Champion Creed

The strategy succeeded, the Spurs' twin towers have been ineffective from the start of the game except for Duncan's initial one-on-one play.

Gary Payton felt as if he were falling into an abyss, wanting Duncan to lead them to win required creating space for him. But if Payton was off his game today, Duncan couldn't perform.

Ultimately, his fate was still in his own hands.

In the following few turns, Gary Payton became one of the most embarrassed people on the court.

Roger expanded his defensive range repeatedly, disrupting the offense in the paint, giving Payton many opportunities.

But he squandered those opportunities with missed shots and turnovers.

Roger could confidently move into the paint to assist in defending the Admiral and Duncan, while Gary Payton could only appear like a lost, old woman, watching as her husband revels in debauchery outside without being able to bring him back home.

In the eighth minute of the first quarter, Duncan received the ball at a higher position, then immediately turned around upon receiving it to attempt a jumper, prepared to show off his 45° bank shot.

Mutombo had tried his best to interfere, but Duncan's high release and slightly fading angle left Mount Mutombo dusting in the wind.

Just as Duncan was preparing to shoot while holding the ball, Roger swooped in from the side and smacked the ball down!

After blocking the shot, Roger picked up the ball and quickly pushed forward. Near the half-court line, faced with defenders Bowen and Payton, Roger bounced the ball between the two, and Stademeyer picked it up, following from the left and forcefully dunking it in with both hands!

After this play, the Warriors had a 7-point lead, prompting Gregg Popovich to call for a timeout.

"This is Roger's influence, I always said he's not just a top-tier offensive player, he definitely deserves to be in the running for DPOY," Mike Breen unabashedly expressed his admiration for Roger, "If I had a vote, I'd definitely choose him for DPOY!"

At the moment of the pause, Oakland Arena shook like an earthquake.

Today's change in defensive strategy allowed Roger's engagement, giving the Bay Area fans hope of defeating the ultimate nightmare that is the Spurs.

Popovich indeed didn't foresee the game being so adverse; if a basketball game were only eight minutes, the Warriors would have won.

Unfortunately, there were still forty minutes left in the showdown!

Eight minutes, almost reaching the fatigue threshold for the old man of unknown age. If no substitutions are made, Duncan's defensive pressure will diminish.

If substitutions are made, Duncan will face no pressure at all.

The next primary concern is Roger, who must be firmly stationed at the perimeter.

Popovich waved his hand: "Manu, it's your turn to play!"

On the other side, Mutombo was sweating profusely.

Facing Tim Duncan is undoubtedly one of the most challenging tasks in this world; you must expend energy when he demands the ball, when jockeying for position, and when defending his ball handling and attacks.

Duncan is omnipresent in the game, which means Mutombo can't catch a break during any turn.

A thoroughly fatigued Mutombo knew his first quarter was nearly done, so he turned to glance at Marcus Camby at the far end of the bench.

Camby, in turn, directed a burning gaze at the coach.

Hubie Brown initially approached Troy Murphy but ultimately turned aside and locked eyes with Camby's fiercely burning gaze: "Marcus, are you still afraid of being disappointed?"

The game resumed, with substitutions made by both teams, now fielding Spurs' lineup included Parker, Ginobili, Bowen, Malik Rose, and Duncan.

While the Warriors had Roger, Jason Richardson, Stephen Jackson, Stademeyer, and Marcus Camby.

Seeing Ginobili and Parker on the court simultaneously, Roger furrowed his brow.

Though it was only Ginobili's sophomore season, nobody overlooked his offensive prowess.

After all, in the summer of 2002, Ginobili gained fame by leading Argentina to defeat the Dream Five Team.

So now, the Spurs had two highly threatening attack points on the court.

Stephen Jackson needed to deal with Parker, leaving Roger to match up with Ginobili.

The issue was that the Argentinean couldn't be left wide open.

If he found his rhythm, he'd deliver a performance rivaling a superstar's.

Roger's reach couldn't impact the paint anymore.

For these few minutes, the interior defense relied solely on Stademeyer and Camby themselves!

This was Popovich's strategy, using Ginobili to create space for Duncan.

Indeed, in Popovich's plan, Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan were the next era's masters for the Spurs.

When these three were on the court together, the Spurs could exert their maximum power.

At the beginning of the game, the Spurs eagerly found Duncan.

Ginobili wasn't a complacent corner shooter; he navigated across the court, forcing Roger to tightly keep up, leaving him no effort to coordinate defensively.

Duncan received the ball at the high post, facing Camby, an adversary they've met since their college days.

The poker face revealed no emotion but chuckled internally.

Marcus Camby was the league's most fragile defender despite appearing robust on the outside.

His defensive stats were pretty, yet he blocked himself twice in the previous game.

Yet Duncan loved matching up with him since Camby would ignore all basic defensive principles for the sake of blocking shots.

On the sideline, Gary Payton also clenched his fist.

Coming up, surely would be Duncan's shine moment?

If Duncan could win, he would be a winner!

Duncan held the ball facing the basket, executing a couple of triple threat steps, then suddenly lifted the ball up.

To Duncan's surprise, Camby did not hurriedly jump this time; he simply raised his arms high, blocking Duncan upfront.

Duncan lowered his center of gravity, choosing to drive. Marcus Camby stuck closely to Duncan throughout, gritting his teeth and battling the forward-disguised center.

As Duncan reached the rim, he deliberately raised the ball again.

Yet, Marcus Camby still did not leap to block!

He diligently pressed against Duncan, giving no easy shot chances!

Off the court, Mutombo, wiping his sweat, exposed a relieved smile.

He finally reclaimed his sense of dignity.

Run hard, Marcus, don't stop.

Blocked out completely, Duncan could only half-turn; being stuck meant he could only use his left hand for a little hook shot—few knew this detail, as Duncan wasn't skilled with his left hand yet Marcus Camby successfully forced Duncan to use it for a hook shot.

That's his truest defensive level.

Once Camby finally leaped, providing Duncan some interference.

Ultimately, Duncan's awkward left-hand hook shot clipped the basket's side rim, once more missing the Spurs' interior offense!

Stademeyer grabbed the rebound and then found Roger. Roger dashed urgently, Bowen unable to catch him, only Ginobili kept pace.

But Ginobili's defensive ability wasn't outstanding, with Roger laying back from the three-point line, letting inertia widen the gap with the Argentinean.

Then, without hesitation, Roger raised his hand, attempting a chase-down-three in this era's "very unconventional" fast break.

Its unlikely serious shot, almost entirely without interference, thus gave Roger assurance.

The San Antonio Spurs dominate the Warriors? The San Antonio Spurs commanded the West? The San Antonio Spurs were Roger's career nightmare?

Alright, let everyone see how the San Antonio Spurs meet their end!

"Swish!"

"10 points!" Mike Breen stood up, "The first quarter's not even over, and the Warriors lead by 10 points! Roger is always able to handle all opponents, no one can genuinely suppress him, no one!"

After scoring, Roger exchanged a look with the poker face, but neither said a word.

Later, Roger's eyes fell on Marcus Camby.

"Hey, you bastard," Roger spoke to Camby for the first time since the previous incident, "well done."

Camby nodded, sticking close beside Duncan.

On the sidelines, Gary Payton felt his heart turn icy, as if blood had coagulated in his veins.

His most relied-on person seemed to have fallen.

Yet the one he feared most remained terrifying.

The clear river water of San City couldn't cleanse the stench of failure emanating from him.