The game was about to start, with both teams starting the game.

After Sun Ce put on the gear, he played with the starting lineup of Klay Thompson, Paul George, Larry Saunders, and Valanciunas.

Before jumping the ball, Sun Ce pulled the two big inside lines and said two sentences.

Larry Sanders has no opinion, it's always been that way.

And Valanciunas...... Since joining the Grizzlies, he and Amir Johnson have been hearing trainers and coaches emphasize the need to "learn to play for the lords" on the defensive end, not just rebounding, but also a lot of directions of action after positioning.

The Pelicans, for their part, have had few injuries this season and have rarely changed their starting lineup, with Irving, Eric Gordon, Aminu, Anthony Davis, and Lopets Jr. coming into the starting lineup.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, the game broadcast live on the imperial court sports station began.

Lopez Jr. beat Valanciunas to win the jump ball.

The fans at the scene were speechless, Gasol Jr. was gone, and the center who came was still so sharp in his jump ball, how good it was for Larry Sanders to jump the ball! No matter how bad it is, let the little overlord go!

Irving received the ball, and the Pelicans pushed forward at a brisk pace.

After Owen advanced to the frontcourt, he met Sun Ce's single defense.

This is the advantage of the Pelicans against the Grizzlies similar to the Spurs with Parker, Klay Thompson and Paul George are both difficult to defend against Irving, and can only defend the opposing point guard, which in turn weakens Sun Ce's role in helping defense.

Owen already has a way to deal with Sun Ce's defense, and he didn't want to look for shooting opportunities, but firmly used cross-step changes to break through to the basket!

Sun Ce's defense against Owen is very good, but in fact, he does not prevent Owen's change of direction, but can use the bonus of "in-progress acceleration and change of direction" to keep up with Owen and always cover Owen's shooting space.

Sun Ce is not the kind of individual defense master in the true sense, he can't stop Owen from changing direction, he is not good at pressing defense, he can just keep up, but that's enough.

After changing direction in the first section, Irving used the dribble from behind to pull sideways to the right, all the way to the baseline on the right side of the three-second zone, and still did not have a good shooting opportunity, but this is what Irving expected, and on the other side, Anthony Davis turned with the most difficult flexible turn in the left high post of the three-second zone, brushed Larry Sanders without the ball, and accelerated with an explosion faster than Larry Sanders, a physical male insider, and entered the interior in two steps.

Irving kept an eye on Anthony Davis, and when he dribbled behind his back and accelerated to the right side of the three-second zone, he immediately threw the ball to the left side of the three-second zone and hit the outside of the zone.

Anthony Davis received the ball, Lopez Jr. directly let go, although Valanciunas reacted quickly and went up, but Anthony Davis jumped up when he received the ball, and with his exaggerated arm span, he smashed the ball to the basket through Valanciunas ...... "snap"

There's a man behind Valanciunas!

The Grizzlies player wearing the No. 3 jersey slapped Anthony Davis' dunked ball flying!

Larry Sanders, who followed Anthony Davis to chase in but lost a block, just received the ball!

Owen saw that as soon as he passed the ball, Sun Ce turned around and entered the basket and seized the opportunity to block!

Larry Sanders grabbed the ball and immediately lifted the ball, paying attention to the retreating Lopets Jr., using his back and hips to prevent Anthony Davis, a big man with the agility of a small forward, from rebounding.

Sun Ce went around to receive the ball after landing, the Pelicans had already retreated, Sun Ce passed the ball to Paul George to advance, took a deep breath, and ran to the frontcourt.

The way Irving cooperated with Anthony Davis this time, Sun Ce had already seen it.

It can be said that there is no technical content, it is simply to use Irving's one-on-one breakthrough ability to attract the attention of the interior defense, and then distribute the ball to Anthony Davis.

Even if he doesn't manage to attract attention, Anthony Davis' athleticism is no match for him on the inside, and as long as the space is good, Anthony Davis can score the ball purely on his own.

