Meanwhile, some of the fans in the arena began to stir, as if cracks were appearing in a gigantic block of ice.
The players on both teams began to stir, too.
The Thunder players were all extremely nervous, while the Raptors players—especially the starters—were secretly delighted.
As for the Raptors' reserves, they all wore furrowed brows.
Finally.
The three referees exchanged glances and held a brief discussion. At last, head referee Little Crawford raised one index finger, then decisively and smoothly pointed downward.
"Two points! The basket counts!"
115–114!
The Raptors had won by a single point!
"Crash."
After countless cracks had appeared, the gigantic block of ice finally shattered with a thunderous roar.
The fans erupted. Some cheered and danced with joy.
Others clutched their heads and bent over, wailing.
On the Raptors' side, Pang Bo went straight to Wang Yi and wrapped him in a tight embrace.
It was like finally lifting his head above water and taking a deep, satisfying breath after being submerged for ages.
Zhang Jiacheng, Frank, Dauding, and Hachimura rushed over, too, and hugged Wang Yi tightly.
After such a hard-fought victory, those six players seemed to have fused into one solid block of iron.
By contrast, the guys on the bench all looked grim.
They didn't want to see the Raptors win, especially not with Wang Yi hitting a game-winner like that.
It would make those fools think even more that the Raptors didn't need their reserves at all.
After being on the receiving end of the game-winner, Holmgren looked completely dazed.
Just seconds earlier, they'd been up by one, with victory within reach. Then, in the span of a few seconds, they'd been beaten by a game-winner and reduced to the backdrop of Wang Yi's moment.
That feeling of going from heaven