After the opening ceremony ended, the Pelicans players had varying reactions.
Green, Gasol, and most of the other players did not react much.
After all, to them, it was just an opening ceremony.
Brogdon and Kuzma, meanwhile, looked just as excited as they had in the locker room.
They knew—and firmly believed—that Tang Tian had Eastern Magic.
Parker's expression was somewhat bitter.
He had avoided having his head touched his entire life, yet in the end, someone had still forced a hand onto his head.
Life was hard for him!
After the Pelicans, the Lakers' starters also took the court one after another.
It was still the same starting lineup as the previous four games.
Vogel had great confidence in this lineup.
The Los Angeles fans on-site also expressed their confidence with deafening cheers.
Mount Tenryu, playing at home—they were determined to win!
Lopez tipped the ball back into the Lakers' half, officially drawing back the curtain on the game.
Just as predicted, this game broke the ratings record right from the opening.
It was a game watched by the entire world.
The Lakers opened with a LeBron-Durant pick and roll.
That tactical arrangement also showed Vogel's determination to win tonight.
However, on their first pick-and-roll possession, Durant, who received the pass, was tightly guarded by Siakam and surprisingly did not get a shooting opportunity.
The Pelicans showed a completely different defensive intensity from the past few games right from the start.
After signaling for everyone to clear out, Durant chose to isolate against Siakam.
Siakam's defense was flawless, but Durant's individual ability was truly exceptional. He forcefully shook Siakam off with a Eurostep and went up for the layup.
But at the instant he released the ball, Gasol somehow had help defense in place again, directly contesting and bodying