This premonition came true at the very start of the fourth quarter.

Manu Ginobili continued his excellent touch from this series. In the first minute of the fourth quarter, he hit two consecutive three-pointers, including a long three-pointer one step beyond the arc.

This time, Williams' timeout was very timely.

It wasn't that he suddenly realized something or changed his coaching style, but because Ginobili made those two three-pointers, the point difference on the court had reached 18 points.

Trailing by 18 points in a single quarter is often a game that can be declared over.

Sure enough, after Williams called the timeout, the AT&T Center was in an uproar.

Many fans held up signs and swayed their bodies.

Now they could consider how to play the Warriors in the next round!

Even the always cautious Popovich, after arranging the tactics, didn't stand on the sidelines anymore, but sat back on the bench and hammered his old waist.

Being an NBA coach is not just a mental activity; it also takes a lot of physical exertion.

After sitting down, he turned his head and glanced at Tang Tian, who had been substituted back into the game after only a minute of rest on the other half of the court.

Tang Tian scored 36 points in three quarters of this game; you couldn't ask him to do any better.

But the NBA is cruel. Where there are winners, there are losers. Next year, Tang Tian might be able to take the team even further.

Speaking of which, that interview with Holt almost killed him. As a veteran *du nai* (poisonous milk) practitioner, he knew the power of *du nai*.

But Holt applied *ju du du nai* (extremely poisonous milk) to himself, and the result was that the Spurs lost the last game.

Fortunately, time diluted the toxicity, and this game was finally about to be won.

Eighteen points, eleven minutes, against the Spurs, completing such a reversal was simply a fantasy.

"Swish!"

However, as soon as the timeout ended, Tang Tian received a pass from Davis and hit a three-pointer at the top of the arc.

It was also at this time that some fans noticed the Pelicans' lineup on the court.

Davis, Aminu, Ariza, Tang Tian, Gordon.

This was a very different rotation from the Pelicans' usual lineup.

Not only were there three starters in this lineup, but it was also a lineup with one big and four small players, or even five small players.

The Pelicans had used this lineup before when they played the Grizzlies in the first round, and it had a miraculous effect.

In desperation, the Pelicans brought it out again.

Diaw was attacking Aminu strongly under the basket, a layup after a spin.

"Pa!"

Davis helped defend and gave a direct block, nailing it to the backboard.

The Pelicans directly launched a fast break, with Davis throwing a long pass from the backcourt to Tang Tian.

Tang Tian accelerated, shaking off Belinelli, and rushed to the frontcourt for a flying scoop shot.

He could have dunked, but it wasn't necessary.

Williams had substituted him early, so he had to be prepared to play the remaining 11 minutes. He had to maximize every bit of his energy.

Popovich stood up and directly signaled Leonard and Green to come on.

An 18-point difference looked big, but after this 5-0 run from the Pelicans, it was only 13 points in the blink of an eye.

Green and Leonard replaced Mills and Belinelli.

Diaw was orchestrating at the free throw line, flicking the ball to Green, who had run out of a tactical opportunity, and the latter took a three-point shot.

"Clang!"

The basketball bounced off the rim.

In fact, after entering the second half, the Spurs' overall touch hadn't been very good.

Otherwise, with the Pelicans scoring only 13 points in a single quarter, they would have already blown the game wide open.

Tang Tian turned around and grabbed the long rebound. After a low dribble and change of direction, he accelerated straight forward.

Leonard's disadvantage in defending Tang Tian was evident.

After Tang Tian took one step, he left him behind.

Without the tactical defensive bonus of positional warfare, Leonard couldn't defend Tang Tian one-on-one.

Tang Tian rushed from the three-point line to past half-court, like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, with a flat road ahead.

Another easy scoop shot.

He instantly scored 7 points, helping the Pelicans directly reduce the point difference to 11 points!

Popovich called a timeout.

He had suppressed Tang Tian for an entire quarter, and now that Tang Tian was about to go berserk, he had to suppress him again.

When the timeout returned, the Spurs obviously began to slow down the pace, and the hammer tactics were used until the last few seconds before shooting.

Diaw got an open three-point opportunity at the top of the arc.

But his touch once again became their enemy. Diaw's three-pointer was obviously short, hitting the front of the rim and popping out.

Davis, with quick eyes and hands, grabbed the defensive rebound.

The Pelicans launched another fast break, and Gordon, who received the ball, sprinted from the backcourt to the frontcourt and tapped the ball to Tang Tian, who was following up.

Tang Tian made the shot over Ginobili, and was fouled in the process!

Ginobili shook his head helplessly after landing, and looking at Tang Tian again, couldn't help but sigh.

He only got stronger after balding, how did Tang Tian not go bald, and also become so strong?

Of course, this was just a thought that flashed through his mind; his expression was still very serious.

With Tang Tian making this shot, the point difference on the court was only 9 points, and if Tang Tian made the free throw, it would be 8 points!

Popovich called another timeout!

Two timeouts in one minute!

The TNT Big Three in the commentary booth complained loudly, but the fans on the scene were relatively calm; they knew the coach was Popovich.

This kind of operation would be very unusual if it happened to other coaches, but with Popovich, they were used to it.

"Slow down the pace, understand what I mean? Why shoot such dogshit three-pointers? Can't you attack the inside? Can't you make high-percentage shots?!"

Popovich cursed loudly. The 18-point difference was reduced to 9 points in the blink of an eye, as if a cooked duck had suddenly flown away.

Although the series had seven games, the next game was at the Pelicans' home court, and losing this game would put them at a disadvantage in the series!

And he reacted quickly and saw that the advantage of the Pelicans' small lineup was in fast breaks.

As long as the Spurs improved their success rate, they could still stabilize the situation.

When the timeout returned, the Spurs substituted all the starters back on the court.

Tang Tian made the free throw steadily, and the point difference between the two sides was only 8 points.

Parker held the ball in the frontcourt and broke into the inside, dodging Davis' block and scoring a goal.

The Spurs finally broke the scoring drought and reopened the point difference to double digits.

Popovich's anger was still useful.

But turning around for positional warfare, Tang Tian used Davis' pick-and-roll screen, and shot another three-pointer against Leonard's defense.

Leonard's interference on this ball was not small, and Tang Tian's shot was a bit short.

The ball hit the front of the rim.

But after bouncing once, it still climbed in!

A 7-point difference!

"Are you kidding me? Tang Tian! He scored all 13 points for the Pelicans in this quarter, God!"

O'Neal couldn't help but shout out loud in the commentary booth at this time.

This time Barkley and Smith didn't laugh at him, because Tang Tian's performance so far in the fourth quarter was really incredible.

This continuous scoring explosiveness was even more exaggerated than in the second game of the series.

However, the effect of the Spurs' consecutive timeouts was very good. Duncan educated the youngsters under the basket, using his footwork to score on Davis.

The difference between the two sides was still 9 points.

Tang Tian ran off-ball in positional warfare, and received the ball to force an attack under the basket, causing Gasol to foul.

He stepped onto the free throw line.

The first free throw was steady.

It was also at this time that the LED screen on the scene showed Tang Tian's statistics for the game.

17 of 31 shots, 4 of 7 three-pointers, 12 of 12 free throws, 50 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Tang Tian had achieved his first 50+ single-game score in the playoffs of his career!