Kenny Smith's performance in the world of jinxes had been spectacular.
When it came to predicting Su Xi's outcomes, he had become a notorious jinx.
Not only was Charles Barkley feeling secure, but Pacers fans watching on TV also breathed a sigh of relief.
The San Antonio Spurs fans, on the other hand, grew anxious.
In the calculations of the Spurs fans, if their team could win just one of the two road games, their path to the championship would be unstoppable.
This was because, under the current NBA Finals schedule, the home-court format actually favored the team with the poorer regular-season record.
The 2-3-2 format gave the team without home-court advantage three consecutive home games.
Many people had already criticized the format as illogical, suggesting it be changed to 2-2-1-1-1.
But for this season, at least, there was no chance of it changing.
BEEP!
The whistle blew, signaling the start of the fourth quarter.
