Despite Hamilton's excellent performance, the Wizards ultimately lost the game 85:98 due to their lackluster starting lineup, while the Spurs extended their winning streak to seven games.
After these two home games, the Spurs were scheduled to leave San Antonio for a road trip. This time, the opponents were tough: the Suns, Jazz, and Kings.
Before the game against the Suns, Duncan mysteriously approached He Xi Meng and asked, "For this game, should I cooperate with you and go for unlimited firepower?"
"Huh?" He Xi Meng was confused, not understanding what kind of trick Duncan was up to. "Why should I go for unlimited firepower in this game?"
"Revenge! From the Olympics."
"I've already avenged that from the Olympics! Beating the Timberwolves and frustrating Kevin made me very happy."
"How could you forget? Besides Garnett, the Suns also had a core player from the Dream Team IV!"
He Xi Meng suddenly realized. Duncan was talking about Kidd! Kidd was indeed a core player of the Dream Team IV, and his role was not inferior to Garnett's. However, due to their positions, Kidd's statistics were far less impressive than Garnett's, which is why the MVP award for the Olympics went to Garnett, not Kidd!
Even more unfortunate, due to He Xi Meng's overall performance, which was in a league of its own among point guards, Kidd didn't even make the All-Olympic Dream Team.
He Xi Meng had no grudges against Kidd. If he really had to calculate, it might be Kidd who should settle scores with He Xi Meng. Although the Dream Team IV won the game, Kidd was brutally outplayed by He Xi Meng, and his lifelong reputation was almost ruined.
"Let's forget about Kidd! During the Olympics, Kidd was quite good to me..." He Xi Meng recalled for a second, then decisively rejected Duncan's attempt to push him to the forefront.
"That's a shame! I originally wanted you to play well in this game..."
"No thanks! I don't think the Suns' interior is that strong! Veteran Dudley, power forward Clifford Robinson, shouldn't be a match for you and David! Let's stick to the twin-towers strategy and just push them over! No need for any other tricks..."
Duncan walked away with a look of displeasure, his scheme having failed.
Among the Suns' starting lineup this season was an old acquaintance of the Spurs: Mario Elie!
Yes, this summer, after Mario Elie helped his team win the championship, his contract expired. Mario Elie originally wanted to re-sign with the Spurs and finish his career there, but due to salary cap constraints, the Spurs could only offer him a veteran's minimum contract. The Suns, on the other hand, offered him a small mid-level exception contract worth $8 million over three years, also guaranteeing him a starting position.
Mario Elie was hesitant and asked Popovich for his opinion. Popovich decisively told him to get lost!
As a veteran who had been playing for 10 years, there was no more potential to be unearthed. Since a team was willing to offer him a good salary, it would be foolish not to take the money. Popovich told him to hurry to Phoenix and make some money... to save up for his retirement...
Mario Elie naturally knew that Popovich meant well for him. He eventually followed Popovich's advice, accepted the Suns' invitation, and became a member of Phoenix.
This time, Mario Elie went to the Spurs' bench early to greet Popovich and the coaching staff, and then high-fived and hugged teammates like David Robinson, Duncan, and He Xi Meng.
What fascinated Spurs fans the most was that compared to other teams in the league, the Spurs had less of a mercenary, commercial atmosphere and more of a warm, familial vibe. Of course, this doesn't mean the Spurs never made cold-blooded trades. After all, this league is a commercial one, and its operations are centered around commercial value. No one can deny this. But because of the person in charge, namely Popovich himself, he placed more emphasis on player development!
Popovich believed that any team that made it into the league comprised the most talented young players in the world. As long as one persisted in unearthing these young talents and placed them in the right positions and within the tactical framework, they would always contribute to the team! It's just that some players had higher talent and could become All-Stars, while others were not as gifted and would become role players.
This was why the Spurs could always find talented late-round draft picks. In reality, they didn't "find" them; they "developed" them.
In contrast, powerhouse teams like the Knicks, due to their lack of emphasis on rookie development, often wasted high-round draft picks! And after wasting them, they would blame the rookies for being busts, which was quite unfair.
After catching up, the game began.
In this game, the Suns recognized the gap in their interior strength compared to the Spurs, so they didn't focus their offense on the paint but rather on the wing with Marion!
Marion, facing the veteran Elliott's drives and outside shots, played exceptionally well! In the first quarter, he scored 9 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, dished out 1 assist, and had 2 steals and 1 block on 5-of-4 shooting, helping the Suns take a 4-point lead over the Spurs!
This season was Marion's second year in the league, but under Kidd's direction, Marion's agile and mobile characteristics were fully utilized. Moreover, although Marion's shooting form was incredibly ugly, his shooting percentage was quite stable, which was a silver lining.
The Spurs were not adequately prepared for Marion's rise, and on top of that, their own offense encountered some problems.
The twin towers, who had been unstoppable in the previous few games, were both in a slump today, missing mid-range shots from the edge of the paint no matter how they shot. The lack of interior scoring led to a significant drop in the Spurs' offensive efficiency.
As for Kidd, who had been suppressed by He Xi Meng in the Olympics, he had long wanted to make a comeback. Now that he encountered the Spurs' twin towers faltering, how could Kidd miss such a golden opportunity?
As a result, Kidd delivered a triple-double in this game with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists!
Meanwhile, He Xi Meng, due to the twin towers' slump, didn't have double-digit assists, let alone rebounds. He only managed one three-pointer, which was barely passable, scoring 18 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds, a performance below his usual standard.
Even more fatal was that Tony Delk, the sixth man off the Suns' bench, the guy He Xi Meng had snatched the 16th overall pick from in the 1996 draft, showed a level of effort no less than Kidd's!
In this game, Tony Delk shot 10-of-18 from the field, scoring 20 points, grabbing 6 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists, and getting 2 steals, with individual statistics more impressive than He Xi Meng's! This was also Tony Delk's best game in recent seasons, by far...
In the end, with a score of 100:91, the Suns handed the Spurs their first loss of the new season.