章 53: 52. The decisive ball in the match

The Grizzlies' offense was mediocre to begin with, and Hollins chose a risky strategy, banking on Randolph's exceptional play and aggressive offensive rebounds.

If the Spurs were still using their regular season's standard defense, with quick rotations and switches, Hollins' tactic would be effective, as it was tested in their first three encounters.

But once the Spurs had made targeted defensive preparations, Hollins' unconventional move became too extreme and fell apart!

The most important point—Duncan had rested well over the past two weeks and had plenty of energy!

Midway through the quarter, the score was 13 to 6, with the Spurs leading the Grizzlies by seven points going into a timeout.

After the timeout, the Spurs made three substitutions, with George Hill, Ginobili, and Blair replacing Parker, Zhang Yang, and Duncan.