NBA: The Dynasty Crusher (Basketball)

During the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Heli gave his thoughts before tip-off.

"The Spurs' lineup is similar to the Knicks'. They've got a dominant frontcourt, but their wings are average. Like the Knicks, they rotate multiple role players at small forward without a true starter. And their backcourt, though fixed, is relatively weak for a title contender—definitely weaker than the Knicks, Lakers, or even the Philadelphia Team."

Su Qun nodded. "Among the Knicks' three guards, Ginobili is still adjusting. He's averaging 9.5 points, 2.1 assists, and 1.5 turnovers. But he's a rookie. He's still learning to deal with the NBA's physicality. Meanwhile, Sprewell and Stackhouse have been solid. Honestly, this might be the Knicks' best perimeter trio in years."

Zhang Heli added, "Ginobili's fine, but starting him right away might've been too much. I think easing him in off the bench would've reduced the pressure. Starting from day one is a lot for a young guy."

At 7:50 PM, the starting units took the floor.

The San Antonio crowd erupted in boos as Zhao Dong stepped onto the hardwood.

NBC's Bill Walton laughed, "Let's not forget—during the Finals, the Knicks blew out the Spurs in this building and had their fans leaving by the end of the first quarter. It was a humiliating scene. The Spurs' fans haven't forgotten."

Matt Goukas chuckled. "Perfect setup for revenge. With Barkley retired and New York's bench thinned out, this is the best chance the Spurs have to settle the score. But… it all depends on whether Zhao Dong allows it. I guarantee he'll challenge the Twin Towers head-on tonight."

Walton added, "In the Finals, New York had enough size to run Twin Towers of their own. But with the Chinese King gone to Dallas, Coach Nelson can't go that route anymore. I'm curious to see what system he goes with tonight."

—

8:00 PM – Tip-Off

Fortson and Duncan lined up for the jump ball. The Knicks won possession.

Stackhouse brought the ball up. Ginobili and Sprewell spaced out to the wings, giving the Knicks a five-out look on the perimeter.

Fordson stayed down low. He had a serviceable mid-range jumper, but it wasn't a threat. If he drifted outside, Robinson wouldn't chase—he'd sag and clog the lane anyway. So Fordson focused on his role: set screens, battle on the boards, and clean up on second chances.

Zhao Dong posted up on the left wing, two steps outside the paint and just below the free throw line. Tim Duncan stuck with him.

It was like watching Shaq defend Yao in his rookie year—awkward, labor-intensive, and ultimately, futile. Even if Zhao drifted out to the arc, Duncan had to follow. Any defensive switch would be a mismatch. That had already been proven in the Finals.

Tonight, Popovich played straight man-to-man. He wasn't doubling on the perimeter. The Knicks' outside shooters were too dangerous. Give them space, and they'd bury you. But inside? That was different. Anytime Zhao entered the paint, Pop called for a hard double—ball or no ball.

Suddenly, Zhao made his move.

He faked a cut to the perimeter, drawing Duncan a step out… then instantly pivoted and darted backdoor. Duncan stumbled, caught flat-footed.

"Don't let him catch!" Pop barked from the sideline.

On the perimeter, Avery Johnson desperately clung to Stackhouse, trying to deny the entry pass.

In the paint, Robinson dropped to the left block, reading the play. Duncan turned, chasing back into the paint.

Zhao slashed in hard and planted himself on the left side of the key, just below the rim.

He turned and sealed Robinson. "Ball!"

Stackhouse hesitated. The timing window was razor-thin—half a second, max. Duncan was closing fast.

"Whoosh!"

Stackhouse finally lobbed it in—but to avoid Johnson's pressure, he lofted it high, over the rim.

Robinson immediately leaned in, throwing a hard elbow into Zhao Dong's back—trying to shift his base, make him lose balance before jumping.

But Zhao's lower-body strength was elite. With a 95 rating in core strength and vertical, his foundation was unshakable.

He exploded upward.

Duncan met him in the air, trying to intercept the high lob… but the pass floated just over his outstretched fingertips, kissing off the glass.

"Bang!"

Zhao Dong hung in the air above both defenders, palmed the ball mid-air, twisted, and slammed it through the rim.

"BANG!"

And-one.

The whistle screamed.

"Shit!" Robinson cursed under his breath. He'd just shoved Zhao from behind and still got dunked on.

The NBC broadcast went wild.

"OH MY—Zhao Dong just posterized the Twin Towers! A full-on alley-oop while being double-teamed!" Su Qun roared in disbelief.

"His vertical's gotta be close to 40 inches tonight," Zhang Heli said, grinning. "He was way up there."

On the NBC live broadcast, Bill Walton broke down the Knicks' backcourt strategy.

