Pang Bo was playing well on offense, scoring on Embiid twice in a row.
But on the next possession, as Pang Bo attacked inside, he leaned his left side against Embiid and dribbled with his right hand, trying to muscle his way toward the basket. The moment he pushed off, Embiid let out a delicate moan:
"Ooh—"
At the sound, Embiid fell backward, sliding two meters across the floor.
At the same time, the referee's whistle blew.
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The referee clenched his right fist and thrust it forward, signaling an offensive foul on Pang Bo.
Pang Bo stared in disbelief, spreading his hands toward the referee. "What? How was that an offensive foul?"
Pang Bo had indeed used some force, but he hadn't gone all out. He'd only used half his strength.
His plan had been to draw Embiid into a physical contest, then suddenly spin toward the basket while Embiid was bracing against him.
But with just that half-strength nudge, Embiid had gone down.
It was a classic case of "I haven't even used my strength, and you're already on the floor."
How could that be an offensive foul?
However, in the slow-motion replay, Pang Bo clearly made a forceful move, and Embiid clearly fell. It was the sort of foul that could go either way.
There was nothing wrong with the referee calling it.
Pang Bo was still trying to argue with the referee when Wang Yi called from behind him, "Little Fatty!"
Hearing Wang Yi call out, Pang Bo stopped arguing and turned to look at him. Wang Yi gave him a slight shake of the head. Pang Bo understood at once, immediately walked away from the referee, and headed back on defense.
Pang Bo was now in his third year in the NBA, and his ability