Chapter 195 One Step

Roberson wasn't guarding Tang Tian for the first time. He saw Tang Tian in a triple threat stance, and he pulled his defensive position back half a step.

Tang Tian took a probing step forward with his right foot, then dribbled the ball back between his legs with his right hand.

He's going to shoot!

That was Roberson's first thought. Tang Tian's pull-up jumper was fast and accurate, and he lunged out directly.

But he was wrong.

After Tang Tian pulled the ball back between his legs, he changed direction to the left, completely blowing past him.

After getting past Roberson, Tang Tian stopped abruptly at the free throw line and shot a pull-up jumper before Kanter could come out from the paint.

"Swish!"

The nearly wide-open shot went in smoothly.

The basket also helped the Pelicans widen the point difference back to double digits.

The crowd was buzzing.

Roberson was blown by Tang Tian in one step!

Roberson's defense had improved a lot this season, averaging 1.9 steals in four games. His individual defense against opposing stars had also been pretty good. He had a chance to compete for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

But just now, he was blown past way too easily.

In fact, Roberson hadn't expected it at all.

His defensive improvement this season wasn't just reflected in his physical reactions. He'd already learned to anticipate his opponents' offensive choices through their initial movements, even through the movements of their shoulders.

But he'd been completely fooled just now.

He shook his head. Although Tang Tian was very strong, there was no way he could be blown past so easily.

He must not have been focused enough.

Kanter was double-teamed by Tang Tian in the paint. He turned to pass the ball to a teammate but made a mistake, passing it out of bounds.

Tang Tian's defensive performance in the third quarter had a significant impact on the opposing players' minds.

These were very subtle things, but they were enough to influence judgment and choices.

Dinwiddie dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Tang Tian again.

The Thunder didn't double-team. Donovan trusted Roberson a lot.

Tang Tian went into a triple threat again.

Roberson stood further back, but he extended his arms to defend Tang Tian's shot.

When Tang Tian saw that, he made a motion to pull up and shoot.

This time, Roberson was sure and lunged forward.

But in the next second, Tang Tian suddenly lowered his body and dribbled, directly attacking Roberson's lower body.

Roberson couldn't retract his hands in time and was blown past by Tang Tian again.

Tang Tian got past Roberson and drove into the paint, squeezing past Kanter, who had come out to defend, and scored with a one-handed layup.

The crowd was in an uproar.

Once was a fluke, twice meant there was a problem. Roberson's defense wouldn't suddenly disappear. Had Tang Tian's one-on-one ability suddenly exploded?

The fans didn't understand, but Durant, sitting on the Thunder's bench, did.

Tang Tian's triple threat had clearly improved.

If it were him, he couldn't do it to that degree.

That was the impact of deception. It was impossible for the defenders to guard against, and Tang Tian could switch offensive modes based on the defenders' actions.

And unlike Anthony, Anthony was probably going to shoot a pull-up jumper seventy or eighty percent of the time after a triple threat.

But Tang Tian's first step was fast enough, and he had more options than Anthony.

Because he had shots and breakthroughs with enough threat, with this connecting skill, Tang Tian's one-on-one ability became somewhat explosive.

Kanter scored a basket with a strong attack in the paint, but Tang Tian blew past Roberson again and scored with a layup.

It was still a 13-point difference.

By this point, Donovan had to admit that Roberson was basically air in front of Tang Tian in one-on-one situations.

Kanter's contested shot in the paint missed, and Biyombo grabbed the rebound.

Tang Tian got to the frontcourt and held the ball again. The Thunder started double-teaming again.

Tang Tian glanced at Bogdanovic, who was open, and raised the ball with his right hand.

Waiters moved back after seeing that, and Roberson moved to the right.

But in the next second, Tang Tian dribbled the ball back with his hand and broke through to the left.

Roberson and Waiters were both fooled!

Tang Tian broke through the defense and drove into the paint before the double-team could form.

Kanter lunged out desperately.

When Tang Tian saw that, he got close to Kanter and made a straight pass to Biyombo under the basket.

Biyombo was completely unguarded, jumped up, and scored with a powerful dunk with both hands.

The difference came to 15 points!

Donovan called a timeout.

Tang Tian had a kind of unstoppable feeling during that stretch.

During the timeout, Durant took the initiative to ask to come on early, and Donovan agreed.

Tang Tian was the main attacker during this stretch, and he definitely wouldn't defend Durant. Putting Durant on would at least stabilize the score.

Sure enough, Donovan's prediction was correct.

After Durant got the ball in the frontcourt, he was being defended by Ariza, who had just come on.

Durant posted up Ariza and turned around for a jump shot.

"Clang!"

However, his first shot after coming on missed.

The Pelicans launched a counterattack, and Dinwiddie made a layup after receiving a pass from Tang Tian.

The point difference was widened back to 17 points!

Durant turned back and continued to attack Ariza, but his breakthrough floater still didn't go in. However, the referee gave him a superstar foul, and he got two free throw opportunities.

The crowd booed loudly. Durant's first free throw hit the rim and bounced out.

You could see from these things that his condition wasn't good after coming back.

This was also reasonable.

His touch was completely gone after being defended by Tang Tian in the third quarter. Even if he was a superstar, it was impossible for him to find his touch again after sitting on the bench for a few minutes.

Even if the person defending him was changed to Ariza, he still needed time to find his touch.

Dinwiddie continued to give the ball to Tang Tian in the frontcourt. Tang Tian once again fooled Roberson and broke through to the inside. Durant came over to help defend.

Tang Tian faked a layup to fool Durant.

Durant was a little slow to react and reached out to pull on Tang Tian, but he didn't pull him down.

Tang Tian put the ball in the basket and also drew a foul for pulling his arm.

It was an and-one play!

Obviously, the Thunder were running out of time.

Tang Tian calmly made the free throw amidst the heckling.

With about 8 minutes left in the game, the Pelicans had widened the point difference to 20 points.

This and-one basically completely erased the Thunder's confidence in a comeback.

Durant found his touch later and made consecutive shots against Ariza, showing his good condition this season and helping the Thunder close the score.

But it was clearly too late.

In the end, the Pelicans defeated the Thunder 103-91 on the road, ending their opponents' four-game winning streak and extending their own winning streak to 6 games.

On the Thunder's side, Westbrook was in a slump, making only 5 of 17 shots for 12 points and 11 assists.

Durant made 12 of 30 shots for a team-high 33 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. He scored a lot, but his shooting percentage really had a Kobe-esque feel to it.

On the Pelicans' side, Davis had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks, Jokic contributed a near triple-double with 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists, and Holiday also had 15 points and 5 assists.

Tang Tian made 15 of 25 shots for a game-high 37 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block.

He scored 16 points in the fourth quarter alone, directly helping the Pelicans kill the game.