Chapter 152 Whiteside's Night

Actually, Tang Tian hadn't expected Whiteside to shout that.

But his mind reacted quickly, and he soon understood what Whiteside meant.

Looking at Griffin's resentful expression, he suddenly felt a bit dumbfounded.

This seemed...to be a misunderstanding?

But whether it was a misunderstanding or not didn't seem to matter anymore. The two teams already had enough grudges, and one more didn't seem to make much difference.

Besides, Whiteside's shout was full of momentum, and the Pelicans' players' morale soared.

The Clippers inbounded the ball, and Griffin continued to post up against Mirza Teletovic.

Another turnaround jump shot.

Whiteside reacted very quickly, raising his hand and sticking close immediately.

His eyes were full of "five square meters," and he played exceptionally proactively.

Griffin was the NBA's most famous bully, and with this hard confrontation, his shot was obviously deformed.

"Clang!"

His shot missed.

DeAndre Jordan leaped to grab the offensive rebound.

But at that moment, Whiteside had already turned around. His hands seemed to be able to suck up rebounds, and he managed to grab the rebound before Jordan!

This reaction speed showed his excellent competitive state; he really wanted to defend against two!

"Five square meters!"

And after grabbing the rebound, Whiteside shouted again.

These two defensive possessions were crucial, not only in terms of score but also in terms of momentum.

The Pelicans attacked the frontcourt again. Because Teletovic had hit consecutive three-pointers, the Clippers' defense obviously didn't dare to shrink anymore.

Tang Tian changed direction to get past Barnes and broke into the paint. Whiteside held Jordan tight, and Tang Tian went in for a one-handed tomahawk dunk.

"Boom!"

The ball was slammed into the basket.

The emotions of the audience were instantly ignited.

The Pelicans started the game with an 8-0 run against the Clippers!

This performance swept away the haze of the past three-game losing streak!

The Clippers' players looked unhappy.

Davis's absence was supposed to be a great opportunity for them, but they didn't expect the game to start like this.

Their roster hadn't changed much compared to last season, and this situation almost immediately brought to mind the 58-point massacre from last season's playoffs.

This psychological factor had a significant impact.

It was like the Rockets during the Yao-McGrady era playing against the Jazz; they almost developed a psychological shadow towards the end.

The Clippers had been massacred three times in three seasons, so they were about the same.

Griffin continued to post up against Teletovic, turning around and seeing Whiteside helping on defense again.

He didn't dare to force the shot and instead chose to pass the ball to Jordan under the basket.

Jordan was unprepared, and he fumbled the ball out of bounds, resulting in another turnover for the Clippers!

Rivers was already jumping with anger, but fortunately, Paul shouted a few words to his teammates, and the Clippers defended a wave of Pelicans' offense.

The next possession, Griffin continued to attack, turning around and, encountering help defense, directly threw the ball toward the basket.

If a direct pass wouldn't work, then an alley-oop.

They were Lob City!

"Five square meters!"

"Pa!"

Accompanied by the shout, Whiteside leaped up with all his might, actually managing to slap Griffin's pass away!

It was a steal!

And the ball went directly into Tang Tian's hands on the outside.

The Pelicans immediately launched a fast break, and Tang Tian assisted Trevor Ariza for a fast-break layup.

The Pelicans had a 10-0 lead to start the game!

Rivers had no choice but to call a timeout.

The cheers from the crowd were deafening.

The Pelicans had truly become the Clippers' nemesis!

Although they were in a bad situation with a three-game losing streak, the games that should be dominated still had to be dominated!

When the Clippers returned from the timeout, Paul immediately scored a basket, but Tang Tian quickly assisted Ariza for another three-pointer.

The Clippers' second offensive possession saw Redick's three-pointer airball completely.

The unfavorable start had already caused huge fluctuations in the Clippers' players' mentality.

This became the microcosm of the entire game. Although Paul, knowing what would happen after the "58," single-handedly managed to narrow the score to single digits in the second half.

But Whiteside and Tang Tian's stable performance in the second half still allowed the Pelicans to laugh last with a score of 106-96.

The Clippers sent a wave of warmth to the Pelicans when they were in trouble.

Paul scored a season-high 33 points and 11 assists, and Redick also had 17 points.

But Griffin had a sluggish performance with only 8 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists, with 5 turnovers.

On the Pelicans' side, Tang Tian had a team-high 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists, Teletovic and Ariza each had 12 points, and Gordon had 20 points off the bench.

Whiteside played valiantly in this game, almost defending against two players, contributing a triple-double of 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 blocks!

This was his second triple-double of blocks this season!

His statistics also created a record.

He left Noah, Ibaka, McGee, Howard, and Hibbert behind, becoming the only active player in the league to have completed a triple-double of blocks twice!

And it was all within one season!

Tang Tian told Whiteside to seize the opportunity to prove his worth, and Whiteside had exceeded the requirements!

At the post-match press conference, Tang Tian also gave Whiteside a good boost.

"As long as his hand doesn't hurt, I don't mind him giving his opponents some more blocks."

"Now he should be remembered by his opponents, by the fans, and by the media. His name is Hassan Whiteside, and you can call him '白边' (Bai Bian)."

whiteside, Whiteside's name, broken down is white.side, which means "white side."

Tang Tian wanted the fans to remember him more deeply, so he helped him pick a nickname in advance!

Speaking of which, last season, he suggested that Demps and Whiteside sign a longer contract, which was considered from the team's perspective.

But after knowing Whiteside's personal situation, he was now doing everything he could to secure a big contract for Whiteside.

After the press conference, the media's reports on Whiteside were overwhelming.

"He rivaled legends tonight; he created an active player's triple-double record for blocks!"

"He exploded Griffin; he is the league's lowest-paid, high-efficiency player!"

"He shined in New Orleans tonight; let us remember his name, Bai Bian!"

…

The media coverage was overwhelming. Whiteside's triple-double performance, coupled with Tang Tian's praise at the post-match press conference, put him in the limelight.

Fans were also constantly discussing on social media.

"Davis's injury is not a loss; when he comes back, the Pelicans' frontcourt will become the nightmare of all opponents!"

"Centers are treasures in the small-ball era. The Pelicans have definitely found a treasure, and it's so cheap!"

"Hassan, Harden, this is Ha-sanity 2.0!"

…

Counting this block triple-double, it wasn't Whiteside's first time.

The reason why this one had such a big reaction was because the opponent was the Clippers.

The Clippers were ranked fourth in the fiercely competitive Western Conference this season and were a genuine championship contender, which was completely different from a bottom-feeder team like the Heat before.

The previous block triple-double was suspected of being stat-padding, but this one had no moisture at all!