He Xi Meng opened the game with a direct three-pointer, a most straightforward declaration.
Turning around, Nash used Nowitzki's high-post screen for a drive against Brad Miller. He then pulled up for a mid-range jumper, intending to match the Spurs' score. However, the ball bounced off the rim, and Bowen grabbed the defensive rebound. His first instinct was to find He Xi Meng.
Nash immediately attempted a steal to stop He Xi Meng's fast break.
He Xi Meng dodged Nash's pressure with a behind-the-back dribble. Facing Finley, who was catching up, He Xi Meng used a spin move in motion, fluidly weaving past two Mavericks players. To complete this fast break, He Xi Meng didn't hesitate to repeatedly imitate Iverson's crossover moves, all in pursuit of scoring opportunities. This was unimaginable for the former He Xi Meng.
With Duncan on the court, He Xi Meng would invariably choose to slow down, stabilize the tempo, control the game, and then play half-court offense.
The twin towers of the Spurs never feared any half-court battle. But now, it was different. He Xi Meng had to seize every fast-break opportunity and improve his scoring efficiency outside of half-court sets.
Unfortunately, He Xi Meng's pull-up three-pointer this time bounced off the rim. Fortunately, David Robinson followed up promptly, snatching the offensive rebound from over Nowitzki's head.
Nowitzki, unwilling to concede, tried to steal the ball back. The referee's whistle blew: a foul on Nowitzki!
He Xi Meng breathed a sigh of relief. It was at least good that they were at home, where the calls were at least somewhat in their favor.
The Spurs inbounded the ball from the sideline. He Xi Meng passed to Bowen, who then passed to Brad Miller near the free-throw line. He Xi Meng used a backdoor screen from Ried, drove straight to Miller, and received a hand-off. He then cut into the Mavericks' paint from the side.
Nowitzki was delayed by Brad Miller and couldn't rotate to help. Bradley in the paint hesitated, unsure whether to step up and defend He Xi Meng or continue blocking David Robinson behind him.
In Bradley's moment of hesitation, He Xi Meng stopped and jumped, hitting a close-range bank shot for another two points.
Perhaps from spending too much time with Duncan, He Xi Meng now instinctively looked for the backboard whenever he was near the basket. It had to be admitted that whether it was at the rim or for a close-range jumper, the bank shot's accuracy was indeed higher than directly aiming for the hoop. Who knew how satisfying it was until they shot it themselves.
In the first three possessions, the Spurs successfully built a 7-0 lead against the Mavericks!
He Xi Meng's intense offensive desire also made Coach Old Nelson sense something amiss. He stood up from the bench and yelled at Nash on the court, "Drive to the inside..."
Yes, when the team's offense was stagnant, the best approach was to take the ball to the inside. Nash followed his head coach's instructions, sending the ball into the paint to Bradley.
David Robinson guarded Bradley tightly, preventing him from getting close to the basket. Bradley couldn't do much against the Admiral. In terms of height, Bradley was a bit taller than David Robinson, but in terms of core strength, Bradley was far behind. So, on this play, if it hadn't been for the head coach's order to play inside, Bradley would have wanted to return the ball to his teammates on the perimeter.
However, seeing that none of his teammates were signaling for the ball, Bradley gritted his teeth, turned, and executed a hook shot from the edge of the paint.
This was a common scoring method for big men, but it was usually employed at close range under the basket. It was rare for someone like Bradley to use this move from the edge of the paint, as the success rate was not guaranteed.
Unexpectedly, after bouncing off the rim and backboard, Bradley's determined hook shot went in.
Bradley, already heading back on defense, let out a sigh of relief seeing that his shot had scored for the Mavericks. A lucky shot was still a good shot, wasn't it?
Turning around, He Xi Meng advanced the ball for a half-court set.
"Switch! Michael, Steve, switch..." Old Nelson yelled again from the sideline, directing Finley and Nash to switch defensively.
In the previous series, the Mavericks had already implemented this defensive strategy. By having Finley and Nash switch, the more defensively capable Finley would guard Stockton of the Jazz, disrupting his passing and affecting his scoring.
Seeing that He Xi Meng was starting to heat up today, Old Nelson immediately unleashed the trump card he had been holding back for this series, ordering Finley and Nash to switch! This would put Finley on He Xi Meng, and Nash would guard Ried, whom Popovich had just promoted from the bench to the starting lineup.
Before the game, Old Nelson had already had someone investigate the background of this new Spurs starter. Upon learning he was a second-round pick this year, Old Nelson felt at ease. Even if Ried had performed adequately during the regular season, and even if Ried had made the All-Rookie Second Team...
"A rookie is still a rookie! On the big stage of the Western Conference Semifinals, it would be good for a rookie to perform at half his potential... Don't worry about Ried, focus on guarding He Xi Meng..."
On the Spurs' side, He Xi Meng saw Nash switch onto Ried and immediately chose to pass the ball to Ried.
"Michael, you take him..." Before He Xi Meng could finish the word "attack," Ried, after receiving the ball, drove straight at Nash without needing any instructions from He Xi Meng.
"He truly lives up to his reputation, Ried..." He Xi Meng silently gave his younger teammate a thumbs-up in his heart.
Unlike typical rookies, Ried was not as thin. He had spent three years training in NCAA, making his physique more mature and his mentality very stable. At 1.98 meters tall, his muscles were well-developed, and his core strength was no weaker than Nash's, who had played for four years.
Nash's lateral quickness was actually faster than Ried's, but Nash couldn't withstand Ried's initial shoulder drive and lost his position. Nash could only stay with Ried, preparing to interfere as Ried went up for a layup.
But Ried showed no fear, carrying Nash all the way to the Mavericks' basket. Finally, he used his body to push Nash away and attempted a fadeaway jumper in the paint. If Nowitzki hadn't come from behind for a weak-side block, Ried would have surely scored over Nash. However, due to Nowitzki's interference, Ried had to change his shot in mid-air, causing the ball to bounce off the rim.
Fortunately, David Robinson was still under the Spurs' basket. The Admiral, using his experience, posted Bradley up, grabbed the offensive rebound, and went up for a follow-up layup.
However, he was caught off guard!
David Robinson's second jump was slow and not as high. Bradley used his height advantage to block and disrupt the shot. If this were the Admiral in his prime, even someone as tall as Bradley wouldn't have had such an opportunity to block. David Robinson would have driven hard and slammed the ball in for a sure score.
Alas, the twilight of a hero...