Mitchell saw the look in Wang Yi's eyes and really did feel reassured.
Now that he felt reassured, he let loose.
Facing Mitchell, Irving started with two consecutive crossover dribbles.
Then he dribbled with his right hand, straightened up slightly, and gave a little Buddha Move, trying to get Mitchell to bite.
But Mitchell had studied Irving extensively. The moment he saw the move, he thought of the shot Irving had once hit to nearly beat the Warriors.
This move was exactly the same as the one Irving had used back then.
So Mitchell knew it was only a little Buddha Move. Irving definitely wasn't going to shoot.
Seeing that he hadn't fooled Mitchell, Irving took a dribble to the right, slowed down a little, but still couldn't get Mitchell to bite.
Then he dribbled one step to the right and pulled up sharply.
He shot!
This time, Mitchell knew he was going to shoot.
So he threw himself at Irving with all his strength.
But Irving had a trick up his sleeve.
Knowing Mitchell had studied his moves too, he didn't shoot right away. Instead, when he saw Mitchell rushing toward him, he jumped slightly in Mitchell's direction, and Mitchell crashed straight into him.
Irving went down with the contact.
The referee immediately blew the whistle.
"Foul on Mitchell of the Kings. Kyrie Irving will shoot three free throws."
The crowd let out a collective gasp.
"Oh, no—"
Everyone knew what a foul at this point meant.
It meant Irving would get three free throws.
With Irving's free-throw percentage, he was practically guaranteed to make them.
That would leave the Kings with less than ten seconds.
With ten seconds, even if the Kings hit a three, they'd only tie the game.
At courtside, commentator Jordan shook his head as