Regarding how to beat the Pacers, Popovich had long had a plan! The core of this plan was not complicated: Duncan!
Yes, the strength of the Pacers and the strength of the Lakers are fundamentally different.
The Lakers' strongest point is their interior and their paint. Therefore, when facing the Lakers, Duncan could not exert his full strength. This was because, for the most part, Duncan also had to help guard O'Neal. And O'Neal was the strongest center in the league, bar none. While helping David Robinson guard O'Neal, Duncan had to expend a lot of energy and stamina, making it difficult for him to go wild against the Lakers. Over the six games of the Western Conference Finals, Duncan's average of 25 points and 13 rebounds was already very impressive.
However, the Pacers' strongest point was not their interior but their perimeter. Shooting guard Miller and small forward Jalen Rose were the most potent offensive threats for the current Pacers team. On these two fronts, the Spurs had Elliott and Bowen to match them, so the three core offensive players did not need to expend too much effort. Furthermore, the Pacers' twin towers, Schmitz and Dale Davis, were both power players with slow footwork. They might be able to handle David Robinson, but they would have a very hard time dealing with Duncan...
Popovich saw this, and He Xi Meng saw it too.
Thus, Duncan erupted in the Finals as expected!
In Game 1 of the Finals, Duncan had 33 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 1 turnover.
In Game 2 of the Finals, Duncan had 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 assists. If the game hadn't entered garbage time so early, it would have been very easy for Duncan to score 35 points.
Perhaps because Duncan played so invincibly in the first two games, entering the Pacers' paint as if no one was there, even the league management couldn't stand it. If this continued, the Finals would lose all suspense, and the Pacers would be swept by the Spurs. To maintain some semblance of suspense, at the behest of the league management, the referees began to target Duncan. When Duncan drove strongly to the basket, the referees would try not to call fouls on the Pacers, and try not to give Duncan free throws, thereby weakening Duncan's threat inside the paint as much as possible...
In the two home games, Duncan shot 10 and 9 free throws respectively. In this game, the Pacers played even rougher, fouling harder, but Duncan only shot 4 free throws. Even for someone as good-tempered as Duncan, he couldn't help but spread his hands to complain to the referee. Fortunately, it wasn't a bald referee officiating, and Duncan only received a verbal warning instead of being ejected...
In Game 3 of the Finals, with the help of the referees, the Pacers successfully contained Duncan's dominance in the paint. But even so, Duncan still managed 20 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. In the closing moments of the game, as the score difference was not large, He Xi Meng had an opportunity to gamble on an outside three-pointer for a comeback. However, the league's intent for the Spurs to lose was too obvious. He Xi Meng thought about it and decided it was best to leave some room for maneuver. He did not force the issue and grudgingly conceded the victory to the home team, the Pacers.
89:85, the Pacers narrowly defeated the Spurs by 4 points, winning a hard-fought game. Miller scored a team-high 34 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.
In Game 4 of the Finals, the game continued to be played at the Pacers' home court. However, after the previous game, the Spurs had begun to adapt to the referees' officiating. If they weren't going to let them attack the basket strongly, they would simply avoid it as much as possible.
Duncan was not only good at strong drives to the basket. By pulling out a bit, positioning himself at the edge of the paint, and using his hook shots from both sides, he could still make the Pacers' interior players cry for mercy... In this game, Duncan, using a different method, went off again, scoring a terrifying double-double of 28 points and 18 rebounds!
Of course, David Robinson was not far behind. Although his scoring was not as high as Duncan's, his rebounding was comparable, and he contributed 14 points and 17 rebounds!
Together, the twin towers completely overwhelmed the Pacers' interior. Despite the home-court advantage, the Pacers could only hang their heads and take the beating. He Xi Meng didn't need to do much, just pass the ball, and he was basically along for the ride to victory.
3:1, the Spurs returned to their home court with a match point.
The Pacers still refused to give up, wanting to fight like cornered beasts.
Perhaps because David Robinson and Duncan were so close to their first NBA championship trophy, they became nervous. For the first three quarters, no matter how He Xi Meng rallied them, the twin towers could not unleash the dominant momentum they had in the previous game. The Pacers took advantage of the situation, staying close and dragging the game into the final quarter.
He Xi Meng saw that this wasn't going to work! Over ten thousand Spurs fans were already ready to celebrate the team's first championship trophy in franchise history. If the Pacers were to make a comeback, how heartbroken would the fans be...
So, in the fourth quarter, He Xi Meng did not follow head coach Popovich's instructions to continue passing the ball inside. Instead, he told Duncan and David Robinson to secure offensive rebounds, and he himself began to rain down shots from the perimeter!
In this game, to prevent being dominated inside by the Spurs' twin towers like in the previous game, the Pacers' defense had tightened considerably, leaving ample shooting space for He Xi Meng on the perimeter. In the first three quarters, He Xi Meng had opportunities to shoot threes, but adhering to Popovich's principle of letting the twin towers handle the offense as much as possible, He Xi Meng had been trying his best to create scoring opportunities for them.
But the problem today was that the twin towers themselves were a bit shaky, and their scoring efficiency was somewhat low, thus failing to establish a winning lead.
Unable to watch any longer, He Xi Meng decisively stepped up and rained down three-pointers!
Amidst the deafening "FMVP" chants from the Spurs fans, he hit one three-pointer after another, crushing the Pacers with overwhelming force!
By the end of the game, He Xi Meng had scored 30 points and 10 assists. In the final quarter alone, He Xi Meng scored 20 points! Of those, 18 points came from three-pointers!
With a 4:1 lead, the Spurs successfully won the 1999-2000 NBA championship trophy at home!
This was the first championship trophy in Spurs history!