Tang Tian then turned to look at Stevens, a smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.

The familiar tactics really gave the feeling of Popovich's figure overlapping.

This saved him a lot of effort.

In the next few minutes, the Rockets completely lost their touch, and the Pelicans instead built a lead, forcing D'Antoni to call a timeout.

Because the Pelicans had a strong defensive system in place, the Rockets' fast breaks were difficult to execute, which greatly reduced the strength of their Moreyball offense.

This was also why Stevens was able to limit the Rockets' offense with a single 2-1-2 zone defense.

By limiting their fast breaks and then stifling their set offense, Stevens had the upper hand in his battle of wits with D'Antoni.

When the timeout ended, both sides put their starters back on the court.

It was at this time that the Rockets made a tactical adjustment on offense.

They were still playing Moreyball, but the point of origin for the offense shifted from Paul and Harden on the outside to Cousins on the inside.

Cousins held the ball and backed down Jokic, using his strength to push all the way to the basket before scoring with a series of turnaround bank shots.

Although he had never made the playoffs with the Kings, Cousins before his injury was definitely a top-three, or even the best, center in the league.

Although Jokic had bulked up over the summer, his upper limit in terms of physical confrontation was still weaker than Cousins.

He couldn't stop him, but Jokic showed his offensive talent on the other end, sending a pinpoint pass from beyond the arc, which Davis caught and dunked for a score.

Back on offense, Paul pushed the ball to the frontcourt and continued to pass it to Cousins.

The adjustment coming out of the timeout showed that D'Antoni's tactical level was different from Stevens.

He basically relied on one trick: run-and-gun during his time with the Suns, and Moreyball with the Rockets.

But both periods had one thing in common: there were superstars on the team, and when things weren't going smoothly, you just gave the ball to the superstar.

Now that the outside shots weren't falling, the ball was constantly being given to Cousins in the post.

Because of the Rockets' outside pressure, Tucker was squatting in the corner, pulling Davis deep into the corner, making it difficult for the Pelicans to help defend.

Cousins continued to post up Jokic.

This time, Jokic lowered his center of gravity very low, and Cousins couldn't move him much, so he chose to turn around and shoot.

Jokic reacted quickly, reaching out to interfere.

"Clang."

Cousins' shot hit the back of the rim and bounced up.

But he reacted quickly, immediately jumping up again for a put-back score.

Cousins scored 4 consecutive points over Jokic!

Jokic had worked hard in the offseason to successfully bulk up, and his strength, especially on the defensive end, had improved significantly.

But in this game, he was being schooled by Cousins.

It wasn't until this point that many fans at the scene remembered Jokic's words: he was only a sophomore.

Tang Tian assisted Holiday on a cut to the basket for a score, but Cousins responded on the other end with a strong attack, pushing past Jokic for a one-handed dunk.

He had scored 6 consecutive points in this stretch, looking every bit the dominant big man.

After Tang Tian got to the frontcourt, he took the ball directly from Holiday and signaled Jokic to come up for a high pick-and-roll, running play number one.

Before his injury, Cousins was one of the best big men in terms of both speed and defensive ability.

But after all, he was a traditional center, so it was still easy for Tang Tian to exploit him, and he knew Cousins' weakness very well.

But after Jokic set the screen, the Rockets' reaction was not what he had expected.

Cousins didn't come out; he switched onto Davis directly, while Tucker switched onto him.

Dribbling the ball, Tang Tian couldn't help but turn his head to look at Buzdelik sitting on the sidelines.

This Coach B really knows his stuff on defense.

If Cousins came out of the paint, it would be an opportunity whether he isolated and one-on-one or passed the ball to Davis cutting in.

After all, there was no way Cousins could guard him one-on-one, and even if he came out, he definitely wouldn't have time to get back.

But Buzdelik's defensive change kept Cousins in the paint, with the other four players rotating and helping on defense, perfectly solving the problem.

Tang Tian faced Tucker, dribbled continuously, then took a step to start, stopped abruptly, and shot a jump shot, hitting the shot.

Although the shot went in, Tucker's defense was in place, and the tactical intention of this play was completely unsuccessful.

Cousins continued to post up Jokic, drawing a foul on the latter for hitting his hand.

Jokic defended hard, but there really was a gap in physical confrontation.

Stevens on the sidelines looked back at the bench, considering whether to bring Biyombo onto the court.

Cousins made both free throws, bringing his personal scoring streak to 8 points.

There were no substitutions on the sidelines; Stevens knew that although Jokic was shy, he had a lot of pride, and he was still hesitating.

On the Pelicans' offense, Tang Tian continued to call for Jokic to set a screen.

Cousins still didn't come out, so Tang Tian continued to signal Davis to come up for a high pick-and-roll.

His purpose was quite clear: he wouldn't stop until he got Cousins switched out.

But the Rockets' execution was very good; even if they gave Tang Tian space to shoot, they were determined not to let Cousins come out.

Tang Tian chose to break through to the basket, and in the double-team, he forced a shot and drew a defensive foul on Cousins.

"DeMarcus, when did you start hiding like a woman?"

Tang Tian said to Cousins before stepping up to the free throw line.

Cousins frowned.

Anyone could tell that Tang Tian was deliberately provoking him, but Cousins' reaction was obviously anger.

Tang Tian was delighted to see this; sure enough, Cousins was still the same Cousins.

A leopard can't change its spots; he hadn't changed that even after joining the Rockets.

Tang Tian's first free throw went in.

"Keep hiding like a woman; it's good for you."

Tang Tian continued to say to Cousins.

Cousins looked angry, while Tucker on the side looked at Tang Tian in surprise; he didn't know that Tang Tian had a trash-talking attribute.

Tang Tian made both free throws, and the Pelicans continued to keep the score close.

Back on the defensive end, whether it was because of Tang Tian's trash talk or not, Cousins' inside attack was a bit rushed this time and was successfully defended by Jokic.

Stevens saw this and abandoned the idea of making a substitution.

On the Pelicans' offense, Tang Tian continued to switch, and this time, as soon as Jokic set a screen, Cousins switched onto Tang Tian.

His eyes were full of anger.

Tang Tian couldn't help but laugh when he saw this.

Sure enough, Cousins was just Cousins, the guy whose brain wasn't even as good as Whiteside's.

Buzdelik on the sidelines looked very surprised, but he didn't immediately stand up to say anything; after all, Cousins was a superstar on the team and needed to save face.

After his teammates cleared out, Tang Tian faced Cousins with a series of crossovers and accelerations, stopping abruptly, easily shaking him off and breaking through to the inside for a dunk.

As a traditional big man, it was really too difficult for Cousins to keep up with Tang Tian.

Cousins threw up his hands in anger.

Tang Tian turned around and smiled, saying to him.

"Your defense is as soft as a woman's too."