That night, the Chesapeake Energy Arena was packed.

The team ushered in the return of Durant this season, plus it was a matchup between Tang and Du, and fans will not miss such a game.

Somewhat similar to Durant's thoughts, the league's focus is now on the Warriors, Pelicans, Cavaliers, and even the Spurs, Rockets, Mavericks.

They need to use a win like this to get back to the focus of the league, as they did during the Four Youths.

After the opening ceremony, the starters of both teams were released one after another.

The Pelicans, on their side, are still the regular starting five.

On the Thunder's side, Westbrook is partnered in the backcourt by sophomore Andre Robertson, with Durant and Ibaka at the front and Adams at center.

As Robertson and Adams grow, this starter is no weaker on paper than the Pelicans on the opposite side.

Adams jumped to beat Davis, and the Thunder had a chance to take the lead in attacking.

Westbrook organized in the frontcourt, and Durant ran out without the ball to catch the ball and hit a mid-range shot.

If the only takeaway from last season for the Thunder was Westbrook's playmaking and passing skills.

He and Durant hadn't played together for nearly a season, but the ball worked together better than ever.

That's how he improves his passing ability.

The Pelicans' offense, Jokic held the ball at the top of the arc, Tang Tian cut in to catch the ball and met the bag, and distributed the ball to Jokic at the top of the arc.

Jokic was helped defend Ariza again.

The Thunder's defensive rotation was well done, and Westbrook pounced on Ariza.

Ariza shot straight up against the defense.

"Bang dang!"

The basketball is interfered with and smashes out of the frame.

Serge Ibaka protects the defensive rebound.

The Thunder played defensive counterattacks, and Durant received the ball and scored again in the face of Davis' pull-up jumper.

The cheers continued.

The Thunder started the game 4-0.

Stevens walked from the bench to the sideline and yelled at the Pelicans players to pay attention to the defense.

The Pelicans have won the last five games, and although he has been stressing, the Pelicans have inevitably slackened.

Ariza was a little overconfident in his shooting options, and the Pelicans' retreat from the ball didn't meet his requirements.

Jokic and Holiday made a mistake in the frontcourt and the ball went out of bounds.

There was a lot of commotion at the scene.

With the Pelicans in this state, the Thunder have a good chance of winning tonight!

"Defend! Defend well! ”

Stevens did not call a timeout, but continued to remind his players to defend from the sidelines.

His continuous reminders finally worked, and the Pelicans' defensive intensity increased significantly.

Westbrook's layup was interfered with by Davis, and Jokic protected the defensive rebound.

The Pelicans played a defensive counterattack, and Tang Tian received a long pass from Jokic in the backcourt and scored a layup, breaking the scoring drought for the Pelicans.

Stevens reached out and applauded from the sidelines.

That's what he wants to see, and that's why he's the first to train this team defensively.

There are good or bad offensive conditions, good or bad hands, and even if it is a game with a good state and a good hand, there will be a time period when you can't score points.

Defense is the easiest way to solve the problem.

You can't score points, so the way to keep the situation from getting worse is to keep your opponent from scoring points.

Not to mention that there will be a chance to defend and counterattack like the one just now.

The Pelicans continued to show their defensive prowess, and the Thunder rebounded with another wave of offense, and Davis got a defensive rebound.

However, the Thunder retreated in time this time, and they didn't give the Pelicans a chance to play a fast break directly.

The Pelicans pressed to the front court to play position, and Tang Tian sent a second pass to Holiday who cut to the bottom line.

Holiday had a good layup.

However, after his shot, the ball rolled around the basket and came out again.

Serge Ibaka recovers to protect defensive rebounds.

The Pelicans' offense tonight is indeed a little offensively off the beaten path compared to past games.

But as Stevens demanded, if the offense doesn't work, go on the defensive.

The Thunder were almost defended for another 24 seconds, but it was Durant at the critical moment, who turned around and hit a backward shot in the bag to break the scoring drought.

"I'm back!"

After scoring the goal, he turned around and yelled at Tang Tian.

This roar on the flat ground roared that he had been holding back his emotions for a season.

He came back, and last season he wanted to beat Tang Tian to let the fans know him again, but unfortunately he ended up injured for a season.

Now that he's back, he's going to prove that he's still Durant, the best swingman at the guard.

However, in the next round, Tang Tian hit Robertson with his back in the high position, and also turned around and shot backwards in the bag.

Tang Tian didn't roar or shout, but immediately turned around and retreated.

It's as if his score just now couldn't be more ordinary.

Durant's angry eyebrows were inverted, and he continued to single Ariza in the next round, and the emergency pull was pulled again.

He has been in great form since returning from injury this season.

But on the Pelicans' offense, Tang Tian made a strong layup with an explosives bag and made a defensive foul on Adams, and got two free throw opportunities.

After hitting two free throws in the midst of on-court interference, he helped the Pelicans continue to bite the score.

These rounds have become a microcosm of the first half of the game between the two sides.

The Pelicans were not in good shape offensively, and Tang Tian stepped up to take over the game.

On the Thunder's side, because the Pelicans have a high defensive intensity, the ball is more concentrated in Durant's hands.

Tang Du duel, as expected by fans, the two staged a battle of points in the first half.

Tang Tian scored 20 points, Durant scored 21 points, and the two scored equally, and the Pelicans and Thunder were tied at 45 at halftime, which was also equal.

At half-time, the players of both teams returned to the locker room one after another to rest.

In the Pelicans locker room, the first thing the players do when they return to the locker room is to wipe their sweat with a towel.

A high-intensity defense requires a lot of physical effort.

It was also the toughest situation they have had since the start of the season.

Stevens glanced at his teammates.

Although he knew that the performance in the first half was related to the lax mentality, he did not blame the players for their performance in the attacking end.

"Don, you're going to defend Durant in the second half."

Stevens opened his mouth and said to Tang Tian.

His words drew the surprise of Williams on the side.

Tang Tian is the offensive core of the Pelicans, and scored 20 points in the first half, Stevens actually asked him to defend Durant, which is ......

"No problem."

Without waiting for Williams to speak, Tang Tian nodded.

The Pelicans are much better defensively now than they were last season, and as long as he can choke Durant in the second half, the Thunder's offense will be finished.

"AD, Nikolai, Zhu, you have to stand up and score more, I believe you will adjust your form in the second half."

Stevens then said to the rest of the starters.

If he asked Tang Tian to defend Durant, he would definitely not let Tang Tian go to the main attack.

If Tang Tian is not allowed to go, someone else must go.

The first half was due to laxity and others were not in good shape, but a half-time break was enough for them to adjust back.