Chapter 1 The Tables Turn

Not long after, the team's first assistant coach, Budenholzer, came in.

Compared to Popovich, whose emotions fluctuated wildly, Budenholzer was gentle and refined, an absolute extreme opposite.

"Gregg is in a terrible mood today, don't go looking for trouble."

Budenholzer warned as soon as he came in.

The players looked puzzled but nodded in succession.

Not long after, Popovich came in.

Just like Budenholzer had said, his face was gloomy and unsightly, as if everyone owed him 500 dollars.

"The next game is crucial. You better not mess up on the court. If you do, you'll be riding the bench!"

After saying some things about tactical details, this time he didn't end with a smile. He kept a straight face and left directly.

After he left, the players exchanged glances. Popovich's state was really uncommon.

Tang Tian couldn't help but smile.

It seemed Popovich had also seen the news from Paul and the others' post-game interviews and was probably pissed off too.

Despite being over 60 years old, his mental age was still very young sometimes.

The Lakers lost to the Thunder 100-103 in the fourth game at home, bringing the series score to 1-3.

Both Los Angeles teams were heading to their away games with such a large deficit.

This time, it wasn't about who could win a game, but who could hold on for a little longer.

The Spurs and Clippers both scheduled training sessions on their game day, but there were some subtle differences between the two teams.

The Spurs' training was closed, not open to the media, while the Clippers' was open to the public.

Under the media's cameras, the Clippers players were smiling from time to time, looking quite relaxed.

They really had completely let go of their mental baggage, just like Griffin had said before.

That evening, the AT&T Center was packed to the brim, the fans filling the old arena completely.

Among the signs held by the audience, in addition to those usually seen, there were some that were particularly eye-catching.

"Teach them a lesson!"

"Shut them up!"

"Send them fishing tonight!"

…

Even the Spurs' usually chill fans had become so excited.

The only possible reason for this was the post-game interview incident involving Paul and Griffin. It seemed to have stirred up public outrage.

"Kenny, I have a strong feeling that tonight's game will be different from usual."

The commentary team for this game was the three giants, Barkley, Kenny Smith, and O'Neal. Before the game even started, Barkley couldn't help but speak.

"Another one of your unique sixth senses?" Smith said with a smile, looking at Barkley.

"No, look at the Spurs players' expressions." Barkley said, looking towards the Spurs' bench.

Smith turned his head to look and then noticed what Barkley was talking about.

The entire Spurs team had serious expressions, something that hadn't been seen at all this year.

It seemed tonight's game would indeed be different.

This seriousness even spread to the opening ceremony.

When the Spurs' starting players came on stage, their expressions were so cold, as if they had been infected by Duncan and Leonard.

The fans in the arena became even more excited when they saw the players' reactions.

Paul and Griffin's comments could be considered provocation if taken to the extreme. The Spurs should respond.

After the opening ceremony, the starters from both teams took to the court one after another.

Neither side adjusted their starting lineup.

Duncan and Jordan at the jump ball.

As soon as the whistle blew at the edge of the court, Duncan reacted incredibly quickly this time, snatching the ball back to the Spurs' half before Jordan could.

He actually won the jump ball!

The first time in the series!

A burst of cheers erupted from the arena, a very strong signal!

The Spurs attacked to the frontcourt, an Iverson hammer play, Leonard's open three-pointer was a little off and didn't go in.

But Duncan forcefully grabbed the offensive rebound and dunked the ball directly over Jordan.

The fans were stunned.

What.the.fxck!

Was this the 35-year-old Duncan?!

More like 25!

Jordan was dumbfounded. He hadn't faced peak Duncan, but after playing so many games, it was the first time he felt helpless.

Budenholzer's eyes widened at this moment.

Duncan really couldn't be viewed as normal. Did Popovich's anger make him enter a time-travel mode as well?

The Clippers' offense, Paul and Griffin played a pick and roll, Griffin made a big spin move to run over Diaw, and then shot a bank shot under the basket.

"Bang!"

As soon as the ball was released, it was swatted out of bounds by Duncan.

"Tim~ Duncan!"

Accompanied by the arena DJ's shout, the fans in the arena felt a tremor from the depths of their souls.

With this offense and defense, Duncan made them wet!

Duncan was 35, almost 36 this year, and his beard was already starting to turn white, but with this offense and defense just now, he directly dominated the paint!

"You know what? This guy used to play like this every day."

