The key to starting the movement!

In the cheering of the crowd, Stoudemire excitedly rushed up and chest-bumped with Zhang Yang to celebrate. Seeing his teammates' worried expressions, he thought he was going to have to fight alone.

He wasn't afraid; losing was the worst that could happen, and it wasn't as if they hadn't lost before—they had lost to the Spurs three times in the last five years. Since it was already like that, it didn't matter anymore. He just couldn't accept it and wanted to fight.

He hadn't expected this rookie teammate to be so tough!

Duncan was dunked on because he "asked for it," but if it were another rookie, seeing Duncan coming up to block, even if the chance was good, they might still fumble. Stoudemire remembered the 2005 Western Conference Finals, where the second-year Barbosa shot 1 for 10 under the basket throughout the series. He performed outrageously poor, even missing open layups when Duncan charged at him.

But just now, Stoudemire didn't see any fear on Zhang Yang's face. Instead, Duncan's defense seemed to excite him even more, making his dunk more decisive!

He wasn't fighting alone!

Not only the Little Emperor, but the other Suns players were also electrified by Zhang Yang's dunk over their opponent.

If it had been Stoudemire overpowering his opponent for a score, the reaction wouldn't have been the same.

But coming from a rookie like Zhang Yang, the effect was completely different! It was a surprise!

When it was the Spurs' turn to attack, their top player had just embarrassingly been dunked over, but they seemed unaffected.

Popovich had not yet officially changed the team's system, so the Spurs' offensive tactics were relatively simple.

But their star players were strong!

Duncan calmly set a screen for George Hill, who then cut in, received the ball, and used a fake to throw off the pursuing Stoudemire before leisurely hooking it into the basket!

During the transition from defense to offense, the Suns wanted to speed up, but the scoring Spurs implemented full-court pressure defense, preventing the Suns from breaking through.

Zhang Yang was entangled by George Hill, who, despite being only 191 cm tall and weighing 87 kg, played very tough defense. He was extremely serious, even against a rookie like Zhang Yang, with no relaxation whatsoever.

Falling into a positional battle, Nash and Stoudemire launched an offense with a pick-and-roll.

After engaging Zhang Yang physically, George Hill moved in to help delay Stoudemire's cut.

Nash's pass threaded through the middle to Zhang Yang at the left side of the free-throw line.

Zhang Yang received the ball and without hesitation… shot and missed.

Bursting in, Stoudemire rose explosively, dunking over Blair into the basket!

The slight annoyance that had just begun to form in Zhang Yang vanished instantly.

The Little Emperor was telling his teammates through his actions—keep shooting, I'm here!

When it was the Spurs' turn to attack, Ginobili received the ball at mid-range and didn't shoot impulsively. He drove into the paint, performed a Euro step, while Robin Lopez made a valiant effort to block, but still couldn't stop the elusive Ginobili.

Ginobili jumped behind Robin Lopez and scored off a high bank shot.

On the other end, the Suns were on the offensive. George Hill continued the strategy of engaging Zhang Yang first, then leaving him open.

Defensive tactics are about double-teaming the strong and leaving the weak open, mainly considering how to double-team and who to leave unguarded.

Popovich's skill in this aspect was top-notch throughout the league. The last round saw Stoudemire drive straight through for a dunk, but this time the Spurs contracted faster, preventing Stoudemire from dunking again.

But Zhang Yang, upon receiving the ball, did not hesitate and decisively took the mid-range shot… and it went in!

Nash assist +1!

27 to 34, the Suns were biting at the score!

Having missed a shot only made them shoot more decisively; the Spurs' veterans faintly sensed the flavor of Los Angeles.

The Spurs' fiery scoring continued, and George Hill, after a pick-and-roll, stepped back and hit a three-pointer, stretching the lead to 10 points, 37 to 27.

Again, the Suns were on the attack, and with successful cooperation, they were set to continue, Nash kept up the pick-and-roll and passed the ball to Zhang Yang.

However, Nash noticed the change in the defensive position as he broke through and decisively pulled back after passing the ball.

Zhang Yang caught the ball, raised his hand as if to shoot, and Duncan immediately came up from the free-throw line.

But it was a fake from Zhang Yang! He, instead, flicked the ball back to the top of the arc.

Keith Bogans, noticing Nash's movements, instantly rushed from the right sideline toward the top of the arc. But Zhang Yang, using his fake shot to attract the defense before passing, was very decisive. By the time Bogans reached the arc, Nash had already turned and shot the ball…

It was a three-pointer!

30 to 37, the Suns continued to bite at the score, opening the second quarter with a 9 to 7 run against the Spurs!

Finally, the Spurs, after making three consecutive shots, missed in the next offense, with George Hill's repeated step-back three-pointer not falling.

The Suns launched a counterattack!

Nash chose to push forward based on the positions on the court, cut to the baseline, then passed back to the middle, where Stoudemire, taking a step into the paint, shoved Blair aside and forcefully laid up, scoring two points.

32 to 37, the Suns had reduced the gap to 5 points, the Spurs called a timeout!

Now it was Popovich's turn to be distressed.

