Payton, after a mismatch with Sun Jun, showed no mercy. Using a series of fakes and a sudden burst of acceleration, he successfully drove past Sun Jun, creating an opportunity to attack the basket. However, remembering the experience and lessons learned from the starting lineup's earlier encounters, Payton realized that this tall Chinese team was quite formidable in protecting their paint. Therefore, he deliberately avoided the Chinese team's momentum. After getting past Sun Jun, instead of driving to the basket, he executed a sudden stop and jump shot, calmly sinking two points!
An old hand is an old hand. Compared to younger players, an veteran's first choice is to score in the simplest, most efficient way. Even if this choice might not appear as flashy, its actual effect is excellent. In fact, Payton's choice made the Chinese team even more troubled.
Turning around, He Xi Meng once again brought the ball up, calling for Da Zhi's high-post screen and creating a mismatch against Shareef Abdur-Rahim. In the paint, Battelle and Van Der Beek, two muscular players, were intensely battling for position. He Xi Meng glanced over, saw that Battelle's opportunity wasn't ideal, and thus didn't make a lob pass. Instead, he chose to fake and drive down the middle, looking to see if anyone on the American team would come to double-team Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
As expected, seeing He Xi Meng's movement, Steve Smith, guarding the weak side, voluntarily collapsed to double-team He Xi Meng. He Xi Meng smoothly passed the ball to Li Nan, who was lurking in the left corner.
Li Nan, with a decisive move, hit a corner three-pointer! Little Li Flying Dagger, his touch seemed good today. His first shot of the game found its mark.
Turning around, Payton used a single pick from Shareef Abdur-Rahim on the three-point line and immediately pulled up, answering the Chinese team with a three-pointer of his own.
"Wow! Mr. Glove hasn't made any defensive plays yet today, but now he's showing a strong desire to score offensively. That's rare!"
On the next possession, He Xi Meng retaliated in kind, adopting the same tactic as Payton. He used Da Zhi's screen on the three-point line and hit a step-back three, answering Payton's shot!
"Answer ball!"
"Here it comes, He Xi Meng's three-pointers are coming!"
...
Fans familiar with He Xi Meng in the arena immediately got excited. According to He Xi Meng's usual game rhythm, he would first facilitate and get his teammates involved. If his teammates were sufficient to defeat the opponent, He Xi Meng would just coast, scoring about ten points and getting a double-double, then rest. If his teammates couldn't handle the opponent, He Xi Meng would then step up with his scoring power. Of course, against a strong team like the United States, it was impossible for He Xi Meng to stand by and do nothing. However, in the early stages of the game, due to Yao Ming's excellent performance, He Xi Meng hadn't really taken shots on the offensive end, especially from three-point range. He had made two floaters after drives, putting some pressure on the American's interior.
But this He Xi Meng was clearly not the strongest He Xi Meng.
Now, because Payton had taken consecutive shots and made a three-pointer, successfully igniting He Xi Meng's desire to shoot, these familiar fans had high expectations for He Xi Meng's next moves.
On the American side, Payton feigned another shot attempt but instead drove into the Chinese team's paint. After the Chinese defense collapsed, he raised his hand and passed to Steve Smith on the wing. This operation by Payton was reasonable, creating a good shooting opportunity for Steve Smith. Steve Smith, facing Li Nan's recovery defense, shot calmly, but unfortunately, the ball bounced off the rim.
Van Der Beek grabbed the offensive rebound, posted up Da Zhi, and tried to power his way to a dunk... The result was awkward. Da Zhi was stronger than he imagined! Van Der Beek couldn't get position after a couple of attempts and had to resort to a turnaround jumper. As a result, the ball still bounced off the rim.
Fortunately, Shareef Abdur-Rahim boxed out Da Zhi and grabbed another offensive rebound. Shareef Abdur-Rahim didn't use brute force but employed footwork and skill. He faded away from Da Zhi and then jumped to shoot, finally helping the American team secure those hard-earned two points.
As Shareef Abdur-Rahim made that fadeaway hook shot, the buzzer sounded to end the first quarter.
In the first quarter battle, the Chinese team successfully led the American team by 3 points, which was a good start. Against the United States, not trailing is a victory.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Chinese team's lineup remained unchanged, the same five players from the end of the first quarter.
On the American side, Coach Tomjanovich, seemingly dissatisfied with the interior performance, pulled Van Der Beek and brought in Garnett, then moved Shareef Abdur-Rahim to center.
Coach Tom was aware of Da Zhi's characteristics and thus intended to use the mobility of Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Garnett to forcefully attack the Chinese interior.
After this adjustment by the American team, their offensive speed picked up considerably. With Garnett as the pivot and facilitator in the middle, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim occasionally pulling out to the perimeter for jump shots, Battelle was in a dilemma, unsure whether to go out or stay in. The American team scored consecutively through a series of cohesive pass-cut combinations.
Fortunately, this was within He Xi Meng's expectations. When the American team abandoned their advantage in set plays and instead relied on mobility and jump shots, it meant the pace of the game would become faster, and transitions would be more chaotic. In chaos, one must play a chaotic game.
He Xi Meng used this period to repeatedly use screens from his teammates and launch three-pointers furiously from beyond the arc.
Since the players on this American team were familiar with He Xi Meng's three-point shot, they put in maximum effort to disrupt him when he got hot. However, the Chinese team was not idle either. For every effort the Americans made to disrupt him, the Chinese team relentlessly created opportunities for He Xi Meng to shoot!
Sun Jun and Li Nan constantly moved, setting screens for He Xi Meng.
Da Zhi and Battelle roamed inside the paint, grabbing the rebounds after every missed shot by He Xi Meng.
Essentially, when the Chinese team's offensive strategy became an open book, the competition boiled down to which team had better chemistry among its players and whether He Xi Meng's three-point touch that day could keep up with the scoring pace of the American team.
Thus, a chaotic battle ensued, with each team playing their own game.
By the time the starting players from both sides returned to the court, the score remained the same. Neither team had widened the gap nor narrowed it. The Chinese team still held a slim lead of 2 points.
Da Zhi, having fought hard for over ten minutes, needed a break. Yao Ming re-entered the game, partnering with Battelle.
Hu Weidong and Liu Yudong also returned to the court.
He Xi Meng remained on the floor. He had prepared to play the entire game. Even if he felt tired and needed a breather, it would be on the court, not by leaving the game...