This result was a huge blow to the morale of the entire Mavericks team and the Dallas fans.
After this game, Van Exel didn't even wait for He Xi Meng's post-game greeting and returned directly to the locker room. This was because Van Exel's performance in this game was extremely poor.
Throughout the game, Van Exel only made 3 of his 11 shots, scoring 7 points. He failed to explode when the team needed it most, which made him very self-reproachful. At the same time, Van Exel not only lost the game but also lost the bet with He Xi Meng.
Because Van Exel, who scored 7 points, was far inferior to Yao Ming, who scored 19 points in this game...
3-0, the Spurs pushed the Mavericks to the brink of being swept.
In Game 4, Old Nelson changed the lineup again, moving Van Exel to the starting lineup and implementing a dual-point guard strategy with Nash.
In the first three games, Nash only exploded in one.
After repeated analysis by Old Nelson and his coaching staff, they believed that Nash being contained by He Xi Meng was the reason the Mavericks couldn't play efficient offense.
Since one point guard could be contained by the opponent, what if they put two point guards on the court? Would it be more effective?
Under this line of thinking, the Mavericks did indeed unleash a thrilling offense at the start of the game.
Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley, and Steve Nash all got on the scoreboard, and the Mavericks held a scoring lead from the beginning, leading the Spurs by 7 points by the end of the third quarter!
Seven points were not much, but the key was that the game was under the Mavericks' control.
The Dallas fans in attendance breathed a sigh of relief, thinking their team would likely win this game and save some face.
On the Spurs' side, Coach Popovich did not appear to be desperately trying to win this game and sweep the Mavericks out of the playoffs.
He continued to rotate his players at his own pace, without haste.
His likely thought was to let things happen naturally; if they won, great, if not, it didn't matter, they could settle the score with the Mavericks back on their home court...
Therefore, under this strategy, the Mavericks still maintained a lead of around 7 points halfway through the fourth quarter. As the Dallas fans became increasingly confident that the game was in the bag, a twist occurred!
He Xi Meng's shooting touch suddenly ignited from the outside, and he hit consecutive three-pointers!
The Mavericks' defense was not bad, with Nash sticking to He Xi Meng like glue, but He Xi Meng's touch was just on fire, making every shot he took!
Nash even committed a foul but couldn't stop He Xi Meng from making the basket, and he also gave up a 3+1 play.
As the game entered the final half-minute, He Xi Meng, double-teamed by Finley and Van Exel of the Mavericks, hit an unbelievable falling-away three-pointer!
The entire Dallas crowd clutched their heads in agony, falling silent.
In just over five minutes, He Xi Meng had scored 15 points!
He not only erased all the efforts of the Mavericks in the first three and a half quarters but also took the lead with a score of 110-109, a 1-point comeback lead!
Fortunately, the referee later changed the call, deeming that He Xi Meng had stepped on the line before his falling-away three-pointer during the double-team, changing the three-pointer to a two-pointer. The score became 109-109, tying the game, and the Mavericks had 15 seconds to make the final offensive play!
Theoretically, the Mavericks still had a chance to hit a game-winner, and even if they couldn't, they could still force overtime.
Of course, this was all contingent on the Mavericks not making any unforced errors.
At the very least, they should have maintained possession of the ball.
At the very least, they should have run down the clock, not leaving even 0.8 seconds for the Spurs...
With extreme caution, Nowitzki's game-tying buzzer-beater bounced off the rim, and the game went into overtime.
The Mavericks thought that with their home-court advantage, they could defeat the Spurs in overtime, but that was not the case.
Although the Mavericks were given several opportunities to score from the free-throw line due to the referees' consideration, the Spurs were more potent in open play!
He Xi Meng hit an outside three-pointer, Duncan made a low-post bank shot, and Manu Ginobili hit an uncanny Euro step layup...
The Spurs won overtime 7-4, with a final score of 116-113, defeating the Mavericks once again!
With a total score of 4-0, the Spurs won this year's Mavericks-Spurs series, somewhat avenging last year's playoffs when the Mavericks "accidentally injured" Duncan!
After the game, the Mavericks players were dejected.
Dirk Nowitzki again recorded 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists, Michael Finley had 28 points, 5 rebounds, and Steve Nash had 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists!
The Mavericks' "Big Three" had pushed their offensive firepower to the absolute limit, yet they still couldn't defeat the Spurs, which had dealt an unprecedented blow to their confidence.
However, among all the Mavericks players, the saddest was probably not the "Big Three," but Van Exel, who had transferred from the Nuggets to the Mavericks at the end of the season.
When Van Exel was with the Nuggets this season, he hadn't won a single game against He Xi Meng in three regular-season matchups.
After being inexplicably traded to the Mavericks, he thought that with the Mavericks' strength, they could at least beat He Xi Meng once, but it still didn't happen. It was even worse, a complete sweep, 0-4!
It was one thing to lose the game, as the Mavericks' chances of beating the Spurs and advancing were not high to begin with, but to not even gain an advantage in a comparison with Yao Ming?
It was truly unbelievable!
In the first two games, Van Exel had played quite well, at least outscoring Yao Ming.
In the latter two games, Van Exel received important instructions from Old Nelson, and in Game 4, he was even promoted to the starting lineup. As a result, his playing time increased, but his personal scoring plummeted.
In Game 3, Van Exel only scored 7 points; in Game 4, Van Exel had it even worse, playing 37 minutes, making only 2 of 10 shots, missing all 3 three-point attempts, and not making any free throws, scoring a mere 4 points in the entire game!
Meanwhile, Yao Ming, after scoring 19 points in Game 3, scored another 17 points in Game 4!
Van Exel had two wins and two losses, earning nothing and losing nothing, essentially making a bet with He Xi Meng for nothing! But the Mavericks' playoff journey ended in this anticlimax!
After the game, He Xi Meng wanted to invite Van Exel to dinner, but Van Exel declined the invitation, wanting some peace and quiet...