Wemby had been playing brilliantly, and their point guard, X, was clearly having a transcendent day.
Even against Wang Yi's defense, he was in excellent form.
Using the pick and roll, he could either drive to the basket for a layup, shoot a three from outside, or pass the ball.
He scored 8 points and dished out 5 assists in the first quarter alone.
For a rookie playing in the first NBA game of his life to put up those numbers in a single quarter was nothing short of impressive.
On the Raptors' side, only Pang Bo was in decent form, scoring 10 points. The others were all playing so-so.
Wang Yi in particular, usually such a fearsome defender, somehow couldn't stop X on defense today.
And on offense, he didn't seem eager to attack either. He played 8 minutes in the entire first quarter and took only that one shot. He didn't shoot again after that.
He scored just 2 points in the first quarter.
After the starters came off the floor, the Spurs' bench players stuck firmly to their fast-break strategy.
And the Spurs' X stayed in the game.
After Wang Yi came off the floor, X played even more aggressively. Although he didn't score or record an assist, the Spurs' bench players' offense flowed smoothly under his direction.
The Raptors ended the first quarter trailing 21–31, a full 10 points behind.
During ESPN's broadcast, Bales saw the Raptors down by 10 after the first quarter and said with a smile:
"After Wang Yi made that shot earlier, a lot of his fans came over to insult me, saying I know nothing about basketball and asking how I could tell Wang Yi was declining when he was in such good shape. Well, take another look now. Wang Yi