O'Neal said at this moment with reminiscence in his eyes.

O'Neal had very high standards, and there weren't many big guys who could be recognized by him. Duncan was one of them.

Saying this was not only an acknowledgement of Duncan, but also a feeling of emotion.

Duncan had already locked in the position of the best power forward in history.

Tang Tian was probably the one with the most balanced mentality at this time.

In fact, even during his peak, Duncan rarely relied on his body to play. His style meant that his strength would decline very slowly.

Apart from the physical problems brought about by age, if he played with all his strength, he would still have 70 to 80 percent of his peak strength at this time.

During the regular season, including the previous playoff games, Duncan basically held back.

But when Popovich got angry, this old subordinate couldn't help it.

Rookie No. 21!

The Clippers' sideline pass was made, Paul's mid-range fadeaway was interfered with by Duncan's long arm, and he almost threw an air ball.

Diaw grabbed the defensive rebound, and Parker dribbled the ball to the frontcourt.

Duncan directly posted up Jordan in the low post and actively called for the ball!

The "Stone Buddha" was really different tonight!

Parker signaled his teammates to spread out and then passed the ball in.

After receiving the ball, Duncan backed down Jordan, used a spin towards the free-throw line to deceive Jordan, and then turned back for a signature bank shot.

"Bang!"

The ball rebounded off the backboard and into the net.

A signature bank shot!

Duncan scored 4 consecutive points to start the game!

"I've noticed, he's in an angry state tonight." Barkley said.

"What? You can see that too? His facial expression hasn't changed at all?" O'Neal couldn't help but say at this moment.

"No, no, Shaq, you can't look at his face, you have to look at his body language, look at his eyes." Barkley explained.

He watched a lot from the commentary booth and had more experience in this regard.

After hearing this, O'Neal squinted his eyes and carefully looked towards Duncan's eyes.

Sure enough, Duncan's expression was unchanged for ten thousand years, but his eyes…

Eh?

Why did he look a little cute?

Okay, actually, you couldn't see anything from his eyes.

If Duncan smiled at this moment, O'Neal would want to give him a T, even without Crawford.

But you could indeed see from his body language that Duncan was a little different tonight.

The Clippers' offense, Paul broke through to the basket and passed the ball back to Griffin, Griffin took the ball and flew up to dunk.

Duncan stood directly under the basket and pressed down on the ball in Griffin's hand.

As the most outstanding and also the most low-key power forward in history, Duncan's physical talent was also historical.

His wingspan reached a terrifying 2.30 meters, while Griffin's was 2.11 meters.

Without comparison, there was no harm. Griffin jumped early with the ball, but it was still pressed down by Duncan's palm.

There was a contest of strength between the two people's bodies and arms.

At this time, Griffin hadn't learned the small movements of using his non-dunking hand to push people when dunking, and after this hard confrontation, the ball was directly slapped away by Duncan!

The "Stone Buddha" blocked shots in succession!

"Charles, apart from me, no one would want to compete with this guy."

O'Neal blew Duncan while also blowing himself up.

Barkley and Smith were amused, but they still nodded.

Although the words were arrogant, they were correct.

Griffin didn't have time to be depressed, the ball that was blocked out fell directly into Parker's hands, and Parker quickly made a fast break layup to score.

The Spurs started 6-0!

Barkley's prediction was correct, the Spurs were really different tonight!

"Hey! Wake up!"

Paul lost his relaxed look from the start of the game and shouted loudly at his teammates at this moment.

This start reminded him that if they lost this game, they would go home fishing.

Griffin received the ball in the low post and backed down Duncan. Duncan's old tree took root and remained motionless. He couldn't push in.

The ball could only be returned to Paul, Paul broke into the free-throw line and finally hit a mid-range fadeaway in the face of Parker, and the Clippers finally broke the scoring drought.

But in return, Duncan made another turnaround layup under the basket, causing the latter's defensive foul after a strong confrontation with the helping Griffin.

The "Stone Buddha" steadily made both free throws, and scored 6 points in less than three minutes to start the game!

"You know how outstanding a big guy who averages 25 points in the slow-paced games of the last century is."

Kenny Smith also began to sigh with emotion.

O'Neal and Barkley smiled and nodded in unison at this time.

Duncan had a very long peak period, and he was at his peak as soon as he debuted.

Back then, they and Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Malone's super luxurious Dream Team III played a nationally televised training game against the college selection team led by Duncan.