"The Knicks are running with three offensive-minded guards. None of them are pure point guards. Honestly, I think a guy like Steve Nash from the Suns would be a better fit for Zhao Dong. Nash runs the offense first and scores second. Plus, he's got a nice shot."

Matt Goukas disagreed with a grin. "Bill, come on now. New York's foundation is defense. Nash might be smooth on offense, but his defense is paper-thin. If we're talking ideal fits, someone like Jason Kidd or Gary Payton—elite defenders who can run the floor—that's who complements Zhao Dong best. Actually, the Heat's 'Bad Boys' guard is the best all-around option—passing, scoring, and defending."

Back on the court, Zhao Dong stood at the free throw line, spinning the ball once before setting his stance. He glanced sideways at Tim Duncan.

"Hey, big guy. Want to shoot free throws like me?"

Zhao's tone was casual, almost mocking.

Duncan blinked, confused but intrigued. "You got a training secret?"

Zhao's smirk deepened. "Yeah. Try practicing with a bedpan strapped to your waist."

He flicked the ball with perfect form—swish. Another make. His free throw percentage sat at a league-best 90%, something even Shaq would dream about.

"Tim, don't listen to him. He's just messing with you," David Robinson muttered, glaring at Zhao as they ran back.

The Spurs shifted to their high-low post setup, attempting to counter Fortson's rebounding and put pressure on the Knicks' interior defense.

Robinson took the ball at the top of the key, then passed it down to Duncan on the low left block, and quickly cut inside.

The Knicks stayed in man-to-man coverage. Zhao Dong took Duncan one-on-one—no double-team help. New York dared the Spurs to beat them without creating open looks on the perimeter.

Duncan caught the ball cleanly and went into his patented routine—a series of shoulder fakes, subtle head bobs, quick jabs. Zhao adjusted his stance with each motion.

Then, with a smooth turn, Duncan banked in a 45-degree shot off the glass. Textbook.

Old Nelson was already waving his arms on the sideline. "Go! Push it!"

Stackhouse and Sprewell immediately sprinted ahead. Ginobili followed. Fortson trailed in support.

Zhao Dong, still under the rim, snagged the ball and looked for an outlet. Duncan tried to disrupt with his arms flailing, but Zhao sidestepped him with ease and fired a one-handed bullet pass up the sideline to Ginobili.

The rookie caught it in stride, shifted direction like lightning, and attacked the lane.

Avery Johnson stepped in to contest, but Ginobili unleashed a wicked eurostep—his signature move. One step left, hard plant, swing back to the right—he sliced through the lane and finished with a soft layup.

"Beautiful move by the rookie! That's the European step he brought over from the EuroLeague," Zhang Heli praised on CCTV.

Su Qun chimed in, "Iverson's got a similar crossover, though his usually includes that signature hesitation."

Zhang nodded. "True, but Iverson has to slow down. His speed is so elite, he'd snap his knees changing direction at full speed. Ginobili's style is different—he twists his whole body without decelerating. It's wild, but it works."

On the sideline, Coach Popovich's eyes narrowed as he replayed Ginobili's footwork in his mind.

"Damn Knicks. Damn Zhao Dong," he muttered under his breath.

Pop had actually planned to take Ginobili with a second-round pick in the draft. But the Knicks got to him first—on Zhao Dong's recommendation. The Spurs had to settle for Kirilenko at No. 28… and he wasn't even coming to the NBA. A total bust of a pick. Meanwhile, Ginobili was slicing up his defense in real-time.

"Maybe they'd trade him," Pop thought. "With Barkley out, New York's probably looking for help. Maybe I can offer something."

It was a pipe dream. The Knicks weren't parting with Ginobili—not a chance.

—

Score: 5–2. Spurs ball.

Duncan received the ball again at the 45-degree angle and went for another bank shot.

In the paint, Duncan's numbers were elite—70% at the rim, especially inside the restricted area. But from mid-range—three meters out—his shot percentage dipped closer to 50%, even after learning advanced footwork and rebounding techniques from Zhao Dong during the Olympics.

This time, Zhao played him tighter and the shot rimmed out.

The rebound shot skyward. Zhao Dong and Robinson both exploded upward—but despite Robinson's 7'1" frame, he wasn't known for vertical hops.

Zhao beat him to it.

He ripped down the rebound and immediately fired a long pass downcourt.

The Knicks guards were already on the move. Sprewell outpaced Jerome Kersey down the wing. Stackhouse and Ginobili pulled the defense away.

Sprewell caught Zhao's dime in stride, took one long dribble, and slammed home a one-handed dunk with authority.

"YEAHHH!"

The Spurs came out of the huddle looking tense. Their inside-focused game plan had been completely read by the Knicks.

Because New York stuck to single coverage on the Spurs' twin towers, refusing to double in the post, San Antonio's perimeter options were nonexistent. Every possession had to funnel through Duncan and Robinson, especially Duncan, who was tasked with creating nearly all of their early offense.

