60 to 45.

Despite Durant dropping 26 points in the first half, the Spurs shot a whopping 70% from the field as a team, leading the Thunder by 15 points.

With Tang Tian's passing, this Spurs team was starting to feel like the Spurs team from the 2013-14 season.

In the second half, Brooks made a change to the starting lineup, inserting Kevin Martin, who had just been traded from the Rockets.

Martin's defense was terrible, but his offensive firepower was considerable, and he was very good at drawing fouls.

Tang Tian had two opportunities to block Martin, but Martin dodged them and drew fouls instead.

Tang Tian was forced to the bench after playing only a few minutes.

Sitting on the bench, his eyes were on the court, but his mind was elsewhere.

Tony Allen's defense was already top-tier among NBA perimeter players, but limited by his height, there was still room for improvement.

He was now close to Allen's ability, but taller, which meant his defensive ceiling was higher than Allen's.

The most obvious difference was his blocking ability, which was already twice as high as Allen's last season.

But players like Martin were able to draw fouls on him, which limited his development.

That's right, there was also Harden, who had exploded in his debut this season. If he remembered correctly, Foul-drawing Harden should appear this season.

If Martin was already this difficult, defending Harden would be even harder.

Three-pointers and passing were his offensive strengths, and he was already completely comfortable in the Spurs' system.

Exchanging for a breakthrough wasn't so urgent, but he had to find a way to strengthen his blocking ability.

If he could win a Defensive Player of the Year award, it would be a huge help for his new contract.

112 to 103.

Durant had a monstrous 45 points and 10 rebounds, the virtualized KD was simply invincible.

But after Harden left, the Thunder's bench strength was obviously weaker, and the team's scoring was basically concentrated on Durant and Westbrook.

Plus, the Spurs shot over 60% from the field for the entire game, and the Thunder ultimately fell short.

Although Tang Tian didn't play much in the third quarter, he consciously controlled himself in the fourth quarter and played the entire quarter, which greatly helped the team.

He finished with 25 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals, the highest score on the team.

That's what the Spurs were now, a team-oriented style of play plus GDP deterrence. Tang Tian didn't have to be very versatile, but he could still get very versatile stats.

The two sides shook hands after the game.

Durant didn't shake hands with Tang Tian. It was obvious that after this game, his resentment towards Tang Tian had grown even more.

Why did he have to do everything himself and still come up short, while Tang Tian could easily get 25 points and lead the team to victory?

Was it because Tang Tian's teammates were stronger?

"Jeremy, be patient."

Tang Tian said encouragingly after shaking hands with Lamb.

Lamb nodded. This summer had been chaotic for him, but Tang Tian's words made him feel at ease.

Winning the home opener was a great start for the Spurs, who were aiming to defend their title.

And this was indeed just the beginning.

On November 2nd, in a back-to-back game against the Jazz, the Spurs didn't give the rebuilding Salt Lake City team much of a chance, winning 93-73.

Tang Tian added another 20 points and 4 assists.

On November 4th, they faced the Pelicans, 99-85. Rookie Davis played well, scoring his first career double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds, but it was also on this day that he was invited to join the league's "Empty Stats" group.

Tang Tian continued his eye-catching performance, contributing 22 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

On November 6th, the Spurs beat the Pacers 101-79. Facing the team that went to 6 games against the Heat in last season's playoffs, the Spurs won without much effort.

Tang Tian had 21 points and 6 assists.

On November 8th, the Spurs challenged the Lakers on the road. This was the team's first encounter with the Lakers' new F4.

Nash was out with an injury, and Kobe became the Lakers' de facto organizer.

Although Kobe scored 30 points and 5 assists, the Lakers had a lot of problems with their integration.

Howard only got 9 shots all game, and Gasol only got 10. The second-highest number of shots on the team was veteran Metta Sandiford-Artest, with 4 of 14.

The Spurs ultimately won 94-84.

Howard was very unhappy after the game and didn't even participate in the handshake, turning around and heading straight for the players' tunnel.

It seemed that the Lakers' head coach, "Mike Brown," who had coached James in the past, hadn't yet found a way to integrate this team.

Tang Tian continued his steady performance, delivering an eye-catching 20 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

...

On November 18th, the Spurs hosted the Clippers.

Because they were slaughtered by the Spurs by 58 points in last year's playoffs, the Clippers, who had been strengthened in the offseason, took this game very seriously.

"We won't think about what happened last season anymore. For us, this season is the most important."

When asked by reporters about the playoff loss last season, Paul answered very wisely, and his brows were full of confidence.

In addition to the Big Three lineup, the Clippers had a lot of personnel changes this summer.

In addition to Jamal Crawford, they also got "Gangster" Matt Barnes, former Lakers sixth man Lamar Odom, and veteran Grant Hill.

Plus Chauncey Billups, who had recovered from his injury, they were 7-2 so far, and they had just defeated the Heat at home before coming to San Antonio.

Both their strength and morale were at their peak.

This game was also very intense. The Spurs' offense was still strong, but they couldn't quite defend the Clippers.

Crawford's arrival solved the Clippers' weakness of insufficient firepower on the bench, and the two teams fought until the last five minutes.

But it was also in these five minutes that the biggest difference between the two teams emerged.

The Spurs increased their defensive intensity in the final moments, successfully defending several of the Clippers' possessions.

But conversely, the Clippers still couldn't defend the Spurs.

The Spurs went on a 10-0 run in the final moments, winning the game 126-116.

Paul had 26 points and 11 assists, and Griffin had 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. The two combined for 58 points, but still couldn't lead the team to victory.

After the game, Paul sat on the sidelines and slammed the bench in anger, forming a sharp contrast with Vinny Del Negro's confused expression.

For the Clippers, compared to strengthening their roster, what they needed more now was to replace him with a more capable head coach.

Tang Tian exploded in this game, scoring 30 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals.

25, 20, 22, 21, 20... 30!

It was only at this point that many people noticed that Tang Tian had scored 20+ points in 10 consecutive games!

Averaging 23.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.1 steals per game, with a 51% shooting percentage and a 55% three-point percentage.

Tang Tian was on his way to the Western Conference Player of the Month award!

And with his help, the Spurs were undefeated since the start of the season, and had quietly achieved a ten-game winning streak!

While everyone was discussing the crazy-faced Harden, the Heat's comeback, the struggling F4, and even the lonely Thunder star, the Spurs, in their usual low-key and unpretentious way, had once again become the top team in the league!