The coach saw Wang Yi gasping for breath and took him out.
Wang Yi sat on the bench, gulping in air.
Even so, he felt like he was about to suffocate. He just couldn't catch his breath.
The rapid, forceful breaths left his throat burning with pain.
Mitchell hurriedly grabbed a cup of water and carefully brought it to Wang Yi's lips.
"Have some water, boss. Take a breather."
Wang Yi took the cup and gulped down a couple of mouthfuls, then continued panting.
By then, he had secretly made up his mind.
Starting today, he was going to throw himself into the gym.
At the very least, before the second round of the Playoffs began, he would get his stamina into decent shape—not necessarily freakish, but not this terrible, either.
After Wang Yi came off, the teams traded baskets.
Danny kept his hot hand, but the opposing team doubled him relentlessly.
That was when Tures stepped up.
He came through with second-chance points on offense and protected the boards on defense.
By the end of the third quarter, the deficit had shrunk to just five points.
Wang Yi returned to the court to start the fourth.
Jalen Green had gone to the bench to rest, leaving Mason to lead the team.
Mason immediately took Wang Yi one-on-one and scored a three-point play, cutting the lead to two.
Wang Yi tried to answer.
After taking so many shots from two-point range, he wanted to try a three. But that one missed, too.
Then Mason came right back with a fast-break basket, scoring two.
Just like that, the game was tied.
The two of them traded blows from there.
But after just three minutes, Wang Yi's stamina began to fail again.
And with his stamina gone, the mistakes followed.
After two