Tang Tian gestured to her, and she returned a gesture of encouragement.

After the warm-up, the opening ceremony began.

The cheers of the audience were deafening, and the atmosphere in the arena was different from usual during the playoffs.

The starting lineups of both sides took to the court one after another.

For the Mavericks, Carlisle sent out the regular lineup: Kidd and Carter on the perimeter, Marion and Nowitzki on the frontcourt, and Haywood at center.

For the Spurs, Popovich continued to use the starting lineup from the second half of the season: Parker and Tang Tian on the perimeter, Leonard and Diaw on the frontcourt, and Duncan at center.

After the opening ceremony, the starting players of the two teams successively took the stage.

Duncan and Haywood faced off at the center circle for the tip-off.

Tang Tian patted his chest. He didn't feel much when he played in the NCAA tournament, but in the NBA playoffs, his mindset was different.

In his previous life, as a coach, he had been involved in the playoffs and could feel the difference in intensity on the court just from the sidelines.

Playing as a player, that feeling would definitely be even stronger.

Duncan used his wingspan to tip the ball back to the Spurs' half. Accompanied by the cheers of the audience, the game officially began.

The Spurs started with a TD Step Hammer.

However, the Mavericks' defense was airtight, and they managed to defend against all of the Spurs' opportunities.

Popovich was a master tactician, and Carlisle on the other side was no slouch either.

Moreover, the Mavericks were showing 100% of their competitive form on the court.

Parker's final layup was interfered with and missed, and the Spurs' first offense failed to score.

The Mavericks' offense was much simpler than the Spurs'. Kidd dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, signaled to create space, and then passed the ball to Nowitzki.

Nowitzki received the ball and posted up Diaw.

After Diaw lost weight, his competitive state improved significantly, and his defense was underestimated.

At this moment, he actively engaged in physical confrontation, making Nowitzki very uncomfortable.

Nowitzki chose to turn around and perform his signature "golden rooster" fadeaway jumper.

Diaw pounced forward to provide ample interference.

"Swish!"

However, the ball still fell into the net after drawing a high arc.

Nowitzki had used this move to kill the Heat in the Finals last year.

The Mavericks took the lead as visitors.

In the Spurs' offense, the intensity of physical confrontation on the court was still very high, and Tang Tian didn't get any open looks.

Outside of tactics, he and Diaw played a small cooperation, actively running out with a pick-and-roll.

Parker found him and passed the ball at the first opportunity.

Tang Tian took the ball and shot a three-pointer, with Nowitzki trying his best to interfere.

"Clang!"

The opportunity was fleeting, but it was enough for Tang Tian.

Unfortunately, his luck was a bit off, and the ball bounced out after going in.

Haywood secured the defensive rebound, and the Spurs' consecutive offenses at the start failed to score.

The Mavericks attacked the frontcourt and continued to hand the ball to Nowitzki.

Leonard began to help defend, and after Nowitzki turned around, he suddenly threw the ball to the middle.

Marion cut in and scored with a layup off the backboard against Duncan.

Just like Ginobili said in the locker room, the Mavericks' peak strength was not when they won the championship last year, but in those two years of 0607.

In those two years, the Mavericks were almost unsolvable, but at that time Nowitzki had obvious technical shortcomings and couldn't pass the ball.

There must be gains and losses. The team didn't win the championship during its peak, and Nowitzki painstakingly developed his passing skills.

Most people remember his unsolvable "golden rooster," but in fact, he was so unsolvable in the playoffs because he could both shoot and pass.

4-0, the Mavericks gave the home team Spurs a head start.

It seemed there would never be a one-sided game in the Texas civil war.

The Spurs finally scored a goal by Duncan, but Marion's breakthrough layup also caused a shooting foul by Leonard.

The Mavericks' performance after the start perfectly interpreted the words "defending champion."

In 1995, the Rockets, as defending champions, ranked only sixth in the West, and no one was optimistic that they could defend their title.

But then-coach Rudy Tomjanovich said one of the most classic words in the NBA:

Never underestimate a champion's heart.

It was after he said that sentence that the Rockets eventually defended their championship that season.

As defending champions, putting aside their strength, the confidence of the championship, like an aura in a game, allowed them to play at 100% or even 120% of their strength.

Popovich tried various tactics and lineups in the first half, but none of them had a good effect.

The Mavericks were playing on the road, but they really showed the momentum of a defending champion.

At the end of the first half, the Mavericks led the Spurs by 7 points, 45-38.

The score wasn't high, but the audience watched with unusual tension.

