Chapter 107 The Opening is Strong

The Toyota Center was packed that night.

Facing the league-leading Pelicans made the game itself a spectacle, not to mention what had happened the last time the two teams met.

The strong and in-form home team needed a win like this.

The Pelicans' players were also in good spirits.

Their winning streak after the All-Star break had restored their momentum from the start of the season.

Moreover, given the Rockets' current performance, the probability of the two teams meeting in the playoffs was high, and they also needed a win like this.

In the commentary booth, Mike Breen and Reggie Miller were already in place.

"This will be a close game."

Miller set the tone for the game before it even started.

"Yes, it will be, two of the hottest teams since the All-Star break."

Breen nodded in agreement.

Like the fans, they were looking forward to this peak battle.

The arena quickly transitioned into the opening ceremony, with the starting lineups of both sides being introduced one after another.

For the Pelicans, the backcourt consisted of Holiday and Tang Tian, the forwards were Bojan and Davis, and the center was Jokic.

For the Rockets, the backcourt consisted of Paul and Harden, the forwards were Tucker and Morris, and the center was Cousins.

Cousins won the tip-off against Davis, officially kicking off the game.

Paul dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and immediately saw the Pelicans set up a 2-1-2 defensive formation.

Having learned from their previous encounter, the Pelicans were targeting them from the start.

Seeing this, Paul signaled his teammates to spread out.

D'Antoni was good at systems, but as for the specific execution of tactics, now that they had Paul, he could let Paul decide how to play on the court.

After his teammates spread out, Paul broke through to the free-throw line and took a mid-range jump shot.

"Swish!"

Paul scored the first points for the Rockets.

Stevens stood up from the bench.

The Rockets had changed since their last encounter.

The mid-range was Paul's most comfortable scoring area, but D'Antoni hadn't arranged for Paul to take shots from this position last time.

Once bitten, twice shy, it wasn't just Stevens who was targeting the opponent, D'Antoni was too.

Holiday dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Jokic.

The Pelicans ran play number 2 on the court, with Tang Tian cutting in and Jokic passing the ball.

Everything seemed unchanged from before.

After Tang Tian received the ball, he broke towards the inside, and Tucker collapsed from the left side to double-team.

He made a right-handed pull-back motion.

Just when everyone thought he was going to break through from the right, he rotated his hand in the air and directly passed the ball behind his back with his right hand.

The ball changed direction and flew straight towards the left corner.

This came so unexpectedly that Morris, who was switching, and Tucker, who was helping, were completely caught off guard.

The ball flew straight to a spot slightly above the corner, Bojan reached out to grab the ball, adjusted his posture, and quickly shot a three-pointer.

This was his most accurate spot, with a season shooting percentage of over 55%.

Plus the stability brought by the "Son of the Wind".

"Swish!"

The basketball went into the net cleanly, and Bojan also opened the scoring for the Pelicans!

"What! How did he do that?"

Breen exclaimed in the commentary booth.

Tang Tian showed off his between-the-legs dribble last game, and this game he's already passing behind the back?

Was Tang Tian evolving from a scorer to an all-around forward?

After scoring, Bojan waved to Tang Tian to signal a good pass.

Tang Tian nodded.

The pass was still a bit too far out.

It seemed that even with good ability, he still needed to accumulate experience through games. If he really wanted to reach Nash's level of passing ability, he still needed more practice.

The Pelicans retreated to their half, and Stevens signaled to switch back to man-to-man defense.

Paul's scoring in the mid-range area was very stable, and continuing to play zone defense would be passive.

Adjusting the defensive tactics after just one possession, Stevens' on-the-spot adaptability was a bit quick.

After seeing the Pelicans' defensive formation adjust, Paul turned and handed the ball to Harden, making tactical gestures to him.

After getting the ball, Harden called Cousins out for a pick-and-roll.

His purpose was clear, to mismatch against Jokic.

Last season's playoffs saw the Pelicans exploit Jokic's weakness against the Warriors, and even though he had gained muscle this season, he was still being targeted in the small-ball era.

This was the destiny of the new era of big men.

However, Jokic didn't come out.

After seeing Cousins come up for the pick-and-roll, Davis left Morris to come help defend.

At the same time, Jokic also moved to the right side to switch onto Morris.

Stevens adopted Brown's suggestion and learned the Rockets' defensive strategy, protecting Jokic.

Harden couldn't get the switch onto Jokic after two attempts and had to give up. His final shot at the basket, contested by Holiday, missed.

His touch didn't seem to be very good tonight.

Jokic secured the defensive rebound.

The Rockets retreated quickly, not giving Jokic a chance for a long pass from the backcourt.

Jokic passed the ball to Tang Tian.

Tang Tian dribbled the ball past half-court and suddenly made a long pass.

At this time, both teams were moving towards the frontcourt, with many players facing the Rockets' half.

Harden and Tucker both turned their heads and saw the ball pass by them, flying directly into Bojan's hands.

Bojan had just settled into the forty-five-degree three-point line on the right side when he received the ball.

The pass was unexpected, but he reacted quickly, catching and shooting.

"Swish!"

He made it!

He hit two consecutive three-pointers to start the game!

He was continuing his hot streak from the three-point contest!

There was a stir on the sidelines.

As the newly crowned three-point king, Bojan's accuracy was a bit frightening!

D'Antoni frowned, resting his chin in his hand.

The layman watched the excitement, the expert watched the details.

The fans saw Bojan's accurate three-pointers, but he saw Tang Tian's consecutive no-look passes.

These surgical passes that pierced through the defense reminded him of someone.

His former disciple, Steve Nash.

As soon as this thought came to him, he couldn't help but shake his head.

That was impossible, how could Tang Tian, a swingman, have Nash's passing ability?

On the Rockets' offense, Harden broke through to the basket again, drawing a defensive foul on Jokic.

As the NBA's best player at drawing fouls, he made up for his poor touch with free throws.

He made both free throws steadily, helping the Rockets close the gap.

"Defense! Defense!"

The Pelicans had a strong start, and the in-arena DJ began to lead the fans in cheering.

Tang Tian dribbled the ball from the backcourt to the three-point line, and just as the players on both sides were settling into their positions, he suddenly made a cold, direct pass.

The ball passed by Harden, causing his eyes to dart around.

The next second, the ball was in Davis' hands.

Davis had just finished setting a pick-and-roll for Bojan in the frontcourt and turned around when he received the pass.

He didn't expect it at all, but when he turned around, he realized there was no one guarding him.

Bojan's two consecutive three-pointers had put a lot of defensive pressure on the Rockets. Tucker and Morris had a miscommunication on the defensive end, and both of them went to chase Bojan, leaving Davis unguarded.

"Boom!"

Davis reacted and made a powerful dunk with both hands!

8 to 4!

The sidelines were buzzing, the Pelicans were playing extremely strong and smooth from the start!

"God, that ball had eyes!"

Breen, like D'Antoni, was an expert, and he was impressed by Tang Tian's consecutive passes.

This was Tang Tian's third consecutive assist since the start of the game!

ps: Special thanks to Class Monitor Yile and Dianji Xiaoqiang for the generous rewards.

ps: I'll post a photo tomorrow... I'll wear...