Gasol's presence noticeably elevated the Pelicans' defensive strength in the paint. The Spurs' awl formation offense could only pass the ball out to the perimeter for the finish.

But the Pelicans' perimeter defense was clearly stronger.

Tang Tian went without saying, Green was a top-tier 3-and-D player, and Brogdon was also an excellent perimeter defender.

Plus, with Leonard's magic gone, the Spurs played exceptionally passively in this game.

Spurs fans on the online forum cheered for the team, hoping the Spurs could turn the tide.

First quarter, second quarter, third quarter...

Their hopes were dashed time and again, and the Spurs failed to reverse the situation on the court.

Leonard had a burst in the third quarter, but it was too late.

Moreover, Tang Tian stepped up for the Pelicans to go head-to-head with him, and the Spurs failed to narrow the point difference in this quarter.

Popovich kept the starters in until the end of the game, but in reality, the point difference had already widened to over 25 points at the end of the third quarter.

In the end, the Pelicans won an easy victory without bloodshed, defeating the Spurs 118-90 at home and winning Game 6 of the series.

With this game, they successfully eliminated the Spurs with a 4-2 record, advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive year.

Their opponent was yet to be determined.

Sweeping the Warriors in the first round and knocking out the Spurs 4-2 in the second, the Pelicans were playing at a fast pace.

Their potential opponents, the Lakers and the Mavericks, were still playing their series.

The Lakers swept the Trail Blazers in the first round, but ran into considerable trouble in the second round against the Mavericks, who had emerged from the Clippers' wreckage.

The Clippers and Mavericks played a full seven games in the first round, and the Lakers waited a week for the Mavericks.

Now, only three games had been played between the two teams, with the Lakers leading 2-1.

Although leading, each game was exceptionally close, with all three games decided by single-digit differences.

The Mavericks' strength in the playoffs was underestimated.

For the fourth game of the two teams' series, Stevens organized the players to watch the live broadcast.

No matter who their Western Conference Finals opponent was, familiarizing themselves with the opponent was the top priority.

Especially in such an evenly matched game, both sides would give it their all, and basically play without holding anything back.

The fourth game between the two teams was held at the American Airlines Center, the Mavericks' home court.

The enthusiasm of the fans at the scene was as high as ever, and Cuban, as always, stood on the sidelines as the number one fan, wearing his signature blue home T-shirt.

After the game started, it was as intense as the previous games.

Although James and Durant on the Lakers side had outstanding individual abilities, the Mavericks' teamwork was too good.

The passing and cooperation were truly pleasing to the eye.

If a comparison had to be made, this team was very similar to the Spurs after Duncan grew old.

It was not without reason that they could continue to stalemate with the Lakers even with relatively weak roster strength.

Moreover, Embiid had a great advantage in the paint on the offensive end.

Whether it was Lopez in the starting lineup or McGee as a substitute, they were completely suppressed in front of him.

The two teams were tied after three quarters.

In the crucial fourth quarter, the Mavericks pulled away with their bench advantage and maintained it until the end of the game.

They played an ultra-first-class defense in the last half quarter, with James and Durant only scoring 10 points combined.

2-2.

After this game, the two teams were tied.

The Mavericks were like Kakashi Hatake in this year's playoffs, with a fifty-fifty chance against anyone!

"Boss, whether the Mavericks or the Lakers advance, we can play a little easier in the next round."

After watching the live broadcast, Brogdon said.

The Lakers and the Mavericks were fighting so hard, like a snipe and a clam fighting, and in the end, they, the fisherman, would benefit.

Tang Tian nodded in agreement.

With Gasol now back, and the Lakers and Mavericks fighting to the death, the Pelicans had a great chance of breaking out of the West and advancing to the Finals.

Stevens only arranged for them to watch this one game between the Lakers and the Mavericks.

Video analysis and game training, they didn't have a game, but they still had a lot of work to do to maintain their condition.

Based on the way the two teams were playing, they were likely to go to a Game 7, and the long wait was also a test for them.

But no one expected that they would finish practicing in just a few days, and the Lakers and Mavericks had already finished their series.

The Lakers played completely differently after returning to their home court, leading from the start and suppressing the Mavericks until the end of the game.

Moreover, the result of the sixth game in Dallas was even more surprising, with the Lakers blowing out the game in three quarters and ultimately winning by more than 20 points.

With this game, they also eliminated the Mavericks 4-2 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

The situation changed so quickly that everyone was caught off guard, and even the Pelicans were a little caught by surprise.

But fortunately, they only had a few days less to prepare, and they just needed to adjust their expectations.

The Western Conference Finals would start in two days, the Lakers-Pelicans showdown that fans had been waiting for.

After training that day, Tang Tian returned to the manor, lulled Tang San to sleep, and then went to the study to watch game footage.

They hadn't watched the live broadcast of the past two games, and although he followed the games, he didn't have time to watch the footage.

But the expected game time was brought forward, and the game situation was different from what he expected, so he had to take a look.

The two games lasted a total of nearly 4 hours, and Tang Tian watched until dawn.

After watching, his brow was furrowed.

Everything had to be viewed from both sides, just like the conclusion Brogdon had reached after they watched the fourth game.

The snipe and clam fight, and the fisherman benefits; Tang Tian thought so at the time too.

But it was clear that when the snipe and clam fight, if the snipe was a pig and the clam was food, once the snipe gained the upper hand, the fisherman wouldn't even have a chance to strike.

The Lakers and Mavericks series was like that.

The stalemate and tension of the first four games, especially the second half of the fourth game, completely awakened James and Durant.

If they didn't put on a super-star performance, the Lakers might not even make it to the Western Conference Finals.

So there were the results of the last two games.

James and Durant were after all top-five players in the league, and when they were on fire, the Mavericks could only interfere at best.

Basketball, especially the NBA, has a defensive three-second rule, and the deterrence of superstars is unparalleled.

This was also the reason why Tang Tian frowned.

The series went from the expected seven games to six games, the imagined exhaustion didn't happen, but instead James and Durant's condition was nurtured.

Although he wasn't afraid of any opponent, it was definitely a challenge for the Pelicans.

Who would win was still unknown.

Time flew by, and the next morning, the Pelicans flew to Los Angeles.

Tang Tian, James, Durant.

Thanos and the Avengers.

The Lakers-Pelicans showdown that fans had been waiting for all season was finally about to begin.