The intense confrontation on the court, the master-level tactical game between Popovich and Carlisle, both sides were playing a Finals-level first half.

The Mavericks played respectably, but the Spurs' performance was actually not good. Their first-half shooting percentage was only over 40%, and they needed to adjust well in the second half.

The team's shooting percentage was not good, and Tang Tian was also a bit unlucky tonight. He was 0-for-4 in the first half, scoring zero points, contributing only 1 rebound and 1 steal.

The Mavericks were pressing very hard, and he didn't get any open looks. All four of his shots were catch-and-shoot three-pointers.

What's even more depressing was that the shots were actually pretty good, but they either bounced out or grazed the rim, and none of them went in.

Tonight, the home court's basket was a bit unfriendly to him, as if it had a lid on it.

The game entered halftime, and the players on both sides returned to the locker room to rest.

The commentators for this game were ESPN's Mike Breen and Reggie Miller, and the two were now discussing the situation of the first half on the commentary booth.

"The Mavericks' performance is very good, but the Spurs don't seem to have found their rhythm from the start. One very obvious thing is that Tang, their most accurate three-point shooter in the regular season, took four shots in the first half, but none of them went in."

Breen's observation was very careful.

"Perhaps this is the difference between the playoffs and the regular season. It's not easy for a shooter to perform well on the playoff stage."

Miller's words carried weight. This was one of the reasons for his high popularity. He was one of the few players whose playoff performance was better than his regular season performance.

"Maybe Terry's words affected him."

Breen said another possibility.

He still had some fresh memories of Tang Tian's performance in the NCAA tournament. It was a bit unreasonable to say that Tang Tian was stage-frightened in the playoffs. Compared with that, it was more likely that he was affected by Terry.

"Perhaps."

Miller nodded as well. Trash talk before NBA games was commonplace. This time, Tang Tian didn't respond, so maybe his mentality was really affected.

In the Spurs' locker room, after Popovich analyzed the first half of the game, he pulled Tang Tian aside to chat for a while.

The general content was to tell him not to worry about missing shots and to shoot if he had the opportunity.

The others saw Tang Tian's performance as abnormal, but Popovich knew very well that Tang Tian was simply not making shots.

Tang Tian nodded.

After Popovich left, he took out the lucky bracelet that Olsen had given him before the game.

He wasn't a superstitious person. After all, having experienced his previous life, he knew that most things had to be achieved through his own efforts.

But he still believed that luck existed in this world.

Otherwise, why do so many people write books, and why do readers only subscribe to yours?

Popovich knew it, and he also knew that not scoring in the first half was purely bad luck.

So now he could try this necklace knitted by Olsen's grandmother to see if it could bring him good luck.

Halftime was almost over, and the players left the locker room one after another.

"What is this?"

Green couldn't help but ask curiously when he saw the bracelet on Tang Tian's hand.

NBA games were fiercely competitive. Apart from protective gear, the only accessories were headbands, and Tang Tian's braided bracelet was too eye-catching.

"Lucky bracelet."

Tang Tian said with a smile.

Green was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. Tang Tian was really a bit unique.

After halftime, the starting players on both sides returned to the court one after another.

Popovich pulled Tang Tian aside to talk during halftime, which meant he still trusted Tang Tian.

Returning in the second half, Tang Tian was still in the starting lineup.

Kidd dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. The Mavericks would attack first in the second half.

The ball was given to Nowitzki, who turned around and fadeaway jumpered as soon as he received it.

"Swish!"

The old driver was as steady as a dog, scoring the first attack in both the first and second halves.

"The Spurs are in trouble."

Breen on the sidelines said immediately.

A team that played well in the first half would decline somewhat after halftime.

But now the Mavericks' state was unabated, and if the Spurs didn't make any adjustments, the game would be really hard to say.

Although this was the first seed in the West playing against the eighth seed, the Mavericks were the defending champions.

If they took the first game and got into the groove, a Black Eight upset was really not impossible.

The situation was becoming very unfavorable for the Spurs.

"Go Spurs Go!"

The DJ on the sidelines also realized that the momentum was not right, and led the fans to cheer for the home team.

Parker signaled to spread out and then gave the ball to Duncan. It was difficult to open up tactics, and at this time it depended on individual ability.

Haywood was defending Duncan. Duncan held the ball high as if looking for teammates, and suddenly made a turn to the baseline.

Haywood reacted a little slowly, and his block with his hand was too late. Duncan directly dunked with one hand to score.

He could have made a layup, but Duncan dunked instead of saving energy. It seemed he also knew that the team needed to boost morale at this time.

