Golden 1 Center.
The thunderous cheers from before were gone. The clamor had died away.
The fans had stopped shouting, the cheerleaders had stopped dancing, and the commentators had stopped smiling.
Even the mascot seemed scared stiff.
The more than eighteen thousand fans in Golden 1 Center sat in an eerie silence.
In an atmosphere so oppressive it nearly took everyone's breath away, the ten players on the court kept moving, constantly shifting into position.
At last, only six seconds remained.
Wang Yi dribbled, crossing the ball between his legs again and again.
Then, in an instant, he moved the ball behind his back from his left hand to his right. He carried it beyond the three-point line on the right, looking to shoot a three.
But LaMelo Ball stayed glued to him, defending him like a shadow.
Wang Yi was almost completely out of gas.
Against LaMelo, he was starting to look helpless.
So he slowed his steps for just a moment.
As soon as he did, Doug suddenly came up and set a screen to LaMelo's right.
Wang Yi quickly moved the ball behind his back, using Doug's screen to shake LaMelo.
He tried for another three, but at that very moment, the Hornets' power forward, Kuminga, rushed out and stood in front of him. From the other side, the Hornets' shooting guard, Heeny, came charging at him too.
Clearly, they had prepared thoroughly to stop Wang Yi from shooting a three.
With only two seconds left, Wang Yi immediately bent low, dropped his center of gravity, and drove straight toward the mid-range.
Only 1.5 seconds remained.
Once he reached the mid-range, Wang Yi rose to shoot.
But just then, Wemby came flying at him from the side. His towering frame and arms waving like tree branches completely