The Pelicans' morale boost over the Thunder was a big boost and it proved that their previous loss to the Clippers was an accident.

Over the course of more than a week, they resumed their winning streak.

After a five-game winning streak, their record is 63-5, and the likelihood of breaking the regular-season winning record is getting bigger and bigger.

It was at this time that they ushered in Ariza's comeback.

Stevens is a coach who takes defense seriously, and this is reflected in his trust in Ariza.

In Ariza's first comeback, Stevens put him in the starting lineup.

The opponent in this game is the Grizzlies, and this is also the last meeting between the two sides this season.

Ariza didn't have a good first game of his comeback, shooting 1-of-9 from the field and 0-of-4 from three-point range, scoring just four points.

And the Grizzlies' Conley broke out this time, scoring a season-high 38 points.

The Pelicans lost 103-107 to the Grizzlies.

After the game against the Grizzlies, the Pelicans have their final meeting of the season against the Jazz.

This time, Tang Tian missed the game because of the flu.

Ariza continues to be named a starter by Stevens.

As a result, he still felt cold, 2-of-10, 0-of-3 three-pointers, only 5 points, and 3 turnovers.

The Pelicans suffered their first losing streak of the season with a 95-103 loss to the Jazz.

And after this wave of losses, the Warriors once again brought the win closer to 1.5 games.

If the Pelicans continue this form, it is not impossible for them to be surpassed by the Warriors.

After the game, fans on social media were very skeptical of Stevens.

"Although Stevens is right to pay attention to defense, Bojan is in such good shape and put directly on the bench, this decision is really bad!"

"yes, Ariza has just recovered from injury, so it's wiser to let him find his form on the bench!"

"Especially in the second game, Don can't play, the starter needs to score points, and Bojan should be allowed to start!"

"This is really worrying, now that the regular season record is hit, there is no need to die like this!"

……

Despite the skepticism, Stevens still revealed in front of the media that Ariza will continue to start in the next game against the Clippers.

"We're not hitting the regular season record."

In front of reporters, Stevens first made one thing clear.

"We didn't let AD come back early, we didn't let Trevor come back early, Don had a good rest if he had the flu, and what we did in the regular season was to keep everybody in shape, just like I did now."

Stevens' words will be a bit harsh to the fans of other teams, because the words like "we're just playing" sound like "we're just playing."

But in fact, this is the big truth.

Stevens never mentioned breaking the regular season record in the team, and the Pelicans never shouted the slogan of breaking the record.

'Trevo has just come back and needs time to find his form, we're running out of time, that's why I made the decision to start, it's as simple as that.

Stevens was really straightforward.

Fight offense in the regular season and defend in the playoffs.

Although he only played in the playoffs once, he was well aware of that, and he also knew that Ariza's role in the playoffs was incomparable to that of Bojan.

Stevens has already given his explanation, and the outside world is still talking.

However, the Pelicans are as supportive as ever.

Breaking a record is a good thing, but a championship is even more tempting, and getting in shape before the playoffs is more important than anything else.

The good news is that the team had a rare three-day break after the last game, which allows them to adjust.

Just as the Pelicans were adjusting their condition, the Warriors began a fierce pursuit of the Pelicans.

Curry played with an injury to lead the team to win the Spurs, and Green fought until his leg cramped.

The Warriors have a 61-8 record after winning this game, and not only retain their hopes of overtaking the Pelicans, but also have a chance to hit the regular season with 72 wins.

"We need a win like that, and it's a big opportunity for us to hit the best team record in regular season history."

Green said directly in the post-game press conference.

The Pelicans don't want to rush to the record, the Warriors do.

And there's another point that Green didn't say publicly.

Curry has been in excellent form this season, and he and Tang Tian were close in statistic content before.

But with Tang Tian's assists suddenly skyrocketing some time ago, Curry has been pulled away.

For Curry to defend his MVP title, the Warriors have the only chance to surpass the Pelicans in terms of record.

Green's remarks also made fans very concerned about the rest of the season.

Regardless of who the Pelicans and Warriors can end up as the league's No. 1 players, with only twelve or thirteen games left in the regular season, they are likely to witness the first time in history that a team with 70+ wins at the same time will appear.

Just thinking about this scene was enough to excite them.

The Warriors were chasing after them, and the fans were extremely excited, but the Pelicans still practiced step by step and prepared for the rest of the game.

Ariza has practiced extremely hard, and he has practiced after the past two games, including the training sessions in the past few days, from the earliest one to the latest.

The idea that it takes time to come back from injury is how Stevens understands him, but not what he asks of himself.

He knew he couldn't live up to Stevens' trust and he couldn't let his teammates down.

Of course, he is also aware of the cruelty of the NBA, and if he can't get his form right before the playoffs, Stevens won't use him in the back.

The Pelicans' next game against the Clippers is the Clippers.

The Clippers have beaten the Pelicans once before, and there was a war of words after the game.

Ariza was also one of the protagonists of that war of words, and if he continued to be in this state, he would be slapping himself in the face.

And if the Clippers win again, they will become the only team to double the Pelicans this season.

Not to mention, the Pelicans are on a three-game losing streak.

But the good news is that after a long enough offseason, Don recovers from the flu and can play in the next game against the Clippers.

The core returns, and there is nothing more morale-boosting than this.

If nothing else, the enthusiasm of the players at the training ground is high.

The day before the game, the Pelicans flew to Los Angeles.

The Clippers are now seventh in the West, but they are close to the Trail Blazers in sixth place and the Thunder in fifth.

There aren't many games left in the season, so they'll have to give it their all for each next game to try to get higher in the rankings.

On game day, the Clippers had a training session that was open to the public.

The mood of the players looked high.

"If we win once, we win a second time."

Because of the previous war of words, Reeves Jr. has become the focus of media attention.

And he did not disappoint the reporters, and directly released his bold statement before the game.

But that's where the Clippers are right now, and the last win gave them plenty of confidence.

Tonight at home, they have only one goal, to kill the Pelicans twice!

。 m.