Normally, in the NBA playoffs, a Game 5 that breaks a 2-2 tie is called a "King's Mountain Battle." However, any crucial game that can shift the balance of victory can be considered a "King's Mountain Battle."
The Warriors have reached a crossroads where they can create a miracle. Although the Spurs will gradually shake off the effects of their grueling Game 7 against the Clippers in this Western Conference Semifinals, and despite the first game, the Spurs will definitely heighten their vigilance and adjust their tactics to counter the Warriors, they are still in a semi-weakened state, unable to perform at 100%. Two days of rest only gave them some ability to fight back after their first-game exhaustion. But they still need more time to get back to optimal form.
This is the Warriors' golden opportunity to strike while the iron's hot and deliver the finishing blow. If they can return to Oakland, to the Bay Area, with a 2-0 lead, the Warriors will have the capital to create a miracle in this Western Conference Semifinals. Yes, just the capital to create a miracle. Because whether the world acknowledges it or not, these Spurs are one of the most outstanding teams in the NBA during this era.
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At the ATT Center.
Under the advice of his staff, Popovich adjusted the Spurs' starting lineup for Game 2. Veteran Michael Finley was given an emergency start, replacing Ginobili. Old Robert Horry received a warning from the Spurs' assistant coaching staff before the game, asking him to control his actions and emotions during the game. Bruce Bowen was diligently practicing defensive slides and hand-behind-the-back screens.
All these signs indicated that the Spurs would choose to heed David Stern's warning and no longer consider using tough defense to limit Zack. Instead, they would try to win the series through an offensive shootout.
But before the game, when Popovich received the referee assignments for Game 2, he still roared in fury, "We've already chosen to compromise with the league, so why won't he let us go?"
Dick Bavetta was assigned to officiate Game 2 between the Warriors and Spurs. Beside him, Budenholzer quickly comforted Popovich, saying, "Pop, I actually think having Dick officiate this game will be fairer to both sides."
Popovich was confused. "Every time Dick officiates, that kid (Zack) gets countless star calls. Is that fair?"
Budenholzer shook his head. "Pop, in the NBA, which superstar doesn't get star calls? Besides, we were going to go on the offensive against the Warriors anyway."
Hearing this, Popovich calmed down and pondered, "I understand what you mean, Mike. You mean, maybe Dick will still favor that kid as always, but in terms of overall officiating, we won't be as restricted as we were in Game 1?"
Budenholzer nodded. "The league has been feeling guilty all year about not giving the regular season MVP to the Messiah. He's definitely going to get some kind of compensation in the game, and that compensation would exist even if the opponent wasn't us."
Popovich scoffed, "I hate this kind of compensation! The league still owes Tim a DPOY trophy!"
The league certainly owed Duncan a "DPOY" trophy. However, Popovich clearly forgot that Duncan had also received similar compensation in the playoffs. And throughout his career, Duncan's playoff average fouls per game was only 2.8, a number even lower than Shaq's 0.8, who was known for often being lazy on defense.
While you could praise Duncan's clean, concise defense and the fact that teammates often took on some fouls for him, as an interior defensive anchor, with Duncan's competitive spirit on every possession, even willing to be a background character repeatedly for help defense, who could say that Duncan hadn't received some favorable treatment from the referees with such low playoff foul averages?
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At center court, Bavetta walked to the mid-court with the ball.
On the opening possession, Duncan got the better of Brown on defense. After switching with Horry to get Brown guarding him, Duncan, while attacking forcefully, was heavily contested by Brown's athleticism. The ball hit the backboard and bounced off the rim. This was a borderline call. Given the intensity of the playoffs, Bavetta shouldn't have blown the whistle. But because the player attacking forcefully at that moment was Duncan, Bavetta didn't hesitate to blow his whistle.
Historically, Duncan averaged 10.1 free throws per game in the playoffs this season, a number even higher than Wade's average of 16.2 free throws in the Finals (which boosted his overall playoff free throw average).
On the court, looking at Duncan, who was about to shoot free throws, the usually impartial Zack seized the opportunity to quip, "Shameless free throw thief!"
Hearing this, Duncan gave Zack a sly smile, then sank both free throws. This season, Duncan, who had been highly inconsistent from the free throw line in the regular season, once again showed his big-game mentality after entering the playoffs. If Zack remembered correctly, Duncan's free throw percentage in the playoffs this season would exceed 70%.
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Back to the Warriors' offensive possession.
