In the final two minutes of the second quarter, the Pacers trailed by four points. Although trailing by 4 points, the Pacers and Lakers played back and forth today, and they did not fall behind at all. The reason why he is slightly behind is entirely because Kobe's individual performance today is really terrible.

Henson still remembers the game last season when he played the Lakers, and Kobe Bryant scored 40+ points. The performance of the rest of the Lakers players in that game was actually not great, but it was precisely because of the terrifying play of Kobe, a superstar, that he almost single-handedly controlled the game.

Thankfully, Henson has got his own superstar this season. Chris. Paul made Bryant have to spend more time on the defensive end, which somewhat reduced Bryant's firepower on the offensive end.

But at this time, when Paul and Matthews both went off the court, and Stephenson had to be in the No. 1 position, Kobe Bryant knew that the time had come for him to kill!

Although it was only two minutes, combined with the 4-point advantage he has now, Kobe Bryant only needs to seize the opportunity, which is enough for the Lakers to open up a little score before halftime! Therefore, for these two minutes, Kobe Bryant is gearing up!

"Coach Henson called a timeout in the final two minutes of the half, and it was clear that he needed to make some personnel changes for Kobe. It seems that the Lakers will have to use Stephenson to play against Kobe. ”

Jay. As soon as Rose finished speaking, a young black guard with a small head walked onto the court. And Hinrich, who was wearing goggles, was still sitting on the bench gracefully.

Rose pouted, he was about to slap his face in this game.

"Coach Henson has been replaced by ......" Mike. Brin didn't call out the player's name, so he hurriedly flipped through the information at hand, "Replaced by Jimmy. Butler, last year's No. 30 rookie in the first round. Originally drafted by the Bulls, the Pacers used veteran Deng Tai. Jones traded it to Indianapolis. ”

Mike. After Brin finished speaking, Jay. Ross is also kind of a pair of Jimmy. Butler had a preliminary understanding.

"In the previous game, Jimmy. Butler played only 10 minutes in total, averaging 3 minutes per game, and barely played. I don't know what role Coach Henson sent him today. "Mike. Brin is looking forward to it, because every time Henson makes a seemingly unreasonable substitution choice, it can achieve miraculous results!

"Why didn't you put on Hinrich? He played well today! What does Coach Henson want to do? Now is not the time to train newcomers! "Jay. Ross was expecting the opposite of Brin, who was expecting Henson to be embarrassed.

In fact, Henson was going to try Jimmy. Butler wasn't whimsical. Hinrich's performance this season is indeed mediocre, but to be honest, this white guard, this member of the '03 Super Platinum Generation, a tough point guard who was selected for the Dream Team in '06, was once known as the "Wade Terminator". The current state is actually much worse than before.

He is not known for his physical fitness, but mainly for his outstanding defensive awareness. But as he got older, his speed and lateral footsteps became slower. Therefore, the current Hinrich's defense can only be said to be decent, far from outstanding.

If Bryant deliberately found the wrong place to play Hinrich, it was really only a matter of being slaughtered.

So, Henson needed to do something different. In the last two minutes, even if Butler was blown up by Kobe, the Lakers would not be able to stretch the difference too far in a short period of time. But what if Butler could show something different? No matter how good a newcomer is, he always needs an opportunity to show it.

Kobe Bryant couldn't help but be stunned when he saw the guy who couldn't be named on the court. For some reason, he felt that the guy seemed to look a little like Jordan when he was younger.

For Jimmy. Butler, the Lakers are not prepared and have not studied. What this guy can and can't do is completely unknown.

After all, not all coaches know everything about a late-first-round rookie. Not all coaches want Henson, and you can get a rough idea of what this player can do at a glance.

On his first offense after returning from a timeout, Henson arranged for Butler to intersperse runs from beyond the three-point line. Bryant had to cling to Butler, which naturally eased the pressure on Stephenson's defense.

In fact, Butler won't shoot three-pointers at all, but at this moment, Kobe Bryant doesn't dare to bet on that unknown. Henson's trick of pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger is taking advantage of the Lakers' Butler's ignorance. Let a player who has no three-point ability keep looking for opportunities outside the three-point line, and it is estimated that only Henson can do it.

Butler ripped off Kobe, Stephenson's creative ball-holding point broke through to attract the defense and then assisted Horford with a very deliberate back pass to score with both hands, although Stephenson's back pass was a little too showy, but since the assist was completed, Henson did not criticize him.

A balance must be found between a player's personality and discipline, and this is the rule that Henson has always followed. Too much emphasis on discipline is killing the talent of the players. But showing your personality and style too much will undoubtedly mess up the team's system.

So Henson adds a little bit of a personal touch to the players while they follow their own tactics, and Henson generally doesn't object to that.

At 1 minute and 36 seconds, the Lakers led by 2 points, and Kobe Bryant attacked.

Stephenson is Kobe's No. 1 defensive point, although this guy is only a sophomore, his psychological quality is already so strong that Kobe Bryant is not nervous at all.

