37-18!
The first quarter ended, and the Pelicans had built a 19-point lead!
The despair in the on-site fans' eyes grew even deeper.
Vogel was looking somewhat dejected at this point as well.
He had originally hoped the Lakers could make up some ground during the Bench Connection Segment, but instead of narrowing, the gap had widened even further!
It felt like being slashed open and bleeding nonstop, then trying to sprinkle on some hemostatic powder, only to grab a handful of salt by mistake.
The sheer agony of that handful was easy to imagine.
However, the importance of Mount Tenryu went without saying. After taking a deep breath to steady his emotions, Vogel drew up new tactics during the break between quarters.
Kidd also played his part, using passionate words to motivate the team's bench players.
The Lakers' coaching staff attacked from both sides, but none of it worked.
As soon as the second quarter began, the Pelicans hit the Lakers with a 7-2 run, pushing the gap directly beyond 20 points.
The entire Pelicans team was playing like they had cheat codes on tonight!
Seeing that, Vogel sent in Pope and Stephenson, trying a different group of players.
But in the end, that failed too!
There were two areas where the Lakers could not compete tonight.
They could not beat the starters, and they could not beat the bench!
Perhaps it was like James always making only one of two free throws—this game was destined to be their loss!
At the end of three quarters, the score was 100-75.
The 25-point gap was the first time these two teams had faced such a lopsided situation.
However, the Lakers did not give up. In the final quarter, they launched a desperate counterattack led by James and Durant, at one