Replacement flanker and former captain Sam Cane said the effort was the response the team wanted.
"That first half was a bit of a clinic. The weather probably helped us a little bit. We wanted to play direct. A lot of our carry-clean stuff was good, and when it's a bit slippery like that, and the cleans are good, it extends the ruck. The offside line keeps getting pushed back, and we can pin them in their half.
"That's something we weren't able to do last week.
"It's rewarding when you put a lot of effort into something and then you're not always sure if it's going to show in the weekend and the performance, but tonight it did."
Cane said while there were always pre-game nerves, he felt ready for action after the warm-ups and the haka.
"You've got to go and simmer down on the bench and watch the game closely. I've found in the past it doesn't matter if you've gone from a Super Rugby playoff game to playing Test rugby a couple of weeks later, there's always that step up and a bit of a bone reminder of what it's about."
Having more scrums compared to the first Test was a bonus.
"It was a weapon tonight. Once we felt we got the ascendancy there, more times at scrum time, we were looking to gain a penalty advantage, so that was great reward for the boys up front."
Cane said he has never played South Africa twice at home and two weeks in a row.
"It's a real test, a real challenge to see what we're made of."
Halfback TJ Perenara said the All Blacks' bounceback was pleasing. They hadn't played much in the Argentina 22m area, but the difference this week was that when they did, and when they had opportunities, they took them.
"We played with the ball a little bit, but the weather dictated where we played with the ball and how we wanted to map the field a little more.
"They're a very good team and apply a lot of pressure. Both teams understand that weather conditions make it hard to play with the ball, so we bring more intensity with our defence. Our ability to put the ball in behind them and to check them a little was smart early on."
Perenara acknowledged there would have been public noise after their loss a week earlier, but he didn't listen. He has his standards, whether at club, provincial, Super Rugby, or Test level, and that is to prepare himself regardless of the result.
He said it was part of the media's job to build stories and create entertainment, but it was his job to go out and win rugby games by playing well.
"It's not my job to buy into that or to prove anything in that space, nor discredit it because you're doing your job too. But it's easier, or smarter, not to listen to that and to have my standards for how I want to prepare myself.
Perenara said they discussed his set-up run for wing Will Jordan's first try before the lineout it came from. It was a chance helped by the new laws in play.
"The guy on the side of the maul can't make a tackle on a nine [halfback] unless he's run a metre outside of the maul as well. He can't be attached and impact the play straight away. So, seeing they had a prop in that position gave us a little channel we liked."