"Buddy, he got 50 points!"

O'Neal said with a big laugh, now realizing that blindly standing with Tang Tian was the smartest thing he could have done.

Smith nodded with a wry smile.

Although the game wasn't over, Tang Tian's 50 points against Durant's 43 meant he'd take back the scoring title after the game.

Moreover, he still had a chance to break his career high.

Tang Tian's second free throw.

The arena was filled with boos.

Tang Tian adjusted his breathing before shooting again.

"Swish!"

The second free throw went in too!

The Pelicans took a 3-point lead!

The Thunder were out of timeouts and inbounded the ball from the backcourt directly.

Westbrook quickly dribbled the ball to the frontcourt.

Durant came off a screen to receive the ball, but Tang Tian was guarding him closely, and he didn't have a direct shot opportunity.

The other Thunder players spread out, and Durant dribbled, looking for space to shoot.

Tang Tian defended smartly, applying pressure from the side and forcing Durant towards the sideline.

He knew it would be hard to block Durant's shot because of his height, but he also knew that Durant's shooting percentage from the two 45-degree angles was far worse than at the top of the arc.

Durant was forced to the sideline, and with time running out and no good opportunity, he chose to take a step-back three-pointer.

Tang Tian lunged forward to provide enough interference.

Durant's shot barely cleared Tang Tian's fingertips.

As the ball reached its highest point, the red light beside the court lit up.

Everyone in the arena held their breath.

A critical shot, either it goes in and it's overtime, or it misses and they lose!

The ball seemed to rotate through a long century in the air.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, the three-pointer went in.

Durant's clutch three, in!

Cheers erupted in the arena.

Durant's big heart in the critical moment!

The two teams would head to overtime!

This game was thrilling!

Durant was also very excited after scoring, roaring at the sideline before turning back and giving Tang Tian a death stare!

You want to take the victory from me? Not that easy!

I said I'd beat you, and I will, even if it takes overtime!

For my brothers, for Scarlett, for my dignity, I'm determined to win!

"Beep! Beep!"

But just then, the referee's whistle suddenly blew.

Williams was communicating with the referee very excitedly, gesturing towards the sideline.

It turned out he was saying that Durant had stepped on the line on the last shot.

The three referees talked and went to the technical table to watch the replay.

The cheers in the arena turned into restless noise.

Because time had expired after Durant's shot, if he stepped on the line, the shot wouldn't count, and the Thunder would lose.

The LED screen in the arena began replaying the shot.

When it replayed to 1 second and 24 frames, Durant's foot was clearly out of bounds!

His foot was too big!

After confirming, the head referee signaled to the home crowd that the basket was invalid.

The arena erupted.

Because Durant's foot was too big, the Thunder lost!

Durant took out his mouthpiece and looked at the big screen with a stunned expression.

The ups and downs of life were too stimulating!

But that was the result.

The Pelicans defeated the Thunder 111-108!

Westbrook had 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, Ibaka had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks, Reggie Jackson had 15 points and 3 assists, and Adams had 4 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Durant had 43 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists, but he failed to help the Thunder win, ultimately digging a hole and jumping into it himself!

Moreover, he lost the scoring title!

Davis had 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks, Holiday had 12 points and 5 assists, Whiteside had 4 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 5 fouls, and Roberts had 6 points and 6 assists.

Tang Tian had 51 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block!

He got the first 50+ of his career!

And it was against a strong team like the Thunder!

As soon as the game ended, fans on social media exploded!

"No, I'm in good shape, I'll get the scoring title, and even if he comes back, I'll easily beat him and win the game."

"Haha, buddy, what do you mean by posting Durant's original words?"

"Loser missile! More money warning!"

"Tang is really tough, Durant got 43 points, but Tang got the first 50+ of his career!"

"It's not that our army isn't strong, it's that the enemy has a Gundam!"

"This game is very valuable for the Pelicans, when Tang doesn't expend energy on the defensive end, he can score very high on the offensive end!"

"So, after this game, Tang has secured the scoring title?"

"Cool! And the Pelicans have moved up to eighth in the West after this game, if they keep playing like this, I think it's not just the scoring title, but competing for MVP!"

