The Thunder have withdrawn from the championship race, but the competition in the West hasn't diminished at all.

The Warriors, Pelicans, Spurs, and even the Rockets, Clippers, and Grizzlies still have the strength to compete for the title.

This year's Western Conference is definitely purgatory-level.

While social media was buzzing about Durant's season-ending injury, the league announced the second round of All-Star voting results.

Tang Tian continued his strong momentum, receiving a total of 1.2 million votes in the second round, extending his lead over James (700,000 votes) to a full 500,000 votes.

He easily became the top vote-getter in the second round.

At this rate, he has a good chance of breaking his own vote total from last year.

It is worth mentioning that Curry's vote total also exceeded 700,000, only about 300 votes behind James.

With the rise of the Warriors, this small guy who was once plagued by ankle injuries has finally officially entered the ranks of superstars.

In the following week, the Pelicans played against the Jazz, 76ers, and Suns in succession.

They won all of those games, extending their winning streak to six games.

It was also at this time that the league announced the latest MVP rankings.

The Warriors were on a roll, and their record had surpassed the Atlanta Hawks to become the best in the league, with Curry rising from third to first.

James remained in second place.

Tang Tian also surpassed Harden to take third place.

Harden was in fourth place.

Anthony and Griffin followed closely behind.

Rising in the rankings was a good thing, and good things come in pairs.

Just after the rankings were updated, Tang Tian received a text message from Yao Ming.

After months of preparation, the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Basketball Management Center had officially separated.

And at the first CBA meeting that had just concluded, Yao Ming had officially assumed the position of the new CBA chairman.

Because of Tang Tian's intervention, Yao Ming became the CBA chairman earlier than in history!

This was definitely a historic moment for Chinese basketball.

Tang Tian also let out a long breath when he saw the news. Two years was enough time for Yao Ming to do some things, and he would be more relaxed in Rio than in London.

The Pelicans' next opponent was the Kings.

This series of opponents wasn't strong, making it an absolutely sweet schedule.

If they could win the game smoothly, they would achieve their longest winning streak of the season at seven games.

The game was held at the Kings' home court, and the Pelicans arrived in Sacramento a day early.

The Kings were a veteran NBA team, having joined the NBA in the 1940s, but their glory days were also in that era.

After winning the NBA championship as the Rochester Royals in the 1950-51 season, they failed to replicate their success.

When the team was renamed the Kings and relocated to Sacramento, their performance declined day by day.

During the Cousins era, they never even made the playoffs.

The team brought in renowned coach George Karl this season, but the team still hadn't improved, giving people a feeling that it was rotten to the core.

Against such an opponent, the Pelicans' only goal was to win and continue to extend their winning streak.

After the team's daily training, Tang Tian stayed behind for extra practice. He noticed that Nash was guiding Dinwiddie's training again.

This scene had been going on for the past week, and Nash's interest in Dinwiddie wasn't just a flash in the pan.

After training, Tang Tian couldn't help but pull Dinwiddie aside to chat, asking him what had happened between him and Nash.

To his surprise, Dinwiddie didn't know either.

"You don't know? When did Nash start guiding you? What happened that day?"

Tang Tian was even more curious.

"Nothing happened. That day was team training. I carried bags for my teammates as usual, bought donuts, participated in team training, extra practice, and went home."

Dinwiddie recounted everything that happened that day.

As Dinwiddie spoke, Tang Tian remembered which day it was. That day, Nash had come with his two daughters.

That's right, Nash's arrival was sudden, and Dinwiddie hadn't bought enough donuts, so he had run out again to buy some for Nash and his daughters.

It wasn't a big deal, and no one paid attention to it.

But it seemed that was the reason everything happened.

Nash doted on his daughters, and perhaps Dinwiddie's gesture had prompted him to give some guidance, or perhaps after giving some guidance, he discovered that Dinwiddie was teachable.

Most things don't happen dramatically, and many successes don't rely on a single decisive move. This natural progression is the norm.

"Keep up the good work. With Nash guiding you, you'll improve quickly,"

Tang Tian said with a smile.

In history, Dinwiddie had bounced around multiple teams, experienced ups and downs, and finally made a name for himself with the Nets.

But history had already changed, and now that Nash was involved, Dinwiddie would definitely develop much faster.

