Harden continued to attack Jokic in the frontcourt. This time, Holiday provided help defense, but Harden was in good form and passed the ball to Gordon immediately.

Gordon took a three-point shot and made it.

"Swish!"

The basketball went into the net cleanly.

8 to 2!

The Rockets started the game with a powerful momentum!

They had the added bonus of Gordon's Sixth Man aura tonight, coupled with D'Antoni's lineup adjustments, which produced unexpected results.

"Defense! Defense!"

The Rockets' excellent performance on the court also affected the audience, and the cheers at the scene were overwhelming.

An invisible aura pressed down on the Pelicans players.

It would be by no means an easy task for them to take a victory away from Houston tonight.

Holiday dribbled the ball to the frontcourt again, and Tang Tian reached out to him for the ball.

The Rockets didn't double-team him directly. He looked up at the Rockets' defense.

D'Antoni's stroke of genius eliminated Davis' mismatch advantage, and with the new penalty standards reducing Jokic's offensive threat, Tucker wasn't as easy to break through as he had imagined.

However, their pre-game plan wasn't to attack that point anyway.

Tang Tian signaled the wing to spread out, and Jokic dropped to the low post.

The Rockets had a switch in the paint, with Cousins and Tucker switching again.

Buzdelik's defensive strategy was very clear: if Jokic went out, Tucker would guard Jokic; if Jokic went into the paint, they would switch back to Cousins.

To sum it up in one sentence, Cousins wouldn't leave the three-second zone.

After seeing this, Tang Tian signaled Jokic to go to the free throw line, and at the same time as the latter moved, he used a change of direction to accelerate past Gordon and break into the inside.

Gordon's defense was much worse than Tucker's. Although he had a stocky build like a small cannon, his lateral movement had always been a weakness.

With Tang Tian's breakthrough, he was completely beaten.

Before Cousins' help defense could come out, Tang Tian made a sudden stop and pull-up jump shot near the free throw line.

"Swish!"

The basketball went into the net cleanly.

Tang Tian broke the Pelicans' scoring drought.

The cheers at the scene stopped abruptly.

Tang Tian poured a bucket of cold water on them.

Moreover, back on the defensive end, the Pelicans' defense also changed. Ariza guarded Gordon, and Tang Tian was matched up with Harden again, just like in the previous two games.

Harden tried to get Cousins to pick and roll but failed, so he passed the ball to Paul, who accelerated to the basket after a pick and roll with Cousins and attempted a layup.

Davis' help defense was in place, and he blocked the shot directly, grabbing the defensive rebound in the process.

Having Tucker at the power forward position had many advantages for the Rockets, but there were also drawbacks, such as rebounding.

Davis wasn't Green, and Tucker couldn't compete at all.

The Pelicans advanced to the frontcourt, and Tang Tian continued to hold the ball and attack Gordon. He beat him with one step again, followed by a sudden stop and pull-up.

"Swish!"

Another one in!

Gordon's defense was far worse than Tucker's. Tang Tian broke through too quickly, so quickly that the Rockets' help defense couldn't get there in time!

6 to 8!

After Tang Tian scored 4 consecutive points, the Pelicans narrowed the score difference to 2 points!

D'Antoni and Buzdelik turned and exchanged words.

Tang Tian's judgment of the situation on the court was too accurate.

If they continued to play like this, the Pelicans wouldn't need to look for Cousins' mismatch at all. Tang Tian could directly beat Gordon until he doubted his life, and break the Rockets directly.

"Wait one more possession."

Buzdelik said.

Paul continued to pick and roll with Cousins in the frontcourt, and made a mid-range shot over Jokic.

D'Antoni wasn't lying after the last game. The Rockets were playing Jokic in this game using the same strategy the Pelicans used against Cousins.

If Harden was limited, Paul would step up; if Paul was limited, Gordon would step up.

Anyway, they were going to attack to the death.

10 to 6, the Rockets continued to maintain their lead.

Tang Tian received the ball again in the frontcourt. Under Buzdelik's signal from the sidelines, the Rockets double-teamed him in advance.

Tang Tian broke through one step towards the double-team and passed the ball to Holiday, and shouted for Holiday to shoot.

Holiday didn't hesitate either. The Rockets double-teamed Tang Tian a lot in the previous two games, and the others were very decisive with their shots.

"Swish!"

The basketball went into the net.

Holiday was competitive enough and made this open three-pointer!

9 to 10!

A difference of 1 point!

Buzdelik was a little helpless when he saw this, and said something to D'Antoni. D'Antoni turned around and called Morris to get up.

What he meant by waiting one possession was to see how the other Pelicans players were feeling. Holiday's three-pointer was of great strategic significance.

A short whistle came from the sidelines, and Morris came on to replace Gordon.

The Rockets were forced to abandon their starting lineup.

"I would be very happy to coach a guy like that, he completely turned the game around!"

Van Gundy exclaimed from the commentary booth.

After resigning from the Rockets, he had been working in the commentary booth and had lost interest in the job of an NBA head coach.

But clearly, Tang Tian's performance had rekindled his coaching pleasure.

Tang Tian's performance on the court seemed like more than just a player; his basketball IQ seemed even higher than Rondo's.

This would indeed be a good fit for a defensive-minded coach like Van Gundy.

"That must be a very easy job."

Breen chimed in from the side.

McGrady laughed out loud after hearing this.

These two guys...

Thinking about Shaq and Barkley now, are all commentators secretly Tang Tian fans?

Paul attacked Jokic one-on-one in the frontcourt, but his mid-range shot was interfered with and missed.

Since injuring his meniscus in New Orleans, Paul's one-on-one ability had declined significantly.

Compared to Harden, his one-on-one efficiency was much lower.

This was also the Pelicans' targeted defense before the game. If Harden was in good form, they would have Tang Tian defend him and force Paul to go one-on-one.

This pre-game arrangement seemed very successful now.

Davis grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Pelicans advanced to the frontcourt, passing the ball to Tang Tian again.

Tang Tian directly called for Jokic to screen at the high post.

With Tucker off the court, Cousins could no longer camp in the paint.

Morris' help defense speed wasn't enough. If he didn't come out, Jokic would screen, and Tang Tian would have a shooting practice.

With the high post screen, Jokic blocked Tucker, and Tang Tian was mismatched against Cousins.

The familiar scene from the last game reappeared.

Low dribble, continuous crossovers.

The Pelicans' wings were spread wide. After Holiday made that three-pointer earlier, the Rockets' help defense didn't dare to come up casually.

Tang Tian slowed down, and Cousins, wary of Tang Tian's shot, directly lunged out.

Tang Tian then accelerated directly past him.

The speed difference between the two was too great.

Tang Tian charged to the basket, Davis pinned Morris, and he easily sent the ball into the basket.

11 to 10.

Although they had a bad start, the Pelicans successfully reversed the score thanks to Tang Tian's personal scoring burst!

Paul attacked Jokic again in the frontcourt. This time, his shot drew a foul on Jokic, resulting in two free throws.

However, in the next possession, Tang Tian continued to attack Cousins.

Having experienced the previous play, Cousins hesitated and didn't dare to lunge out completely.

But that hesitation was all it took.

"Swish!"

Tang Tian's mid-range pull-up went in again!

"Hey! Look at this Tang Tian, attacking Cousins is like attacking a wooden stake, always accurate!"

In the broadcast booth, Zhang Weiping yelled with a happy face.