After a halftime adjustment, Tang Tian finally found his touch.

He finally pried open the lid on his own basket!

Carlisle immediately called a timeout.

With Tang Tian's two three-pointers in the second half, the Spurs launched a 10-2 run, successfully turning the score around!

"Reggie, it seems we were wrong in the first half. He's not nervous, and he's not affected by Jason's words."

Breen said.

"Yes, he just simply didn't find his touch."

Miller nodded in agreement.

If Duncan's consecutive 4 points sounded the horn for a counterattack, then Tang Tian's two three-pointers directly pushed the momentum of the counterattack to a climax.

When the timeout ended, the Mavericks made a substitution, with Terry replacing Haywood.

The Mavericks had only scored 2 points since the start of the second half, and Carlisle clearly wanted to improve the team's offense.

With Kidd organizing on the frontcourt, Terry continuously ran off-ball using screens from Nowitzki and Marion.

However, such movement did not allow him to shake off the defense.

By the time he finished his run, Tang Tian was still closely following him.

Terry wasn't a player known for his off-ball movement. If Thompson was being defended by Tang Tian to the point of not having a chance to catch the ball, then the same went for him.

However, Terry clearly knew more than just catching and shooting. He went directly to Kidd, took the ball, and then chose to attack with the ball.

Without calling for a pick-and-roll, Terry dribbled continuously and then suddenly chose a pull-up three-pointer.

This was his most proficient way of scoring.

However, Tang Tian anticipated it and pounced forward to interfere.

Tang Tian was more than ten centimeters taller than Terry, with a long wingspan, and with the anticipation, his hand completely covered Terry's shooting sight.

Terry's shot was an air ball.

There was a burst of boos from the crowd.

Terry had played bravely in the Finals last season, but his form had clearly declined this season.

And it seemed that those trash-talking words hadn't affected Tang Tian, but instead made him a little overconfident.

Tang Tian had already proven himself to be a top-notch perimeter defender in his rookie season, and Terry's forcing it was simply giving away points.

Diaw got the rebound and threw it forward, Parker caught the ball, fast-breaked to the front, and scored a layup, putting the Spurs ahead of the Mavericks by 3 points.

The score since the start of the quarter was 12-2.

In the first half, the Mavericks played with the momentum of a defending champion, but in the second half, the Spurs showed their strength as the top seed in the West!

Terry continued to play with the ball on the frontcourt, this time calling for Marion to come up to the three-point line to set a pick-and-roll.

However, Tang Tian stuck very closely, not giving Marion a chance to set the screen.

Terry's several attempts were unsuccessful. Marion was a little anxious and directly forced a screen, which resulted in the referee calling a moving screen.

Another turnover!

The whistles from the crowd continued. This was the scene that should be expected between the top seed in the West and the eighth seed!

In the Spurs' frontcourt offense, Parker passed the ball directly to Diaw at the high post and then signaled his teammates to spread out.

With Haywood off the court, Nowitzki was the Mavericks' center, and the Mavericks' interior was obviously empty.

Although Old Driver's offense was unstoppable, he had never been a player known for his defense.

Diaw backed against Nowitzki, using his big butt to push hard inside.

Nowitzki was obviously struggling.

At this time, Tang Tian was still running off-ball with Duncan, and Marion's help defense couldn't get through either.

Diaw played to the restricted area, directly using his butt to push Nowitzki away and bank the ball into the basket.

When he was young, Diaw was also a master of high-flying acrobatics, but now, he was a player who relied on his butt to make a living!

The Spurs now led the Mavericks by 5 points!

Popovich's face was full of smiles.

Tang Tian's two three-pointers were not just as simple as getting 6 points.

The Spurs' hammer offense was very particular about spacing. If Tang Tian, as the main point of the tactic, couldn't make shots, it would be difficult to play because there was no sense of space on the court.

But now that Tang Tian had made two in a row, the Mavericks obviously didn't dare to collapse, which was why Diaw was playing so easily in the interior.

It didn't matter that Terry was shut down by Tang Tian after coming on, the Mavericks could only rely on Nowitzki.

Old Driver took the ball outside the three-point line and broke straight inside, sending the ball into the basket in a twisted manner.

After a long scoring drought, the Mavericks finally managed to score again.

However, in return, Leonard's cut to receive Diaw's layup was also successful.

The Mavericks' interior really felt a bit like a formality.

Carlisle could only call Mahinmi up and let him replace Marion, putting Nowitzki back at the power forward position.

This time, Terry held the ball and looked for Nowitzki's pick-and-roll on the frontcourt, but Tang Tian stuck close and wouldn't give him a chance.

He chose to break through to a spot one step inside the mid-range for a shot.

Diaw directly slapped his shot away!

The audience on the sidelines watched and went wild.

There was a heavy fog in San Antonio tonight, and it seemed that the Jet had no chance to take off!

With Terry unable to open up, the Mavericks' offensive focus was entirely on Nowitzki.

Nowitzki's invincibility was relative. Last year, the Mavericks were said to have won the championship with a single core, but Terry averaged 18+ points per game in the Finals, providing a lot of help.

Now that his teammates couldn't provide him with assistance, his defensive pressure was doubled, and the decline in efficiency was obvious.

The game on the court continued, but the Spurs had completely taken the initiative.

The Mavericks released a wave of core rotation players in the summer, and the most important one was Chandler.

Chandler was the biggest barrier in the Mavericks' interior, and he still averaged 11.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks this season with the Knicks.

His role was completely irreplaceable by Haywood and Mahinmi.

Without him, the Mavericks' interior was really full of flaws.

If Tang Tian hadn't opened up in the first half, they could still make up for it with help defense, but with Tang Tian finding his touch in the second half, the weakness was completely exposed.

The Spurs outscored the Mavericks 30-10 in the third quarter alone, reversing the score to lead by 13 points at the end of the third quarter.

And more obvious than the point difference was the situation on the court. The Mavericks really couldn't see any hope of a comeback.

The Spurs continued their efforts in the fourth quarter, and finally defeated the Mavericks 97-81 to take the first win of the series.

The total score for the second half was 59-36, a difference of 23 points, which was the true gap in strength between the two teams.

The Spurs' top scorer was Duncan, who at the age of 35, had another big double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Parker had 20 points and 9 assists, and Ginobili had 11 points.

Tang Tian was 0-for-4 in the first half, but made 3 of 4 three-pointers in the second half. He was 4 of 9 from the field overall, plus 1 of 2 free throws, also getting 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block.

"I told him during the halftime break that if he didn't make another shot in the second half, he would have to buy me a new car."

At the post-match press conference, when asked about the changes in Tang Tian's performance in the first and second halves, Popovich also said jokingly.