The Timberwolves had been on a roll over the past few minutes, with their shots falling from everywhere.
But things had gone pretty badly for the Raptors.
For one thing, Zhang Jiacheng had been subjected to a relentless three-man trap over the past few minutes.
The Timberwolves' original strategy for this game had been to trap Zhang Jiacheng with two players and wear him down by taking turns guarding him.
Once his stamina ran out in the second half of the third quarter, it would be time for the Timberwolves to strike back.
But Coach Finch had realized that after Zhang Jiacheng took the court in the fourth quarter, he showed no signs of tiring. On the contrary, he looked even more ferocious.
So he shouted from the sideline, telling his players to relentlessly trap Zhang Jiacheng with three men.
They had to force him to pass the ball.
At the same time, they kept Juan and their power forward, Peter, inside the paint.
As for the three-point line and mid-range shots, they could let the Raptors shoot all they wanted.
As long as Zhang Jiacheng wasn't the one shooting.
But over the past few minutes, the Raptors' shots hadn't been falling.
Whether it was Bales' three-pointers or Zhang Jiacheng's, Pang Bo's mid-range shots or Dauding's, not one of them had gone in.
It was as if the Rockets had gone 21 straight three-pointers without a make in the Playoffs.
That was just how basketball went. Sometimes you had a hot hand, and no matter how you shot, the ball went in.
Even when you could tell as soon as the ball left your hands that its trajectory was way off, somehow it would still find its way through the net.
But sometimes, when your shot was off, nothing would