"Stephenson was very tough defensively and had a good attitude." Mike. As soon as Brin finished speaking, he realized that it seemed like a nonsense. Because you can use that phrase to describe almost all of the Pacers' outside players.

Bryant didn't play with Stephenson, he called Fischer's backup, Darius. Morris gave himself a cover in order to switch positions to play the little-known rookie.

Kobe Bryant was just about to break through, but he found that he was under great pressure and pressure! The rookie's defense isn't a sudden disintegration, it's a rock solid!

Soon, though, Bryant adjusted his offensive approach. His back-to-back offense left Butler at a loss, and he eventually fooled Butler with a simple shoulder flick before scoring on a jumper.

"What am I talking about!? Coach Henson is chronically suicidal! "See Kobe Bryant score, Jalen. Rose immediately complained.

It's as if with Hinrich, Kobe Bryant couldn't score that goal just now.

"It's okay, it's okay, steady, Stephenson, steady!" Henson immediately clapped his hands, keeping the players' attention focused on themselves.

Although Kobe Bryant scored, Butler's defense still satisfied Henson. The most important thing now is not to be impatient and not to let the Lakers fight back.

Stephenson also put away the previous joke and took the game seriously. This time, Kobe Bryant personally defended Stephenson, and Finson did not hesitate and hoisted the ball to Horford, he would not be stupid enough to go head-to-head with Kobe.

Horford sideways to the basket and struck a pass to the ground with Gasol close on the heels. The "three-point shooter" suddenly cut in and shook off Darius. Morris, receiving the basketball directly jumps to attack the frame!

Fortunately, Murphy blocked it in time, which didn't allow Butler to score directly. But of course, it was inevitable that he would be sent to the free throw line.

"What's going on!?" Kobe Bryant Chongdallius. Morris spread his hands, visibly unhappy with his defense. Why did I just leave, and that guy created a scoring chance!

Morris looked helpless, who would have thought that Horford would make such a beautiful pass. In fact, it was he who underestimated the speed at which Butler was launched.

At the free-throw line, Jimmy. Butler made 1 of 2 free throws. The Lakers only led by three points, with each side having one more offensive chance.

After that, Bryant personally dribbled across the half court and instructed his teammates to open up space for himself. In fact, Kobe Bryant is a star who doesn't need possession, all he needs is shots.

But Fischer wasn't there, and he really didn't want to let Darius . Morris, that first-year rookie ball control.

This time, the Pacers' defensive strategy has changed again. Stephenson stood next to Ci Shiping, and Leonard switched to Kobe.

Wheel Wars, which Henson favorites.

Kobe Bryant was already sweating profusely at this time, and the continuous battle in the second quarter made him no longer energetic. And Leonard, who came off the bench, was full of energy today.

Kobe Bryant is ready to continue to play with his back to the singles, which is the most energy-saving way. But this time, just as Kobe was about to turn over and jump after shaking his shoulders, a black shadow rushed over, raised his arms and made up for Kobe's defense!

Faced with the interference of two pairs of long arms, even Kobe Bryant couldn't hit the shot. The key offense hit the iron, and the Pacers got a chance to equalize!

And it was none other than Jimmy who completed the defense in time. Butler! In fact, Butler's arms are not long, and his arm span is only 1 cm more than his height. It's just that his active defense and smart stance gave Kobe Bryant great pressure, thus creating the illusion that "this guy's hands are really long".

At this point, there were 23 seconds left in the half. On the court, neither Butler nor Leonard could shoot, so Stephenson became addicted to being a star.

Under Kobe's entanglement, Stephenson changed hands under his crotch continuously, as if he wanted to play this last attack!

In the last 5 seconds, Yi Jianlian and Horford double-blocked and dismantled, and Stephenson immediately broke through and threw off Kobe. Facing Darius. Morris's hesitant defense, Stephenson jumped directly from the three-point line, leaning forward, so that Morris didn't dare to jump at all!

This kind of leaning forward shooting, you touch it is a foul!

Buzzer, red light on, basketball into the net, whistle three points!

“Bang！ Three points at the whistle! Reims. Stephenson, his superstar last shot helped the Pacers equalize the score! In the last two minutes, Coach Henson used the second lineup to successfully pull the two sides to the same running line! Hahahaha, fantastic Henson, he always seems to know what his players can do when they come on the field! ”

Mike. Brin's excited shouts added color to the whistle kick, and Stephenson flexed his arm muscles on the pitch before sticking out his tongue in an exaggerated manner. There are not many people who dare to be so arrogant in front of Kobe, and Stephenson is one of them.

At halftime, Henson was also on the sidelines for an interview with reporters.

"Jay. Rose thinks you're sending Jimmy in the last two minutes. Butler was very risky, what do you think of this substitution? ”

"Jay. Ross? Oh, I remember who he is. My substitution wasn't risky at all, because not everyone was going to let Kobe score 81 points. ”

Henson's "critical hit" almost knocked Jalen Brown. Ross KO on the commentary stage.