The Lakers' James had 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists, a near triple-double. Tonight, he lost with honor.

On the Pelicans' side, Davis contributed 18 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 2 steals. Holiday had 16 points and 6 assists.

Durant scored a game-high 44 points, including 17 in the final quarter.

The cheers at the scene were deafening, and the excitement on the fans' faces was palpable.

They saw a shadow of Tang Tian in Durant tonight, this was the closest Durant had come to being "Tang Tian's successor"!

Tang Tian also stood up to cheer for Durant and the Pelicans.

This was a game worth recording in the Pelicans' history.

Durant also completely proved himself tonight.

After the game, Tang Tian went to the locker room to celebrate the victory with his teammates.

When he came out, a female reporter was waiting at the door to interview him.

"What do you think of Durant's performance tonight?"

"Like me."

Tang Tian made the reporter laugh as soon as he opened his mouth.

The reporter was quite pretty when she smiled.

"Just kidding, Kevin's performance tonight was impeccable, and he and the team deserved the victory tonight."

After being cheeky, Tang Tian replied very seriously.

"Does winning tonight's game mean that the team has taken the initiative in the series?"

The female reporter's next question was a trap, trying to get Tang Tian to jinx it.

"Yes, I believe in them, they can win on nights like this, and I believe they can handle any situation."

Tang Tian was completely committed.

But as he said, they could come back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter, and Durant and the Pelicans' resilience in this series was beyond imagination.

If they could win a game like this, there was no game they couldn't win.

Tang Tian's comments were reported by the media.

But this time, fans on social media felt that Tang Tian was right.

After the first game of the semifinals, Durant really changed many people's perception of him.

With strength instead of trash talk, Durant was now doing it.

Two days later, the game between the Pelicans and the Lakers continued at the New Orleans Arena.

Fans were looking forward to the Pelicans bringing them another surprise, and the Pelicans did just that.

Stevens adjusted the starting lineup, removing Gasol from the starting lineup and using Ariza at the four.

He was summarizing experience from the last game, not competing with the Lakers in height but playing with speed and transition.

This tactic, which proved successful in the last game, worked again.

The Pelicans took the initiative from the start and continued to widen the gap, taking a double-digit lead by halftime.

Although the Lakers, led by James, fought hard in the second half, the Pelicans played steadily and never allowed the Lakers to tie the score.

106 to 100, the Pelicans beat the Lakers again, rewriting the semifinal score to 2 to 0.

Durant continued his steady performance, contributing a near triple-double of 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Although his strength was not as good as Tang Tian's, and his stats were also far behind Tang Tian's, he, like Tang Tian back then, became the Pelicans' "Pillar of Strength."

With two consecutive home wins, the Pelicans' promotion situation looked very good.

The reporter dug a hole for Tang Tian to jinx them, but the fact proved that, as Tang Tian judged, the Pelicans were no longer jinx-able.

After resting for two days, the Pelicans flew to Los Angeles to prepare for the next two away games of the series.

Leading 2-0, as long as they won one of the two away games, the Pelicans' promotion was basically a certainty.

Fans on social media were also optimistic.

However, the trend of the series was beyond many people's expectations.

In the third game of the series, Middleton broke out.

He scored 30 points, plus James's 40+ near triple-double, and the Lakers narrowly won the game 110-106.

In the fourth game, although Middleton was no longer magical, James once again contributed 40+ triple-double, and Durant's buzzer beater failed at the last moment.

After four games, the Lakers also won their two home games, tying the score to 2-2.

In an instant, the public opinion on social media took a sharp turn.

"Luck is part of the game, and now luck is on the Lakers' side, and the momentum is also on their side after winning two games in a row."

Kenny Smith's analysis on TNT represented the views of most people.

The Pelicans were going to be like the Rockets back then, taking a 2-0 lead but ultimately failing to win the series.

The outside world's optimism about the Pelicans turned into pessimism, and Tang Tian was interviewed by reporters again.

"Some people compare the Pelicans to the Rockets because they encountered a similar situation. What do you think of this?"

Reporters were always good at finding topics, there were many teams that were tied after leading 2-0, but they only looked for the Rockets.

On the one hand, the Rockets had Yao Ming, and on the other hand, it was still because of the previous Morey incident.

"I don't think they are comparable. The Rockets' power forward was too weak, which led to Yao being double-teamed all the time, but this Pelicans team has no such weakness."

Tang Tian's answer was straightforward.

"But their experiences are similar."

The reporter reminded.

"No, it's completely different. Whether it's the game process or the way they win or lose, there are no similarities. You can't say they're similar just because the scores are the same."

Tang Tian denied it directly.

"Then do you still think the Pelicans are more likely to advance?"

The reporter asked finally.

"Of course, my attitude is the same as before. They can handle all situations, and now they have only experienced one of those situations."

Tang Tian replied with a smile, his words full of confidence.

Tang Tian's confidence was reported by the media, but this time it attracted a lot of criticism.

Blind optimism would not help the Pelicans win, but it was a bit self-deceptive to not see the situation clearly.

Two days later, the Pelicans and the Lakers moved to New Orleans to continue the series, which was also the pivotal Game 5 for both sides.

The two teams had each won their home games, and the games were extremely intense, so this Game 5 could be predicted to be intense.

However, after the game started, it once again exceeded everyone's expectations.

James's performance was uncharacteristically poor, and the Lakers were at a disadvantage from the start.

On the other hand, the Pelicans were completely unaffected by the losses in the past two games, and they worked together to maintain a firm grip on the initiative on the court.

In the end, the Pelicans defeated the Lakers in Game 5 with a score of 108-88, rewriting the series score to 3-2.

James only took 15 shots in the game, making 7 of 15 for only 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, with 3 turnovers.

This result was beyond everyone's expectations.

But Kenny Smith admitted to being slapped in the face in the post-match show and analyzed the game.

The Pelicans' excellent condition was indeed very important, but more importantly, it was James's performance.

In other words, James was not a robot. He had been fighting since the first game of the series, and he was obviously tired now.

Playing nearly 40 minutes or even more in every game, and getting 40+ triple-doubles or near triple-doubles in every game, anyone would be tired.

Not to mention that he was already a 36-year-old veteran.