Chapter 1 Opening

The Pelicans players reacted differently at the end of the opening ceremony.

Most players, like Green and Gasol, didn't react much.

After all, for them, it was just an opening ceremony.

Brogdon and Kuzma were as excited as they were in the locker room.

They knew and firmly believed that Tang Tian had Eastern magic.

Parker's expression was a bit bitter.

He had avoided head-touching all his life, but he didn't expect to be forced into it in the end.

His life was so hard!

After the Pelicans, the Lakers' starters also took the stage one after another.

It was still the same starting lineup as in the previous four games.

Vogel was very confident in this starting lineup.

The Los Angeles fans at the scene also expressed their confidence with extremely high decibels.

Game 5, playing at home, they were determined to win!

Lopez tipped the ball back to the Lakers' half, officially kicking off the game.

As predicted, this game broke the ratings record right from the start.

A game watched by the whole world.

The Lakers started with the James-Durant pick-and-roll.

This tactical arrangement also showed Vogel's Champion's Heart to win tonight.

However, during the first tactical pick-and-roll, Durant, who received the ball, was closely defended by Siakam and didn't even get a chance to shoot.

The Pelicans showed a different defensive intensity than in the past few games right from the start.

After Durant signaled to pull away, he chose to play Siakam one-on-one.

Siakam defended perfectly, but Durant's individual ability was indeed strong, and he forced his way past Siakam with a big loop and went for a layup.

However, at the moment he shot, Gasol helped defend in place again, directly interfering and confronting him.

His shot hit the rim and bounced out, and the rebound was also grabbed by Gasol.

Amidst the commotion of the fans at the scene, the Lakers' first attack of the game failed!

Before the commotion could die down, the Pelicans immediately launched a fast break.

Tang Tian dribbled the ball quickly, attacked the frontcourt three-second zone, made a high lob pass, and bumped Wade, who was in front of him, out of bounds.

Siakam soared into the air, caught Tang Tian's pass, and slammed the ball into the basket with a two-handed alley-oop!

The scene erupted.

Defending the James-Durant pick-and-roll and then following with a fast-break alley-oop, the Pelicans gave them a big blow with their offense and defense after the opening!

Vogel also felt that the Pelicans were different tonight, and he got up and went to the sidelines to remind his players loudly.

James dribbled the ball to break through in the frontcourt, Gasol helped defend, and James passed the ball to Lopez at the top of the arc.

Just as Lopez was about to shoot, Carter on the weak side had already rotated over to help defend.

The opportunity disappeared in an instant.

The Pelicans' defense tonight was really different from the past.

Durant came over to receive the ball, and with little time left, he tried to shake off Tang Tian but failed. His final forced shot was defended by Tang Tian, resulting in an air ball.

The scene was in an uproar.

In the past four games, the Lakers had played very well at the beginning, and the two games they lost were because they couldn't outscore them in the end.

But after the opening tonight, they missed consecutive attacks!

This was definitely not good news!

Back on offense, Tang Tian dribbled the ball to break through, and the Lakers' two wings shrank their defense.

Their defensive strategy was still the same as in the past few games.

After seeing this, Tang Tian chose to pass the ball to Brogdon at a forty-five-degree angle on the right side.

Brogdon had a three-point opportunity, and he shot after receiving the ball.

Vogel breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this. Brogdon had been in poor form in the past few games.

The Lakers had already succeeded in most of their defense by defending to this point.

As long as they protected the rebound…

"Swish!"

Before he could shout it out, there was a crisp sound, and the basketball went into the net cleanly.

Brogdon's three-pointer went in!

Not only the fans, but even Vogel himself was stunned.

He could accept the Pelicans playing good defense, but if their offense was also on, the Lakers would really be in big trouble!

James' strong attack in the frontcourt finally drew a foul from Siakam, earning two free throw opportunities.

He made one of two free throws, finally breaking the Lakers' scoring drought.

Back on offense, Tang Tian continued to drive and dish, and this time it was Carter who received the ball.

Middleton came back to defend, but Carter still shot first.

The ball passed over Middleton's fingertips.

"Swish!"

Carter's three-pointer also went in!

The Pelicans hit two consecutive three-pointers, taking an 8-1 lead!

"God, he really has magic!"

Seeing this start, Barkley in the commentary box couldn't help but exclaim, even though it really sounded like nonsense.

"It's Eastern magic."

O'Neal corrected his statement.

Smith, caught between the two, was already laughing so hard that he was bending over.

Regardless of the outcome of the game, the fans' discussion about the Pelicans' opening ceremony was destined to explode after the game.

In the meantime, a wave of attacks from the Lakers still failed to score.

The Pelicans' defense was so tight tonight that the Lakers simply couldn't get in.

Back on offense, Tang Tian continued to break through.

He sent out two consecutive assists, and the Lakers' defense expanded out early.

However, this move was spotted by Tang Tian, and he directly broke into the three-second zone.

Lopez pounced out, and Tang Tian made a close-range direct pass to Gasol's chest.

Gasol raised his hand and caught the ball, followed by a two-handed dunk.

10-1!

The Pelicans were going crazy!

Vogel was about to lose it.

The Pelicans were really playing like they had cheated tonight!

At the critical moment, Durant isolated Gasol, and his turnaround, high-difficulty fadeaway shot hit, helping the Lakers stabilize the situation on the court.

This goal drew an explosive cheer from the scene.

Durant was really making people look at him in a new light this season.

"Defense! Defense!"

This cheer quickly turned into shouts for defense.

Although they were passive at the start, as long as the Lakers could gain momentum, they could turn the situation around again.

Durant's high-difficulty two points was a very good start.

Tang Tian continued to dribble the ball to break through in the frontcourt, and the Lakers didn't dare to expand outward early this time.

He broke through to the free throw line and passed the ball to Carter in the corner again.

Middleton pounced very hard.

Carter had used consecutive three-pointers at the start of the third game to help the Pelicans establish an advantage, and he had already made one in this game.

So they must not let him shoot again.

Carter showed his experience with this ball. Seeing Middleton pouncing out, he didn't shoot, but instead made a feint.

After shaking Middleton, he ducked down and accelerated inward.

The other Lakers players were all staring at Tang Tian at the free throw line, and Lopez under the basket was also boxed out by Gasol.

After Middleton flew past, Carter rushed into the inside and no one was blocking him!

He took off directly from a little more than a meter away from the basket, raised the ball with his right hand while starting to turn.

In the shocked eyes of the fans at the scene.

"Boom!"

Carter turned in the air and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!

He completed a 180° turnaround dunk!

The fans at the scene were stunned, and the Pelicans' bench had exploded.

This was 42-year-old Carter! 42 years old!

Stevens finally couldn't help but laugh.

During the post-match press conference after Game 3, Tang Tian said that he hoped to see old Carter dunk.

He didn't expect his wish to come true just one game later!