So, in Game 2, the Suns decided not to change their overall strategy. In fact, this season, the Suns have been playing a fast-paced, high-octane offense, and there was no alternative strategy available.
Carrying the offensive banner to the very end was the Suns' only method and their only way out!
In their second home game, with tens of thousands of fans witnessing, the Suns once again completely defeated their opponent!
The progression of Game 2 was a near replica of Game 1!
At the end of the first quarter, the Spurs led the Suns 31:21, a 10-point advantage.
In the second and third quarters, the Suns fought back, at one point erasing the deficit and taking the lead.
In the final quarter, the Spurs outscored the Suns 31:23, once again taking the game with a decisive run.
111:108, the Spurs didn't win by much, but the game wasn't as close as the score suggested. Duncan scored 14 points in the final quarter, helping the Spurs go from being down by 3 to up by 4, easily overwhelming Marion!
D'Antoni insisted on playing a smaller lineup, with Stoudemire at center and Marion at power forward!
Marion became the most tragic casualty among the Suns' core three players!
In the previous series, Marion was averaging 23 points and 12 rebounds, looking formidable!
In this series, through the first two games, under Duncan's defense, Marion had 3 points and 9 rebounds in the first game, and 11 points and 12 rebounds in the second!
In contrast, Duncan had 28 points and 15 rebounds in the first game, and 30 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in the second!
It wasn't just being overwhelmed; he was being utterly destroyed!
Because of Marion's struggles, even though Stoudemire and Nash were still playing valiantly, they couldn't withstand the onslaught from the Spurs' Big Three!
In Game 2, besides Duncan's continued invincible performance, Ginobili had 26 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, and Parker had 24 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists!
The Spurs' three core players all scored over 20 points simultaneously!
Their offensive efficiency was even better than the Suns, who were ranked first in the league!
With their two home games lost, the Suns' fate was essentially sealed.
D'Antoni was in tears but still wanted to make one last push!
For Game 3, D'Antoni reduced his rotation to 7 players! Yes, D'Antoni's habit of heavily relying on his core players had been cultivated since the run-and-gun Suns era.
On the Spurs' side, Popovich stuck with his 9-player rotation! The bench players continued to get their minutes!
Duncan continued to dominate Marion, scoring 33 points and 15 rebounds, while holding Marion to just 6 points and 9 rebounds...
Parker had 18 points and 7 assists, Ginobili had 18 points and 9 rebounds, and Prince added 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists!
The Spurs won 102:92, with the roar of the home crowd cheering them on, defeating the Suns again and taking a commanding 3-0 lead, securing their spot in the NBA Finals!
In Game 4, the Spurs' undisputed core, Duncan, suddenly had a "sluggish" performance, scoring only 15 points and grabbing 16 rebounds, leading the Spurs to a 106:111 loss by 5 points, narrowly missing out on a sweep and the chance to win the Western Conference Championship!
However, in Game 5, Duncan "woke up" in time, scoring 31 points and 15 rebounds, leading the Spurs to a 101:95 victory over the Suns, with a 4-1 series win, securing the ultimate victory!
Many fans suspected that the Spurs could have swept their opponent but intentionally eased up to avoid appearing "too dominant"!
Popovich vehemently refuted these claims after the game, adamantly denying them!
"The Suns are a very strong team! They were the regular season champions! We were fortunate to win their home games, which gave us an advantage in this series! But that victory was deserved by the Suns! They played very hard, performed exceptionally well, and they earned that win!"
"So why did Duncan only have 12 shot attempts in that game?" the reporters pressed, unwilling to let Popovich off the hook so easily.
"We've analyzed all five games! In the other four games, Duncan's shot attempts were 21, 19, 17, and 24, with scores of 28, 30, 33, and 31 respectively! Only in the game we lost to the Suns did Duncan attempt just 12 shots and score only 15 points. How do you explain that?"
"What is there to explain? Tim was just cold! Didn't you see his poor free-throw percentage?"
"Speaking of free-throw percentage! We have questions about that too. In the other four games, Duncan's free-throw percentages were 8 out of 10, 10 out of 11, 15 out of 15, and 3 out of 4, with no game below 75%! Why, in that one game, did he only make 3 out of 12 free throws, a mere 25%? As one of the league's top, most consistent players, can Tim's performance at the free-throw line truly fluctuate so dramatically?"
"And not only that! In that game, Tim's shooting touch from the field wasn't bad! He made 6 out of 12 attempts! This means Duncan's field goal percentage was higher than his free-throw percentage, more than double! Is this situation normal?"
"Hmm... looking at it this way, it does seem a bit abnormal! In that game, Tim simply didn't perform normally, which led to our team's loss! You've summarized it very well! Thank you!"
"Uh? That's not what we meant..."
"No! That's exactly what you mean! This responsibility lies mainly with me! I haven't properly supervised Tim's free-throw training. I originally thought he was the most consistent player in the league, but now it seems he isn't! I will use your words to motivate Tim, to make him continue to focus and train hard, and not to think that winning a few MVPs and championship rings makes him invincible..."
"Uh..."
Regardless of the doubts, Popovich could always turn them into excuses to push his team to work harder.
Because this excuse seemed righteous and eternally politically correct.
Compared to the ease and grace of the West, the East played a much tighter series!
In Game 1, the Heat continued to play at home. Wade, having gained momentum and confidence in the semifinals, attempted to replicate his semifinal dominance in the Eastern Conference Finals, but was instead stifled by the combined efforts of Tony Allen and He Xi Meng!
Wade's shooting percentage was low throughout the game, making only 7 of 25 shots, scoring what was nearly his lowest point total of the playoffs: 16 points!
Meanwhile, the Yao Ming vs. O'Neal matchup only saw O'Neal score 20 points and grab 5 rebounds!
The highest scorer for the Heat was actually their small forward, Eddie Jones!
Eddie Jones and Carter engaged in a back-and-forth scoring battle, with Jones ultimately leading the Heat with 22 points!
Ultimately, the Heat, playing at home, under the gaze of their entire fanbase, were defeated by the visiting Celtics 101:90!
The fans in the arena were stunned: What happened to home-court advantage?