He had hoped to ride the momentum from the first quarter to widen the gap in the second quarter.

Indeed, they started the second quarter playing well offensively, except for Ginobili having a brain-fade with a mid-range shot, the rest of the opening shots were successful.

But unexpectedly, their opponents began to rise!

The Little Overlord going wild was not unpredictable; as the leading center, the Little Overlord was highly likely to make the Second Team this year as a superstar.

Zhang Yang was a complete surprise element in Popovich's eyes.

If only the Little Overlord had gone wild, in the past few rounds, the Suns might have matched the Spurs blow for blow at most, maintaining morale from further declining, but to boost the Suns, the Little Overlord would have to keep going wild continuously.

However, when Stoudemire was double-teamed, Zhang Yang's responsiveness with a dunk and his mid-range anticipatory pass that delivered a three-point assist to Nash, helped the Suns close the gap by 4 points in a few rounds.

In Popovich's view, this move by Zhang Yang was key to the Suns' gaining momentum!

Good counterattack sense, passable pass awareness, decisive shooting… Popovich remembered this was an undrafted rookie, only contracted with the Suns for this current season. Should he poach him when the season ends?

…

After the timeout, the Spurs continued their offensive firepower in their half-court game.

Many people hadn't noticed, but in the past two years, Popovich had greatly improved in adapting tactics on the fly.

The reason it went unnoticed was because the Spurs' performance had declined year by year, but the decline wasn't Popovich's fault. It was because players like Bowen, Finley, Kurt Thomas, Drew Gooden, Brent Barry, Oberto, Ime Udoka… had left one after another, and their replacements such as Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess didn't come cheap and couldn't deliver as well within the Spurs' existing system.

But Gentry, who had been an assistant coach at the Suns since 2003 and had battled the Spurs for years, could directly feel Popovich's improvement in this aspect.

The old Spurs never had any continuity in their offense; once their offense got stalled, Popovich's only strategy was to rely on the Big Three, but now, George Hill, Blair, and even Matt Bonner could play important roles during offensive adjustments.

However, the Spurs couldn't regain control and were gradually losing ground as the Suns nibbled away at the lead.

Under Stoudemire's lead, the resurgent Suns matched the Spurs blow for blow in their half-court game.

As the Suns maintained offensive stability in their half-court game, the Spurs had fewer chances to counterattack.

The Spurs were not known for their counterattacks, but when they played against the Suns, they often scored a lot on fast breaks, like in the first quarter, where Parker scored 6 of his 10 points from counterattacks.

Conversely, the Suns' counterattacks remained unimpeded; whenever the Spurs missed shots, they had to face the onslaught of the Suns' run and gun, and even a slightly delayed Spurs' transition defense risked facing a dunk from Stoudemire.

At 11 minutes and 38 seconds into the second quarter, the veteran Hill scored a long two-pointer, tying the game at 56!

It was the Spurs' turn to attack; Ginobili charged, catching the Suns off guard with a Euro step layup.

With 10 seconds remaining, Gentry chose to call a timeout, bringing Zhang Yang back onto the floor after the official timeout; Nash, Hill, and Stoudemire continued to play, and Dudley, who had performed well in shooting from afar tonight, was also subbed in.

He wanted to even out or potentially surpass the score entering the second half.

Naturally, Popovich did not want to let his opponent have their way; he subbed in his strongest defensive lineup with George Hill, Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Duncan, and McDyess.

After the timeout, the Suns took a frontcourt inbound, and Hill successfully passed the ball to Nash.

Nash promptly initiated an attack, Hill ran to play from the center to the left 45-degree angle where he just scored the long two-pointer, Stoudemire moved out for a pick and roll, Dudley positioned himself to the right sideline where he excelled in three-pointers, and Zhang Yang cut to the basket from the right, circling the baseline to reach the left baseline mid-range.

The other four Suns players were their main scorers this season; when the Spurs defended Nash and Stoudemire in the pick and roll, they left Zhang Yang open.

However, this time the Spurs leaving him open was a bluff; when Zhang Yang received the ball, McDyess had already moved from under the basket to the baseline mid-range, Richard Jefferson stealthily closed in from the right sideline to short range, teaming up with George Hill to block Stoudemire's pass route, and Duncan, guarding a smaller player, tightly followed Nash pulling out to the three-point line.

Popovich had seen through the Suns' offensive tactic! He was gambling that Zhang Yang lacked the ability to handle the ball.

Popovich correctly predicted the Suns' offensive tactic and also gambled right that Zhang Yang indeed lacked ball-handling ability; any block to his driving lane left him flustered, but what Popovich didn't anticipate was Zhang Yang's audacity…

Zhang Yang, facing McDyess, jumped… to pass!

The ball flew over McDyess, Stoudemire, Richard Jefferson, George Hill, and several others' heads, heading towards Dudley on the right sideline.

Dudley caught the ball just as the shot clock was about to expire, shot a three-pointer directly… and made it!

57 to 56, the Suns took a one-point lead over the Spurs!

Popovich stood up and cursed; this rookie's audacity reminded him of that guy from Los Angeles!

…

…

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