Thinking about it, Tang Tian saw Bojan chatting with a female model and heading towards the yacht's rooms again.

This was the third time he'd seen him head that way, each time with a different model.

Sure enough, a good talker never lacks girls in these kinds of settings, and Bojan's fighting strength was pretty impressive too.

Come to think of it, he was a shooter, which fit the bill.

After the Mars Project yacht party, the Pelicans players returned to training, completely satisfied.

For them, it was definitely the most special Christmas since entering the league.

Christmas passed happily, but time flew by. The players adjusted their mindsets and continued to prepare for the rest of the season.

Their first game back was an away game against the Mavericks, which was also the first time the two teams had faced each other this season.

The Mavericks were underperforming and had lost to the Knicks in the Christmas game. Now they had to play the Pelicans. For them, this stretch of the schedule was a bit of a nightmare.

But with Embiid, Nowitzki, and Butler on the team, their competitive spirit was still strong.

Tang Tian even received a text message from Butler as he traveled to Dallas.

"I've finally waited for this game."

You could feel from his words that Butler was already eager to play the Pelicans.

And there was good news for the Mavericks: Embiid, who had missed the Christmas game due to a foot injury, would be returning for this game.

This was undoubtedly the most exciting news for the Mavericks.

The Mavericks lost in New York without Embiid, but with Embiid back in Dallas, they had a chance against the Pelicans.

"We need this victory, and we will take this victory."

Embiid was full of confidence in front of reporters before the game.

Although he had been in and out of the lineup this season due to injuries, his situation was much better than in history. He had already played in more than half of the games in his second year.

And his ambition was as high as Butler's. Even though he had only played a dozen games, his aura made him seem like a superstar ready to unify the league.

That night, the game between the two teams kicked off at the American Airlines Center.

The arena was packed. Dallas had one of the best fan atmospheres in the league, and now that the team was on the rise, the fans' enthusiasm was only going to be stronger than ever.

However, there were still many Chinese fans in the crowd holding signs supporting Tang Tian.

The Mavericks had been paying close attention to the Chinese market since Wang Zhizhi joined the team, and Yi Jianlian's two years here had also built up a lot of popularity.

His popularity among Chinese fans was second only to the Pelicans, Rockets, and Spurs.

As the starting lineups were announced, Tang Tian, as the last player for the visiting team, received a considerable cheer from the crowd.

After the Pelicans, the Mavericks' starters were introduced one by one.

The decibel level in the arena was on a completely different level than before, as fans roared to unleash their cowboy enthusiasm.

Team owner Mark Cuban was shouting along with them. As the team's number one fan, his excitement for this crucial game was higher than anyone else's.

The Mavericks' backcourt consisted of Deron Williams and Butler, the frontcourt had Harrison Barnes and Nowitzki, and Embiid was at center.

If Williams or Nowitzki were two years younger, the team's competitiveness would definitely be on par with the Pelicans and Warriors.

Embiid won the jump ball against Davis, officially starting the game.

Nowitzki started by backing down Davis in the low post and hitting his signature one-legged fadeaway jumper.

With the team's improvement this season, his form was the best it had been since winning the championship in 2011.

But in return, Davis also scored on a mid-range shot off a pass from Tang Tian through tactical movement.

Barnes missed a shot in the frontcourt, and Jokic grabbed the defensive rebound, leading to a fast break for the Pelicans.

The Mavericks retreated quickly, but Tang Tian and Davis had a great connection in the frontcourt, with Tang Tian assisting Davis for an alley-oop dunk.

Williams' pick-and-roll layup was disrupted by Davis and missed, and the Mavericks quickly retreated, preventing the Pelicans from launching another fast break.

But in the half-court set, the Pelicans once again executed their plays, with Tang Tian using Davis's screen, catching Jokic's pinpoint pass, and pulling up for a jumper that went in.

6-2.

Despite the fiery enthusiasm of the Dallas fans, the Pelicans still took the upper hand early on.

Rick Carlisle's coaching ability was slightly better than Stevens'. After playing the role of a resourceful housewife for two seasons, he was finally back to being a proper chef.

Although the Mavericks' record had fluctuated this season, their offense and defense were both in the top fifteen in the league, and their strength was definitely not lacking. What they lacked was just luck.

If the Mavericks had been at full strength at the beginning of the season, they would have had a good chance of winning against the Pelicans with their offensive prowess.

But now that the Pelicans' offense was clicking, the difficulty was different.

Just like in the first few possessions, the Mavericks didn't play badly, but the point difference was still slowly widening.

By the time both sides entered the bench rotation, the Pelicans were already leading the Mavericks by double digits, 25-15.

During the bench rotation, the Pelicans' three core players all went off to rest, leaving Ariza and Holiday on the court.

The Mavericks had more stars, making their rotation somewhat luxurious. At this time, Butler and Nowitzki were still on the court.

In those few minutes at the end of the quarter, Butler and Nowitzki joined forces for a 12-2 run, managing to tie the score.

A healthy Mavericks team indeed had the ability to fight the Pelicans.

With the situation somewhat unfavorable, Stevens replaced Tang Tian at the start of the second quarter.

After Tang Tian came on, he scored consecutive mid-range shots over Butler's defense, helping the Pelicans score points.

But Barnes was on fire for the Mavericks, continuously using tactical screens to get rid of Bojan's defense and score mid-range shots.

The game was still deadlocked.

Bojan was strong on offense but weak on defense, so Stevens had to bring Ariza back on the court, even though he had only rested for less than two minutes.

This substitution had an immediate effect. Ariza defended Barnes's shots twice in a row, while Tang Tian scored consecutive strong attacks in the paint.

The Pelicans went on a run, and the point difference widened back to six points.

Trevor Ariza's performance from beyond the three-point line fluctuated after arriving in New Orleans, but his defense was indispensable.

Even more impressive was the next offensive and defensive possession. Ariza stole Barnes's dribbling attack, and Tang Tian hit a transition three-pointer on the fast break!

The point difference immediately reached nine points, and the Mavericks' comeback at the end of the first quarter was for naught.

Carlisle stood on the sidelines with a slight frown, turned around, and called Williams and Butler over, preparing to bring them on to replace Barnes.

Barea's pull-up jumper in the frontcourt missed, and McGee grabbed the defensive rebound.

The Pelicans attacked in the frontcourt, and Tang Tian suddenly passed the ball to the cutting Ariza. Ariza flew to the basket for a layup against Pachulia.

Ariza's defense was eye-catching tonight, but his offensive touch wasn't good. He hadn't made a single shot from beyond the arc, missing all three attempts.

This close-range shot had a good trajectory and had a good chance of breaking the scoring drought.

"Swish!"

The ball went through the net after falling, but it was immediately followed by a scream.

When Ariza landed, he stepped on Pachulia's foot, and his whole body fell to the ground, his face full of pain.