After the back-to-back, the Pelicans ushered in a two-day break.

In addition to participating in daily training, Tang Tian temporarily stopped practicing.

The past that Sanbu Ting is unbearable to look back on, and he must increase the number of times.

Olson was exhausted every night. If it weren't for the good sound insulation of the villa, his neighbors might have thought that their family was suffering from domestic violence!

But no matter how tired he is, Olson is as obedient as a child after every time he finishes.

Although Tang Tian increased his strength in his waist and abdomen so much that his combat effectiveness has increased sharply, the truth has been fully proved in the past few days.

There are no broken fields, only exhausted cattle.

Two days later, the Pelicans took the home court and ushered in the last game before the All-Star Game.

The opponent is the old opponent of the Spurs.

This is a focus battle.

The Pelicans are now ranked second in the West and the Spurs are third.

The two teams are only 3 wins apart, and this direct confrontation will affect the direct ranking of both sides.

This is especially true for the Spurs, because they lost both previous matches.

If they are in the same competition area, they will lose another game. If they have the same record, their ranking will be at the bottom.

With the record of both sides so close, this is completely possible.

This situation is exactly the opposite of the previous Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies beat the Pelicans in both games and were the Pelicans' victims, but now, the Pelicans have become the Spurs' victims.

The Pelicans have already made their name clear in the last game, it depends on whether the Spurs can do this with the Pelicans.

Moreover, both teams are now favourites to win the championship, and the regular season disadvantages will be a psychological disadvantage for the Spurs in the playoffs.

So in this game, the Spurs must win.

On the day of the game, the Spurs conducted open training.

Although the pressure is not small, the Spurs players all have smiles on their faces.

This is also the atmosphere of this team.

After the training, Popovich was interviewed by reporters on the sidelines.

The main focus of the question is two. One is naturally whether the Spurs can win tonight, and the other is Tang Tian, ​​who performed very well in these two games.

"Yes, we'll win this game, it's important to us."

Facing the reporters' first question, Popovich replied very seriously.

If this answer is spoken from other coaches, they would not find anything strange, but it would be strange if it was spoken from Popovich.

However, when he answered the second question, the reporters found that everything had not changed, but it was a little later than expected.

"If you tell me before I see the news, someone will score 50 points on the Grizzlies' head, I will definitely kick him hard and wake him up before coming to me."

As soon as he opened his mouth, Popovich came to blow on the side.

"Yes, he is the best player in the league now. You can't defend him in single defense, especially since he has developed a stable backward, he has to have 30 or 40, just as easy as my glass of wine. Damn, why didn't he have these things when he was in San Antonio?"

What he continued to say made the reporter laugh even more.

The last time the two teams fought, he agreed to Tang Tian not to brag about him. This time he didn't agree, so he could finally let go of his breasts.

"Do you think he can get another 50+ points tonight?"

A reporter asked, this is also a focus of the fans' discussion on social media.

Popovich put away the smile on his face and shook his head seriously.

No matter how much jokes are, no matter how much milk is, you can't just say this kind of thing.

"If my team members get him this score, I'll kick them one by one in the butt and then don't touch the red wine for a month."

Popovich did not answer directly, but the meaning in the words was already very clear. No one could score 50 points on the Spurs before, and Tang Tian could not.

Before the game, Tang Tian looked at the news, and Popovich's poisonous milk made him laugh.

However, what Popovich said in the end is correct. In fact, he didn't think about 50+ consecutive times.

He is no longer the scoring champion of last season. As long as the team can win, it doesn't matter if he only has a dozen points.

That night, the game between the Spurs and the Pelicans officially kicked off at the New Orleans Arena.

In this game, players were absent from both sides. Ginobili, the Spurs, had discomfort in his buttocks, and Holiday, the Pelicans, had diarrhea.

In terms of the influence of the players absent, both teams are similar, and they are even on paper.

When Tang Tian appeared at the end of the opening ceremony, the cheers at the scene were surprisingly high.

There are many factors here.

There is the reason why Tang Tian is an old Spurs player, the reason why Tang Tian was booed in San Antonio, and the reason why Tang Tian has recently cut 50+ consecutively...

Various factors are mixed together, making this cheer unprecedented.

Popovich couldn't help but look up and looked around. Such a fanatical home court, not to mention that it was compared with the past, he didn't have many impressions.

Tang Tian has been in New Orleans for more than a year, and the impact and changes it has brought here have been too great.

After the opening ceremony, players from both teams appeared one after another.

The Spurs are still the regular starting five Tigers, Parker and Green from the outside, Leonard and Duncan from the front line, and Gasol from the center.

On the Pelicans, Cole replaced Holiday and Tang Tian in the backcourt, Ariza and Davis on the front line, and center Whiteside.

Whiteside jumped to Gasol amid the cheers of fans, giving the home team the chance to take the lead in attacking.

Tang Tian just received a pass from Cole in the frontcourt, and Green and Leonard double-teamed up.

Popovich was crazy about Tang Tian before the game, but many of those words were the truth.

He knew that it was difficult for Green or Leonard to defend Tang Tian alone now, so he directly gave Tang Tianshang a double-team package at the beginning.

Tang Tian gave the ball to Ariza.

Ariza made a quick three-pointer.

Duncan's assisted defense rotation was a little slower, and the interference this ball gave was not large.

"Bang!"

However, Ariza's move hit the frame, and his first move ended with a blacksmith.

Gasol protects the defensive rebounds.

The Spurs' hammer tactics in the frontcourt, Gasol received the ball at the basket and hit Davis, turning around and hitting the Spurs first.

The Spurs look in very good shape.

Tang Tian ran away from the ball in the frontcourt. After receiving the ball, Parker and Leonard directly doubled him.

Popovich made another adjustment on the defensive end, using a defensive method similar to a nearby double-team.

This is a very extreme defense method.

Even when he went to see what he said before the game, he didn't let Tang Tian get 50 points, but he didn't want him to get 20 points!

Tang Tian made a double-team pass and gave Kerr a three-pointer.

The ball's trajectory is very correct.

"Bang!"

But the basketball hit the frame.

Cole's three-pointer is also iron!

The fans on the sidelines were restless.

The Spurs are in a hot state, but the other Pelicans players look in average shape!

This game is difficult tonight!

The Pelicans collectively feel bad, while the Spurs are in a hot state.

After more than four minutes in the first quarter, the Spurs had already led the Pelicans by a double-digit score difference of 12-2.

The fans at the scene were very restless, and it was not the case when the two teams fought last time!

Tang Tian ran in the frontcourt without the ball in the middle distance. After receiving the ball, he directly pulled up and shot without waiting for his teammate to run.

After a few minutes, he already knew that his teammates felt bad at the beginning, and even if he was targeted, he had to take action.

"Swish!"

Tang Tian hit the first move.

The teammates felt cold, but his feel looked good.

"Don't let Tang catch the ball there!"

Popovich yelled directly at Green.
To be continued...