Cole stood on the sideline, realizing that the situation was starting to slip out of his control.
He called Green over, preparing to send him in to replace Pachulia.
The Warriors went on the frontcourt offense. Thompson's catch-and-shoot three-pointer bounced off the rim, and Livingston's putback missed as well. Diop finally grabbed the defensive rebound.
Green walked to the scoring table, waiting for a dead ball to check in.
After grabbing the rebound, Diop immediately fired a long pass to Williams, who launched a full court drive on the fast break.
But Livingston defended the play well, and Williams's shot was disrupted and rolled out.
McCaw, trailing the play, grabbed the rebound. He wanted to launch a fast break against the Pelicans and flung the ball straight downcourt.
But he overestimated his Passing Ability. The pass never got through and was directly stolen by Tang Tian, who came charging in from the side.
Tang Tian took the steal and led the break himself. A low dribble followed by a spin move got him past Speights, leaving only Pachulia retreating beneath the basket.
He accelerated inside the free-throw line, ready to take one more step and leap into the air.
Pachulia feinted a move to contest the shot.
Their eyes met, and Tang Tian sensed something in Pachulia's gaze.
This guy had finally been unable to hold himself back!
He took his next step, then glanced down while he was in the air.
Sure enough, there was already a foot at the spot where he would land on his second step.
The same trick: pretend to contest the shot, then look for a chance to commit an ankle-breaking foul.
A vicious glint flashed in his eyes.
Since you didn't want to be human, don't blame me for not being one either.