That night, the Staples Center was packed.

Not only was the arena filled to capacity, but so was the passion of the Los Angeles fans.

Since Kobe's retirement, the Lakers had been mired in mediocrity for too long, and they hadn't enjoyed this kind of spotlight in a long time.

Especially tonight's game against the dynasty team, the Pelicans.

Defeating the Pelicans was like the new king overthrowing the old, which was absolutely exciting and inspiring.

And because it was Christmas, the wealthy of Los Angeles brought their families to the game, filling the arena with Christmas spirit.

Even the single elites came in groups.

The occupancy rate of Los Angeles' star hotels during Christmas has always been high.

Half an hour before the game started, the players from both teams entered the court one after another.

The fans also turned their attention to the court.

In the VIP box, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and her ex-husband Phil Jackson also came to the game.

Her face was radiant.

After the coaching changes of the past two years, she felt the decline of the Buss family's influence in the league. Now that the Lakers were reviving, she was also thriving.

If James and Durant could bring another dynasty to the Lakers, she could truly catch up with her father, Old Buss, and restore the purple and gold glory.

Oh, right, and Jackson beside her.

This summer, she had hoped that Jackson would return to coach the Lakers, but Jackson had repeatedly refused.

Now that Vogel was performing very well, she could also show her ex-husband how successful her life was now.

After the warm-up, the opening ceremony began, and the starting lineups of the two teams were announced one after another.

For the Lakers, the guards were Simmons and Middleton, the forwards were Durant and James, and the center was Brook Lopez.

The shortest player in this lineup was Middleton at 2.01 meters, with an average height of 206.2cm, a true death lineup of five giants.

For the Pelicans, the guards were Brogdon and Tang Tian, the forwards were Green and Davis, and the center was Dedmon.

Stevens put Dedmon back in the starting lineup for this game, which was clearly to match up with Lopez.

After the opening ceremony, the starters from both teams entered the court one after another.

Tang Tian, as usual, scattered magnesium powder into the audience before the game.

But this time, he was greeted with boos.

Los Angeles fans were loyal and capricious, and they didn't care if Tang Tian was the league's number one player or the NBA's number one player.

Now that James was on the Lakers, they were waiting for James to win the championship again, and then take back this exclusive action.

Before the game even started, the atmosphere on and off the court was filled with tension and hostility.

Lopez tipped the ball back to the Lakers' half, and the Pelicans-Lakers Christmas battle officially began.

Lopez stood at the top of the key, Middleton stood in the corner, James held the ball on the right side of the three-point line, and Simmons and Durant played a no-ball play.

Vogel gave James the greatest tactical command on the offensive end, and James used his favorite set of tactics as the Lakers' regular tactics.

Durant's movement and Simmons' cut contained the Pelicans' defense. James accelerated past Green to the basket, and used a Euro-step to squeeze past Green and score.

For the Pelicans' offense, Tang Tian's breakthrough was double-teamed, and he immediately passed the ball to Green.

However, although the Lakers' lineup on the court was tall, it was very flexible. Coupled with Vogel's mature defensive system, Green was quickly interfered with by the help defense after receiving the ball.

His first shot missed.

James grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Lakers directly launched a fast break. Simmons caught the ball in the frontcourt and made a layup.

Tang Tian's pull-up jumper after getting past Middleton in the frontcourt was a little off and didn't go in.

Lopez protected the defensive rebound, and the Lakers launched another fast break. Durant caught James' pass and made a three-pointer.

7 to 0!

The Staples Center erupted with cheers. The Lakers gave the Pelicans a big blow right from the start!

Inside the VIP box.

Jackson watched the Lakers' performance, his expression a little bitter, seemingly regretting his refusal to return this summer.

Buss saw Jackson's expression, and her face became even more radiant.

Tang Tian got past Middleton in the frontcourt, and his pull-up jumper scored the first points for the Pelicans.

But on the next possession, Middleton ran to position and received a pass from Simmons, and his three-pointer also went in.

10 to 2!

The Lakers were completely overwhelming the Pelicans.

Tang Tian continued to break through in the frontcourt, and the Lakers continued to shrink their defense.

This time, Brogdon received the ball.

The Lakers' defense came up quickly, but he passed the ball quickly, giving it to Dedmon at the arc at the first time.

A completely open opportunity, Dedmon took a shot.

"Clang!"

The ball hit the back of the rim and bounced high, hitting the rim and bouncing out.

The Pelicans' performance was sluggish except for Tang Tian in the opening game, but after the season deepened, Green and Brogdon successively found their touch.

Only Dedmon never found his accuracy and even lost his starting spot.

Stevens entrusted him with an important task again in this game, but he failed to seize the opportunity.

Durant grabbed the defensive rebound.

The Lakers continued to play fast break, this time it was Middleton who shot a three-pointer in transition.

His shot was a little off, and the basketball hit the rim and bounced out.

But James followed up and grabbed the offensive rebound, scoring on a second chance.

The Lakers' five-big lineup really had an advantage in rebounding.

12 to 2!

The Lakers had already taken a double-digit lead after more than four minutes into the game!

The strength of this team was stronger than expected!

Inside the VIP box, Jeanie Buss's face was flushed red, and she looked truly excited.

She anticipated that the Lakers would have an advantage in the game, but she didn't expect the advantage to be so great.

Stevens called a timeout.

After the timeout, Siakam replaced Dedmon.

Although the situation was unfavorable, Stevens did not panic.

The Lakers had been playing fast breaks during this period when the score was widened, and his substitution was to keep the team's offensive and defensive speed up.

Tang Tian and Davis played a pick-and-roll in the frontcourt, assisting Davis to score a goal under the basket and reduce the point difference to single digits.

Back on the defensive end, Siakam mainly defended James, and Tang Tian's help defense disrupted James' layup.

One offense and one defense, Stevens' adjustment was very timely and in place.

And more importantly, the Lakers' fast break was suppressed.

Brogdon's layup in the frontcourt was blocked by James, but the Pelicans retreated quickly, still not giving the Lakers a fast-break opportunity.

The Lakers could only play position offense again.

This time, Simmons broke through with the ball after a pick-and-roll with Lopez, and the ball was passed to James on the weak side.

James caught the ball and made a three-pointer!

15 to 4!

The Lakers once again widened the point difference to double digits!

The cheers at the Staples Center couldn't stop.

Inside the VIP box, Jeanie Buss's face was not just excited, her expression and state were like she had returned to her teenage years.

Based on the dynasty team, the Pelicans' performance, the Lakers' purple and gold glory was already within reach!