As the race began, Henson felt like every breath he was taking was harder than ever. It's like getting motion sickness, and I always feel out of breath. Although it doesn't have much effect on the body, it is still very uncomfortable.

Equally uncomfortable with Henson are the Pacers, who rarely play on the plateau, where Oklahoma, Utah and Denver, the NBA's three highland home arenas, are all concentrated in the West. The Pacers, as an Eastern Conference team, rarely play in these three locations throughout the year.

So in the first few minutes, the defending champions didn't play well.

On the court, Jamal. Murray borrowed Jokic's cover to get inside and create a kill, causing Lopez to foul.

At this time, the game had only been played for three minutes, and it stands to reason that both sides should not have completely opened up. However, by the time Murray made free throws, Henson had already seen Lopez and Brogdon start to put their hands on their knees.

"The players are physically drained and Lopez and Malcolm are out of breath." Becky. Harmon immediately reported the situation to Henson.

"Well, I see it. Give them a few more minutes and they'll get used to it. ”

At this time, Jamal. Murray hit both free throws to extend the Nuggets lead to five points. Henson isn't in a hurry, and it's not his first time playing on the road in Denver. He is well aware that playing at PepsiCo always requires a period of adaptation for the players.

After this defense, the Pacers started to attack.

Today, several of the Pacers' offenses were dominated by outside shooting. In this rarefied arena, players reflexively score in a more relaxed way. Therefore, the breakthrough attack is very rare.

Antetokounmpo was also struggling to adapt, so he didn't attack too aggressively. This time too, after a few simple passes, Oladipo went straight from beyond the three-point line. Although Oladipo's three-point shooting has improved a lot this season, he has never been a pure shooter.

As a result, the Pacers' offense failed again. After Jokic took the rebound, he handed the ball to Murray. But Murray isn't really a point guard on the court, and he's only tasked with getting the ball across the halfcourt.

After crossing the half-time line, Jamal . Murray naturally gave the ball to Jokic. Seeing Jokic once again on the perimeter with the ball, Henson was both delighted and surprised.

The surprise is that when he asked Horford to be the organizer a few years ago, he was questioned by reporters. And now, it seems normal to use a center forward to organize the attack. Modern basketball is evolving faster than ever before.

And the joy is because I saw Jokic on the outside, which proved that Mike. Malone is still sticking to his old style of play. In other words, Henson can deal with the Nuggets according to the targeted arrangement in advance.

Jokic lifted the basketball from the outside, unafraid of Lopez's defense. Because he's not the kind of center who stands on the line, Jokic has the ability to dribble from the outside.

On the outside, Jokic turned his back to Lopez and caught a glimpse of the No. 2 Will. Barton.

Will. Barton is an underrated scorer who can make a huge difference both with and without the ball. During the years when the Nuggets were leaderless, Will. Barton even served as the team's leading scorer.

His cut was so quick and sudden that Oladipo didn't even react.

Watching Barton cut in, Jokic raised the basketball with one hand and threw it at will, and the basketball flew accurately into Barton's hand.

One-handed passing, which is Jokic's specialty. This guy has a very good sense of the ball, because the average big man can't use the one-handed pass so easily.

After receiving the basket, Barton went straight to the box, and with Lopez pulled away, Barton's difficulty in attacking the basket plummeted.

That's where Jokic comes in, and he's always able to pull the opponent's rim guard away. And if you use a small man to defend him? Wait to be swallowed up by the firepower of the "human pork belly essence".

Barton hit an easy layup, and his layup was so well timed that Oladipo couldn't even block "Wade Jr."

The difference came to 7 points, and the Pepsi Center was cheering. At this point, Nuggets fans may already be fantasizing about a championship. After all, they're overwhelming the pacers.

"The Nuggets were in good shape at home today, but they were the defending champions and didn't seem to be adapting. Now that the Pacers are seven points behind, should Coach Henson call a timeout to set it up? ”

The same doubts arose with Becky. Harmon, she looked at Henson, but Henson was unmoved.

He does not pause, he believes that the situation is still not out of control. But Henson wasn't inactive, as the Chinese coach stood up, clapped his hands at the players, and didn't even say a word.

And then, it's gone!

"Cut!" Mike. Malone became serious, he was simply fed up with Henson's contempt.

And this time, the Pacers' offense continued to fail. George's shot was overshadowed by Will. Barton interfered, and the defending champions failed to score three times in a row.

Jokic grabbed the rebound and made a long pass directly to the backcourt, and for him, this kind of "long-range missile" pass did not make it difficult for him.

It was Paul who received the basketball. Millsap, another inspirational super second-round show.

Millsap was basically active in the No. 4 position in the early days, but after the advent of the small-ball era, his ability to play inside and outside was brought into full play.

This guy can not only shoot from the outside, break through with the ball, but also score under the basket.

After receiving a long pass from Jokic, Millsap dummeled a shot from outside the three-point line and flew away George, who was actively defending.

George overreacted a bit, thinking Millsap was going to shoot a three-pointer, so he did everything he could to block it. As everyone knows, the experienced Millsap is so cunning.

After flying off George, Millsap held the ball and went inside. At this point, most of the Pacers were still rushing back, and Millsap had plenty of time and space to attack the basket.

"Come on, punish his pride with a score!" Mike. Malone was in full swing, believing that after Millsap's dunk this time, Henson would definitely call a halt to the game.

He couldn't possibly pretend to be any longer.

But Henson was not frightened, and he was not prepared to call a timeout. He just looked at the pitch with a smile and confidence.

Millsap riveted his strength and jumped up for a dunk. Although Millsap has lost his former central position, he has never played so well in a season.

Both in Jazz and Al. Jefferson's time as an inside duo was when the Atlanta Hawks were the "Emperor of the Earth," and Millsap didn't win as many games. So, Millsap really enjoyed playing for the Nuggets.

He also really enjoyed winning games with the Nuggets.

"Bang!"

There was a loud bang on the court, it was clearly the sound of a basketball. The fans at Pepsi Center opened their mouths wide, and Mike, who had the same expression as the fans, was Mike. Coach Malone as well as Millsap himself.

"This ......"

Millsap's hand clutched tightly on the basket, but the basketball was nowhere to be found. If he was not mistaken just now, the big hand that covered the sky and the sun seemed to have taken away the basketball......

"Janis. Antetokounmpo, he himself snatched the basketball from Millsap's hands! Catch the risk, this is a chase to catch the risk! God, it's incredible. Replay, I need replay! ”

Millsap himself is a short insideman, and his 2.03m height is completely underwhelming in front of Antetokounmpo. Therefore, it is not difficult for Antetokounmpo, who has worked hard, to complete the block.

It was quiet for a while before the narrator finally spoke. By the time everyone came to their senses, Antetokounmpo had already reached the other half. In Patton's desperate eyes, he slammed the basketball into the frame!

After capturing the dragon after the attack, the Greeks turned the tide with only one attack.

Henson sat back on the bench and looked at the time, exactly five minutes after the game began.

His players should have gotten used to the thin air. Antetokounmpo's chase just now is the best proof of this. Being able to chase down and dunk in a split second is enough to show the current state of the Pacers players.

Then it's time for Henson to take over the game!

Mike. Malone got one thing wrong, Henson is indeed a megalomaniac, but he is a megalomaniac with arrogant capital. When Henson is confident when he's behind, be careful.

Now, the players are revived. Henson wanted to see if it was Mike who called the timeout first. Malone, or yourself!