Although Liu Yu Dong could not directly block Carter's powerful drive, he did not shy away from the confrontation. Liu Yu Dong went all out, guarding Carter closely, and at the last moment, he chose to commit a foul rather than let Carter dunk over him!
Carter was not surprised that Liu Yu Dong would foul him; he was merely surprised that Liu Yu Dong had the opportunity to foul him.
This was because Carter was incredibly strong during his drive. Most NBA players would find it difficult to stop his all-out charge, yet Liu Yu Dong managed it. Not only that, but he also engaged in an aerial battle at the last moment, thwarting Carter's sure-fire dunk. This was not something just anyone could do, indicating that this Chinese player possessed formidable core strength!
Carter stood at the free-throw line with a dejected look. Although he made both shots, scoring two points, the feeling of scoring two points by dunking over an opponent was vastly different from scoring two points from the free-throw line with no one defending.
He Xi Meng continued to orchestrate the offense. In this possession, He Xi Meng still lobbed the ball to Yao Ming, then feigned a move towards the baseline. However, this time, Garnett was prepared and had no intention of letting He Xi Meng slip to the right baseline. Seeing no opportunity there, He Xi Meng turned and drove to the middle. Yao Ming executed another bounce pass, but Mourning immediately slid over, ready to block He Xi Meng's drive.
He Xi Meng smoothly lofted a soft shot while on the move, releasing the ball before Mourning could even prepare to jump. He utilized a change of rhythm and a slight time difference to successfully complete a floater.
Faced with a point guard like He Xi Meng, who did not directly confront him, Mourning, despite possessing the league's strongest defensive skills, could do nothing but watch helplessly.
There was no choice. The US team reorganized their offense. Kidd used Garnett's high-post screen to forcefully drive past Da Zhi, aiming for a layup. However, Yao Ming's defense was incredibly active. He quickly slid over and slammed Kidd's sure-fire layup off the backboard. To add insult to injury, after the block, Yao Ming landed and snatched the rebound himself, then turned and passed it to He Xi Meng.
At this moment, Kidd, just blocked by Yao Ming, was still disoriented, turning around under the basket and unable to interfere with He Xi Meng's drive. Seeing He Xi Meng heading straight for the basket, Carter, who was retreating the furthest, decisively abandoned Liu Yu Dong and slid over to help Kidd defend He Xi Meng.
He Xi Meng did not force the attack. He passed the ball back to Liu Yu Dong, who was unguarded near the free-throw line. Liu Yu Dong caught the ball and rose up, sinking a perfectly steady mid-range jumper to add another two points for China.
During the initial part of the game, China's offense, orchestrated by He Xi Meng, was nearly flawless!
The US team, on the other hand, had underestimated China's defensive capabilities, especially Yao Ming's dominance in the paint, and suffered repeatedly.
As a result, by the end of the first quarter, China surprisingly held a four-point lead over the US.
Although the US team was embarrassed, they did not panic. It was evident to anyone watching that China could not maintain this offensive and defensive efficiency indefinitely. The moment China's efficiency declined, that would be the time for the US team to launch their comeback, particularly during the rotation period.
During the rotation, Zhang Bin subbed out Yao Ming, who had played exceptionally well in the opening minutes, for rest. In the first quarter, capitalizing on the US team's unfamiliarity and underestimation of Yao Ming, He Xi Meng had Yao Ming attack the paint aggressively. Yao Ming had already scored 10 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots! The all-around performance of Yao Ming left the US team bewildered. In their pre-game predictions, the US team expected China to focus their offense around He Xi Meng and Da Zhi. Instead, in the first quarter, China centered their offense around the relatively unknown Yao Ming, attacking from all angles and overwhelming the US team... With Yao Ming's height, who could stop him if he got effective shooting opportunities in the paint? Mourning and Garnett certainly couldn't reach him.
However, Yao Ming currently had a fatal flaw: insufficient stamina! Especially against a strong team like the US, Yao Ming's stamina depletion was particularly severe. Therefore, before the end of the first quarter, Zhang Bin took Yao Ming out for rest and replaced him with Batr to hold the fort.
Da Zhi, however, remained on the court. In the initial phase of the game, Da Zhi's primary role was to occupy Garnett and prevent him from collapsing to help defend Yao Ming. Of course, at the start, the US team hadn't realized how badly Mourning would fare in a one-on-one defensive matchup against Yao Ming. So, when Da Zhi moved outside, Garnett followed without hesitation, leaving the interior for Mourning and Yao Ming to battle one-on-one, resulting in a rather embarrassing situation.
Therefore, overall, Da Zhi's exertion was not significant, allowing him to continue partnering with Da Ba in a twin-tower formation. This was also He Xi Meng's suggestion to head coach Zhang Bin: staggering the playing time of the three centers would ensure a twin-tower presence throughout the entire game.
At small forward and shooting guard, Liu Yu Dong and Hu Wei Dong had both expended considerable energy and could be substituted out for rest. Sun Jun would replace Liu Yu Dong, and Li Nan would replace Hu Wei Dong.
He Xi Meng remained on the court, not because his exertion was low, but because if He Xi Meng left, neither Li Xiaoyong nor Zhang Jinsong could effectively handle Payton at the point guard position!
The hard-won parity that China had achieved would be lost. This momentum could not be slackened.
On the US side, their rotation was not as cautious as China's.
Tomjanovich made a wholesale substitution, bringing in Van Exel, Ray Allen, McDyess, Allan Houston, Steve Smith, and Payton.
This was a three-guard lineup. This was because head coach Tomjanovich had not been able to recruit enough quality players at the small forward position. Top small forwards in their prime, like Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady, had declined the national team's invitation.
As a result, Coach Tom had to recruit several more shooting guards to play small forward.
Compared to the starting lineup, the US bench unit, while not as star-studded, was indeed formidable. Especially on offense, these three guards were all scoring over 20 points per game. If the Chinese team dared to relax even slightly, this US lineup could potentially overwhelm them in a short burst. Therefore, He Xi Meng's pressure did not diminish in the slightest.
After entering the game, Payton used Allan Houston's screen to shake off He Xi Meng near the free-throw line. At that position, He Xi Meng dared not leave Allan Houston open; if given space, he would shoot, and his shooting percentage was alarmingly high. He Xi Meng could only loudly remind Sun Jun to switch...