Van Exel, scoring wildly in garbage time, managed to boost his personal score to 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, surpassing Yao Ming's 18 points and 10 rebounds.
"Congratulations, Nick! Even though you lost the game, you won the bet between us!"
After the game, as He Xi Meng shook hands with the Mavericks players, he specifically congratulated Van Exel.
Hearing this congratulatory remark, Van Exel didn't know whether to be happy or sad.
"Do you want that hundred dollars in cash or check? I'll have my assistant deliver it to your hotel..."
"No! I'm worried the team might misunderstand and think we're involved in some improper transaction..." Van Exel was still clear-headed and immediately rejected He Xi Meng's offer to "deliver money."
"Just owe me the money for now, and we'll settle it all after all the games are finished!" Van Exel shot He Xi Meng a fierce glare. "I still don't believe it, even though I'm with the Mavericks now, I'll still keep losing to you!"
Van Exel's last sentence wasn't about the bet, because in terms of the bet, Old Fan had won this game. Although it wasn't a glorious win, with some scores coming in garbage time of the fourth quarter, he had still surpassed Yao Ming and won the agreement with He Xi Meng before the game. Therefore, this statement of not believing he would keep losing must have referred to the game itself!
When he was with the Nuggets, Van Exel had no choice because the team's overall strength had a significant gap with the Spurs. No matter how hard he tried personally, it was futile.
However, with the Mavericks, logically speaking, they could contend with the Spurs. Both teams were among the top 4 strongest teams in the Western Conference, and the Mavericks had a chance to defeat the Spurs.
Nowitzki had a low shooting percentage today, making only 8 of 24 attempts from the field and missing all 3 three-point attempts, finishing with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
Nowitzki's 23 points were the highest score for the Mavericks.
Besides Nowitzki's 23 points and Van Exel's 20 points, the Mavericks had two other players scoring in double digits: Finley and Nash.
Finley did alright, managing to score 21 points.
Nash, however, had a rough game, shooting 4 of 12 from the field for only 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
In contrast, his direct opponent, He Xi Meng, not only scored 22 points but also dished out 12 assists, completely outplaying Nash in both scoring and assists.
He Xi Meng hadn't exerted much effort today, but these 22 points were still the highest score for the Spurs.
Besides He Xi Meng's 22 points and Yao Ming's 18 points, the Spurs had 3 other players scoring in double digits!
Duncan had 21 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. Ginobili had 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. Parker had 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists!
The Spurs defeated the Mavericks, who were having offensive issues, with a balanced scoring attack.
In Game 2, the game continued in San Antonio. The Spurs' tactics didn't change much, but Nash exploded unexpectedly!
Even though He Xi Meng didn't relax his defense against Nash at all, Nash's shooting touch was hot. He scored 10 points in the first quarter and couldn't be stopped afterwards, finishing the game with a team-high 30 points and 8 assists!
Due to Nash's sudden outburst, the Mavericks were able to lead on the Spurs' home court all the way!
It wasn't until the beginning of the fourth quarter that Arenas, from the Spurs' bench, suddenly went into a rampage, scoring 12 points and getting 2 steals in just 3 minutes, directly helping the Spurs erase the deficit accumulated over the first three quarters.
Subsequently, both teams entered a hard-fought battle that lasted until the very last moment of the game.
With 10 seconds left, He Xi Meng hit an off-ball three-pointer, giving the Spurs a 110-108 lead over the Mavericks by 2 points.
The Mavericks took their final possession. Nash drove and dished, and Nowitzki hit a mid-range pull-up jumper, a near buzzer-beater for the Mavericks.
The Spurs fans in the arena, including Mavericks coach Don Nelson, thought the game was heading into overtime.
However, the referee reviewed the play and determined that the countdown clock had lit up after the ball left Nowitzki's hands, giving the Spurs 0.8 seconds of time!
What can be done in 0.8 seconds? Not even enough for an offensive play, right?
But Popovich didn't think so. He saw it as an excellent opportunity to practice a buzzer-beater play. So, he called the whole team together and started drawing on the whiteboard.
The general idea was for everyone to set a screen for He Xi Meng, allowing him to catch the ball and shoot from beyond the three-point line!
"Xi Meng, can you do it?"
He Xi Meng shook his head, rejecting Popovich's plan.
"0.8 seconds is too short! Moreover, as soon as I appear on the court, the Mavericks will definitely put all their effort into blocking me! How about I throw the ball from the sideline..."
He Xi Meng suddenly remembered Jason Kidd in the future, who, under Yao Ming's interference, had delivered a 0.4-second game-winning assist! Helping the Mavericks reverse the score and defeat the Rockets.
An inbound game-winning assist is one of the classic types of game-winning plays. However, like Kidd, who, under Yao Ming's interference, could barely see his teammates' movements, and delivered an incredibly high lob pass precisely to the far end of the backboard, assisting Marion for a game-winning layup, was unprecedented!
He Xi Meng wanted to give it a try! So, he proposed this play to Popovich.
"David will call for the ball in the low post near the basket, and Tim will call for it at the high post near the free-throw line. With both of you as decoys, I guarantee the Mavericks will fall for it! They'll focus their defense on the two of you. Da Yao, you'll set an off-ball screen for Manu at the top of the arc! Manu, first run to my side, pretend to want the ball, then suddenly cut to the basket, find Yao Ming for an off-ball screen, and then drive directly to the area near the far backboard! As soon as you start, I'll lob the ball to that spot..."
He Xi Meng explained as he drew and wrote on the whiteboard.
"Xi Meng has the potential to be a head coach!" Budenholzer couldn't help but exclaim from behind Popovich.
"Who wouldn't say that? This play is clear and concise. If executed properly, the probability of success is very high!" Mike Brown agreed.
"More importantly, all the decoys are designed very cleverly! They are arranged as much as possible according to the players' characteristics, making it impossible for the Mavericks to guess who the real killer is..."
"I actually think! Being able to design this play in such a short amount of time and explain it so thoroughly is even more difficult! To be honest, if it were me, I wouldn't be able to do it as well as Xi Meng..."
"Alas! The younger generation is truly formidable! Today's young people are not only good at playing but also so adept at tactical command..."