Therefore, when He Xi Meng was instructing his teammates, he made blocking Ray Allen from receiving the ball a top priority on defense. The Chinese team achieved this, forcing Kidd, who was inbounding the ball from the baseline, to pass it to Carter. Hu Wei Dong, who was chasing him, immediately fouled Carter, sending him to the free-throw line.
However, Carter was in good form and very stable emotionally today. He made both free throws, leaving no chance for the Chinese team to come back and win.
The Chinese team was trailing the Dream Team by 3 points and was forced to adopt a three-point strategy, hoping to drag the game into overtime.
He Xi Meng held the ball near the half-court line, guarded by Kidd. The countdown entered its final 10 seconds. Da Zhi ran out to set a screen for He Xi Meng, and Garnett followed, switching with Kidd on defense.
At the same time, Carter, who was defending Hu Wei Dong on the left, abandoned the retreating Hu Wei Dong and joined Garnett in double-teaming He Xi Meng!
The American team gambled that He Xi Meng wouldn't pass the ball!
In fact, Zhang Bin's requirement was for He Xi Meng himself to execute the final play. Regardless of the outcome, he was to take the final shot.
He Xi Meng had just made two difficult three-pointers, so his touch was indeed good. However, he hadn't anticipated the American team's decisive double-team, which locked him down.
In reality, at this point, if any other player dared to take the shot, after some ball movement, the Chinese team would have definitely gotten an open look. However, head coach Zhang Bin had not arranged for any secondary options during the timeout!
In his urgency, Da Zhi reacted the fastest, immediately blocking Kidd and demanding the ball!
He Xi Meng, trapped between Carter and Garnett, passed the ball to Da Zhi with a bounce pass. Then, he shook off Carter's entanglement and rushed towards Da Zhi, receiving the ball back from him in a hand-to-hand exchange. Facing the dual interference of Kidd and Carter, he forcefully jumped and shot.
Honestly, this was a forced shot within a forced situation, the opportunity was poor, and the difficulty was extremely high. Although He Xi Meng tried his best to adjust his form in mid-air, the moment the ball left his hands, He Xi Meng knew it was over.
The countdown buzzer sounded, and the ball hit the rim and bounced out!
Amidst the regretful gasps of the entire stadium, He Xi Meng's buzzer-beating shot to tie the game missed!
106:109!
The Chinese team's first group stage match ended in a 3-point loss to the powerful Dream Team. This was an expected outcome. Before the game, I thought the Chinese team could beat the Dream Team. But when the game actually ended, many fans felt that the Chinese team did have a chance to beat the United States.
He Xi Meng's face was gloomy after missing the final shot. The loss was one reason, but a bigger reason was that He Xi Meng felt there were issues with the strategy for the final play. Although He Xi Meng had not raised any objections during the coach's instructions, the lack of secondary options left He Xi Meng with no room to maneuver when he was specifically targeted by the American defense.
"Yes, the final shot, the deciding shot, should be taken by the team's biggest star! However, special circumstances require special handling. One cannot be afraid to arrange for others to shoot just because of the fear of problems or taking responsibility..."
He Xi Meng felt that he needed to make better contingency plans for handling crucial plays.
However, despite his unhappiness, since the game was over, He Xi Meng graciously congratulated the American team. One cannot be a sore loser, right?
After this game, He Xi Meng still had the highest points for the team with 25 points, 14 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Yao Ming had 24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 assists. Da Zhi had 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block! These three players accounted for nearly two-thirds of the Chinese team's scoring. Other players included Hu Wei Dong with 12 points, Li Nan with 9 points, and Liu Yu Dong with 8 points. To maintain competitiveness, head coach Zhang Bin voluntarily narrowed the rotation for this game, resulting in more concentrated scoring.
In contrast, the American team's scoring was more dispersed, with more players getting on the scoreboard and more players seeing playing time.
Garnett scored a game-high 26 points, Carter had 18, Ray Allen 15, Mourning 14, Payton 12, and Kidd 11.
The Dream Team, on the brink of defeat in their first group stage game against China, gave other world powerhouses a false impression: perhaps this Dream Team wasn't all that formidable?
He Xi Meng, as a participant, knew that the Dream Team had not displayed their best form, but other teams seemingly did not realize this.
Consequently, Italy, the second team to challenge the Dream Team, suffered a brutal defeat. They lost to the Dream Team by 31 points, 93:61, overwhelming the European champions and leaving them in disarray.
The Chinese team's second opponent in the group stage also suffered a crushing defeat, but not because of underestimating China. It was because New Zealand was inherently weaker. They were widely recognized as the bottom-ranked team in Group A.
Although the New Zealand team performed a very spirited Maori dance before the game, it couldn't help them withstand China's offensive firepower in the subsequent match.
He Xi Meng started with a high-low play with Da Zhi, with He Xi Meng lobbing a pass to Da Zhi under the basket for an alley-oop dunk, kicking off the Chinese team's offense for the game.
In the ensuing possession, New Zealand's point guard used a screen to drive to the basket, trying to attack China's rim. Yao Ming unhesitatingly delivered a signature block. As He Xi Meng pushed the ball upcourt, he hit a long-range three-pointer!
New Zealand seemed stunned, but their center, refusing to accept their fate, called for the ball in the post, preparing to single-handedly guard Yao Ming.
As a result, Da Zhi rotated over to provide help defense and delivered another big block!
This time, He Xi Meng didn't shoot himself. Instead, he threw a long bounce pass, directly assisting Hu Wei Dong on a layup for two points!
In just over a minute of play, China had gone on an 8:0 run against New Zealand. The Chinese fans in the stadium had no chance to sit down, constantly cheering and celebrating.
New Zealand's third offensive possession finally forced them to face reality. They stopped trying to attack China's basket and opted for a mid-range pull-up jumper, finally scoring their first point of the game.
However, on the next possession, Liu Yu Dong of China responded with a mid-range pull-up jumper.
In the previous game, the American defense made it difficult for Liu Yu Dong to find shooting opportunities in the mid-range. Therefore, in this game, Liu Yu Dong, the captain of the Chinese team, was determined to boost his scoring against New Zealand.
Coincidentally, He Xi Meng wanted to reduce the workload and conserve the energy of Yao Ming, who had exerted himself greatly in the last game, for the next match.
So, at the start of the game, Yao Ming primarily focused on defense, while He Xi Meng assigned most of the offensive possessions to Liu Yu Dong and Hu Wei Dong. Occasionally, Da Zhi would get an easy basket inside or hit a three-pointer from the outside.