Chapter 121 Hot Seat

Tang Tian didn't expect Holte to sit down, but when he saw Holte signaling his assistant to pour coffee, he mostly guessed what Holte was thinking.

He was here to get back at him.

Alright.

Watching the game alone was actually boring, having someone sitting next to him was more interesting.

As for embarrassment, that was completely outside of Tang Tian's consideration.

Only Holte would care so much about this game. He wasn't even playing, so the Spurs winning didn't prove anything.

Besides, the Pelicans' competitive state tonight didn't necessarily mean they would lose.

The assistant brought coffee to Holte, who watched the game while drinking, looking like he was going to watch the whole thing.

The employees at the cinema were full of curiosity as they looked over.

An NBA superstar, an NBA team owner.

This wasn't a VIP box, but the TV in the hall was getting VIP viewing service tonight.

Holte had barely started drinking his coffee when he frowned.

At the start of the second quarter, the situation on the court suddenly changed.

Holiday was subbed off a minute before the end of the first quarter and subbed back on at the start of the second.

This time, his backcourt partner was second-year player Joe Harris.

Harris rarely got a chance to play on the Cavaliers, and it was the same after he came to the Pelicans. His defense, like Morrow's, didn't meet the team's requirements.

But Morrow wasn't in good form, so Stevens had no choice but to use him. This was also his first appearance for the Pelicans.

But it was this kind of player who suddenly became a key player on the court during this period.

He hit two consecutive three-pointers from the outside in one minute, narrowing the point difference to within 5 points.

Harris's outburst came too suddenly, and even Popovich's reaction couldn't keep up.

Holte made a sound of pain from the side, and Tang Tian turned his head to see him blowing air out of his mouth quickly.

It seemed this coffee was a bit too hot.

Holte turned his head and saw Tang Tian looking at him, he coughed twice, pretending nothing had happened.

Tang Tian was holding back his laughter at this moment.

He didn't care about winning or losing, but it seemed Holte cared a lot.

If the Pelicans won, the scene would be something to look forward to.

Popovich called a timeout and brought Leonard onto the court, while Stevens also brought Davis back on for the Pelicans.

Leonard had been playing very well this season, and was currently ranked fifth in the MVP rankings, behind only Tang Tian, Curry, James, and Harden.

He was also very effective when he came on, directly scoring two points with a strong attack on Aminu to help the Spurs stabilize the situation.

Holte had a smile on his face. A big part of the reason he was willing to let Tang Tian go was Leonard.

Now, the better Leonard played, the better his judgment looked, and the happier he was.

But in the next possession, Davis turned around and scored two points in the low post against Diaw.

Harris's two three-pointers weren't just 6 points, they made the Spurs' outside players afraid to shrink inside, giving Davis enough space to play one-on-one.

And Davis was also very effective, continuing his stable low-post scoring ability from the first quarter, or even the entire season, helping the Pelicans continue to bite the score.

Leading by 10 points in the first quarter, Holte thought that with Tang Tian unable to play, the Spurs would be able to extend their advantage in the first half and even win the game early.

But just like the last two possessions, the situation on the court was extremely anxious.

At the end of the first half, the Spurs were only leading the Pelicans by 3 points with a score of 52 to 49.

As the game went into halftime, the atmosphere in the hall became very subtle.

Tang Tian had originally planned to go to the locker room to cheer on the players during halftime, but Holte's presence greatly increased his enjoyment of watching the game, so he didn't plan to go.

Holte was even more so. If he left at this time, Tang Tian would think he was afraid, so there was no way he would leave before Tang Tian.

So, Tang Tian went to the cinema and ordered a Coke, and Holte refilled his coffee, and the two of them continued to sit in the hall like this.

Fortunately, the halftime break wasn't too long, and the second half of the game soon continued.

The Pelicans' outstanding performance in the first half made Tang Tian look forward to the second half.

When the game really started, his expectation really appeared, and it was super doubled.

After coming back in the second half, Holiday was on fire after making two shots, and he could make any shot he took from the outside.

If a team wants to become stronger, someone must sacrifice their ball rights and status to maximize game efficiency.

Holiday was once selected as an All-Star when he was on the 76ers, but after coming to the Pelicans, he gradually transitioned from a core player to a role player due to ability issues.

Just as Tang Tian knew, he played without any complaints, conscientiously, scoring few points, but doing a good job on defense.

Although the data wasn't very eye-catching, it was an indispensable part of the Pelicans' winning streak.

Now that Tang Tian was absent, he had transformed from a role player back into a core player and stood up.

Like Harris in the first half, Holiday's excellent touch on the outside restrained the Spurs' outside defense, and Davis continued to exert his strength in the inside.

And the Spurs didn't have a good touch in this quarter.

Under this ebb and flow, the Pelicans actually outscored the Spurs 32 to 21 in this quarter, leading the Spurs by 8 points!

This quarter was unexpectedly good, Tang Tian was very happy, and Holte next door was a little restless.

He kept moving his butt to release his anxiety.

The assistant on the side was frightened, fearing that Holte's heart would attack again.

Tang Tian noticed Holte's actions and shook his head helplessly.

It seemed not only was the coffee hot, but the chair was also a bit of a hot seat!

Why bother, someone as old as him could just find an excuse to go to the bathroom and sneak away.

Holte saw Tang Tian's actions, snorted coldly, and then turned his attention back to the TV.

He didn't believe the Spurs would lose like this, he was very clear about Popovich's ability.

Although the relationship between the two had deteriorated a lot in the past two years, reducing his goodwill towards Popovich, Popovich's ability was undeniable.

And it was only 8 points, that point difference really wasn't that much.

Popovich really had the ability, he put Leonard on the court early at the start of the fourth quarter and started to play for success rate.

The Pelicans were indeed weaker in their bench strength without Ariza and Tang Tian.

In the second quarter, it was Harris who made a surprise attack, but Harris was still very young, and he failed to hit two shots in this quarter.

The Spurs also played steadily and gradually narrowed the score.

When there were about 8 minutes left in the game, when both sides returned to their main players one after another, the Spurs had tied the score.

A game that was originally expected to be one-sided did not happen. After competing for more than three quarters, the two sides entered the final 8 minutes of decisive moment.