Tang Tian had a chance for an additional free throw.

Duncan turned his head to look at Tang Tian, then shook his head with a smile.

Tang Tian was stunned for a moment.

This old guy was getting reckless! Wasn't he afraid of the referee calling a technical foul?

"Clang!"

Perhaps distracted by Duncan, Tang Tian missed the free throw.

Duncan secured the defensive rebound.

"Go. Spurs. Go!"

With the situation unfavorable, the fans at the arena cheered loudly for the Spurs.

But the Pelicans were really fighting hard, and they were getting more and more excited as they played, managing to stop the Spurs' offense.

Davis secured the defensive rebound, and the Pelicans launched a fast break.

Tang Tian received the ball in the mid-court, charged to the front court, and sent the ball into the basket after a physical contest with Green.

He hadn't seized the opportunity earlier, but this time he finally helped the Pelicans narrow the point difference to single digits!

Popovich called a timeout.

The Pelicans players went off the court and were greeted with enthusiastic cheers from the players on the bench.

Although they were still behind, they had played with considerable spirit during that stretch.

Moreover, they truly felt the words Tang Tian had spoken at halftime, which was completely different from the mindless rushing they had done last season.

"Keep it up, we have a chance!"

Although Williams didn't know what had happened at halftime, he was excited to see the change in the team.

After the timeout, the Spurs executed the hammer play, and Parker scored on a floater during his drive.

In return, they also successfully defended the Pelicans' possession.

This offensive and defensive sequence temporarily stabilized the situation on the court, showing that Popovich's tactical deployment during the timeout was still effective.

However, in the next possession, Ariza stole Parker's pass to Leonard.

The Pelicans launched a fast break, and Holiday received Tang Tian's pass and scored a layup, drawing a foul on Green and earning a 2+1 opportunity.

After Holiday made the free throw, the Pelicans narrowed the point difference to 7 points.

Although the Pelicans failed to launch a continuous scoring surge, the Spurs were always able to score key baskets when the Pelicans were chasing points.

But the Pelicans' momentum was obvious!

By the end of the quarter, they had managed to narrow the score to 70 to 71!

Their performance in this game impressed Popovich.

In the fourth quarter, Jokic made a no-look pass to Gordon, who scored with a layup, as if they had crossed the Himalayas, finally overcoming all the dangers!

But at that moment, the Spurs exploited Jokic's weakness on the defensive end and launched two consecutive waves of offense, widening the point difference again.

This time, Williams didn't bring Evans back on, but directly replaced Whiteside and Ariza ahead of schedule.

In the decisive moment of the fourth quarter, there was no need for him to conserve the players' stamina too much.

Moreover, the Pelicans' youth and strength were their capital.

This substitution had an immediate effect, and the Pelicans quickly regained control of the situation on the court.

The two sides stalemated throughout the quarter, with the Spurs showing their strength as the top team in the West, preventing the Pelicans from gaining an advantage.

With one minute left in the game, the Spurs and Pelicans were tied at 91!

After a long 47 minutes of competition, the two teams were once again at the same starting line.

The Pelicans had the offensive opportunity.

The other Pelicans players retreated to the baseline and stayed put, waiting to see Tang Tian's performance at the crucial moment.

Green looked a little nervous. Defending Tang Tian in a crucial possession, he didn't have much confidence.

Tang Tian accelerated with a crossover, and Green retreated desperately.

Moreover, Leonard on the weak side immediately came to help defend.

Tang Tian didn't pass the ball. He had to take this crucial shot himself.

Seizing the gap in the two-man trap, Tang Tian pulled up for a jump shot.

The cheers of the fans at the arena died down.

"Clang!"

The shot was a little off, bouncing off the rim!

Tang Tian's crucial shot missed!

Gasol boxed out Whiteside, and Duncan fought hard to secure the defensive rebound.

Cheers erupted at the arena.

Sure enough, God didn't stand behind Tang Tian and the Pelicans this time.

The opportunity came to the Spurs.

There were 40 seconds left in the game.

The Spurs played patiently. Leonard's final cut caught the perfect opportunity, and he made a steady shot at the basket.

It was a sure thing.

But at that moment, Whiteside lunged forward and slapped hard at Leonard's shot.

"Bang!"

He gave Leonard a huge block!

And he grabbed the defensive rebound after the block!

His performance and Davis's in the first half weren't good, but they felt like they were being sublimated as they chased points in the second half.

He didn't even feel tired in the final moments of the fourth quarter!

Holiday asked Whiteside for the ball, and the Pelicans launched a counterattack.

Tang Tian had already sprinted forward, and he received Holiday's long pass and ran to the front court.

Green was closely guarding Tang Tian at this time.

The two went from mid-court to the free throw line.

Tang Tian jumped up two steps inside the free throw line, this time with all his strength.

Green jumped up as well.

The two had physical contact in the air.

Tang Tian accelerated from mid-court all the way to the front court with the ball, so mathematically speaking, the kinetic energy brought by his momentum was very large.

The kinetic energy that Green could apply by jumping up to interfere was relatively limited.

In addition, with Tang Tian's Westbrook-like explosive power and the weight difference between the two, the result of the aerial confrontation was that Green was knocked away.

And this time, Tang Tian didn't choose to lay the ball up as he did during previous fast breaks, because that shot didn't go in, so this one had to go in!

"Boom!"

In the eyes of the wide-eyed fans at the arena, Tang Tian jumped up and slammed the ball into the basket over Green.

A poster dunk!

Tang Tian showed no mercy to his former teammate Green!

You're a good man!

With 35 seconds left, the Pelicans took a crucial 2-point lead!

The Spurs called a timeout.

The Pelicans' bench erupted.

This time, God didn't stand behind the Pelicans and Tang Tian, but Tang Tian used a sure-fire way to get the most crucial 2 points for the Pelicans!

Now, as long as they defended the Spurs' final attack, the victory would belong to the Pelicans!

After the timeout, Parker dribbled the ball to the front court. The Spurs' tactical cooperation in the front court clearly aimed to create a mismatch opportunity for Leonard.

But the Pelicans' defense around the screen was almost perfect, and they couldn't succeed even after more than half of the shot clock had expired.

In the end, Parker signaled his teammates to spread out, and passed the ball directly to Leonard, letting him go one-on-one against Ariza.

Popovich was really brave, entrusting the most critical attack to the young Leonard.

All the other Spurs players spread out, Leonard posted up Ariza, and used his physical advantage to get to the low post.

Ariza blocked his path to the basket, so he chose a turnaround fadeaway at the free throw line.

This technical move was very beautiful, somewhat reminiscent of Kobe.

Ariza desperately lunged out to interfere.

Leonard took the crucial shot.

The ball passed over Ariza's fingertips.

Everyone in the arena held their breath.

It was almost a shot that would determine the outcome of the game.

"Clang!"

Accompanied by a crisp sound of hitting the iron.

Leonard's final attack was defended by Ariza!