Anthony was criticized by many fans as a ball hog when he was around, but the fact proves that without Anthony, the Knicks are really just chickens.

Seeing that the game was about to be decided in the third quarter, JR Smith started to go into berserk mode.

In the opening stage of the second quarter, he made three consecutive three-pointers, leading the team to a 10-2 run and narrowing the point difference to single digits.

Tang Tian was only on the bench for a little over three minutes before being replaced by Williams again.

Tang Tian was brought on this time mainly to defend Smith, and it did work.

Although he had gained some weight, his speed hadn't decreased much.

At the end of the first half, the Pelicans led the Knicks 55-40 by 15 points.

Tang Tian had a remarkable performance in the first half, scoring 30 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals.

"What's Tang's career scoring record?"

When the second half came back, Houston belatedly reacted and changed the subject, not talking about Hardaway guarding Tang Tian anymore.

"51 points, against the Thunder."

Breen replied.

That game was earth-shattering. Tang Tian's 51 points against Durant's 43 points was arguably the best game of the season.

"Do you think he can break the record tonight?"

Houston then asked.

"Do you think he can?" Breen was an old fox in the commentary box, not jumping into pits and bouncing the question back.

"I think it's difficult. I know Mike. He'll definitely make some adjustments in the second half." Houston was still straightforward.

Breen smiled without answering.

In fact, he also thought it would be difficult for Tang Tian to break the record, but not for the reason Houston said.

Since Tang Tian's dribbling ability had improved, it was more difficult to limit him with double-teams.

If it were a team like the Grizzlies, relying on subsequent help defense rotations could work, but the Knicks were still a bit short.

When Tang Tian's dribbling was still unstable, their attempt at home failed.

So he thought it was difficult because the Knicks were already 15 points behind at halftime. The game would most likely be decided in the third quarter!

Tang Tian probably wouldn't play in the fourth quarter. It was already difficult to score 20+ points in one quarter of a game. It would be even harder to do it in two.

Tang Tian wasn't really Kobe after all.

While the two were talking, the players from both sides had returned to the court, and the second half of the game continued.

The starting lineups on both sides remained unchanged.

Although Hardaway was ravaged by Tang Tian in the first quarter, Woodson still kept him in the starting lineup.

This was a kind of trust, and also his way of developing players.

The Knicks attacked first in the second half, and Hardaway came out to receive Felton's pass and shot a three-pointer.

Aminu's speed was a bit slow to keep up.

"Swish!"

Hardaway had a good touch in the second half, and the first three-pointer he took went right through the net.

Felton shouted at Hardaway and high-fived him.

In the Pelicans' offense, Tang Tian passed the ball to Davis after a pick-and-roll with Davis. Davis's layup into the paint was interfered with by Chandler and went wide.

Chandler's defensive skills were still there, and he grabbed the defensive rebound in the process.

The Knicks advanced to the frontcourt, and Felton passed the ball to Hardaway, directly creating a one-on-one opportunity for the latter to play against Aminu.

Obviously, this was Woodson's deliberate arrangement, using offense to allow Hardaway to regain his confidence and form.

Hardaway made consecutive changes of direction, and his sudden stop jump shot between breakthroughs hit the mark.

He scored 5 points in a row at the start of the second half!

His individual strength was relatively outstanding among rookies, and he had a mismatch advantage against Aminu.

Hardaway was also very excited after scoring, roaring in Tang Tian's direction.

He was blown up too badly by Tang Tian in the first quarter, and the 5 points he scored in the second half finally allowed him to regain his confidence and vent his anger!

The Pelicans' players visibly showed their displeasure.

Generally speaking, emotional outbursts after scoring are not right, just like Mutombo's finger-wagging.

Because venting like this at people is a provocation.

This provocation reminded them of Hardaway's remarks before the game.

The Pelicans attacked the frontcourt, and Holiday signaled to his teammates before passing the ball to Tang Tian again.

The meaning was obvious: play, keep playing!

Tang Tian chose to continue playing.

The 5 points that Hardaway scored in a row helped the Knicks narrow the point difference to 10 points, and the Pelicans now needed to score as well.

With continuous crossover steps, Tang Tian broke through from the left.

After finding his form on the offensive end, Hardaway's feeling on the defensive end also came. This time, he wasn't shaken off, but followed Tang Tian into the paint.

Evans held Chandler back to prevent him from coming over to help defend.

Tang Tian went straight up for a layup.

Hardaway wanted to block, but was bounced away after physical contact in the air.

He was a shooting guard after all, and his confrontation with the heavier Tang Tian wasn't on the same level.

Tang Tian steadily sent the ball into the basket.

He broke the Pelicans' scoring drought in the second half.

The Knicks attacked the frontcourt again, and Hardaway received the ball and went one-on-one against Aminu again.

Basketball is all about one-on-one in a local area no matter what tactics are used. Hardaway has an advantage over Aminu, so naturally he has to play more.

Aminu's choice at this time was to defend against both shots and breakthroughs.

Hardaway accelerated into the paint and made a flying layup.

"Bang!"

Davis rushed out from the side and gave Hardaway a chase-down block!

The Pelicans' restricted area is not a place where you can score easily!

Evans grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Pelicans launched a fast break.

After receiving the ball, Tang Tian forced his way to the frontcourt over Felton and scored, also drawing a shooting foul on the latter.

He made the free throw steadily.

He personally returned a 5-0 run, helping the Pelicans to widen the point difference to 15 points again.

Chandler made a put-back for the Knicks in the frontcourt, and turning around, Davis passed the ball to Tang Tian again.

Wasn't Hardaway roaring at Tang Tian? That meant he hadn't been beaten badly enough in the first quarter!

The Knicks still didn't double-team. Woodson's intention tonight was also very clear: they could lose the game, but Hardaway couldn't be ruined.

Tang Tian continued to single out Hardaway, and made another layup after a change of direction.

This time, Chandler rushed out to help defend successfully, and Tang Tian's layup was interfered with and went wide.

However, Evans fought hard to grab the offensive rebound, turned around and found Tang Tian and passed it over. Tang Tian caught the ball and made a close-range fadeaway shot.

His 8th point of the quarter!

Hardaway attacked the frontcourt again, and his sudden stop fadeaway went wide.

Continuous failures on the defensive end have a great impact on the offensive rhythm, not to mention a rookie like him.

Turning around, it was still Tang Tian, who tricked him into a three-point foul with a fake shot outside the three-point line.

In this quarter, Hardaway was blown up again by Tang Tian.

Tang Tian scored another 21 points in this quarter, and by the end of the third quarter, his personal score had reached 51 points!

And the Pelicans, even more so, scored a crushing 32-17 score in this quarter.

When the third quarter ended, they had already led the Knicks by a full 30 points!

Mike Breen's expression was a bit complicated at this time.

With this point difference, it seemed that he had guessed correctly that the game would be decided in the third quarter.

But he didn't expect that in a game decided in the third quarter, Tang Tian had already tied his career scoring record...

ps: Congratulations to Lazy to Think of a Name for becoming the tenth leader of this book!! Ten leaders gathered, summon the dragon!