After the game started, Bird didn't even assign Gan Guoyang to guard Robinson one-on-one, but let Sabonis face off against this old rival throughout the match.
No matter how Robinson scored from the low post or mid-range, the Trail Blazers didn't care, didn't double-team, and didn't provide defensive support, because Bird was certain that Robinson alone couldn't defeat the Trail Blazers.
The Spurs adopted an extreme defensive style, managing to hold the Trail Blazers' score below 100 points in their victory against the Trail Blazers.
Popovich built a defense system centered around David Robinson, with a lot of collapsing, piling up players on the strong side, using a dense formation and slow pace to drain the opponent's offensive energy, forcing the game into a deadlock.
Moreover, the Spurs just happened to have a group of players adept at playing in deadlock games, who were resilient in character, with an unadorned style—ultimate pragmatists.
