Ja Morant didn't turn to look at the ball. He just stared at Wang Yi in front of him, his eyes full of disbelief.
His left cheek still seemed to be tingling. The ball had just skimmed past him, and the gust of wind it kicked up had nearly made his cheek hurt.
Wang Yi's pass had completely upended his understanding of the game.
Could... the ball really be played like that?
Every Grizzlies player was just as stunned.
How could anyone make a curveball pass that absurd?
The Kings players all leaped up from the bench, letting out a synchronized shout:
"Holy shit! That was amazing!"
The operator at the courtside scorer's table was so shocked that, without waiting for the referee's signal, he instinctively added two points to the Kings' score.
But just then, the referee blew his whistle.
Tweet, tweet, tweet—
Then he repeatedly crossed his hands and swept them apart to either side.
Like a swimmer.
He shook his head as well, signaling, "The basket doesn't count."
The referee's call left everyone baffled.
That included both the Kings and Grizzlies players.
Even the Grizzlies players thought it was a great play. Why had the referee ruled that the basket didn't count?
At that moment, Javie from the replay center appeared on the big screen and explained to everyone:
"According to the rules of basketball, a player may not deliberately strike the ball with a fist. That is against the rules and constitutes a violation."
His explanation made everything clear to the people in the arena.
In fact, the NBA had had this rule for a long time.
But since almost no one ever punched the ball during a game, most people had gradually forgotten about the rule.
Besides, punching the ball wasn't like a kick-ball violation