At this point, the Trail Blazers did not want to lose.
Between a 20-game and a 30-game winning streak, it’s the easiest time to stumble and lose.
Once they pass the 30-game winning mark, the team gets past that fatigue "peak" and starts to move more freely.
This match is a crucial moment; if they overcome it, they could reach even greater heights.
If they can’t get through it, the streak will end, and everything will become history.
The Trail Blazers do not want to become history; they want to create history.
With the jump ball between Sabonis and Rick Smits, the game began.
Smits tipped the ball to Mark Jackson, and the Pacers started their first possession.
The Pacers’ starters are Rick Smits, Mark Jackson, Reggie Miller, Dale Davis, and Mario Ely.
No difference compared to last season, but the Pacers have a very deep bench.
The bench includes talented players like Antonio Davis, Jalen Rose, and Travis Best.
Their offense and defense are very balanced; under Adelman’s guidance, their overall team combat power is strong.
They made thorough preparations for this game, and the Pacers quickly scored with smooth offense at the start.
First, Rick Smits cut to the basket, facing Ah Gan’s help defense, calmly passing the ball to Dale Davis.
Davis received the pass and then passed it to Miller, who was cutting to the wing. Miller caught it and made a mid-range jumper.
This play showcased the Pacers’ superb teamwork, successfully evading Ah Gan’s defense.
Normally, Smits receives the ball, Gan Guoyang covers, Smits passes to Davis, Davis dunks directly.
But because Ah Gan was defending, after he helped cover Smits, Smits passed to Davis, and Gan Guoyang could turn and defend both.
If Davis forced a dunk or layup, he would face a solid block; only Gan Guoyang in the whole league could defend like this.
The Pacers went deeper into the tactics to avoid Gan Guoyang’s one-against-two ability, passing to the weak side for Miller to finish.
For this, Miller, who was still on the strong side stretching space, had to run a long way to the weak side, working hard for a shooting opportunity.
Tiring? Yes, but worth it.
Clearly, the Pacers’ coaching staff knew Gan Guoyang very well.
What seemed like a successful tactic was actually a trap set by Ah Gan.
They needed to take an extra step to bypass this hidden trap and score.
From the start, the Pacers adhered to this rule: "take an extra step."
On the opening offensive, the Trail Blazers were somewhat unclear on their focus. Gan Guoyang was prematurely double-teamed by the Pacers, but they did it so cleverly, being the home team, no foul was called.
Mu Lin’s first shot missed.
The Pacers collected the defensive rebound, and Miller pushed the fast break.
He and Rick Smits repeatedly executed a pick-and-roll at the top of the arc, stretching the Trail Blazers’ defense.
Miller found an opportunity, passed on the ground to Smits, who had the option to shoot mid-range at the top of the arc.
Smits jumped up but still passed in the air, redistributing to Miller who slid to the corner.
Miller caught the ball, with Riddle not closely following, and Miller made a three-pointer!
The Pacers opened with a 5-0 lead, playing very impressively in their first two possessions.
Each time, taking an extra step, when it seems like an opportunity, they passed again to create a better one.
The Trail Blazers felt the pressure; Riddle controlled the ball outside, attempting to overpower Miller with his back, but his turnaround jumper missed.
However, Gan Guoyang grabbed the offensive rebound, laid it in, and scored the team’s first points of the game.
Undoubtedly, the Pacers had a better start; their offense was very smooth, while the Trail Blazers still seemed to be in a trial run.
Smits hit a mid-range shot, Dale Davis grabbed an offensive rebound, passed it out, Mark Jackson drove in for a floater and scored.
On the Trail Blazers’ side, passing became smoother, but outside shooting continued to falter, missing repeatedly, as the Pacers’ defense was stellar.
Soon, the Pacers took a 9-2 lead early on, a 7-point gap, prompting Larry Bird to call a timeout.
The entire arena was jubilant; a good start gave Pacers fans hope of ending the champions’ winning streak.
A ray of light appeared in the darkness.
On the Trail Blazers’ side, everyone remained calm.
This kind of cold start wasn’t the first or second time; it was quite normal.
Usually, the adjustment would be to let Ah Gan attack aggressively, and typically the offense would soon recover.
But Bird didn’t do that during the timeout; he realized that the difficulty of tonight’s game wasn’t the offense but the defense.
The Pacers’ offense felt too smooth; if they continued to play this way, the whole game would be very difficult.
In the first half, it was about finding rhythm; if the Pacers found their rhythm and tactical focus, trouble would come in the second half.
Experienced Bird knew this problem needed to be resolved quickly, so he decisively made adjustments, subbing out the ineffective defender Riddle for Kobe.
Because of Kobe’s defensive abilities, Bird increasingly trusted him, and his playing time increased.
It was only a matter of time before he replaced Riddle as a starter.
Besides subbing Kobe for Riddle, Bird also replaced Sabonis with AC Green.