Muhammad made one of two free throws, leading the Bobcats 7 to 6.
In the next few minutes, both teams played much like the bloodbath phase of the previous game.
For the Spurs, Duncan made a hard move inside, Ginobili went one-on-one, usually not passing unless trapped and his teammates were wide open.
The Bobcats also had several players taking turns going one-on-one, not that they didn’t want to play together, but they were stifled by the Spurs’ defense!
Even when Zhang Yang used screens to move and tried collaborating with teammates, the Spurs’ defense was able to keep up; let alone the others. Strategy plays could even lead to turnovers.
However, the Bobcats’ strategy of taking turns going one-on-one was also painful for Popovich to watch, as their attack seemed weakened while their defense was augmented, resembling the Mavericks, and diminishing the effectiveness of his Spurs’ team defense.
With 10:55 left in the first quarter, the score reached 16 to 15; the Spurs having overtaken the Bobcats by 1 point, scoring 10 to 8 in nearly half the quarter’s time, slightly winning by one basket.
Bickerstaff called a brief 20-second timeout, taking out Felton, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor, leaving Rondo and Muhammad on the floor, and bringing Zhang Yang, Alan Anderson, and Perkins in.
Popovich also made some lineup changes, subbing out Jacque Vaughn, Bowen, and Elson, with Ginobili and Duncan staying on the floor, and Parker, Finley, and Horry coming in.
After the timeout, the Bobcats went on the offense.
Having rested for half the quarter, Zhang Yang immediately broke past Ginobili and hit a stop-and-pop jump shot from the right side of the free-throw line!
In the offensive switch, the Spurs attacked; Duncan moved away from the low post, having almost played the entire quarter; now heading to the basket to tussle with Muhammad and Perkins was too much even for the "stone Buddha."
Duncan actively moved up to set a pick and roll for Ginobili, but after the split, he didn’t continue towards the basket, but stayed high.
Ginobili drove into the paint but was double-teamed, passing it back to Duncan at the left side of the free-throw line, where Duncan caught the ball and was immediately challenged by Zhang Yang.
Without forcing a shot, Duncan flicked his wrist, sending the ball toward the left baseline where Parker cut in to catch the ball and score with a layup!
to 17, the Spurs regained a 1-point lead!
The little race car is really fast! Rondo couldn’t even keep up on the no-ball defense!
But the key was Duncan moving to the right spot on the perimeter, posing a long-range threat, and having good vision and timing with the pass.
Now it was the Bobcats’ turn to attack.
Zhang Yang continued with the ball, one-on-one. This time, after getting past Ginobili into mid-range, he didn’t stop but went straight to the basket as Finley came up to block. Not passing to Alan Anderson but driving right to the basket! He executed the Euro step!
Duncan was well acquainted with the Euro step, positioned himself to block, allowing Horry a chance to defend. However, Horry couldn’t handle it and even ended up slapping Zhang Yang on the shoulder!
In the skirmish, Zhang Yang threw the ball, and as the referee’s whistle sounded, the ball fell through the hoop.
Watching Zhang Yang shake his head and high-five Muhammad and Perkins, even the usually expressionless Duncan displayed a moment of frustration.
Horry was getting older, no longer the player who could score 10 points and 5 rebounds with a 48% three-point shooting in the Finals against the Pistons just two years ago.
Now, aside from key plays, his rough and aggressive fouls could intimidate opponents, but that was about it.
When facing a team of young guys like the Bobcats, Horry didn’t even have his intimidating factor anymore.
And there was it, bad boy Jack not fearing Horry at all, going straight for the face!
Zhang Yang stepped up to the free-throw line, made the additional free throw, elevating his personal score to 11 points! Turning a 3 out of 8 relapse into an outstanding 5 out of 10!
As Ginobili’s step-back long two-point attempt clanked off the rim, guarded by Rondo and Alan Anderson, the quarter ended, and both teams delivered another intense bloodbath quarter to the fans watching on TV.
Apart from the beginning and end where the stars powered through with solo plays, both teams succeeded in scoring only after several rounds of play.
The Bobcats managed only 20 points in the quarter, Zhang Yang responsible for more of them than in the previous game... but the situation was completely different!
The Spurs scored even lower tonight!
As the critical moment came at the end of the quarter, Duncan, having played the whole quarter, could only set up plays; Ginobili having played less than 3 minutes, couldn’t hit his shots, depending on Parker to score the two points.
to 18, the Bobcats led the Spurs by two points heading into the quarter break!