In the midst of the roaring cheers from the Boston crowd, Game 3 began.
Yao Ming defeated Muhammad, helping the Celtics. He Xi Meng dribbled the ball up the court, Bowen sticking to him defensively, Prince matched up against Carter, and Parker found himself with a mismatch against Ariza!
In the first two games, He Xi Meng had started Tony Allen, attempting to contain Parker, but the results were poor.
Tempered by his time with the Spurs and refined by Coach Popovich's teachings, Parker had become increasingly mature, playing a crafty and steady game. He wouldn't force shots without a clear opportunity, rendering Tony Allen's defensive prowess useless.
Consequently, He Xi Meng had benched the defensively strong but offensively weak Tony Allen, bringing in the more offensively capable Ariza and assigning Carter to guard Parker.
On the Spurs' side, Popovich did not want Parker guarding Carter.
In the first two games, Prince, guarding Carter, had failed to contain him defensively, and Parker would be at an even greater disadvantage against Carter.
Therefore, Popovich was willing to accept the mismatch, having Prince continue to chase Carter, and letting Parker guard Ariza directly.
For most of this season, Ariza's role on the Celtics had been that of a 3-and-D reserve small forward.
Because he hadn't spent much time playing with He Xi Meng, Ariza's "3" ability hadn't been prominently displayed.
He Xi Meng, leveraging the Spurs' unfamiliarity with Ariza, broke through and passed to Ariza, who was setting up at the corner, right from the opening play!
Ariza unexpectedly became the first Celtics player to take a shot in this game, and he sank it precisely, scoring the team's first points!
The Spurs were somewhat bewildered, as were the Boston fans in the arena.
Popovich immediately had a bad feeling, a premonition that this game would spiral out of his control.
However, as a top coach with four championship trophies, Popovich was mentally prepared for this game.
He knew well that the potential of He Xi Meng and Yao Ming extended beyond what they had shown, and he understood that a Celtics team with He Xi Meng and with Kerr wouldn't give up easily.
"Could it be that this number 1 young player is the key to breaking through for you?"
On the Spurs' opening possession, Parker patiently orchestrated ball movement on the perimeter with his teammates, stretching the Celtics' defense and looking for a direct shooting opportunity.
But the Celtics' defense was remarkably solid, not giving the Spurs an easy chance to score. Thus, the Spurs passed the ball to Duncan at the edge of the paint.
Josh Smith crouched down, his face tense.
Before the start of this season's Finals, Josh Smith had publicly stated: "We all know Duncan is strong! But that was last season, and the season before that, even the season before that! Whether the current Duncan is still the league's top power forward is debatable..."
When He Xi Meng saw Josh Smith's reckless statement in the media, he immediately knew: Josh Smith was going to be crushed!
Duncan seemed uninterested in on-court rhetoric, but that depended on the person and the team.
If Josh Smith had said this on the Hawks, Duncan likely wouldn't have paid attention, as he wouldn't bother.
But now, Josh Smith was on the Celtics, alongside He Xi Meng, and was an opponent in the Finals against the Spurs... Duncan could not ignore it!
As expected, in the first two games that had already concluded, Duncan scored 24 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks in one game, and 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks in another.
More importantly, under Duncan's suffocating defense, Josh Smith managed only 4 points and 5 rebounds in one game, and an even worse 3 points and 4 rebounds in the other...
On both offense and defense, Josh Smith was thoroughly dominated by Duncan.
Duncan showed him the true strength of the league's number one power forward.
The poor Josh left those two games in a daze, and upon returning home, refused to mention "Duncan's" name.
Even when Boston reporters hounded Josh Smith with questions about his "thoughts on Duncan" or "thoughts on the league's current top power forward," Josh Smith remained silent, unwilling to provoke that quiet devil again.
When it came to putting opponents in their place, Duncan was a professional.
In this game, Duncan showed no intention of letting Josh Smith off the hook.
Muhammad was tasked with drawing Yao Ming's attention, preventing him from rotating over to disrupt, while Duncan single-handedly took on Josh Smith, with ease and comfort.
On this play, Duncan intended to repeat his previous move, but the Celtics had made adjustments. Ariza, from the same side, quickly rotated to help double-team Duncan with Josh Smith.
Seeing this setup, Duncan didn't force a shot but instead passed to Prince, who was offering support on the perimeter!
With Ariza collapsing to double-team Duncan, Prince's position would become open. He Xi Meng, positioned high, rotated to cover Prince. Prince didn't shoot but passed again to Parker, also positioned high!
On the weak side, Carter gave up on Bowen and rotated to He Xi Meng's position...
Wait, this defensive strategy seemed so familiar?
Spurs fans watching on television were instantly bewildered: "Isn't this our most effective zone pressure defense tactic?"
By forcing the opponent's ball circulation towards one side of the basket, they gained a defensive advantage within that zone.
Good heavens, the Celtics had learned this move too?
It made sense. When the Spurs dominated the league with this tactic a few seasons ago, He Xi Meng was the orchestrator of that strategy; how could he not be familiar with it?
The Spurs quickly circulated the ball, passing it to Duncan for the second time.
The Celtics rotated quickly to provide help defense, and Ariza once again collapsed, double-teaming Duncan. The Spurs couldn't find a good offensive space, and Duncan was forced to jump and shoot under the interference of Josh Smith and Ariza, the ball rimming out!
Josh Smith had successfully defended, and his excitement was no less than if he had dunked the ball himself.
Yao Ming out-rebounded Muhammad to secure the defensive rebound. He Xi Meng advanced the ball past half-court and passed it to Carter on the wing.
Carter had performed steadily in the previous two games, not being overly bothered by Prince's defense.
One reason was that Carter's core strength was indeed a notch above Prince's, and another was that with Bowen switching to guard He Xi Meng, Prince had to shoulder rotation and help defense responsibilities within the Spurs' defensive scheme, leading to greater physical exertion.
Facing Prince on this play, Carter opted for a back-down dribble to near the free-throw line. Bowen rotated back to help Prince with the double-team, but Carter tossed the ball to He Xi Meng!
Bowen quickly reset, wary of He Xi Meng shooting.
He Xi Meng didn't rush his shot, instead passing the ball back to Carter!
Carter had adjusted his position, received the ball, took a bump, and directly executed a turnaround jumper!
Prince lunged hard, but his interference was ineffectual. The ball went directly into the basket, Carter scoring two points for the Celtics.