At halftime, Howard sat in the locker room with a towel draped, sweat forming a small droplet on the tip of his nose, which fell drop by drop.

Tiredness, that's the only feeling Howard felt after playing the first half. He wasn't happy about his 31 points in the half, because he knew very well that he couldn't score 31 points not because of how good his performance was, but because he had to!

"Shooter give Dwiera, and then you're going to get to shoot those damn three-pointers!"

Stan. Van Gundy was still yelling in the locker room, but Howard couldn't listen to a word. He felt extremely disappointed, disappointed with the performance of his teammates, disappointed with the functioning of the team's management.

Two years ago, they were a team that could beat the Green Shirts and James to reach the Finals.

Now, two years later, they can't even parry their opponents in the first round.

Howard himself hasn't changed, he's still the monster that can wreak havoc on the basket. What has changed is the environment in which he lives. Maybe the Magic team never wanted to win the championship from the beginning to the end. All they need is their own box office guarantee.

He suddenly had an idea, and although it was only a fleeting thought, it was deeply rooted in Howard's head.

This omnipotent "Superman" wants to leave Orlando!

"Well, the second half was all tactically arranged. The difference in points is not big, we have to win an away game! ”

Stan. Van Gundy waved his hand and everyone returned to the court. Howard mechanically stood up and walked out, and he didn't remember a word of what Van Gundy had laid out......

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"The reason the Magic are behind is obvious, and that's that someone else has to help Howard! In the first half, the Magic scored 48 points, and Howard alone scored 31 points! On the one hand, this data shows Howard's strength, but it also hints at the inaction of others. ”

"Coach Van Gundy's strategy of inserting shooters for Howard was correct, and the question was whether the perimeter shooters could shoot the ball in the face of the Pacers' extremely flexible switching."

Kevin. Harlan and Reggie. Miller, the Magic are not much behind right now, and if the others can recover as soon as possible, they still have a chance to turn the tables around.

"Don't be complacent because of this small advantage, I need you to continue to play well defensively! Until the end of the game, no one can give me relaxation! "On the other hand, Henson didn't sit as firmly on the Diaoyutai as people thought. He looked even more excited than Van Gundy, as if it was the Pacers who were behind at this point.

Henson's heart was actually very calm, and the reason why he yelled was simply to make the spirits of the young people tense. There have been so many cases of slackness leading to losses in the playoffs, and Henson didn't want his team to make such idiotic mistakes.

So after the start of the second half, in the face of the Pacers' excellent switching speed, the Magic's shooters still did not find their crosshairs.

"Did these guys collectively forget about their crosshairs in Orlando?" The Magic's perimeter players were so suppressed that Kevin Brown. Harlan found it incredulous.

Could it be that because the Magic slaughtered the Pacers in the last regular-season game, did the Magic think that they could easily win in Indianapolis with the kind of regular-season game?

The Magic's outside line is still not working, and what is even more frightening is that Howard seems to be starting to be unable to save the situation.

Howard picked up a foul early in the second half, but missed both free throws. If it was Howard, who was full of physical strength, he would not have been dragged down by Horford at all for that ball just now.

Subsequently, Horford used his footsteps to torture the nerves of the monster on the inside. An upset Howard was fouled several times in a row, causing him to get into foul trouble.

It's certainly the last thing Van Gundy wants, and if Howard wants to stay on the court, then his defense is sure to become timid.

As it turned out, Howard was sharply less powerful on the defensive end in order to avoid fouls. The Pacers began to break through the interior more and more often, and the Magic's perimeter defense was nothing short of a colander full of holes.

In the 5th minute of the third quarter, Danny. Green hit a three-pointer, Al. Horford had a rare offensive rebound on Howard's head. Horford didn't hesitate and jumped directly to attack twice!

In a fit of rage, the monster shoved Horford hard behind him, and Horford flew to the press area.

The scene suddenly went into chaos, and Stephenson walked up to reason with Howard. Don't look at the huge difference in size between the two, but Stephenson has never been afraid of this kind of thing.

Fortunately, Granger pulled Stephenson in time, so that the conflict did not escalate. But the players on both sides inevitably pushed and shoved when they were crowded together, and the smell of gunpowder was still very strong.

Howard suffered a technical foul as a result, and the referee's decision was undoubtedly worse for the Magic.

Looking at Howard's gloomy face, Henson felt that he was so unfamiliar with Howard. The big sunny boy who used to have a charming smile seems to be gone.

After Horford made a technical foul and the score became 71-54. The Magic team collapsed directly, and they were already trailing by 17 points before the third quarter was played. And after Howard ate a technical foul, the morale of the Magic team was even lower to freezing.

"Superman, maybe he can't save his team anymore." Reggie. Miller said meaningfully.

Although at the end of the third quarter, former All-Star guard Jamil . Nelson finally exploded, shooting three three-pointers in one fell swoop. But the Pacers' offense was already hard to contain, and Henson ended the third quarter with an 85-71 lead.

Stan. Van Gundy couldn't figure out why the average-looking Pacers were so tough. In the regular season, every meeting between the two sides was very anxious, and the two teams also won two games each in four duels.

But in fact, Henson basically didn't let the team play at full strength after ten consecutive wins. And Van Gundy's team is still three wins short of the Pacers.

The Magic's weak roster may not be exposed in the regular season, but it will be infinitely magnified in the playoffs. And the Pacers, who "pretended to be dead" at the end of the regular season, were alive and well in the playoffs.

And let's not forget, the reason why Henson desperately wants to squeeze into the fourth place in the East is because the most likely opponents in the fourth place in the East are the Magic and the Knicks. And these two teams are the kind of teams that rely heavily on superstars and have little role players.

Henson has the most experience in playing this kind of team, from the beginning Henson calculated everything, Van Gundy and the Magic are not fighting against the Pacers at all, because the relationship between hunter and prey is not confrontation, but the relationship between slaughter and being slaughtered!

"Lance, I'm glad you controlled your fist just now. I don't want you to cause trouble on the court, and of course, I'd be very happy if you could provoke Howard when the referee didn't like it. During the break, Henson pulled Stephenson into his ear and whispered a few words.

The last time Henson did this, "Yes Man" Wade immediately ate a technical foul.

As soon as the fourth quarter began, Stephenson's breakaway gave Howard his fifth foul of the game.

The Stephenson guy kept whispering in Howard's ear, upsetting Howard. While Howard hasn't done anything out of the ordinary, his form has been shattered by foul after foul, huge point differential and Stephenson's trash talk.

Two minutes later, Stephenson slotted into the box again. Howard was visibly annoyed by the words, so he deliberately rushed up and knocked Stephenson off the line.

After that, Howard didn't even defend himself, but walked straight off the court with a blank face. With 6 fouls, Howard graduated with an exaggerated score of 46 points and 19 rebounds. But his team is in dire straits.

When Howard came off the court, there were 6 minutes and 37 seconds left in the game. The Magic, on the other hand, trailed by a full 18 points.

In other words, the next 6 minutes and 37 seconds will be all garbage time!

Without a data sheet, Henson can easily see the Magic's 27.3% three-point shooting rate through the data analysis module.

Now that Howard is gone, does the Magic want to kill themselves with a 27.3 percent three-point shooting percentage?

With 46 points and 19 rebounds, Howard's stats look pretty bluffing indeed. But for Henson, to be able to embrace victory, that's enough.