The two teams traded baskets from there.
But whenever Wang Yi got the ball, the crowd erupted in boos.
The boos were like Wang Yi's personal soundtrack.
Still, Wang Yi didn't seem to care.
Just like in the regular season, he held back in the first quarter.
He wanted to let his teammates get a feel for the game first.
If they had the hot hand, he wouldn't need to push himself too hard. If they didn't, he'd take over.
Mouth Brother, who was starting today, had a pretty good touch.
He hit threes, midrange shots, and dunks at the rim.
On the other side, after Morant scored three straight times, the Kings tightened up their defense on him.
So Morant started using his ability to draw double teams to pass the ball and set up his teammates.
His most dazzling assist came in the final three minutes of the first quarter.
Morant hadn't even crossed half court yet.
His teammates were taking their positions in the frontcourt when he fired an extremely long bounce pass.
The pass traveled the length of the court, through Little Danny's legs and through a narrow gap between Mouth Brother's and Tures's feet.
It landed in Gobert's hands in the paint.
Gobert caught it and slammed it home.
The crowd went wild with excitement, and the commentators were left marveling.
The commentator with a thick reddish-brown beard exclaimed, "To make a pass from that far away, through such a tiny gap between players—that guy's passing is incredibly imaginative!"
Van Gundy, the commentator beside him, nodded.
"This is where Ja Morant has grown. He doesn't just attack the paint anymore, and he doesn't just drive and kick. He has a much broader view of the game now, and he can spot a defensive weakness in