Chapter 125 Apology

But Tang Tian didn't fast break immediately after stealing the ball. Instead, he waited for Austin Rivers to turn around and chase him before dribbling forward.

Austin Rivers tried his best to retreat. Being stolen was embarrassing enough, he had to stop this one!

The two went from the backcourt to the frontcourt. Austin Rivers fought for defensive position, ready to block Tang Tian's fast break.

Tang Tian ignored him when he saw this. He lowered his center of gravity, jumped up, and forcibly bumped into Austin Rivers.

Austin Rivers was too weak against Tang Tian. He was directly knocked out of bounds.

"Bang!"

Tang Tian dunked with both hands.

"Beep!"

The referee on the sidelines whistled, indicating a defensive foul by Austin Rivers.

The audience booed.

Tang Tian didn't care about the boos. After landing, he glanced at Austin Rivers coldly.

"You shouldn't have mentioned his brother."

Austin Rivers, after being abused in various ways, finally realized what Tang Tian was talking about after hearing those words.

He wanted to stand up and punch Tang Tian, but his hands and feet wouldn't listen.

Ariza wasn't famous, so it didn't matter if he offended him.

But Tang Tian, ​​with his left fist knocking out Martin's teeth and his right fist disfiguring Pachulia's nose, was truly ruthless. He couldn't afford to provoke him!

Being tough depended on the target. Dueling people required attention to risk. If he ended up crippled, his career would be over.

Austin Rivers was helped up by his teammates, and the game continued.

A three-pointer attempt forced by the defense, a dunk from a strong bump, a humiliated face shot…

Austin Rivers had unlocked all the postures of being humiliated in just a few minutes on the court.

Doc Rivers finally couldn't hold back and substituted Austin Rivers ahead of time.

He would rather suffer some anger himself than let his son be beaten to waste.

But cruelly, just as Austin Rivers was being substituted, Tang Tian also walked to the sidelines and signaled Stevens to substitute him.

The two were only a few seconds apart in entering and exiting the court.

Tang Tian was blatantly telling everyone that he was on the court just to abuse Austin Rivers!

Tang Tian received cheers from his teammates as he left the court.

Even the slowest of them had figured it out.

Ariza's emotions hadn't calmed down, but he looked at Tang Tian gratefully at this moment.

Having such a team leader was truly his luck.

In the end, the Pelicans beat the Clippers 110 to 83 on the road, ending their two-game losing streak.

Tang Tian had a team-high 42 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocks, including 12 points, 3 steals, and 3 blocks in the fourth quarter.

Ariza's performance rebounded somewhat, with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block on 3-of-7 shooting.

Austin Rivers was a bit miserable for the Clippers. His 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting were passable, but he had 5 turnovers, plus many blocks and dunks in the fourth quarter that weren't statistically recorded. It was the most miserable game of his career.

After the game, the Pelicans returned to the locker room without shaking hands with the Clippers.

"I still can't stand this!"

Back in the locker room, Stephenson still felt indignant.

Just like when Tang Tian elbowed Green and punched Pachulia, they felt that was real satisfaction.

Now, just relying on Tang Tian humiliating him on the court, they still didn't feel satisfied.

"We're going to demand an explanation!"

Metta World Peace spoke directly at this time.

Metta World Peace had been on the sidelines for the previous two conflicts because he wasn't on the active list and couldn't play.

This time, he couldn't stand it anymore.

Tang Tian didn't stop him. Austin Rivers' actions were indeed excessive and there had to be an explanation.

With neither the locker room leader nor the team leader stopping them, the entire Pelicans team marched out of the locker room and headed straight for the Clippers' locker room.

The arena security guards didn't dare to stop such a large group of people.

However, some of the security guards were quick-witted and ran to the Clippers' locker room to report the news in advance.

When they arrived, the locker room door was tightly closed.

They couldn't push it open. It must have been locked from the inside.

Metta World Peace knocked on the door, but there was no response.

The Clippers' style has always been to bully the weak and fear the strong. They didn't dare to show their faces in this kind of situation.

"Austin, you have the ability to say those things, you have the ability to open the door!"

Stephenson saw that there was no movement inside for a long time and pounded on the locker room door.

Tang Tian suddenly thought of a well-known TV series at this moment.

They knocked for a long time without any response, and some reporters had begun to appear outside the door.

Metta World Peace couldn't bear it anymore and kicked the door open.

"Bang!"

The kick was powerful enough to kick the locker room door open.

When the security guards saw that things were getting out of hand, some of them pushed the reporters away, while others tried to enter the locker room to mediate.

The group of people pushing the reporters succeeded, but the people who wanted to go in to mediate couldn't do it at all.

The huge locker room was already filled with players from both sides, and the atmosphere was tense.

The Clippers' players were panicked, with DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, and Paul Pierce standing in front.

Pierce tried hard to persuade both sides to calm down. If they fought in the locker room, both teams would be disbanded tomorrow.

Although Metta World Peace was impulsive, he knew the consequences after experiencing the Malice at the Palace.

Both sides were confronting each other and negotiating.

The result of the negotiations was that Austin Rivers had to apologize to Ariza in front of both teams, or they wouldn't leave.

At first, Austin Rivers was emotional and said it was impossible, but when Stephenson said what Austin Rivers had said, the situation changed drastically.

Many of the Clippers' players retreated to the bench, including DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin.

Obviously, this kind of behavior made the Clippers' teammates unwilling to support Austin Rivers anymore.

Pierce also turned to persuade Austin Rivers.

Finally, under pressure, Austin Rivers apologized to Ariza in the locker room and promised not to say such things again in the future.

His expression was angry, but he was helpless.

Metta World Peace and Stephenson were still reasoning. If they were really pushed to the limit, those kinds of people would really fight.

With the apology over, Stevens arrived after hearing the news.

At his persuasion, the Pelicans' players returned to their locker room.

And it wasn't until the Pelicans' players left that Doc Rivers arrived.

Austin Rivers looked at his father, his hands almost bleeding from clenching them.

Dad, you're late!

The game between the Pelicans and the Clippers had ended, but the news released by the media after the game caused a huge uproar.

Although the security guards stopped them and didn't know exactly what happened in the locker room.

But the entire Pelicans team storming the Clippers' locker room and Metta World Peace violently breaking down the door were still exposed.

Adam Silver took this matter seriously and established a league investigation team.

But whether it was the Pelicans or the Clippers, they were tight-lipped about what happened in the locker room.

Austin Rivers had already apologized, and the Pelicans had achieved their goal. They didn't want the matter of Ariza's brother to be known to everyone, as that would constantly stimulate Ariza.

As for the Clippers, they definitely didn't want the outside world to know about this embarrassing thing.

As a result, the players on both teams were extremely tight-lipped. Besides the parties involved, no one outside knew what exactly happened.