"Wow, the Spurs really drafted two amazing rookies back then!"

O'Neal was already in hype mode at the commentary booth.

"Yes, it's hard to imagine that they successively selected two of the league's top players, and the one who retired was even the best in the universe."

Barkley added fuel to the fire.

Ever since his "contest" with Tang Tian during the celebrity game, he had become a die-hard Tang fan.

Kenny Smith couldn't help but laugh at his two silly partners.

But hype aside, in terms of overall offense and defense after Tang Tian's retirement, Leonard's strength was indeed better than both Antetokounmpo and Durant.

The Spurs' strong start to the game also illustrated this point.

The situation on the court was the same as in the past two games, with the Pelicans falling into a passive situation from the start.

Holiday dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and Davis actively called for the ball at the right high post.

This hadn't been seen much in the series, but Holiday reacted quickly, signaled to clear out, and passed the ball inside.

Davis faced Aldridge one-on-one, using continuous footwork to squeeze past.

Leonard's help defense still came quickly, and he didn't have a direct shot opportunity.

But Davis seemed to have anticipated this, and he was observing his teammates in advance, directly flicking the ball to Ariza in the corner.

The Spurs used rotation to help defend, and when Leonard helped defend, Aldridge, who had been beaten, was already pouncing towards Ariza.

However, this kind of help defense had a time difference. Davis passed the ball early, and Aldridge couldn't catch up in time.

Ariza shot quickly and decisively, which was one of the important reasons why he was able to become a high-quality 3-and-D player.

"Clang!"

Unfortunately, the ball didn't go in.

After a scramble under the basket, Davis used his long arms to grab an offensive rebound, turned around for a second chance, and drew a foul on Leonard's hand.

Tang Tian applauded for Davis at this time.

Although this ball didn't go in, Davis's judgment was correct. He knew that Aldridge's pouncing out would leave the Spurs' inside empty, so he immediately boxed out to grab the rebound.

Moreover, he attacked decisively enough. No matter how good Leonard's defense was, he was still mainly a small forward after all, and it was difficult to defend him under the basket.

Even from a strategic point of view, causing this foul was more useful than scoring two points.

Davis made the first free throw, opening the scoring for the Pelicans.

After adjusting his breathing, he made the second free throw as well.

A burst of cheers erupted from the crowd, this two points were crucial.

In the Spurs' frontcourt offense, Aldridge posted up Davis in the high post, and his signature turnaround fadeaway jumper went in.

Although the Spurs were playing away, their past winning streak gave them great confidence, and they were in hot form after the opening.

Davis continued to hold the ball and attack facing the basket in the frontcourt.

Popovich shouted on the sidelines at this time, making defensive adjustments.

When Leonard helped defend, George switched to Ariza in advance, and Aldridge filled in for Durant.

This shortened the defensive distance. When Davis passed the ball over, Aldridge's switch was already in place.

However, Davis saw that Durant had a mismatch, and directly pulled to the other side, Leonard could only follow.

Durant faced Aldridge, using his triple threat to break through with a pull-up jumper.

"Swish!"

The basketball fell steadily into the net.

Durant's shooting percentage had declined because he was double-teamed by George and Leonard, but he still had a good chance of taking advantage of a one-on-one mismatch against Aldridge.

Cheers erupted from the crowd again. Davis opened the scoring for the Pelicans earlier, and now Durant scored the Pelicans' first field goal.

The Du-Dai duo looked to be in excellent form tonight! The Pelicans had a chance!

Forbes's three-pointer in the frontcourt went wide, Davis protected the defensive rebound, and the Spurs' wave of offense failed.

Turning back, Davis used the same trick, but Leonard showed his talent at this time, directly pouncing out with a smothering steal of Davis's pass.

After the steal, he even went on a fast break all the way to the frontcourt for a direct dunk.

The crowd was in an uproar.

Stevens's expression also revealed a trace of helplessness.

"This guy!"

Tang Tian couldn't help but shake his head and smile.

Just as the Pelicans were starting to get into a rhythm, Leonard's steal abruptly nipped that momentum in the bud.

It seemed that unless Antetokounmpo's shooting improved further, or he came back from retirement, no one would be able to stop this guy.

Despite encountering setbacks in offense, the Pelicans advanced to the frontcourt, and Davis still reached out for the ball.

The fans in the arena looked a little excited, Davis tonight looked very different from the past.

Not an improvement in strength, but he was getting tougher and more responsible.

Aldridge was very strong this time, but Davis used a clever trick to turn around and get past.

And facing Leonard's help defense, he attacked the basket very strongly.

Leonard had one foul already and didn't dare to act rashly, he just stood his ground and reached out to interfere.

His wingspan was long enough and his hands were big enough, and he successfully interfered with Davis's shot.

But Davis put the ball in on a second chance.

6 to 8!

The Pelicans were keeping the score close.

Stevens nodded in satisfaction on the sidelines, Davis was really different tonight.

The Spurs played a wonderful play in the frontcourt, and White caught the ball and flew in for a layup.

"Bang!"

But Davis made an incredible chase-down block, giving White a Leonard-style chase-down block from behind.

White was even knocked out of bounds.

Davis grabbed the rebound and the Pelicans launched a counterattack, this time Holiday caught the ball on a fast break and scored a layup.

8 to 8!

The Pelicans tied the score!

Cheers erupted from the crowd, the Pelicans were playing completely differently than in the past two games! There was a qualitative improvement!

Leonard isolated Ariza in the frontcourt, a strong attack after turning around.

Davis helped defend quickly.

The difference between Leonard and Tang Tian was reflected at this time, his passing vision and passing ability were very average, even a bit poor.

He couldn't pass the ball out, so he chose to force an attack.

Ariza showed his experience, positioning himself in advance and falling down smoothly.

The referee blew his whistle, calling an offensive foul on Leonard.

This was also Leonard's second foul of the game, and Popovich was forced to substitute him early.

Cheers rang out from the crowd.

Stevens couldn't help but stand up and pump his fist.

This was definitely a moment of strategic victory.

The fact was indeed so, with Leonard down and Baynes up, the Spurs' inside help defense ability was obviously weakened.

Davis directly went one-on-one against Baynes, breaking through for a one-handed dunk.

This ball was smooth and flowing, fully demonstrating his strength as the top power forward in the nation.

George's outside three-pointer clanked off the rim, turning back to Davis again, this time a turnaround fadeaway layup.

Aldridge posted up Ariza in the low post, turning around for the same fadeaway shot to return a point.

But it was Davis again, after Brogdon's three-pointer missed, he grabbed the offensive rebound, directly turned around and smashed the ball into the basket over Aldridge's help defense! And also caused a defensive foul on Aldridge!

The cheers in the arena exploded.

After Leonard went off the court, Davis scored 6 consecutive points in an instant!

He was starting to show off his scoring skills!

The top power forward in the nation, the best power forward in the league, lived up to his name!