It happened so suddenly that even Dinwiddie had been ready to cheer for the shot.
But Tang Tian reacted quickly. He sprang straight at Pachulia and, without a word, threw a punch.
A second earlier, Pachulia had still been holding his hands out innocently. The next second, Tang Tian's fist landed squarely on his face, sending his front teeth flying.
The impact force knocked him backward onto the floor.
It had all happened so suddenly that only after Tang Tian finished punching and stepped back did everyone else begin to react.
Players from both sides immediately started shoving each other, and the referees rushed in as well.
Embiid was extremely agitated on the sideline, but Butler came over and held him back to keep him from rushing onto the court.
No matter what happened on the court, any player who had not checked in would be directly ejected if he went on.
After holding Embiid back, Butler turned to Tang Tian with a face full of confusion.
Tang Tian was his role model and close friend. In Butler's eyes, he had never been an impulsive person.
Even when he had beaten Martin with the Spurs, there had been a reason for it. But this had come far too suddenly.
The referees had already separated the players from both teams, while Ariza and Pachulia were helped off the court by their respective team doctors.
"Eject him! Eject him!"
The on-site fans began shouting for Tang Tian to be ejected.
That punch from Tang Tian had truly gone too far. Dallas fans could not tolerate seeing their player treated like that.
Even if Tang Tian was currently sizzling hot and a leading MVP candidate.
Curses filled the arena, but the Pelicans players remained relatively calm. They knew Tang Tian must have had