At the end of the first quarter, Tang Tian's team led Antetokounmpo's team 42-30.
Durant scored a game-high 12 points, 9 of them coming off Tang Tian's assists!
Tang Tian had 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists, with 4 of those 5 assists going to Durant!
No one had expected this outcome.
Tang Tian had been playing so explosively this season that, in theory, he should have had the most shot attempts on the court.
And that was indeed the case. Forget shot attempts—his ball possession rate in the first quarter alone had exceeded 60%.
But he had not turned that possession into points. He had turned it into assists.
And Durant had become the biggest beneficiary.
As the second quarter began, the starters from both sides were resting on the bench.
At this point, people on both benches were feeling complicated emotions.
On Antetokounmpo's team, James kept turning to look toward the other half of the court.
He could not figure out what had happened between Tang Tian and Durant either, because before the All-Star Game, the two of them had still discussed how to defend against Tang Tian!
Could it be that Tang Tian and Durant had talked during All-Star Weekend and buried the hatchet?
That worried him greatly.
Durant might have been sensitive by nature, but he was also straightforward. Sometimes, once grudges and hatred were laid bare, enemies could become friends instead.
A major reason Durant had gone to the Warriors back then was exactly that.
After communicating with Green, Curry, and the others, he had let go of their past grudges.
But that would not do!
The reason he and Durant had gathered in Los Angeles was to defeat Tang Tian!
But now, before the revolution had succeeded, Durant had defected first!
He turned