"Haha, Tang is already competing for the scoring title and MVP in his third year, I wonder how big Buford's psychological shadow is!"

"Buford: Am I that handsome? Worth you guys thinking about me every day!"

……

While fans were hotly debating on social media, Williams was full of praise for Tang Tian's performance at the post-game press conference.

"He's our MVP, he had a crazy game, I don't know what words to use to describe it, but he dominated the court tonight."

Not only Williams, but the cute Davis seemed to have figured it out tonight too.

"He's our leader, he leads us to win games, I don't have to score high and still not be able to lead the team to victory like I used to."

The straightforward translation of this sentence is, no more empty stats!

Tang Tian's arrival finally allowed him to hand over his position as the leader of the empty stats group!

"Tang, you led the Pelicans to win the game, responding well to Kevin Durant's previous remarks, do you have anything to say?"

The reporters were never afraid of excitement, after asking Williams and Davis, when they asked Tang Tian, they were clearly trying to stir things up.

Tang Tian smiled after hearing this, he knew what the reporters wanted to hear, and usually he might just reply casually, but the other party was Durant.

"I'm just a system player."

Tang Tian said.

After he finished speaking, all the reporters below burst out laughing.

Durant's comment about Tang Tian being a system player during last year's offseason was supported by fans, but as Tang Tian's performance became more and more eye-catching, it became more and more like a joke.

Tang Tian's self-deprecating remark was in line with the trend of the times, and also狠狠地 (hěn hěn de - ruthlessly) roasted Durant!

The Pelicans' press conference was full of laughter and praise, but the home team's press conference on the other side was a bit dull.

Especially when Durant said a lot of harsh words, but ended up losing the game.

The reporters knew Durant's sensitive personality and were very careful when asking questions.

"Losing the game makes you feel bad, but it's not really important, it's just a regular season game, if it's a playoff series, we can still easily win."

Towards the end of the press conference, Durant seemed to have figured it out and spoke directly into the microphone.

This was because the previous words hadn't been fulfilled, so he changed to a new one.

But this time, fans thought this was right.

The Thunder were now competing for the top two in the West, and the Pelicans had just entered the top eight, and the difference in record between them and the seventh-placed Grizzlies was quite large.

The possibility of the two teams meeting in the playoffs was indeed quite high.

The randomness of one game was relatively large, after all, Tang Tian couldn't score 50+ every game, let alone in the playoffs.

So in a series, the Thunder's chances of winning were indeed much greater.

Tang Tian finished the press conference and returned to the locker room, his teammates hadn't left yet.

When he came in, they all shouted at him one after another.

The effect of Tang Tian giving away a Ferrari before could last a whole season.

And not only on the court, but his status off the court was also quite high.

The celebration in the locker room lasted for a while before Whiteside came back late.

He seemed to be late again.

After he came in, he went directly to Tang Tian and sat down.

Tang Tian initially thought he was coming to thank him, but seeing the angry expression on his face, it didn't seem right.

"I just listened to the Thunder's post-game press conference outside the door."

As soon as Whiteside opened his mouth, Tang Tian knew the reason for his lateness.

This guy had gone to eavesdrop on the Thunder's press conference.

Whiteside angrily told Tang Tian what he had heard.

"If it wasn't because I was in Oklahoma, and that guy was talking so arrogantly, I would have rushed in and fought him!"

Tang Tian couldn't help but laugh after hearing this.

Whiteside was really a simple fool, his emotions fluctuated so much, no wonder he got into fights with people in the Development League, and no wonder he was considered a troublemaker.

But this kind of person was very real, saying whatever was on his mind, and was worth making friends with.

"Yeah! Yeah! He's Kevin 'Can Only Bicker' Durant..."

Metta World Peace had already started his new rap.

Including the last time "Missing a Durant who likes to drink Black Widow's bathwater," Durant was really constantly adding new material to Metta World Peace's rap career.

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before Metta World Peace could release a new album!

ps: Congratulations to sofia若冰 (Ruobing) for becoming the 8th Alliance Master of this book!! (Remember to join the full subscription group, big shot)