Tang Tian didn't stay at the Olsens' house. NBA teams valued the personal safety of their players when playing away games.

Unless he reported to the team, staying out overnight would result in a penalty.

After eating the cake, Tang Tian returned to the hotel.

After playing the Knicks, the Spurs took a plane to Boston the next day to prepare for their game against the Celtics.

Frequent back-to-backs were really painful for the older players.

And it wasn't just mental. Veterans like Duncan and Parker were experiencing body aches.

Although it didn't affect the game, Popovich still arranged for them to rest.

Ginobili's injury made the old man even more cautious.

Boston was the city with the best basketball atmosphere in the league, and their home court, the North Shore Garden, was one of the most intense arenas in the league.

The Celtics were also one of the oldest powerhouses in the league.

This wasn't going to be an easy game, and Popovich was choosing to rest two of his core players in such a game.

The attendance rate at the game that night exceeded 80%. Popovich hadn't announced the rest beforehand.

When fans saw Duncan and Parker in suits before the game, they frowned. When the starting lineups were introduced, they couldn't help but boo.

Resting players wasn't fan-friendly.

But Popovich didn't care at all, and just minded his own business on the sidelines.

During the pre-game warm-up, Ray Allen came over to greet Tang Tian.

Although the UConn alumnus hadn't really helped him during the draft, he still valued him.

During the conversation, Tang Tian could still sense that Ray Allen wasn't in a good mood.

He hadn't played well this season due to injuries, and there was a tendency for rookie Avery Bradley to replace him.

The game started soon, and the starting lineups of both teams took the court one after another.

For the Spurs, Parker and Duncan were resting. The guards were Mills and Green, the forwards were Jefferson and Bonner, and the center was Blair.

For the Celtics, the guards were Rondo and Ray Allen, the forwards were Pierce and Garnett, and the center was O'Neal Jr.

Garnett won the tip-off for the Celtics. In the frontcourt, the Celtics ran a set play, and Ray Allen's catch-and-shoot three-pointer after running the play missed.

His competitive state was indeed average.

Blair grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Spurs pushed to the frontcourt.

With Duncan and Parker out, the team played more hammer plays. Green seized the opportunity at the corner and hit an open three-pointer, and the Spurs took the lead.

The Celtics attacked to the frontcourt, and Garnett's mid-range shot also missed.

It seemed that the veterans' form fluctuated greatly during the congested season.

The Spurs' offense was still a hammer play. Mills broke through to the basket and was fouled by O'Neal Jr.

After making both free throws, the Spurs took a 5-0 lead to start the game.

Celtics coach Rivers cursed angrily on the sidelines.

With Duncan and Parker resting, and the Spurs on a back-to-back, it was disgraceful for the team to have such a start.

The Celtics ran their play, but Rondo's floater still missed.

However, O'Neal Jr. used his wingspan to grab the offensive rebound over Blair.

The ball was then given to Rondo to organize, and Rondo passed the ball to Pierce, who went for a one-on-one play.

Pierce posted up, and Jefferson lowered his center of gravity.

Pierce used a beautiful fake turn to get past him and score in the paint, finally breaking the Celtics' scoring drought.

In the Spurs' offense, Jefferson's breakthrough added to the Spurs' score.

But Pierce shook off Jefferson with a hesitation move on the perimeter and immediately answered with a three-pointer.

After experiencing a brief scoring drought at the start, "The Truth" began to stand up and lead the team.

After about 5 minutes of the game, the Celtics led 13-9, with Pierce scoring 8 points and 2 assists.

Popovich called Tang Tian up and had him replace Jefferson.

Tang Tian came on and gave Jefferson a customary high-five, but Jefferson ignored him, looking very unhappy.

As he walked to Popovich's side, he couldn't help but complain a few words.

Last season, Ginobili and Jefferson were the team's undisputed second and third options. They not only started but also occupied most of the playing time.

This season, Ginobili was injured early, and in theory, his playing time should have increased.

But it didn't. The time that originally belonged to Ginobili was divided up by Green and Tang Tian.

Before the road trip, it was okay that Green wasn't playing well.

But when they returned home, Green's form recovered, and Tang Tian's performance was strong, his playing time was constantly compressed.

Now he was only averaging about 20 minutes per game, which was a big drop from the 30 minutes last season.

Now that Ginobili was about to return, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that he might become a pseudo-starter or be directly demoted to the bench.

He had just signed a big contract with the Spurs, and that was definitely not what he wanted to see.

So he had been playing with all his might recently.

He was in good form in this game, scoring 4 points in five minutes. He didn't expect Popovich to take him off so early.

This made his accumulated frustration finally explode. Although he didn't dare to show it too much, it was the first time he had complained to Popovich.

Popovich frowned noticeably.

Ordinary coaches in the NBA don't have much say in the team, but he was an exception.

His say in the Spurs was like that of many NCAA coaches, basically what he said was what went.

Jefferson's performance made him uncomfortable.

The coach sees things differently from the players. Jefferson scored 4 points, but Pierce on the other side had 8 points, not to mention 2 assists.

This meant that every Celtics attack was related to Pierce, and Jefferson was completely blown out.

He had already considered his personal feelings by waiting until now to replace Jefferson.

Tang Tian came on and did his best to defend Pierce. Although Pierce still scored, his efficiency was significantly reduced.

The Spurs gradually stabilized the situation on the court, and the point difference was no longer widened.

Popovich nodded repeatedly on the sidelines. Although Tang Tian didn't score, this was the situation he wanted to see.

He then turned to look at the bench. Jefferson was chatting with Neal at this time, not paying attention to the game at all.

This guy, his form wasn't good this season, his attitude was also a problem, plus the previous complaints and the current reaction, he was really challenging his bottom line.