Peyton, a lottery pick in 1990 as the second overall selection, was in his seventh season. His skills, stamina, and experience were at their peak!
Two seasons prior, Peyton had famously taunted Grant Hill during their rookie year with the line, "Hey, kid, driving past you is like strolling down the street in the morning..."
He Xi Meng had heard this very line before, during an NCAA championship game, when he was guarded by Iverson, who had mocked him.
However, this time, as He Xi Meng stepped onto the court, he heard the original taunt: "Hey, guys, come and see, the Lakers have sent out a kid with yellow skin... Looks like I'll be strolling down the street in the morning again..."
Peyton's trash talk was notoriously foul. He was in the same league of veteran trash-talkers as Barkley, Jordan, and Bird.
He Xi Meng had been mentally prepared, so he wasn't provoked. He simply replied indifferently, "Who are you?"
Peyton was immediately choked by the response. He Xi Meng's question was filled with blatant contempt.
To be so lightly dismissed by a freshman rookie, how could he tolerate this?
Peyton immediately crouched down, intending to give this yellow-skinned kid a taste of his own medicine.
As a result, He Xi Meng, playing along, used Peyton's intent to steal as an opportunity. He feigned a vulnerability, then faked a move and pulled back, successfully evading Peyton's steal and driving past him.
Furious, Peyton turned to chase, but He Xi Meng suddenly stopped, abandoning the chance to drive to the basket and instead dribbled back to the three-point line!
"No rush! Watch me drive past you again..."
He Xi Meng taunted Peyton with his words while increasing his dribbling speed, once again appearing ready to drive.
As soon as Peyton crouched down, He Xi Meng stepped back half a pace, pretending to create space to accelerate. In reality, he suddenly rose up and quickly shot the ball!
Peyton never expected that He Xi Meng, this rookie point guard, would dare to toy with him repeatedly! Wasn't he supposed to drive again? Why the sudden switch to a jump shot from three-point range?
In the previous possession, Van Exel had tried to snatch a three-pointer against him and was stolen, resulting in him being benched...
This kid truly had some nerve!
This shot indeed caught Peyton off guard, catching him unprepared. Peyton could only react instinctively, but it was futile.
After coming onto the court, He Xi Meng had successfully sunk a three-pointer over Peyton's head!
"Wow! You're good, kid! Gary was last year's Defensive Player of the Year!" O'Neal showed He Xi Meng his signature exaggerated smile as they headed back on defense.
Peyton was the first point guard in league history to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
He Xi Meng was well aware of his prowess. That shot earlier had only worked because of Peyton's underestimation and arrogance.
"Just a fluke!" He Xi Meng was not arrogant towards his team leader. "Next, I'll still be passing the ball to you. You'd better be ready!"
"No problem, I'm always ready to destroy Shawn!" O'Neal bared his pearly white teeth, his gaze fixed intently on Kemp, who was bringing the ball up.
The Big Diesel kept his word. In the next offensive possession, O'Neal successfully blocked Kemp's drive to the basket and passed the blocked ball to He Xi Meng to bring up the court.
He Xi Meng also kept his word. This time, he didn't engage with Peyton directly. Instead, he calmly called for a high pick-and-roll from Horry, helping him shake off Peyton, drove into the paint, drew Kemp's help defense, and then found O'Neal under the basket!
O'Neal caught the ball and slammed it home with a powerful dunk!
After He Xi Meng entered the game, he helped the Lakers respond to the SuperSonics' recent momentum with a shot and a dunk.
Peyton was naturally unwilling to concede. Wanting to continue his earlier good form, he singled up He Xi Meng from three-point range, aiming to get a shot back!
As a result, while He Xi Meng's stealing ability wasn't as sharp as Peyton's, his defensive stability seemed on par with the league's Defensive Player of the Year.
With his superior anticipation and psychological control, He Xi Meng could roughly guess the players' intentions on each possession.
For a play like Peyton's, after Kemp failed to score inside, he clearly wanted to take the shot himself to see if he could help the team again...
Therefore, He Xi Meng's defensive focus on this play was to maintain distance, guarding against the drive but not the shot!
What if Peyton decided to pull up for a three-pointer... Peyton's career three-point percentage was only 31.7%. He had already made one three-pointer, and according to the law of large numbers, the probability of him missing the next shot was far higher than him making it...
As expected, after failing to drive, Peyton chose to shoot from three-point range!
The law of large numbers also worked its magic, causing Peyton's three-point attempt to bounce off the rim!
O'Neal out-muscled Kemp for the rebound and passed it to He Xi Meng to bring up the court.
He Xi Meng didn't try to be greedy. In front of Peyton, avoiding mistakes was the greatest contribution. Thus, he resisted Peyton's interference along the way, steadily advanced past half-court, and then lobbed the ball to O'Neal at the edge of the paint.
O'Neal turned and hooked the ball over Kemp before Schrampf could double-team.
The ball bounced on the rim and obediently dropped into the net.
After the Lakers scored seven consecutive points, Coach George Karl became restless. He subbed out Terry Cummings for Sam Perkins.
By bringing in the heavier Perkins to contend with O'Neal, Kemp could move back to power forward to guard Campbell.
This adjustment finally allowed Kemp to breathe a sigh of relief and successfully score on Campbell in the next offensive possession.
Afterward, as the first quarter drew to a close, both teams began to rotate their players.
On the Lakers' side, O'Neal went to the bench to rest, and Kobe Bryant came onto the court.
On the SuperSonics' side, Peyton exited, and Eric Snow entered the game.
Yes, this Snow was the future teammate of Iverson, known for his playmaking and defense, but not his scoring.
However, Snow was only a second-year rookie at this point. He was a second-round pick in 1995, adapting to the league's pace with the SuperSonics. While his offensive talent was indeed lacking, his playmaking ability was decent, his defensive anticipation was strong, and his defensive intensity was high!
In He Xi Meng's eyes, a gritty player like Snow, who was trying to prove himself, could be more difficult to deal with than an All-Star like Peyton.
Because All-Star players might underestimate He Xi Meng, or make irrational decisions out of frustration, but players like Snow couldn't afford to make mistakes. His playing time was extremely limited, and he had to prove his worth within that limited time...
This aspect was somewhat similar to Kobe Bryant at this stage.
Of course, Kobe's talent was in a different league compared to Snow.