Ordinary interior lines can't complete the defense, even top defensive forwards such as Leonard and Iguodala can't play much role in defending against the likes of Irving and Anthony Davis.

When Sun Ce turned around and went to the back of Valanciunas, he couldn't normally get a hat, but the effect of the Olajuwon strap worn by Sun Ce allowed him to reach the ball just enough to successfully complete the block!

After Paul George advanced to the frontcourt, he saw Klay Thompson being chased by Irving, Sun Ce's side and Amino, and chose to single Eric Gordon himself, burst into the middle distance, and hit a two-point shot with a quick stop.

Eric Gordon's height, defending a big and small forward like Paul George, can only depend on whether Paul George feels good or not.

When it came to the Pelicans offense again, Anthony Davis was blocked by Sun Ce, but Irving's style of play remained the same, all the way to the right side of the three-second zone close to the baseline, dribbling behind his back and turning to grab the ball...... Just as Irving expected, Sun Ce wanted to block, turned and pounced on Anthony Davis, who turned and cut in on the other side, Irving didn't pass, dribbled behind his back and turned around and made a jumper...... Hit!

Sun Ce was a little anxious to complete the capping, and was teased!

Owen grasped this keenly.

Moreover, Sun Ce not only wants to complete the block, but also has to help Valanciunas make up the defense, Valanciunas defense is okay, but it is also at an okay level, squatting under the basket to prevent ordinary outside break-through, or shrinking to make up for the defense, in the face of Anthony Davis rushing in to receive the ball, there is a high probability that it will be the background.

Because Anthony Davis is really strong!

But Owen is also very strong, has a high ball IQ, and has excellent scoring judgments, and he seized the opportunity.

The point is that Valanciunas's movement is a beat slower, compared to Gasol Jr., who is in the best condition, Valanciunas can't compare to defensive awareness, movement, and defensive execution, and Valanciunas is not a top defensive inside...... It's not that the defensive combination between him and Larry Sanders isn't good enough, but now that most of the interior functions in the league are becoming more and more homogeneous, the interior defense composed of these two is enough to defend most of the interior lines.

But Anthony Davis is a new generation of super interior players with great skills, athleticism, and ball quotient! This makes the interior duo's defense look mediocre and less effective than Larry Sanders and Randolph combined.

Anthony Davis' massive improvement between freshman and sophomore years has allowed Irving to find a way to deal with Sunce and the interior defense.

The game was playing, and the two teams entered a state of positional battle.

The Pelicans' overall defense is okay, but there is a downside, the guard line is too short, and no one can defend Paul George when Aminu needs to defend Sun Ce.

Paul George scored back-to-back points with the leading scorer, and Klay Thompson and Sun Ce also seized the opportunity to shoot or cut into the score.

On the other side, Irving played a double with Anthony Davis.

Lopez Jr. had a catch-and-shoot on the edge of the three-second zone, making Valanciunas unable to defend Irving, Anthony Davis always finding catch-and-shoot and cutting to score, Aminu's ability to cut, Eric Gordon's mid-range shooting...... With the core duo of Irving and Anthony Davis, the Pelicans have played very well in positional warfare!

The Pelicans were able to rank third in the West for a while, not for nothing, they have really improved greatly this season, and the key to a significant improvement in the record is Anthony Davis.

Also, the Pelicans did a good job of defending, rarely allowing the Grizzlies to play a fast break.

However, Valanciunas, although he did not do well defensively, took the initiative to block Paul George and catch and shoot on the move, which was better than Gasol Jr., and better than Gasol Jr. in his best condition.

Another thing that was very unexpected was Valanciunas's fast-break awareness.

The Grizzlies didn't play much in the first half of the first quarter, only twice, and on those two occasions, one was to rely on Valanciunas to follow up on the free throw line, catch the ball in one step, dribble into the basket and hit the basket with a strong body.

