He saw the Thunder starting their starters early, so Popovich got up and called Green and Parker over, replacing Tang Tian and Ginobili.

Thanks to Tang Tian's strong performance against Jackson, the Spurs held their own in the first half, with the two sides tied at 45 at halftime.

In the second half, Parker, who hadn't played much in the first half, exploded, and his continuous fast break layups and floaters directly helped the Spurs build a double-digit lead.

Although Durant hit consecutive mid- and long-range shots to help the home team chase points, Duncan and Ginobili's stable output still allowed the Spurs to have the last laugh with a score of 95 to 90.

Durant had a game-high 32 points, and Westbrook also had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, but Harden played poorly and only scored 8 points and 5 assists.

For the Spurs, Parker had a team-high 23 points and 7 assists, Duncan had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Ginobili had 15 points and 5 assists, and Blair had 12 points and 6 rebounds.

Tang Tian also got a chance to play again in the second half, getting a chance outside the three-point line and scoring another goal, playing 10 minutes in the game, 2 of 2 shots, getting 6 points, 1 rebound, and 4 steals, performing quite efficiently.

The Spurs' locker room was filled with laughter after the game.

"Good job, if you play this well again, the old man might let you start," Ginobili said, putting his arm around Tang Tian's shoulder and talking trash.

"If I start, I'll treat the whole team to pizza," Tang Tian responded with trash talk as well.

Just then, Tang Tian felt someone touch his head, and when he looked back, it was Duncan, looking at him with a kind face.

This guy didn't touch Parker enough during the game, so he ran over to touch him!

With a successful start, the Spurs had a very good start to the lockout season.

With the joy of victory, the Spurs returned to San Antonio. Their second preseason game was against the Pistons.

There were four days of rest in between, and because of the win, the atmosphere during team training was very harmonious.

Popovich also took the time to let Tang Tian and the others adapt to the tactics. After training that day, he had Budenholzer pull them into the office alone to cram on tactics.

In the locker room, Parker, Duncan, and Ginobili were in the shower room in three rows.

Jefferson finished showering early and suddenly said, "We haven't prepared gifts for the rookies this year, have we?"

His words immediately drew a chorus of whistles from the other teammates.

There is an unwritten rule in the NBA that rookies will be pranked by veteran players when they arrive at the team. The most famous is Arenas, who once soaked rookie Andray Blatche's clothes and shoes in the bathtub, and later even put a pile of shit in his sneakers.

Of course, that's just an extreme case. The usual pranks are nothing more than asking rookies to buy them donuts or burgers, or asking rookies to carry bags for the veteran players.

Although the Spurs have a better team atmosphere, they can't avoid this kind of thing. Parker used to carry bags for Duncan and David Robinson.

This has become a custom in the NBA, and even an experience.

"Let them buy us donuts," Blair said. Donuts are a food that all Americans love to eat.

"Yes, a great suggestion. I want to eat donuts bought for me by 'The Godfather'," Ginobili said as he finished showering and came out, speaking directly.

His words immediately drew laughter from the locker room.

"No, no, that's too boring. James (Anderson) bought us donuts last year," Jefferson shook his head and said.

"What do you suggest?" Ginobili asked, looking at Jefferson.

"I saw that Tang drove to training. How about filling his car with popcorn?" Jefferson said.

As soon as he said this, there was another chorus of whistles in the locker room. The popcorn trick is almost every team's favorite.

"No, Richard, that's not fair. Leonard and Joseph don't have cars," Green reminded.

"That's even more reason to do it. He bought a car in his first year," Jefferson continued.

His words also drew agreement from his teammates. Many NBA players come from poor families, and it's easy to be envied when Tang Tian buys a car in his first year as a rookie.

"How about carrying bags? That way everyone gets a share," Green suggested.

"Danny, that won't work, we've already decided," Jefferson directly rejected Green.

"Popcorn! Popcorn!" The players started to make noise in the locker room.

Ginobili could only shake his head with a wry smile. It seemed that Tang Tian's new car was going to suffer.

Green had the best relationship with Tang Tian. Jefferson originally wanted him to go, but Green refused. Ginobili also said that he wasn't interested, so Jefferson had to go himself.

The next day, Tang Tian had just arrived in the locker room to change into his training clothes when Jefferson walked over to him.

"Tang, my car has a problem. I have something urgent to do. Can I borrow your car?" Jefferson said as he walked over.

Tang Tian was stunned when he heard this. Jefferson's attitude towards him had been very cold before, so why was he suddenly asking to borrow his car?

If you were to talk about relationships, everyone else on the Spurs had a better relationship with each other than they did.

He glanced at his eyes and realized that the other teammates were all looking at him.

He was a coach in his previous life, so he quickly understood what Jefferson was trying to do. Was this a rookie prank?

He had seen a lot of this kind of thing when he was coaching. If he borrowed the car, would they fill it with popcorn?

He didn't actually object to pranks. If it was Green or Ginobili, he might have given them the keys even if he knew, because this kind of thing, in a sense, is conducive to the team atmosphere. And in his case, at most, he would just take the car to get it washed.

But Jefferson, he didn't have a good impression of him before, and he didn't want to give him that face.

"My car forgot to get gas," Tang Tian replied.

As soon as he said this, there was a chorus of boos in the locker room. It was obvious that they despised Jefferson's failure.

Leonard and Joseph looked confused. They didn't know what had just happened.

Jefferson's face didn't look too good. He couldn't even complete the prank, and he felt embarrassed.

"Richard, let them carry bags," Green said as he stood up.

Jefferson didn't move.

"Okay, Richard, training is about to start, the old man will be here soon," Ginobili also said.

Jefferson heard Ginobili speak, and then sat back down somewhat unhappily.

"What carry bags?" Joseph asked in confusion at this time.

"Kid, you'll know after training," Ginobili went over and patted him on the shoulder.

The locker room was filled with laughter again. Most of them didn't really care what method they used. The main thing about pranks is to get it done, and the focus is on the process and the sense of ritual.

ps: 10 guaranteed updates completed! Asking for guaranteed monthly tickets!!