As Budenholzer and Mike Brown marveled at He Xi Meng's tactical acumen, they naturally equated him with today's young players.
However, in reality, young players in the league possessing He Xi Meng's level of tactical understanding were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. The two assistant coaches had no need to worry about their jobs being snatched by rising stars.
After the timeout, the Spurs, following He Xi Meng's instructions, successfully deceived old Nelson and the Mavericks. He Xi Meng, mimicking Kidd's pass of the century, successfully lobbed the basketball to the designated spot. Ginobili, arriving like a thunderclap, took Marion's role in the tactical play, caught the ball, and went for a layup. In just 0.8 seconds, he completed a buzzer-beating game-winner!
The entire Spurs crowd erupted instantly!
Duncan let out a loud yell and rushed towards Ginobili, furiously ruffling his hair to express his inner joy!
He Xi Meng, the designer, strategist, and initiator of this play, stood quietly by the sideline, watching the Spurs players on the court celebrate together.
"Kid, why aren't you celebrating with everyone else?" Popovich noticed He Xi Meng's unusual stance on the sideline, walked over, and playfully slapped the back of his head, scolding him.
"Less..."
Fortunately, this time, He Xi Meng, the mastermind behind this game-winning shot, did not banter with him after the game or congratulate him. He simply said in a low voice, "I owe you two hundred..."
He Xi Meng's performance in this game was similar to Duncan's, not too great, but not bad either.
He Xi Meng had 22 points and 11 assists, while Duncan had 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Ginobili scored 15 points. While the score wasn't high, the game-winning shot made him the headline of the league media today.
David Robinson also played well today, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
Arenas scored 14 points today, but 12 of those points came in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter!
If not for Ginobili's game-winner at the last moment, Arenas would have been the darling of the league media today! Because in the early fourth quarter, Arenas was like a comet streaking across the sky, illuminating the entire court.
The Spurs' current terror was not just because they had two incredibly stable scoring threats in Duncan and He Xi Meng. Their starting lineup included Ginobili and Bowen, with Yao Ming and Parker on the bench, and Arenas' sudden explosive performance in this game, all of whom could become supplementary scoring points for the Spurs!
As opponents, you had no idea which of the Spurs' role players might explode on any given day.
For the Mavericks, trying to contain Duncan and He Xi Meng's rampages had already consumed nearly all their defensive energy. Trying to contain the Spurs' "unknown" scoring threats was simply asking too much...
With a 2-0 lead, the Spurs flew to Dallas, moving the series to the Mavericks' home court.
Returning to their home court, the Mavericks made adjustments. Nájera was moved to the starting lineup, John Newman played shooting guard, and Finley returned to his familiar small forward position!
Old Nelson's adjustment was to maximize Finley's offensive output, allowing him to perform freely on the wing. In the subsequent game, Finley indeed delivered his most potent performance of the playoffs this year, scoring 37 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists!
Lafrentz also had his best game of the playoffs this year, scoring 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds!
Nash, following his highest-scoring playoff game in the previous match, delivered his highest assist total of the playoffs in this game!
Overall, the Mavericks played exceptionally well in this game, scoring 119 points, fully unleashing their offensive firepower!
Could they still lose a game like this?
Yes!
Because the Spurs performed even better!
Duncan shot 15 of 26 from the field and 1 of 2 from the free-throw line, scoring 31 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks!
He Xi Meng shot 10 of 17 from the field, 7 of 7 from three-point range, and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line, scoring 29 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals!
Ginobili shot 6 of 6 from the field, 2 of 2 from three-point range, and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line, achieving a perfect shooting performance with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists!
Even Yao Ming, shooting 6 of 12 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line, scored 19 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks!
...
Let him be strong, I am the Spurs!
In this game, Popovich foresaw that it would be difficult to contain the Mavericks defensively and that they might fall into foul trouble and play sloppily. Therefore, he abandoned the defensive-first strategy of the previous two games and switched to an offense-first approach, using offense as defense, and battled the Mavericks in a scoring shootout!
Thus, this explosive game ensued!
The Spurs team exploded for 125 points in 48 minutes, defeating the Mavericks' confidence in the way they were most proud of!
If the Spurs' buzzer-beating victory in the previous game left the Mavericks feeling unconvinced,
Then, in this game, the Spurs essentially set up a direct confrontation in the Mavericks' preferred style of play!
And the Spurs still defeated the Mavericks!