Watching Zack cut to the basket after a screen and draw a shooting foul from Horry, Popovich muttered furiously on the Spurs' bench, "Damn Dick, damn star call!"
Actually, compared to Brown's slightly forced foul just now, Horry's foul was a genuine, intentional foul to disrupt the offense. However, even though the slow-motion replay showed Horry indeed made contact with Zack's shooting hand, Popovich still insisted that since Horry didn't "kill" Zack, why should Bavetta blow the whistle for him?
At the free-throw line, Zack made both free throws. And because both were swishes, as he retreated on defense, Zack didn't forget to tease Duncan, "Now that's a perfect free throw!"
Seeing this, Duncan didn't bother arguing with Zack. But soon, Brown took the brunt of Duncan's anger for Zack.
Is Duncan that petty of a player? That's a tough question to answer. However, on the court, Brown, who was once again switched onto Duncan through a tactical maneuver, clearly felt that Duncan had significantly increased the intensity of his post-up attacks.
Turnaround, pump fake, one-handed slam. At this moment, Brown was clearly defending very hard, but after being faked out by Duncan, he unfortunately became Duncan's background image.
Slap!
Fortunately, just as Brown, looking aggrieved, turned to inbound the ball, Davis slapped him hard on the back. "That was good defense, keep it up!"
On the basketball court, as long as you try your best to defend, it can be called an effective defense. After all, what kind of superstar gets completely shut down by the opponent's defense?
Davis, who had just encouraged Brown, dribbled the ball across half-court. At this moment, Davis noticed that Zack gave him a "steady, don't panic" hand signal. Davis, who had already formed excellent chemistry with Zack, knew very well that this was the secret signal Zack gave him when he noticed the opponent was playing a zone defense.
As the textbook example of zone defense in the NBA during this era, the Spurs' zone was different from other teams'. Because before entering his twilight years, Duncan always possessed strong interior sweeping ability, which made the Spurs' zone far more potent than other teams'. Secondly, excellent tactical discipline also ensured that the Spurs could quickly switch their defensive forms when employing different types of zone defense, and fill the inevitable gaps through mutual rotations.
To break such a zone defense, patience was essential.
At the top of the arc, after attracting the Spurs' defensive attention with a handoff pass to Davis, Zack, who was initially feigning a cut to the basket, suddenly stopped at the free-throw line. Seeing this, Davis passed it back in time, and Zack, catching the pass, hit a jumper from the free-throw line.
This was a perfect lesson in breaking a zone defense. But on the sideline, the Warriors' usually low-profile head coach, Mike Montgomery, frowned. There were many ways to break a zone defense. In the regular season, the Zack-led Warriors had broken countless zones. Therefore, at this moment, Montgomery wasn't worried that the Warriors couldn't break the Spurs' zone.
Rather... to break a zone, even Zack had to rely on his teammates. Montgomery knew very well that this was a tempting bait thrown by the Spurs to Zack, and also a test for the other Warriors players on the court.
On the Warriors' next offensive possession, this test was given to Richardson. Because Zack's easy shot just now had raised the alertness of the Spurs' perimeter defenders, after Zack and Davis's handoff pass, Richardson subsequently got a shot opportunity that wasn't completely open, but was勉强 acceptable. From a bird's-eye view, Richardson could choose to shoot after receiving the ball, or he could choose to pass after receiving the ball and let the team reset the offense.
But in reality, Richardson only had one choice tonight. Because Zack was the core of this Warriors' zone-breaking strategy, if Richardson chose to pass, the Warriors would have essentially wasted Zack's physical exertion during the zone-breaking process.
On the Warriors' bench, the moment Richardson received the ball, Montgomery felt his heart rate quicken considerably. Fortunately, the next second, Richardson showed his decisiveness. As Finley slid and rotated in front of him, Richardson drew his bow and arrow, hitting a bullseye from long range!
Swish!
And after the made basket, Richardson deliberately made an archery gesture, shooting an "arrow" towards Finley's chest. This arrow represented the positive change Zack had brought to the Warriors over the past season. As the team's star player, Zack's consistently decisive character influenced every teammate around him almost constantly.
On the Spurs' offensive possession, facing Parker, who flashed past him, Davis decisively reached out and committed a foul, interrupting Parker's impending drive into the Warriors' paint. This decisive tactical foul successfully defused a potential easy scoring opportunity for the Spurs.
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Next, it was still the Spurs' possession. However, compared to before, where was the wide-open offensive situation the Spurs had just moments ago?
