"The Pelicans can't defend both Harden and Paul at the same time, just like they couldn't defend both Durant and Curry at the same time in the last game."

Miller looked for a while and then looked away. Tang Tian just seemed more excited, but he still favored the Rockets to win.

"I have a feeling they'll do it."

McGrady didn't directly refute, but expressed his opinion in a very euphemistic way.

Pre-game warm-up dunks are very energy-consuming.

And not only Tang Tian, but the entire Pelicans team seemed to be in a very excited state tonight.

This was his intuition.

Miller smiled and didn't say anything more. Commenting on games based on intuition, McGrady wasn't just Tang Tian's fanboy, he was Barkley 2.0!

While they were talking, the players on the court had finished warming up, and the arena entered the entrance ceremony.

The starting lineups of the two teams came onto the court one after another.

For the Pelicans, Ariza returned, the outside players were still Holiday and Tang Tian, and the inside players were Davis and Jokic.

The Rockets also had their regular lineup, with Paul and Harden on the outside, Tucker and Morris on the forward line, and Cousins at center.

After the starting lineups of both sides appeared, Cousins won the jump ball against Davis, and the battle between fire and oil kicked off in the cheers of the fans.

The Rockets went to the frontcourt and played to Cousins first. Cousins scored with a strong shot over Jokic in the paint.

With the new penalty standards, Cousins was really a bit invincible in the paint.

Turning around, Tang Tian and Jokic pick-and-rolled to pull Cousins out, and a fake pass inside deceived Cousins, and a sudden stop jump shot hit in return.

Cousins continued to attack the basket strongly. After encountering Davis' double-team, he forced a shot and drew a defensive foul on Jokic, making both free throws.

But Tang Tian turned around and passed the ball back after a pick-and-roll with Jokic, assisting the latter in drawing a foul on Tucker under the basket, also making both free throws.

The offensive of these first few rounds became the epitome of the first half of the game between the two sides.

Cousins was a bit unstoppable in the paint, but the Pelicans were in good shape tonight, and under Tang Tian's leadership, they kept the score close with the Rockets.

Seven minutes into the quarter, D'Antoni substituted Capela for Cousins.

Cousins was heavy, and it was a problem to keep attacking if his stamina dropped.

The Pelicans also substituted West for Jokic, as Jokic's stamina was also consumed a lot against Cousins.

With Cousins off the court, the Rockets' offensive focus shifted from the inside to the outside.

Harden dribbled past Ariza, changed direction, and scored two points with a contested floater.

Harden had used this floater before, but he didn't look for a whistle when he encountered contact like before, but resolutely completed the shot.

Like he showed in the game against the Jazz, he had become more stable than before.

Davis' shot under the basket missed, and Capela secured the defensive rebound.

Turning around, the Pelicans made a defensive adjustment, and Holiday switched to defend Harden.

Harden didn't pass the ball back, but directly changed direction and took a step, then a signature step-back three-pointer.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, the ball went in again!

The Toyota Center instantly erupted.

Harden scored 5 consecutive points, helping the Rockets establish a 5-point lead!

Not only had he become more stable, but his touch was also very good tonight!

Tucker and Morris worked hard to defend Tang Tian's shot, and the Pelicans hadn't scored on three consecutive possessions.

The balance of victory began to tilt towards the Rockets.

"Let's go! Rockets!"

The fans in the arena shouted excitedly.

The Pelicans were the defending champions and were currently the top team in the league, a standard public enemy.

The Warriors defeated the Pelicans in the last game to prove themselves, and now they wanted to do the same thing.

Especially since Cousins had boasted before the game, if they really won, it would be a huge flex.

The thought of that scene was exhilarating.

And this was indeed the strongest team for the Rockets since the Hakeem Olajuwon era!

Harden went to the frontcourt and prepared to continue to ask for the ball.

Durant was unstoppable in the last game, and now he wanted to emulate his older brother, also put on an unstoppable performance and lead the team to win, avenging the 4-1 loss last season.

This script was quite perfect.

Paul was also preparing to give the ball to Harden. First Cousins, now Harden, giving the ball to the person who was in good form was the instinct of a top point guard.

But as soon as Harden got the ball, he found that the defender in front of him had changed again. It wasn't Ariza or Holiday, but Tang Tian.

Like in the last game, Tang Tian was forced to step up again.

Harden didn't pass the ball back to Paul. He wasn't Durant, and he didn't have that much psychological baggage about Tang Tian.

And more importantly, his understanding of basketball was different.

Just like he could use the rules to play before, and now adjusted his playing style, he was a player with very high basketball IQ, and knew what was the best way to win.

As long as he kept attacking Tang Tian, even if it wasn't very efficient, exhausting Tang Tian's stamina was the best way to win.

Durant didn't go all out to attack Tang Tian in the last game, but Tang Tian grabbed both offense and defense, and his stamina became a problem in the fourth quarter.

If he went all out, Tang Tian would be exhausted even without going to overtime.

At that time, it would be the time for the Rockets to harvest the game.

He made up his mind and signaled his teammates to spread out, preparing to attack Tang Tian strongly.

D'Antoni sat up straight on the bench at the far end. Harden's choice seemed a bit unwise in his opinion, but he didn't stop him.

His teammates spread out, and Harden made consecutive crossovers, but failed to shake Tang Tian.

As a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, it wasn't that easy to get past Tang Tian.

But Harden's offense didn't stop. After failing to get past Tang Tian with consecutive accelerations and changes of direction, he chose his signature step-back mid-range shot.

This was how he found his touch in the past.

However, he still didn't shake Tang Tian.

Tang Tian was half a head taller than Harden, and had an advantage in speed. After successfully predicting, he pounced out and gave enough pressure.

Harden saw that he was about to be blocked, and was forced to adjust his shooting arc.

"Clang!"

He avoided the block, but the ball was obviously short, hitting the front of the rim and popping out.

It was a long rebound.

Tang Tian successfully predicted the landing point of the rebound, turned around and grabbed the rebound after landing, and turned around for a fast break.

Harden reached out and didn't get the ball, so he could only turn around and watch Tang Tian's rapid fast break with his eyes.

Tang Tian went to the frontcourt with Paul's help defense, and Paul jumped up to contest with small moves in the air.

After the change in the penalty standards, his defensive style had become aggressive, and the defensive effect was doubled.

But Tang Tian completely ignored Paul's small moves. With a body of muscles and the bombing of the Divine Turtle, he wasn't afraid of aerial confrontation at all.

Paul's small moves didn't work, and his whole body was pushed back by Tang Tian's strength.

"Bang!"

In the exclamations of the fans in the arena, Tang Tian slammed the ball into the basket over Paul.

The Pelicans' bench instantly erupted, and Forbes jumped up and waved his towel wildly.

That ball was awesome!

The referee was stunned for a moment before reacting, and then blew the whistle to signal Paul's blocking foul.

Paul was a little excited when he heard the whistle, and turned around to argue with the referee.

Under the new penalty standards, his defensive action just now was borderline, but this was the Rockets' home court!

The referee ignored Paul's protest, even though he was the president of the players' union.

Borderline meant it could be called. Tang Tian was now the number one player in the league, and it wouldn't be appropriate not to give him a superstar foul on this kind of play.