Braised Eggplant with Minced Pork
Chapter 668 Ritian's Nickname is Tang Tian! (Fourth Update!)
The Pelicans' tactics had worked, but they had only earned the chance to fight the Warriors in the final stages.
They absolutely couldn't lose this game. Losing and falling behind 0-3 would mean there would be absolutely no chance of a comeback.
"Defense! Defense!"
The Pelicans' fans also knew the importance of these last three minutes and cheered for their home team in unison.
The Warriors' offense saw Curry running off-ball, and after getting open two steps beyond the three-point line, he shot directly.
"Swish!"
The three-pointer hit directly like a cruise missile.
This was Curry's fifth three-pointer of the game.
Such a performance was already the norm for him.
The cheers at the scene came to an abrupt halt.
Curry's incredible three-pointers this season were the sparks that ignited the home court and the cold water that extinguished the away court.
The Pelicans' offense continued to press their formation, and the ball was given to Tang Tian.
Bogut continued to double-team towards the basket.
This time, Tang Tian didn't choose to pass the ball. He turned around and faded away towards the baseline ahead of time.
This possession was very similar to the scene at the beginning of the first quarter, when Tang Tian didn't make that shot.
And in the fourth quarter, his physical strength wasn't as abundant as it was in the first quarter.
"Swish!"
The basketball passed over Thompson's fingertips and went directly into the net!
Tang Tian's big heart at the critical moment overcame the impact of his physical strength!
There was a substitution on the sidelines, with Iguodala replacing Bogut.
Curry made consecutive three-point attempts in the frontcourt, but this time he didn't make it.
Davis turned around and grabbed the defensive rebound.
In the frontcourt, the ball continued to go to Tang Tian.
This time, Iguodala's help defense on the weak side came very quickly.
After seeing this, Tang Tian directly changed from facing away from the basket to facing it, and directly accelerated past Thompson.
Thompson's defense was good enough, but he was still a little struggling to contend with Tang Tian.
Tang Tian finally took a shot against Thompson's defense, and Thompson tried his best to block it, hitting Tang Tian's hand.
Tang Tian showed his ability to resist, and still sent the ball into the basket after being fouled.
A beautiful 2+1!
The cheers at the scene continued.
Tang Tian's two key goals were really as precious as gold!
Tang Tian stepped onto the free throw line.
"MVP! MVP!"
The uniform MVP cheers rang out at the scene.
Although the MVP selection results had already been released, and Tang Tian ultimately failed to be elected, Tang Tian's performance in this game, and in the hearts of the Pelicans fans, he was the MVP!
Tang Tian made the free throw amidst the cheers, and the Pelicans took a 2-point lead!
Both sides missed several offenses, and when the game reached the last minute, the Pelicans led 111-109.
They had a great chance to tie the score to 1-2!
"Defense! Defense!"
The fans at the scene had all stood up and cheered for the Pelicans in unison.
The Warriors didn't have a good shooting opportunity under the high-pressure defense, and it was clear that the offensive time was about to end.
But Curry didn't give up running, and he received the ball with 2 seconds left, faking a shot to shake off Ariza who was making up the defense, and then completed the shot at the buzzer.
"Swish!"
The basketball went into the net, and the Warriors took the lead by 1 point!
Curry's touch in the first two minutes wasn't very good, and he missed two three-pointers in a row, but at the critical moment, his heart was still big enough.
This season, because of the 10+ three-point attempts per game, Curry was called "Ku Ritian" (literally "Curry the Skyfucker") by some fans, and this ball deserved the nickname.
With the last 36 seconds, Williams reached out and called a timeout.
When the timeout returned, Morrow came on to replace Jokic. It was obvious that the Pelicans wanted to pull the space for Tang Tian to play one-on-one.
Holiday dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and gave it to Tang Tian.
As soon as Tang Tian got the ball, the Warriors doubled-teamed him, and it was a three-man double-team.
Cole had watched so many Pelicans games, and he absolutely didn't want to give Tang Tian a chance to shoot at the critical moment.
Tang Tian was forced to the baseline, he didn't pass the ball, but directly leaned back towards the baseline.
This was an ultra-high difficulty shot in a three-man double-team.
Davis and Ariza rushed to the basket, and at this time there was only Green under the Warriors' basket.
"Swish!"
With a crisp sound, Tang Tian's high-difficulty fadeaway shot hit!
The cheers at the scene exploded instantly.
When it comes to big hearts, who is Tang Tian afraid of!
Tang Tian had the nickname "Ritian" first!
Cole reached out and called a timeout.
With the last 26 seconds, the Warriors had the chance for the last attack.
1-2, or 3-0, it all depended on this last attack.
Many fans at the scene took deep breaths.
The Pelicans had too many of these final moments in this year's playoffs, and people with poor heart function really couldn't watch this kind of game.
When the timeout returned, the Warriors still had a small lineup on the court.
There was a substitution on the Pelicans side, Aminu replaced Morrow!
At the last moment, the Pelicans also put on a small lineup!
This one touched many people's G-spot at the scene, knowing that the Pelicans lost the last game because of the small lineup, and Williams was controversial.
Unexpectedly, the Pelicans put him on again at the most critical moment!
"This round will become the focus after the game."
Barkley said as soon as he saw the matchup between the two sides.
Smith and O'Neal both nodded in succession.
Regardless of whether the Pelicans can defend this wave with a small lineup, they can't escape the outside world's hot discussion.
The referee on the sidelines blew the whistle, and the Warriors served the sideline ball.
Green held the ball outside the three-point line, and the Warriors still played their best unlimited air-cut tactics.
The Pelicans kept up with them.
Although they lacked experience, they insisted on switching defenses, and their adjustments in this round worked because of their fighting spirit!
Seeing that half of the offensive time had passed, the Warriors still didn't have a good opportunity.
Green, who was holding the ball, couldn't directly attack Davis either. He finally called Curry to his side and handed the ball over hand-to-hand.
Green then pulled away and signaled the others to pull away as well.
The idea of this ball was to let Curry play, but unfortunately this ball happened to switch to Tang Tian defending Curry!
A direct showdown between the two Ritians!
Green wanted to come up to pick-and-roll after seeing this, but Tang Tian quickly grabbed it.
Curry signaled Green to retreat.
In the last four seconds, Curry made continuous crossover steps, but Tang Tian defended well, and he had no chance to shoot.
Tang Tian's presence on the defensive end has declined not because of his ability, but because the team doesn't need him to do that.
But if you really let him defend the key rounds, he is still the two-time DPOY player! (Defensive Player of the Year)
Curry had no time, so he could only take a step back to widen the distance between himself and Tang Tian, and then shoot a super long three-pointer.
But this ball was predicted by Tang Tian, and Tang Tian's block almost came like a head-on cover.
The ball barely brushed past Tang Tian's fingertips.
"Clang!"
The ball hit the front edge of the basket and bounced out!
Curry's buzzer-beating three-pointer didn't go in!
But Green blocked Davis, and he tried his best to slap the ball to the outside line.
With 2 seconds left, the Warriors still had a chance.
The ball was slapped towards Curry by Green again.
"Pa!"
But at this moment, Tang Tian turned his head sharply and grabbed the ball, then threw the ball directly into the air.
"Beep!"
The final whistle sounded.
The Pelicans, won!