Meanwhile, the Knicks' trio of guards—Stackhouse, Ginobili, and Sprewell—kept launching into fast breaks like missiles. The game's rhythm was a blur, and San Antonio was struggling to keep pace.

By the 9th minute of the first quarter, the scoreboard read 24–16, Knicks up by eight.

Timeout, Spurs.

On NBC's broadcast, Marv Albert cut in with his signature energy. "And the Spurs—calling for a timeout as the Knicks start to pull away here in the first!"

Doug Collins chimed in, "It's about offensive efficiency right now. The Knicks are outplaying San Antonio on both ends. Fast breaks from the guards, high-percentage looks for Zhao Dong in the post. They've got seven assists in nine minutes—Zhao has four of those himself. That's just smart, team basketball."

On the court, Duncan had put in solid work—6 shot attempts, hitting 3, plus 2-of-4 from the line. But his makes came mostly from the perimeter of the paint. Zhao Dong was holding him away from the rim and contesting every look. Duncan's efficiency—40% near the paint—was down nearly 10% from his season average. He'd even been blocked once by Zhao.

Doug continued, "If I'm Pop, I'd try to get Duncan deeper into the post. Right now, all his touches are on the outer half of the paint. He's being forced into tough angle shots."

When play resumed, Fordson checked out, replaced by Kevin Willis, while Zhao Dong stayed in to anchor the interior. The Knicks rotated in John Wallace at small forward, with Ginobili and Sprewell running the backcourt. Stackhouse got a much-needed breather.

For San Antonio, Robinson sat, Duncan stayed in, and they brought in Sean Elliott at small forward, Avery Johnson remained at the point, alongside a pair of bench role players.

Bill Walton, now part of the NBC analyst crew, remarked from courtside, "The Spurs bench has good pieces. Popovich knows how to squeeze the most out of his role players."

Doug smirked. "Yeah, but sometimes he squeezes too hard. I mean, come on—this is a finals team, and yet they're 23rd in national broadcasts. Why? Because people don't tune in to watch role players set screens and pass it out."

Walton laughed so hard he nearly choked on air. "You're brutal, Doug!"

The rest of the first quarter saw New York sticking to their formula: Zhao Dong bullying the low post, the guards sprinting on transition, and the pace staying high. Duncan, despite his skill, was clearly feeling the toll.

By the buzzer, the Knicks led 30–21.

A surprised murmur spread through the media row.

Most pregame predictions had San Antonio controlling the pace and leading at the half. That clearly wasn't happening.

---

Halftime – CCTV Commentary

Zhang Heli analyzed from the CCTV broadcast booth:

"The Knicks are executing a nearly perfect game plan. They're not doubling the Spurs' bigs, and they're denying open threes to the perimeter."

Su Qun nodded. "Exactly. San Antonio runs old-school inside-out basketball. Ball goes in, and if the post can't score, they kick it out. But tonight, no one's open."

Zhang continued, "Duncan had to carry everything. In Q1, he went 5-for-10 from the field, 2-for-4 from the line. Efficient, yes—but Zhao Dong was even better: 5-for-6 shooting, 3-for-3 free throws, 13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block. That's MVP basketball."

"The only concern now," Su added, "is whether Zhao can keep this pace up with Barkley gone and one less rotation player in the mix."

---

Start of Q2

Zhao Dong, Willis, and Wallace stayed on the floor. Stackhouse returned, pairing with Sprewell in the backcourt. It was a lineup built for pace, aggression, and spacing.

San Antonio brought back David Robinson to replace Duncan, while Terry Porter subbed in for Johnson.

Zhao, still fresh, shifted gears. He knew Duncan was getting rest—which meant now was the time to strike.

Marv Albert: "And now we'll see if Zhao Dong asserts himself against Robinson..."

Instead of banging in the post, Zhao drew Robinson out. He danced at the elbow, hit him with a quick jab step, then blew by the Admiral using his ridiculous first step. Once Zhao entered the paint, it was carnage.

Bang, bang, bang. Every shot rattled the rim—and went in.

The Spurs' weak-side help collapsed far too late, and their backup center got tossed around like a rag doll. Zhao barreled through him twice—back-to-back and-ones.

"Unstoppable," Doug said. "That's just brute force and elite footwork. The kind of combo you only see once a generation."

By the fourth minute, Zhao had led the Knicks on a 10–4 run. Score: 40–25, and the Knicks were up 15.

Popovich called time with a sour look.

Bill Walton was grinning. "David Robinson just doesn't have the legs anymore. He's a Hall of Famer, no doubt. But trying to chase Zhao Dong around the paint is like trying to guard a cheat code."

Doug added, "And here's the thing—the Spurs don't have anyone else who can keep up. Unless Pop brings both Duncan and Robinson on together, they can't match up physically."