Chapter 177 The Pelicans are Really Strong

News broke before the game that Davis was unable to play due to severe diarrhea and dehydration.

This was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for the Pelicans.

With Tang Tian and Ariza already out, things were bad enough. Now, with three main players missing, the Pelicans were at a disadvantage on paper before the game even started.

Interestingly, Stevens included Metta Sandiford-Artest in the active roster for this game, and the meaning behind it was obvious to everyone.

Amid the Pelicans fans' worries, the game between the two teams officially began at the New Orleans Arena.

Despite the fans' concerns, the Pelicans showed great momentum as soon as they took the court.

The one who ignited this momentum was Jokic.

He started the game by hitting a three-pointer from beyond the arc, and after drawing Embiid out, he used his speed advantage to break through to the basket and score.

Embiid suffered a season-ending injury last season, so this was his rookie season.

He was being schooled by the second-year Jokic.

Jokic dominated the rookie Embiid, and Bojan, after his slump in the previous game, indeed found his touch as he said he would.

He hit three three-pointers in the first quarter alone, with a hot hand from the outside.

At the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans, despite their lack of manpower, were not only not dominated by the Mavericks but were actually leading by 5 points with a score of 26-21.

At the end of the second quarter, Pachulia, who had finished his suspension, came on as a substitute, and the arena was filled with boos.

Interestingly, Metta Sandiford-Artest was also substituted in as the power forward by Stevens on the Pelicans' side.

If the league were to choose a player who no one would want to fight, it would be Metta Sandiford-Artest, aside from James Johnson, who was a professional boxer.

Johnson was a professional, while Metta Sandiford-Artest had a notorious reputation.

Pachulia played very honestly in this game, not even saying a word when he was elbowed under the basket.

His nose, which was punched by Tang Tian in the previous game, was still faintly aching, and he really didn't have the courage to face Metta Sandiford-Artest.

As a result, during this stretch, the Pelicans, who were originally at a disadvantage with their substitutes, actually widened the score gap further.

At the end of the first half, the Pelicans were leading the Mavericks by double digits with a score of 48-38!

In the second half, the Mavericks, led by Butler and Nowitzki, launched a frantic offensive.

However, thanks to the outstanding performances of Jokic and Bojan, the Pelicans ultimately defeated the Mavericks at home with a score of 97-93, extending their winning streak to 7 games!

Jokic had a triple-double of 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, playing his strongest game of the season.

Bojan hit seven three-pointers and scored 23 points with 5 rebounds.

With Tang Tian and Davis out, Jokic and Bojan stepped up!

"The win against the Spurs in the last game was a bit lucky, but winning against the Mavericks in this game with three main players missing, I can only say that the Pelicans are really strong now!"

"Bojan is underrated. His defense is not as bad as people think, but his offense is much better than people think. He is a top shooter!"

"It's not just Bojan, Dinwiddie and Aminu have also done a great job in more time. There are really a lot of players on the Pelicans who can play, and who can play hard!"

"This is the effect of Stevens expanding the rotation. This is the performance of a strong team!"

…

With this seven-game winning streak, outside support for the Pelicans reached a new high.

Being able to win a streak even with a lack of manpower, as fans said on social media, the Pelicans have grown into a truly strong team.

The outside world also had a new understanding of Stevens' coaching ability.

The Pelicans' decision to change coaches in the summer was praised by the media as one of the best moves in history.

The only one who wasn't surprised was Tang Tian. He knew that Stevens in history had done similar things with the Celtics.

In fact, this thing is just a system.

Similar to the Spurs, players can naturally perform well by completing their part of the task within the system, and the team can win the game.

Winning against the Spurs and Mavericks in a row boosted the Pelicans' morale.

In the following week, Davis returned to the team, and they successively defeated the Suns, Kings, and Wizards.

After their 25-game winning streak was ended, they ushered in a new 10-game winning streak!

It was really as Stevens said, the end of the winning streak relieved the players of their psychological burden, and they started a new winning streak!

And what is even more gratifying is that Davis has been able to get an average of 27.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.6 blocks, and 2.1 steals in the past week, with a shooting percentage of 57%!

With this performance, he won the first Player of the Week honor of his career!

When Tang Tian was absent, Davis played an absolute role!

But this is already the fourth year of his career, and he should have this kind of performance.

Double happiness, after Davis won the Player of the Week, the Pelicans also ushered in Tang Tian's return.

A five-game ban is not long, but it is not short either. Tang Tian has been away from the court for nearly half a month.

For the first training session after his return, many media came to the scene.

"During your suspension, the team continued to win, does this bother you?"

Most reporters asked some routine questions, but there were always some who liked to be mavericks, and the reporters from FOX Sports have always been like this.

This is the standard way of asking "winning is not scary, it's embarrassing who is missing".

"Of course not, I saw Davis' progress, I saw Jokic's performance, I saw Bojan's three-pointers, I am happy for them."

Tang Tian was in a good mood and didn't argue with the reporter, and these words were also sincere.

If it were last season, or even the season before last, if he didn't play, the Pelicans' performance would definitely be struggling, and Davis wouldn't be able to play like this.

Now that the strength of his teammates has improved, the Pelicans have a greater chance of winning the championship, and he is definitely happy.

What's more interesting is that Tang Tian's first game after his return is against the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers ended the Pelicans' 25-game winning streak last time, and now the Pelicans have ushered in a new 10-game winning streak, and the two teams are facing each other again.

The Trail Blazers have been in good shape recently, and their record has even surpassed the Thunder.

Playing against them, the game will definitely not be easy.

However, just like the state Tang Tian showed in the interview, the Pelicans are now very confident and have a good attitude in the face of any opponent.

The next night, the Pelicans sat at home to welcome the second交锋交锋交锋交锋交锋交锋 交锋交锋交锋交锋交锋交锋

Before the game, the on-site camera was given to Lillard.

Lillard killed the Quartet in the last game to help the team win, and the scene of raising his hands to celebrate after the game is still vivid.

Now that the two teams are facing each other again, this is destined to be another fierce battle.

The game started quickly, but after the game started, it was different from what many people imagined.

Perhaps because he hadn't played for a long time, Tang Tian seemed very excited after the game started.

He took the initiative to switch defenses with Lillard, and went all out, and Lillard was forced to have few opportunities to shoot.

And when it came to the offensive end, he knew that Davis was in good shape recently, so he gave Davis more shots.

Davis did not disappoint, and it was accurate to play Vonleh and Plumlee on the offensive end.

The Trail Blazers rely on the double guns to maintain their competitiveness this season.

But after Lillard was locked down by Tang Tian, ​​McCollum lost Lillard's containment, coupled with Holiday's defense, he also played out of state.

With the double guns muted, the Trail Blazers struggled.

The Trail Blazers ended the Pelicans' 25-game winning streak in the last game, but in this game they didn't have many chances from the start.

Leading by 15 points at halftime, the 25-point difference at the end of the third quarter had already ended the game early.

In the end, the Pelicans had 7 players scoring in double figures, defeating the Trail Blazers 115-91 and winning 11 consecutive victories.

Davis continued his hot touch, scoring a team-high 23 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Tang Tian only played three quarters in his first game after his return, and only took 11 shots, contributing an efficient 17 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks with 7 of 11 shots.

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