The 32-point difference wasn't insurmountable, but the Thunder couldn't pull it off.

In reality, the Thunder's mentality had already collapsed when the point difference was stretched to beyond 40 points less than halfway through the third quarter.

In the end, the Pelicans defeated the Thunder 126-88 at home, securing the victory in their season opener.

For the Thunder, Westbrook had the most points, scoring 22 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists on 7-for-25 shooting, while Griffin had 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.

The Pelicans had multiple players contributing, with 7 players scoring in double figures.

The Big Four only played three quarters. Walker had a team-high 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, Tang Tian had 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists, Davis had 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks, and Butler had 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals.

Off the bench, Brogdon had 16 points and 5 assists, Bogdanovic had 12 points, Siakam had 11 points and 3 rebounds, Dedmon had 6 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks, and Lamb had 6 points.

This was a standard, overwhelming victory.

"38 points! Actually, the difference was 45 points at the end of the third quarter! That's terrifying!"

"What's even more terrifying is that Tang only took 11 shots, less than half of his average shot attempts last season..."

"Tang: I haven't even exerted myself yet, and you're already kneeling and calling me Daddy!"

"It's just a pity that the Pelicans' Big Four didn't play in the last quarter, otherwise, they would definitely have been heading for a 58-point difference!"

"This is really too brutal, there's just no chance at all!"

"Speaking of the Pelicans' performance, are they the strongest team in NBA history?"

"So-so, only third in the league."

"-________-''"

"Facts prove that ESPN's rankings are completely unreliable. Not to mention the Pelicans, the Thunder are ranked higher than the Bucks, but they were crushed even worse!"

"I wonder if Donovan will be fired?"

"How... it's actually possible, hahaha!"

"Hey, what's the point of playing? The Pelicans' lineup is too rogue! This is just revenge on society!"

"It all started with Xiao Hua's return. Before his return, Demps had stated that he would not change the lineup."

"Then Xiao Hua returned, the Pelicans traded for Butler, and signed Walker. Demps: It smells so good!"

"I'm tired, so tired. As a Thunder fan, I've lost all love."

"Brother, why be a Thunder fan! Become a Pelicans fan! It's fun to crush people for a while, it's always fun to crush people!"

"Speaking of which, did anyone notice Tang throwing magnesium powder before the game? Is he walking LeBron's path, leaving LeBron with no path to walk?"

"That's too ruthless. If LeBron wins a championship, wouldn't the first and second players in the league be competing to see who throws magnesium powder higher?"

"That scene... brother, you're really a talent!"

"No, do you guys think LeBron can still win a championship?"

"Maybe, possibly, perhaps, there's a tiny sliver of a chance?"

"There's no chance in hell! With the Pelicans' lineup, don't even think about a championship, but they can continue to increase the number of times they're the runner-up, which is true."

"So dark, so dark it's overflowing."

…

The fans on social media were incredibly lively after the game, basically all discussing the Thunder and Pelicans game.

As for the other games, far fewer people watched than last year, and even fewer discussed them.

This is truly the Pelicans' gravity, attracting all the attention.

"How do you evaluate the team's performance tonight?"

At the post-game press conference, a reporter asked Tang Tian this question.

"We played pretty well, but there's still a lot we can improve on. This is just our first game, and we'll play even better in the games to come."

They can play even better!

Tang Tian's answer was actually fine, but they won by 38 points. Wouldn't better mean heading for 40 points, 50 points, 58 points?!

And the key is that what he said really wasn't wrong. This was only the Pelicans' first regular-season game!

Teams that are going to play the Pelicans later on have a feeling of being screwed over in their hearts!

The fans are celebrating wildly, Tang Tian is subtly showing off, but the person in the best mood at this time is Gayle Benson.

After the game against the Thunder, her vice president told her that FOX had increased their broadcast contract offer.

Before the start of the season, FOX had already offered them a broadcast contract, 10 years for $750 million.

Benson didn't agree at the time, partly because he felt the offer was low, and partly because he had to consult Tang Tian's opinion.

But after one game, FOX completely recognized the Pelicans' value and re-offered 10 years for $1 billion!

This is a pretty outrageous figure. You have to know that there are very few teams in the NBA with exclusive broadcast contracts, and the biggest is the Lakers' 20 years for $3 billion.

On average, that's equivalent to $150 million per year.

That's a Los Angeles team, and for a small city like New Orleans to get this offer is already incredibly heaven-defying.

After receiving this offer, and on the second day after the Pelicans and Thunder game, Benson sent someone to invite Tang Tian to her manor.

Tang Tian wasn't too surprised when he heard the news.

The Pelicans are already a phenomenon in the league, and it's already late that media are only now coming to sign with him separately.

However, FOX's broadcast of the Pelicans is a bit different from Time Warner's broadcast of the Lakers.

Exclusive broadcasts, like Time Warner, are charged to fans in the Los Angeles area.

The reason they can do this is because Time Warner's viewership in the Los Angeles area is quite high.

FOX's viewership in the New Orleans area, and even surrounding cities, is obviously not comparable.

So this broadcast contract is complementary to the league's broadcast contract.

In addition to charging viewers in New Orleans and surrounding cities, the larger part is that when the Pelicans' games are not broadcast nationally, it will be broadcast nationally.

In numbers, after Xiao Hua's return, the Pelicans only have 24 official nationally televised games this season, 8 fewer than last season.

Then FOX will broadcast the remaining 58 games nationwide through their media.

To some extent, Xiao Hua targeting the Pelicans has actually helped the Pelicans.

If it weren't for so many broadcast games, FOX Sports wouldn't have offered such a large offer.

"FOX Sports was also involved in the Xiao Hua incident, so I have a lot of concerns in this regard."

Benson said indirectly, he knew that Tang Tian had been greatly negatively affected by the Xiao Hua incident.

"That's not a problem."

Tang Tian didn't care about that at all. On the contrary, he felt that FOX was the most suitable one.

After all, FOX was Xiao Hua's personal media before. Signing a contract with them is equivalent to winning them over.

In other words, it's also cutting off one of Xiao Hua's arms, which is definitely a good thing.

"But I think this offer is a bit low."

Tang Tian then said.

"Low?"

Benson looked at Tang Tian in surprise.

"It's low. 58 nationally televised games, that's twice as many as ESPN and TNT. Even if that number decreases next season, it's still higher than them. The current record for official nationally televised games in the NBA is 40 for the Lakers. Even if you calculate it that way, FOX still has more than ESPN and TNT."

After Tang Tian finished speaking, Benson looked at him in astonishment.

This guy, how is he more like a boss than she is?