His personality was calm and reserved. At this moment, he made no arrogant remarks, merely listening quietly as the coach spoke.
Every so often, he glanced at Sprewell, Allan Houston, and Sabonis beside him, his eyes filled with certainty and trust.
As the team's leader, a five-time champion with countless individual accolades and the founder of a personal sports brand on par with Nike and Adidas, he had long since seen his share of life-or-death battles.
A 30-point half or a buzzer-beating three-pointer was nothing more than routine for him.
He slowly opened his mouth. His voice was not loud, yet it carried with tremendous force.
"We don't need to deliberately play conservatively just because we're ahead, and we don't need to rush to widen the gap."
"Play at our pace. Keep shutting down the paint on defense, and take turns keeping pressure on the perimeter. The Lakers won't give up easily. Kobe and O'Neal will definitely launch a desperate comeback in the second half."
"But we have home-court advantage, we have each other, and we have the resilience to never back down. Protect every possession, fight for every detail, and a three-peat will be right in front of us."
A few simple words instantly steadied the entire team.
Sprewell's eyes burned with fighting spirit. As a defensive stopper, he was ready to keep hounding Kobe relentlessly in the second half.
Allan Houston had gradually regained his shooting touch and was ready to support Li Fei at any moment, keeping the team's offense alive with his mid-range game.
Sabonis remained as composed as ever, silently adjusting his breathing as he prepared to continue anchoring the interior, facilitating the offense, and protecting the boards.
Stephen Jackson and the others on the bench were equally fired up, ready to check in at