Fortunately, the Spurs had possession, giving them one last offensive opportunity.
With Duncan unable to play, who would execute the Spurs' final play?
"Manu! No doubt, the one to execute the Spurs' final play will be Manu!"
On the Celtics' side, He Xi Meng firmly informed his teammates, "For the final play, focus all your efforts on stopping Ginobili!"
"The Spurs will definitely give the last possession to Manu!"
Although his teammates didn't know how He Xi Meng was so certain, since Head Coach Kerr also agreed with his opinion, no one else had any objections. They would simply follow He Xi Meng's instructions and focus on stopping Ginobili.
However, the problem was that while the Celtics had agreed to focus on stopping Ginobili, the Spurs had also received Popovich's instructions to fully cooperate with Ginobili in getting the ball.
Despite the Celtics' switches and their strenuous efforts to contain Ginobili, he managed to get the ball near the right half-court through continuous off-ball screens!
Upon receiving the ball, Ginobili spun around, shaking off Carter who was guarding him, and drove forward with the ball!
Facing He Xi Meng, who was rotating to the free-throw line, Ginobili executed a no-hesitation crossover, pushing off He Xi Meng with his body to clear the path, and drove into the Celtics' paint. Facing Yao Ming and Josh Smith, Ginobili, at a 90-degree angle, used his body as a shield, actively engaging with Yao Ming. Using the rebound from the contact, he created space from Yao Ming, then with his left hand lowered, executed an extreme scoop layup…
Behind Ginobili, He Xi Meng had an immediate premonition. He knew this game might be lost to the "demon blade"…
The ball spun rapidly towards the backboard!
Ginobili, due to his contact with Yao Ming, lost his balance and fell directly into the crowd of photographers beneath the basket.
As the countdown clock lit up, the spinning basketball precisely dropped into the hoop!
104:103!
Ginobili hit a high-difficulty buzzer-beater to kill the Celtics!
The entire stadium of Spurs fans erupted!
Even the already partially injured Duncan, sitting on the bench, happily waved a white towel, celebrating the "demon blade"!
He Xi Meng shook his head, a wry smile on his face as he returned to his team's bench. He felt disheartened, but not despairing.
The "King of the Mountain" battle was inherently a life-or-death struggle; either side could win or lose.
It wasn't time for the Celtics to despair yet. As long as they could win the next game, they would still have a chance for a Game 7.
Originally, if the Spurs had been at full strength, the outcome of a Game 7 would still have been uncertain for the Celtics.
But now, Duncan's unexpected injury had become the biggest unknown factor.
If Duncan couldn't return for the next two games…
Game 6, with Duncan absent, the Celtics won relatively smoothly.
Without Duncan's constraint, Yao Ming's shackles were finally released.
He Xi Meng activated Yao Ming from the start, allowing him to play efficient offense and defense in the paint.
Carter also made a strong return after several quiet games.
He Xi Meng, conserving his energy in this game, didn't deliberately explode, yet he led the Celtics to defeat the Spurs without Duncan!
In the final Game 7, the Celtics returned to San Antonio, ready for the decisive battle with the Spurs!
Fans worldwide were eagerly watching the Spurs' pre-game roster. Everyone wanted to confirm whether Duncan would return from injury for this game that would decide the championship trophy for the year!
The Spurs' team doctor believed Duncan's knee injury was within manageable limits. After three days of rest, his condition had somewhat recovered. With pain-killing injections, he could theoretically play through the injury!
As Duncan's agent, John vehemently opposed the team doctor's irresponsible conclusion, threatening to seek re-evaluation from other medical institutions.
As the primary party, Duncan entrusted the decision to Popovich.
"If the coach tells me to play, I'll play! If the coach tells me to rest, I'll rest!"
Popovich called Duncan into his office for a few minutes. After those few minutes, Duncan left the office with a composed expression.
He remained silent when his teammates asked him about it.
On the pre-game roster, Duncan's name did not have an "out" status! He was simply moved to the substitute bench.
All the Spurs fans cheered!
As long as Duncan could play, even if it was just as a substitute, it would give the San Antonio fans immense confidence. They firmly believed the Spurs could win their fifth championship trophy in team history and achieve the feat of a four-peat…
However, when He Xi Meng saw that Duncan was not in the starting lineup, he confidently told his teammates, "Tim can't play, we've got this!"
"Tim just can't start!" Carter reminded He Xi Meng.
"No! This is just Popovich's smokescreen! To confuse us, to put pressure on us! And also to give the Spurs players confidence, to make them feel that if the situation turns unfavorable, Duncan can come in and help them… In fact, if Duncan could play, Popovich wouldn't move him to the bench… Get ready to enjoy the championship glory, Vince. Let's join forces for this final battle…"
Two and a half hours later, Carter, seeing He Xi Meng scoring 45 points and dishing out 7 assists, holding his own against both Ginobili and Parker, was dumbfounded, "Didn't we agree to battle the Spurs together? You're doing all the work yourself, isn't that a bit unfair?"
In the final Game 7, witnessed by tens of thousands of Spurs fans, He Xi Meng personally slew his former team, pulling the three-time champion Spurs from their throne of champions!
Three years ago, it was this man wearing the number 4 jersey, alongside the one wearing number 21, who had propelled the Spurs to a three-peat dynasty!
Now, the Spurs' number 4 jersey remained vacant. It was said that Popovich had rejected several rookies' applications to wear number 4, intending to retire it.
And number 21, although wearing a jersey in this game, remained cold and aloof throughout, sitting motionlessly on the substitute bench.
He Xi Meng's prediction before the game was completely accurate.
Popovich not removing Duncan from the player list was merely a psychological tactic.
How could he bear to let Duncan risk his career to contend for a championship trophy? The Spurs weren't lacking championship trophies.
But unfortunately, their opponent was the Celtics, led by He Xi Meng! Popovich's psychological warfare did not have the intended effect.
The Celtics, led by He Xi Meng, played their game as usual, without any concern about whether Duncan would take the court at any moment…