The first possession with Wang Yi's Death Lineup couldn't produce a fast break, so they had to run a half-court offense.
They could only try to find a chance to drive straight to the basket through quick cuts, off-ball movement, and passing.
But the moment Popovich saw Wang Yi bring out the Death Lineup, the old man knew what he was up to. So he tightened the defense around the paint, and the Kings couldn't find an opening to attack the basket. In the end, they had no choice but to take mid-range shots.
Their shooting still wasn't on point.
Instead, after the Spurs got the ball, they immediately launched a fast break.
The Kings' Death Lineup had already made it back on defense, but Little Danny was simply too short. The opponent went right at him and forced the ball in with a layup.
After scoring, the Kings also quickly launched a fast-break counterattack.
Wang Yi finished it with a one-handed dunk in the frontcourt.
The Spurs continued to push the fast break.
The Kings managed to get back on defense this time, but the opponent drew a foul on a layup.
He made both free throws.
The Kings couldn't get a fast break going this time. After bringing the ball upcourt, Wang Yi sank a mid-range jumper.
Then the Spurs launched another fast break. The Kings came right back with a fast-break counterattack, and the two teams kept trading blows like that.
They went back and forth in this end-to-end exchange for half a quarter.
The fans in the arena and watching on television were all fired up.
For the first three and a half quarters, both teams had been missing shot after shot, and the viewers had nearly fallen asleep.
But in the final half-quarter, the players