Li Cheng sat on the bench, sweating like rain, he almost tried his best to run in the first quarter of the game, and at the same time, he would also rely on his personal ability, dribbling to seek shooting opportunities. Granger wasn't much better, sitting in his chair panting.

In the first quarter of the game, the Pacers scored a total of 35 points, and of these 35 points, Li Cheng and Granger combined to score 23 points. From such a score, it can be seen that the Pacers' offensive system is dependent on the two of them, and it can also be seen that the two of them played very hard today.

On the Hornets side, Chris Paul's 8 points, 5 assists and 1 steal can also be seen that he is the well-deserved core of the Hornets, and the leader of the young generation of point guards also gave his full strength to this game.

Li Cheng and the others all sat in their chairs and closed their eyes to recuperate, and O'Brien stressed to the substitutes some things to pay attention to in the next game.

The Pacers' bench and the Hornets' bench are actually all the way, but if you compare carefully, the Hornets' bench lineup should be stronger than the Pacers' bench lineup. But this is the Conseth Center, home of the Pacers, and that gap has largely been erased.

The bench battles between the two teams were also quite exciting, with Daniels attacking the Hornets' baskets again and again. As soon as he receives the ball, he will not hesitate to rush to the basket. He doesn't care if he scores at the end or not, he always has to rush first and then make a choice to pass or go to the basket depending on the situation.

There weren't many opportunities for Daniels to go straight to the basket, but he still had another very nice step layup.

Dunleavy Jr.'s shooting also scored 2 points for the Pacers, I don't know if it was because he had been training with Li Cheng for a long time. His shooting actually has a bit of a similar flavor to Li Cheng. However, his unique beauty is still much worse than Li Cheng's.

The second quarter lasted until the sixth minute. Neither team changed their main team. Maybe it was the first quarter of the game, and the main players of both teams were too tired.

Such a balance cannot be maintained forever. Koster made the first substitution. He was replaced by West and Paul, and his team is now falling behind, and he can't continue to sit firmly in the Diaoyutai area.

Seeing that Scott began to make substitutions, O'Brien couldn't just sit on the sidelines, and he immediately changed players. Li Cheng, Murphy, and Granger were replaced.

Li Cheng glanced at Paul when he came on the court, and both of them looked very calm. It's as if these are two strangers who don't know each other at all, and they don't look like rivals who want to tell the winner.

West, who didn't do much in the first quarter, burst out in the second quarter, scoring six straight points to help the Hornets tie the score in one fell swoop.

It will never be an easy game, and those strong teams that the Pacers have encountered before have more or less reserved and dismissive. But this time, the New Orleans Hornets didn't have a little contempt, and they showed all their strength.

This is because Li Cheng's fame is growing day by day, and it is also because the Hornets and Pacers are now called dark horses, and they both have the psychology of competing with each other.

Paul's throw hit again and he scored his 10th point of the night. At 46-44, the New Orleans outscored by two points.

After the substitution, the Pacers didn't score a point. O'Brien couldn't sit still, he got up from the dugout and walked to the sidelines.

Scott, on the other hand, has been on the sidelines since the beginning of the game. I didn't have the heart to sit down at all.

Judging from the table of the managers of both teams, this game will not lack excitement.

There was a little mistake in the coordination between Li Cheng and Granger, Granger's passing was a little strong, and Li Cheng was not very comfortable. Just when Li Cheng was about to adjust. Chris Paul came out of nowhere and broke the basketball with his hand.

"Damn." Feeling empty in his hands, Li Chengcheng knew that it was going to be bad. He immediately turned around and went after him, but by this time it was too late. Paul went from breaking the ball to making a layup. One-stop service in place.

The Hornets increased their defensive intensity, and both Li Cheng and Granger were a little at a loss for a while.

O'Brien called a timeout. He immediately began to comfort Li Cheng, who was a little frustrated, "Don't worry, we are only 4 points behind, what is the difference between such a score and not saving zài for us?" We're going to win. ”

O'Brien then began to set up the defense, and instead of continuing to target Paul, he targeted West and Peja and Chandler who were not yet on the court.

"Organize West to receive the ball as much as possible, you can foul, but when you foul, you have a heavier hand." O'Brien said as he looked at Murphy. Then he added: "On the inside, try to get stuck and don't give Chandler an easy jump." As for Peja, Li Cheng needs to provide him with personal service throughout the process. ”

Seeing that everyone nodded, O'Brien waved his fist and shouted, "We will definitely win." ”

"Sure to win!" The players shouted.

