Davis was tougher than anyone imagined.

Griffin's performance was the exact opposite. As the instigator of the conflict, he seemed utterly lost after returning, missing shot after shot.

The Clippers barely managed to keep up with the Pelicans thanks to Paul's consistent output.

Even so, by the end of the third quarter, the Clippers were still trailing the Pelicans by as many as 14 points.

In the intensity of the playoffs, that was a very significant deficit.

The Pelicans had a great chance to win Game 3.

The situation was very favorable for the Pelicans.

However, within the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, the situation suddenly reversed.

Jamal Crawford, the Clippers' "streak king," suddenly found his touch, sinking two three-pointers and a mid-range jumper in quick succession, instantly narrowing the gap to 5 points.

That was Crawford's style of play. When he was cold, even Kobe would shy away, but when he was hot, he was an outside superstar.

He was definitely in superstar mode now, and Williams didn't have time to react.

Williams called Tang Tian up early, but before he could even get in the game, Crawford drove past Holiday for another layup.

After a 10-0 personal scoring run, the Pelicans' lead was down to just 4 points.

At the trade deadline, the Clippers' management had thought Crawford was too old and wanted to trade him.

But luckily they didn't, and Crawford had pulled the Clippers back from the brink of elimination.

Crawford helped the Clippers stay alive, and Paul also continued his excellent performance, helping the Clippers stay close.

With one minute left in the game, the Clippers were still down by 3 points to the Pelicans, holding possession and still having a chance to tie the score or even win the game.

Paul dribbled the ball outside the three-point line, organizing the offense.

"Defense! Defense!"

The cheers of the home fans were deafening.

Although New Orleans was a small city, the fans' enthusiasm was in no way inferior to that of Los Angeles.

The Pelicans players were doing a great job on defense, and Redick and Griffin had no chance to make open cuts.

With little time left on the shot clock, Paul finally called for a pick-and-roll with Griffin. After the screen, he took his signature pull-up jumper.

He had already scored 28 points tonight with his reliable mid-range shot.

But he had taken too many of those shots, and this time Davis anticipated it.

He leaned back in the air.

Among the signature moves of the current NBA superstars, such as James's drives, Kobe's fadeaway, and Durant's jump shot, Paul's mid-range was one of them.

Most of the time, Paul's mid-range shot was unstoppable because his timing was impeccable.

"Bang!"

But this time was obviously not like most times. After Davis successfully predicted the shot, Paul's fadeaway wasn't enough to avoid his long arms.

With a huge block, Davis swatted Paul's shot away.

Davis's 6th block of the game!

The cheers from the home fans exploded. Davis's presence on the defensive end was overwhelming tonight!

A scramble for the loose ball outside the line. Paul dove quickly, but Holiday was even faster. After securing the ball, he called a timeout.

The Pelicans with possession with 40 seconds left!

If they scored on this possession, the game would basically be sealed.

The home fans were already on their feet, eager to celebrate the team's victory.

If they could win this game, it would definitely be the highlight of their year.

After the timeout, the Pelicans brought in Anderson, spreading the floor. Holiday passed the ball to Tang Tian and took his defender away with him.

This crucial possession would definitely be for Tang Tian to handle.

The Pelicans spaced the floor well, and the Clippers didn't immediately double-team.

Tang Tian glanced at the shot clock, not rushing to attack.

Time ticked away, and the tension among the home fans grew.

As the clock reached around 30 seconds, Tang Tian called for Davis to set a pick at the three-point line.

This choice was somewhat unexpected by Rivers, since Tang Tian would most likely isolate if he wasn't doubled.

But Tang Tian was playing on that unexpected element.

If the Clippers didn't have a plan from the timeout, then the choice would be up to the Clippers' players.

Davis came up to set the screen, and DeAndre Jordan chose to double-team Tang Tian.

Tang Tian dribbled the ball backwards.

Davis sprinted towards the basket.

Griffin retreated from the corner to defend the basket.

Tang Tian now had two passing options: either to Davis or to Anderson.

Of course, that was assuming he could pass the ball out.

Barnes cut off the baseline, and Jordan reached up to block the passing lane. Their double-team coordination was excellent.

Tang Tian passed, neither bouncing the ball nor threading the needle, but instead throwing it high above the rim.

Davis took off after seeing it.

Griffin had already collapsed to the basket, jumping up to try to stop Davis's alley-oop attempt.

"Bang!"

The two had physical contact in the air.

Davis, with his longer reach, grabbed the ball first, then concentrated all his strength into his right hand, slamming it towards the basket.

Griffin was stronger than Davis, and he pushed Davis's body outwards after the contact.

But Davis was also giving it his all, his right hand still slamming the ball towards the rim in the air.

This was where the advantage of having a longer reach came into play.

Although his body was being pushed outwards, the distance between his hand and the rim was still decreasing.

"Boom!"

Davis, half-leaning in the air, dunked the ball over Griffin!

Davis posterized Griffin!

Griffin had posterized Davis in Game 2 of the series, and Davis had returned the favor this time!

A tooth for a tooth!

And Davis's dunk was obviously cleaner!

"Anthony… Davis!!"

The arena DJ stretched out the syllables.

The entire New Orleans arena erupted.

After being crossed over by Griffin, Davis continued to respond, his performance steadily climbing.

This dunk was the culmination of it all.

What could be a better response than an alley-oop dunk like that!

Davis was very calm after landing from the dunk. After seeing Tang Tian coming over, he smiled and jumped up to bump chests with him.

He could now feel his own growth, that feeling of sublimation. The happiness he felt outweighed the excitement.

The Clippers called a timeout.

"AD! AD!"

As Davis walked off the court, the cheers from the home fans were completely unstoppable.

Davis smiled and waved to the fans, but after lowering his hand, he looked at Tang Tian like a fanboy.

He knew where his transformation came from. Tang Tian truly lived up to the nickname of "Godfather."

The last 20 seconds.

If the Clippers wanted to win, they had to quickly score a 3-pointer or a 2-pointer, and then foul immediately.

After Davis's alley-oop dunk, the odds were very slim for them.

Inbounding the ball in the frontcourt.

Griffin was inbounding from the sideline. The Clippers had an off-ball play.

Redick was running around a screen, it looked like the Clippers were trying to get an open 3-pointer.

But Griffin suddenly threw the ball towards the basket.

The 3-pointer was just a feint, they were going for a quick 2 points!

"Pa!"

But just as the ball left Griffin's hand, Tang Tian suddenly rushed out from the side, leaping up and stealing the ball!

Tang Tian had successfully anticipated the Clippers' play!

This steal also directly extinguished the Clippers' final hope!

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