Chapter 1 After the First Quarter

The score was 30 to 24 at the end of the first quarter, with the Warriors leading.

Durant scored 14 points in the quarter, going head-to-head with Tang Tian's 14 points.

With Ariza out, the Pelicans only had Bojan and Stephenson available on the front line besides Tang Tian.

But it was clear in the game that one was too slow and the other wasn't tall enough, and neither of them could match up with Durant at all.

Fortunately, new addition Williams played well, leading the team on an 8-2 run during the bench rotation, quickly tying the score.

Although he spent the night with his two women, it didn't seem to affect his performance, as he was still plug-and-play.

Kerr saw that the situation wasn't right and put Durant back on the court early.

After Durant came on, he mismatched against Williams once, and then forced a 2+1 against Stephenson, and the situation changed again.

Stevens reacted quickly. Seeing the change in the game, he got up and walked to the end of the bench, calling Siakam and Tang Tian up together.

Stevens was prepared for Ariza's absence, and he had put Siakam on the active roster.

Now that Bojan and Stephenson were useless, he could only boldly start Siakam, just like he did with Brogdon.

Siakam didn't let him down, successfully using his wingspan to interfere with Durant's shot on his first defensive possession, preventing a score.

Barkley on the sidelines couldn't help but marvel, even saying something he had used in a fan comment on social media.

The Pelicans' rookies are really all about showing off, no matter how new they are!

But unfortunately, Barkley was proven wrong again this time.

In the next two possessions, Durant shook him off and then made another 2+1, completely blowing past Siakam, and the Warriors smoothly extended the lead to double digits.

Brogdon was able to perform consistently as soon as he came on because of his age and rich NCAA playing experience, which is a characteristic of older rookies.

But Siakam was different. He was completely a potential stock, lacking too much in experience, and even his physical resistance was not on the same level as Durant.

The fact that he defended that first ball could be understood as him being lucky as a fearless newborn calf, or as Durant underestimating him.

The truth was that Ariza's absence highlighted his importance, and the Pelicans really had no one who could match up with Durant besides Tang Tian.

Although Tang Tian continued to score to help the Pelicans keep the score close, the Pelicans would be quite passive if they continued to play at this pace.

Stevens called a timeout, preparing to use a zone defense to trap Durant.

"Let me do it."

Just like during the Christmas game, Tang Tian volunteered.

Stevens was silent for a moment before nodding.

The Warriors had the Splash Brothers on the outside. Although their recent form was average, if the Pelicans double-teamed, the Warriors could play their best pick-and-roll and cuts, which was the most comfortable way for the Splash Brothers to play.

Once the Splash Brothers got going, the situation would be even more unfavorable for the Pelicans.

Letting Tang Tian defend Durant would consume his stamina, which was a bad move, double-teaming Durant was the worst move, and Stevens finally chose the lesser of two evils.

A scholar who has been away for three days must be looked at with new eyes. Two months had passed since the Christmas game, and Durant had regained confidence in Tang Tian.

Unfortunately, Tang Tian's defense was really too restraining for him, and he failed to score on two consecutive one-on-one plays.

The Pelicans also took advantage of the situation to launch a series of counterattacks, bringing the score back to single digits.

The two teams were like playing chess, with the score fluctuating back and forth as they constantly adjusted their formations, and the balance of victory also tilted back and forth.

This time, the balance began to slowly tilt towards the Pelicans.

Seeing that the score was about to be tied again, Curry stood up for the Warriors.

After the change in the officiating scale, Curry's performance struggled for a while, which was also caused by his style of play.

Setting a strong screen and giving physical contact before the shot are all very restraining ways to deal with shooters.

But Curry was obviously not an ordinary shooter, or rather, he was not just a shooter, he was a superstar.

And superstars have very strong self-adjustment abilities.

Just like many people say that if O'Neal and Jordan were put in the small-ball era, would they not be able to play well? That is a question without any suspense.

Jordan could become a shooter on the same level as Curry through practice, and O'Neal would directly eliminate the small-ball era…

Curry is a representative of the small-ball era, but in fact, the small-ball era was officially promoted by him and the Warriors.

He began to increase his running distance, playing like Ray Allen, and more often breaking through to the basket after receiving the ball to create fouls.

Whether it was a floater, a layup, or a pass, Curry used a series of performances to prove that he could score even without shooting three-pointers.

The change in the officiating scale reduced Curry's three-point threat, but at the same time, it also returned the cylinder that originally belonged to him.

In fact, Curry was one of the people most affected by the officiating scale, but he was also one of the quickest to adjust.

As early as before the All-Star Game, he had completely adjusted himself and squeezed Paul out of the All-Star starting lineup.

With Curry's performance, the Warriors regained control of the game.

And with Curry opening up, compressing the Pelicans' defense, Thompson also got going.

The Warriors' splash brothers finally came through in the game against the Pelicans.

But even so, the score difference fluctuated in single digits.

Because the Pelicans had Tang Tian, who took on the responsibilities of both offense and defense, gritting his teeth and leading the team to a stalemate with the Warriors.

After three quarters, the score was 80 to 87, and the Pelicans were only 7 points behind.

But this stalemate changed in the second half of the fourth quarter.

The main reason for the change was also Tang Tian.

His stamina was really not enough.

Although Durant was severely restricted by him, he was still Durant, the strongest small forward in the league.

Not to mention that Tang Tian also had to take on the team's offense on his own.

His stamina was really not enough.

At the last moment, although he gritted his teeth and threw in key balls in the face of resistance, the score still could not be forced closer.

In the end, the Warriors defeated the Pelicans 117 to 107, winning the second confrontation of the Yong-Pelicans battle.

Tang Tian scored a game-high 44 points, Davis also had 20 points, and new addition Williams also had 13 points, the most off the bench.

The Pelicans scored 107 points, which wasn't a problem, but their problem was that they couldn't contain the splash brothers.

Durant had 33 points, Curry had 32 points, and Thompson had 23 points, the three of them scoring 88 points.

The impact of Ariza's absence was obvious, but for Tang Tian, his problem was still stamina.

If he had a Legendary (chuanqi) in his body, he could be fully capable of offense and defense throughout the game, and at least restrict one of Curry and Durant to death.

The loss made the Pelicans' players and fans unhappy, but for Tang Tian, he received the best news after the game.

Nike's new year's dividend was about to come out.

Considering the explosive popularity he showed during this year's All-Star vote, it would be a lot of money.

ps: I have something to do during the day today and I don’t have time to write, so let’s have three updates, Commanders, go to bed early, good night, muah.