During the half-time break, Stevens was worried that Williams and Bojan might be out of form, so he specifically pulled Tang Tian aside and told him that he might have to play more in the second half.
But it seemed his concern had been unnecessary.
Because Tang Tian completely went berserk in the third quarter.
He scored 30 points in a single quarter, breaking the Playoffs single-quarter scoring record of 29 points that he had previously set himself!
At the end of the first half, the Rockets were only trailing by 7 points, but after three quarters, they were down by a full 22!
The Big Three combined for 22 points in the quarter and were in excellent form, but Tang Tian went into cheat mode in the third quarter and blew the game wide open!
In the final quarter, the Rockets failed to mount a comeback, and the final score was set at 99-83.
Cousins had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Harden had 17 points and 5 assists, and Paul had 15 points and 8 assists. The Rockets' Big Three all posted solid numbers through three quarters.
But for the Pelicans, Tang Tian exploded for 50 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists in three quarters, scoring as much as the Big Three by himself.
When the first-round series ended, a small number of fans had still said that Tang Tian had not adjusted to his best form. But after this game, all those people and opinions vanished.
Perhaps only this game reminded them of Tang Ri Tian from last season's Playoffs, who had repeatedly broken the Playoffs single-quarter and Single Game Scoring Record, making them realize that Tang Tian's first-round performance had been a textbook example of coasting.
That day, humanity finally remembered the terror of being ruled by