The fans at the arena were restless.

However, they understood that the team owner had just passed away, so this kind of loss was acceptable.

After all, the 82-game season was long, and there would always be unexpected situations. The last time they lost to the Trail Blazers was because Tang Tian was absent.

Now, with the owner's death, and he was a good owner, no one could act as if nothing had happened.

It was just fortunate for the Trail Blazers, who had twice benefited from such good luck.

It could only be said that fate was really favoring them this season.

It was estimated that the Trail Blazers fans would be ecstatic after this game.

They were the only team this season to beat the Pelicans, and they had done it twice.

Just when many people thought so, the situation on the court changed dramatically in the second half.

The Pelicans recovered their form after halftime adjustments.

Led by Tang Tian, they played a completely different half from the first half, holding the Trail Blazers down tightly.

Lillard's touch was also lost under Butler's defense.

The Pelicans won after losing, outscoring the Trail Blazers by a full 30 points in the second half.

They eventually defeated the Trail Blazers 116-96, extending their winning streak to 30 games.

At the post-game press conference, a reporter asked Stevens why the team's performance was so different between the first and second halves.

"You have to ask Tang about that."

Stevens didn't answer directly.

"Tang told us that winning the game is the best farewell to Mr. Benson. He loved this team, and he loved winning."

Tang Tian didn't speak; Davis took the microphone and said it for him.

It was definitely not appropriate for him to say such things directly. Davis's emotional intelligence was getting higher and higher.

However, it was reasonable for Tang Tian to say that.

Benson's favorite player when he was alive was Tang Tian, so the team should do this in terms of both emotion and reason.

The day after the game, all sectors of the league expressed their condolences for Benson's death.

Benson took over the Hornets, which were then under the league's trusteeship, in 2012, providing timely help to the league.

In the following few years, the Pelicans Hornets selected Davis, brought in Tang Tian, and replicated his miracle in the NFL.

And now the Pelicans were already the strongest team in the league, and their market was second only to the Lakers and Knicks.

As an owner, his career was very successful. In addition, he was humble in his dealings with people and willing to invest in the team, so he had very good relationships.

David Stern: Mr. Benson's death is a great loss to the league. He was the league's most important asset and one of my best friends. This is such a painful message.

Adam Silver: Benson is our friend, and we mourn his departure.

Vivek Ranadivé (Kings owner): I was shocked to hear the news of Tom Benson's death. Tom gave back to New Orleans and the entire state of Louisiana. On behalf of the Sacramento Kings, I extend my sincerest condolences to his family, the Pelicans, the Saints, and the city of New Orleans.

James: Benson is one of the best owners in the league. He has made immeasurable contributions to New Orleans. I extend my sincerest greetings to his wife, Ms. Gayle, and his family and colleagues with the Pelicans.

Fox Sports Official: Mr. Benson is one of the best owners in the league. His departure is a painful thing not only for the NBA and NFL leagues, but for all fans and media. We mourn him and wish his family well.

…

Along with the condolences from all walks of life, everyone was also curious about who would take over the Pelicans.

As the league's number one team, if there were a change of power, or even the kind of turmoil that the Buss family had experienced, the impact would be huge.

However, these things wouldn't happen immediately, and the fans' discussions wouldn't stop all at once.

It was also at this time that something else happened in the league that attracted attention.

The Spurs' new owner was officially confirmed.

After Holt was forced to sell the team, there had been no news about the Spurs' new owner.

There were many reasons for this.

The league hoped that the Spurs' new owner would be a local San Antonio entrepreneur, so as to minimize the impact.

But the reality was that, not to mention local, even throughout the United States, there were very few owners interested in the Spurs.

The Spurs' market was too small. Although they had won many championships, the team's value and annual profits were at the bottom of the league.

They were only slightly better than those small-city teams with no record.

This was one of the reasons why Holt had made a private deal with Methodist Healthcare.

San Antonio had a large population, but as a military stronghold, there were too many restrictions.

So this matter was delayed again and again, until recently.

CCX, the second largest shareholder of Alibaba from China, made an offer that was impossible to refuse and finally acquired all of Holt's team shares.

It was said that this acquisition raised the Spurs' market value from $800 million to $1.1 billion.

From this, it could be seen that the price CCX paid was definitely not small.

But this also showed another thing: in the face of money, many problems were not problems.

In fact, there had been rumors before that American entrepreneurs were not very interested, but overseas entrepreneurs were quite interested.

But many people scoffed at this possibility.

After all, San Antonio was a military stronghold, and the U.S. government would not allow such a thing to happen.

Furthermore, countries were very cautious about the outflow of funds, and governments would intervene in transactions of hundreds of millions of dollars.

But the results proved that those problems were not problems in the face of money.

Money makes the world go round, and money is omnipotent in these things.

And after CCX acquired the Spurs, it also became the first Chinese owner in the NBA!

This incident caused a stir among domestic fans.

"The league's number one player is Chinese, and now there's a Chinese owner. Can I say that Chinese people are becoming the masters of the NBA?"

"NBA, the first basketball league for Chinese people!"

"No, no, the NBA is Chinese, but it's also the world's. (づ●─●)づ"

"Speaking of which, Benson is dead. Can Tang Tian consider acquiring the Pelicans?"

"I think it's entirely possible. Tang Tian's current assets are already among the top few active players, right? Forming a consortium would be a sure thing!"

"Let me ask a weak question, can I become a small shareholder with a month's salary of 2,000 yuan?"

"Get out of here! I'll pay 3,000, just give me one share! I'm going all out to acquire the Pelicans!"

"Okay, okay, stop joking. Tang Tian is still a player, right? How can he acquire a team? Are you asking him to retire immediately?"

"That's right, the NBA doesn't allow players to own shares now. If it did, someone would have been an NBA team owner long ago."

"Let me guess who you're trying to criticize?"

"Do I even need to criticize? Don't you know who the most successful businessman among NBA players is?"

"It's definitely not my king; if it is, then you're criticizing!"

…