Chapter 6 The Pinnacle

Having seized the Tianwangshan (tiān wáng shān, pivotal game), the Pelicans now held the series point.

All they had to do was continue their strong performance in the upcoming home game and advance to the Finals in one fell swoop.

Having overcome the Lakers, their toughest obstacle, the championship was now within reach.

However, the Lakers, pushed to the brink, would certainly not concede easily.

Remember the Spurs in the previous round? They had erupted when faced with elimination, let alone the Lakers.

But precisely because of this, the attention surrounding this game surpassed even the Tianwangshan.

If they could win against LeBron and Durant's Lakers with such a depleted roster, Tang Tian's historical GOAT status would rise another level.

Perhaps then he could truly say, "I'm not targeting anyone, I'm saying the entire league is trash."

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two days had passed, and Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals was about to begin in New Orleans.

A full two hours before the game, a large number of fans began pouring into the arena.

They couldn't wait any longer.

The players also began entering the arena one by one.

After the Lakers' team bus entered the arena, assistant coach Kidd led the players directly to the locker room.

Before Vogel arrived, Kidd delivered a very aggressive speech to the players who were changing into their game uniforms.

"Today will be our last game of the season if we don't give 120% of ourselves.

But I know that won't happen, I know tonight won't be that way, we will bring the game back to Los Angeles!

Our opponents, they thrashed us in the last game, we must respond!

No one is a coward, we won't be cowards!

Neither are they, but they are also people, people who can be defeated!

Don't think about the summer, we have a whole summer to make decisions, just focus on the game in front of us.

We will win, we must win!

I came here, LeBron came here, Kevin came here, all of you came here, here, just to win!

We will win, we will definitely win!"

Kidd was a pep-talk type of coach, and this speech was inspiring.

And it was also very well said.

You could feel a clear rise in the Lakers' morale.

This was also why the Lakers had hired him with the highest assistant coach salary in history.

After a while, Vogel arrived in the locker room, finished setting up the tactics, and led a group of highly motivated players to the arena.

There was still some time before the game, but letting the players familiarize themselves with the court in advance would allow them to unleash more energy in the game.

They warmed up for nearly half an hour before the Pelicans players arrived on the court.

Seeing this, Vogel became more confident about the game that night.

The more they valued the game, the greater the hope of winning the game tonight!

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the arena entered the player introduction ceremony.

The Lakers, playing on the road, were the first to announce their starting lineup.

Wade and Middleton on the outside, Durant and James on the forward line, and Lopez at center.

Vogel still hadn't adjusted the starting lineup. Although they had been defeated badly in the previous game, he still trusted Wade.

After the Lakers' starting lineup was announced, it was the Pelicans' turn, and the cheers in the arena were already unstoppable.

Tang Tian's Eastern magic had stirred up a lot of discussion on social media before, and they were looking forward to seeing if the team would do it again.

They soon had their answer, because when it was the Pelicans' turn to come out, the reserve players were already standing on either side, lined up.

Gasol, Siakam, Brogdon, Carter, as the starters came out one after another, the cheers from the crowd continued to climb.

When Tang Tian finally got up and touched all of his teammates' heads from beginning to end, the arena was already boiling.

This was the feeling!

Many fans at the scene even reached out and touched their own heads.

If they continued to play at this pace, head-touching would become the team's trademark!

Unique!

On the other side of the court, Vogel looked at this scene with some disdain.

This kind of psychological suggestion might work the first time, but it was simply unrealistic to want it to work a second time.

Tang Tian didn't really have magic.

The Lakers were determined to win tonight!

After the introduction ceremony, Tang Tian threw the magnesium powder, and the starters on both sides took the court one after another.

Amid the cheers of the fans, Gasol tipped the ball back to the Pelicans' half, officially kicking off the game.

The Pelicans didn't focus on Tang Tian right away, but instead had Gasol orchestrate the offense from the high post on the free throw line.

Tang Tian's movement restrained the defense, Brogdon curled out to attract the second wave, and Gasol finally passed the ball to Carter, who had cut to the baseline after the pick-and-roll.

Carter's three-point shot.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, the basketball went into the net!

Old Carter really gave the Pelicans fans a surprise!

The cheers at the scene were already unstoppable.

Vogel frowned at this moment. Carter hitting a three-pointer right away wasn't a good sign.

Fortunately, the Lakers' offense was significantly improved compared to the last game. Wade's cut to the basket and layup scored two points for the Lakers.

In the Pelicans' frontcourt, Gasol continued to organize.

This time, the ball went to Brogdon. Brogdon received the ball and made a feint before breaking towards the inside. He also had a floater over Wade in the restricted area!

The Pelicans had scored on two consecutive possessions to start the game! And Tang Tian hadn't even fired yet!

Their condition was as hot as it was in the last game!

The Lakers tried the same trick in the frontcourt, but the cutter was Middleton. He leaped up for a finger roll.

However, at the moment of the shot, Siakam showed his talent and aggressiveness, chasing from behind and reaching out to block the shot with all his might.

"Bang!"

A rim-rocking block!

And Siakam grabbed the defensive rebound after the block!

Vogel was stunned when he saw this.

Kidd's speech, the pre-game warm-up, had all of that been an illusion?

He reacted with a jolt and rushed to the sideline, shouting for the players to retreat on defense.

But it was too late.

Tang Tian, who hadn't fired yet after the start of the game, shook off the defender behind him in a flash, caught Gasol's long pass from the backcourt, and rushed to the frontcourt for a signature windmill dunk.

7 to 2!

Although the game had just started, many fans in the arena couldn't sit still!

James forced his way to the basket in the frontcourt and drew a foul on Gasol's hand, this ball was crucial.

But James missed both free throws at the free throw line!

The interference from the New Orleans fans was too great!

Gasol secured the defensive rebound.

Tang Tian dribbled the ball to the frontcourt to run the set offense.

This time it was Brogdon and Gasol's high pick-and-roll.

After realizing that the team's condition was back, Stevens began to seek tactical diversity!

Brogdon passed the ball back to Gasol, and Gasol threw a three-pointer from the top of the arc over Wade.

"Boom!"

The three-point turret fired and hit the target!

Gasol's three-pointer went in too!

10 to 2!

The fans at the scene were going wild.

Vogel completely shattered his previous illusion and immediately called a timeout.

"I remember the series between the Lakers and the Mavericks before. The Mavericks used four games to bring out the Lakers' condition. Now the Lakers have done the same thing, except this time, it took them four games to bring out the Pelicans' condition."

Barkley said earnestly at the commentary desk.

O'Neal and Barkley burst out laughing after hearing this.

Eastern magic was just their banter, the reality in front of them was more like what Barkley said, what goes around comes around.