D'Antoni called a timeout.
The Pelicans' trident exploded, instantly shattering the deadlock on the court!
Tang Tian isolated, while Walker and Davis ran the pick-and-roll—the UConn Trident!
The Pelicans truly had too many tricks up their sleeve. They were impossible to defend against!
After the timeout, D'Antoni put Harden back in early. It was obvious that he really wanted to win tonight.
That was only natural. This season, everyone wanted to beat the Pelicans!
Harden came in and scored on Lamb in isolation, quenching the Rockets' thirst.
But on the next possession, Tang Tian targeted Harden. After Gordon came over to help, he kicked the ball out to the open Lamb.
Lamb caught the ball and fired again.
Swish!
It went in again!
A 2K cheat code!
Lamb was playing like he had NBA 2K stats beside Tang Tian!
That three-pointer was a massive blow to the Rockets' morale.
On the next possession, Harden drove and kicked, but Gordon fumbled the catch and sent the ball straight out of bounds!
The sidelines were in an uproar.
They might have held off the Pelicans for one quarter, but there were four quarters in a game!
More than five minutes had passed in the quarter. Although Harden had scored another 6 points through drives and jumpers, the score had already become 46-28!
The gap had reached 18 points!
Right then, Stevens made another round of substitutions.
Walker, Lamb, and Harrell came out, while Brogdon, Butler, and Davis checked in!
Brogdon, Tang Tian, Butler, Siakam, and Davis!
Stevens rolled out a One Big Four Small Lineup!
Butler gave Harden no room on the perimeter. Harden drove inside, but Siakam rotated over, forcing Harden into a long floater.
The shot was far too difficult, and it clanked off the front rim!
The Pelicans launched