The Pelicans' bench erupted in cheers.

This basket was crucial, especially since the Clippers were starting to gain momentum.

After scoring, Alexander's confidence soared.

Back on defense, he managed to stop Williams' drive and even snagged the defensive rebound.

In the Pelicans' frontcourt, Siakam drove and dished to Brogdon.

Brogdon was double-teamed and didn't have an opening, but he quickly passed the ball to Alexander.

Alexander caught the pass and drove to just inside the free-throw line, then launched a floater over Gallinari.

The instant he released the ball, he felt a difference compared to his usual games; the release felt noticeably more stable.

"Swish!"

His feeling was right; the ball went in cleanly again!

He not only broke the Pelicans' scoring drought in this quarter, but also scored four consecutive points!

The Pelicans' bench exploded again.

This time, Parker stood up to applaud his protégé, his eyes full of smiles.

He knew Alexander was a promising talent!

And that last floater was already seven or eight tenths as good as his own!

Tang Tian didn't get up, but a slight smile played on his lips, concealing his accomplishment.

From Davis to Alexander, practice proved that the head-patting effect was better than expected.

From now on, no one could stop him from patting his teammates' heads.

Gallinari's post-up was shut down by Siakam.

Back on offense, it was Alexander again, driving to the basket and, after forcing the Clippers' defense to collapse, dishing it out to Kuzma in the corner.

The pass was perfect, and Kuzma received it with a wide-open look.

Kuzma shot the ball immediately.

The instant he released it, he also felt a different sensation than usual.

Last summer, he had switched from power forward to small forward and increased his release speed.

At the beginning of the season, his hot shooting masked problems, but as the season progressed, his shooting consistency declined, and his performance dropped.

Changing positions in the NBA wasn't easy.

But with this shot, he felt even more confident than he had at the start of the season.

As soon as he released it, he had a feeling it would go in!

"Swish!"

His feeling proved correct.

The basketball went through the net cleanly; Kuzma's three-pointer hit!

The sidelines erupted again.

The Clippers had started the second quarter with a 5-0 run, but the Pelicans immediately responded with a 7-0 run!

The lead hadn't been cut; instead, it had grown to 16 points!

Rivers rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

At the critical moment, Williams stepped up again, driving hard to the basket and drawing a foul on Harrell, earning two free throws.

He made both, helping the Clippers steady the ship.

Rivers breathed a temporary sigh of relief.

Although they hadn't closed the gap, maintaining the status quo meant the Clippers still had a chance later.

But immediately, Alexander and Kuzma connected again, this time with a direct pick-and-roll.

After the pick, Alexander passed it back to Kuzma at the arc.

Williams switched quickly, closing out on Kuzma and denying him the wide-open look he'd had before.

But Kuzma was bursting with confidence; he caught the ball and shot right over Williams.

Williams reached out to contest, but he was limited by his height, and Kuzma's shot was a jump shot, so the interference was minimal.

Kuzma confidently released the ball, which spun through the air in a long arc.

"Swish!"

Under the gaze of the home fans, Kuzma's three-pointer from the arc went in again!

He had shot it right in Williams' face!

He had hit two three-pointers in a row!

Kuzma was quite excited after the basket, holding up three fingers as he backpedaled.

There were shouts from many female fans on the sidelines.

Tang Tian couldn't help but smile when he saw this.

Kuzma was quite the ladies' man, and Tang Tian didn't know if his head-patting was helping him or hurting him.

Rivers immediately called a timeout.

With Kuzma's two three-pointers, the lead had suddenly ballooned to 20 points!

The game was on the verge of collapse.

When play resumed after the timeout, both teams gradually returned their starters.

The Clippers hadn't been able to withstand the Pelicans' initial surge in the first quarter, and it was the same after the starters came back in this quarter.

The Pelicans were playing like they were injected with stimulants tonight.

By halftime, they had stretched their lead to more than 25 points!

Although Butler led a comeback attempt in the third quarter, the Pelicans played steadily and ultimately cruised to a 124-103 victory over the Clippers.

Tang Tian played only three quarters, scoring a game-high 33 points with 6 rebounds and 7 assists.

Davis's form rebounded, scoring 17 points and 9 rebounds in three quarters.

Alexander had 13 points and 5 assists, and Kuzma contributed 12 points with 3 three-pointers.

The Pelicans' offense was firing on all cylinders, with seven players scoring in double figures.

After the game, Rivers stared at the scoreboard for a long time.

The team's defense was ranked among the best in the league this season, so how could it become like paper in front of the Pelicans tonight?

Thinking of the 58-point massacre so many years ago, he was the one who had experienced it the most. Were he and Tang Tian just incompatible?

The easy victory over the Clippers was undoubtedly a huge win for the Pelicans.

Not only had they defeated a potential playoff opponent, and not only had they won their seventh game in a row.

Most importantly, Davis had regained his form, and Alexander and Kuzma had found their confidence!

Good performances could drive player performance, and that had been proven countless times.

So in other words, Tang Tian's head pat brought not only that 10% stability bonus, but also unseen confidence.

After defeating the Clippers, the Pelicans' next game was on the road against the Warriors.

After flying to Oakland the day before the game, the Pelicans had a basic training session the next day.

During the training session, Tang Tian walked straight towards Kuzma again.

Accumulating confidence would definitely be more effective if it was continuous.

In other words, for Kuzma's sake, he had to keep patting his head.

Seeing Tang Tian walking towards him again, Kuzma instinctively wanted to walk away.

"Kyle."

But Tang Tian called out to stop him.

"You played well in the last game, keep it up tonight."

Tang Tian patted his head again as he spoke.

Kuzma had unspeakable suffering.

But for the sake of his picking up girls, he had to bite the bullet and speak up.

"Boss, could you... not pat my head next time?"

Tang Tian was stunned by Kuzma's words.

"Cough... I'm doing it for your own good."

Tang Tian told the truth.

"..."

Kuzma looked at Tang Tian with a "Do you think I'm an idiot?" expression.

"Haven't you noticed that your performance is better after I pat your head?"

Tang Tian continued.

Kuzma shook his head.

Nobody believes you!

Seeing Kuzma's expression, Tang Tian looked slightly helpless.

Alas, indeed, in this world, there is no basic trust between people.