the Celtics' offense. However, Prince was prepared and focused on containing Carter, successfully disrupting his shooting efficiency. Carter, who had been unstoppable in previous games, finally experienced a shooting slump in this one.
At this critical juncture, Coach Kerr was already considering whether to send He Xi Meng back onto the court.
Hu Weidong stepped up, replacing Carter in the mid-to-long range shooting, countering the scoring threat from Liu Yudong!
The game on the court suddenly turned into a derby matchup between two Chinese players, leaving the Boston fans in attendance and the Spurs fans back in San Antonio somewhat bewildered.
However, Chinese fans across the ocean were cheering enthusiastically!
Because He Xi Meng and Yao Ming had played for the Spurs for several seasons, there was now a large contingent of Spurs fans in China.
The number of fans was even comparable to that of the Lakers!
This season, although He Xi Meng and Yao Ming had transferred to the Celtics, taking some Spurs fans with them, Liu Yudong and Da Ba remained with the Spurs, and Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker had also won over a significant number of Chinese fans.
Therefore, regardless of which team, the Celtics or the Spurs, won the championship this year, it was a cause for celebration for Chinese fans.
Relatively speaking, they were more eager to see the five Chinese players in total across both teams shine brightly in this year's Finals, showcase more of their individual skills, and radiate more star power…
As it turned out, He Xi Meng and Yao Ming were lackluster in the first two games. Most Chinese fans had a premonition that they might explode in this game.
However, before He Xi Meng and Yao Ming could make a significant impact, Liu Yudong and Hu Weidong had a small explosion, bringing a pleasant surprise to Chinese fans!
The two players were locked in a fierce battle, each fighting for their respective teams.
Liu Yudong at one point helped the Spurs' starting lineup dig a small hole and attempted to reverse the situation.
Hu Weidong, after Carter's counterattack failed, seized the opportunity, hitting two consecutive shots to help the Celtics regain their footing. Before heading to the bench, he sank another wing three-pointer, scoring 7 points in a row and helping the Celtics regain a 5-point lead.
Seeing that the "surprise player's reversal had failed," Popovich adjusted the lineup first, bringing Duncan back onto the court, preparing the "Stone Buddha" to lead an offensive surge.
Duncan's first possession after returning was a quick ball movement, and after the Celtics' double-team was in place, he quickly turned and shot over Josh Smith, exploiting the Celtics' timing.
Duncan was another unstoppable force for the Spurs. What was more terrifying than Ginobili was that Ginobili's shooting touch fluctuated; sometimes he was unstoppable, sometimes harmless, while Duncan was always unstoppable.
As defenders, the Celtics could only try to minimize Duncan's offensive damage and reduce his scoring efficiency. Completely stopping him was impossible.
So, no one was surprised when Duncan scored.
The Celtics quickly inbounded the ball from the baseline, and He Xi Meng brought it across half-court, preparing to initiate his own offense.
For the Celtics, Coach Kerr, seeing Duncan return, immediately replaced Carter and Hu Weidong with Yao Ming, Josh Smith, and He Xi Meng, bringing on Alston and Tony Allen without He Xi Meng having to prompt him.
This lineup was considered the Celtics' strongest defensive unit, even more stable than when Carter was on the court. The offensive and defensive roles were more clearly defined.
The offensive focus was primarily on He Xi Meng and Yao Ming. Of course, Alston, who had a hot hand to start the game, could also become a surprise scorer.
How would the Spurs defend?
Popovich still focused his defensive efforts on Yao Ming in the paint.
Having coached Yao Ming for three seasons, Popovich knew that if Yao Ming found his rhythm, he was a force in the paint, not weaker than Duncan, and could also become an unstoppable offensive weapon.
Therefore, the Spurs' first priority was to continue to contain Yao Ming in the paint!
In the first two games, the Spurs had disrupted the Celtics' overall rhythm by containing Yao Ming, forcing them to rely too heavily on outside shooting.
And on the perimeter, He Xi Meng's shooting touch was generally low under Bowen's defense, which was why the Spurs had won so smoothly in the previous two games.
This game, the Spurs naturally wanted to employ the same strategy. And from the situation in the first quarter, there were mixed feelings.
Yao Ming's form remained sluggish, while He Xi Meng's form had improved.
An average coach of an average team might relax their containment on Yao Ming at this point and shift more defensive pressure onto He Xi Meng.
But Popovich did not!