He Xi Meng, like Ray Allen, was inspired to quickly transition towards becoming a professional three-point shooter.
Of course, even without He Xi Meng, Ray Allen would have been among the league's top shooters. However, with He Xi Meng's guidance or stimulation, Ray Allen's three-point skills seemed to awaken at an accelerated pace.
In this game, Ray Allen approached it with the mindset of a three-point shootout against He Xi Meng, immediately launching from beyond the arc.
However, due to their positions, Ray Allen and He Xi Meng were not directly matched up.
On the Spurs' side, Mario Elie was responsible for defending Ray Allen.
On the Bucks' side, the "Alien" Cassell defended He Xi Meng.
But this did not prevent the two from crossing positions and engaging in a three-point duel.
In the next possession after Ray Allen hit a three-pointer to open the game, He Xi Meng responded with an extended three-pointer from a step beyond the arc, with Cassell in his face, for the Bucks.
Cassell, a 24th overall pick in the 1993 draft, was neither old nor particularly young. However, Cassell's biggest issue was that defense was never his strong suit.
If Ray Allen hadn't provoked He Xi Meng and the Spurs had played their standard two-big lineup, Cassell's defensive pressure might not have been as intense. Unfortunately, before the game, during their pleasantries, Ray Allen had expressed his desire to compete with He Xi Meng in a three-point shootout.
He Xi Meng generally preferred not to engage in one-on-one battles during games. However, since Ray Allen had come knocking, regardless of whether He Xi Meng agreed, he initiated the attack and, after making the first three-pointer, pointed his finger at He Xi Meng.
He Xi Meng had no choice but to unleash his "Italian Cannon" and engage Ray Allen in a three-point war.
In this game, Ray Allen took the highest number of shots for the Bucks, 19, making 9. Of these, he attempted 8 three-pointers and made 5, an impressive 62.5% accuracy. He also made 3 out of 5 free throws, scoring a team-high 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists.
He Xi Meng, naturally, did not back down. Especially since Ray Allen had invited He Xi Meng to a three-point showdown without any reservation about Duncan being nearby.
Duncan, of course, fully supported He Xi Meng, even sacrificing his own shot attempts to help He Xi Meng counter Ray Allen!
He Xi Meng's shot attempts in this game instantly rose from his usual 15 to a game-high 20.
And when it came to shooting three-pointers, He Xi Meng was far more decisive than Ray Allen.
Ray Allen had already felt it was a bit crazy to shoot 8 three-pointers for the entire game.
He Xi Meng directly attempted 12! While his accuracy wasn't as high as Ray Allen's 62%, it was still a solid 50%, hitting 6 shots, one more than Ray Allen. This ultimately translated to points, with He Xi Meng scoring 29 points, 11 assists, and 4 rebounds, exactly 3 points more than Ray Allen.
He Xi Meng's 29 points also happened to be right on the psychological edge of head coach Popovich's comfort zone.
Popovich had a peculiar habit: he disliked his star players consistently scoring 30 or 40 points, believing it was detrimental to team unity. It could cause role players to lose their shot opportunities and their motivation to score, consequently making them more reliant on the star player, creating a vicious cycle. Especially during the regular season, he consistently emphasized playing the "right way," involving more players in the offense and distributing the team's scoring load.
Therefore, an unverified rumor circulated among Spurs fans: players who scored over 30 points in a single game were highly likely to be rested by Popovich in the next game.
He Xi Meng sought to confirm this with Popovich. Popovich vehemently denied any such peculiar rule within the Spurs. However, he did advise He Xi Meng not to place too much importance on individual scoring.
"The Spurs I envision is a team that prioritizes unity above all else! Everyone needs to participate in the offense, whether they are good at scoring or not. Only when everyone has the attitude of wanting to score and being able to score can we create more scoring opportunities during our offensive execution. Star player tactics should be used in crucial moments! If used for the entire game, it loses much of the charm of basketball itself..."
Popovich reiterated the Spurs' founding philosophy to He Xi Meng, believing that He Xi Meng might be getting impatient with his low-key approach and looking to increase his shot attempts and scoring numbers. This was entirely Popovich overthinking it. He Xi Meng was simply trying to verify the rumor, to see if 30 points was truly the dividing line for resting Spurs stars, as the outside world suggested.
"Hmm, I wonder when I should encourage Tim to score 40 points to see how the old man reacts..."
In the mismatched three-point battle with Ray Allen, He Xi Meng ultimately won by a single point. Coincidentally, the Spurs also narrowly defeated the Bucks by three points, 102-99.
Similarly, with three stars versus three stars, on the Bucks' side, Ray Allen scored 26, Glenn Robinson 22, and Cassell 19. On the Spurs' side, He Xi Meng had 29, Duncan 24, and David Robinson 21.
Comparing each matchup individually, the Spurs were not inferior to the Bucks.
The only cause for concern was that Ginobili on the bench had once again lost his touch. He missed all 4 of his attempts, and even on his signature snake-like drives, which brought him to the basket for an almost guaranteed score, he managed to miss. Popovich, from the sideline, was speechless.
Ginobili's frequent misses meant the Spurs were consistently outplayed during the rotation periods by the Bucks. If not for the stable performance of the three core players, who helped the Spurs withstand the relentless onslaught from the Bucks' "three musketeers," the Spurs might have truly stumbled against the younger Bucks.
After the game, Spurs head coach Popovich specifically instructed Budenholzer to intensify Ginobili's fundamental skills training during their daily practice sessions.
After defeating the Bucks, the Spurs, now on a nine-game winning streak, immediately flew to Salt Lake City to challenge the Jazz!
The 1999-2000 Jazz team was aging but still formidable. Their core lineup remained the duo of Malone and Stockton, supported by the good three-point shooter Hornacek and the defensive tough guy Bryon Russell. While their strength was undoubtedly less than their peak a few seasons prior, their long-standing chemistry meant that even a weakened Jazz was still a force to be reckoned with, at least in the current Western Conference.