Taking down the Thunder greatly boosted the Pelicans' morale, also proving that their previous loss to the Clippers was just an accident.

In the following week or so, they restarted their winning streak.

After a five-game winning streak, their record reached 63 wins and 5 losses, and the possibility of breaking the regular season win record was gradually increasing.

It was at this time that they welcomed Ariza's return.

Stevens is a coach who values defense, which is specifically reflected in his trust in Ariza.

In Ariza's first game back, Stevens put him in the starting lineup.

Their opponent in this game was the Grizzlies, which was also the last match between the two teams this season.

Ariza didn't have a good touch in his first game back, shooting 1 for 9 from the field and 0 for 4 from three-point range, scoring only 4 points.

Moreover, Conley of the Grizzlies exploded in this game, scoring a season-high 38 points.

The Pelicans unexpectedly lost to the Grizzlies 103-107.

After finishing the game with the Grizzlies, the Pelicans welcomed their last match of the season against the Jazz.

Tang Tian missed this game due to the flu.

Ariza continued to be entrusted with the starting lineup by Stevens.

As a result, he still had an icy touch, shooting 2 for 10 from the field and 0 for 3 from three-point range, scoring only 5 points and committing 3 turnovers.

The Pelicans lost to the Jazz 95-103, suffering their first losing streak of the season.

After this losing streak, the Warriors once again narrowed the gap in wins to 1.5 games.

If the Pelicans continued in this state, it wouldn't be impossible for the Warriors to overtake them.

After this game, fans on social media had a lot of questions about Stevens.

"Although it's right for Stevens to value defense, it's really bad to put Bojan directly on the bench when he's in such good form!"

"Yeah, Ariza just recovered from his injury, it would be wiser to let him find his form on the bench!"

"Especially in the second game, Tang couldn't play, and the starting lineup needed scoring points, Bojan should have started even more!"

"This is really worrying, now is the critical moment to break the regular season record, there's no need to act so recklessly!"

...

Despite the great doubts from the outside world, Stevens still revealed to the media that Ariza would continue to start in the next game against the Clippers.

"We are not chasing the regular season record."

In front of reporters, Stevens first clarified one thing.

"We didn't let Ad return early, we didn't let Trevor return early, Tang has the flu so he should rest well, what we do in the regular season is to keep everyone in shape, just like what I'm doing now."

Stevens' words may sound a bit harsh to fans of other teams, because such words that are similar to "we are just playing basketball" sound pretentious.

But in fact, this is the truth.

Stevens never mentioned the matter of breaking the regular season record within the team from beginning to end, and the Pelicans never shouted the slogan of breaking the record.

"Trevor has just returned and needs time to find his form, we don't have much time left, that's why I made the decision to start him, it's that simple."

Stevens is really direct.

The regular season relies on offense, the playoffs rely on defense.

Although he has only played in the playoffs once, he is very clear about this, and he also knows that Ariza's role in the playoffs is not comparable to Bojan's.

Stevens has already made his explanation, but the outside world is still talking about it.

However, the Pelicans team still supports Stevens as always.

Breaking the record is a good thing, but the championship is more attractive. Adjusting to the best state before the playoffs is more important than anything else.

The good news is that the team has a rare three-day break after the last game, which allows them to adjust well.

Just when the Pelicans were adjusting their state, the Warriors began a fierce chase of the Pelicans.

Curry played with injuries and led the team to win against the Spurs, and Green played until his legs cramped.

The Warriors' record after winning this game is 61 wins and 8 losses, which not only retains the hope of surpassing the Pelicans, but also has the opportunity to challenge the regular season record of 72 wins.

"We need such a victory, being able to challenge the best regular season record in team history is a very big opportunity for us."

Green said directly at the post-match press conference.

The Pelicans don't want to break the record, but the Warriors do.

And there is one more thing that Green didn't say publicly.

Curry has been in excellent form this season, and he and Tang Tian were close in terms of the gold content of their statistics before.

However, as Tang Tian's assists suddenly soared some time ago, Curry has been pulled away.

If you want Curry to defend the MVP, the only chance is for the Warriors to surpass the Pelicans in the standings.

Green's remarks have also made fans pay close attention to the remaining games of the season.

Let's not talk about who between the Pelicans and the Warriors will eventually become the league's number one, but with only twelve or three games left in the regular season, they are likely to witness the first time in history that teams with 70+ wins appear at the same time.

The scene is enough to make them excited just thinking about it.

The Warriors were chasing fiercely behind them, and the fans were extremely excited, but the Pelicans still trained step by step, preparing well for the games after the game.

Ariza trained especially hard. He had extra training after the past two games, and including these few days of training, he was always the first to arrive and the last to leave.

The words that it takes time to recover from an injury is Stevens' understanding of him, but it is not his requirement of himself.

He knew that he could not let Stevens down, nor could he disappoint his teammates.

Of course, he also knew the cruelty of the NBA very well. If he could not adjust his state before the playoffs, Stevens would not use him later.

The Pelicans' next game is against the Clippers.

The Clippers had defeated the Pelicans once before, and there was a war of words after the game.

Ariza was still one of the protagonists of that war of words. If he continues in this state, then he is slapping himself in the face.

Moreover, if the Clippers win again, they will become the only team to defeat the Pelicans twice this season.

Not to mention that the Pelicans will have a three-game losing streak.

But the good news is that after a long enough offseason, Tang Tian has recovered from the flu and can play in the next game against the Clippers.

The return of the core is the most morale-boosting thing.

To say nothing else, the players' enthusiasm on the training ground is high.

The day before the game, the Pelicans took a plane to Los Angeles.

The Clippers are currently ranked seventh in the West, but they are very close to the Trail Blazers in sixth and the Thunder in fifth.

With few games left in the season, they will go all out in every game to fight for a better ranking.

On the day of the game, the Clippers held a training session that was open to the public.

The players' emotions seemed very high.

"We won once, we can win a second time."

Because of the previous war of words, Little Rivers became the focus of media attention in this game.

And he didn't disappoint the reporters, and directly released bold words before the game.

But this is the current state of the Clippers. The last win has given them enough confidence.

Playing at home tonight, their only goal is to defeat the Pelicans twice!