Chapter 1 Carter's Dunk Contest Appearance

Carter's participation in the dunk contest added another surge of heat to this year's All-Star Game.

Coupled with Xiao Hua's reforms, this year's All-Star Game was destined to be a historic one.

Because of this, the Pelicans' upcoming game against the Magic was even more anticipated.

It was quite interesting; Tang Tian's schedule, choosing to participate in the dunk contest, meant facing LaVine, then Gordon, and finally Carter.

This series of games was such a coincidence that it seemed pre-arranged.

But perhaps it was the will of God.

The Magic's situation was similar to the Timberwolves, but unlike them, they didn't have as many talented young players.

The Timberwolves at least had the potential to develop talent; the Magic were genuinely a bottom-tier team.

Their record was poor, and the only one who could be considered talented was Gordon.

Their few immediate-impact players, Vucevic, Fournier, and Biyombo, were all standard starters for weak teams, neither good nor bad.

The duel between Tang Tian and Gordon was the only thing worth anticipating for the fans.

But even so, the Amway Center was still packed on game day.

The Pelicans effect continued.

There were even many people in the crowd wearing Tang Tian's jersey.

For fans in these small cities, this scene was incredibly frustrating.

But there was nothing they could do about their own team's lack of competitiveness. When you really thought about it, the Pelicans were also a small-city team before, even smaller than them.

During the warm-up, amidst the cheers of the fans, Gordon performed several folding dunks, sending the fans into a frenzy.

Gordon's dunking style was completely different from LaVine's.

His characteristic was explosiveness.

That physique, combined with that bounce, as well as his impressive body flexibility and wingspan, made his dunks more visually impactful than Griffin's.

The warm-up ended quickly, and the starting players from both sides took the court one after another.

For the Pelicans, Butler and Davis were resting in this game.

The starting five were Walker, Tang Tian, Bojan, Siakam, and Dedmon.

For the Magic, the guards were Elfrid Payton and Fournier, the forwards were Jonathan Simmons and Aaron Gordon, and the center was Vucevic.

Gordon and Dedmon at the jump ball.

Gordon displayed his leaping ability, tipping the ball back to the Magic's half of the court, officially kicking off the game.

Payton organizing on the perimeter, Simmons screening for Gordon, and Gordon cutting to the basket.

The absence of Butler and Davis had a significant impact on the Pelicans' defense; the help defense didn't quite keep up after Gordon's cut.

Payton with a well-timed bounce pass.

*Boom!*

Gordon took the ball and soared into the air, directly slamming the ball into the basket with a gliding two-handed dunk.

The cheers in the arena erupted suddenly.

Gordon opened with a dunk!

Moreover, this dunk was extremely violent, sending the adrenaline levels of those watching through the roof!

Tang Tian became somewhat excited after seeing it.

In the previous game, Stevens had substituted him out early because LaVine didn't have many dunking opportunities.

But tonight, Gordon started dunking right away, which made his desire grow stronger.

Walker sensed Tang Tian's desire immediately, dribbled the ball to the half-court, passed the ball to Tang Tian, and signaled his teammates to spread out.

Tang Tian went one-on-one against Simmons.

Simmons had performed well for the Spurs last season, rising from the Development League to become a starter for the Magic, and signing a lucrative contract. He was one of the NBA's inspirational players.

His defense was solid, but clearly not enough in front of Tang Tian.

Tang Tian used a change-of-pace butterfly step, directly blowing past him.

Penetrating to the free-throw line, Tang Tian was already eager to dunk under the influence of his desire, and he accelerated to take off.

But just then, Vucevic shook off Dedmon and came over to help defend.

He was smart, holding up his hands without jumping, which would provide interference without drawing a foul.

He was a player who relied on his brain.

But he regretted it a second after he stood there.

Because Tang Tian's dunking motion didn't change at all!

He was preparing to be unreasonable!

His eyes widened.

He was a big center; did he think he was air just because he held up his hands?!

He must be trying to scare him, even if the other party was Tang Tian, it was impossible to force a dunk over a big center like that.

You're not Carter!

He cheered himself up, continuing to brace himself.

But in the next second, this idea was immediately thrown to the back of his mind.

Because Tang Tian was really dunking over him!

The two had physical contact, and Tang Tian's impact was much greater than he had expected.

This was an accelerating car.

*Boom!*

In the stunned gazes of all the fans, Tang Tian slammed the ball heavily into the basket over Vucevic.

The enormous impact directly pushed Vucevic out of bounds!

The arena was silent for a moment.

This… was really unreasonable!

The Pelicans' bench reacted immediately, Bryant playing the role of towel-waving hero, rushing to the sidelines and waving his towel wildly.

The fans in the arena gradually reacted, with alternating cheers.

Some people had come for Tang Tian in the first place, and the people behind them hadn't come for Tang Tian, but they were also shocked by Tang Tian's dunk.

This was not just violence, but violent aesthetics!

Although this dunk was not comparable to Carter's dunk over Frederic Weis, it was enough to be compared to McGrady's dunk over Bradley!

Today's top play was already set!

The fans in the arena were excited; the Gordon versus Tang Tian duel they were expecting had appeared at the very beginning!

In the Magic's offense, Gordon wanted to repeat the same trick, but the Pelicans had already collapsed their defense inside, and he had no chance.

This was also the relative weakness of LaVine and Gordon compared to Tang Tian; even though they were both full of talent, at least for now, they hadn't developed the ability to capitalize on it.

This also meant that they wouldn't have as many dunking opportunities on the court as Tang Tian.

Fournier's layup missed, Dedmon grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Magic's wave of offense ended without success.

Turning around, Tang Tian continued to hold the ball on offense.

Simmons defended very hard on this play, but the result of his hard work was that he was faked out by Tang Tian.

After Tang Tian passed Simmons, he rushed into the free-throw line and took off in one step again.

This time, Harrell boxed out Vucevic, but Siakam didn't pay attention to Gordon.

Gordon took off almost at the same time as Tang Tian, wanting to block Tang Tian from the side.

Tang Tian didn't dodge.

The fans in the arena watched intently.

Both of them had amazing leaping ability.

Tang Tian's takeoff distance was relatively far from the basket.

At first glance, it looked like the two were walking in the air!

Real high-altitude work.

Tang Tian was still one step faster.

Gordon's block didn't reach, directly hitting Tang Tian's hand.

But Tang Tian's momentum didn't diminish, and he slammed the ball directly into the basket with one hand.

*Beep!*

*Boom!*

The referee blew his whistle the moment the ball went in, signaling Gordon's foul.

And one!

This time, the arena didn't go through any formalities and directly erupted in cheers.

Although this play wasn't as brutal as the previous one, it was more difficult!

Gordon was not Vucevic, he was stronger and had better jumping ability.

But Tang Tian still dunked the ball in!