The two men had little personal interaction, but being in the same division, playing regular season games and then playoff games, they gradually deepened their impressions of each other through countless confrontations.
Of course, it was mainly Kidd who deepened his impression of He Xi Meng. From once looking down on him and dismissing him, to now acknowledging and respecting him.
To be honest, not just Kidd, but 99% of the players in the league never believed that a Chinese point guard could perform at a top level in the league!
Now, they no longer mention He Xi Meng's skin color or identity issues. Because He Xi Meng has long proven his strength through his performance in game after game, and it has nothing to do with his skin color.
Through the pleasantries with Kidd, He Xi Meng also exchanged greetings with Hardaway.
Although Penny was not old, he became famous very early and had interacted with players of Michael Jordan's caliber. Thus, many fans mistakenly believed that Penny belonged to the previous generation of stars. In fact, Penny was only two years older than Kidd.
However, due to injuries, Penny retired in 2007, while Kidd continued to play until 2013 and became more formidable with age, possessing formidable strength even in the twilight of his career.
After the pleasantries, the game began.
Luke Longley, still sharp, defeated David Robinson to give the Suns the opportunity for the first attack.
Kidd dribbled the ball past half-court, Hardaway spread to the weak side, Marion came up to set a screen for Kidd, blocking He Xi Meng. Kidd then took advantage of a mismatch against Chucky Brown, and passed back to Marion near the free-throw line!
Marion was matched up against He Xi Meng, wanting to use his height advantage to shoot over He Xi Meng.
But Marion's shooting form was rather peculiar, his two hands tucked together, ball near his nose, obscuring his eyes...
Well, a block would be absolutely ineffective against Marion! Because Marion basically didn't aim with his eyes when shooting.
He Xi Meng leaped with all his might, trying to disrupt the basketball near Marion's nose, but unfortunately, Marion jumped quite high, successfully avoiding He Xi Meng's block. However, his timing seemed a bit off, causing the final trajectory of the ball to be inaccurate, and it bounced off the rim.
Gugliotta fought hard to grab the ball at the first bounce. Facing Duncan's defense, he intended to pass inside to Luke Longley, but David Robinson anticipated Gugliotta's pass and snatched the ball!
He Xi Meng retreated to receive the ball, intending to initiate a fast break, but was disrupted by Kidd's tight defense, and the ball was almost stolen by Kidd.
He Xi Meng was forced to slow down, advancing steadily under Kidd's pressure.
After advancing to the three-point line, He Xi Meng directly called for a screen from Duncan, clearing out the Suns' interior defense, then used a crossover and speed to drive past Gugliotta into the Suns' paint, drawing a double team from Luke Longley, and then passed to David Robinson on the other side!
Kidd anticipated some of He Xi Meng's strategic intentions and immediately appeared in front of David Robinson. But the height difference between Kidd and the Admiral was too great. David Robinson was a center with a considerable mid-range shooting ability. He directly caught the ball and shot over Kidd, scoring the first points for the Spurs and leaving Kidd with a look of helplessness.
The confrontation between a point guard and a center, even if your defensive prediction is correct, even if you are the league's current best point guard, is useless. It's a naked mismatch.
Turning around, a dejected Kidd lobbed a pass to Luke Longley at the edge of the paint, and then ran a no-ball screen with Marion, hoping to cut for a layup. However, Kidd's plan was seen through by He Xi Meng. After being out of position, He Xi Meng immediately sank down, intercepting Longley's return pass to Kidd, disrupting the Suns' intended play.
After the steal, He Xi Meng turned to push the fast break. Chucky Brown was very active, sprinting to the Suns' half. He Xi Meng lobbed him the ball in motion, giving Chucky Brown an almost one-on-one opportunity. However, Chucky Brown's decision to shoot was not decisive, and he wanted to go for a two-handed dunk under the basket...
Hardaway chased him from behind and delivered a solid chase-down block, swatting away Chucky Brown's sure basket against the backboard.
After the block, Hardaway grabbed the rebound himself and pushed the ball upcourt.
Facing Mario Elie's defense, Hardaway didn't need a screen at all. He drove straight past him and completed the offense with a graceful pull-up jump shot! Duncan couldn't get there in time to help defend, and Hardaway had already scored two points.
The game continued. In this possession, He Xi Meng did not employ any complex tactics, directly lobbing the ball to Duncan, who had established position at the edge of the paint, wanting Duncan to take on a single defender. Since the start of the new season, Duncan had been the Spurs' most consistent scorer.
Duncan's isolation against Gugliotta was not difficult, but as he turned to shoot, Duncan seemed to falter.
In the previous five games, Duncan had been solid every game, but in this game, it was finally the rookie's turn to go soft.
David Robinson grabbed the offensive rebound and wanted to pass to Duncan again, allowing him to continue attacking.
However, Duncan fumbled the reception, and Kidd stole the ball.
Kidd was not Nash; after the steal, he didn't push for a fast break but advanced steadily, calling for his teammates to run set plays.
Gugliotta came to the high post to set a screen for Kidd. After the pick-and-roll, he didn't roll to the basket but moved horizontally to the free-throw line, waiting for Kidd's return pass, and then caught the ball and shot over Duncan, catching him off guard.
On both offense and defense, the rookie seemed a bit sluggish today.
Turning around, He Xi Meng did not look for Duncan but found David Robinson, wanting to see how the Admiral's touch was today. However, David Robinson's back-to-the-basket post-up against Longley was not smooth, and his turnaround jump shot also bounced off the rim.
The Spurs' twin towers in the paint struggled in the early stages, falling into a significant scoring drought.
Out of necessity, He Xi Meng, who had conserved some energy, stepped up to confront the Suns.
And after He Xi Meng made a pull-up three-pointer, Hardaway immediately responded with a pull-up three-pointer from a similar position.
He Xi Meng drove to the basket and made a difficult three-pointer, and Kidd immediately followed with a drive and layup.
In other words, the Suns' super backcourt duo, Kidd and Hardaway, had both set their sights on He Xi Meng!
No matter how He Xi Meng scored in the previous possession, the Suns would respond with a similar method in the next possession.
The combined efforts of the backcourt duo against Xi Meng put He Xi Meng under immense pressure!