In the low post, Duncan, noticing the Spurs' offense was stalled, dropped back in time and, under heavy contest from Zack, hit a hook shot off the glass. This was a basket that fully showcased Duncan's individual ability. But Popovich was very displeased with the Spurs' offense on this play. If the Spurs had to rely on Duncan's forced shots to win the game from the start, then with three quarters left in the game, who else could the Spurs rely on?
Parker suffered the consequences. Because Popovich intensely resented his timid performance when the Spurs reset their offense, as Parker retreated on defense, he was predictably met with Popovich's furious shouts. Almost instantly, Popovich hurled insults like "French softie," "damned idiot," and "get out if you don't want to play" at Parker.
At this moment, watching the aggrieved Parker, Zack was utterly shocked. But amidst the shock, Zack immediately focused on breaking the Spurs' zone defense. After all, what did masochistic Parker's love for being yelled at have to do with him?
Near the free-throw line, Zack, noticing that Duncan was drawn away by Artest's backdoor cut, suddenly gathered the ball and shot a jumper. This was a shameful sneak attack by a junior against his senior. Although Duncan quickly extended out and lunged forward, Zack still got his shot off as desired.
Swish!
On the court, Duncan "angrily" cursed this shameless sneak attack, "Despicable villain!"
Seeing this, Zack retorted, "I'm your junior. If you curse me, you're cursing yourself. Anyway, I learned it all from you!"
Duncan: "..."
Compared to Game 1, Duncan realized that Zack seemed to have grown even more. Because now, he could actually break his own defense.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 35 to 30. This night, the Warriors continued their excellent form since entering the playoffs. Facing the Spurs' zone defense, led by Zack, the Warriors showed no panic. And on the defensive end, by actively shrinking their defense, they successfully stifled the scoring momentum that Duncan and Parker almost single-handedly brought in the latter half of the first quarter.
This season, the Spurs' two most accurate shooters in the playoffs were Bruce Bowen and Brent Barry. Although it was incredible, Bowen's three-point percentage in the playoffs this year indeed exceeded 50%. However, his three-point volume was not enough to create offensive space for the Spurs. Now, even Popovich had to admit that the vast difference in three-point volume between the Spurs and Warriors had severely impacted the balance of this series. Especially when Zack had the hot hand. His scoring methods ensured he would have an easier time than Duncan.
In the first quarter, Zack shot 3-for-4 inside the arc and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. He always found angles to punish the Spurs' zone defense. And the other Warriors players also passed the test, never hesitating when they got open shots. Even if the previous shot rimmed out, they would confidently take the next one. All of this made Popovich start to ponder whether the Spurs should continue using zone defense in the game.
But no matter how much Popovich deliberated, the Spurs now had to hold on through the first half of the second quarter. So... before Ginobili came onto the court, Popovich, who had wanted to trade this "Argentine idiot" just the previous game, immediately patted Ginobili on the shoulder with a "this is so good" expression and said with the deepest affection, "Manu, we're relying on you."
It must be said that adaptability is also a great quality of Popovich.
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After Ginobili came on, he did his job exceptionally well. In the first half of the second quarter, he shot 5-for-8, including 1-for-2 from three-point range, even making Mullin, who traveled with the team to San Antonio, curse, "Why does God always favor Argentinians?"
However, even an excellent Ginobili only managed to prevent the score difference from widening for the Spurs. Because on the court, that "useless" Dunleavy Jr. was also shooting so well that Popovich was swearing, "How can Mike Dunleavy have such an excellent son?"
Historically, due to the Warriors' team atmosphere and on-court performance in the 2005-06 season still being describable as chaotic and sluggish, Dunleavy Jr., who had difficulty showcasing his skills on the court, performed far below his true potential. In fact, Dunleavy Jr.'s exquisite shooting skills had always been one of his major selling points. However, he needed off-ball movement and tactical support to get his shots.
In Zack's previous life, Dunleavy's career regular-season three-point percentage was close to 38%, while his career playoff three-point percentage was 45%. Simply put, players like Dunleavy can only unleash their 100% potential when given the right tactical system. He is undeniably a system player. But as long as you can provide him with the corresponding system, he can also deliver a fatal blow to the opponent with his movement and shooting after coming on the court.
For example, in this King's Mountain Battle against the Spurs, Dunleavy Jr. was highly efficient, scoring 12 points in just 11 minutes of playing time in the first half, shooting 4-for-6. Yes, all four shots he made in the first half were crucial and deadly three-pointers.
