Chapter 1 The Revenge War

The three matchups already set for the second round had the Pelicans and Spurs game drawing significant attention.

That's the magic of the NBA, just like its slogan says, where amazing happens.

The Pelicans successfully avenged their loss to the Grizzlies in the first round, and now Tang Tian would face his own revenge match in the second round.

Time allows the truth to slowly surface. After the past two years, the truth about why the Spurs gave up on Tang Tian has gradually emerged.

So, whether Tang Tian wants it or not, this is his revenge match.

And this is also the part that fans and the media love the most.

A superstar abandoned by his original team, facing them in the playoffs, and if successful, breaking the dream of his former team's dynasty.

There's no better script than this.

Of course, that's on the premise that the Pelicans can actually win, otherwise Tang Tian will become the best background character.

That ending would be a different story altogether.

The Pelicans and Spurs game was in two days.

The Pelicans' advantage of grabbing the second seed in the regular season was apparent. They could still wait at ease in New Orleans for the Spurs to come to their door.

While they were preparing, the Rockets and Clippers' Game 7 also ended.

Somewhat similar to the Pelicans' previous game against the Grizzlies, after losing the sixth game, the Clippers' momentum was gone. They were completely defeated by the Rockets in Game 7.

With that, the Rockets became the 9th team to ultimately achieve a comeback after being down 1-3.

They would also face the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals.

All four semi-final matchups were out, with the Spurs and Pelicans, and Cavaliers and Knicks games starting first.

The New Orleans Arena was packed, with fans looking even more excited than they did in the first round.

The Pelicans had become stronger and more stable after experiencing the first round. Even in the playoffs, they had the ability to go toe-to-toe with the Spurs.

Moreover, according to pre-game news, Jokic would also be making his comeback in this game.

This gave them even more confidence in the game.

At the start of the game, Tang Tian and Davis continued their excellent performance from the first round, leading the Pelicans to a 27-21 lead over the Spurs in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Jokic came on as a substitute, drawing cheers from the fans at the scene.

After having a remarkable rookie season, the fans had very high expectations for him.

After Jokic came on, he missed an open three-pointer, and then was called for a foul on the defensive end by Diaw for 2+1, his condition didn't seem very good.

However, he quickly adjusted his state, first assisting Dinwiddie to score a layup, and then blocking Ginobili's drive on the defensive end.

And the second time, he seized the opportunity, receiving a pass from Dinwiddie and hitting an open three-pointer at the arc.

Tang Tian was delighted when he saw this.

Previously in Memphis, he saw Jokic's touch wasn't good when he was doing extra practice in the gym, and he was worried that he wouldn't be able to find his accuracy after his comeback.

But now it seemed that Jokic's ability to adjust was even better than he had imagined.

He found his feel in just a few possessions.

But back on the defensive end, he was called for a foul on a layup by Ginobili.

This was already his second foul of the quarter.

Tang Tian turned his head and looked at Popovich standing on the other side of the court. The old man was ruthless and showed no mercy.

Jokic played for more than 4 minutes in this quarter, scoring 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 fouls, which was a very good performance.

The help he brought to the Pelicans during the bench period was still very obvious.

After the first half, the Pelicans led the Spurs by 9 points with a score of 55-46.

If they continued to play at this pace, their hope of winning the first game was very high.

The home commentators were also optimistic, believing that the Pelicans would continue their excellent form from the first round and get off to a good start.

However, in the second half, problems arose in the Pelicans' interior, and the person who had problems was Whiteside.

It wasn't that he had foul problems like in previous games, but he was playing very impatiently, wanting to attack as soon as he got the ball, and the same on the defensive end.

He even showed a performance of losing his defensive position because he wanted to block shots.

This allowed the Spurs to seize the opportunity, catching up with the score in one wave and eventually reversing the Pelicans 103-99 to take the game.

Tang Tian and Davis both played normally, the former with 29 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, and the latter with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jokic also had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Whiteside's stats were also good, with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.

But fans and Pelicans players who had watched the game knew that Whiteside had played very poorly in the second half of this game, with various mispositions and forced attacks.

As long as he played a little better, the Pelicans would basically be able to win the game.

Speaking of which, Jokic played well, and Whiteside's performance was poor. The two really seemed to be incompatible.

After being reversed, the atmosphere in the Pelicans' locker room was very depressing after the game.

This kind of game that could obviously be won but was lost was really frustrating.

Everyone knew who was responsible, but they also knew Whiteside's personality, and no one could speak up.

Tang Tian called Whiteside and took him outside the locker room.

"Hassan, you need to play more patiently, have you forgotten what I told you, the first priority of a center is to protect the rim? A few blocks don't matter."

Tang Tian began to say in a calm tone.

Whiteside nodded, but didn't seem to care too much.

Seeing his attitude, Tang Tian's tone became more serious.

"Have you forgotten what you said, to earn a big contract for yourself next year, and then buy a super big house that can accommodate your family?"

Tang Tian said something that Whiteside cared about.

"I know that."

Whiteside seemed a little impatient.

Tang Tian had told him these words too many times.

And what he was doing was what Tang Tian said, he just couldn't say it out loud.

If he wanted a big contract, he definitely needed good stats, and the block stats were the most representative of his role.

But the Spurs played very reasonably, and there were very few strong drives to the basket. He couldn't get them at all without taking some risks.

Not to mention that Jokic played so well after his comeback, which put even more pressure on him.

Seeing Whiteside's reaction, Tang Tian frowned.

He wasn't angry anymore, but a little disappointed.

Whiteside used to listen to him very much, but now that his wings were hardened, he began to have his own ideas.

Actually, even if Whiteside didn't say it, Tang Tian knew what he was thinking.

He really wanted to give this guy a tap on the head.

This guy's brain wasn't working well, he really thought that the general managers of other teams were fools, the stats he padded and the stats he actually played, it was all clear in the footage.

"Hassan, put away those damn distractions, we're playing in the playoffs, if you still want to continue playing."

Tang Tian finally said harshly.

The Pelicans lost their home court advantage by losing the first game. The Pelicans and Spurs were close in strength. If Whiteside continued to play like this, all their efforts in the season would be wasted.