As a defensive powerhouse, the Pacers started the Tigers:

Jamal Tinsley (point guard), Reggie Miller (shooting guard), Artest (small forward), Jeff Foster (power forward), Jermaine O'Neal (center).

O'Neal Jr.'s dominance on the interior is still quite impressive, coupled with Foster's rebounding ability and interior titan Al Harrington on the bench.

The Indiana Pacers' interior strength is definitely among the best in the league.

Coupled with defensive ruthless Artest and veteran Reggie Miller, this team can be on the same page as the Pistons Five.

The game begins.

On the Heat's side, Pat Riley sat on the bench and kept scrubbing his fingers, figuring out today's game.

If you want to win games, you have to defend well.

Especially O'Neal Jr. and Artest, as the offensive and defensive core of the Pacers, they must limit their play in order to win.

So today, the Heat changed the lineup and let Liu Hao play small forward, Butler was transferred to the point guard position, and Wade was used as a point guard.

The interior line still sent defensive expert Chandler to deal with O'Neal Jr.

At the start of the game, the Pacers took the lead in possession.

Jamal Tinsley dribbled across half court and took aim for O'Neal Jr. to pass the ball over the inside.

Chandler immediately jumped high to intercept, but O'Neal Jr.'s footsteps were not bad, and he made a definite turn to dunk.

Bang——!

The goal was not scored, and the referee's whistle sounded.

Beep!

It turned out that Odom intercepted O'Neill Jr. from behind and didn't let him score easily.

The tactic of slashing O'Neal worked equally well with O'Neal Jr., and the center's free-throw percentage didn't seem to be very high during this period.

Sure enough, O'Neal Jr. hit only one of two free throws.

The Heat played steadily, with Wade controlling the ball across the half, and then Chandler took the initiative to step forward to block Wade.

Playing against him, Jamal Tinsley, is no easy one.

With skillful dribbling skills and an excellent view of the big picture, a good individual defense is almost impossible to be eaten, but the sense of co-defense is relatively poor.

That's what Riley told the Heat players before the game.

Sure enough, Wade paused a little in the face of O'Neal Jr. as he passed Jamal Tinsley, waiting for Chandler's next move.

Jamal Tinsley didn't bother with Chandler, who went straight to the basket.

Seeing this, Wade threw the ball into the air.

Bang Dang——!

After that, this tactic was almost the same.

It wasn't until the second half of the first quarter that Artest began to step up.

He kept shouting behind his teammates to make up for the position, and he was still staring at Liu Hao while helping his teammates make up for the loopholes.

I have to say that the current Atai is also hard and bloody enough.

This aggressive defense quickly turned the game into a defensive battle.

In the first half of the quarter, the score between the two sides remained at 2 points, and it is currently 11:10, with the Heat leading.

In the next three minutes, the two sides did not score a point.

Until Artest stood up again and scored two points against Liu Hao.

Roar——!

After scoring a goal, this thing roared and raised his iron elbow, how majestic!

Liu Hao on the side couldn't help frowning, you are proud!

"This game should definitely not be a defensive battle!" Liu Hao muttered in a low voice.

Next, it's the Heat's turn to attack.

Facing Artest, Liu Hao also started his own attack.

It's undoubtedly hard to beat Artest, so it's just a no-brainer.

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Then take a step back.

Swish!

This three-point shot!

"Yes, that's it, even Artest still plays with him!" This goal can make Sun Zhengping happy.

Today's commentary with him is Teacher Su Qun.

also expressed his personal opinion on this goal, "The two of them are going to fight against each other's rhythm, it seems that this game will no longer be a defensive battle." ”

Sure enough, looking back, the aggressive Iateste immediately fought back.

used his body stronger than Liu Hao to force a way to kill it, although the finishing ability was almost good, the ball still successfully threw the pot to Jeff Foster.

The latter took advantage of the situation and won the dunk.

The two sides gradually opened up their hands, so the defensive battle in the last second immediately turned into a battle against each other.

At the end of the first quarter, the Pacers, who have always been known for their defense, allowed the Heat to score 28 points.

With a score of 28:25, the Heat took the lead.

You must know that the Pacers have conceded less than 90 points per game that season, and the 28 points in a single quarter has far exceeded their average points conceded.

During the break, head coach Rick Carlisle immediately made adjustments to the Pacers' lineup, which was too loose defensively.

On the Heat side, Riley is happy with the Heat's strong firepower, but this can't be done, and he has to strengthen his defense.

"For the next game, Odom and Butler can rest first, replace Grant and Haslem, and our defense must also be taken up."

"Coach Rick won't allow the Pacers to continue on offense like this, they're going to defend."

Sure enough, as soon as the second quarter went up, the walkers pressed forward step by step.

Artest even took the initiative to misposition Liu Hao, who played guard, and guarded Liu Hao to prevent him from making three points easily.

Under the HC rules, Liu Hao had to dribble several times to shake him off before he could shoot, so the two sides once fell into a defensive battle.

However, today they met Liu Hao, who has a good hand.

Wade controlled the ball, and Grant made a pick-and-roll off the ball.

Liu Hao slipped directly to the bottom line, and then received the ball in any position to fire.

Combined with his pull-up jumper, which was already a small success, the three-point shot became less uncomfortable.

At the end of the second quarter, Liu Hao suddenly rained for three minutes.

He hit three three-pointers in a row to quickly pull the score away.

The Pacers, who were on the main defense, were overwhelmed for a while, and O'Neal Jr. was about to come back to dominate the interior at the break.

As a result, the Heat scored 49 points at the end of the second quarter, while the Pacers scored only 40 points.

"Hmm...... It seems that the guy named Liu is planning to ignore the defense. ”

"Artest, then you and Jamal Tinsley will flank him, and then have Jermaine's dominance on the inside, and try to get ahead in the third quarter!"

Seeing the Heat suppressing the Pacers in the first half, combined with the previous games, the current Heat is already an out-and-out powerhouse in the eyes of the media.

However, on the Heat's side, Riley felt a little uneasy.

Because in the first half, the Heat seemed to be relying on Liu Hao's play, and there were too many singles and too few passes.

Now except for Liu Hao, the others have obviously not played yet.

If the opponent starts targeting Liu Hao in the second half, this game will be full of suspense!

......