“Tang, you have to be careful of Barnes.”

Before the game started, Davis reminded Tang Tian. The scene of Barnes taking down Tang Tian before was still fresh in his mind.

During the regular season, they had time to wait for Tang Tian to recover, but if Tang Tian got injured in the playoffs, the Pelicans would definitely be eliminated early.

Tang Tian nodded.

He hadn't expected Barnes to do that before, but now that he was prepared, the same thing wouldn't happen a second time.

"Don't worry, if he dares to come again, this time I'll definitely beat him into retirement."

Metta World Peace looked like a hooligan.

Tang Tian couldn't help but laugh after hearing that.

Jordan had Oakley, his personal bodyguard, and he had Metta World Peace, a super bodyguard.

"I won't let him do that either."

Evans also spoke.

Although he wasn't a troublemaker like Metta World Peace, he looked rough and fierce.

Tang Tian nodded with a smile.

Over the past season, the Pelicans had transformed from the gentle young team they were at the start of the season into a fierce and powerful team.

On the night of the game, the Staples Center was packed.

The fans' faces were filled with excitement.

Yesterday, they had just witnessed the Lakers' crushing victory over the Warriors at home, and tonight they were looking forward to seeing the same scene.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both teams were announced.

The Pelicans used their regular starting lineup: Holiday and Tang Tian in the backcourt, Aminu and Davis in the frontcourt, and Reggie Evans at center.

The Clippers were the same: Paul and Redick in the backcourt, Barnes and Griffin in the frontcourt, and Jordan at center.

In the first game of the series, both sides were still in the probing phase.

Davis and Jordan jumped for the ball in the center circle.

Amid the cheers of the fans, Jordan won the jump ball, giving the Clippers the first chance to attack.

Rivers nodded in satisfaction on the sidelines.

That was the feeling. Even winning the jump ball, the Clippers were determined to win at home tonight.

Paul dribbled the ball to the frontcourt to organize.

Redick ran without the ball, coming out from behind Griffin's screen.

A scoring guard was always a very important part of Rivers' offensive tactics. Ray Allen of the Celtics was the most typical example.

Redick's movement constrained the Pelicans' defense. After observing the Pelicans' defensive formation, Paul suddenly bounced a pass to Griffin.

Griffin had already charged towards the basket after setting the screen. The pass was perfectly timed.

Evans switched out to defend, and Griffin forced a foul on the latter.

Compared to when they played in the regular season, this Clippers team had stronger tactical execution, better coordination, and playoff-level focus. They were a strong team.

Griffin made both free throws.

The Clippers scored the first 2 points.

Holiday dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. As soon as he passed the ball to Tang Tian, Griffin double-teamed him from the inside.

Rivers knew very well that Tang Tian was the Pelicans' strong point, and he didn't hold back at all.

Tang Tian quickly passed the ball to Davis, whose shot at the basket was blocked by Jordan.

"Bang!"

The ball bounced off the rim.

Evans grabbed the offensive rebound, but his shot with no one guarding him slipped out of the basket!

Jordan turned around and grabbed the defensive rebound.

After the first two possessions, the Clippers' offensive and defensive strategies were revealed: attack their lack of experience on offense, and force Tang Tian to pass the ball on defense, letting the Pelicans' other players shoot.

Rivers was really an old fox. He was attacking the Pelicans' weakness right from the start.

Tang Tian quickly realized this and signaled to Williams during the retreat to bring Anderson on.

Being targeted like this from the start, they could only sacrifice some defense to exchange for offense. Otherwise, the Pelicans would be passive all night.

The Clippers used the same tactic. This time, Davis went to the basket early, Griffin blocked Aminu, and Redick hit a three-pointer.

They were really exploiting the Pelicans' lack of experience.

5-0!

The cheers at the Staples Center continued.

The Clippers were off to a flying start, and they had a good chance of seeing the same scene as the Lakers' crushing victory over the Warriors last night!

Griffin's face was also full of excitement. Finally, they were finally stronger! The championship was theirs!

Barnes tangled with Tang Tian in the frontcourt, preventing him from receiving the ball. His movements were a bit excessive and he was called for a defensive foul.

Paul immediately complained to the referee. Barnes and Griffin also went over.

Tang Tian shook his head when he saw this.

Old habits die hard. Although they had become stronger, the team's characteristics were still there.

The game went into a dead ball, and Anderson came on to replace Evans.

Substituting less than two minutes into the game, the Pelicans' substitution came surprisingly early.

Griffin looked even more disdainful after seeing this. The Pelicans were panicking.

Matching Anderson up against him? Did they think he wasn't scoring enough?

The Pelicans' sideline pass came in, and Holiday passed the ball to Tang Tian after receiving it.

