But he had already touched his head, so he did not say anything more.
That night, the Pelicans and Warriors faced off.
Curry and Thompson came out with a hot hand, firing away from outside the three-point line.
The Splash Brothers went up against Tang Ri Tian, and the two teams were locked in a fierce battle throughout the first quarter.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was tied at 40.
At the start of the second quarter came the bench connection segment, with both teams pairing their starters with reserves.
Kuzma also got his opportunity to play during this stretch.
He had only run a couple of possessions after checking in when he got his chance.
He first knocked down a three from the outside, then used the threat of his three-point shot to shake off Iguodala and drive into the paint for an and-one.
His confidence had grown after the previous game, and after he converted that and-one, his entire presence on the court felt different.
Tang Tian's earlier judgment had indeed been correct.
Confidence was like an exponential function in mathematics—twofold, fourfold, eightfold... the increase was astonishing.
It was not just Kuzma. Alexander, who had once again received Tang Tian's affectionate touch, continued his strong play from before.
With both reserves playing brilliantly, the Pelicans successfully extended the lead into double digits during that bench connection segment.
Although Curry and Thompson remained hot after returning from the bench connection segment,
the Pelicans still held onto that lead advantage through halftime.
In the third quarter, Thompson exploded and went head-to-head with Tang Tian by himself, with the gap hovering around ten points.
But when the bench connection segment between the third and fourth quarters arrived, the deadlock was broken.
Kuzma and Alexander combined for a