Elliott's quarter-final contribution at No6 went largely incognito with Guptill batting like a maestro, but he appreciated a licence to attack.
"It gets to a point in games when there aren't too many wickets down and you can have a bit of fun. The top order batting did so well that we had wickets in the shed. There's no point being 400 for two if you can be 430 using as many wickets as possible."
Hesson also pointed to Daniel Vettori's "36-year-old White Men Can Jump" catch of Marlon Samuels at third man for inspiration. Samuels trudged off for 27 off 15, thwarting the West Indies chase at 80 for three in the 10th over.
"I didn't think 36-year-olds could jump that high," Hesson said. "From our point of view [in the team hutch], I thought it was going over and he'd made a bit of a token jump."
Elliott said the catch had been a source of team mirth.
"He [Vettori] said his son told him he didn't jump that high on the trampoline ... and there have been a couple of NBA photos going around."
Hesson said Guptill also exemplified the team-first mantra in what he considered the best ODI innings he'd seen.
"The way he paced the innings by setting the tone early, playing straight, adapting to the conditions and timing everything from ball 30 on. It was pretty surreal.
"There were a lot of high fives and cuddles [in the dressing room]," Hesson quipped. "It was an amazing innings which we were immensely proud to watch.
"Players have been quite selfless putting their own milestones and targets behind what the team wants to do. The fact he [Guptill] got a hundred then a big hundred and one which determined the outcome of the game was most pleasing."
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Guptill's acceleration was consistent, making his first 50 in 64 balls followed by increments of 47, 23 and 18 balls for the next three 50-run brackets.
Hesson said the team's 2-0 ODI loss to South Africa in October did not leave them daunted. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor didn't feature in the series.
"That was at the start of a six-month campaign and South Africa were better prepared than us for those fixtures. The pitches were different, we'd come out of a winter, they'd come out of a campaign. They hit us hard early and we didn't respond well. We're more match hardened now."
8 milestones by Martin Guptill
1. First New Zealander to make a double century in an ODI.
2. Second-highest scorer in an ODI behind Rohit Sharma's 264.
3. Highest run-scorer in an innings at a World Cup (overtaking Chris Gayle's 215).
4. First New Zealander to score consecutive centuries at a World Cup.
5. Highest scorer in a World Cup knock-out match.
6. Third New Zealander and 10th ODI cricketer to score more than 60 per cent of his team's runs (60.3 per cent).
7. Second-highest in terms of boundaries scored in an innings with 35 (Sharma made 42 in his 264).
8. Third player in the current team to have a career average over 40 (Guptill 40.1, Ross Taylor 41.5, Kane Williamson 46.0).
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