After Wang Yi reached the front court, he repeatedly tried to shake off the three defenders with backdoor cuts.
But whichever direction he cut, one of them would block his way. As soon as one defender slowed him down, another would quickly come over to double-team him.
In the end, he couldn't get open, and Zhang Jiacheng had to take a mid-range shot and make it.
For the next two-plus minutes, under this kind of defense, Wang Yi didn't get a single chance to touch the ball.
It wasn't until the clock showed 1:07 that the Knicks missed a shot, sending the rebound long.
Wang Yi was right beneath it. He grabbed the ball, turned, and immediately launched a fast break.
On either side of him, Zhang Jiacheng and Frank were sprinting up the court at the same time—a textbook three-lane fast break.
But Aleksandar was gradually catching up to Zhang Jiacheng.
Meanwhile, no one was keeping up with Frank on the left.
So when Frank was about to reach the three-point line, Wang Yi passed him the ball.
It was an excellent pass.
All Frank had to do was catch it, and he could shoot from beyond the arc without needing to adjust.
There wasn't a defender in front of him, and no one was within three meters behind him.
It was just like the passes his trainer fed him during practice, when he worked on his threes.
Finally, Frank received the pass in a perfect spot.
The ball arrived right at his waist.
He could bring it up and shoot in one smooth motion.
His rhythm was perfect: catch, stop, jump.
In that comfortable moment, he leaped, raised the ball above his head, and released it with the same motion he'd practiced thousands of times.
The basketball left