After the restart, O'Brien was replaced by Tinsley, who needed to provide Tinsley with cannonballs for Li Cheng. After all, Li Cheng's energy is limited, and he can't take care of too much.

Li Cheng's ability to control the ball and see the big picture is good, but his speed is not fast, and his main role is to score.

After Tinsley came on the court, the Pacers finally hit a mid-range shot by Granger, but West's hand on the Hornets' side suddenly warmed up.

Paul's pass was clearly not intended to assist, he just wanted West to help him overdo it. But by the time he turned around to catch the ball, West was already shooting from beyond the three-point line.

As a big shooter, West has a natural advantage. Steps taller than him are not as good as him, and steps faster than him are not as high as him. Outside the three-point line, when someone still blocked, his shot Murphy failed to cover, but it also played a disruptive role. But West's feeling came, and Murphy's interference didn't stop the basketball from falling into the hoop.

Li Cheng frowned slightly, he had to stand up and find a way to solve this situation. He was cut off by Paul just now, and obviously he won't be able to attack with the ball himself, and it seems that he can only choose to run through Guò to get a chance to score.

As the center of the Pacers' offensive tactics, Li Cheng is unable to score and hold the ball where there is a threat, and the Pacers' offensive efficiency will be reduced by more than half. At this time, the manager's tactics can't change anything, only the players themselves need to make changes.

Li Cheng made two feints in a row, then he skipped his opponent's close defense with a sliding step, and then he bent over West's side. His series of runs, from feints to cover with his opponent's shape, were almost perfect.

One step into the corner, his backheel stepped on the three-point line, which was already a bit far for him. But it was an unguarded opportunity and he couldn't afford to miss it.

"Pass!" Li Cheng yelled.

Before that, Tinsley gave the ball to Foster on the inside. Under the opponent's tight defense, Foster still threw the ball out. The ball passed a little high, and many people thought that Li Cheng might not be able to catch the ball, but Li Cheng jumped up and held the ball in his arms.

After landing, Li Cheng jumped directly for the second time and shot.

The frequency of this series of actions is very fast, and West is still on the way to make up the defense, and the basketball has already flown to the basket.

"Huh!" Li Cheng finally scored the first two points after returning to the court.

It was still a bit difficult for Li Cheng to follow, after all, he couldn't effectively use his possession to demand opportunities. Paul is like a poisonous snake, always ready to step forward and cut off Li Cheng's ball.

From this point of view, Li Cheng still suffered a loss of inexperience. If it were some veterans who had become famous, they would not have been so affected by Paul's harassment.

Then Li Cheng hit a difficult two-pointer, but the Pacers still couldn't close the gap before halftime, and the Hornets widened the gap by the Hornets. At halftime, the Hornets entered the locker room with a seven-point advantage.

In the third quarter of the game, the two teams fielded the same lineups as in the first quarter. Peja took a full break in the second quarter, and there was no cooling factor for a veteran like him, as long as they were in good shape today, they could have maintained that form almost throughout the game.

At the beginning of the match, Li Chengcheng felt the pressure from Peja. The veteran who is struggling to find a championship ring has a lot of experience. And he made a name for himself under the Princeton system, and he has a lot of experience in running positions. And these experiences are all magic weapons he uses to deal with Li Cheng.

"Old fellow, you're much more difficult than just now, have you taken medicine?" Li Chengkai squirted.

Peja replied with a blank face: "People don't want to work too hard in the regular season when they're old, but if you have to push me hard, what's the solution?" He seemed to be very helpless.

"Even if you try, you won't be able to stop me." Li Cheng is a bit of a gritted tooth, he not only wants to win this game, but also plays with the momentum of dominating the whole game.

But just after Li Cheng put down his cruel words, he was educated by Peja again.

Li Cheng's elusive running position turned out to be a little out of order this time. Peja was able to calculate his running route almost all the time, and every time Li Cheng was able to be treated by Peja.

"Fuck!" Li Cheng scolded again. This time he was blocked by Peja again, and he had Peja cut off the ball before him.

Paul dribbled down quickly, and the Pacers quickly stepped back. But they stepped back a little deeper, and Paul threw the ball out and handed it to Peja, who was running last.

Peja, who was like a walk, was outside the three-point line at this time, and he actually got a very good opportunity. Although this man is old, his grasp of timing is more pure. Participating in the offense like a walk can get such a good opportunity.

The hand rises and falls, and the walker is hit again. The score difference is running for 10 points. (To be continued......)