At the beginning of the game, Chang Wei found that his concerns about O'Neal Jr. were justified, and he beat Mutombo to help the Pacers get the first wave of offensive possession when he jumped the ball. This also made Chang Wei sigh, it seems that there are still a lot of cattle at the turn of the century, even if there is a strong and unscientific system in his head, he can't let the strength of the players crush the opponent.

The starting point guard of the Pacers is Best, who is averaging 12.3 points and 5.7 assists per game this season, and the key is that he is only 28 years old this year, so head coach Thomas let him keep the ball in possession, and Miller turned into a catch-and-shoot shooter. This makes Iverson have to go up against Best, averaging doubles per game is not fun, if there is a wave of outbreaks, wouldn't it be beaten into a pig's head? In fact, Thomas didn't expect Brown to wrap Miller, but the accident only reduced the pressure on Miller.

Rose asked for the ball from Bester from outside the three-point line on the wing, and as the team's leading scorer, he was dismissive of Lynch's marking. The two didn't play each other last season, but every time Lynch was completely suppressed by Rose, at least the 76ers were completely defeated on the front line, so Rose didn't think much about it, and was ready to directly single Lynch one-on-one when he received the ball.

While Lynch has been positioned as the team's flanker, he's still learning, but at least Rose is already feeling his improvement. Unlike last season, when he was one-on-one, Rose obviously felt that Lynch's movements were more agile and his anticipation skills were also excellent, and whenever he was ready to turn and break through, Lynch always appeared in his path just right, and if Rose hadn't stopped in time, he would have been a man with the ball.

But Rose didn't give up, he turned his back and prepared to run all the way from near the free throw line to the basket, which is his strength. After Rose took the back-to-back single, Lynch had no choice but to grit his teeth and hold on, but he was constantly pushed back by his opponent. After a few back-to-back singles, Rose made a very stretched turnaround jumper and the ball went into the basket.

It's not the Pacers' usual style of play, but it looks quite effective, Brown's face is a little unpleasant, but he won't anger the players because of a round or two, not to mention that it can't be considered a mistake by Lynch, he was just caught by Rose on his weakness, and there is a chance that he will be scored by other similar players.

The 76ers didn't take this conceded goal to heart, Snow controlled the ball and went straight to the frontcourt, he didn't pass the ball to Iverson, but held the ball himself. Miller, who was tasked with guarding him, was experienced but not very dexterous on his legs, and Snow barely met any resistance to get past the line, and a ground-hitting pass to Mutombo, who was deep under the basket and in the gap, and the latter's powerful two-handed dunk ignited the enthusiasm of the fans.

Although Snow's position is that of a shooting guard, he is more of a playmaker than Iverson, which is the fundamental reason why Chang Wei has set up passing drills for him. This pass just now is undoubtedly the result of special training, although Mutombo's ability to find a gap on the inside is the key, but Snow is a ground-hitting pass completed by O'Neal Jr., which directly penetrates the Pacers' defense.

The Pacers are among the top 10 defensive teams in the league this season, and they almost always win with defense in the case of average offensive firepower, but in this game, the 76ers obviously did not take the iron wall they are proud of seriously.

Miller, the team's soul man, was also plagued by Snow, not only having to endure the opponent's kraft candy defense on the offensive end, but also facing the opponent's simple but very effective breakthrough on the defensive end. Although he also thought about using some small actions to provoke Snow, compared to Iverson, Snow's personality was more calm and completely unaffected by Miller.

Now the only two who can help the Pacers increase their points are Rose and O'Neal Jr. The former constantly plays with his back to the middle range and then turns around to shoot jumpers, or slips to the baseline for layups, while the latter constantly tries to score with his feet and physicality under the basket, occasionally being distracted by Mutombo, but still getting the ball into the basket most of the time.

In stark contrast to the Pacers, the 76ers' offense can be regarded as a mercury drop, they can pass the ball more people, they can finish more, and they are constantly hitting three-pointers from the outside, and the Pacers have no way to defend at all. Especially Lewis, the Pacers' power forward Crohill can't defend at all, because O'Neal Jr. alone is not enough to guard the basket, and his own movement speed is relatively slow, so he can only watch Lewis constantly shoot from the outside.

At the end of the first quarter, the 76ers scored 38 points, a score that no team can achieve even in a decade. At the same time, they also limited the Pacers' scoring to 26 points, thanks to the players' frantic running and switching on the court, as well as the strong one-on-one defense of some of their players.

Fortunately, the Pacers' bench lineup is not bad, and Al Harrington, who was the 25th pick in the first round in 1998, acted well as the scoring arrow of the bench lineup, steadily scoring points. Mason intends to defend Harrington, but his height is obviously at a disadvantage, although Harrington does not have the three-point shooting ability of Lewis, but his mid-range shooting is still very reliable, which also makes Mason scratch his head, try his best to prevent it, and also pay for a foul.

Brown also couldn't find a good way to limit Harrington, so he had to ask the benches to step up their offensive firepower and try to make up for the points they lost on the offensive end. It's a pity that Reed's hand in this game is not very good, if it weren't for Hill fighting for rebounds on the inside and constantly reloading the lost balls, Brown couldn't help but change to the starter in advance.

By the time Brown switched to the starting lineup with 7:23 left in the second quarter, the difference was just eight points. However, Brown didn't care too much, in his opinion, the point difference was chased back was only temporary, and with the hot state of the 76ers' starting lineup, it was a piece of cake to pull the difference back to double digits.

Originally, Thomas didn't want to let Miller play, because the latter's performance in the first quarter was average, but he was the undisputed core player of the team, so Thomas could only continue to let him play, and all he could do now was pray for a miracle.