Coming back from the timeout, Tang Tian drove into the paint, and after a confrontation with Bogut, sent the ball into the basket over Barnes's defensive hand.
This tough basket showed his ability to compete without reservation.
He made the free throw despite the distracting noise, helping the Pelicans narrow the score difference to 27 points.
Turning around, Thompson made an off-ball screen and cut to the basket, catching Bogut's pass and making a difficult layup off the backboard.
The Warriors were still in hot form, and it would be extremely difficult for the Pelicans to reverse the situation.
When Tang Tian tried to break through, the Warriors quickly contracted their defense.
After Tang Tian scored a basket, they increased their defensive intensity.
Tang Tian, double-teamed, made a behind-the-back pass to Holiday in the corner, who quickly shot a three-pointer.
"Swish!"
Holiday showed his clutch ability, sinking a critical three-pointer.
The score difference was forced down to 26 points!
Curry's trailing three-pointer missed, but Bogut grabbed the offensive rebound and scored on a put-back.
Tang Tian drove to the basket and stopped for a fadeaway jumper, once again drawing a foul for a 2+1 play over Barnes's block!
These possessions after the timeout were a microcosm of the second half of the third quarter.
The Pelicans, now fired up, significantly improved their scoring efficiency, launching a tidal wave of offense.
But the Warriors' offensive firepower didn't diminish either.
After three quarters, the Pelicans had narrowed the score to 95-115, still trailing by 20 points.
Moreover, Tang Tian had played the entire quarter, scoring 20 points, so his playing time in the fourth quarter would definitely be delayed.
It would still be difficult for the Pelicans to close the gap.
At this moment, there was a very subtle adjustment to the Pelicans' lineup.
McGee had been targeted after his earlier highlight performance and didn't play well in the third quarter.
It was difficult to target a superstar like Tang Tian, but it was much easier to target a role player like McGee.
Because of McGee's poor performance, Stevens didn't put him back on the court in the fourth quarter, but he didn't use Biyombo either; instead, he used Harrell.
Harrell hadn't played in the previous three games and was only added to the active roster because of his impressive performance in the morning's training session.
This personnel decision by Stevens was very bold.
The Warriors didn't pay much attention to it; Harrell was just a late first-round rookie with few opportunities to play.
The Warriors even tried to exploit him right away, with Barbosa using Speights's screen to create a mismatch and drive against Harrell.
They wanted to give the rookie a lesson.
Harrell wasn't slow, and he kept up with the aging Barbosa, swatting Barbosa's shot out of bounds with a clean block!
Harrell roared with excitement after the block, and his passionate youthfulness brought cheers from the Pelicans' bench.
This rookie played with a lot of passion!
Tang Tian, resting on the bench, couldn't help but smile at the scene.
Harrell was known for his passion, and it seemed he was seizing the opportunity to play after a good performance today.
And there was Barbosa on the other side. If he remembered correctly, Barbosa had even said something about seeking revenge at the 2012 London Olympics.
The Rio Olympics were coming up soon. Was he sure he wanted revenge in this condition?
Harrell's passion energized the players on the court, and the Pelicans stopped the Warriors' offense. Stephenson drove to the basket and scored with a flying dunk.
Although they hadn't closed the gap by much, they had successfully narrowed the score difference to under 20 points!
The game was still in play!
The fans in the arena were getting restless. They were still fantasizing about the Warriors reversing a 0-3 deficit, but the momentum wasn't right. The Warriors absolutely couldn't lose this game!
"Go Warriors!"
The fans spontaneously began to cheer for the Warriors.
Amid the fans' cheers, Ezeli went one-on-one against Harrell in the paint, turning and attempting a strong shot.
Harrell was really tough, defending the shot and grabbing the defensive rebound with his wingspan!
He had made two successful defensive plays in a row!
Stevens's substitution was brilliant!
Tang Tian also silently gave Stevens a thumbs up.
Harrell had a good training session today, but it took a lot of courage for a coach to use a rookie who had never played before.
Just as he was thinking this, Harrell set a pick-and-roll with Stephenson in the frontcourt, received a magical pass from Stephenson, and directly blew past Ezeli for a dunk!
The score difference was down to 16 points!
The Warriors were forced to call a timeout!
The Pelicans had created an opportunity little by little, and now it was really there!
During the timeout, there was a small skirmish on the sidelines.
Green got up and went to the sidelines, trash-talking Stephenson.
The two had already engaged in a war of words, so it was normal for them to confront each other now.
However, Stephenson didn't respond to Green the way he had on social media, but simply made a gesture.
A gesture similar to "OK," but he was rotating his hand while making it.
If you looked closely, it wasn't "OK" at all, but 3-0!
No matter what Green said, Stephenson kept making that gesture.
The exchange between the two was like this:
"You're about to lose this game."
"3-0."
"You're a player who's about to be eliminated from the league."
"3-0."
"Are you mute? Or do you not even have the courage to talk to me?"
"3-0."
...
Green was finally pissed off and looked pained.
He had just had surgery and needed to rest, but Stephenson had provoked him.
This 3-0 gesture was more damaging than anything else.
Because a lot of trash talk was just empty words, but the Pelicans' 3-0 lead was an undeniable fact.
Tang Tian got up, saw this scene, and was amused.
Stephenson, who had previously blown in James's ear and untied his shoelaces, was now making this 3-0 gesture. It was really funny.
The Pelicans generated momentum with their bench players, and by the time the starters came back, they had narrowed the score difference to 11 points.
The game really had suspense now, and a lot of it!
Kerr walked back to the sidelines from the bench again. If they were reversed from 3-0, then he and the Warriors would become the laughingstock of the season.
"Swish!"
Fortunately, Curry was there. He came up and hit a super-long three-pointer over Ariza, helping the Warriors extend the lead back to 14 points.
This three-pointer was a lifesaver, and the Warriors' situation became much more stable.
The fans in the arena breathed a sigh of relief.
But on the next possession, Tang Tian hit a contested three-pointer over Iguodala!
Before they could finish breathing out, they were gasping again.
It was Curry again, driving to the basket and drawing a foul on Jokic, giving him two free throws and sending Jokic to the bench!
Stevens was forced to replace Jokic with Harrell.
Curry made one of two free throws, and the score difference remained at 12 points.
The fans breathed another sigh of relief.
Curry's performance was indeed worthy of more MVP votes, as Green had said.
But on the next possession, Tang Tian made a no-look pass through a seam in the double-team to Harrell, who followed up with a dunk and drew a foul on Barnes!
Harrell made the free throw, and the Pelicans narrowed the score difference to 9 points!