"That wasn't a ball screen! It was a fake screen!"
Although Green picked up on Jokić's intent, it was already too late. Jokić, moving with surprising speed for his size, popped out to the top of the arc.
Richardson wasted no time firing the pass.
Jokić caught it, glanced at the rim, and went straight up for the jumper.
The ball traced a high arc before swishing cleanly through the net.
"Big men who can shoot are a nightmare!"
Green cursed under his breath as he jogged back, helpless, to set up the next possession.
On the following play, Curry once again called Jokić into the action. After a series of dribbles, Curry stepped back for a three. But this time, Jokić was ready.
Can't stop your drives—so what, I can't stop your threes either?
His massive frame loomed over Curry, blotting out his line of sight to the rim.
The shot clanged off the back iron.
The moment Curry released, Young had already stormed into the paint, using his body to box out Green hard.
"Nikola!" Grabbing the defensive rebound, Young quickly fired the ball to Jokić beyond the arc.
Jokić caught it, looked downcourt, then launched a quarterback-style pass.
Butler, already sprinting ahead, caught it in stride, accelerated, and drove straight at Iguodala.
Iguodala braced himself, digging in to stop Butler's bull-like charge.
But just as Iguodala thought he'd halted the break, Butler spun suddenly. The ball whipped toward the right corner as if guided by GPS.
Booker, waiting in the corner, caught it and drilled the three.
"This—this—this!"
Steve Kerr shot up from the bench, stammering. "They're running my plays against me!"
But Kerr's nightmare was only beginning.
Jokić, like a magician, kept pulling out new tricks.
Think he's setting a fake screen to pop out? He'll roll to the rim instead. Looks like he's going to bully inside? Suddenly he's orchestrating off-ball cuts and finding an open shooter.
Through the entire second half, the Kings flowed like quicksilver around Jokić.
He was a walking distributor, feeding his teammates nonstop.
On defense, the Kings locked in on cutting off the Splash Brothers' connection. Curry could iso if he wanted—go ahead, take on the whole team yourself.
Realizing the problem, Curry tried desperately to force a breakthrough.
But this wasn't the same Kings frontcourt anymore. Butler and Young hounded him relentlessly, shrinking his passing lanes to nothing.
Two straight turnovers leading to fast breaks finally forced the Warriors' hand.
"Timeout!"
Steve Kerr burned his second-to-last timeout.
"We can't keep this up." Kerr huddled the team, speaking low but firm. "We're stuck in their rhythm. Keep this up and Curry will burn out before we even have a shot."
He glanced at the scoreboard.
Two minutes into the fourth. Warriors trailing 88–92.
"Barnes, you handle the ball for a couple possessions. Let Curry play off-ball and catch his breath."
"Got it." Barnes nodded, face serious. At this point, it was all about grit. Curry had to conserve his last burst of energy for the closing stretch.
"Great work, Jokić!"
Coach Malone looked like he wanted to run over and kiss him.
"Keep this up. They'll adjust, but we'll hold steady."
Malone turned toward the bench. "Big guy, hey big guy! Snap out of it, you're up!"
"Huh?" Rudy Gay blinked out of his daze. "Me? Alright, I'm ready!"
"Here's the plan." With Gay tuned in, Malone laid it out. "Keep playing through Jokić, but simplify the sets—we need to save energy for crunch time."
"Jokić, still set the screen, but skip the pops. They've caught on, and it's just wasting energy."
"After the screen, roll hard inside. Go deep. You've got the size advantage over Green. Don't try to muscle him straight up—he's tough, you won't gain much. If you've got position, score simply. If not, kick it out and reset."
Malone turned to Butler, drenched in sweat. "Jimmy, how's the gas tank? Want me to rest you now and bring you back to close it out?"
"No need!"
Butler shook his head, nearly having played the whole game. "I'm good. Let's finish this in one push!"
"Alright then!"
Malone nodded approvingly.
"Let Jokić handle things. At the six-minute mark, Jimmy and Rudy, you two take over. If we're ahead, slow it down and grind them out. Take turns going at Barnes!"
The timeout ended quickly, and the Warriors came out with a new look. Curry shifted off-ball while Barnes ran point.
But the Kings had anticipated it.
They immediately set up a 3–2 zone, with Butler spearheading the defense on Barnes.
As mentioned before, the 3–2 has its risks, but the Kings played it precisely because they didn't fear Barnes' ball-handling. They figured he couldn't drive past Butler. With Curry off-ball, who else could crack their defense?
Sure enough, Barnes tried but couldn't shake Butler. With the clock expiring, he was forced into a long two.
Jokić hauled down the rebound and, instead of pushing the pace, signaled to slow it down. He dribbled calmly across halfcourt.
At the top of the key, he handed the ball to CJ, setting a pick in the same motion.
That instantly drew Curry and Green's attention.
Seizing the moment, Jokić cut to the baseline.
CJ shook Curry with a dribble, looked up, and lobbed it into the paint.
Jokić caught it clean, spun, and hooked it over Green.
Watching the taller Jokić loft it in, Green could only stare in despair.
"How do you guard that? He's not even posting me up!"
Green's defense thrived on physical battles, disrupting balance and mechanics.
But against Jokić—who scored in under three seconds with hardly any contact—he was helpless.
"What if…"
Alvin Gentry finally worked up the nerve to whisper to Kerr. "What if we put Bogut in? We can't just let Jokić keep this up."
"What?!"
Kerr stared at him like he'd lost his mind.
"Are you insane? Do you want to ruin this team?"
...