As a result, the Pelicans' head coach had no choice but to call another timeout. This was already his third timeout in just three minutes.
At this point, the Pelicans had only two timeouts left: one full timeout and one short timeout.
Wang Yi glanced at the Pelicans' remaining timeouts, a wicked smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Once they've used up those two timeouts, won't the Pelicans be at my mercy?
During the timeout, the Pelicans' head coach once again stressed the importance of controlling the pace:
"Settle down. You have to settle down. Like I said, I don't expect you to score, but I do expect you to use up all 24 seconds before taking every shot."
Ingram looked at the coach helplessly.
"Coach, it's not that we don't want to do that. It's just that their defense is putting so much pressure on us."
Head coach Willie Green nodded.
"Of course. I can see that. But that's exactly what they want you to feel. Your job is to withstand that pressure."
"They keep reaching in to disrupt your dribbles, and they might hit your arms. You should also look for chances to draw shooting fouls. That way, they'll reach the foul limit soon."
"After that, whenever they foul, we'll get to go to the free-throw line. Then they won't dare pressure your dribbles so aggressively. Understand?"
The players nodded in agreement. He had a point.
Over on the Kings' side, Wang Yi gave his players some instructions.
"You all did a great job just now. You put a lot of pressure on them defensively. Keep it up. I'll say it again: don't be afraid of fouling. Even if we get to four fouls, and every foul sends them to the free-throw line, I still want