At 8:00 p.m. that evening, still in prime time, the two teams faced off again at Rose Garden Plaza Arena.
Both teams brought their A-game to this matchup.
The Raptors knew that if they lost again and fell behind 3–1, it would be incredibly difficult to claw their way back against a team like the Knicks.
The Knicks knew that if they let the Raptors win again and tie the series at 2–2, all the advantages they had built up would be gone.
And by then, with the Raptors riding high and back on their home court, the King of the Mountain Battle would be hard to win.
So both teams could be said to be playing this game as if it were their last.
The Knicks opened with Jokic hitting two three-pointers in a row.
When Jokic had his Three-point Touch, Pang Bo had to stay glued to him on defense and deny him any chance to shoot.
Whenever Jokic moved to the three-point line, Pang Bo had to go out there to contest him, leaving the paint somewhat exposed.
That gave Aleksandar and King Arthur plenty of room to drive.
In the first quarter alone, the two of them scored eight and ten points respectively by driving to the basket.
The impression throughout the first quarter was that the Raptors' interior defense had been carved up like a sieve.
As for the Raptors, Wang Yi was once again facing a Two-man Trap.
After he passed the ball out, his teammates just couldn't find their touch today.
So the Raptors fell far behind, 18–35, in the first quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, Raptors Head Coach Dako immediately adjusted the game plan.
He told Pang Bo to step up only as far as the free-throw line on