Chapter 549 Partnership

After the opening ceremony, the two teams' starters came onto the court one after another.

The Pelicans' side was the regular lineup, with the only change being Jokic replacing Whiteside in the starting lineup.

For the Knicks, the guards were Calderon and Tim Hardaway Jr., the forwards were Anthony and Bargnani, and the center was Howard.

Howard won the jump ball against Davis, giving the Knicks the first chance to attack.

Calderon dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Howard in the low post for a one-on-one.

Howard was playing at a level this season for the Knicks that was second only to his peak years with the Magic.

Besides a good recovery from his back injury, the more important point was that he had more ball possession and was enjoying the game more.

He muscled Jokic to the basket and attempted a turnaround hook shot.

A straight up and down, clumsy hook shot; his technique was still rough, and the basketball bounced off the edge of the rim.

But Jokic hadn't finished his weight loss and muscle gain, and was at a disadvantage in every aspect when facing Howard.

Howard overpowered Jokic, grabbed the offensive rebound, and scored with a second chance put-back.

The fans at the sidelines stirred.

Jokic's defense was quite a bit worse than Whiteside's.

Sure enough, Whiteside's absence had a big impact on the Pelicans.

But Jokic didn't show any emotional fluctuations because of one failed defensive play.

Just like Tang Tian knew before, even though he looked soft and white, his on-court demeanor was very tough.

The Pelicans advanced to the frontcourt, and as soon as Tang Tian got the ball, Hardaway defended him closely, and Anthony on the weak side came over to double-team.

Tang Tian had three straight 50+ point games before the All-Star break, so this kind of defensive treatment was already standard for him.

He passed the ball to Ariza.

The Knicks rotated their help defense quickly, and Ariza didn't have a chance to shoot, so he passed the ball back to Tang Tian.

After Tang Tian received the ball, he changed direction and broke through, and when he saw Anthony coming over to help defend again, he turned around in the opposite direction and faded away for a shot.

The ball hit the front of the rim, bounced a few times, and then rolled in.

That ball was a lucky one.

Anthony got the ball in the frontcourt, signaled to spread out, and then passed the ball to Howard again.

Woodson wasn't a coach who was good at offense, but he was pretty good at exploiting the weaknesses of the opponent's lineup.

Howard continued to try to overpower Jokic, turning around for a bank shot.

But Davis showed his talent, quickly helping defend at the basket, and blocking Howard's shot with a big block, and then grabbing the defensive rebound.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Davis's talent was really strong.

The Pelicans went to the frontcourt, Tang Tian continued to attack with the ball, a step-over change of direction, and then a contested jump shot against the help defense of Anthony.

"Clang!"

The basketball bounced off the rim, and Howard jumped high to grab the rebound.

After two possessions, Tang Tian already knew that his touch wasn't good, and this kind of forceful attack wasn't very effective.

The Knicks advanced to the frontcourt, this time with Calderon handling the ball, Anthony ran a play and came out, catching a pass and shooting.

"Swish!"

The basketball went in cleanly.

4 to 2, the Knicks' strength was indeed stronger than when the two sides first played each other after their integration.

Holiday brought the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Tang Tian, who directly passed it to Jokic, signaling him to orchestrate the offense.

When your touch isn't good, changing the offensive style is a good choice.

Ariza pulled to the baseline, and Tang Tian and Davis cut to the basket from both sides.

The Knicks collapsed their defense.

Tang Tian ran back to the high post.

At this moment, the Knicks' weakness was exposed.

Their on-court lineup had average defense, and even without Woodson's system, Anthony's defense was average, and Calderon and Bargnani were defensive black holes.

This time, it was obviously slow to collapse back out.

Jokic was very quick, passing the ball to Tang Tian at the first opportunity.

Tang Tian caught the ball and had a great opportunity, a contested jump shot.

"Swish!"

The basketball went in cleanly.

Talking about touch without considering defensive intensity is nonsense. Tang Tian's poor touch was under high-intensity defense, and he was still sure to make this kind of almost-wide-open shot.

He single-handedly scored the team's first 4 points.

After the goal, he pointed at Jokic.

The Pelicans' starting lineup was almost perfect, but they lacked a second playmaker to help Tang Tian share the pressure.

Holiday and Davis were both a little short, and Jokic's pass just now was just right.

The last time the two paired up was when they played the Rockets, when Tang Tian made a very comfortable three-pointer.

Including this one, the chemistry between the two was really immediate.

The Knicks ran another play in the frontcourt, but this time Ariza followed closely, not giving Anthony an easy shooting opportunity.

Anthony received the ball and signaled to spread out, the play turned into a one-on-one.

After continuous post-ups, he turned around and probed, but Ariza stayed tight on defense.

But Anthony suddenly did a washing machine spin, turning over and shooting.

"Swish!"

The basketball went in after being released.

After losing weight this season, the effect of his knee injury on Anthony has become lighter, and he has become the omnipotent offensive kaleidoscope of the past.

6 to 4, the Knicks were in great shape tonight, they really came for revenge.

Holiday dribbled to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Jokic to orchestrate.

Tang Tian accelerated to get rid of Hardaway and cut to the basket.

Jokic made a beautiful bounce pass.

Tang Tian caught the ball and went to the basket.

The Knicks quickly collapsed their defense.

Howard also quickly retreated to the basket.

Tang Tian's strength was good, but it also depended on who he was facing, and there was definitely no advantage in facing Howard head-on.

He looked back at the moon, and threw the ball directly to the arc.

Jokic had landed on the three-point line at the arc as soon as he passed the ball.

Because Jokic had been playing as a substitute before, this kind of positioning was not a tactical arrangement, but completely Jokic's own awareness and judgment.

The ball was delivered accurately to Jokic's hand, Howard couldn't get out, and Jokic raised his hand and shot a three-pointer.

The trajectory of the ball was very high, but the parabola looked very straight.

"Swish!"

His first shot hit!

7 to 6, the Pelicans were back in the lead!

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Jokic gave Tang Tian a wonderful pass, and in the next round Tang Tian immediately returned the favor.

Anthony's sudden stop jump shot missed, and Howard grabbed the offensive rebound, drawing a defensive foul on Jokic.

He missed both free throws, and Jokic protected the defensive rebound.

In the frontcourt, Davis and Tang Tian's movement distracted the Knicks' main defensive attention.

Jokic turned around to the basket, faked a layup to fool Howard, and turned around to easily put the ball into the basket.

Although he was at a disadvantage in the confrontation with Howard on the defensive end, he played very confidently and effectively on the offensive end.

With more than 9 minutes gone in the first quarter, the Pelicans led the Knicks 30 to 21.

Jokic and Tang Tian were both substituted to rest.

Tang Tian had 10 points and 3 assists, and Jokic had 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Of their three assists each, two were passes to each other.

The chemistry between the two was not only immediate, but it was like adding a catalyst, coming quickly and violently!

ps: I am not a very powerful person, just an ordinary person, like you, sometimes my mentality will also fluctuate and rise and fall, but I will try my best to ensure the quality, I will try to keep my mentality calm, and continue to move towards the goal of 3 million words, thank you to everyone who is still supporting me, everyone gets a kiss, love you.