Although this performance was partly due to the Nuggets not knowing Jokic well, even so, not everyone could put up such numbers.

After the game, Jokic was interviewed by reporters at the side of the court.

On the court, he was tough, going head-to-head with Nurkic, but off the court, he was still a shy, big boy.

Hearing the reporter praising his performance, he scratched his head shyly, and after putting his hand down, he seemed a little at a loss.

Tang Tian and Davis walked over to him at this moment.

The two looked at each other, then smiled in unison.

When they reached Jokic, they both reached out.

Tang Tian touched Jokic's head.

Davis gave Jokic's big butt a "smack."

Jokic turned his head, saw Tang Tian and Davis, and smiled shyly.

This guy.

Tang Tian immediately remembered his experience with the Spurs.

It felt like a cycle.

At the post-game press conference, Tang Tian and Jokic appeared together.

Facing the reporters' questions, Jokic was as shy as he had been at the side of the court.

Even when a reporter from FOX asked if he was worried about not playing as well in the next game, he replied that he would work hard.

But Tang Tian frowned.

He remembered the reporter from FOX Sports who had previously called Jokic "fat meat."

"Who remembers that guy, Cory Antliv?"

He took the microphone after Jokic answered.

The reporters below murmured.

"That's my colleague," the FOX Sports reporter replied.

"Yes, that's him. I said before, let everyone remember his name, because he publicly demeaned Jokic. I also said let him remember what he said. Now is the time."

Smack!

Tang Tian was publicly slapping Antliv in the face!

The reporters below stirred. Tang Tian really wasn't giving any face this time.

But Antliv's words about Jokic being "fat meat" were indeed excessive, and he deserved this outcome.

Of course, they also sensed something else.

Many people had questioned Tang Tian before, but Tang Tian always responded with actions and rarely spoke so directly in front of the media.

But this time, it wasn't about Tang Tian himself. He was saying this for Jokic!

The message was: you can question me, and I might not care too much, but if you insult my teammate, I'll make you look bad in a heartbeat!

After playing the Nuggets, the Pelicans returned to New Orleans for a rare three-day break.

At this time, the league announced the winners of some awards for November, the first month of the new season.

Andrew Wiggins in the West and Jabari Parker in the East were named Rookies of the Month for November.

It is worth mentioning that third overall pick Joel Embiid announced that he would miss the season due to injury and would likely not return to the court until next season at the earliest.

This was undoubtedly bad news for the Mavericks.

"We are going through some difficulties, but we believe in the process," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said to the media recently.

With Embiid joining Dallas, the famous "process" seemed to have passed as well.

The Coaches of the Month for November were the Atlanta Hawks' head coach Mike Budenholzer in the East and the New Orleans Pelicans' head coach Monty Williams in the West.

Williams narrowly lost to Gregg Popovich in the Coach of the Year race last year. With the Pelicans' strong momentum this year, he had a good chance.

But he faced a lot of competition.

As fans discussed on social media, it was rare in history for three underdog teams, the Pelicans, Warriors, and Hawks, to rise simultaneously.

The Players of the Month for November were the Atlanta Hawks' starting lineup in the East and Tang Tian in the West.

The Hawks achieved an impressive 14-1 record in November. Because they didn't have an absolute core player, the league directly awarded the prize to the Hawks' starting five.

This was also a first in league history.

In November, all five Hawks starters averaged double-digit points, ranging from 12.1 to 18.1 points.

Official data showed that the five players played together for a total of 156 minutes, and in that time, they outscored their opponents by 72 points.

In the West, Tang Tian averaged 25.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.2 blocks in 15 games in November.

His shooting, three-point, and free throw percentages were 51%, 46%, and 91%, respectively, achieving the 180 club.

He didn't score as many points as last season, and his stats weren't as eye-catching, but he played more efficiently and effortlessly than last season.

When the league announced the news, Tang Tian's teammates in the Pelicans' locker room surrounded him and sprayed him with champagne.

The Pelicans' team atmosphere was second to none in the league.

Not only the players, but the Pelicans' official Twitter also retweeted the league's message and added the following content.

"MVP, why not Tang Tian?"

This was a rhetorical question, and a rhetorical question is a strengthening of tone.

This also sparked a lot of discussion among fans.

"I accepted Durant getting the MVP last year, after all, the record was a bit worse, but this year, he has both the record and the stats. The MVP should be Tang's!"

"Really, I think Tang's chances are really high this year. Most importantly, the league doesn't have any prejudice against the Pelicans now!"

"Wait, does this mean Tang can trigger the Rose Rule? This is only his fourth year!"

"It seems not. The Rose Rule is for rookie contracts, and Tang's rookie contract is only for 2 years."

"What a pity! But it's okay. If Tang is selected as MVP this year, he will be good enough. This is only his second year as a core player!"

"Tsk tsk, at this time, I have to mention Comrade Buford. They sent away a Finals MVP, and finally found that the F was gone..."

"Haha, light incense, light incense!"

……

In addition to the official and fans, ESPN also listed Tang Tian as an MVP candidate.

But full of slots, they only ranked Tang Tian fourth on this list, after LeBron James, James Harden and Stephen Curry.

The Pelicans were first in the Western Conference. The only basis for this ranking was data. The other players' data was better than Tang Tian's.

Tang Tian didn't care too much about this. After all, the regular season had just begun.

He would compete for the MVP, but maintaining a calm mind and leading the Pelicans to more victories was the way he would compete.

At this time, the first round of voting results for the 2015 NBA All-Star Game were hotly released.

Tang Tian received 750,000 votes, with a huge advantage of nearly 200,000 votes over second-place LeBron James (550,000 votes), and was elected the first round vote leader.

This advantage was significantly greater than last year.

After the Pelicans played an outstanding record, Tang Tian's goal this year seemed to be not only to repeat as the All-Star vote leader.

He might even be able to challenge Dwight Howard's record of 3.15 million votes in 2009.