With both sides continuing to clang shots off the rim, Wang Yi stuck to his game plan and waited for Popovich to make a move.
Popovich had initially planned to do the same, waiting for Wang Yi to make a move.
So neither side changed much at the start of the fourth quarter, and the clanking continued.
By the time there were seven minutes left in the fourth, the score was still 69–67, with the Kings ahead by just two points.
Popovich glanced at Wang Yi on the court and thought, Is this little guy still not going to make a move?
He had planned to wait for Wang Yi to act before figuring out how to respond. But since Wang Yi wasn't making a move, he couldn't keep waiting around.
After all, given the scoring potential of both the Kings and Wang Yi, if things stayed this way until the final few minutes, Wang Yi might erupt and put the game out of reach. Then Popovich wouldn't have a chance to make his move.
With that, Popovich waved his hand and subbed out Little O'Neal and Poet Tagore.
But instead of putting in their regular backup power forward and center, he brought in the smaller, faster third-string center, Rogers, and the third-string power forward, Gore.
These two were usually outside the team's rotation. They only got a chance to play during garbage time, when even the regular rotation players were resting.
Normally, no coach would dare put players like them on the court in a situation like this.
But Popovich sent them both in without hesitation. It was an incredibly risky move. If it went badly, the team would fall behind 0–3, leaving them with little hope of making a comeback.
Wang Yi watched and gave a subtle nod.