With only five seconds left, those guys still hadn't come to trap Wang Yi. They knew he would wait until the final second to shoot.
But just then, Wang Yi dribbled quickly, took two steps back to midcourt, then raised his left hand, ready to gather the ball.
Holmgren's heart jumped.
Was Wang Yi going to shoot early tonight?
That caught him completely off guard.
He hurried two steps forward to catch up with Wang Yi. At the same time, Giddey stepped forward from the other side to defend him.
But as the two of them moved up, Wang Yi didn't shoot. He simply extended his hand and gave the ball a gentle push. It zipped through Giddey's legs, and Wang Yi hop-stepped straight through the gap between them.
He collected the ball behind Giddey and charged straight for the basket.
In that moment, every Thunder coach, every Thunder player, and every Thunder fan was dumbfounded.
If everyone's hearts had been in their throats before, now they'd all leaped from their throats into their mouths.
They covered their mouths, as if afraid their hearts might leap right out.
Wang Yi had broken through the two-man trap in an instant, making every Thunder player's heart tighten.
Pang Bo and Jaylen hurried to the free-throw line to stop him.
There were 3.5 seconds left.
Wang Yi pulled up right in front of them and shot.
He put nearly all the strength he had left into that jump.
When he rose, his knee was already at Xiao Qiao's chest.
Even if you killed Xiao Qiao, there was no way he could block that shot.
And their small forward had even less chance.
All they could do was watch the ball sail over their heads.
Then the two of them hurried to turn and