Moreover, looking back, they also defended Davis's post-up with excellent help defense and rotation.

With one offensive and one defensive play after the opening, the Jazz showcased their strength.

The fans at the arena were a bit worried at this point.

The Pelicans rarely didn't focus on Tang Tian at the start, which indicated that the injury was still affecting him.

Although Tang Tian playing through injury could boost morale and was a pleasant surprise for the fans,

if he couldn't perform normally and risked increasing the injury, the team's approach would outweigh the gains.

After all, this was just a regular season game.

Just as the fans were thinking this, Tang Tian successfully stole Hill's pass on the defensive end and immediately sprinted out of the three-point line for a fast break!

His speed was very fast, and in the incredible eyes of the fans, he successively shook off Hayward and Hood, soaring for a layup to score two points.

The speed of that fast break left the commentators at the arena stunned.

This... was he sure he had back spasms?

The Jazz's frontcourt tactical coordination failed, and Hayward's isolation play against Ariza also missed.

The ball bounced off the rim, and Tang Tian turned back to box out Hood, who was trying to grab the rebound, and snatched the defensive rebound.

There was physical contact between the two during this boxing out, and the fans at the arena were sweating for Tang Tian.

However, they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Tang Tian turn and push the ball forward directly after grabbing the rebound.

The Pelicans' fast break didn't lead to a transition offense, and Tang Tian didn't pass the ball to Davis this time, but directly called a play while holding the ball.

A signature strong drive and a pinpoint pass, the ball reached Ariza in the corner.

"Swish!"

Ariza was feeling good tonight, making the Pelicans' first three-pointer of the game.

5 to 2.

Although the Jazz scored first, the Pelicans responded with a 5-0 run, quickly taking the initiative on the court.

And the person who made all of this happen was Tang Tian, who was playing through injury.

In less than two minutes into the game, his stat sheet was already filled.

2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal.

He just had a quadruple-double in the last game, was he going to do it again?

But you're injured!

The Jazz's frontcourt coordination created an opportunity, but Hood failed to make the shot.

The new officiating standards made the Jazz's defense tougher than before, and their average points allowed was also among the top five in the league.

But the biggest problem with this team was still scoring. Hayward barely made the All-Star team in the West, let alone anyone else's scoring ability.

In the Pelicans' frontcourt offense, it was still Tang Tian, who, after breaking through the double team, passed the ball to Davis, whose mid-range jumper also opened the scoring.

Favors' catch and layup in the frontcourt drew a foul on Davis, but unfortunately, he missed both free throws.

Turning around, Tang Tian assisted Davis to score another point.

The two teams played for about five minutes at the start, and the score was 9 to 2, with the Pelicans completely suppressing the Jazz.

The camera showed the Jazz's head coach, Snyder, at this moment.

His face was extremely ugly, and if he had a knife in his hand right now, it felt like he could kill someone in minutes.

The Pelicans showed championship-caliber strength after the opening, but more importantly, Tang Tian didn't seem to be injured at all!

The Pelicans had tricked him badly!

Hayward's drive to the basket in the frontcourt scored two points, and he stepped up at a critical moment.

But turning around, Tang Tian hit a three-pointer from the outside to answer back!

Snyder was already helpless.

Although he reacted quickly enough, the Jazz's temporary tactical adjustments were definitely not as good as the well-prepared ones.

He had been completely fooled by the Pelicans.

The Jazz were trying to coordinate in the frontcourt, but Tang Tian stole Favors' pass and threw a long pass to Holiday in the backcourt.

Holiday scored another 2 points with a fast break layup.

14 to 4, in less than half a quarter, the Pelicans had already taken a double-digit lead.

Snyder called a timeout, he didn't need to hold a knife, his eyes could already kill.

"Gordon, attack Tang hard."

During the timeout, Snyder made a decision.

The NBA's team doctors were professionals, and he didn't believe Tang Tian could play as well as usual with an injury.

And he had also watched the last game between the Pelicans and the Rockets.

He felt that there was nothing wrong with the Rockets' tactics, the problem was that they gave up isolating Tang Tian after playing for a few minutes.

Now that the team was in a disadvantageous situation, he was also prepared to use this tactic, and Tang Tian's injury would make his tactic even more effective.

When the timeout returned, the Jazz's tactics changed. They no longer used tactical coordination, but instead spread out on both wings and directly let Hayward isolate Tang Tian.

Tang Tian was guarding Hood, in other words, this was still a matchup they actively sought after a pick-and-roll.

The fans at the arena couldn't help but boo.

Opponents usually avoided Tang Tian's defense, three-time Defensive Player of the Year was not just for show.

In the last game, Harden was stubborn and went 2-for-11 against Tang Tian the whole game.

Hayward, or Snyder, just didn't believe it!

However, some fans were worried for Tang Tian, after all, Tang Tian was playing through injury tonight. Although he had contributed with consecutive steals earlier, they were all help defense, and it was still unknown how much strength he could exert in this one-on-one defense.

Hayward held the ball, and after a probing step, he accelerated to break through to the basket from the right.

Compared to Harden, Hayward's ball-handling skills were much worse, but he liked contact, which was also why Snyder dared to do this.

Tang Tian felt a faint pain in his back after continuous contact. Snyder's opportunistic approach was a bit underhanded.

"Pa!"

However, after the confrontation near the basket, Tang Tian still seized the opportunity to strike quickly, successfully cutting the ball off the moment Hayward released it!

Another steal!

Amidst the cheers of the fans at the arena, Tang Tian passed the ball to Holiday.

Holiday turned into a dunk specialist, scoring another two points with a fast break!

Snyder widened his eyes in disbelief, Tang Tian had actually defended Hayward and even stole the ball!

He didn't believe it, and signaled for the tactic to continue.

Hayward continued to hold the ball and isolate in the frontcourt.

This time he was more cautious, and chose a sudden stop jump shot after breaking through to the free throw line.

However, his shooting motion was a bit slow, and Tang Tian still seized the opportunity to swat the ball away the moment he released it.

The basketball went out of bounds during the scramble. Although the ball was not directly stolen this time, and the referee signaled that it was a frontcourt ball, his offense was once again disrupted!

After failing to score on two consecutive possessions, he was a little frustrated.

At this time, Tang Tian was also thankful that the Jazz only had Hayward, otherwise, with his physical condition after playing through injury, it would be difficult to defend players of Harden's level.

After all, this passive skill only eliminated the impact of the injury, and did not directly make the injury disappear.

The Jazz inbounded the ball, and Hayward continued to isolate Tang Tian. This time he chose to back down and try to force his way in.

But Tang Tian lowered his center of gravity and he couldn't move him at all, and he also put tremendous pressure on him when he turned to fadeaway.

His shot after turning around... didn't touch the rim.

Air ball!

The arena exploded instantly! Whistles and cheers rose and fell!

"Tang... is he really injured?"

At this time, not to mention Snyder, even the commentators at the arena couldn't help but ask this question after Tang Tian successfully defended Hayward's three attacks in a row.