Cutting the ball loose once could be luck. Doing it twice could still be luck. But if he could do it every time, that would shut all the haters up.
Three precise strips in a row—no matter how stubborn those guys were, they couldn't keep claiming it was luck.
After reviewing the replay, the referee confirmed that Wang Yi's steal was clean. The Kings had possession.
It was the Kings' turn to attack.
This possession was crucial for the Kings.
They had been trailing for nearly three and a half quarters. If they could take the lead here, it would give the team a huge boost;
meanwhile, their opponents had led for most of the night. If they fell behind in these final few minutes, their morale would hit rock bottom.
Rose had been on the court too long and was starting to run out of gas, so the Kings took him out for the moment and sent in Mane.
After Mane dribbled into the frontcourt, he passed the ball to Wang Yi, who had set up at mid-range.
The Thunder were taking this possession seriously too, so as soon as Wang Yi got the ball, two players came over to double-team him.
Wang Yi had already burned too much energy on defense, and it clearly wasn't realistic to rely on him alone on offense.
He had his back to the basket, with the two opposing defenders right behind him.
Fortunately, Danny had made his way to the three-point line in front of him.
Wang Yi immediately made a motion as if he were passing to Danny.
But Danny was such a threat from three that both defenders rushed over to cover him.
If Wang Yi had really passed it over, there was an eighty percent chance it would have