Inside the AT&T Center, the roar of the crowd nearly lifted the roof off the arena.
Duncan stood at the free-throw line, lowering his center of gravity as he stared intently at Shaquille O'Neal in front of him.
The San Antonio Spurs were set, their 2-3 zone defense quickly spreading across the court.
Popovich's tactical core was crystal clear: collapse the paint, help defend The Shark as a unit, and never give him an easy chance to bully his way through the low post.
But this zone scheme had an inherent weakness that could not be hidden.
Collapsing into the paint to protect the rim inevitably left one-on-one, even one-on-two, matchups open on the perimeter.
The Lakers' outside shooters were waiting to seize those openings at any moment.
Phil Jackson stood on the sidelines and immediately saw through the Spurs' tradeoff.
He raised a hand and signaled to the players on the floor, adjusting how the offense was initiated.
They no longer insisted on feeding O'Neal in the low post on every possession.
The Lakers began moving the ball extensively around the perimeter, forcing the Spurs' zone to shift laterally again and again.
Kobe brought the ball up at the top of the arc, his eyes sweeping over everyone's movement on the court.
Duncan was forced to stay in the paint, ready at any moment to help defend O'Neal, and did not dare close out too far.
The Spurs' perimeter defenders were repeatedly moved by Kobe's footwork, gradually unable to keep up laterally.
With a sharp crossover in front of his body, Kobe blew past his defender in one step and drove into the free-throw line area.
The zone's help defenders had no choice but to converge on him, instantly crowding the paint.
Kobe flicked his wrist and fired a