Popovich called a timeout.

Tang Tian’s hot hand wasn't something that could be solved by simply adjusting the defense. He needed to call a timeout to break his rhythm.

When the timeout ended, the Spurs immediately put all their starters back in the game.

Popovich didn't dare to take things lightly at this point.

The Pelicans also put Davis and Ariza back on the court early, while Jokic, who had played well, continued to stay in the game.

When play resumed, Gasol received a pass from Parker under the basket and turned to score a layup.

The Spurs regained the lead.

The Pelicans had been on a furious scoring run, but the Spurs were a strong team themselves!

Davis' layup in the frontcourt missed, and Gasol grabbed the defensive rebound.

With that one play on both ends of the court, the Spurs regained control of the game.

Leonard isolated Ariza in the frontcourt and went for a turnaround layup.

"Bang!"

Davis made up for his mistake, assisting on defense and swatting Leonard's shot with a chase-down block, and successfully grabbing the defensive rebound.

The Pelicans launched a fast break, with Tang Tian and Holiday in a two-on-one situation in the frontcourt. He received a pass from Holiday and scored a layup.

That was his 13th point in the quarter alone!

The Pelicans tied the score again!

The starters on both sides returned and continued to battle it out.

Leonard hit a mid-range shot, and Davis scored two points with a put-back.

Tang Tian hit a difficult fadeaway after a drive, and Parker also scored two points with a spinning layup.

When the game reached the final minute or so, the score was tied at 103.

The offensive efficiency of both sides in this quarter was high, and the level of play was definitely at a playoff, or even Finals, level.

The Pelicans had possession.

As soon as Tang Tian got the ball, Green and Leonard both swarmed him.

Tang Tian had scored 20 points in the quarter alone, and his explosive scoring power was giving the Spurs a headache.

Tang Tian passed the ball to Ariza, but Ariza didn't shoot. Waiting for Tang Tian to accelerate and run through the double team without the ball, he passed the ball back to Tang Tian.

Tang Tian caught the ball and drove into the paint, making tough contact with Gasol and drawing a defensive foul.

He stepped up to the free-throw line, took a breath, and made both free throws.

He scored his 22nd point of the quarter and helped the Pelicans take a crucial two-point lead.

"Defense! Defense!"

The fans in the arena took the initiative to cheer for the Pelicans.

With about 50 seconds left in the game, this defensive possession was crucial.

The Spurs continued to run their Hammer play, with Gasol pulling out to the three-point line to receive the ball and shoot a three.

The shot was a bit sudden, and Jokic's contest wasn't that great.

"Clang!"

But Gasol's three-point shot wasn't consistent, and the ball bounced off the rim.

Under the basket, Duncan showed his "Stone Buddha" (Shi Fo) attribute at a critical moment, boxing out Davis and, before Davis' long arms could touch the ball, lightly tapping it into the basket.

The two sides were tied again!

The Spurs were really tenacious!

Williams called a timeout with 30 seconds left.

If the Pelicans wanted to win the game, they had to score on the next possession.

Many fans in the arena were breathing heavily. This game was so intense, with so many ups and downs, that people with weak hearts couldn't handle it.

When play resumed, the Pelicans didn't make any lineup adjustments. Williams kept Jokic on the court, who had played the entire fourth quarter.

When play resumed, the other four players spread out, and Tang Tian had the ball on the right wing, outside the forty-five-degree three-point line.

After a series of low dribbles, he accelerated past Green in one step.

Besides Parker, who was far away on the other side of the court, everyone, including Duncan in the paint, Gasol on the perimeter, Leonard on the weak side, and Green behind him, rushed towards Tang Tian.

This was the highest level of defensive treatment. Popovich wasn't going to let Tang Tian shoot the final key shot.

Tang Tian drove into the free-throw line area and had nowhere to go.

He jumped high and threw the ball back to Jokic at the top of the arc.

After all, Jokic had played in European professional leagues for many years. Although he was a rookie, his mentality was really stable.

After catching the ball, he saw that Gasol was far away from him, adjusted himself, and then shot it directly.

Such a crucial shot!

The fans in the arena held their breath.

They knew Tang Tian had a big heart, but Jokic was a rookie, and this was the first time they had seen him take such a crucial shot.

The ball's trajectory was straight, and the force looked good.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, the basketball fell heavily into the net.

Jokic made his fourth and most crucial three-pointer of the game!

Such crucial shots depend on a player's mental fortitude, and now it seemed that Jokic had the mental toughness!

With 16 seconds left, the Spurs called a timeout.

The cheers of the fans in the arena erupted.

Many fans excitedly stood up, waving their fists and shouting.

At worst, this three-pointer could guarantee that the Pelicans would be undefeated in regulation time!

The Pelicans' bench was also in an uproar.

Jokic, however, was relatively calm after making the shot, only clenching his fist.

Tang Tian smiled and patted him on the head.

That shot was really great.

This scene was seen by Whiteside off the court, and his mood was a bit complicated.

Once upon a time, Tang Tian had also patted him on the head like that.

When play resumed, the Spurs inbounded the ball from the backcourt.

Parker quickly dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and Gasol set a screen at the top of the arc.

Parker quickly drove to the basket.

With 16 seconds left and down by 3 points, most coaches would gamble on a three-pointer, but Popovich chose an unexpected move, to score two points first.

Parker's speed was extremely fast, and he went for a flying layup under the basket.

But at that moment, Davis flew over from the weak side, extended his long arm, and gave Parker a chase-down block!

The moment the ball was blocked onto the rim, the fans in the arena exploded with excitement.

Davis' block basically killed the game!

Jokic secured the defensive rebound, and he was very smart, calling a timeout as soon as he got the ball.

There were still about 13 seconds left, but without possession, it was as difficult as climbing to the sky for the Spurs to win.

Popovich also shook his head helplessly on the sidelines. His tactical thinking was correct, and Parker executed it well.

But Davis' block was really too unexpected.

It could only be said that Davis had really improved a lot in the two years he had been with Tang Tian.

When play resumed, the Pelicans inbounded the ball from the backcourt, and Jokic successfully passed the ball to Tang Tian.

Green immediately fouled, and Tang Tian went to the free-throw line.

As Tang Tian walked to the free-throw line, deafening MVP cheers rang out in the arena.

The fact that this game had reached this point was really thanks to Tang Tian's explosive scoring power in the quarter.

Tang Tian adjusted his breathing. His physical exertion was also great at this point.

The first shot was a bit short, hitting the front of the rim and bouncing a few times, as if it was bouncing the hearts of the fans in the arena.

But fortunately, the ball finally went in.

Tang Tian adjusted his form for the second free throw and made it steadily.

The Pelicans had a 5-point lead.

The Spurs called their final timeout of the game.

At that moment, a leaderboard was displayed on the LED screen in the arena.

In NBA playoff history, there had been 32 instances of a player scoring more than 20 points in a single quarter.

And in those 32 instances, Tang Tian's 24 points in a single quarter surpassed Wade and Nowitzki's 22 points, and was only second to Iverson's 26 points against the Bucks in 2000-2001, ranking second in NBA history.