Chapter 147 Fueled by Desire

Beset by injuries before, Davis and Green were either absent or playing as substitutes. Now, they're in the starting lineup together!

When the two of them didn't start before, the Bucks were completely crushed. Now, seeing the Pelicans' starting lineup, they're already feeling despair before the game even starts!

Of course, that's not the most despairing thing.

The most despairing thing is that at the very end of the Pelicans' opening ceremony, Tang Tian, just like in the previous two games, touched the heads of the Pelicans' players again!

Belief is built upon repeated success.

And fear is born from repeated experience!

No one knows if this unprecedented ritual is actually useful.

But the current situation is that the Pelicans think it's useful, and the Bucks, as their opponents, also think it's useful!

The game is about to begin, and both coaches are giving their final pre-game tactical instructions.

After gathering his players together, Budenholzer threw the tactics board onto the bench and, with the most emotional tone he could muster, said to his players,

"They're putting up a smokescreen. They're trying to break down our psychological defenses with this. We have to maintain our confidence."

Although those words sounded a bit cowardly, they were exactly what the Bucks needed right now.

Their initial despair eased up quite a bit.

What Budenholzer said made some sense. Rumors were that Davis wouldn't be back for another three days, and Green's injury hadn't shown any progress either.

The fact that both of them were starting together now was just too coincidental.

They preferred to believe that what Budenholzer said was true, that this was just the Pelicans trying to break their psychological defenses.

The short whistle sounded at the sideline, the game was about to start, and the starting lineups from both sides took to the court one after another.

Tang Tian tossed up magnesium powder, igniting the fans' emotions. Amid the cheers of the fans, the game was on the verge of erupting.

The Pelicans' player for the jump ball tonight was Davis instead of Gasol.

Coincidentally, the Bucks also switched from Horford to Antetokounmpo.

It was clear that the two teams were going all out right from the start tonight.

In the end, Antetokounmpo's jumping ability and wingspan were still superior, giving the Bucks the opportunity to attack first.

Budenholzer breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this.

He didn't know if Davis's injury was really healed, but Antetokounmpo winning the jump ball would definitely help boost the Bucks' morale.

Irving advanced to the frontcourt and immediately signaled for Horford to come up high for a pick-and-roll.

The Bucks' offensive strategy for this game seemed to be the same as the last, with Irving and Hayward as the primary offensive points.

Irving's crossover was beautiful, and he quickly broke past Gasol and drove to the basket.

He glanced at Davis, who was defending Antetokounmpo, and then did a low-hand layup off the backboard after jumping.

But just before the ball touched the rim, a long arm covered the ball and swatted it away.

*Bang!*

A chase-down block!

It was Davis!

Irving's eyes were filled with disbelief.

Because he had observed Davis's position before he went up for the layup!

Davis also grabbed the defensive rebound in stride, turned and passed it to Tang Tian, and then quickly dashed downcourt.

Tang Tian advanced to the frontcourt and, seeing Redick and Hayward both guarding him, made a no-look pass to the center.

Davis had already arrived, caught the ball, and then slammed it in with a one-handed dunk!

The cheers from the crowd exploded instantly.

From the block to the fast-break dunk, Davis's first game back after his injury, the first play of the game, contributed a highlight-reel worthy play!

The arena also showed a slow-motion replay of the sequence.

Davis was indeed watching Antetokounmpo, but he had rotated over to help defend when Irving jumped.

His height, wingspan, jumping ability, and even reaction speed were all stronger than Siakam's before!

Relying on his physical gifts, he struck after the opponent moved, and managed to block the shot!

And after the block, he also demonstrated the speed of an elite big man, running faster than a small forward, and then catching the pass to complete the dunk.

The Bucks' bench looked at each other in dismay.

Budenholzer had tried to make them believe that the Davis and Green starting lineup was just a smokescreen, but judging from this opening play, that wasn't the case at all!

The Bucks' offense saw Hayward and Horford execute a pick-and-roll. Hayward had better court vision than Irving, and after breaking through to the inside, he passed the ball to Antetokounmpo.

But Davis's reaction speed was really fast, and he rotated back into position the instant Hayward made the pass.

Antetokounmpo could only go one-on-one.

Repeatedly backing down hard, then a spin move into a strong jump shot.

Davis withstood it all, and Antetokounmpo didn't get a good shooting opportunity, resulting in a somewhat forced shot.

It was clear that his confidence had taken a hit after the previous two games.

But it was this forced shot.

*Bang!*

Davis soared into the air like a rocket, slapping Antetokounmpo's shot out of bounds with a single swat!

The arena exploded.

Davis had blocked Antetokounmpo!

Antetokounmpo was an MVP candidate this season, and Davis was clearly a bit behind him in terms of strength, and he had just recovered from his injury.

But just now, Davis had given Antetokounmpo a solid block!

The momentum, the Pelicans' momentum had instantly reached its peak.

This block really boosted morale!

Tang Tian also gave Davis a thumbs-up at this moment.

It must be said that in addition to ability, basketball also requires a great deal of initiative and mental fortitude.

Antetokounmpo had experienced the crushing defeats of the previous two games, especially in the last game where he wasn't even the team's primary offensive point, and his confidence had been severely shaken.

In contrast, Davis had wanted to return to play even before the Finals started, and had reached a point of desperation.

But Stevens had held him back for a few days, suppressing him until he was parched with desire.

Now that he could finally play, his confidence and initiative were at their peak.

In other words, Antetokounmpo was at most at 80% of his strength, while Davis was at 120%!

The Bucks inbounded the ball from the sideline. Irving caught the ball and charged to the basket, but instinctively dodged when he saw Davis rotating to help defend.

He avoided the block, but lost his shooting angle.

The basketball bounced off the rim, and Davis grabbed another defensive rebound!

In the Pelicans' frontcourt, Tang Tian and Davis executed a pick-and-roll, and after the screen, Tang Tian passed the ball back to Davis.

Davis caught the ball beyond the three-point line, without thinking, he just raised his hand and shot!

This was true confidence.

*Swish!*

Murphy's Law, it actually went in!

Five points, two rebounds, and two blocks!

The game had only just started for less than two minutes, and Davis's individual stats were already exploding.

Sure enough, the energy released by a man who's been holding back for too long is terrifying!

Irving continued to play one-on-one in the frontcourt, but Tang Tian helped defend, and his shot in the double-team missed.

Gasol secured the defensive rebound.

The Pelicans advanced to the frontcourt and continued to play position offense.

"Go! Pelicans!"

The fans in the arena were a little uncontrollably excited, cheering for the Pelicans in unison.

Tang Tian and Davis executed another pick-and-roll, and he intentionally looked for Davis knowing he was in good form.

Davis caught the ball and made a shooting motion.

He had just made a shot before, and Hayward, who switched to defend, lunged forward aggressively.

But Davis faked a shot, and then took big strides straight to the inside.

Antetokounmpo had been pulled to the weak side by Tang Tian, and Gasol had also pulled Horford away from the basket. After Davis shook off Hayward, the path in front of him was wide open.

He charged to the inside, jumped up, and slammed the ball heavily into the basket with both hands!

*Boom!*

A powerful dunk ignited the New Orleans arena once again.

Barkley had said before that you can't give Antetokounmpo one-on-one opportunities, because he'll just charge in for a dunk.

Antetokounmpo proved that wasn't the case, because it could also be an offensive foul.

But Davis proved Barkley's words in this play. Give him a one-on-one opportunity, and he'll give you back a dunk!

And a powerful dunk with both hands!