If the widening score gap had already made Pelicans head coach Willie Green uneasy, despite Wang Yi still chatting and laughing, now that they were up 40 points over the Kings after three quarters, he could finally relax.
No matter what tricks Wang Yi had tried, he had overplayed his hand today.
Michael Joe had been having a miserable game, and he'd missed all four of his shots in the third quarter, leaving him scoreless. But as long as they won this game, he'd have plenty to brag about for a while.
So he wore a relaxed expression.
The ESPN commentators sighed helplessly.
"Do you know what the biggest comeback in history was? Thirty-six points! The old-school, hard-nosed Jazz, led by the Malone and Stockton duo, were playing the lowly Nuggets at home. They were down 36 at the start of the third quarter, but somehow pulled off an incredible comeback and beat Denver."
"Do you know what that means?"
"It means the Kings are done for today."
"Malone and Stockton managed that comeback for a few reasons. First, their opponents were the worst team in the league at the time. Second, their opponents suddenly went cold in the third quarter. And third, the Jazz were playing at home."
"But look at the Pelicans today. They're a top-eight team in the West. And look at how they're playing. Do they look like a team that's suddenly going to go cold in the fourth quarter?"
"And the Kings are down by a full 40 points—four more than Malone and Stockton were down back then. They have almost a quarter less time than the Jazz did, and their star, Wang Yi, has injured his right hand."
"On top of that, the Kings are on the road. All things considered, they're a hundred