Durant adjusted his breathing and made both free throws amid the deafening noise.
4-2.
Both teams came out with tremendous defensive intensity, making every point exceptionally difficult to earn.
No matter who won or lost, tonight was destined to be a physical battle, a low-scoring defensive war.
Leonard continued attacking Ariza in the frontcourt, spinning beautifully past him and powering up for a dunk.
But Davis, a big man, had gotten into position early and drew an offensive foul on Leonard!
Davis was knocked to the floor by the collision and stayed down for a while. After his teammates pulled him up, he rubbed his chest for quite some time.
Just as Barkley had said, the Pelicans were not playing basketball tonight. They were fighting for their lives!
Watching the scenes unfold after the game began from the stands, Tang Tian suddenly became unsure whether he should say those things.
Every Pelicans player—at least every member of the Starting Five Tigers—did not want to have any regrets in this series.
But when they pushed themselves too hard, injuries became more likely.
Like Durant on the previous possession, and Davis just now.
There had to be a balance between the two. If someone got hurt and it affected his career, that was something nobody wanted to see.
Fortunately, Stevens had realized that as well. After Davis was helped up, he stood on the sideline and reminded his players.
Stevens' reminder worked. The Pelicans eased up somewhat on their do-or-die style, but their energy on the court did not diminish in the slightest.
The Spurs had also been unknowingly drawn into the Pelicans' rhythm. The physical battle between the two teams made the viewers ache just watching it.
It was like that in the first quarter, like that at halftime, and still