Old Fan's determined shot surprisingly went in, a high-difficulty contested three-pointer.
Van Exel excitedly clenched his fist and roared at the air, as if cheering himself on.
The Nuggets fans, seeing their veteran finally respond to He Xi Meng's relentless barrage of three-pointers, applauded respectfully.
"Well, looks like this won't end easily..."
He Xi Meng noticed the fog in Van Exel's eyes replaced with renewed determination after that contested three-pointer, realizing that defeating the veteran easily might not be so simple.
Competitive games are sometimes like this. One shot can ruin a game, and one shot can save it. The unknown and unpredictability are the greatest charms of competitive sports.
"Avery, Carbo, help me double-team He Xi Meng!"
On the way back, Van Exel decisively lowered his pride and called for help from his teammates. To contain He Xi Meng's rampage from beyond the arc, the veteran decided to unite all possible forces. This was Van Exel's most intelligent decision since the start of the game, and the one that could truly trouble He Xi Meng.
Seeing the Nuggets adjust their defensive strategy under Van Exel's command and begin to double-team him, He Xi Meng, surprised, had to adapt: switching back to playmaking mode!
Utilizing his advantage of drawing defensive attention, He Xi Meng first assisted Parker on a backdoor cut, then passed a lob to Yao Ming in the post, assisting Yao Ming's turnaround hook shot to overpower Big Ben.
After hitting three consecutive three-pointers, He Xi Meng did not, as the Nuggets had anticipated, continue his hot streak to press his advantage. Instead, he deliberately restrained his scorching hot hand and switched it from shooting to passing!
Van Exel hadn't expected He Xi Meng to give up shooting so readily, without any concern for the score difference between them, which was starting to widen again after Van Exel's three-pointer. This decisiveness and clarity made Van Exel feel a hint of admiration for He Xi Meng.
As a point guard himself, Van Exel knew how difficult it was to switch between scoring and playmaking as smoothly, decisively, and effortlessly as He Xi Meng did.
With He Xi Meng's brief scoring outburst giving way to a return to playmaking, Van Exel steadfastly continued his scoring route. The two players' performances returned to how they were at the beginning of the game.
However, Van Exel's shooting percentage returned to normal, not as hot as in the beginning.
He Xi Meng's assists, on the other hand, remained as sharp and successful as ever. Since he didn't have to do everything himself, he only needed to mobilize his teammates to his advantage.
Why are point guards often the smartest players on the court? Because they know how to leverage others' strengths.
Van Exel was also a point guard, but the gap in skill and class between him and He Xi Meng was significant.
By halftime, Van Exel had scored 18 points and dished out 3 assists. At this pace, he had a chance to break 40 points for the game.
He Xi Meng had 9 points and 9 assists. At this pace, he had a chance to aim for 20 assists, a season high.
Although Van Exel still led He Xi Meng by 9 points in scoring, the Spurs were leading the Nuggets by 9 points!
Driven by He Xi Meng, the Spurs had a balanced offense in the first half, playing with ease. After all, the overall strength of the two teams was evident. As long as the Spurs played normally, the Nuggets would not be able to catch up.
"Everyone, continue the rhythm from the first half. Share the ball more, and utilize offensive plays..." Popovich was generally satisfied with the Spurs' performance in the first half. Therefore, his mood was relatively stable, and he didn't make any further demands during halftime. The general idea was for everyone to stick to the plan!
If the Spurs played according to Popovich's pre-game plan, winning would not be an issue, but what about He Xi Meng? Could He Xi Meng fulfill his bet and defeat Van Exel?
"Xi Meng, you weren't aggressive enough in the first half..." Duncan quietly reminded He Xi Meng when the head coach wasn't looking. "Just passing won't cut it! Shoot boldly! Don't worry! I'll be there to secure the rebounds, so you can shoot with confidence..."
This was a classic case of the attendant being more anxious than the king.
"Little Dun... no, Tim! I appreciate your kind intentions. I promise I'll get the job done in the second half and try to take down old Fan..."
Seeing that his mind game had worked, Duncan gave He Xi Meng a satisfied thumbs-up, secretly gloating, "I can slack off again in the second half..."
But at the start of the second half, He Xi Meng did not immediately start shooting as Duncan expected.
He Xi Meng continued to play at his own pace, assisting Duncan twice more and Ginobili and Bowen once each. He increased his assist total to 13, extending the Spurs' lead to 13 points before slowly initiating his scoring mode.
In the latter half of the third quarter, with the overall outcome largely stable, He Xi Meng began to go head-to-head with Van Exel in scoring!
At this point, Van Exel had already scored 25 points, while He Xi Meng only had 9, a difference of 16 points.
But for a top three-point shooter, 16 points was not a problem.
In just over five minutes, He Xi Meng continuously took shots from mid-to-long range whenever he touched the ball!
Initially, the Nuggets' defense was a bit lax. He Xi Meng, with the ball in his hands, hit a three-pointer and a long two-pointer.
Seeing that He Xi Meng's momentum was building, Van Exel quickly called for teammate Leonard to double-team him!
Kawhi Leonard himself was also a first-class three-point shooter. If history remained unchanged, Leonard would likely win the Three-Point Contest in the near future. Of course, with He Xi Meng emerging as a force in the three-point game, the outcome of the Three-Point Contest might not follow historical patterns.
As a shooter himself, Leonard knew that disrupting another shooter was the most effective approach. Therefore, he focused his defensive efforts not on steals or blocks, but on disrupting the opponent's rhythm. He would step in at crucial moments to disrupt He Xi Meng's dribble and shooting rhythm, and consequently, his final shot.
Due to Leonard's double-team, He Xi Meng did miss two shots, and the score gap between the two teams briefly narrowed to single digits.
However, He Xi Meng immediately adjusted, passing the ball to Ginobili and becoming an off-ball shooter himself!
The ability to fluidly transition between being an on-ball and off-ball shooter was another exceptional trait of He Xi Meng!
Furthermore, the Spurs were a team that excelled at setting screens. Almost everyone on the team possessed solid pick-and-roll skills, making it effortless for He Xi Meng to move around screens.