"Stone Buddha's" basketball IQ and awareness were absolutely historic.

"Defense! Defense!"

The atmosphere at the scene also became more enthusiastic. After the Spurs switched from offense to defense, the decibels of the cheers at the scene remained unabated.

The intensity of the Spurs' defense on the court continued to increase in the cheers, and the Mavericks' tactics also failed to work.

The ball was finally given to Nowitzki.

At this time, the situation was different from the beginning of the second half. Time was limited, and Nowitzki couldn't make too many technical moves, and Diaw's close defense was also very good.

"Clang!"

Nowitzki's "golden rooster" shot missed, and Duncan boxed out Haywood under the basket to grab the defensive rebound.

With this offense and defense, the Spurs' overall state in the second half has obviously improved.

Parker held the ball to the frontcourt and directly called for Duncan's high pick-and-roll. After the pick, he broke through to the inside to attract a double-team and passed the ball back to Duncan.

Duncan's mid-range bank shot at the free throw line.

"Clang!"

The ball hit the backboard and went into the basket. "Stone Buddha" scored 4 points in a row after coming up in the second half!

The Spurs also narrowed the point difference to 5 points.

"Why isn't Tim getting old?"

Breen couldn't help but say with a smile at this time.

"Isn't he a rookie with number 21?" Miller said with a smile.

Carter's breakthrough layup was blocked by Duncan's help defense again. "Stone Buddha" showed absolute interior dominance after returning in the second half.

The audience cheered.

Tang Tian wasn't surprised. Duncan was only 35 years old now, and he was still far from retiring.

Parker passed the ball to Duncan when he reached the frontcourt. The Mavericks were forced to help defend at this time. Marion let go of Leonard and double-teamed towards the strong side.

Tang Tian reacted quickly at this time and moved directly to Leonard's side.

Leonard and Tang Tian trained together every day, and understood each other's intentions. He directly moved to the three-point line to set a screen.

After seeing this, Duncan quickly passed the ball, and Tang Tian shot a three-pointer again after receiving the ball.

The fans on the sidelines were all nervous.

If it were during the regular season, they wouldn't worry at all. They would even think that such an opportunity was a sure thing.

But tonight was different. Tonight, Tang Tian was 0-for-4 from the outside, and his touch was ice-cold.

Whether his touch had fully recovered after halftime was completely unknown.

The ball was released, and his touch looked very soft, and the trajectory after the shot also looked very good.

But in fact, Tang Tian's shots in the first half were about the same, but none of them went in in the end.

The ball fell straight down after crossing the final point.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, Tang Tian's fifth three-point attempt in this game finally went in!

"That's you! Godfather!"

Some fans shouted excitedly at the scene.

But this sound was quickly drowned out by the cheers of others.

After Tang Tian scored, he reached out and kissed the bracelet.

This lucky bracelet really brought him good luck.

The photographer on the sidelines captured this scene and quickly projected it onto the LED screen at the scene.

The fans at the scene noticed that Tang Tian was actually wearing this thing.

Olsen's heart suddenly beat faster after seeing this, and her face also became rosy.

Tang Tian really put that bracelet on his hand and even kissed it!

Thinking of the fact that the two of them didn't kiss on Santa Monica Beach before, Tang Tian's kiss was like kissing her.

Some viewers on the sidelines also took pictures of this scene. This action of kissing the bracelet was likely to become one of the highlights after the game.

With Tang Tian's three-pointer, the Spurs launched a 7-2 offensive in the second half, narrowing the point difference to only 2 points.

Nowitzki received the ball and posted up in the low post. This ball was very important to the Mavericks.

Leonard helped defend again, and Nowitzki passed the ball to the middle again.

However, Leonard had learned his lesson once and was prepared. At this time, he showed his defensive ability.

With his super-long wingspan and big hands, he directly intercepted Nowitzki's pass!

The Spurs' defensive counterattack, Leonard strode forward.

Kidd helped defend at this time, and Leonard had a mismatch opportunity when he attacked the frontcourt.

Although Kidd was old, his strength was still there, and he successfully interfered with Leonard's fast break layup.

Leonard grabbed the offensive rebound again and was almost stolen by Kidd. At this time, he caught a glimpse of Tang Tian who was late on the right, and directly threw the ball over.

Tang Tian had a transition three-point opportunity after receiving the ball.

He didn't hesitate and shot directly.

The fans at the scene once again showed expectation in their eyes. He was 0-for-4 in the first half. Could he make consecutive shots after returning in the second half?

"Swish!"

Tang Tian quickly gave the answer.

Yes!