Braised Eggplant with Minced Pork
Chapter 793 The Troublesome Pelicans
"Tang Tian, get him!"
"Give the ball to Tang Tian, yes, crossover, play him!"
"What's Davis doing over there? Hurry up and give the ball to Tang Tian!"
"Haha, see? Harden can only watch him play defense again, this is the reasonable way to play!"
…
With Zhang Weiping's signature commentary, Tang Tian defended Harden's offense again and again, and repeatedly got past Harden to score or assist.
The two were ranked first and fifth in the MVP race this season.
The rankings weren't that far apart, but the first place was thoroughly dominating the fifth.
In the end, Tang Tian was much more versatile than Harden, and a superstar who started with defense wouldn't be targeted on the defensive end.
D'Antoni trusted Harden a lot, even though he was being suppressed miserably, he didn't substitute Harden off the court.
This was the coach's trust in him, but unfortunately Harden really didn't have much of a way to deal with Tang Tian now.
With Harden getting blown out, and Paul and Cousins unable to perform as they had in the past two games, the Rockets' deficit only grew as the game went on.
After three quarters, the Pelicans were already leading 98 to 71, nearly 30 points ahead.
Tang Tian had already exploded for 40 points in three quarters, along with 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks.
The fans were already celebrating the victory in advance.
And the outcome had already been decided.
Both teams' starters didn't play in the final quarter.
The on-site photographers kept focusing on the Rockets' bench.
Harden's eyes were dull, Paul was full of unwillingness, and Cousins was biting his fingers.
Losing 1 to 4 to the Pelicans, although they weren't swept, such a score was obviously not a good result for a big three team.
D'Antoni's expression was even more serious, he not only slapped himself in the face with his own words, but was also completely defeated by Stevens.
After today, the topic of whether he would coach the Pelicans better than Stevens could be ended.
After today, everyone would think that it was fortunate that the Pelicans signed Stevens and not him.
The Rockets' players felt very uncomfortable, D'Antoni felt very uncomfortable, and the Rockets' fans also felt very uncomfortable.
But, there was no way around it.
Who told them to meet the Pelicans!
If it was the Warriors, they might have been able to pull off a 3-1 comeback like the Thunder.
But, there were no ifs.
The final buzzer sounded, and the score on the court was finally fixed at 119 to 98.
The Pelicans slaughtered the Rockets at home, eliminating the Rockets with a large score of 4 to 1, and were the first to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
This was also the second consecutive year that they had entered the Western Conference Finals!
The Pelicans' players were celebrating, the scene was celebrating, and the fans in New Orleans and across the ocean were celebrating.
This was the Pelicans' moment of victory!
They were one step closer to the championship!
"We have finished this round of the series, now our attention is on the next opponent."
At the post-match press conference, Tang Tian responded when reporters kept asking questions about the Rockets.
No matter how much grudges and topics there were, they had all come to an end with the end of tonight's game.
Just like he said, they should put their attention on the next opponent.
The day after the Pelicans-Rockets series ended, the fifth game of the Thunder-Warriors series also ended in Oakland.
The Splash Brothers erupted, combining for 67 points, helping the Warriors chase the score to 2 to 3, continuing to retain hope of advancing.
However, the next game would be in Oklahoma, which would be their biggest challenge.
The Pelicans trained in New Orleans for three days, and before the sixth game between the Thunder and Warriors started, the whole team went to Oklahoma City.
This news caused an uproar.
The Thunder-Warriors series hadn't ended yet, and the Pelicans had already gone to Oklahoma City?
Did they think that the Thunder would eliminate the Warriors in this game, and were going to adapt to the venue in advance?
There was a lot of discussion from the outside world, and there were also different voices within the Thunder and Warriors teams.
The Thunder's Westbrook said that they were only focusing on the upcoming sixth game;
While the Warriors' Green said that it would give them more motivation to win the sixth game.
The Eastern Conference Finals matchups had been determined, namely the Cavaliers and the Knicks.
But on the Western side, the Thunder-Warriors showdown, coupled with this series of events off the court before the game, made the game highly anticipated.
That night, the sixth game between the Thunder and Warriors began in Oklahoma City.
This was a must-win game for both sides.
Needless to say for the Warriors, after being down 1 to 3, they were already in a desperate situation.
The same was true for the Thunder, if they couldn't end the series at home, it would be ominous to go to Oakland for a Game 7.
It was in such a game that, before the game started, fans in the stands found unexpected spectators, the entire Pelicans team!
Not only were all the Pelicans' players there, but the entire coaching staff was also there!
The fans on the live broadcast collectively exploded, the Pelicans were watching the excitement and stirring up trouble!
But this was all a misunderstanding of the Pelicans.
The reason why Stevens came to Oklahoma City was just to observe the next round of opponents.
In this kind of life-or-death game, both sides would definitely play without reservation, which was the best opportunity to observe.
The game started quickly.
Whether it was because the Pelicans were there to watch the game, the Warriors took the lead from the start and played with a booming momentum.
At the end of the first half, they were leading the Thunder by double digits.
This posture was heading for a 1-3 reversal.
However, the Thunder obviously wouldn't give up easily.
At the beginning of the second half, led by Durant, the Thunder began to fight back.
Durant scored 20 points in a single quarter, helping the Thunder tie the score at the end of the quarter.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, led by Waiters, the Thunder took advantage of the situation and led by 6 points, forcing the Warriors to call a timeout.
"Are the Thunder going to win?"
Davis turned to Tang Tian and asked.
Tang Tian shook his head.
"Curry hasn't started yet."
Last year, Curry could already turn the game around by himself and eliminate the Pelicans.
This year's Curry was even more in a full-time "day-defying" mode.
Although his performance had declined in the playoffs due to injuries and fatigue, scoring 40+ points with 11 three-pointers in the last game showed that he had recovered.
When the timeout returned, Tang Tian's judgment was also proved to be completely correct.
Curry returned from the break and turned on the "day-defying" mode, with all kinds of incredible three-pointers, and the key was that they kept going in.
The Thunder were still stalemating on the situation at the beginning, but they were quickly blown away by that unreasonable and even unreasonable three-pointer.
The Warriors launched a crazy 22-8 offensive, laying the foundation for the game in one fell swoop.
In the end, the Warriors won the game 115 to 108, tying the score to 3 to 3 after being down 1 to 3!
With Game 7 being played in Oakland, their chances of advancing were now greater than the Thunder's.
At this time, in addition to discussing the game on social media, the Pelicans were also constantly mentioned.
The Thunder fans were spraying the Pelicans, saying that the Pelicans had ruined their character, while the Warriors fans were thanking the Pelicans, thanking them for looking down on them.
The Thunder-Warriors series hadn't ended yet, but the Pelicans' topic heat was constantly rising.