Chapter 81

Inside the Quicken Loans Arena, fans were already eagerly waiting.

With half an hour left before the game, players from both sides gradually entered the arena.

Tang Tian looked up and scanned the surroundings.

"Stop them!", "34 consecutive wins? No!", "Terminator!"...

Signs like these were everywhere.

Although James had never been able to bring a championship to Cleveland, the fans' enthusiasm remained.

Tang Tian also spotted Adam Silver in a prominent position in the stands.

The league commissioner had been quite busy lately, following the Pelicans from Oakland to Cleveland.

And the key was that he was not only suffering physically but also mentally.

He was really working hard.

After both teams finished warming up, they quickly moved into the opening ceremony.

The starting lineups for both sides were gradually announced.

For the Pelicans, everyone except Rose, who was still recovering from injury, was available to play.

The backcourt consisted of Walker and Tang Tian, the forwards were Butler and Davis, and Dedmon was the center.

The Cavaliers had no injuries, and everyone was available to play.

The backcourt consisted of Wade and George, the forwards were James and Love, and Whiteside was the center.

The game was about to begin, and the starters from both sides took the court one after another.

At that moment, the camera closely followed Tang Tian.

Tang Tian had been tossing magnesium powder before every game since the start of the season.

But no one knew if he would continue to do so in this game because the originator of tossing magnesium powder was on the other side.

Tang Tian was the last to enter the court. He walked to the scorer's table, rubbed his hands with magnesium powder, and then scooped up a handful.

Amidst the uproar of the fans in the arena, he threw it hard into the air.

He still tossed it!

The uproar in the arena reached its peak, and Barkley, O'Neal, and others in the commentary booth were already laughing.

The photographer at the sidelines didn't give James a close-up, but fans who looked at James noticed that the Little Emperor's expression was not good.

Perhaps only James himself knew his mood at this moment.

From "the.silencer" to tossing magnesium powder, Tang Tian was gradually taking away things that originally belonged to him!

In Butler and the others' eyes, there was undisguised excitement.

Tang Tian's pep talk before the game had already made them emotionally high, and this tossing of magnesium powder further stimulated them.

We'll take your food, and we won't even let you drink the soup.

That was the Pelicans' motto this season!

Tossing magnesium powder? It's all mine!

Little Emperor? Stand aside!

Davis tapped the ball back to the Pelicans' half, officially opening the curtain on the Pelicans-Cavaliers battle of the new season.

Walker dribbled the ball forward, made a tactical gesture, and started a pick-and-roll with Davis.

Love was the defensive liability of the Cavaliers, and the Walker-Davis pick-and-roll would play a big role tonight.

After the pick-and-roll, Davis rolled towards the basket, and Walker moved outwards.

Wade followed Davis closely, but Love was a bit slow in switching defense.

Walker seized the opportunity and shot a three-pointer from the outside.

"Swish!"

A crisp sound rang out, and the basketball went into the net cleanly!

Walker had a hot hand to start the game!

There was a commotion in the arena.

They hadn't recovered from Tang Tian's magnesium powder toss when Walker gave them a warning shot.

In the Cavaliers' offense, James held the ball on the right side to orchestrate.

Wade was a scoring guard. Although he was playing point guard, James was the real point guard of this team after Irving left.

George ran out of an opportunity through continuous pick-and-rolls and took a three-point shot after receiving the ball.

"Clang!"

But the basketball bounced off the rim.

George's shooting stability had never been very high.

In the scramble for the rebound under the basket, Whiteside fought hard to grab it and turned around for a bank shot.

"Bang!"

Davis helped defend and gave him a big block, grabbing the defensive rebound in the process.

The Cavaliers' offense returned empty-handed.

The Pelicans launched a fast break. Walker received a long pass from Tang Tian in the backcourt, and his fast break layup in the frontcourt drew a shooting foul from Wade.

After making both free throws, the Pelicans took a 5-0 lead.

James held the ball in the frontcourt and did a pick-and-roll with Whiteside, breaking through towards the basket after the pick.

Davis helped defend, and James passed the ball to Love.

The Pelicans' help defense was quick, and Butler interfered before Love could shoot.

"Clang!"

Love's three-pointer missed again!

Dedmon secured the defensive rebound this time.

The Pelicans advanced to the frontcourt and played a positional offense. Walker once again did a pick-and-roll with Davis.

This time, Walker went inside, accelerated to get rid of Love, and scored again with a layup.

Walker was in great form, scoring 7 consecutive points to start the game!

The arena was in an uproar.

It was completely different from what they had expected before the game. The Cavaliers' performance after the start was far worse than the Pelicans'!

Or rather, the Pelicans' performance after the start was too good!

At the critical moment, veteran Wade stepped up, breaking through to the key and scoring with a bank shot to break the Cavaliers' scoring drought.

"Swish!"

But immediately, Tang Tian broke through on the right side, shook off George with an emergency stop and fadeaway jumper, and responded in kind.

Back on the defensive end, Wade tried the same trick, but Dedmon anticipated it this time and slapped the ball straight back!

Flash was old after all; if it were in his prime, such a ball wouldn't have been blocked.

The ball was grabbed by Butler, who dove to the floor, and the Pelicans defended the Cavaliers' offense again!

Their excellent performance was not only on the offensive end but also on the defensive end!

Tang Tian held the ball in the frontcourt, and George was 100% focused this time.

But Tang Tian raised his hand, and the ball went directly to Butler, who was cutting to the basket. The latter, with Davis' pick, caught the ball and faced Love's close-range shot.

Love simply raised his hands, and Butler saw this and did a sideways layup in the air to put the ball in.

Butler played more with the ball in his hands with the Mavericks, but when he arrived in New Orleans, he said he would be Tang Tian's assistant, and he was mainly playing off-ball offense this season!

11 to 2!

Unlike the game against the Warriors, the Pelicans were incredibly energetic in this game, beating the Cavaliers hard from the start!

And this state lasted for the entire quarter!

After the first quarter, the score on the court was 39 to 19!

The Pelicans had a 20-point lead!

"Buddy! Now tell me, where did ESPN predict the Cavaliers and Pelicans would rank before the season?"

Barkley couldn't help but laugh and say in the commentary booth.

"First and third."

O'Neal replied instantly.

Kenny Smith couldn't help but laugh. These two big guys were singing in harmony, and it was going to sour the Cavaliers' fans to death.

"Okay, the third-ranked team is crushing the first-ranked team. Buddy, I'll say it straight, even if ESPN gave me a contract for a hundred million, I wouldn't do it! That's too embarrassing!"

Barkley mocked ESPN fiercely while secretly patting the TNT executives on the back.

But the words were rough, but the sentiment was right. ESPN had completely lost face this season.

The top-ranked Cavaliers, the Cavaliers that fans had infinitely anticipated, had collapsed in one quarter.

Adam Silver in the stands was almost swollen with anger.

What the hell were the Cavaliers playing! He had instructed ESPN to support them before, and now they were slapping him in the face hard!

"Shock! Warriors become the biggest winner! Offseason makes them the second strongest team in the league!"

"LeBron may become Qin Qi, the last general under the sword of the Pelicans who will pass five levels and slay six generals!"

"My arena doesn't set a bad example for you, my restricted area doesn't set up defenses against you, no matter how many times you come, I open up that many times! - On the Cavaliers' defense tonight."

...

The fans on the hotline had also started the joke mode.