In front of their televisions, fans during this period had already given Dunleavy Jr. an honorary title. Currently in , Dunleavy Jr. is generally referred to as "God Dun" by fans.
This night, "God Dun's" excellent performance not only helped Zack and the Warriors get through the always-toughest first half of the second quarter but also, in a sense, indirectly exacerbated Duncan's physical exertion when he came on in the latter half of the second quarter. Because the Spurs failed to build a lead under Ginobili's leadership, Duncan naturally had to painstakingly chip away at that damn score difference, point by point.
At halftime, the panic that had previously haunted Dallas fans now began to spread through the ATT Center. On the scoreboard, it read 63 to 55. Duncan, who had already scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Spurs in the first half alone, actually made all Spurs fans even more panicked.
"Parker in rhythm, Buddha in adversity." Since Tim Duncan had already proven with his actions that the Spurs were in adversity, how could these fans, who understood the Spurs best, not panic?
And after halftime... Ginobili, who was put into the game by Popovich less than 4 minutes into the third quarter, further intensified the panic at the ATT Center. In the first half of this quarter, the golden wave showed subtle signs of surging. Right from the start, Zack hit a three-pointer from both the left and right 45-degree angles. These two three-pointers fully demonstrated Zack's calm and composed demeanor when breaking the Spurs' zone defense tonight.
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Popovich complained to Avery Johnson about this, "How did Avery coach the Mavericks? Why did he let this kid shoot better and better in the playoffs?"
It's well-known that basketball players' shooting touch often has momentum. So, at this moment, Popovich was absolutely not deliberately shirking responsibility. Rather, under the Mavericks' previously outstanding and excellent defense, the Warriors had carried their newfound touch, cultivated by the Mavericks, into this playoff series against the Spurs.
Originally, the Spurs had planned to break the Warriors' shooting touch through tough defense right from Game 1. But... with Stern not wanting to see that kind of tough defense, the Spurs clearly couldn't do it.
On the court, the Warriors' offensive possession. Zack, standing at the free-throw line to receive the ball and beginning to break the Spurs' zone defense, was like a watchtower in the midst of a tsunami, yet still as steady as a mountain. The Spurs' zone defense was well-executed, but Zack still found Artest at the seam of the zone.
After getting the ball, Artest didn't rush to shoot, because he had keenly sensed that the watchtower was striding towards the Spurs' restricted area. The next second, facing Bowen, who had quickly slid in front of him, Artest chuckled, "At a time like this, you just need to throw the ball up high..."
In the Spurs' restricted area, if he were a few years younger, Duncan might have been able to disrupt Artest's alley-oop pass. But now, the sky above San Antonio was destined to belong only to Zack!
Slam!
At the ATT Center, the Spurs players, whose physical conditioning couldn't return to optimal levels in a short amount of time, could only watch helplessly as Zack at this moment shattered the Spurs' proud defense!
At the end of the third quarter, the score was 88 to 74. The Warriors would carry a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter. Visible fatigue was etched on the faces of the Spurs' key players.
"Mike, I want to keep the starters on the court at the start of the fourth quarter," Popovich told Budenholzer on the Spurs' bench during the quarter break.
Hearing this, Budenholzer nodded. "I understand, this is our last chance."
Last chance. At this moment, Budenholzer wasn't referring to this game, but to this series. Because if the Spurs couldn't quickly close the gap in the final quarter, they would have to prioritize conserving their strength. Between Game 2 and Game 3, with the home-court advantage switching, the Spurs would once again get two valuable days of rest.
Popovich and Budenholzer both knew very well that the Warriors' excellent performance in Game 2 had made them a major problem on the Spurs' path to defending their title. But... no matter how big this problem was, only by making a drastic move could the Spurs preserve their vitality.
The Spurs showed their resolve. This was precisely their heritage as a top-tier team. And the Warriors? Facing the Spurs' seemingly hypocritical yet effective barrage of three-pointers in the first half of the final quarter, Zack and his teammates collectively held onto their lead.
After unexpectedly eliminating the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs, the Warriors once again defied everyone's expectations, conquering the ATT Center for two consecutive games in their Western Conference Semifinals clash against the Spurs.
The final score: 107 to 98.
The Golden State Warriors took two straight games, leading the series 2-0 against the San Antonio Spurs. Now, the Spurs will head to Oakland with a 0-2 deficit. Waiting for them there... will be the utterly frenzied Bay Area fans.
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