"Tim, I'm going to kick you in the ass today." Although he knew that Tim Duncan was joking with himself and deliberately angry with himself, Meng Xu still pretended to be angered by Duncan, and when he turned to leave, he viciously said something similar to a declaration of war at Duncan.

"That's exactly what I'm going to say to you!" I don't know why, Tim Duncan, who usually doesn't quarrel with others, talks a little too much every time he plays with Meng Xu, so after Meng Xu declared war on him, Duncan also unceremoniously scolded back.

"Then we'll see!" After Duncan finished speaking, Meng Xu pursed his lips, and then without even looking at Duncan, he turned around and walked towards the Pacers' bench.

"This bastard, it's so hateful." Regardless of whether Meng Xu intended it or not, and no matter what Meng Xu's mood was now, anyway, Meng Xu's disdainful expression happened to be in full view of the crowd on the Spurs bench, these people were not as polite to Meng Xu as Duncan and Popovich, originally they were very unhappy when they saw Meng Xu enter the arena, and the fans in the SBC center cheered and applauded Meng Xu, so after seeing Meng Xu and Duncan "trash talk" each other, these guys were even more angry.

In today's game, the Pacers' starting lineup did not change much, and they still maintained the lineup from the previous game, playmaking guard Tony Allen, scoring guard Tysean Prince, small forward Meng Xu, power forward Jermaine O'Neal, and center Nn Hilario.

The starting lineup on the Spurs' side has been significantly adjusted, first of all, Tim Duncan, basically Duncan who plays the fourth position, today he was placed in the center position by Popovich, and it was Robert Horry who replaced Duncan to play the fourth position, and it was still Bruce Bowen who played as a small forward, and in the position of scoring guard, Manu Ginobili, who couldn't be beaten last season, did not start today, and he was replaced by Michael Finley, who was bought out by the Mavericks and then joined the Spurs with a veteran base salary, The playmaking guard is still Tony Parker, and the Spurs' lineup today is a typical one-big four-small lineup, but because of Tim Duncan's deterrence under the basket and Bruce Bowen's strong outside defense, the Spurs don't have to worry about the team's defense even if they send such a lineup.

After the Spurs won the championship last season, there are many veterans who have not tasted the championship but don't want to go to the Pacers, among these people, Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel are the biggest names, as an All-Star who still has the strength to fight, Nick Van Exel and Mike Finley, who only need a veteran base salary, are undoubtedly the sweets in the free market, and even the Pacers have sent them an invitation this summer, but the Pacers' invitation was rejected by them very simply, If he can't beat him, joining him is undoubtedly an insult to these proud people, especially Mike Finley, who was beaten by Meng Xu in the only finals of his career, and even said "Even if there is no championship in the whole career, I will not go to the Pacers." ”

"The battle of gods and Buddhas has officially begun!" When the players of both sides finished warming up, Tim Duncan and Jermaine O'Neal, who were jumping on behalf of both teams, walked into the center circle and prepared to jump the ball, Magic Johnson on the sidelines shouted uncontrollably.

"The battle of the gods and Buddhas?" After hearing the title that Magic Johnson gave the game, Michaels was surprised at first, then nodded and agreed. Like all superstars, after entering the alliance, Meng Xu has had a number of nicknames, and the most famous of them is "Odin", the sneakers designed by Nike for Meng Xu are also named "Odin" series, and Odin is the king of the gods in Norse mythology, as for Tim Duncan, he has successively had the titles of Stone Tower, Great Basic Skills, Stone Buddha and so on, so Magic Johnson called the duel between Meng Xu and Tim Duncan "The Battle of God and Buddha", which is also completely okay, and such a title, undoubtedly added a little gimmick to the duel between the two.

Although every time he meets Tim Duncan, Jermaine O'Neal will be suppressed without suspense, but as a "jump ball finisher", Jermaine O'Neal still beat Tim Duncan in this jump ball and won the first opportunity for the visiting Pacers to attack.

The Spurs' retreat speed was very fast, and they didn't give the Pacers any chance to play fast break, so the game fell into a positional battle at the beginning, Tony Allen, who received the ball in the backcourt, handed over the basketball in his hand to Meng Xu, who had reached the left side of the three-point line, after dribbling through the center circle, relying on the excellent performance in the playoffs last season, Tony Allen replaced Sarunas Jascovisius this season and became the starting point guard of the Pacers, but Tony Allen did not have as much tactical authority as Sarunas Jascovisius, In this regard, Tony Allen also knows that he is far inferior to Sarunas Jascovisius in terms of organization and offense, and the head coach values him for his defense and good open three-point ability, so after handing over the basketball to Meng Xu, Tony Allen spared no effort to get rid of Tony Parker who defended him and found a suitable vacant opportunity.

As for Meng Xu's side, at the beginning of the game, Bruce Bowen followed Meng Xu closely and defended Meng Xu closely, and after Meng Xu received a pass from Tony Allen, Robert Horry, who was supposed to defend Jermaine O'Neal, immediately gave up his defense against Jermaine O'Neal and rushed over to wrap Meng Xu, one is tall, has an excellent arm span, the other has excellent foot movement, and the close defense is tough, there is no doubt that the Spurs have put a lot of effort into Meng Xu's defensive strategy.

"Hey, boy, I know you're shooting accurately, come on, come on!" Robert Hawley, who was assisting in the defense, was concentrating on Meng Xu's every move, and at the same time did not forget to open his mouth to taunt, wanting to disrupt Meng Xu's rhythm.

Compared with Robert Hawley, who still has the strength to provoke Meng Xu, Bruce Bowen, who is responsible for defending Meng Xu, is like a big enemy at this moment, Bowen has fought with Meng Xu many times, for this opponent who crushes him in all directions, Bruce Bowen does not dare to take it lightly, because with only a small mistake, the guy in front of him can easily break his defense, and he doesn't even need to show any flaws, this guy can use his body to crush himself directly, So Bruce Bowen kept harassing Meng Xu with small movements, while staring intently at Meng Xu's every move, wanting to predict Meng Xu's next move in advance.

After all, as long as the opponent chooses the bag, then there will be a player on his side who is in an undefended state, but for a player of Meng Xu's level, the difference between a bag and a non-bag is actually that when attacking, the difficulty is a little higher, and the physical exertion is a little more.

So after Robert Hawley's taunt, Meng Xu gave up his intention to pass the ball, although it was irrational to do so, but Meng Xu still chose to be willful, after all, for a player of Meng Xu's level, if someone provokes you and doesn't fight back, it is absolutely unacceptable, this time he provokes you, and you don't respond, then his provocation will definitely be more unscrupulous in the future.

After paying attention, Meng Xu first made a move to forcibly turn around, and then used his right foot as the axis, dangling left and right in place, and then leaned on Bruce Bowen to force a turn and shoot directly outside the three-point line.

"Big man, this ball is for you!" After the shot was hit, looking at Robert Hawley with a gloomy face, Meng Xu responded to him in a timely manner.