While Nicholas Zhao Si and Bales hurriedly hired lawyers to prepare their defense, the Kings arrived at the Lakers' new arena, Crypto Forum Arena, at noon the next day.
Today's game was the last one before the All-Star Game, and a major matchup in its own right.
King Arthur and Wang Yi were both top-tier stars in the league.
One was America's most popular star, and the other was the world's most popular star.
Their showdown had drawn tremendous attention.
By the rules, All-Star voting was supposed to end ten days before the All-Star Game.
But this year, the league wanted to promote Wang Yi. Voting wouldn't close until he became the Top Voted Player.
They also wanted to make the race for Top Voted Player more suspenseful and attract more attention.
So they extended All-Star voting until 24 hours before the All-Star Game began.
It went without saying how much attention this game had attracted.
It was practically a warm-up for the All-Star Game.
That was why the game had been scheduled for prime time, at 8 p.m.
Before the game, a reporter interviewed King Arthur.
"In the first three games, Wang Yi beat three stars who came before you: Jalen Green, Ja Morant, and Wemby. Do you feel threatened?"
"No. No one can threaten me."
King Arthur answered.
The reporter asked another question. "In those first three games, Wang Yi scored 13, 26, and 39 points. Do you think that was a coincidence, or was he deliberately sending you a message?"
King Arthur smiled. "Whether it was a coincidence or a message, I don't care. All I'm doing is playing my own game and helping my team win."
Naturally, the reporter wasn't satisfied with such a stock answer.
He asked another question. "So, do you think you can