In the second quarter, both sides were substitutes with four on the line.

On the Cavaliers' side, Love led the team, and the Pelicans led the team with Davis.

The situation on the field is still deadlocked.

Tang Tian saw that the seat next to Whiteside was vacant, and sat down directly.

Whiteside barely managed to squeeze out a smile when he saw Tang Tian coming, but he could feel that his mood was not very high.

He hasn't been in good form since returning from a suspension, and the first quarter of this game was a microcosm.

Tang Tian didn't have the heart to care about him before, but he had to take care of it at this time.

"You're the center of the team, you have to know that."

Tang Tian's first sentence made Whiteside turn his head.

"As long as you play well, there's no way Coach Williams won't let you play."

Tang Tian continued.

"As for the future, not to mention the player's career, it's a long life, no one knows what's going to happen, and it's what you have to do to concentrate on this season."

Tang Tian knew that Whiteside's recent poor performance was only because of a problem with his mentality, so his enlightenment was also psychological.

Whiteside didn't say anything after listening, he should have wanted this.

"Do you know what I told AD when he couldn't shoot before?"

Tang Tian didn't stop and continued.

"Keep shooting, and if you don't shoot, you won't have a chance to score."

Whiteside replied that as a teammate, he knew a little bit about what happened after Davis returned from injury.

"That's just what I said, and what I actually want him to do is be confident, and it's the same with you now, are you worried about being squeezed out of Jokic in the future, or will you be now?"

Tang Tian continued.

Whiteside didn't speak, which was a tacit acquiescence, Jokic played better than him during this time, which is why he was anxious and worried.

"You're wrong, as I told you as soon as I opened my mouth, you are now, not to compete, are you not confident in yourself? Or did you just say it casually when you told me that you wanted to buy a big house? ”

As soon as Tang Tian mentioned the big house, Whiteside's face became obviously firm.

People are motivated to do things, and they need motivation, and a big house is the driving force of Whiteside.

And Tang Tian is right, he needs to be more confident, because now he is!

Seeing the change in Whiteside's expression, Tang Tian knew that what he said had an effect.

Persuading people is the same as pouring chicken soup, when it comes to the other party's heart, let the other party feel that what you let him do is for his good, so that it can really work.

The second quarter played for more than four minutes, and the two sides began to switch back to the main force one after another.

Jokic played early in the first quarter and was the first to be replaced by Whiteside.

Whiteside went up and gave Lefous a big hot pot.

In a defensive round, you can see that his competitive form is completely different from that of the first quarter.

That's what characterizes his play, and it's a bit like Cousins, and that's a top-level interior with a flat mentality.

Whiteside's resurgence is important for the Pelicans, and his defense is unmatched by Jokic.

He made the Cavaliers' scoring efficiency in the box noticeably less.

And in the second quarter, the Cavaliers' outside feel also dropped.

The Pelicans took the opportunity to pull away little by little.

At halftime, they in turn led the Cavaliers by 10 points, 56-46.

Counting the margin of the first quarter, they outscored the Cavaliers by 23 points.

The Cavaliers have a Big Three, but the Big Three need to be run in, and the role players are mediocre.

On the contrary, the Pelicans' dual-core lineup has almost run in, and role players such as Ariza, Whiteside, Holiday and Jokic also play better than the Cavaliers.

As O'Neill said, there was nothing to see in the seven-minute game, and the difference in the half-time was reflected.

At this point, it was noticeably quieter on the hotline.

At the end of the half, James had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and Tang Tian had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

Statistically speaking, the two men are about the same, but the Pelicans now lead the Cavaliers by double-digit points.

Not to mention Tang Tian's performance in leading the team to turn the situation around in the second half of the first quarter, it is also very crucial for him to enlighten Whiteside off the court.

It was only at this time that the fans refuted the words of James fans on the hotline that they were collectively lit up by the fans.

The last time the Pelicans lost, it had a lot to do with Davis' poor form when he just returned from injury.

The score of this half just shows that Tang Tian is worthy of the MVP ranking.

If the momentum continues, the Pelicans have a good chance of revenge on the Cavaliers.

Coming back from halftime, a long-range shot from Tang Tian and a dunk from Whiteside helped the Pelicans widen the gap to 15 points.

But at this moment, Irving on the Cavaliers' side stepped up.

He broke through the difficult three-pointers in a row, and personally played an offensive wave, forcing the difference to single digits when he played about 5 minutes in the quarter.

There's always a lot of pressure on teammates around James, let alone an All-Star like Irving.

His performance in this section was very good and responded to the outside world's doubts.

And in this wave, he also made two fouls on Whiteside in a row.

Whiteside's black and rough is most afraid of a defender like Owen who can play the ball.

Jokic brings up again.

However, this time he didn't feel as good as in the first half, and he didn't shoot two open three-pointers in a row.

This is also the inconsistency of the outside projection of big men.

Not to mention the big guys, it is difficult for the average shooter to maintain a high shooting percentage for the whole game.

Jokic couldn't shoot, and his space-pulling effect was gone, and Mozgov shrunk under the basket to protect the box and completely left him outside.

Jokic couldn't shoot in a row and was in a hurry to prove himself, and after getting the ball, he broke through directly from the three-point line to the basket and beat Mozgov with his feet.

Mozgov was shaken off and Jokic managed to score the ball.

However, at this time, an accident happened, Mozgov was too heavy to control his body, and fell directly on Jokic's feet.

Jokic's joy one second before his goal turned into pain the next, and he fell to the ground.

It was a complete accident.

The team doctor came up and asked about Jokic, and finally called for the staff to bring a wheelchair and let Jokic leave the court in a sitting.

The knees and feet of the big players are the most vulnerable areas, and Mozgov's weight is not light.

Jokic's sudden injury caught the Pelicans off guard, and Williams could only call Biyombo up.

Biyombo's defense is not weak, but his role on the offensive end is weak, and back on the defensive end, Irving continues to be on fire and continues to score.

By about 9 minutes in this quarter, with Irving's fiery performance of 18 points in a single quarter, the Cavaliers had tied the 15-point difference.

This game is really full of twists and turns.