"This was a very exciting game, our opponents played a top-notch level of defense, and they are worthy opponents."

At the post-game press conference, Stevens was still praising the Thunder.

"But you beat them by 20 points."

A reporter reminded him.

"Winning by 20 points is no different than winning by 1 point. They just had a bad shooting night. Once they find their touch, the game will be completely different."

After hearing Stevens' words, Tang Tian couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

He didn't know if it was because he'd been around him for too long, but Stevens, originally a very serious coach, had become a bit mischievous.

Could this be the so-called "one who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black?"

The atmosphere at the Pelicans' press conference was relaxed, while the Thunder's was not so relaxed.

Head coach Donovan was bombarded by reporters.

Some questioned his lineup, some questioned his untimely defensive adjustments, and others questioned his ineffective tactics.

"Coach Donovan did everything he could. The responsibility for losing this game lies with me."

Westbrook took the initiative to stand up and shield Donovan from the bullets.

His performance in this game was indeed not good, and this statement immediately stopped the reporters below from attacking Donovan.

But immediately, the gun was turned to Westbrook.

"Do you have any way to deal with Tang's defense?"

"Do you think the Thunder have a chance in the games ahead?"

"Without Durant, will this team never be able to win a championship again?"

Westbrook glanced coldly at the reporter who asked the last question, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

"I will adjust my state in the next game."

However, he was indeed a different person off the court than on it, and he behaved with unusual calm.

"We just lost a game, it's nothing, I believe in my players, we still have a chance."

Donovan coughed twice, then spoke.

Although they lost the first game, the Thunder generals looked united.

Their unity was not only reflected in front of the media.

After the press conference, the two exchanged a lot in the corridor.

The content of the exchange was naturally related to the Pelicans' tactics.

In the second day's training session, Donovan conducted targeted defensive training against the Thunder's diverse tactics.

Judging from the players' performance, such targeted training greatly boosted morale.

Two days later, the second game of the Pelicans and Thunder series continued in New Orleans.

Two hours before the game started, a large number of fans had gathered inside and outside the arena.

The opening game victory, as well as the team's rich tactical play, made the fans' expectations for the game even higher.

The players from both teams also entered the arena from the underground garage one after another.

Tang Tian was chased by reporters taking pictures all the way. After entering the elevator, he sent a text message to Butler to encourage the latter.

The Mavericks and Rockets game would start before theirs, and the Mavericks lost the last game on the road. Butler needed his encouragement.

"I will do my best every night, but it would be great if you were by my side."

Butler quickly replied, but the content of the reply was a bit intriguing.

It seems that those jokes said at the All-Star gathering were not just jokes.

Tang Tian didn't reply again, put away his phone and went straight to the locker room to change into training clothes.

His attention was still on the game in front of him.

The Pelicans' tactics in this game would be the same as in the previous game, but it could be predicted that the Thunder would definitely make targeted defenses.

So this game would be much more difficult than the first game.

However, they would not change their tactics. The first game was a surprise attack. To achieve the effect of training troops, the performance in the second game against targeted defense was the key.

Tang Tian saw Stevens coming over just before entering the locker room. The two exchanged a few simple words. What he thought, Stevens also thought of.

"We must be prepared for a tough battle."

After entering the locker room, Stevens also gave the players a heads-up in advance.

Two hours later, the second game of the Pelicans and Thunder series officially kicked off.

As Tang Tian and Stevens expected, the Thunder's defense in this game was extremely targeted, and the Pelicans' offensive efficiency was significantly lower than in the first game.

After halftime, the score between the two teams was 42 to 40.

Small score difference, low score, this was a close hand-to-hand battle.

This scenario continued until the fourth quarter.

In the second half of the fourth quarter, Tang Tian stood up to take over the game, scoring a 12-2 personal wave to help the Pelicans win the game 91-81.

Tang Tian scored a team-high 25 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, Davis had 21 points and 9 rebounds, Jokic had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Williams had 13 points, and Bojan had 11 points.

Westbrook shot 7 of 27, scoring a triple-double of 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

"We have found a way to compete with the Pelicans. Although we didn't win this game, we are very confident in the following games. We will start a counterattack at home. We look forward to the following games."

At the post-match press conference, Donovan showed confidence.

They fought the Pelicans to the last moment in this game, and he should have such confidence.

The Pelicans' locker room.

Davis was whistling in the shower room, Diop was sharing jokes in the locker room, and Bojan and Brogdon were chasing in the locker room.

Tang Tian also leaned on the soft chair and videoed with his two sons. In the video, Tang Si was riding on an American shorthair cat, and the American shorthair cat's eyes had an expression of "I have paid too much for this family."

Although they only won by 10 points in this game, it can be seen that the players are in a good mood.

They should also be in this state. Although they didn't win much, both the performance in the game and the data showed that they were playing better and better.

The low score was due to the Thunder's targeted defense. If they encountered this game's defensive intensity in the state of the first game, it would be good to get 80 points.

After resting for two days, the Pelicans went to Oklahoma City. The next two games would be played at the Thunder's home court.

The result of the last game gave the Thunder confidence and excited the fans in Oklahoma City.

The Chesapeake Energy Arena was packed that night.

However, after the game started, they found that the situation was completely different from what they had imagined.

The Pelicans still had the variable tactical play from the first two games, and the Thunder also had the same defensive method as the previous game.

But it was obvious that the Thunder's defensive effect on the Pelicans was not as good as in the previous game.

They were 8 points behind in the first quarter, 15 points behind in the first half, and the point difference was again more than 20 points outside in the third quarter.

In the end, the Thunder were惨败(canbai; miserably defeated) by the Pelicans at home with a score of 82 to 104, and they were already 0 to 3 behind in the series.

At the post-game press conference, Donovan, like after the first game, became the target of media bombardment again.

Even because it was a home game, there were more local media reporters in the audience, and there was more of this bombardment.

This time Westbrook did not come out to block bullets again, and Donovan's face was red and white, and his expression was very helpless.

Even the best defense did not work, and the team's paper strength was so poor.

What else could he do besides taking the blame?

He was also very desperate!