Chapter 1 Montres

"Montres."

Stevens called Harrell up first after the timeout.

Gasol's injury was sudden, and he could only let Harrell fill in.

As for letting Davis play center, if Davis got injured too, the Pelicans' inside would be truly finished.

"Boss, why don't you just do your magic?"

After the tactics were arranged, Brogdon asked Tang Tian before taking the court.

Since the last game against the Lakers, Brogdon was convinced that Tang Tian had Eastern magic.

"Cough cough."

Tang Tian was a little embarrassed. He was indeed planning to use his magic, but Brogdon's question made it seem shameless to do it again.

Moreover, he had noticed some hair loss when washing his hair last time.

Magic is good, but it must be controlled!

"You kid, you really believe it, just play your game."

Tang Tian said, patting Brogdon's head.

People are indeed different, Kuzma didn't believe him no matter what, but Brogdon believed him without a doubt.

When the timeout ended, the Spurs didn't make any personnel adjustments.

Although Baynes wasn't a great fit with the others after being in the starting lineup, with Gasol injured, the Spurs had an inside advantage, and Popovich didn't need to change anything.

The Spurs had the ball in the frontcourt. Leonard, using Baynes' screen, drove into the paint and scored a layup over Harrell.

Although Harrell's wingspan was also excellent, his height and strength were far inferior to Gasol, and his interior defense was naturally much weaker.

Stevens glanced back at Gasol, who was already on the bench with a large ice pack on his foot, his eyes filled with helplessness.

The Pelicans had an unfavorable start, losing their key inside player in the first game of the series.

Tang Tian was still heavily guarded in the frontcourt, and he was double-teamed by George and Leonard as soon as he got the ball.

In the first round against the Rockets, Harden was tormented in the same way, making it difficult for him to even get a shot off.

However, Tang Tian still had his individual skills, a sudden stop and turnaround fadeaway after breaking through, a beautiful shot.

"Clang!"

But the basketball bounced off the rim.

Although George and Leonard didn't prevent Tang Tian from shooting, they still put a lot of pressure and interference on him.

The two of them provided the most side defense pressure in history with their wingspans and abilities.

And Tang Tian's touch wasn't very good tonight.

The Pelicans' offense failed again, and the perimeter players quickly retreated to defend.

It was at this moment that something unexpected happened.

Davis flew from the free-throw line to the basket, and stubbornly grabbed the offensive rebound over Baynes' head, then turned and scored a put-back!

This score was crucial.

With Gasol injured and Tang Tian defended, someone else had to step up for the Pelicans!

On the Spurs' offense, Leonard found Baynes again for a pick-and-roll, but this time Green didn't switch and gave him some space.

Leonard chose to pull up for a jump shot.

However, Tang Tian had already rotated over to help defend before he shot, and his jump block provided interference.

"Clang!"

Leonard's shot also missed!

Tang Tian turned around and secured the defensive rebound!

Although his touch wasn't very good tonight, his defense and awareness were still top-notch.

He grabbed the rebound and immediately pushed the fast break.

At this moment, a figure rushed even faster than him.

Davis!

Davis had been defending Aldridge at the free-throw line before, and with his reaction, he was ahead of everyone on the fast break.

An offensive rebound earlier, and now a fast break, it was clear that he was in great shape tonight!

Of the 11 points the Pelicans had in the first quarter, Tang Tian had 4, Green had 3, and the remaining 4 were scored by Davis!

Tang Tian advanced to the right side of the frontcourt, saw Leonard pounce on him again, and threw a no-look pass towards the middle.

Davis saw the ball and soared into the air, slamming it in with an alley-oop!

15 to 10!

After Gasol's injury, the Pelicans not only didn't collapse, but instead widened the gap by 4 points thanks to Davis' consecutive scores!

The crowd on the sidelines was buzzing.

Popovich was also yelling at Aldridge.

Aldridge's expression was slightly helpless. He had been forced to gain weight in order to play center, and now he was playing power forward, his speed was much slower than Davis.

Fortunately, he knew Popovich was not to be trifled with, and after receiving a pass from Leonard on the offensive end, he shook his defender and hit a signature mid-range jumper.

This shot made up for his mistake.

Back on the other end, Tang Tian continued to hold the ball outside the three-point line. He didn't break through directly, because Leonard's help defense would definitely come.

He signaled Davis to come up for a high pick-and-roll.

After the pick, he accelerated towards the inside.

The Spurs' defensive reaction was really fast. He broke to the free-throw line, and Leonard's help defense was already in place, with George chasing him from behind.

Including Aldridge in front of him, it was a pocket formation that directly trapped him inside!

Tang Tian made a sudden stop, preparing to shoot, and when George caught up, he threw a no-look behind-the-back pass.

This series of actions was completed beautifully, and although George was wary of his pass, he still failed to defend it.

The ball went straight to Davis.

Davis didn't hesitate and shot the ball directly.

"Swish!"

Two points steadily in the bag.

Davis scored 6 consecutive points and had already scored 10 points in this quarter!

The Pelicans' bench erupted, and Robinson was waving his towel wildly.

Jordan's performance was average tonight, but Pippen stepped up!

Popovich shook his head helplessly.

Davis being in good shape was one aspect, but on the other hand, Tang Tian could still pass the ball out of that pocket formation, which was incredibly impressive.

On the Spurs' offense, Leonard once again showed his consistency, scoring a turnaround fadeaway over Green.

14 to 17, the situation on the court remained tense.

On the Pelicans' frontcourt offense, Tang Tian made a tactical gesture.

Brogdon didn't pass the ball to him again, but instead signaled Davis to post up low and prepared to pass the ball inside.

Others on the weak side weren't idle either, Tang Tian was running off screens set by Harrell and Green to pull the Spurs' defense.

His thought was, if the situation was unfavorable, he would have to use his magic, pretending to be frustrated after missing a shot.

But now that Davis was in great shape, for the sake of his hair, he would hold off on that for now.

The Pelicans didn't need him to carry them every night.

Tang Tian's movement was crucial, the Spurs' defense was stretched, and Davis got a one-on-one opportunity against Aldridge after receiving the ball.

With a series of footwork moves, Davis was as nimble as a guard in front of the current Aldridge.

Aldridge wasn't known for his defense in the first place, and his weight prevented him from keeping up with Davis' speed.

Davis finally squeezed past Aldridge and scored a beautiful turnaround put-back.

He scored 8 consecutive points! And had scored 12 points in this quarter!

The crowd on the sidelines was buzzing.

Not only because Davis was scoring continuously, but also because of the way Davis was scoring now.

Another second-chance put-back, another mid-range shot, and another layup off footwork near the basket.

This scene was very familiar to them!

Tim Davis!