They changed the defensive three-second rule for guards to defensive two seconds, but for Wang Yi with No-Fly Zone activated, it didn't make much difference.
As long as Wang Yi didn't leave his defensive assignment,
the defensive two-second rule didn't apply.
To make Wang Yi leave his man, the Lakers' players had to stay away from the paint.
And with them staying away from the paint, scoring inside became even less likely.
So the defensive two-second rule had very little effect on Wang Yi.
With Wang Yi in Personal Domain on both offense and defense, the Lakers were in a very difficult position on both ends of the court.
Fortunately for them, though, their three-pointers were falling tonight.
They had somehow hit six of their seven three-point attempts in the first quarter.
The Kings finished the first quarter with 38 points, while the Lakers had 35.
Arthur scored only four points in the first quarter, all from free throws.
Meanwhile, Wang Yi, who was matched up against him, exploded for a full 30 points in the quarter.
That quarter alone was enough to crush the hopes of all the fans rooting for Arthur.
The so-called new American hero, the man they said could beat Wang Yi—
Wang Yi had just outscored him 30 to 4 in a single quarter.
Most importantly, Wang Yi had blocked Arthur six times in the quarter.
And the most terrifying part was that Wang Yi had blocked nearly every dunk Arthur was sure to make.
Meanwhile, those who had been worried that Wang Yi might not reach 10,000 points tonight could finally relax.
He'd already put up 30 points in one quarter. The remaining 15 would be nothing for him.
At the same time, as Wang Yi headed off the court, a system notification rang