Chapter 2 The Second Quarter

The second quarter's rotation saw both teams mixing starters with their bench players.

For the Pelicans, it was Walker and Davis, plus Brogdon, Bogdanovic, and Siakam.

For the Warriors, it was Thompson and Green, along with Livingston, Iguodala, and Looney.

The game remained neck and neck.

Judging by the way things were going, it seemed likely the outcome would only be decided in the final moments.

But just then, a controversial call occurred.

Walker drove into the lane, bumped past Green, and made a tough, signature underhand layup.

The referee's whistle blew at the same time.

Just as Walker and the other Pelicans players thought it was a 2+1, the referee signaled an offensive foul.

Walker looked puzzled.

Green was helping on defense and hadn't even established position, plus he was standing inside the restricted area.

Either it shouldn't have been called at all, or it should have been a defensive foul.

Stevens protested at the scorer's table, but to no avail.

Since Xiao Hua's return, the coach's challenge had been reduced to just one.

That meant the Pelicans would likely save it for the final moments, and Stevens didn't dare use it.

On the Warriors' next possession, Thompson hit a catch-and-shoot three-pointer from the outside.

The Warriors took the lead, a six-point swing overall.

The controversial call seemed to affect the Pelicans' players' morale, and Siakam's frustrated drive to the basket was blocked by Looney.

The Warriors went on the fast break, with Green assisting Iguodala for a 2+1.

When the free throw was made, the Warriors went on a 6-0 run, taking a five-point lead over the Pelicans.

In the stands, Xiao Hua smiled faintly, concealing his accomplishment.

In a matchup between super teams, it was easy to change the course of the game; one call could very well decide the outcome.

That was what he'd figured out during his six-month hiatus.

The referees still needed to be used, but strategically.

Davis was double-teamed on a low-post isolation play in the frontcourt and passed to Brogdon, whose three-pointer missed.

Back on the other end, Green, with the ball, suddenly turned and drove to the basket for a layup.

Green roared in excitement after scoring, a spasm-like yell with his head thrown back.

The lead was suddenly seven points.

Stevens called a timeout.

That one call had completely changed the momentum of the game.

"Tang, get the ball in the basket."

During the timeout, Stevens didn't make too many adjustments.

The call was crucial, but the Pelicans' offense had also become a bit chaotic.

He needed Tang Tian to change the game's momentum directly, just like he had against the Mavericks.

When play resumed, both teams made substitutions.

The Warriors replaced Iguodala with Durant, while the Pelicans replaced Walker with Tang Tian.

Brogdon dribbled the ball up the court, then passed it to Tang Tian.

The Pelicans once again ran the "Number 1 Isolation" play.

Thompson lowered his center of gravity, his eyes fixed on Tang Tian's shoulders.

Tang Tian made a big crossover to the right, but then quickly pulled the ball back and made another big crossover to the right.

At the moment he broke through, his unparalleled passive skill was instantly activated.

"Unequaled": Increases dribble success rate by 10% when breaking to the right!

Thompson was beaten immediately.

He only had time to turn his head and watch Tang Tian drive into the paint for a layup.

Even though they had trained hard together during the previous summer, Tang Tian's ball-handling and dribbling were different than before.

He really suspected that Tang Tian had cheated!

But cheating was impossible; that kind of thing only existed in novels and could never happen in reality.

It could only be said that Tang Tian's private training intensity was greater than anyone could imagine.

Practice hard, practice hard, only through hard practice can you improve.

The Pelicans' bench erupted in cheers.

Tang Tian's breakthrough was beautiful and crucial.

On the Warriors' possession, Durant caught the ball, turned, and drove to the basket for a sweeping layup.

Siakam, wary of fouling, held back, and Durant shot easily.

"Bang!"

But just as he shot, Davis leaped and swatted the ball out of bounds!

Tang Tian's basket had been inspiring, and Davis followed suit with a defensive play!

After the successful block, Davis also let out a spasm-like roar at the crowd.

He was going at Green.

Green's expression darkened; Davis was clearly provoking him.

The Warriors inbounded the ball, and Green, at the top of the arc, suddenly drove to the basket.

He was trying to repeat his previous success.

But Davis anticipated the move, giving chase and interfering with the shot, nearly blocking it again.

Green avoided the block, but his shot was an air ball, grabbed by Siakam.

Possession changed, and the Pelicans stopped a Warriors' offensive attack!

With one offensive and one defensive play, the Pelicans regained the initiative.

Brogdon dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Tang Tian again.

"Watch out for his right-side drive."

Just then, Iguodala on the sideline shouted a reminder to Thompson.

Even though the media and fans had already publicized that Tang Tian liked to drive to the right this season.

But Iguodala's feeling was different, very different.

Because he was too familiar with it.

He debuted with the 76ers, where the team's leader was Allen Iverson.

Although the positions were different, Tang Tian's breakthrough style was too similar to Iverson's.

Because of his height, Tang Tian's breakthrough speed wasn't as fast as Iverson's.

But precisely because he was taller, the crossover range was wider!

Thompson heard him and tried hard to defend Tang Tian's right side.

But Tang Tian's series of crossovers still got him past Thompson on the right!

Green, seeing this, came over to help defend.

Thompson's defense was too unreliable, unable to stop a right-side drive!

He leaned to the right, betting that Tang Tian wouldn't go left.

Tang Tian didn't go left; instead, he made a big pull-back move to the left after breaking to the right.

Green, leaning too far to the right, lunged out of bounds.

He was faked out!

After pulling the ball back, Tang Tian stopped abruptly and took a mid-range shot.

"Swish!"

The basketball went cleanly through the net.

Tang Tian drove past Thompson and Green to score!

The crowd was in an uproar; this basket had already secured a spot in today's Top 5 plays!

"I knew you wouldn't dare drive to the right!"

Green trash-talked Tang Tian after seeing the basket go in.

Tang Tian had gone to the right, but in the end, he had chosen to shoot!

"Is that so?"

Tang Tian replied calmly.

On the Warriors' possession, Thompson's three-point attempt missed this time, and Davis secured the defensive rebound.

Back on the other end, the Pelicans ran a play in the frontcourt, and after a series of screens, Tang Tian was mismatched against Green.

The whistles and cheers rose from the crowd.

Because of Green's pre-game trash talk, they were eagerly anticipating this matchup.

Green lowered his center of gravity and clapped his hands forcefully.

It was clear that he had also been waiting for this one-on-one opportunity.

Tang Tian made a big pull-back move to the right.

Green was sure that his trash talk had worked, and he leaned to the right, blocking Tang Tian's path to the right.

But Tang Tian didn't break through immediately; instead, he accelerated and closed the distance to Green.

Green was caught off guard.

The next second, Tang Tian made another big crossover to the right, beating him again!

I said I'd drive to the right, and I'm driving to the right, even if you know it, it won't help!