Wang Yi was bumped off balance by X.
And X used that little bit of space to go straight into the paint.
His floater hadn't gone directly toward the basket. Instead, he'd tossed the ball off the backboard. When Pang Bo went to grab the rebound, it sailed over his fingertips and bounced back. X caught it in midair and smoothly finished with an alley-oop layup.
The crowd was immediately a little unhappy.
JJ Redick said, "I can understand why the fans here are unhappy. X is a rookie who just entered the league, and he's already scored his first basket with such an incredible play—and against the Raptors' star, Wang Yi, no less."
"I have to say, X really is good. Even against the League's Number One, Wang Yi—the league's best perimeter defender—he wasn't intimidated in the slightest and pulled off a dazzling play like that. It's astonishing. Is this really a first-year rookie?"
Reggie Miller nodded. "Even with Wang Yi giving it everything on defense, he still couldn't stop him. This kid has a bright future. But now Wang Yi will have a response to the challenge from a first-year number-one pick. Let's see what he does."
The Raptors came back on offense.
This time, Wang Yi called for the ball at the top of the key. Zhang Jiacheng understood and immediately passed it to him.
The Spurs didn't double-team Wang Yi. They simply left X to guard him one-on-one.
If X was playing well on offense, he was also a formidable defender. In college, when his team was at its most crucial point, he was often the one assigned to guard the opposing team's leading scorer.
Now he faced Wang Yi with his knees slightly bent, then beckoned with both hands. "Come on, Wang. Take me on!"