The next night, the game between the Kings and the Pelicans officially kicked off at Arco Arena.

The arena was packed.

This was a very unusual phenomenon. The Kings had a very poor record in recent years, and theoretically, their attendance rate should have been very low.

But in reality, the Kings had very high attendance rates, both during the Royals era and after moving to Sacramento.

This was a phenomenon that couldn't be understood with common sense. The only explanation was that, perhaps, like the team name, fans had a natural faith in the team.

The Kings were led by Cousins, and with the addition of Gay last season, the two core players plus Collison, Landry, and a group of role players, their roster strength wasn't bad on paper.

After the game started, the Kings and the Pelicans went back and forth.

Whiteside, who had been performing well previously, was clearly suppressed by Cousins in this game.

He was at a disadvantage in terms of strength and overall technique.

The two teams were deadlocked for nearly a quarter and a half.

The turning point of the game occurred in the second half of the second quarter.

In order to counter Cousins, the Pelicans sent out a frontcourt combination of Whiteside and Evans.

Evans didn't get much playing time after being squeezed out of the rotation by Jokic, but as a veteran, he was very professional and maintained his competitive form well.

Cousins' performance was noticeably less comfortable than before.

Moreover, Evans was a former Kings player, and he was very familiar with Cousins' style of play. He used various positioning techniques to make Cousins very uncomfortable on defense.

With Cousins struggling, his emotions worsened.

After being bumped open by Tang Tian and called for a defensive foul in one play, he would have lost control if Karl hadn't yelled at him from the side.

Tang Tian made both free throws, and the Pelicans extended their lead to double digits.

The Kings' strength was still a bit lacking. Cousins and Gay's lineup could compete in the East, but in the West, they would be at best a fringe playoff team.

It was the Kings' offensive possession.

Cousins was holding the ball at the high post. The Kings ran their offensive plays. When he saw that the defender in front of him was Tang Tian, he directly backed down to post up.

With the situation unfavorable, he played aggressively and clearly wanted to retaliate for the previous play.

Tang Tian initially held his ground firmly, but when he felt Cousins' force reaching its peak, he leaned back顺势.

He did it intentionally, but Cousins' force was fierce, and he was sent flying out, sliding from the free-throw line all the way out of bounds.

The referee immediately blew his whistle, signaling an offensive foul on Cousins.

When Cousins saw the referee's gesture, he couldn't control his fiery temper any longer and roared at the referee.

Although Tang Tian didn't need to shoulder too many defensive responsibilities after becoming the team's core, no one could easily dominate him in a one-on-one defensive situation.

Otherwise, opponents would have relentlessly attacked him to exhaust him last season when they knew he was the only star.

Even a big man like Cousins couldn't gain much advantage unless he was in the low post near the basket.

Tang Tian's acting skills in drawing fouls were a powerful weapon.

The referee called a technical foul on Cousins, wanting to silence him.

But things didn't go as planned. Even with teammates holding him back, Cousins was still roaring.

Karl had been keeping him in check from the sidelines earlier, but this was the offensive half, and Karl couldn't get over there.

Finally, the referee couldn't bear it any longer and issued a second technical foul.

Cousins, having accumulated two technical fouls, was directly ejected from the game.

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

Karl stood on the sidelines with a dazed expression. He had only been with the Kings for two months, but this was already the third time Cousins had been ejected this season.

The first time, he had argued fiercely for Cousins, the second time he could only shake his head helplessly, and now the third time, he was speechless.

Having coached for 30 years, this was the first time he had coached a player with such a volatile temper.

And unlike Rasheed Wallace, whom he had seen before, Wallace would often behave after receiving a technical foul, or Wallace's outbursts were intended to motivate his teammates.

But Cousins was like a big child who couldn't control his temper, completely mindless.

He felt that he could no longer endure coaching like this.

The Kings had hired him to change this team, not to let him be a punching bag.

With Cousins ejected, the Kings experienced their habitual collapse that they had often experienced in the past.

The Pelicans ultimately defeated the Kings 109-88, securing their longest winning streak of the season at seven games.

After the game, the Pelicans' locker room was filled with cheers.

After this game, their next game would be against the Warriors.

The Pelicans had lost last time, and this time they would definitely win back.

And Davis would also officially make his return in that game.

That would be an excellent opportunity for them to seek revenge.

