Before the game began, Van Gundy gave fans the illusion that "the Pacers are very scared to play us, and we are confident". But Henson's phrase "you can win if you play normally" undoubtedly shattered the beautiful illusions of Magic fans about victory.

The reality is often harsh, and the Pacers aren't afraid of the Magic at all, even if they've just gone through a three-game losing streak. But people often prefer to believe in good intentions and ignore the cruel truth.

What the Pacers have to do now is for Orlando to confront the fact that they are no longer a league powerhouse!

At the start of the game, the Magic team fought for the first attack. While the Magic fans are enthusiastic, Howard is a little disgusted with this kind of one-man game.

After the opening, his desire to attack was not high, and he did not sit on the inside to ask for the ball, but to cover his teammates.

Jamil. Nelson struggled to move an inch under Paul's defense, and even Howard's cover didn't give him much space.

In the end, Nelson had no choice but to pass the ball to the Magic's No. 2 scoring point of the season, Ryan Brown. Anderson's hands.

The reason why the Pacers lost the last game was because Anderson's super-level play disrupted Henson's setup. At that time, he had to focus more on Anderson, so "Warcraft" was freed.

But today, Henson didn't have any special defensive tactics against Anderson. West raised his hand normally and interfered, and Anderson's shot was ruthlessly struck in the expectant eyes of the fans.

"Didn't hit! Anderson missed his first attempt of the day. But it doesn't matter, shooters usually need to shoot to accumulate feel. ”

Horford grabbed rebounds quickly, and he was snatched from behind by Howard more than once in the playoffs last season.

But this time, Horford did not encounter the strong confrontation he imagined. "Warcraft" doesn't seem to have much desire for this frontcourt rebound, and to be exact, Howard didn't seem to be able to get up for the whole game today.

Paul commanded the attack unhurriedly, and the entire Amway Center resounded with a shout of "defend".

Paul didn't stick to the ball much, and as soon as Horford came out, he played the ball because "The Monster" was very loose on Horford.

Horford receives a basketball from mid-range on the right side of the baseline and shoots when he catches the ball! Howard didn't jump, but took two symbolic steps. But this level of interference certainly can't cause Horford any trouble.

The basketball hollowed into the net, and Horford scored the first point of the game for the Pacers with a beautiful half-volley. Stan. Van Gundy got up from the bench and Howard's form unsettled him.

"Cheer up, Dwight! Keep your spirits up and we'll be able to win at home!" Big Van Gundy yelled at Howard that the guy's pre-game remarks fooled the fans and Jalen. Rose, but it seems that he has not been able to fool the "Warcraft".

It's no wonder that he has been so fooled by the team in recent years, not once or twice. Every time he said that he wanted to make up for it, but as a result, except for the old Carter and the old Arenas, Howard really didn't see any substantial reinforcement plans for the Magic.

This offseason brought in "Big Baby" Glenn. Davis? Well, maybe that's what the Magic call a reinforcement.

After the Magic attacked again, Howard continued to play with Nelson.

Only this time Nelson passed the ball to the "monster" under the inside basket, and Orlandos cheered and prepared to enjoy Howard's frame-smashing performance.

However, this time, let alone smashing the frame, "Warcraft" had just stepped into the three-second zone and was about to take three steps, but the basketball was cut off by Horford!

The Sparks' three-step ball guard was rough this time, so Horford made a clean move to disrupt the Magic's second offense.

Originally, Horford's defense was not bad, and the Magic used Horford as the main gap on the offensive end, which must have taken a huge risk.

Spark shook his head in annoyance, he was already in a bad mood, and now he still made mistakes, and the heart of the "Warcraft" was completely occupied by impatience and dissatisfaction.

On the Pacers' side, Paul followed Henson's tactical arrangement and still played unhurriedly.

That's what Henson's pre-match emphasis on "following tactics" means. The Magic's hard power is not as good as the Pacers, although this sentence seemed so incredible last season, but there is absolutely no problem with the Pacers at this time.

In the case of strong strength than the opponent, Henson needs the team to play steadily. If you play too impatiently and chaotically, it will give the Magic a chance to win in chaos.

The offense fell into position, and Henson also stood on the sidelines and crossed around, urging the group of "bandits" on the field who were eager to tear the opponent to pieces at any time, so as not to let themselves go too far.

Paul broke through with cover, but in fact the opportunity to attack this time came from George.

Jason. Richardson's one-on-one defense didn't cause much trouble for George, and he missed three games, only to lose the last game as soon as he returned, which also made George's desire to attack today extremely strong.

After receiving Paul's ball, George lifted it up from outside the three-point line and was about to shoot!

However, when Richardson flew out, he found out that George was fake and he had been fooled!

"George flew Richardson, he went straight to the inside!" Kevin. Harlan was instantly excited, and the athletic Paul was very active. What will be the result of George challenging Howard?

As a result, under Howard's blocking, George still bravely dunked directly! Of course, it wasn't a dunk, George dodged Howard's block sideways in the air and then smashed the ball in with his long arms.

Although there was no direct confrontation between the two, this beautiful slam dunk was enough to make the Amway Center silent.

Seeing that George chose to dunk hard instead of the pull-up jump shot that he was good at, even Henson was taken aback. It seems that everyone's desire to win today is stronger than they imagined!

4-0, in the first few rounds, the Magic team showed no signs of recovery at all. However, the Pacers, who have a full lineup, have played a completely different mental state than they did during the three-game losing streak.

"The Pacers started out well on a three-game losing streak, but I don't know if they can keep that momentum going until the final quarter."

Jay. Rose had only said this sentence for a few minutes, and he regretted it. Because in the current situation, it may not be necessary to wait until the last minute of the final quarter for the game to be decided.

Six minutes before the first quarter, the Magic didn't score a point!

Howard's offense was repeatedly disrupted, and he finally made a foul and stood at the free throw line, but he missed both free throws.

Howard's side can't be opened, and the outside line of the Magic team can only stare dryly. The Pacers' outside defense is so strong that even Kobe Bryant is afraid of three-point shooting. Paul, George and Green are not soft persimmons to pinch. The Magic, a group of "rabble" who often can't score doubles, are helpless in the face of this level of defense.

And Van Gundy had high hopes for Ryan. Anderson, in David. West's experienced defense has missed all three shots. The reason why he was so accurate in the last game was not because West didn't defend well, but because his own hand was too magical.

But as Henson said, magic can't always be with Anderson.

6 minutes of play, 15-0. Jay. Rose was speechless, it's not a question of whether the Pacers can withstand it in the last moments, it's a question of whether the Magic can withstand it until the last moment!

The atmosphere in the Amway Center has also changed from hot at the beginning to cold and cold.

With a 15-0 scoreline, the Magic went into another timeout. One by one, the Magic players in white jerseys walked off the court with their heads bowed.

The Pacers players in corn yellow jerseys high-fived each other one by one and yelled at each other, as if they hadn't enjoyed it yet.

The stark contrast between the two teams' players reflected the state of the game faithfully.

As soon as the players left the field, Henson sat down in front of the players with a small bench, still looking serious. Paul had expected Henson to calm them down and continue to attack solidly, but Henson didn't even take the tactical board.

"Go ahead and do it, guys, today's Orlando night is meant to be yours. Don't relax, keep your passion. Then go on the field and chop them up! ”

Calm down? Guard? No, when it's time to be wild, Henson never dampened his players' desire to perform.

Paul smiled slightly, and he realized that he was starting to really like the Chinese coach.