The only names that could be called out on that college selection team besides Duncan were Billups and Pierce.

Although they won in the end, it was a narrow victory. They even trailed the college selection team by as much as 17 points, 42-59, in the first half!

That shocked the United States at the time.

Duncan scored 22 points and 10 rebounds in that game, and his reputation exploded even more, which also triggered the subsequent craze of the Spurs and Celtics vying to tank.

Brewer's outside catch-and-shoot three-pointer was directly blocked out of bounds by Tang Tian.

The Spurs weren't just Duncan alone tonight, the whole team was in a very terrifying state.

The Clippers' sideline pass was made, and Butler's breakthrough with the ball was also deflected by Leonard's defense.

The Spurs attacked to the frontcourt again, and as soon as Duncan got the ball, the Clippers immediately double-teamed him.

If they didn't double-team him again, their inside line would really be exploded.

But with the Clippers' double-teaming, the Spurs' outside opportunities came out.

Tang Tian took advantage of Leonard's pick-and-roll to get a catch-and-shoot three-point opportunity.

Duncan passed the ball with a flick of his hand at the first time.

Tang Tian caught the ball and shot.

"Swish!"

The three-pointer went into the net.

The Spurs led 11-2!

"Whoa whoa whoa!" O'Neal exclaimed.

"They're in trouble." Kenny Smith said seriously.

Paul's layup in the frontcourt was deflected by Duncan's interference, and the rebound was also grabbed by Duncan.

Turning around, the Spurs' frontcourt zip play, Leonard's open three-pointer from the bottom corner also went in.

In less than five minutes, the Spurs had already taken a 10-point lead.

"Guys! This isn't just a matter of being in trouble anymore, this game is going to be over."

Barkley shouted directly.

Although the "Big Mouth" often got slapped in the face, he was experienced in commentary for more than ten years, and his predictions for the game were accurate most of the time.

With more than 8 minutes left in the first quarter, the Clippers didn't show any improvement on both offense and defense. The Spurs had already led 21-6 by a full 15 points.

It was official timeout.

Paul once again grabbed the tactical board to arrange tactics, and it could be seen that he was very anxious.

On the Spurs' side, Popovich's expression didn't show any signs of easing.

"Kawhi, what was up with your defensive positioning just now? Don't let Butler get into the paint, understand?"

"Danny, does Williams have a breakthrough? Why are you giving him a step? Force him up!"

…

This could be completely felt from what Popovich said during the timeout.

"Don't be soft, beat the shit out of them!"

At the end of the timeout, Popovich said a very vulgar sentence.

The players were stunned. This was much more crude than just getting tough before.

But they also understood more clearly what Popovich wanted to do tonight.

Since the Clippers were so cocky, he wasn't going to hold back.

When the timeout returned, both sides replaced their bench lineups one after another.

On the Spurs' side, Tang Tian and Diaw were still on the court, and the remaining three were Ginobili, Green, and Splitter.

On the Clippers' side, Griffin led the team, plus Bledsoe, Williams, Nick Young, and Kenyon Martin.

Griffin singled Diaw in the frontcourt, turned around and killed to the basket.

Diaw did a great job of fighting for position and didn't give Griffin a chance to get up. Griffin threw the ball, but it was blocked back by Splitter.

Griffin took off his mouthguard and complained.

But this wasn't Los Angeles, and the referee didn't blow his whistle.

Tang Tian grabbed the ball on the outside, and the Spurs quickly launched a fast break. Ginobili killed to the frontcourt and made a sudden stop for a three-pointer on the three-point line.

"Swish!"

The three-pointer went in with a flick of his wrist, and the point difference came to 18 points in an instant.

"That's right! Beat them to death!"

"Let them be proud on the fishing boat!"

"The Hawaiian fishing grounds welcome them!"

…

The constantly widening point difference made the emotions of the fans in the arena become more and more excited.

Williams' catch-and-shoot in the frontcourt was still deflected by Green and didn't go in.

Diaw grabbed the defensive long rebound, and the Spurs directly launched a fast break.

This time, Ginobili passed the ball to Tang Tian, who was cutting to the bottom corner on a fast break.

Tang Tian caught the ball and shot a three-pointer.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, another three-pointer went in!

Before the first quarter had even ended, the point difference had already come to 21 points!

"Oh! Shit! The Clippers are getting their asses kicked tonight!"

In the commentary booth, Barkley's big mouth couldn't be completely suppressed.