Basketball Legends: Strikers Are King

The Hornets scored the equalizing goal and immediately aroused cheers from the fans.

"Well, overtime, it seems okay."

The Pacers fans on the other side were also very calm.

There is still hope of victory in overtime, but if it is defeated, it will be completely over.

It can be seen that people's psychological expectations can be continuously lowered. The Pacers fans did not think highly of the opposing Hornets at the beginning, but as the game progressed and the team fell behind, the fans felt that it was too late to go into overtime.

Acceptable.

At the same time, Pacers head coach Vogel is in trouble.

Today, the Pacers are at a disadvantage almost 80% of the time. The main players' playing time has been delayed for a long time, especially Hibbert and Granger. If they play another five minutes of overtime, their playing time will be enough.

It's over 40 minutes, and the substitute's playing time is around 10 minutes;

The Hornets were in full bloom. The main substitutes' playing time, except for Ariza who was guarding Granger and Kaman who was guarding Hibbert, was about the same, roughly around 20 minutes.

"The opponent's physical strength is better than ours..."

Brian Shaw looked in the direction of the Hornets, who were arranging overtime tactics, and said with some worry,

"The momentum also prevails."

Vogel finally made the decision, calling up five players and letting them play.

"Remember, you have to give full play to your own advantages and be decisive in your actions!"

The five people nodded and walked onto the field at the beginning of overtime.

George sat back on the bench in frustration.

"The Pacers have changed their formation?!"

The waiting Hornets fans saw the Pacers' lineup and were immediately surprised.

Apart from Hibbert, West, Granger and Collison, the one who came on to play shooting guard was not the starting George, but a first-year rookie, Qi Tian!

"They put in a new guy?!"

The Hornets looked at the Pacers' bold change of formation and turned to the head coach.

"Coach, do we still follow the planned tactics?"

Monty Williams looked at the Asian-faced Qi Tian, ​​nodded, and said:

"That's right, it's still a planned tactic. The Pacers are just trying to increase outside shooting points. The defensive focus is still on Granger!"

The referee who was working overtime signaled the players from both sides to come on the court and prepare for the jump ball.

Although according to FIBA ​​rules, overtime is an extension of the fourth quarter and does not require a jump ball unless there is an accident, the NBA still introduces this randomness in the hope of adding some excitement.

Hibbert jumped up the moment the referee blew the whistle and slapped the basketball behind him.

Collison dribbled to the top of the arc and handed it to Granger on the right.

Granger looked at his waiting opponent and called for a pick-and-roll.

The Hornets focused on Granger's breakthrough and mid-range defense. Ariza immediately went around the screen and left enough time to pursue the defense.

"Chance!"

Granger had no intention of continuing to rush in and fight, and directly shot a jumper from outside the three-point line.

"Whoosh!"

The Pacers got the first win in overtime, and Ariza responded with a jumper.

"103-102."

Collison continued to break through the pick-and-roll, and Jack stayed close to the defense.

"Give me!"

Just when Collison was blocked, he heard his teammate Qi Tian's shout and immediately spread the word.

Belinelli follows his opponent closely and does not give him a chance to break through or take an open shot.

But Qi Tian did not stop the ball. He received the ball and passed it directly to Hibbert under the basket.

Hibbert squeezed Kaman away, turned around and shot for a layup.

"clang!"

Before the smiles of the Hornets fans appeared, Hibbert took off the rebound twice and scored a tip-in.

"105-102."

"Um?"

Monty Williams, who was standing on the sidelines watching the game, was a little surprised.

"Is the Pacers' offense suddenly smoother?"

His feeling was not an illusion. Ariza grabbed the offensive rebound and made a tip-in. West under the basket protected the rebound and turned around to pass it to his teammates.

Qi Tian once again acted as an offensive transfer station, passing the ball to West. When West hit the jump shot, he rushed to the basket, grabbed the offensive rebound, and made a tip-in.

"107-102."

Two minutes later, the Pacers once again opened the point difference to 5 points.

The Pacers became more and more courageous as they fought. Collison Hibbert scored consecutively. Qi Tian also stole Ayon and assisted Collison to hit a jumper.

"113-102."

The point difference reached double digits. Monty Williams took advantage of Ayon's opportunity to foul West and go to the free throw line to call a timeout.

The Pacers players who shot a 13-2 wave were naturally welcomed by the fans in the audience. They waved their signs and slogans wildly to cheer for the home team.

"Darren I love you!"

"Roy, you are too fierce!"

"**,******"

There were some dirty words mixed in, which made Qi Tian speechless.

"The coach's change of formation was so unexpected that it completely confused the opponent!"

The changes made by the coach were effective, and the fans on the sidelines also gave their own praise.

Brian Shaw on the sidelines nodded with satisfaction, waited for the players to return to the bench, and immediately distributed the towels on his hands.

"There is only the last 1 minute and 32 seconds left in the game, we just need to maintain the point difference."

"The opponent is far behind and is likely to shoot a three-pointer. We need to strengthen our perimeter defense."

Vogel told several people about the next strategy and waited until the timeout was over before letting them go on stage.

"Seven is very useful."

Brian Shaw said a little show off.

Vogel glanced at him, and although he didn't want to agree, he still said matter-of-factly:

"Assistant Xiao deserves a lot of credit for Qi Tian's performance."

Fans mostly saw the scores of Collison and Hibbert, but in the view of the coaching team, Qi Tian's appearance can speed up the movement of the ball and drive the whole team. Qi Tian was the focus of the team's performance just now.

"Haha, haha, haha, I just did a little, haha, trivial work."

Brian Shaw was proud of his humility, but he still couldn't control the corners of his mouth.

Ayong made one of two free throws, only narrowing the point difference to 10 points.

The Pacers tried to extend the attack time as much as possible before Granger made a three-pointer at the buzzer.

"clang!"

The basketball jumped out of the frame, and the Hornets took advantage of the opportunity to hit a three-pointer by Bald Jack.

But their offense only stopped there. Belinelli missed a three-pointer and there were only 35 seconds left in the game.

Jack gritted his teeth and immediately committed a foul, sending his opponent to the free throw line.

Granger made two free throws.

"115-106."

The Hornets were about to attack when Collison jumped out, stole Kaman's basketball, and Qi Tian made a layup, completely killing the game.

Belinelli scored a jumper in the last 5 seconds, but the 9-point deficit left the Hornets powerless.

"Dudududu!"

The referee blew the whistle to end the game, and the Pacers at home defeated their opponents 117-108 and won the last game before the All-Star Game.