The subsequent games held no suspense. The Spurs opened with their twin towers, establishing a nearly ten-point lead in the first quarter.
During the rotation, the two teams played closely. Ginobili did not get much playing time. However, in the latter half, after He Xi Meng came on, he utilized his long-range shooting ability to go head-to-head with Jamison, further helping the Spurs extend their lead to fifteen points.
After halftime, the Spurs continued to leverage their advantage in the paint, gradually widening the lead to over twenty points.
Ultimately, it was another game where the starters could rest in the third quarter. The Spurs defeated the Golden State Warriors 104-81.
Veteran David Robinson played only 25 minutes, scoring 19 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.
Duncan played 31 minutes, scoring 15 points and 14 rebounds.
He Xi Meng played 32 minutes, scoring 15 points and 9 assists.
In addition, Brad Miller and Ginobili had opportunities to play in the fourth quarter. The former scored 8 points and 3 rebounds, while the latter scored 7 points and 3 assists. They used the garbage time to showcase their skills, hoping to attract more attention.
After two home games, the Spurs would embark on a four-game road trip.
Their first opponent on the road was the Houston Rockets, another member of the "Texas Three Stooges."
In the summer of 1999, Francis was selected second overall by the Grizzlies in the first round!
For a rookie, being selected as the second pick in the NBA was an immense honor. However, for Francis, this outcome left him extremely frustrated. Francis refused to join the Grizzlies, who were then based in Vancouver, Canada, claiming that Vancouver was too far from his grandmother and he couldn't live in such a cold place.
Of course, Francis's story with his grandmother was merely an excuse to avoid going to Vancouver. Francis's firm stance forced the Grizzlies to trade him to the Rockets in Texas.
This trade involved a complex deal with three teams: the Magic, the Grizzlies, and the Rockets, involving a total of 11 players. The Rockets only paid Dixon, Rogers, and Harrington to acquire the second overall pick, Francis, making it essentially a highly profitable transaction.
After trading away Pippen, the Rockets had planned to let Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley, the two mythical beasts, retire and then begin a rebuild. However, the team received two promising rookies, Francis and Mobley.
If the Rockets had paired them well, the combination of two mythical beasts and two dynamic guards might have helped the Rockets rise earlier.
However, the Rockets' management did not recognize the value of Francis and Mobley, and simply continued to rely on the two mythical beasts for attendance and to proceed with their rebuilding plan.
In this battle of twin towers versus twin towers, Barkley scored 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets, while Olajuwon had 13 points and 8 rebounds. For the Spurs, Duncan scored 14 points and 10 rebounds, and David Robinson had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The two teams engaged in fierce combat inside, but ultimately, the deciding factor of this game was not in the paint, but on the perimeter.
He Xi Meng, along with substitute Terry Porter, combined for 40 points!
Yes, Popovich's most trusted sixth man on the Spurs was not Ginobili, but Terry Porter.
Porter, a veteran selected 24th overall in the 1985 draft, made a name for himself with the Trail Blazers. He had played for the Timberwolves and the Heat and joined the Spurs this season. In his competition with Jalen Jackson, Porter, with his steady performance and reliable shooting, defeated Jackson to become the player with the most shot attempts off the Spurs' bench.
In the previous two games, as David Robinson, Duncan, and He Xi Meng all performed well simultaneously, the sixth man, Porter, did not have much room to shine.
However, in this game, as David Robinson and Duncan battled inside against the Rockets' twin mythical beasts, and He Xi Meng organized the offense from the perimeter, Porter seized the opportunity. He shot 6-of-11 from the field, 3-of-4 from three-point range, and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line, scoring a team-high 18 points to go with 4 rebounds and 5 assists, providing strong support for the starting lineup!
Of course, the player who scored the most points for the team was still He Xi Meng!
Matched up against the first-year rookie "Big Three" Francis, He Xi Meng used his experience against Iverson to deal with Francis, and the result was that Francis was completely bewildered!
Over the course of the game, Francis shot 6-of-15 from the field, missed all five of his three-point attempts, and made 3-of-4 free throws, ultimately scoring 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, but committing 5 turnovers and 5 fouls!
He Xi Meng, on the other hand, scored a game-high 22 points and also dished out 12 assists, grabbed 4 rebounds, had 3 assists, 2 blocks, and only 1 turnover!
In a point guard battle, the assist-to-turnover ratio is paramount. In this game, Francis's assist-to-turnover ratio was 0.6, while He Xi Meng's was an impressive 12! The superiority was evident at a glance.
Ultimately, this Texas showdown concluded with the Spurs defeating the Rockets by double digits, 95-85.
In their second road game, the Spurs' opponent was another "brother" from Texas: the Mavericks!
This season, the Mavericks' interior was anchored by the "twin towers" of Nowitzki and Bradley, while their perimeter was driven by Finley and Strickland. Under Don Nelson's coaching, they were in a phase of cohesion and improvement.
Although the Mavericks, playing at home, were not as strong overall as the Spurs, the "German twin towers" were not intimidated by the "Spurs twin towers."
Bradley, utilizing his height advantage, frequently received alley-oop passes from Strickland and completed shots in the post.
David Robinson was not in good form today, often struggling offensively, not only scoring low but also failing to contain Bradley defensively, allowing the "German giant" to score a considerable number of points early on.
Popovich saw David Robinson's struggles today and decided to move Duncan to center as the starter, with Malik Rose playing power forward. Although Duncan was not as tall as Bradley, he possessed superior strength, jumping ability, and agility. After this adjustment, he managed to contain Bradley's scoring momentum, but Nowitzki began to shine.
Nowitzki was gradually honing his post-up fadeaway jumper, which later became his signature "one-legged fadeaway" move! This move was originally exclusive to smaller players, and Nowitzki was probably the big man who mastered it most proficiently!
Malik Rose was a powerful player, but at only 2.01 meters, he couldn't gain any advantage against the mobile and agile Nowitzki. He could only watch helplessly as Nowitzki completed his graceful fadeaway jumper over him.
Coupled with Finley's strong drives from the wing, the home-team Mavericks played with full confidence, consistently leading the Spurs in scoring.
During halftime, He Xi Meng secretly approached Popovich and suggested that he replace David Robinson with Brad Miller as the starting center!