The course and the outcome of this game was a big surprise.

The Big Three's Rockets were powerless in front of the Pelicans, and they didn't even play as well as the Mavericks in the first round.

D'Antoni became the target of public criticism.

Those who boasted about how strong D'Antoni was before are now about to greet D'Antoni's family.

However, in the midst of the scolding, Tang Tian, who played well, could not escape.

"What is the best defensive player, just win by the system, system player!"

The Pelicans won easily, Tang Tian played easily, and some of them were angry, and they said that the system players were moved out.

Tang Tian couldn't cry or laugh when he saw it, there were thousands of trolls, only you couldn't think of it, there was no point that they couldn't spray.

However, the players of this system said that it reminded him.

The surprise loss of the Rockets in the first game was related to D'Antoni's suffocation operation.

In the second game, D'Antoni would definitely not do that again as long as he was not stupid.

At that time, in addition to using the bright spot that he and Stevens thought of, the Pelicans also had to consider how to defend Harden.

The Rockets lost their first game, and Harden only played 26 minutes, but he scored a team-high 25 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

Basically, the scoring efficiency of one point a minute is enough to show his state.

In fact, in the first round against the Trail Blazers, Harden averaged 28.8 points, 7.8 assists and 4.5 boards per game, shooting 44% from the field.

Although D'Antoni has just coached and Harden has not yet become the MVP-level player in history, his strength and condition are indeed the best among the Rockets' Big Three.

Just because the Pelicans won the first game easily doesn't mean they will play easy later.

In the same way, the uselessness of the preparation for the first game does not mean that there is no need for preparation later.

Prepare for the event, they are aiming for the championship and they have to do that.

Tang Tian took the initiative to talk to Stevens about this this time, and the two hit it off, it turned out that he had been thinking about this issue all the time.

They studied it all night and came up with a system that would definitely surprise Harden.

Didn't those sunspots say that the Pelicans relied on the system to win, so they continued to rely on the system to win!

While the two were working on tactics, the series of the last group of the first round in the West had just ended.

The Thunder defeated the Spurs 118-108 at home, eliminated the opponent 4-2 on aggregate, completed the following victory, and successfully advanced to the division semifinals.

Tang Tian's original hunch came true, and the last game of the regular season really became the last time he and Duncan competed on the same stage in the NBA.

The Thunder's opponent in the Western Conference semifinals will be the defending champion Warriors.

Creation makes people, Durant is struggling with whether to go to the Warriors or keep the Thunder, and now the Warriors have become his opponents.

The feud between Westbrook and Curry, the matchup between the Thunder and the Warriors, this group of division finals is also full of highlights.

But the game won't be played two days later, and before that, Game 2 of the Pelicans-Rockets Division semifinals will continue at New Orleans Arena.

The fans were even more excited than they were two days ago.

The big win in the first game gave them a lot to expect from the home team.

Rocket fans scolded D'Antoni after the first game, and they were obviously unconvinced, so keep playing until they are convinced!

Fifteen minutes before the start of the game, players from both sides entered the arena one after another.

Despite the first fiasco, the Rockets didn't look bad at form.

It seems that they have done a very good job of ideological work and psychological adjustment in the past two days.

There were no changes to the starting line-up for either side.

The Pelicans have a regular lineup, and so do the Rockets.

Paul plus Harden on the outside, Tucker plus Morris on the outside, Cousins on the center.

Davis used the bounce jump to beat Cousins and officially kicked off the game.

The Pelicans attacked the frontcourt, Tang Tian broke through with the ball, and the Rockets did not wrap it up again.

D'Antoni's first game was not entirely gratuitous.

In the first round against the Trail Blazers, he worked very well with two shots, with both Lillard and McCollum performing well below normal.

That's why D'Antoni was so confident that he said those words before the first game.

It's just that he underestimated the difference in strength between Tang Tian and the Pioneers, which led to the first tragedy.

But after trying it, he had a lot of pressure in his heart, and he didn't do it again this time.

Tang Tian borrowed Davis's blocking and demolition to break Morris, and pulled out his hand to hit the shot.

The Rocket team is not included, Tang Tian can rest assured that he can play one by one.

The Pelicans took the lead in scoring points, and Paul dribbled past half court and handed the ball to Harden.

The core of the Big Three is still Harden.

Harden is on the ball, and Ariza is defending him.

Ariza defended in a very strange way, though.

Ariza stands on Harden's left side, or left rear to be exact.

This strange way of defending left the right side completely empty.

Harden can get in with just one break.

Harden did the same, bursting into the mid-range and the Pelicans were defenseless.

But when he burst into the three-second zone, Jokic on the inside came out.

Harden stepped past Jokic to shoot.

"Bang!"

Davis, who was on the weak side, helped defend in place and directly gave Harden a pegboard hat!

Jokic collected a defensive rebound, the Pelicans counterattacked, and Holiday received a long pass from Jokic and hit a layup.

4-0, the Pelicans got off to a good start.

The Rockets' offense, Paul continued to give the ball to Harden.

Ariza defended in the same way.

Bouzderrick stood up from his seat, his eyes fixed on the Pelicans' halfcourt, which he had never seen before.

Harden continued to play on the right and made a shot from mid-range.

Ariza jumped up from behind and shot directly to block!

Harden dodges in the air and shoots.

The ball dodged the block, but the rhythm of the shot was noticeably lost.

"Bang dang!"

Basketball smashes out of the frame!

Jokic protected the defensive rebound, and the Pelicans played a fast break again, this time it was Tang Tian, who received a pass from Holiday and scored with a one-handed dunk.

The fans at the scene cheered, although they didn't understand the tactics on the court, but the Pelicans started the game 6-0, which was the same as the first game, to hang the Rockets!

Harden was a little unconvinced, and after dribbling the ball past half court, he went to the left side of the court, but Ariza couldn't give it to him, so he could only play the right side that Ariza gave.

He burst into the basket, Jokic continued to steal it, and he stuffed the ball directly to Morris on the baseline.

But the two made a coordination error, Harden's pass was early, Morris didn't get the ball, and Harden passed the ball directly out of bounds.

The cheers continued, and Harden's performance tonight was particularly bad!

Bozdrik and D'Antoni whispered.

After Tang Tian made a sharp stop and leaned back to hit his second goal to help the Pelicans get off to an 8-0 start, D'Antoni reached out and called a timeout.

The cheers and whistles of the audience lasted for a long time.

Everyone, including them, thought it would be difficult for the Pelicans to hit the rockets.

But so far, these two games are no different from the regular season!

Stevens looked at Tang Tian who was on the field, and smiled at him.

They stayed up late to develop a defensive strategy against Harden, and it worked, and it worked even better than they could have imagined!

On the Rockets' bench, D'Antoni is laying out his tactics, and Bouzderrick is pulling Harden to analyze the Pelicans' defense.

The Pelicans' way of doing this is really a bit ruthless.

Harden is a left-hand player, and the Pelicans blocked him to break through on the left and force him to go right.

Harden is the centerpiece of the magic ball, he loves three-pointers and breakouts, and the Pelicans guard his step-back three-pointers and baskets.

Harden also has a mid-range hand, but he is slow to shoot, and Ariza is chasing after him, and his mid-range shot will most likely be interfered with or even taken as before.

Moreover, the current Harden is not at his peak, his throwing is not so stable, and his passing is not so stable.

The Pelicans really targeted him to death.