In the previous games, the Grizzlies rarely played fast break when Valanciunas was on the floor, and they didn't find this, the Raptors mainly played positional battles, and they didn't try to arrange more playing styles for the sophomore Valanciunas, and the Grizzlies really didn't know that Valanciunas could play fast break!

With Irving and Anthony Davis in such a hot state and very good cooperation, the Grizzlies did not fall behind, playing 7 minutes in the first quarter, and when Paul George was shot out of bounds by Lopez Jr. and the referee blew the whistle and entered the official timeout, the Grizzlies and Pelicans were tied 17-17!

5 points, 2 boards, 1 assist and 1 block, Sun Ce's performance in 7 minutes was okay, but his defense was not good.

Defending Irving made him lose the opportunity to defend in tandem, and the duo of Valanciunas and Larry Sanders did not do a good job of guarding the basket, and could only let Paul George shrink and make up for the defense, which did play a big role in defending Anthony Davis and Irving, but the opponent had more opportunities to shoot from the outside.

Irving had 6 points and 3 assists in a little more than half a quarter, which can also be regarded as blowing up his grandson.

Compared with the encounter at the beginning of the season, Sun Ce obviously feels that the opponent has better cooperation and better use of his own ability!

Irving has 6 points and 3 assists, and Anthony Davis has 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks.

……

The official timeout came back, Paul George went down to rest, and the combination of Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Livingston, Richard Jefferson, and Yi Jianlian appeared.

Sun Ce calmed down during the timeout and put the block aside for the time being.

The opponent has been on guard since the first goal, and he also uses this point, there are three attacks at the beginning, and the opponent just relies on him to block and score, and then, when Sun Ce defends well, he has been beaten by the opponent and feels that he can't suppress it.

There is also the defense composed of Anthony Davis and Lopez Jr., which can be regarded as a strengthened version of their Grizzlies' interior defense, the kind that has strengthened a lot, Sun Ce and Larry Sanders each received a big hat from Anthony Davis.

Watch the opposite lineup of Irving, Anthony Morrow, Aminu, Ryan Anderson, and Anthony Davis play...... There is no doubt that the opponent's lineup has stronger offensive firepower!

Ryan Anderson is averaging three three-pointers per game so far this season, more than Klay Thompson, who averages 2.8 three-pointers per game, while Morrow is extremely strong, shooting 45.5 percent from three-point range and averaging 1.4 three-pointers per game.

The game continues, it is still the Grizzlies attacking, and now Sun Ce doesn't care about the block or not, it is more important to carry the Pelicans' offense first!

Sure enough, with the Grizzlies on the road, Anthony Davis' two big hats, and Irving and Anthony Davis' sharp offensive cooperation, the Pelicans are already on the rise!

The Grizzlies have a poor defense, so they focus on offensive play.

Sun Ce began to assist and fell into positional battles, Sun Ce and Yi Jianlian played blocking and dismantling, or let Livingston play with his back, and quickly attacked Sun Ce to connect the offense.

At the end of the first quarter, the Grizzlies trailed the Pelicans by one point 31-32 and went into the intermission.

In 5 minutes, the Pelicans beat a wave of 15-14, and the offensive firepower of the Grizzlies did not cover the Pelicans!

……

10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks, Sun Ce no longer pursued the block, but instead capped Irving once, but unfortunately it was not Anthony Davis who hated.

But the score is behind, and the Pelicans are clearly playing high and playing form.

In the second quarter, Sun Ce was substituted for a break, and the combination of Beverley, Tony Allen, Paul George, Amir Johnson, and Larry Sanders was substituted.

On the other side, Irving and Anthony Davis are not going to rest, they have to seize the opportunity and lay the advantage!

Moreau, Aminu, and Lopets Jr. went on together.

Coach Hollins tried to contain the opponent's momentum with iron-blooded defense, but he didn't do it!

