Play resumed, and the Mavericks executed a play in the frontcourt. Dirk Nowitzki finally hit a jump shot off a pass from Butler.

After more than four minutes into the game, the Mavericks finally scored their first basket, indicating a difficult second half ahead.

Back on the defensive end, the Mavericks refrained from double-teaming Tang Tian upon seeing him with the ball, opting instead for a one-on-one defense with Butler.

Butler's defense on the previous play was well-executed. Carlisle had overreacted initially but quickly adjusted.

Tang Tian glanced at Butler but didn't attack directly.

In terms of defensive ability and talent alone, Butler was noticeably inferior to Leonard.

However, the issue was that they practiced hard together every summer, and Butler was intimately familiar with his techniques.

A direct attack was possible, but it wouldn't be successful every time like before.

In other words, continuing to attack directly would reduce his scoring efficiency.

Seeing that the Mavericks weren't going to double-team, Tang Tian signaled Davis to come up and set a pick-and-roll.

Butler tried to go around the screen, but Davis's size successfully blocked him.

Moreover, Davis cut back to the basket after setting the screen, forcing Butler to switch and defend him.

Tang Tian switched to guarding Nowitzki.

The small-ball era has weakened the role of centers; smaller players attacking bigger players, and big men being dragged out for a training run by smaller men has become increasingly common.

Tang Tian was now attacking Nowitzki.

Nowitzki's offense was historical, his signature fadeaway almost unstoppable, but his defense was average.

It was average even in his prime, and even worse now that he was older.

Tang Tian was targeting this weakness.

After a series of crossover dribbles, he shifted Nowitzki's balance, then took a step to the right, followed by a simple pull-up jumper.

Nowitzki couldn't keep up with the rhythm at all, only reaching out to contest after Tang Tian had already released the ball.

"Swish!"

Tang Tian continued his hot streak, hitting another pull-up jumper.

He scored 12 consecutive points!

In just five minutes, Tang Tian's scoring had already surpassed his entire first half!

The Pelicans took a 4-point lead!

The fans in the arena had gone wild.

This was the MVP!

Carlisle rubbed his forehead.

He had been fortunate that the Pelicans hadn't let Tang Tian attack much in the first half, but now it seemed that Stevens had been holding back from the start.

The problems that couldn't be solved in the regular season still couldn't be solved in the playoffs.

The Mavericks' positional offense wasn't working, and Harris's buzzer-beating shot bounced off the rim.

Butler said that the Mavericks had fully integrated, but a team full of scorers without a good point guard wouldn't be easy to integrate.

Jokic's long pass from the backcourt was unfortunately knocked out of bounds by Butler while Holiday was attempting a layup.

The Pelicans had the ball in the frontcourt, and Jokic still passed the ball to Tang Tian.

Tang Tian hadn't missed a shot in the second half; it wouldn't be right not to play through him.

Carlisle was shouting and making tactical gestures on the sidelines.

Butler was still defending Tang Tian one-on-one.

Davis continued to come up to set a pick, and Butler still couldn't get around it; Davis was too big and reacted too quickly.

However, Butler didn't switch onto Davis, instead joining Nowitzki to double-team Tang Tian.

This was Carlisle's tactical response, and it was accurate.

Such a sudden defensive change would have forced the previous Tang Tian to pass the ball to the outside players.

But now his passing vision had improved greatly. Before the double-team formed, he raised his hand and passed the ball inside, to the right of Nowitzki.

A beautiful bounce pass found Davis just as he reached the free-throw lane.

Davis's face lit up as he caught the ball, experiencing what it must have been like to play with the peak Amare Stoudemire.

He caught the ball, jumped, and easily dunked with both hands.

The Pelicans continued their strong play, going on a 14-2 run to start the second half!

Carlisle could only shake his head.

Tang Tian was now switching freely between scoring and passing, making him truly difficult to defend.

In the commentary booth, O'Neal looked at Barkley and Smith, laughing like a 300-pound child.

"Do you know what I want to say right now?"

O'Neal said, trying to contain his laughter.

Barkley and Smith both shook their heads.

"Okay, Charles, you think the Mavericks have a chance to upset, and Kenny, you think the Pelicans are like the Atlanta Hawks."

As O'Neal spoke, he reached out and made a gesture imitating female breasts.

"I just want to say that your ideals are both... very full, like this, but the reality..."

He then had Smith stand up again.

"The reality is like Kenny's waist, very lean."

Barkley and Smith burst out laughing.

O'Neal was starting to talk about the philosophy of life.

But they had overestimated the Mavericks' strength and underestimated the Pelicans', or rather, Tang Tian's strength.

The Mavericks really didn't have many ways to deal with Tang Tian. Tang Tian was dribbling, shooting, and passing with ease.

In the third quarter alone, he scored 20 points and had 6 assists.

Under his leadership, the Pelicans outscored the Mavericks 40-19 in the quarter, winning by 21 points.

If it weren't for their lead in the first half, they would have already been swept away by the Pelicans.

The game continued on the court, and Carlisle was sitting on the sidelines, feeling somewhat depressed.

He had tried many ways to limit Tang Tian, but none of them worked. He believed he had strong enough coaching ability, but now he couldn't contain a single player.

But it wasn't entirely his fault. The Mavericks' roster still had significant flaws.

Aside from lacking a reliable point guard on the offensive end, their problems on the defensive end were even greater.

Deron and Nowitzki, two veterans, were now defensive sieves that everyone wanted to exploit.

Harris was slow, and Embiid was inexperienced.

Relying on Butler alone on the wing was not enough to support an entire defensive system.

In a one-on-one situation, Butler's defense against Tang Tian was decent.

But as soon as the Pelicans' offense started to rotate, and the help defense couldn't get there in time, the Mavericks' defense would become riddled with holes.

This was why Tang Tian looked like he was playing with ease.

If they were facing the Warriors, who could switch everything, it would be a different story.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Pelicans' bench players stepped up, with Dinwiddie and Bogdan joining forces to launch a 13-2 run, directly extending the score to beyond 20 points.

Carlisle brought back the starters to chase points, but the deficit was too large, and they were unable to turn the tide.

In the end, the Pelicans easily defeated the Mavericks at home with a score of 106-91, securing their first victory of the playoffs.

For the Mavericks, Nowitzki scored a team-high 26 points, Harris and Butler each had 19 points, and Embiid had 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks in his playoff debut.

For the Pelicans, Tang Tian had 33 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals, Davis had 22 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals, and Jokic had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Stevens was a very capable coach, but he lacked some playoff experience.

His initial idea of letting other players find their rhythm at the start proved to be undesirable.

The second half made him understand that the playoffs were a stage for superstars, and even rhythm was found with the help of superstars.

Understanding this, he won not just the game in front of him.