However, George Karl's adjustment was anticipated by Tang Tian.

When they attacked the frontcourt, the space opened up, and Tang Tian directly singled Courtney Lee.

Tony Allen is the foundation of the Pelicans' defensive tactics, but he is also the foundation of the Grizzlies' defense.

Lee's defensive ability is a notch below Allen's, and he has a hard time holding down Tang Tian one-on-one.

Tang Tian's pull-up jumper after changing direction hit directly.

This put George Karl in a difficult position.

Putting Allen on wasn't right, and not putting him on wasn't right either.

This is also Allen's drawback. If he had offensive ability in addition to top-notch defense, his value would at least double.

But not everyone is Tang Tian, able to be reborn with a system. The Grizzlies can't just conjure a Tang Tian out of thin air.

In the end, with Allen being subbed in and out repeatedly, the Pelicans gradually established a lead and successfully maintained it until the end of the game.

91 to 77, the Pelicans lost two home games in New Orleans, but they won one back in Memphis!

They didn't plan to give up so easily!

Tang Tian recovered and scored 30 points, and although Davis only scored 15 points, he had 11 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 5 assists.

The Twin Stars found a new way to win.

Two days later, carrying the momentum of the third game, the fourth game of the Pelicans and Grizzlies series continued at the FedEx Forum.

Because of the Grizzlies' lineup shortcomings, George Karl couldn't find a good way to deal with it all of a sudden.

His choice was to take down Allen and start Prince, and then use the team's help defense rotation to make up for the lack of one-on-one defense.

Moreover, it could be clearly felt that the Grizzlies' overall defensive intensity in the fourth game was skyrocketing.

The Pelicans played very hard. It was as if they had to exhaust all their strength for every point they scored. All that could be heard on the court was the sound of muscle confrontation and collisions.

Because of this style of play, the Grizzlies are recognized by other teams as a team they don't want to face in the playoffs.

It's not just a metaphor to say that you'll lose a layer of skin if you don't die, you really will lose a layer of skin.

When the game reached the fourth quarter, the two teams were still deadlocked, and the Pelicans players had bruises all over their arms.

This feeling was really like basketball from the last century, where only those with strong mental strength and willpower could persevere to the end.

Fortunately, Tang Tian had it.

He scored consecutive one-on-one shots in the second half of the fourth quarter to help the Pelicans establish a lead.

Whiteside and Davis were also very competitive at the end. Tang Tian took care of the offense, and they took care of the defense.

With consecutive blocks and rebounds, the Pelicans maintained their lead until the end of the game.

79 to 72, the Pelicans won another game.

The two teams' scores set a new low for this year's playoffs.

It was truly a slugfest.

The highest scorer of the game was Tang Tian, but he only had 23 points. From this alone, you could feel the intensity of the game.

But the good news was that the Pelicans had the last laugh.

In this way, they tied the series score to 2-2.

The best-of-seven series became a best-of-three, and they still had home-court advantage.

"It's a wonderful night, we're going to enjoy it," Williams said after the game, showing the Pelicans' mood at the time.

However, Williams was right about the first half of the sentence, but wrong about the second half.

After the game, the Pelicans players didn't have time to enjoy it at all. They were basically all doing ice packs in the locker room.

It felt great to win the do-or-die game against the Clippers by a large margin before, but they actually played a full series with the Clippers as well.

And after only two days of rest, they faced the Grizzlies, who could be described as the most difficult team to play in the playoffs.

This was truly the most tragic encounter.

The players' bodies inevitably showed fatigue at this time, not to mention the bruises all over their bodies.

Basically, everyone was sitting in the locker room resting.

Tang Tian's spirit was the best among them. After all, he still had the Masked Man skill, and his physical fitness was the best.

But looking at a group of young and tired teammates around him, he felt that this series might have just reached its most difficult part.

The good news was that Game 5 would be played back in New Orleans, which could give them a greater psychological advantage.

The Pelicans flew back to New Orleans.

It was also at this time that the Eastern and Western Conference semifinals had entered a white-hot stage.

The Lakers lost another game at home, and they were already 1-3 behind the Spurs, on the verge of elimination.

The Spurs were missing Tang Tian, and the Lakers had Brandon Wright and Nick Young. In theory, it shouldn't have been like this.

But the root cause was still Howard. He performed poorly on both offense and defense, scoring only 9 points and 7 rebounds, with 4 fouls and 4 turnovers.

It was obvious that Howard couldn't feel the joy and was starting to give up.

In the East, the Heat had swept the Nets 4-0.

Holding their breath and with Neal's excellent performance allowing Wade to get plenty of rest, they had a real chance to win the championship this year.

And in the other matchup, the Bulls and Pacers were as red-eyed as the Pelicans and Grizzlies.

The two sides were tied 2-2, and the outcome was still unknown.

After resting for two days back in New Orleans, the Pelicans continued their series against the Grizzlies.

The game after 2-2 was the pivotal Game 5. The winner would get the match point and take absolute initiative in the series.

In this game, both the Pelicans and the Grizzlies were determined to win.

The game was deadlocked from the start, and the confrontation on the court was even more intense than in Game 4.

The two teams tied in the first quarter, tied in the second quarter, and tied at the end of the third quarter, and neither team's score had exceeded 60. This was a real slugfest!

Because the situation was too anxious, Tang Tian and Davis hadn't rested much.

It was also at this time that accidents occurred frequently on the court. Davis' eyebrow was hit by Randolph's elbow and started bleeding, and a large piece of gauze was applied.

And Tang Tian's left index finger was directly dislocated.

He gritted his teeth and received the team doctor's correction off the court.

The scene was really heartbreaking.

After the correction, he had the team doctor fix his index finger and middle finger together, and then he went back on the court to play.

The intensity of this game was truly unprecedented.

Davis' eyebrow and Tang Tian's left index finger weren't very serious injuries, but they would obviously affect their performance.

Davis' vision was impaired, and he missed consecutive shots. Tang Tian couldn't exert force with his left hand, and his change of direction also lost its threat.

The Grizzlies took the opportunity to establish a lead and successfully maintained it until the end, winning the game 76-70.

The Pelicans fought to the end and won the last game, but this time the Grizzlies won.

They were obviously more experienced in playing this kind of game.

After this fierce Game 5, the Grizzlies took a 3-2 lead in the series and successfully got the match point.

And for the Pelicans, they were now only one step away from being eliminated.