After the timeout, the Spurs executed a beautiful play, with Leonard catching the ball on a cut for a layup.
But Davis's arms were simply too long. He rotated over to contest and forcefully disrupted the shot.
On the other end, Davis set a screen for Durant in the frontcourt, then caught the pass, drove inside, scored, and drew George's defensive foul!
He was playing out of his mind!
Davis was completely on fire!
This quarter—no, this entire night—he seemed possessed by Tang Tian, unstoppable!
When he made the ensuing free throw, the Pelicans extended their lead to 10 points once again!
At the crucial moment, Leonard spun out of a Double Team and hit a Difficult fadeaway, stopping the bleeding for the Spurs.
But on the next possession, Durant and Davis ran another pick and roll. This time, Durant pulled up himself for a Mid-Range Shot.
"Swish!"
It went in!
Davis's outstanding form had lifted the entire Pelicans team's energy as well!
Leonard took another shot from a Double Team in the frontcourt.
"Clang!"
Missed!
After all, he wasn't Tang Tian. His offensive ability was still far from Tang Tian's level, where "a Double Team is an open look."
In other words, because he moved the ball too slowly, Double Teams forced him into taking more shots, but that style of play was highly inefficient.
Without Tang Tian supporting him, Popovich's in-game adjustments had also become lacking. He had failed to solve this problem all night.
The Pelicans outscored the Spurs 30-15 in the third quarter, decisively settling the outcome in one stroke.
In the end, the Pelicans bounced back strongly, defeating the Spurs 116-102 at home to claim their First Win of the series!
Leonard had a rare off night, making just 7 of 23 shots and scoring