The arena erupted.
Tang Tian's shot selection had been too sudden, too unexpected, too Curry-like!
Yes, Curry was being used as an adjective here!
The on-site fans were stunned, the players on the court were stunned, and the fans watching on TV were stunned as well.
Popovich was stunned too.
From the first three quarters, he could tell that Tang Tian had added deep range to his weapon arsenal, but that had been a logo three!
Making such an unreasonable shot was truly infuriating!
Because it had nothing to do with tactics or strategy; it was purely individual ability!
And it had really caught everyone off guard.
If Curry had been on the court, he definitely would have been guarded closely, but Tang Tian had made that shot!
Social media exploded instantly as well.
Back when Tang Tian was with the Spurs, he had only been a 3-and-D player, with defense as his biggest label.
He had not stood out that much back then, because defense was a broad skill without much distinctive flair.
But after that, from pull-up jumpers to fadeaway jumpers, flashy passes, then Flowery Butterfly Steps, agile and powerful dunks... and finally, this deep three-pointer.
Tang Tian: What you can do, I can do!
Anthony was called an Offensive Kaleidoscope, but Tang Tian was no longer a kaleidoscope—he was an offensive skills manual!
A logo three was still only worth three points, but the blow to morale was enormous.
The Spurs did not call a timeout either. Leonard dribbled from the backcourt and fought his way past Tang Tian into the frontcourt, but his buzzer-beater attempt was difficult.
The shot was obviously short, striking the front rim and bouncing out.
The final score was 106 to 103. The Pelicans won!
Leonard scored 27 points in a losing