37 to 18!

The first quarter ended with the Pelicans leading by 19 points!

The despair in the eyes of the fans at the arena deepened.

Vogel was also feeling defeated.

He had hoped the Lakers could close the gap during the bench players' rotation, but in reality, the difference not only didn't shrink but widened!

It felt like being cut with a knife, bleeding non-stop, wanting to sprinkle some styptic powder to stop the bleeding, but mistakenly grabbing a handful of salt instead.

The pain of that handful was imaginable.

However, the importance of Game 5 was self-evident. Vogel took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and rearranged his tactics during the quarter break.

Kidd also played his part, using passionate words to motivate the team's bench players.

The Lakers' coaching staff took a two-pronged approach, but none of it worked.

As soon as the second quarter started, the Pelicans hit the Lakers with a 7-2 run, directly widening the gap to over 20 points.

The entire Pelicans team was on fire tonight!

Vogel, seeing this, subbed in Pope and Stephenson, trying a different group of players.

But in the end, it was still ineffective!

The Lakers couldn't win in two areas tonight.

The starters couldn't win, and the bench couldn't win!

Perhaps, like James' eternal one-for-two free throws, this game was destined to be a loss for them!

At the end of the third quarter, the score was 100 to 75.

A 25-point difference, the first time in the history of the two teams that such a disparity had occurred.

However, the Lakers did not give up. In the final quarter, led by James and Durant, they fought back hard, at one point narrowing the gap to within 15 points.

But the difference was too great, and after Stevens brought the starters back, the Pelicans played steadily, cutting off their last hope of chasing points.

With two minutes left in the game, Vogel subbed out the starters and announced his surrender.

James and Durant sat on the bench, the former forgetting to bite his fingernails, and the latter staring blankly ahead.

Obviously, they lost this game without a fight.

The final score was 120 to 100.

The Pelicans played at a super-first-class level, ultimately easily defeating the Lakers and taking the victory in this pivotal Game 5!

James and Durant combined for 60+ points in vain.

Seven players on the Pelicans team scored in double figures, with Tang Tian putting up a massive double-double of 28 points, 20 assists, and 8 rebounds.

The result of this game was too different from what fans had predicted before the game, and there was endless discussion on social media afterward.

"The Pelicans can still win by a large margin without Davis, which can only mean they're in really good form tonight."

"Yes, once the Pelicans find their touch, Tang plays like 'Magic' Johnson."

"Towns, Tang Yongqi, Tang San: I'm giving you one chance to rephrase that!"

"Having won Game 5, and with the next game at the Pelicans' home court, I think LeBron may never get his chalk toss back in his life."

"Although it's cruel, the reality seems to be that the Lakers have three starters whose contracts expire in the summer, and they might really break up directly after failing to win the championship!"

"If I were Durant, I would definitely choose to leave LeBron and go find Tang in the summer!"

"The Pelicans don't have the cap space!"

"When Durant wants to go, cap space is available in minutes!"

"No, I don't think that will happen. Durant has changed a lot this season, and he will continue to challenge the Pelicans!"

"Apart from Tang Tian, the Pelicans' roster is honestly the weakest it's been in recent years, and Ad is injured. They still couldn't win, and you're still thinking about continuing?"

"Tang is now a player with more dominance than Jordan. I think unless he retires, no one can challenge him for the championship this year!"

"My Bucks' Antetokounmpo is eager to try!"

"That seems to be the case. The Pelicans and Lakers are fighting each other, and whoever wins will be battered and bruised, especially the Pelicans, with Ad injured and Green playing with an injury. It's only fitting for the Bucks to be the beneficiaries!"

"If the Bucks really pick this peach and end the Pelicans' dynasty, then Antetokounmpo will launch a strong attack on Tang's position as the league's number one player!"

"To be honest, I think the Bucks are still a lot worse than the Lakers, right? And with Tang's current strength, I'm not exaggerating when I say that he could do it with four CBA teammates."

"I think so too."

"I think so +1!"

"I think so +2!"

"Hehe, you'll only know after you play. Just watch, my Bucks are winning the championship this year!"

"Speaking of which, did anyone notice the Pelicans' unique pre-game entrance ceremony? I think the Pelicans' sudden surge in form tonight has a lot to do with that!"

"The media has reported on Tang's habit before, even more exaggerated than Duncan's, and the Pelicans' Brogdon calls it 'Eastern magic'."

"Could Tang be a legendary Eastern sorcerer?"

"That explanation makes a lot of sense! Otherwise, how could a yellow man go from a substitute to an All-Star, and then to the league's number one player, the best in history?"

"Yes, it's all his magic at work. Where is our 'Doctor Strange'? Hurry up and reveal his true face!"

"The Lakers' Stephenson might be the one, the most magical one in the Lakers' Avengers?(???)?"

"As a seasoned psychologist, I would say that this is just ordinary suggestive behavior. If you believe in something, then it's more likely to happen."

"That explanation makes a lot of sense. The Pelicans' perimeter strength isn't bad. The poor performance in the past few games was a sequelae of Ad's injury, and now Tang is just using this method to get them back in form."

"But why is it head-touching?"

"And why do they get back in form after head-touching?"

"And the key is that Tang Tian even touched his own head. He doesn't need to find his form?!"

"Three consecutive invincible questions. Tang, the Eastern Sorcerer, is confirmed!"

"The Lakers lost fairly!"

……

The Pelicans' locker room after the game was filled with wild celebrations.

Winning Game 5 on the Lakers' home court was definitely something to be excited about.

However, Tang Tian sat quietly in the corner.

It wasn't that he didn't think it was time to celebrate because the series wasn't over yet, but rather that Nash had inadvertently said as they were walking through the player tunnel that his hair seemed to be falling out a lot, and that he shouldn't put too much pressure on himself and should get some rest…

Not long after, Stevens came to the locker room. In addition to asking Tang Tian and Brogdon to go with him to the press conference,

He also announced that the unique opening ceremony would continue to be used in the next game.

The locker room erupted in cheers.

Faith is built up after repeated successful attempts.

After winning such a crucial battle, the players were already deeply convinced of Tang Tian's Eastern magic.

However, Parker, sitting in the corner, shook his head with a wry smile.

He had dodged Duncan, but he never thought he would end up not dodging Tang Tian in the end.

If he had known that he would have to go through this kind of thing with the Pelicans last summer, he would have refused to come no matter what.