Anderson was the stretch four of the future, and his three-point threat alone was worth $20 million.

The Clippers didn't dare to double-team casually anymore, and Tang Tian got a one-on-one opportunity against Barnes.

Barnes was sticking very close, and directly using his body. His defensive ability was much worse than Tony Allen, but he was more aggressive.

However, Tang Tian also used his body to resist, forcibly squeezing out space to be a triple threat.

He had already prepared himself mentally for a physical battle in the playoffs.

After determining Barnes' center of gravity in the confrontation, he suddenly changed direction to the left.

Barnes was sticking too close and was beaten by Tang Tian in one step.

After Tang Tian had space, he directly pulled up for a jumpshot.

Rivers' arrival had completely changed the Clippers' defense, and Jordan's help defense came quickly.

However, Tang Tian's pull-up was faster.

Scissors legs, the posture was as beautiful as a painting.

"Swish!"

Tang Tian's pull-up was hit in the face of Jordan!

The Pelicans' bench erupted in cheers!

The Clippers' offensive and defensive strategies had put the Pelicans under a lot of pressure since the start of the game. Tang Tian's goal finally released the pressure!

Griffin's mouth turned up when he saw the reaction of the Pelicans' bench, and the disdain in his eyes was even stronger.

They were so happy with one goal? As expected, they were a team with no championship pedigree.

When Paul dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, he dropped to the low post and leaned against Anderson to ask for the ball directly.

After seeing this, Paul signaled his teammates to spread out, and then fed the ball inside.

Griffin had an absolute advantage against Anderson.

Griffin received the ball and went straight at Anderson.

Anderson obviously couldn't resist.

After Griffin got to the baseline, he turned around and went for a dunk.

However, Davis had already come to help defend, and the two collided.

"Bang!"

Davis' long arm blocked the ball out of Griffin's hand!

In the scramble for the loose ball, Aminu dived to the ground to grab the ball and threw it to Tang Tian.

Tang Tian dribbled the ball on a fast break. After being defended by Paul, he made a long pass to Holiday, who was already running fast.

Holiday drove to the frontcourt and shot after colliding with Redick.

The ball went in, and Redick was also called for a foul.

And-one!

The Pelicans' bench erupted in cheers again.

This time, Darius Miller jumped from his seat to the sideline, waving his towel wildly.

First, Tang Tian had a pull-up jump shot, then Davis had a block and Aminu had a dive, and finally Holiday had an and-one.

Although they were somewhat confused as playoff rookies after being targeted by the Clippers at the start, they quickly adjusted!

Holiday made the free throw, and the Pelicans tied the score at 5-5.

The Clippers had a perfect start, but it wasn't that easy to kill the Pelicans in one fell swoop.

Although the Pelicans were ranked much lower than the Clippers, the difference in wins between the two teams was actually not that big.

And more importantly, the Pelicans had played a lot of tough games this season, like against the Thunder, Lakers, and Spurs, and they had all won.

They might not be a championship contender yet, but their strength was definitely not weak!

The Clippers attacked in the frontcourt, and Griffin continued to post up against Anderson.

Tang Tian helped defend inside at this time.

Griffin passed the ball to Barnes. Barnes had a three-point opportunity but didn't shoot. After Tang Tian came out, he passed it back to Griffin.

Tang Tian went inside again when Griffin received the ball.

After doing this twice, Barnes passed again, and Tang Tian jumped up and stole the ball.

Barnes' defense was good, but his offensive ability was limited. His three-point percentage was only in the low 30s. His overall strength was similar to Aminu's.

The Clippers' retreat was still timely this time. When the Pelicans reached the frontcourt and set up their position, Tang Tian took the ball and played against Barnes again.

This time, he dribbled the ball, and after a series of crossovers, he shook Barnes open and shot.

Barnes' defense was better this time, and he rushed up to interfere.

"Bang!"

Tang Tian's pull-up missed.

In the scramble for the rebound under the basket, Davis couldn't outmuscle Jordan for position, but he used his long arms to tip the ball in!

Davis looked to be in good shape tonight!

Tang Tian gave Davis a thumbs up during the retreat.

If Davis was in good shape, Tang Tian could look for him to set more picks, and he wouldn't have to go so hard at Barnes every possession.

He almost collapsed from exhaustion in the regular season finale against the Lakers. After becoming the team's core, the Masked Man wasn't enough.

The intensity was higher in the playoffs, and he had to conserve energy for the second half and even the fourth quarter.

Redick's second three-point attempt missed.

What goes around comes around. After the Pelicans reacted and their defensive intensity went up, it wasn't so easy for the Clippers to score either.

Davis grabbed another defensive rebound.

The Pelicans attacked to the frontcourt. After Tang Tian received the ball, he signaled Davis to come to the free throw line to set a pick.

