Wang Yi and Bond only had to put on a little act, and the media helped promote it, blowing the whole thing up.
Now everyone in the world knew that the Kings were definitely at odds with each other.
Wang Yi and Bond's relationship hadn't improved after their big win in the previous game. In fact, it had gotten even worse.
Kings fans were all getting anxious and worked up. Some of them were so worried that they'd already started cursing.
Meanwhile, Lakers fans mocked them as a group.
Fans of the other teams were just watching the drama unfold.
But Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, was delighted by all the news about the Kings' infighting.
The Kings' internal strife had brought the NBA a huge amount of attention over the past two days.
As expected, Wang Yi was a guaranteed ratings draw. As long as he was around, the NBA never had to worry about a lack of viewers.
The game between the two teams tipped off at 6:30 p.m. the next day.
Before the game, the media and many commentators once again predicted that the Kings had less than a 2% chance of winning.
The Lakers had stumbled in the previous game and were bound to bounce back. Meanwhile, the Kings were divided and demoralized, and were sure to suffer a crushing defeat.
Five minutes before the game, Coach Darwin once again stressed to the players, "Remember, our top priority tonight is to wear Wang Yi down. On offense, we need to attack him as much as possible. On defense, we need to put him one-on-one more often. We can't let him play as easily as he did last game. If he wants to score by himself, fine—but absolutely don't let him pass."
"By halftime, he'll be completely