In the first 4 minutes of the second quarter, the Pelicans went on a 13-7 run, bringing the score to 45-38! Seeing that the opponent had a chance to stretch the difference to 10 points, Coach Hollins was forced to call a timeout early!

The Pelicans came up in the second quarter, and the offense was mainly focused outside the three-point line, and the guard combination of Irving and Morrow made three-point shots, and among the 13 points, 9 points were three-point shooting, and the two shot 3 of 4 three-pointers!

The explosive power of a young team should never be underestimated!

Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Stoudemire, and Yi Jianlian's five-man group was replaced in advance, and relied on Yi Jianlian's 2+1 score of a cut dunk that caused a foul on Aminu to help Sun Ce get the fourth offense, which alleviated the crisis and narrowed the difference to 4 points.

However, the Pelicans were not crushed by the Grizzlies' strongest offensive combination, maintaining a lead of about 5 points, and the official timeout in the second quarter was just as strong, whether it was Ryan Anderson or Brian Roberts, Rivers Jr. or Luke Babbitt who came off the bench, they all played very well.

When it came to the 8th minute and 11 seconds of the second quarter, Stoudemire was still 8 points because of the point difference, and he was anxious to make up for the dunk when Paul George missed the sideline, and he was injured!

Stoudemire really has more than enough heart but not enough strength, the sharp face frame singles of the year are gone, and now he relies on the awareness of blocking and pick-and-roll, mid-range shooting, speed and cutting awareness to score, and collided with his old teammate Lopez Jr. in the rush, Stoudemire fell to the ground, strained the calf muscle and was replaced.

However, the referee still gave the older generation of stars face, this ball that can be blown or not blown, blew the foul of Lopez Jr., and the Grizzlies got two free throws.

With Stoudemire being substituted back in the locker room for treatment, the Pelicans designated Grizzlies substitute Richard Jefferson for free throws...... This is the worst free throw shooting this season among the Grizzlies' current players on the court, and the Grizzlies' current players on the outside are the three young outsiders, and the center is Yi Jianlian.

With Richard Jefferson hitting both free throws to narrow the gap to six points, the Grizzlies trailed by six points at 51-57 with more than three minutes left in the first half!

Fortunately, in the last 3 minutes, the Grizzlies shot well enough, and when the opponent held the basket, they played a wave of 9-9, and at halftime, the Grizzlies trailed the Pelicans by 7 points 60-67 and entered the halftime.

……

In the second quarter, the Grizzlies' substitutions and game status were not too problematic, and they played at the normal level of this season, but the opponent played too well after the momentum!

After halftime, Sun Ce used up the physical potion that had been charged in the past few games, changed his jersey, and didn't care about bullying or not for the time being, Irving and Anthony Davis are no longer opponents who can be bullied if they want to.

Winning is more important! Their Grizzlies are not so secure in the top four in the West.

The combination of Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Amir Johnson, and Yi Jianlian played.

On Stoudemire's side, after a detailed examination at halftime, in addition to a calf muscle strain, he also suffered a slight sprain in his right knee.

Stoudemire's two legs have suffered too many injuries, and they are prone to injuries if they are not careful, and they will have to rest for at least two weeks in the future, which means that they will not be able to play before the All-Star Weekend! If it weren't for the trade for Amir Johnson, the Grizzlies would have been in a manpower crisis on the inside.

On the Pelicans' side, Irving, Morrow, Aminu, Anthony Davis, and Lopets Jr. played.

Owen felt the pressure and hope!

Just like the last meeting, no matter how well they played, the opponent was able to tighten the score, at least not let the score difference stretch to more than 10 points, and maintain the momentum of chasing points.

But their Pelicans didn't mess up this time, not as panicked as when they played so well last time and the score difference was still bitten, and they were seized by the opposing Splash Brothers to overtake them with three consecutive points, and then plummeted...... This time, they carried it!

Even if Sun Ce and Klay Thompson combined for three three-pointers in the last three minutes of the second quarter, their Pelicans were not messed up! Firmly held the 7-point lead!