Steady with the made free throw, Tang Tian's defensive counterattack successfully helped the Pelicans narrow the point difference to 2 points.

D'Antoni got up from the bench and walked to the sideline.

Harden continued to ask for the ball in the frontcourt. Although he didn't score on the previous play, he felt that his idea was correct, and persisting would be effective.

He continuously changed direction and broke through towards the inside.

Tang Tian maintained his defensive position, not giving him an easy chance to go inside.

Harden made a step-back while moving, a technique he had become incredibly proficient in.

But he still couldn't get rid of Tang Tian!

Tang Tian was like a piece of rawhide on the defensive end, impossible to shake off!

This time, Tang Tian's block blotted out the sky, and he barely managed to avoid the defense in the air.

As a result, the shot he took was an air ball, hitting nothing but air!

The crowd stirred.

Tang Tian's defensive pressure was truly terrifying!

Harden was defended twice in a row, and one was an air ball, but his expression didn't change much.

These two plays took a lot of stamina from Tang Tian.

D'Antoni looked at Harden retreating on defense, hesitating to speak.

The Pelicans' offensive play in the frontcourt didn't go in, and Capela secured the defensive rebound.

Harden went to the frontcourt and continued to ask for the ball.

There was a commotion on the sidelines.

"Harden is getting a little too eager!"

Breen exclaimed.

"No, he's playing very smart. He's consuming Tang's stamina. Do you remember how the Pelicans lost to the Warriors?"

Miller said.

Breen nodded thoughtfully.

In the last game, Tang Tian took care of both offense and defense, and his stamina dropped severely, but it wasn't his fault. Few people in this league can handle that.

But you can't tell Tang Tian not to attack.

The Pelicans' strongest point is Tang Tian. If he gives up offense for the sake of defense, it's self-defeating, and not worth the loss.

"But he has to be able to score some points."

McGrady broke the two's discussion.

Yes, if that's the goal, it doesn't matter if the efficiency is lower, but at least you have to score!

If you don't score a single point, no matter what you're thinking, it looks stupid!

Harden obviously knew this too. He glanced at Tang Tian, made a series of triple threat probing steps, and then seized an opportunity to quickly break through from the right.

His first move was excellent, demonstrating his superstar strength, but his speed was still slow, and Tang Tian quickly retreated to his defensive position.

More importantly, his best skill, physical confrontation, didn't work well against Tang Tian, and he couldn't push Tang Tian away during the breakthrough.

In the blink of an eye, the two reached the basket, and Harden made a reverse layup while turning around.

The turn was beautiful.

"Pa!"

But when he turned around, there was a crisp sound. He wanted to shoot again, but his hand felt light, and the ball had been swatted away by Tang Tian!

Tang Tian's steal!

The man passed, but the ball didn't!

After Tang Tian stole the ball, he fast-breaked to the frontcourt, bumped into Paul, and scored another 2 points, helping the Pelicans tie the score!

D'Antoni didn't wait any longer and directly substituted Harden.

At this time, there were only two minutes left in the first quarter, which was considered a normal rotation.

However, Harden was obviously a little unhappy. He said a few words to D'Antoni when he went off the court, and was still communicating with assistant coach Bzdelik when he returned to the bench.

With Harden off the court, the Rockets' offensive strength declined, while Tang Tian played the entire first quarter for the Pelicans.

Under his leadership, the Pelicans launched an 11-1 run at the end of the quarter, helping the team build a double-digit lead of 31-21 at the end of the quarter.

During the timeout between quarters, D'Antoni didn't accept an interview with the sideline reporter, but instead communicated with Bzdelik and Harden.

The three were discussing the team's tactical ideas.

The Rockets didn't expect the Pelicans to use Tang Tian to defend Harden before the game, so they had no tactical deployment.

D'Antoni felt that Harden couldn't continue playing like this, while Harden believed that the Pelicans were in good shape today, and this was the only way to win.

The two were in a bit of a stalemate, and finally Bzdelik made a suggestion.

"We can try attacking again in the fourth quarter. James can use off-ball movement to create space in the first three quarters."

Bzdelik's proposal was recognized by Harden and D'Antoni.

After all, he was a defensive assistant coach, and his understanding of defense was different.

Harden's original intention was correct, but at this time, Tang Tian's stamina was abundant, and playing like this was obviously a bit stubborn.

It would be better to wait until Tang Tian's stamina declined in the fourth quarter before playing like this, which would be more effective.

Back in the second quarter, both sides used starters with substitutes. Gordon performed well against his old team, while Williams wasn't in as good shape as in the last game.

When the starters were substituted back in, the Rockets successfully narrowed the point difference to 5 points.

Moreover, the Rockets' starters adjusted their playing style, passing from the outside to the inside, and Harden made more off-ball movement to create space and distract Tang Tian's defense.

This adjustment was very effective, and Cousins continued his excellent performance and scored frequently.

The two teams were deadlocked in this quarter.

At the end of the half, the score on the field was 56-51, with the Pelicans leading by 5 points.

The tactical changes and adjustments made by both sides in the first half were as exciting as the previous Pelicans-Warriors battle.

Moreover, the half-time star showdown, Tang Tian's 20 points against Cousins' 18 points, was equally matched.

The entertainment value of this game was not low at all.

The situation was the same in the third quarter. The Rockets' current strength was not worse than the Pelicans and Warriors.

The game unknowingly came to the decisive moment of the final quarter.

With 7 minutes left in the game, the score on the field was 86-80, with the Pelicans maintaining a slight lead.

In the Rockets' possession, Harden held the ball on the outside, glanced at Tang Tian defending him, and then signaled to spread out.

6 points wasn't much, but if they couldn't launch a wave of offense to narrow the score, then losing by 6 points at the end would still be a loss.

Moreover, this time was also the time point that Bzdelik had mentioned.

The game was intense, and Tang Tian had basically not rested. His stamina should be as overdrawn as in the last game.

Harden thought this way, and suddenly started the offense, his first step was very fast.

But he found that he still couldn't get rid of Tang Tian. Tang Tian's body was still as light as it was at the beginning of the game!

How was this possible!

Although he basically didn't attack in the second and third quarters, he was still running without the ball. Tang Tian was still taking care of both offense and defense, and his stamina consumption should be very high!

"Pa!"

In the moment of his shock, Tang Tian seized the opportunity to strike, and snatched the ball from his hand!

After Tang Tian stole the ball, he flicked the ball to Holiday on a fast break.

Holiday received the ball and made a fast break layup, but it was interfered with by Paul and didn't go in.

Paul worked hard to defend the ball, and he passed the ball to Harden after he reached the frontcourt.

The tactics discussed by D'Antoni, Harden, and Bzdelik had already been explained in the locker room during halftime, and Paul agreed with them.

Harden held the ball for another attack. This time he was more cautious. He had already been stolen twice by Tang Tian tonight.

He chose to hard carry Tang Tian and attack the inside, and then...found no chance.

The reality was completely different from him, or their thoughts. Tang Tian's stamina still seemed abundant!

He was forced to stop the ball, and then passed the ball back to Paul.

But this was predicted by Tang Tian.

"Pa!"

The moment the ball left his hand, it was stolen by Tang Tian again!

Harden watched Tang Tian fast break after being stolen, his eyes widened in disbelief.

This was completely different from the script they had imagined!

Where was the supposed lack of stamina!