The Pelicans were cheering, but the atmosphere on the Kings' side was completely the opposite.

They had suffered a five-game losing streak in the new year and hadn't won a single game.

Karl entered the locker room to talk to Cousins.

The voices of the two men grew louder and louder, eventually turning into a heated argument.

Although the situation was calmed down by Vlade Divac, the team's new vice president of basketball operations, who had rushed over, it had been heard by several reporters outside the locker room.

Cousins didn't appear at the post-game press conference.

A reporter asked about the earlier argument in the locker room.

"It was a discussion."

Karl's opening answer was relatively formal.

"I hope DeMarcus can learn how to properly approach the game. He is the team's core and soul. He must put winning first and learn to control his emotions. This is not a college game, this is the NBA."

But what he said later wasn't so polite.

It was clear that what Divac had done in the locker room wasn't enough. Karl was publicly criticizing Cousins' temper.

But this might be Karl's style. He had publicly criticized Anthony when he was with the Nuggets.

Sacramento was still in turmoil.

Two days later, Davis officially returned, and the Pelicans, with their full roster, faced the Warriors again.

Tang Tian quickly got into the game after the start, leading the team to a 60-50 lead over the Warriors at the end of the first half.

The Pelicans were on a winning streak, and the whole team was in great form.

The only player who didn't perform well was Davis. He was only 1-for-6 in the first half. Having just returned from a wrist injury, his touch wasn't very good.

In the third quarter, the situation on the court suddenly changed, and the Splash Brothers began their usual outburst.

Curry made shots from two steps beyond the three-point line, and Thompson hit consecutive three-pointers over Ariza. The Warriors quickly caught up and took the lead.

They scored 40 points in the quarter, taking a 90-80 lead over the Pelicans at the end of the third quarter.

In the final quarter, Tang Tian scored like crazy, hitting shot after shot, displaying the demeanor of a superstar. He scored 20 points in the quarter, leading the Pelicans to tie the score.

In the final moments, he was triple-teamed by the Warriors and passed the ball to Davis, whose critical mid-range shot missed.

Bogut grabbed the rebound and passed it to Curry, who dribbled past half court and shot in a logo shot to end the game.

Curry scored a team-high 41 points and 8 assists for the Warriors.

Tang Tian scored 50 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, but still suffered a regrettable defeat.

Both players put on MVP-level performances.

This game was epic, and fans were still discussing it after the game.

"I f***ing discovered that Tang is on track to become the leader of the 'empty stats' group this season!"

"Tang really tried his best. This game is Davis' fault. He was 5-for-15 for the game. His performance was obviously not up to par. Including that last mid-range shot, if he had made it, this game would have had a different ending."

"Love Curry. His performance this season is phenomenal. Kerr has completely liberated him. That logo shot really got me wet."

"The Pelicans played very well too. Davis just returned and needs time to adjust. When he finds his touch, it's hard to say who will win or lose. I'm now looking forward to the two teams meeting in the playoffs!"

"That will most likely be in the Western Conference Finals. If they really meet, it will definitely be an epic series!"

……

The popularity of this game was very high after the game, and even the league's official account posted a tweet.

"A duel between two MVP players, Stephen Curry led his team to the end, a player of an era."

This tweet supported Curry and the Warriors in an absolutely positive way.

The league seemed eager to have a new figurehead.

League office.

Adam Silver was in an indescribably good mood at the moment.

Last year, he helped the Miami Heat's Big Three fulfill their dream, which had a very positive impact on the market.

But he soon discovered that the pace of NBA games was too slow and the games were too long.

This was very detrimental to promoting the game and could easily make people sleepy.

Therefore, speeding up the game and improving the viewing experience was essential.

Curry's appearance was simply perfect. Those mid-range three-pointers and ultra-long three-pointers could not only speed up the game, but also instantly ignite the audience.

Although Curry's age was too high to be cultivated as the next number one player in the league, he was very suitable as a figurehead.

That would bring a huge reform to the league.

And that was exactly what he was eager to see. He wanted to carry out reforms boldly.

So he was really eager to express his support for Curry and the Warriors officially.

Although this didn't seem very appropriate, didn't David Stern support Tang Tian in this way?

He was just imitating him at most.

ps: Special thanks to seanBB for the 10,000-yuan reward!