And in the next possession, he helped defend Butler's drive to the basket!

A 10% increase in stability isn't much, but Davis has been relatively stable since studying under Duncan.

To use an analogy, he had fallen below the critical point of his normal performance, and this 10% boost pulled him back up!

Davis repeatedly powered through Gallinari inside. When he tried to establish position for the third time, Rivers was forced to help defend.

And with that help defense, an even bigger problem arose.

Tang Tian hadn't even taken a shot since the start of the game!

Facing his brother Butler, he shook him off with a series of fakes, and then pulled up for a jump shot.

"Swish!"

The basketball went in smoothly.

The moment Tang Tian shot, he had a feeling that the ball would go in as long as he released it.

Gallinari hit a catch-and-shoot three-pointer on the perimeter, finally getting some revenge.

Back on the other end, Tang Tian ran a pick-and-roll with Davis, then Tang Tian mismatched against Gallinari, driving to the basket for a contested layup.

Gallinari knew he couldn't guard Tang Tian and committed a hard foul.

Tang Tian was forcibly pulled down, but he still managed to send the ball out steadily before falling.

The referee blew his whistle, and the ball brushed the backboard and went into the net.

2+1!

Tang Tian felt a burst of relief after scoring the goal.

Stability is something you can't touch or see, but its actual effect is exceptionally good.

Tang Tian steadily made the free throw, putting the Pelicans ahead 9-5.

Doncic broke through and passed to Gallinari again, but this time Gallinari missed the shot.

Gasol secured the defensive rebound.

The Pelicans immediately launched a fast break. Tang Tian received the ball and went on a one-man fast break, leaning on Butler for a finger roll.

Butler's defense was in good position.

"Swish!"

But the ball passed over his fingertips, danced a brief waltz in the air, and then settled into the net.

11-5!

Butler's isolation play on the other end was defended by Tang Tian.

The Pelicans returned to a set offense.

Butler tapped into his mental attributes, encouraging his teammates with words, and the Clippers pulled off a successful defensive play.

With little time left on the shot clock, the ball ended up in Tang Tian's hands.

Tang Tian dribbled to the free throw line and was immediately double-teamed, and Butler had already blocked Tang Tian's path to the right.

There wasn't enough time, and Tang Tian didn't have time to make any other moves. He leaned to the left and then directly performed a turnaround fadeaway to the left.

Gallinari lunged aggressively, making contact in the air.

Tang Tian's body lost some balance, but his shooting form didn't change, and he steadily shot the ball.

"Beep!"

"Swish!"

The referee blew his whistle, and the ball went in cleanly!

Another 2+1!

The fans on the sidelines were excited.

Gallinari landed and held his head in his hands, looking dejected.

This was already his second personal foul of the game.

The game had only been going for less than five minutes.

And both of his fouls were committed against Tang Tian, and neither was successful.

So frustrating!

A short whistle sounded from the sideline, and JaMychal Green came on to replace Gallinari.

Tang Tian's free throw was good.

14-5!

After Davis tied up the defense, Tang Tian scored 9 consecutive points in a short period of time, instantly widening the gap to 9 points!

"The Pelicans are in excellent form tonight, whether it's AD or Tang, the basket looks like the ocean to them."

Breen exclaimed from the commentary booth.

Davis goes without saying, he'd been in average form lately, but tonight his performance was very stable.

As for Tang Tian, he had once again redefined his understanding. He originally thought that Tang Tian's previous performances were already outstanding enough, but the truth proved that Tang Tian had no limits.

Over the past period, Tang Tian gave him the feeling that no matter how difficult the shot, or how much the contact, he could always steadily send the ball into the basket.

Rivers had already walked from the bench to the sideline, and he was constantly shouting at the players on the court, reminding them of their defensive positions.

He was waiting, waiting for Tang Tian's performance to drop off.

But unfortunately, he didn't wait until the end of the quarter.

Tang Tian's performance tonight was extremely stable.

In this quarter, he scored 22 points in a single quarter against Butler's defense.

Under his leadership, the Pelicans scored 37 points in a single quarter, finishing the quarter with a 37-23 lead.

In the second quarter, during the transition period of the bench players, both sides used their starters mixed with bench players.

For the Clippers, it was Lou Williams and Bradley on the outside, Shamet and Gallinari on the wings, and Thomas Bryant at center.

For the Pelicans, it was Alexander and Ding Yanyuhang on the outside, Kuzma and Siakam on the wings, and Harrell at center.

Rivers stood on the sideline at the start of the second quarter.

Williams and Gallinari were on the court together in this period, and he clearly wanted the Clippers to catch up in this period.

On paper, the Clippers' bench players had an advantage.

His idea was indeed realized.

The Clippers attacked first in the second quarter, with Williams showing his individual strength, getting past Alexander and Harrell in succession, and scoring a quick layup.

Siakam's layup on the other end was interfered with by Bryant and missed. Bryant grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Clippers immediately launched a fast break.

It was still Williams, who accelerated past Alexander, and scored a layup on the other end, drawing a foul on Ding Yanyuhang for pulling!

Williams roared after scoring and waved his hands at the audience, signaling the fans to cheer.

The cheers from the audience came in waves.

Since the beginning of last season, Williams' outstanding scoring ability had become familiar to Los Angeles fans.

This season, despite the team drafting Doncic and trading for Butler, Williams, as the sixth man, was still contributing nearly 19 points per game.

At this rate, he was likely to win the Sixth Man of the Year award again.

"Ask around in Los Angeles, and ask who's the daddy."

Fans even used such words to describe Williams' outstanding performance.

Stevens reacted quickly, turning to call Brogdon up and sending him on to replace Ding Yanyuhang.

Williams made the free throw.

He had personally scored a 5-0 run, narrowing the gap to 9 points.

"Defense! Defense!"

The fans in the arena chanted in unison to cheer for the team. The Clippers were gaining momentum.

Rivers continued to yell at the players from the sidelines.

The core offensive point of the Pelicans' bench lineup was Siakam. If they defended him, and then kept up with Brogdon, who had just been substituted on, they would basically defend against them.

His strategy was indeed effective. Siakam and Brogdon were closely marked, and the Pelicans failed to execute their tactics twice in a row.

Alexander was the point guard, and he ended up calling for a simple pick-and-roll with Harrell, taking the ball inside himself.

Bryant was marking him closely, and his defense was fierce.

In the trade last summer, he wasn't originally supposed to be sent away by the Pelicans, but he was added in so that the Pelicans could get Alexander.

In other words, the Pelicans thought Alexander had more potential to develop than him.

So he was putting in a lot of effort against the Pelicans, especially against Alexander.

The two of them battled to the basket, and Alexander made a sudden stop.

Bryant seized the opportunity to interfere forcefully, and the two of them made contact in the air.

It was also at this moment that Alexander felt that his shot in the air was much steadier than usual.

He adjusted the angle and made a short floater from close range.

The ball flew over Bryant's fingertips and towards the basket.

"Swish!"

A crisp sound.

Alexander steadily scored over Bryant's defense!