With Duncan also getting on the board in offensive plays, the Spurs' offense became smoother, and they successfully held a scoring lead in the first quarter.
On the Mavericks' side, Nowitzki was severely hampered by Duncan in the first quarter, with a dismal shooting percentage. He made only 2 out of 9 attempts, wasting many of the Mavericks' possessions.
However, after Van Exel came on, he helped the Mavericks significantly improve their scoring efficiency by attacking the paint. But the Mavericks' outside three-point shots remained cold, which was a very bad sign for Dallas.
At the end of the first quarter, the Spurs led 29:22, holding a 7-point advantage.
In the second quarter, both teams entered their rotation periods.
Because the Mavericks were trailing, Coach Nelson kept Nowitzki, Finley, and Van Exel on the court, only substituting LaFrentz and Nash for Bradley and Greg Buckner, maintaining almost their full starting lineup's combat effectiveness.
On the Spurs' side, Popovich did not dare to underestimate their opponents and continued to ensure the interior combination of Duncan and Yao Ming. Finley remained on the perimeter, while Ginobili and He Xi Meng were substituted out for Stephen Jackson and Parker.
Lineup adjustments are where head coaches' on-the-spot adaptability is most tested.
When should you stick to your rhythm and ignore the opponent's changes?
When should you follow the opponent's changes and adapt your rotation accordingly?
A coach who is unchanging, or a coach who is constantly reacting to the opponent, is not a good coach.
If he were on another team, He Xi Meng might have had to put in more effort to help the head coach improve his on-the-spot adaptability, but on the Spurs, He Xi Meng truly didn't need to worry about such things. For the most part, He Xi Meng only needed to follow Popovich's instructions, which were usually the optimal choices.
During this rotation period, the Mavericks' biggest gain was that Nowitzki and Finley gradually began to score in offensive plays.
And the Spurs' biggest gain was that Yao Ming started scoring continuously!
Although Bradley could be considered a veteran among international players, and was even taller than Yao Ming at 2.29 meters, being a veteran often meant being older, and in the NBA, age often meant more injuries.
A height like Bradley's made it difficult to avoid injuries.
However, before Bradley took the court, Coach Nelson believed that even if Bradley's competitive state had declined due to injuries, he should not have a problem dealing with Yao Ming, who had a similar physique but far less experience.
The result was that after Yao Ming came onto the court, he easily scored two points with a turnaround jump shot after a post-up move.
Immediately after, on defense, Yao Ming first let Bradley get to the basket, and then mercilessly blocked Bradley's attempted dunk after a fake.
And that wasn't all!
Turning around, Yao Ming received a pass from Duncan. He posted up against Bradley, appearing ready to drive to the basket. When Bradley braced himself to confront Yao Ming, Yao Ming spun back and, before LaFrentz could react, executed a "raising fire to the sky" style floater!
Bradley could only watch helplessly as Yao Ming made the shot, his face filled with resignation.
Thus, after less than three minutes, Bradley was substituted out by Coach Nelson and replaced by Eschmeyer, who stood at 2.11 meters.
Although Eschmeyer's height was far less than Bradley's, he was younger and had quicker feet. While it was difficult for him to block Yao Ming, he could at least hold his ground and put some pressure on Yao Ming. If they continued to defend with Bradley's current strategy, the Mavericks would be overwhelmed by the rookie Yao Ming during this period.
Just as anxious as Coach Nelson was Van Exel of the Mavericks.
In the first quarter, Old Fan had more individual points than Yao Ming due to a few drives.
However, as the second quarter progressed, the returns of Nowitzki and Finley to find their rhythm during the rotation period severely limited Van Exel's shot opportunities.
And across from him, Yao Ming was scoring "bang bang" on every possession, each shot hitting Van Exel right where it hurt the most…
If this continued, Van Exel felt he might be heading for a repeat of his Nuggets experience and losing to He Xi Meng again…
Therefore, as the primary ball-handler in this lineup, while executing the coach's orders to pass to Nowitzki and Finley, Van Exel also added a personal touch, seizing opportunities to shoot and ensuring his own scoring steadily increased.
With Old Fan acting as an "inside agent," the Mavericks' play was not as cohesive.
On the Spurs' side, Duncan was initially put on the court by Popovich to anchor the team, but seeing Yao Ming playing so well, Duncan immediately switched to "lazy mode," continuously sending scoring opportunities towards Yao Ming.
Yao Ming enjoyed shooting, and Duncan enjoyed being lazy.
A win-win situation!
By the time the second quarter was halfway over, and the Spurs began to bring back their starting lineup, the Mavericks had still not caught up, nor had they narrowed the gap, continuing to trail the Spurs by 7 points!
The return of Nash and LaFrentz did not change the situation on the court for the Mavericks.
The Spurs did an excellent job today of guarding Nash. On one hand, their interior players were very active in grabbing offensive rebounds, preventing the Mavericks from easily securing defensive rebounds. On the other hand, He Xi Meng, familiar with Nash's playstyle, successfully contained Nash and prevented him from initiating fast breaks.
Nash's role in the Mavericks' half-court offense was actually quite limited at this point, as his status was far below that of Nowitzki and Finley.
At halftime, the Spurs led the Mavericks by 8 points; at the end of the third quarter, the Spurs led by 10 points.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Mavericks attempted to make a comeback with three-pointers, but from Nash, Finley, to Nowitzki and Van Exel, all six of their three-point attempts were missed.
Three-point shots are like that; sometimes they are a sharp weapon for comebacks, and sometimes they are a fatal blow for collapses!
The Spurs capitalized on the Mavericks' streak of missed shots, responding with their own three-pointers and going on a 9:0 run!
He Xi Meng made 2 three-pointers, and Ginobili made 1.
The Spurs' shooting percentage wasn't high either, at 3 for 7, but compared to the Mavericks' 0 for 6, it was clearly enough.
It was precisely this scoring spurt that allowed the Spurs to secure the victory, forcing Coach Nelson to concede the game early.
In the end, the Spurs easily defeated their opponents on their home court with a score of 108:91.