Davis' build was very solid, and Barnes couldn't get around him.

At Rivers' shout on the sidelines, Jordan directly pressed Tang Tian.

This was the tactic of double-teaming whenever there was a screen.

Tang Tian directly lobbed the ball inside.

Davis was in good shape. He anticipated the pass and looked back when he went inside after setting the pick.

He caught the ball, took a step, and slammed the ball into the basket with one arm.

"Boom!"

Davis did it in one go, scoring with a direct dunk!

Williams clenched his fist excitedly on the sidelines.

After Davis scored 4 consecutive points, the Pelicans were already ahead 9-5!

The outside world didn't think the Pelicans could win in the first round, and even their opponent Griffin revealed his disdain in an interview.

But it was this lack of optimism that made the entire Pelicans team hold their breath.

They were young and inexperienced, and their lineup wasn't strong, but they would never give up easily!

"Come on! Clippers!"

Seeing that the situation was not right, the live DJ started cheering for the Clippers in unison.

Paul dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and continued to give the ball to Griffin.

Tang Tian continued to shrink his defense and double-team. This time, Barnes took Griffin's pass and shot a three-pointer.

"Bang!"

The shot was a bit heavy and hit the back of the rim before bouncing out.

Davis protected the defensive rebound again.

Rivers shook his head helplessly on the sidelines after seeing this.

Griffin had an absolute advantage against Anderson, but in the playoffs, because of the high intensity, there would be a lot of double-teaming. If one-on-one attacks couldn't be completed in a short period of time, then the advantage would no longer be an advantage.

This was also why many stars' performances would shrink significantly in the playoffs.

And now that Barnes' three-pointer hadn't been unlocked, it made the Pelicans even more determined to double-team Griffin.

The Pelicans attacked to the frontcourt, Tang Tian received the ball and continued to call Davis to set a pick.

The Clippers continued to double-team Tang Tian, and Tang Tian passed the ball quickly.

Griffin retreated to the basket to help defend Davis.

Although Davis was a bit dull, his basketball IQ was really not low. He saw Griffin coming over and looked to the bottom corner.

Anderson had already made a gesture to receive the ball.

He flicked his hand and passed the ball out.

Anderson shot directly after receiving the ball.

His shooting speed was considered fast among big guys, and the arc was very low.

"Swish!"

The basketball went through the heart of the net.

Although his defense was terrible, his three-pointer was really accurate.

12-5.

After falling behind 0-5, the Pelicans directly went on a 12-0 run against the Clippers!

Rivers was forced to call a timeout.

The Clippers' own offense had problems, and with the Pelicans opening up, the situation was about to get out of control.

"Keep this intensity up, they look down on us, we're going to beat them hard tonight!"

Tang Tian pulled the other four players who were about to enter the game and shouted as the timeout was about to end.

Williams was good at interpersonal relationships and player development, but his coaching ability was relatively poor; Borrego was good at tactics, but he didn't know how to boost morale, so he needed him to say these words to encourage his teammates at this time.

The Pelicans were young and prone to mistakes, but their emotions were also easily mobilized.

After Tang Tian finished speaking, the others shouted a few words one after another, their morale high.

After the timeout, Paul and Griffin set a pick-and-roll. After the pick opened up, he made his signature mid-range shot.

"Swish!"

Mid-range shots were reliable at key moments.

"Defense! Defense!"

Paul's mid-range shot finally helped the Clippers continue their scoring, and the home fans' emotions became excited again.

"Swish!"

However, a pull-up shot after a pick-and-roll between Tang Tian and Davis directly brought the cheers to an abrupt end.

The Pelicans came with determination tonight!

The Clippers' offensive tactic in the frontcourt resulted in Redick's three-pointer missing.

Jordan grabbed the offensive rebound and gave it to Paul.

Paul and Jordan's mid-range shot after a pick-and-roll.

"Swish!"

Paul hit consecutive mid-range shots!

Paul entered Saint Paul Grandpa mode!

His consecutive 4 points allowed the Clippers to bite the score at 9-14.

Turning around, Tang Tian continued to set a pick-and-roll with Davis. This time, the Clippers switched defenders, and Tang Tian directly passed the ball to Davis, who was cutting in.

Davis squeezed past Barnes and put the ball into the basket.

16-9!

Whether Paul was a grandpa or not, the Pelicans continued to dominate!

After half the game, the Pelicans led the Clippers 48-36.

The fans at the Staples Center were very uncomfortable.

This game was completely different from the Lakers' game against the Warriors yesterday!

This wasn't a rhythm where the Clippers were going to crush the Pelicans, but rather the other way around, where they were going to be hung up and beaten!

ps: Sorry for the late update today. This is yesterday's fourth update and today's first update combined. There are three more updates later.